Why is my Isekai in the Slice of Life anime was become a Horror Story?

Chapter 35: The Buried Secrets Begin to Surface

This place and the damp, waterlogged first floor from earlier no longer seemed to be the same.

Takahashi Takakai cautiously scanned the corridor ahead.

He noticed that the floor of the hallway was completely dry, with barely any dirt or dust, as though it had been cleaned regularly.

Although there were some cracks on the walls, there were no cobwebs or dust visible.

Looking up, he stared at the glowing light fixture hanging in the corridor.

The warm golden light brought a hint of coziness, and the brand-new bulb was spotless.

Takakai moved forward, turned the corner of the hallway, and immediately noticed a photo album resting on a cabinet at the corner.

Opening the album, he found pictures of a child with blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked like a doll—adorable and full of life.

A tall, blonde man frequently appeared in the photos. He was either holding the child, lifting her high in the air with a hearty laugh, or walking beside her, gazing at her with tender eyes. On the last page of the album was a photo of a sleeping infant, accompanied by an English inscription: "You are my world."

Was this Sanchez and his daughter?

He must have been trapped in this apartment back when it could still connect to the outside world, when the residents who were drawn in could still leave. If the exit to this apartment was located in China, wouldn't Sanchez have needed to fly to see his daughter? No, even resolving immigration and customs procedures alone would have been a major challenge. In such a situation, how would he explain his sudden appearance to local authorities?

In other words, would it have been nearly impossible for him to ever see his daughter again?

Realizing this, Takakai could somewhat understand why Sanchez took the risk of experimenting with Room 304, as well as why others supported and aided him in violating the rules.

However, discussing past events no longer held any meaning.

Regardless, the only thing left was to move forward and uncover the secret that Room 109 was hiding.

Thinking this, Takakai unconsciously touched his waist but felt nothing. Realizing something was off, he looked down and discovered that the rope once tied around his waist had vanished.

The rope was cutting?! No, it had completely disappeared.

If it had merely snapped, the portion wrapped around his waist should still be there. Yet, there were no traces of the rope on him. Moreover, his previously soaked shoes and pants were now completely dry. Only the badge remained securely in place, along with the black wristwatch on his left hand. Aside from these, everything on him was the same as when he first woke up in this apartment.

Takakai realized something.

He stepped forward, walking through the corridor until he stood in front of the living room door.

Next to the living room door, at the end of the hallway, hung a wall clock. Its design was identical to the clock on the second floor. However, the difference lay in the fact that the hands of this clock were utterly still, completely frozen in place, as if time itself had stopped.

Takakai leaned his face closer to the wall clock.

He didn't intend to move the hands.

Instead, he gazed at his reflection on the polished metallic surface of the clock.

The face reflected back was shattered in the middle—crushed and mangled by a truck.

After stepping into this room, would my "identity" transform from a living person into a corpse?

In other words, just like the illusory scene him witnessed last time, is this too merely a shadow of some moment in the past?

Confirming this thought, Takahashi Takakai turned around without hesitation, opened the door to the living room, and stepped inside.

In the very next moment, before his eyes appeared a series of photos suspended in mid-air, connected by a string. Along with these were newspaper clippings, book pages, and handwritten notes filled with various contents.

The walls were densely covered with documents and information. The table was cluttered with thick books and stacks of files, the floor littered with shredded paper. In one corner of the room stood an old desktop computer, while the air was heavy with the clear, lingering scent of printer ink.

Takakai reached out and picked up a piece of paper cut from a book.

[Top Ten Horror Stories in China: The Mysterious Vanishing Apartment!]

[The cursed, untraceable apartment where its residents, even in death, cannot escape.]

At first glance, it seemed to be a rumor collected from urban legends.

Without hesitation, Takahashi picked up another newspaper clipping.

[Disappearing Apartment? Rescue Team Mysteriously Vanishes—What's the Truth?]

[When questioned, those involved remembered nothing related to the event. Was it all just collective psychosis?]

He studied the papers closely, stepping nearer to the wall, examining each document carefully, memorizing every detail.

The information included various forms of documentation, along with handwritten thoughts and investigative notes by someone.

There was no doubt that all of this was the work of the man named Sanchez. During his days in Apartment 109, he had spared no effort in gathering information about the Shirakawa Apartment from every possible source, preparing for his final action.

[Investigative Journalist Tracks Down Addresses on the Street, Discovers a Nameless Apartment That Mysteriously Disappeared—Officials Call It a Data Error]

[No Useful Information Obtained from Questioning Opposite Residents. They Vividly Remember the Great Flood They Experienced but Completely Forget That an Apartment Called Shirakawa Ever Existed Across From Them. Everyone Has Forgotten This Place.]

[Newly Inaugurated Commercial District, City's Latest Urban Development to Attract Throngs of Merchants!]

[Former Suburban Area Now a Bustling Commercial Hub, Yet the Vacant Lot Once Occupied by Shirakawa Apartment Remains Unused. Although Surrounded by Urban Sprawl, That Plot Remains Untouched. Why Do People Subconsciously Avoid Developing This Area?]

[City Rescue Team Completes Reorganization, Committed to Ensuring Public Safety!]

[Accessing Rescue Team Archives Reveals No Records of Teams Assigned to Shirakawa Apartment. Were Their Files Erased? Or Did the Apartment Swallow Them Whole After Their Deaths, Leaving No One to Remember?]

[Residents Trapped in the Apartment Can Still Temporarily Leave to Meet Close Acquaintances, Like Family or Close Friends. However, Casual Acquaintances, Superiors, and Colleagues Will Gradually Forget Everything About Them.]

[Nevertheless, as long as they are alive, traces of their existence in the real world can still be found. Relevant information can still be retrieved.]

[Xu Sheng... if you are truly alive, why is there no information about you? Why is there a rescue team uniform hidden in your wardrobe? How much are you hiding from us? Are you really doing this for everyone, or are you just using us?]

[The apartment number for Shirakawa still exists, and information about this place hasn't been completely erased. Perhaps there are still some clues. Maybe I need to change my approach.]

[Infiltrated the city police station and found the resident registry for Shirakawa Apartment from back then. Information about the occupant of Room 304 was destroyed and irrecoverable—only the move-in date could be found.]

[Tracked down all former residents of Shirakawa Apartment. No survivors were found. All residents living at the same time or after Room 304 was rented died within a year of the flood. Their families hold no valuable information.]

[Perhaps this investigative direction is wrong. If the police station still retains some documents, maybe other clues can be found?]

[Investigated the old archives of the police station and found a record of a conflict resolution between the residents of Rooms 304 and 309. The original mediation document is missing, but based on the report, it might have been a family dispute. However, no more useful information could be obtained.]

[Why Room 309?]

[Discovered that the residency record for Room 309 was altered; an unrecorded relocation occurred, and no information about the previous occupant could be found.]

[Further investigation into the conflict mediation yielded new results. At the time, an audio recording was made, stored on a cassette tape. I obtained the cassette tape; now I need a cassette player to listen to it. However, such devices have long been out of production—where can I buy one?]

Each document sketched the investigative journey into Shirakawa Apartment's past, led by the man named Sanchez.

It must be said, Sanchez was remarkably resourceful, even infiltrating various places to gather useful information and uncovering a significant number of clues.

However, much of the information he left here was not particularly useful. Most of his investigations ended in failure. From Takakai's perspective, the most notable detail was the information related to Room 309.

Room 309 was the room Xu Sheng had mentioned in the rule list as the place he once lived.

Previously, everyone's focus had always been on Rooms 109 and 304, while Room 309 received little attention. After all, in Takakai's and others' eyes, it was simply where the previous organizer of the survivors' group had lived.

But now, after discovering Sanchez's investigation, Takakai had to add Room 309 to the list of rooms requiring special attention.

He walked over to the desk piled with documents, pulled out a chair, sat down, and reached for the journal on the table.

[I secretly made a copy of the key to Room 309 and, taking advantage of Xu Sheng's absence on Sunday, entered his room.]

[Found nothing.]

[That room is no different from any other room in Shirakawa Apartment.]

[Maybe I need to visit at night to see if anything unusual happens?]

[I've decided to take a risk and stay in that room overnight. Currently, the "problem" in Shirakawa Apartment is not very active. Although I, someone who has switched rooms, am at greater risk, I must find some useful clues this time.]

[Nothing.]

[Whether day or night, Room 309 shows no abnormalities.]

[Could my assumptions be wrong?]

[Perhaps I need to return to Room 304. Although it's fraught with danger, it might hold truly valuable clues.]

[But during my last exploration of Room 304, I made some noise and got caught. Next time, I need to be more careful.]

This person even went so far as to make a key to Room 309 and sneak inside to stay there for an entire day…

Takakai frowned and continued flipping through the pages.

Many pages of the journal were torn out or left completely blank, with no writing at all. As a result, he had to turn several pages before finding one with text.

[6th Record of Exploring Room 304]

[Although I've entered this room many times, it's still hard to get used to the environment here. The entire room feels completely overturned, with everything blending into a maze-like world.]

[It's extremely challenging to traverse this area under the gaze of "them." Fortunately, just a small noise can attract their attention.]

[This time, I at least need to thoroughly investigate the state of the living room.]

The sixth time?!

Room 304 can be entered so easily?

[11th Record of Exploring Room 304]

[I've confirmed three distinct entities different from the other corpses: one adult man, one adult woman, and one young boy.]

[Why do the three of them set out four sets of tableware?]

[14th Record of Exploring Room 304]

[They are repeating behaviors from when they were alive. The man, after getting drunk, beats the woman again. This is the first time I've witnessed such brutal domestic violence.]

[I stole a few debt slips. This family had many.]

[The man's name is Li Youtai, and his wife's name is Xu Jiazheng. Just the debt slips I took reveal debts exceeding 100,000 yuan. How could someone living in a place like this owe so much money?]

[19th Record of Exploring Room 304]

[Today, the two adults called the boy by name. His name is Li Mang.]

[To date, I've observed six different repeated behaviors from them during their lifetimes. Each time, it's just these three individuals, but whenever there's a meal, they always set out four sets of tableware. Could there be a fourth person in the room whom I've yet to discover?]

[If that's the case, the boy's voice is quite distinctive. But according to the descriptions of residents who experienced the knocking incident, the cries of the knocker were sorrowful yet sharp, sounding more like a young girl's sobs.]

[There's definitely something I haven't uncovered.]

[Room 304 surely has a hidden room. A concealed space somewhere. If I can find it, all the secrets will be revealed.]

[21st Record of Exploring Room 304]

[I know her name now. Her name is——]

Takakai closed his eyes.

He didn't continue reading, nor did he look at the words on the journal page.

The pungent smell of alcohol filled the air behind him, accompanied by the heavy breathing of a man.

A woman's coughing echoed in the room, along with the sound of slow, deliberate footsteps approaching from behind.

There was also the giggling of a child. It even felt as though small fingers were lightly poking his back, one after another.

"..."

Takakai remained silent, unmoving, just sitting still.

The voices of the three sounded right behind him, bit by bit.

It was as though this was truly their home, and they were living here.

The sounds persisted for a few minutes, then gradually faded and disappeared completely.

Only when the smell of alcohol dissipated entirely did Takakai open his eyes again. He looked down at the journal in his hand.

He turned to the next page, skipping over the earlier records.

[22nd Record of Exploring Room 304——]

But from this page onward, all entries had been torn out, leaving nothing else readable.