The playboy university student Kong Haoxia kept his right thumb in his mouth, constantly moving it up and down as his jaws clenched and unclenched.

His pale complexion far exceeded that of the other four.

His entire body was trembling.

He was aware of it, but it was the kind of trembling he couldn't control.

It was the first time in his life he had personally witnessed someone die right in front of him.

And it was a murder, and such a cruel method at that.

He remembered that when that guy called Jiang Ran was using the chainsaw to hack at the neck of that man in his fifties, he was smiling.

Too perverted, what kind of psychopath is this?!

Even though he had played plenty of murder-themed computer games, or watched related videos.

Kong Haoxia still admitted to himself that he didn't have the courage to kill a person like Jiang Ran did.

"Let's go, it seems this welcome party can't be held anymore."

Yang Kang was the first to stand up, heading towards the door.

The rest of the group also stood up one after another.

Kong Haoxia was the last to rise, hurriedly catching up to the end of the line.

He took a final look back; only the two managers remained in the activity room.

Manager Mao Li Zhishu walked over to the headless corpse.

The soles of the black leather boots he wore were stained red with blood.

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from Cherry Blossom Country from his pocket.

He took one out, lit it, and put it in his mouth.

After taking a few puffs, he said:

"Some people really don't think before they act. Was that someone you could afford to mess with?"

This remark was directed at the long-dead old resident.

Manager Wu Meiling asked Manager Mao Li Zhishu for a cigarette, similarly lit it, and began puffing away:

"It's been a long time since I've seen a murder scene so directly. Looks like I'll have to arrange a date with a handsome young guy tonight to properly relieve some stress."

Manager Mao Li Zhishu chuckled: "Who says otherwise? I'm also planning to meet someone tonight to relax properly."

...

The five of them, Yang Kang and the others, returned to Wang Zhong's Room 501.

Back in Room 501, everyone fell silent.

At that moment.

Two out of the five people's phones chimed.

Those two picked up their phones, and upon seeing something, their eyes immediately widened as they looked towards Lü Youwei.

Sensing their gazes, Lü Youwei, sitting on a small wooden chair, raised an eyebrow and said, "Why are you looking at me?"

The other two also seemed to notice the situation.

They heard the first two who had picked up their phones say, "Look at that group chat."

So they also took out their phones to check.

After looking.

Wei Xinyu couldn't hold back, turning angrily towards one side: "Lü Youwei! You actually went behind our backs and agreed to that 'pay-for-life' thing with that Artist?"

Hearing this, Lü Youwei's face changed color, and he hurriedly pulled out his phone.

Once the phone was out.

He tapped into that group chat.

He found a screenshot in the group.

The screenshot was of his private chat with the Artist.

The gist of the content was that he was willing to pay 10 million to save his life.

Following the screenshot was a message from the Artist: "Someone has already paid up, the rest of you better hurry!"

Looking at it, Lü Youwei shot to his feet, cursing loudly: "That idiot! Didn't I tell him not to reveal that I paid, to keep it a secret for me?!"

"Oh, so you admit it?!"

Wei Xinyu's gaze grew increasingly hostile.

The others' emotions were pretty much the same.

"It's not my fault! It's not my fault! I just want to get out of here alive!"

Lü Youwei suddenly exploded at the other four.

"Don't you want that too?"

"Even if the Artist's guarantee might be fake, aren't you afraid it might be true? Don't you want to take that gamble?!"

The other four didn't make a sound, only their expressions changed.

"And, I was just unlucky, the first one to go to him, that's all."

"Alright, it's very late now, I want to go back to sleep."

Lü Youwei slammed open the security door with a bang, and then slammed it shut with another bang.

"What do we do now?"

Wei Xinyu seemed somewhat lost and panicked.

Wang Zhong pondered and said, "Actually, I was thinking. He said paying money guarantees the top three to leave Alice Apartment. But what if none of us pay from start to finish, or only Lü Youwei pays? How would that work?"

"I'll go ask."

Kong Haoxia said.

Soon, the Artist's reply appeared in the group chat:

"If none of you participate in paying from start to finish, then by the end, all five of you will die here. If only Lü Youwei participates from start to finish, then only Lü Youwei will be protected, the other four will die."

In other words, this protection scheme by the Artist, whether you play or not, you're forced to participate.

"How can it be like this?!"

Wei Xinyu flared up in anger.

Yang Kang stared at his phone screen, deep in thought.

Then, he turned his head, looked out the window at the pitch-black sky, and sighed: "Alright, it's very late now, everyone go back to sleep. We'll discuss this matter tomorrow!"

According to the room assignments discussed earlier.

Yang Kang and Wei Xinyu were supposed to stay in Lü Youwei's Room 801.

But somehow, Kong Haoxia decided he wanted to go to Lü Youwei's Room 801.

So Yang Kang and Wei Xinyu stayed in Room 501.

Kong Haoxia was escorted to Room 801 by Yang Kang and Wang Zhong.

Lü Youwei didn't have any other opinions about the sudden room swap.

So Kong Haoxia ended up staying there.

After Kong Haoxia and Lü Youwei checked the doors and windows, confirming they were properly locked.

They each washed up and rested.

Lü Youwei slept in the bedroom.

Kong Haoxia slept on the sofa in the living room.

The air conditioner hummed noisily.

Maintaining a warmth inside the room suitable for wearing short sleeves.

11 PM.

Kong Haoxia tossed and turned on the sofa, unable to sleep.

First, the sofa wasn't as comfortable as a bed.

Second, there was no female company.

Kong Haoxia couldn't be happy without a woman; he needed a woman to accompany him every night.

Which was why he couldn't sleep tonight.

He sat up, looking around the pitch-dark living room.

No choice, he picked up his phone, turned on the flashlight, went to his suitcase to find a pair of Bluetooth earphones, then hurried to the bathroom and locked the bathroom door from inside.

After locking it, he put on the Bluetooth earphones.

Took off his pants.

Then opened a website on his phone's browser.

Everything after that happened naturally, beyond his control.

This scene was watched very clearly by the people in the two live stream rooms.

Of course, the private parts were pixelated.

Preserving a shred of his final dignity.

[Wait, does Kong Haoxia not know there are cameras all over this apartment? Or does he just not care?]

[Isn't this incredibly embarrassing?]

In the Far Neighbor game live stream room, a night owl who was still awake at this hour stared at the scene, stunned.

Another person typed: [He should know. After all, they all learned about this game in advance through connections and channels.]

[As for why he'd do this knowing there are cameras... he probably really couldn't hold back. Of course, he might also just not care.]

Immediately below, a stream of comments like "legend", "amazing", and similar phrases kept appearing.

Later, another person typed:

[Usually, it's the person doing what Kong Haoxia is doing who feels embarrassed.]

[But actually, with this kind of thing, if I'm not embarrassed, then you're the one who's embarrassed.]

[He's not embarrassed, so we, the live stream viewers, should be the ones feeling awkward.]

[And, think about it, he's managing to jerk off with so many wealthy people across the country watching him live.]

[If it were you, could you achieve this honor?]

[In game terms, this would directly count as completing a super achievement!]

[Dammit, I'm really jealous!!!]