Chapter 13: Statue Party (5)

Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

The footsteps stopped in front of Shu Yushuang's door but sounded again after a few seconds, growing more distant.  

She leaned against the wall, utterly exhausted in both body and mind.  

Shu Yushuang had experienced too much today and just wanted to sleep well.  

When she opened her eyes again, the room was so dark that nothing could be seen.  

She had fallen asleep leaning against the wall and, surprisingly, had no nightmares.  

Shu Yushuang fumbled to turn on the light and slowly walked to the window.  

Tonight, the prying gaze from outside was absent.  

Shu Yushuang let out a breath of relief, but just in case, she still placed a stone pillow over the small hole.

At that moment, a woman's heart-wrenching scream and sobbing echoed through the corridor.  

Shu Yushuang frowned but had no intention of meddling.  

However, a few minutes later, her door was pounded heavily.  

"Help me! Please, save me! We even went out together this afternoon! Please help me…"  

Shu Yushuang looked outside and saw that the person was An Lin.  

Behind An Lin stood a man with one swollen eye.  

The man was gripping An Lin's neck, dragging her away from Shu Yushuang's door.

Seeing the pleading look in An Lin's eyes, Shu Yushuang softened.  

She opened the door and swiftly slashed the man's sleeve.  

This method, as always, proved effective. The man howled in pain and released his grip on An Lin.  

Taking advantage of the moment, Shu Yushuang quickly pulled An Lin into her room and locked the door tightly.  

Outside, the man's entire arm had turned to dust. He glared venomously at Shu Yushuang's room but did not provoke her further. Instead, he left quickly.  

After confirming that the man was gone, Shu Yushuang finally let out a sigh of relief.  

At that moment, An Lin suddenly called out, "Shu Yushuang, why does my neck feel so stiff? Can you check it for me…?"

Shu Yushuang looked at An Lin and was met with an extremely horrifying sight.  

The man had left two handprints on An Lin's neck, and now the skin where the handprints were had turned to stone.  

An Lin noticed Shu Yushuang's strange expression and asked anxiously, "What is wrong?"  

Shu Yushuang opened her mouth but could not utter a word.  

Seeing her silence, An Lin nervously touched her neck. Suddenly, her hand froze.  

"This… What is this? My neck… it turned to stone? How could this happen?"  

An Lin trembled as she raised her hands in front of her.  

"My hands, my hands, why have they also turned to stone? Can you help me?"  

She looked helplessly at Shu Yushuang, but there was nothing Shu Yushuang could do for her.  

"An Lin, you…" Shu Yushuang finally spoke, but her voice was hoarse and frightening. "I think it might be better for you to return to your own room. Maybe it is because you entered someone else's room that this happened."  

"Really?"

Hearing this, An Lin clung to the words as if grasping a lifeline. She opened Shu Yushuang's door and ran out.  

The moment An Lin left, Shu Yushuang immediately locked the door again and pushed a table against it to block it.  

An Lin had not turned to stone because she entered someone else's room; it was because she had been attacked by that man.  

But if Shu Yushuang did not find a way to trick her into leaving, she feared that An Lin might attack her.  

Once attacked by someone who had mutated, the victim's skin would also turn to stone, and Shu Yushuang did not know how to reverse it.  

"Sorry, I know this is unfair to you, but… I cannot save you, and I do not want to die so soon."  

Shu Yushuang mumbled a few words toward the door, forcing herself to suppress the guilt in her heart.  

She had no way of helping An Lin, but if An Lin stayed in her room, it might end up putting her own life at risk.

In the dungeon, ensuring one's own safety was the most important thing.  

The next day, Shu Yushuang saw An Lin again, who now appeared strikingly "normal."  

However, her entire body, except for her head, was completely wrapped up, clearly having been assimilated by the townsfolk.  

When Shu Yushuang looked at her through the door, it seemed like a coincidence, but An Lin was also looking directly at Shu Yushuang's room.  

A sudden chill rose in Shu Yushuang's heart.  

Even though she knew An Lin could not come inside now, she instinctively took a few steps back.

An Lin only glanced in this direction before quickly walking off to another place.  

Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

Shu Yushuang let out a sigh of relief but no longer dared to look outside.  

Although she still did not fully understand why An Lin had been attacked last night, she already had a theory in her mind.  

First, it seemed that the residents of this building could only attack Executors when they entered that special room. Second, the residents outside the building might target Executors who appeared outside, then wait until nightfall to come inside the building and find an opportunity to attack their target.  

On the first night, the outside residents targeted Shu Yushuang. However, after she successfully fought back, they abandoned their plan.  

On the second night, their target had been An Lin, who had gone out with Shu Yushuang.  

Perhaps they could only attack those who had been outside.

So, had An Lin been indirectly harmed because of her?  

Thinking of this, Shu Yushuang felt another wave of guilt.  

But she knew now was not the time for self-blame. She was constantly in danger herself.  

Those residents could attack her again at any moment, especially since she couldn't stay indoors forever.  

If she stayed inside, she would starve to death in her room and fail to complete the first task.  

Fortunately, the monsters in this dungeon were not too difficult to deal with. As long as their clothes were torn, they would lose their ability to fight.

It's just that if Shu Yushuang is allowed to deal with a monster alone, she can deal with it without any effort, but if she encounters a group of monsters, it's hard to say what the outcome will be.

Still can't take it lightly.

She must be more cautious and never give these monsters a chance to attack her together.

Today is only the third day of entering the dungeon. It is safe to stay in this room for the time being. There is no need to be so anxious to find clues.

Shu Yushuang decided to take a rest in the room, adjust her condition, and wait for the best time to appear.

She knew that sometimes being too anxious would bring greater danger.

Shu Yushuang lay there for several days.

During this time, she would go out every three days to buy food, and for the rest of the time, she stayed in her room without ever leaving.  

Of course, every time she went out, she would quietly observe the room diagonally across from hers.  

Over this period, the door to that room was opened seven times in total, but each time, it was a different "person" who opened it.  

The only constant was the pile of corpses in the room.

But she noticed that every day at dawn, the resident of that room would leave for an hour, and during that hour, there were no living things in the room.  

This happened for several days, and after figuring out the pattern, she finally made up her mind to investigate that room at dawn.  

Comfortably resting during the day to recharge her energy, after waking up, she stood by the door, watching the room diagonally across.  

Finally, the door opened.  

After the resident left, she didn’t rush out but patiently waited until the footsteps outside disappeared before opening her own door.  

However, she wasn’t the only one who chose to act today.  

Shu Yushuang walked toward the room diagonally opposite.

Although her movements were light, in the silent corridor, even the slightest sound was amplified countless times.  

Then, she heard a heavy stone door creak open.  

Shu Yushuang immediately turned around, alert, and looked toward the source of the sound. She saw a person, dressed in long sleeves and pants, had opened the door. It seemed like another town resident.  

The resident walked toward her with large strides. Shu Yushuang had no way to avoid them and could only quickly slip into the room behind her.  

Once she locked the door, she finally relaxed.  

She didn't dare turn on the lights and could only use the flashlight on her phone to check the situation in the room.

The mountain of corpses was still in the center of the room, and Shu Yushuang vaguely felt that it seemed to have grown larger than before.  

What made her suspicious was that these corpses showed no signs of decay and emitted no smell at all.  

Shu Yushuang shone the flashlight on the mountain of corpses, carefully observing each body from top to bottom.  

Just as she focused all her attention on the bodies, there was a knock on the door.  

Shu Yushuang's hand jerked, and her phone almost fell to the ground.  

She didn't say anything. Instead, she silently stepped back and hid by the door.  

Shu Yushuang took a few deep breaths to calm her wildly beating heart.

Seeing that the knock was fruitless, the person outside spoke up: "Don't worry, I'm also an executor."

Shu Yushuang didn’t respond; she couldn’t trust the person outside.

When she still didn’t answer, the person outside’s tone became a bit anxious: "Open the door, I’ll prove it to you. We don’t have much time; the people living here will be back soon."

Shu Yushuang hesitated for a moment, but then immediately took action.

She put the anti-theft chain on the door and opened it a crack.

The person outside cooperatively extended an arm inside.

She had already rolled up her sleeves in advance, and Shu Yushuang saw that her arm was like a normal person’s, unlike the residents of the town whose arms were made of stone.

"Well, do you believe me now?" 

The girl lowered her sleeves and playfully winked at Shu Yushuang.

"Why are you dressed like this?"

"To blend in safely with the residents."

"Does it work?"

The girl shrugged. "Anyway, they haven't attacked me so far."

"Where did you get those clothes?"

"I bought them on the street."

After hearing that, Shu Yushuang didn’t say anything else. She just started thinking to herself, wondering if she should also buy a set of clothes next time she went out.

She continued to observe the pile of corpses.

But the girl seemed to be a chatterbox. She asked Shu Yushuang, "By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Qi Qi, and you?"

"Shu Yushuang."

Shu Yushuang didn’t turn around, she just stated her name.

Qi Qi walked over to her side and also started observing the pile of corpses.

Then Qi Qi asked again, "How many times have you been in a dungeon?"

"First."

"I thought so."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. You've been looking at these corpses. Are there any clues on them?"

"No."

"…Alright, you can take your time here. I'll go look inside."

Qi Qi walked past Shu Yushuang, and Shu Yushuang didn't pay attention to what she was doing. She just continued focusing on the pile of corpses.

A few seconds later, she gently poked one of the corpses with the stone knife in her hand.

"Why is it so hard?"

It turned out that although the corpses still looked like normal flesh, they had actually turned into stone.

Is there something wrong with this room? But where...

Shu Yushuang didn't dare touch the corpses directly with her hands. She used the stone knife to carefully move each one, which was very laborious.

Fortunately, she managed to clear all the corpses before the residents returned.

At that moment, Qi Qi also came over.

It was unclear whether it was a coincidence or if she had been waiting for Shu Yushuang to finish before coming over.

But Shu Yushuang didn’t have the mood to argue with Qi Qi.

Her face was serious as she looked at the cleared area in front of her.

There, she found a circular secret door, covered in strange symbols.

Qi Qi was also surprised as she looked at the secret door.

She asked Shu Yushuang, "Should we go down and take a look?"

"We don't have time. We'll go tomorrow. Help me move these corpses back."

This time, the two of them worked together, and the speed was much faster.

Afterward, they quietly left the room and agreed to come back here together at dawn the next day.

The corridor remained silent, and it seemed that their actions today had not attracted anyone's attention.