The Eyeball in the Lock

A Qiu absolutely refused to let him leave, clinging to him tightly: "I can't open the door anyway. I'll pay you, please just help me open it, take a quick look, and then you can go. I'll pay an extra hundred yuan."

"Deal."

A Qiu: "You agreed way too fast, Brother Cheng."

Cheng Li smiled with squinted eyes, "No one turns their back on money."

He took A Qiu's key and inserted it into the lock. Sure enough, he felt something blocking it, just as A Qiu had described. Under A Qiu's fearful yet curious gaze from behind, Cheng Li pulled the key out, leaned down, and peered into the keyhole.

A pale, white eyeball inside the lock turned slightly, its dark pupil staring straight back at Cheng Li. It was as if someone had upgraded the resolution of this eyeball to the absolute maximum—so sharp that even without perfect vision, one could clearly see every blood vessel and iris pattern, far clearer than the ultra-high definition of any video software.

Cheng Li instantly recognized what this thing was.

A Wu Guai.

A type of monster that loved to parasitize other people's homes. The source of its resentment was accumulated from the collective grudges of office workers who couldn't afford to buy houses.

It had no special offensive power, only a bizarre hobby: it loved to place its eyeballs in unexpected places, then watch humans experience fear upon seeing them.

The more terrified humans were, the happier it became.

But today, it had failed.

The Wu Guai's eyeball and Cheng Li's gaze locked for a full minute, yet it couldn't sense even a flicker of fear from him. There was only a single emotion. The Wu Guai focused its senses and discovered that this emotion was annoyance.

The other party was annoyed.

Since they had been staring for too long, A Qiu asked timidly, "Brother Cheng, did you see something?"

Cheng Li stood up straight and replied with a smile, "Nothing."

It was just that his smile made A Qiu instinctively sense a hint of danger.

Having said that, Cheng Li inserted the key into the lock once more. This time, he didn't hold back at all and shoved it in forcefully. A distinct sound of piercing flesh immediately echoed from inside the lock. His smile grew wider and wider, while A Qiu kept asking from behind, "Brother Cheng, I heard something. What was that sound?"

Cheng Li leisurely turned the key once, then pushed open the door to A Qiu's house.

The house behind the door was both cozy and creepy.

Cozy because the layout and decorations were very exquisite and cute. Creepy because the decor style was clearly that of a young girl's preference, filled with soft teddy bears and pink bow curtains fluttering throughout the room.