When staring into the abyss, people often feel an impulse to jump—it's the self-destructive tendency buried deep within human nature.

But that only applies to those who have never truly faced the abyss. Once you've seen it for what it is, the beauty of life might just bring you to tears.

Ruan Xing had no interest in self-destruction. So, he pulled out his gun with his right hand and lifted his employee badge with his left.

"I'm an employee of this cinema. Is there anything I can help you with?"

For example, sending you to hell.

Fu Gui almost dropped to his knees in admiration.

Bro, how are you staying this calm?!

On the screen, the newlyweds regained their joyful smiles, and the wedding ceremony resumed.

But the heads of several dozen people in the front rows remained frozen, still turned toward Ruan Xing at unnatural angles.

He released the safety on his gun.

"Everyone seems a bit too enthusiastic. How’s the air conditioning? Too warm?"

Gun still raised, Ruan Xing slowly backed away.

Whether it was due to the constraints of the rules or something else, the customers never left their seats. They simply watched as Ruan Xing left.

Fu Gui: [Scared the hell out of me!!!]

The attendant didn’t look particularly pleased when he saw Ruan Xing safely leave the cinema room.  

"Not bad. There's still some time left before the movie ends. Head over to Theater 4 and wait by the door. Once all the guests leave, you’re done for the day."

Having finally hired a new employee, the attendant was eager to offload all his work onto him—classic veteran worker behavior.

After giving instructions, he leisurely walked away.

Ruan Xing soon realized that his movement was restricted to an area within two meters of Theater 4’s entrance.

The hallway lights dimmed. The deep red carpet swallowed the remaining light, making the entire corridor feel like the esophagus of some massive creature—eerie, silent, and quietly digesting the life within.

The sounds from Theater 7 had stopped. Strangely, though, no one came out. As if they had already been completely digested.

Ruan Xing sat outside the theater, casually chatting with the crow.

[How do you find the source of pollution?]

Fu Gui: [The pollution source is the most heavily polluted area, while the polluted zone itself is the manifestation of the strongest lingering obsession within the rules.

To put it simply, the source is like the battery inside a wristband, while the contaminated zone is a whole box of wristbands—you have to find the one with the battery and remove it.]

The analogy felt oddly familiar to Ruan Xing. Before he could think further, a scent drifted through the air.

He had smelled this before—just hours ago, in the hallway on the third floor. That same acrid, pungent odor.

A commotion erupted inside Theater 4.

Someone was banging frantically on the door.

"Open up! Open the door! I know you're out there!"

Ruan Xing wasn’t an idiot. No way he was opening that door.

He distinctly remembered that the theater had no locks. If the guests wanted to leave, they could have opened the door themselves.

Couldn’t… or didn’t dare?

He remained still.

"I need to use the restroom! Hurry and open up!"

That was even more suspicious.

Who the hell begs to use the restroom with that kind of panic? It sounded more like they were being attacked by some kind of shit-spraying machine.

The voice carried both terror and deep-seated hatred.

From inside, another voice yelled: "I’m the owner of this cinema! I order you to open this door!"

Still, Ruan Xing didn’t move.

Black smoke started seeping out from the gap beneath the door.

Another voice shrieked: "Fire! The place is on fire!"

The pounding on the door grew louder. At first, it was just a couple of people hitting the handle. Then the noise intensified, sharp and relentless, as if dozens—no, hundreds—of people were hammering at it all at once.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The violent knocking spread beyond the door—echoing from the surrounding walls as well.

At first, it sounded like hands. Then, something heavier slammed against the door. Finally, the air was filled with desperate screams, wails, curses, and frantic pleas for mercy.

Amid the acrid stench of burning flesh, there was an unmistakable whiff of roasted meat.

Ruan Xing frowned.

"Open up! I know you're out there!" The voice returned, now dripping with rage. "You’re fired! I’ll kill you!"

Ruan Xing stood up.

He placed his hand on the door handle.

The voice suddenly turned ecstatic.

"Yes! That’s it! Open the door! Let me out!"

Ruan Xing let go.

"Liar. The handle is ice-cold. There’s no fire."

In a sealed space like this, if something was truly burning, the flames would already be dangerously close.

Yet, the metal handle—the most heat-conductive part—remained freezing cold.

The voice inside fell silent while the screams grew even more frenzied. The pounding on the door escalated to an earth-shaking level, making the entire hallway tremble.

The commotion was deafening—shrieks, howls, thuds, slams—melding into a chaotic symphony of despair.

Ruan Xing was completely unfazed. He calmly sat back down and turned on his smart brain.

There was no signal inside the polluted zone, so only the most basic functions remained.

He recorded the time and noted that the "disturbance" lasted for about half an hour—exactly the length of the remaining movie runtime.

The moment the film ended, the screams vanished.

The door swung open from the inside.

A stream of people exited in an orderly fashion.

All men.

A chubby guy in a suit, a skinny man in beach shorts, a young guy wrapped in nothing but a towel…

None of them bore a single injury. No burns, no scars—nothing.

But they glared at Ruan Xing with pure malice.

See? These deceitful, polluted creatures do nothing but trick people.

They weren’t actually in any danger at all.

Fu Gui let out a cold scoff.

Ruan Xing stood up and gave a slight nod. "Have a nice evening, everyone."

Their hateful stares lingered until they turned the corner and disappeared.

At the same time, Ruan Xing felt his restrictions lift.

Once all the guests were gone, his shift was finally over.

Fu Gui: [Let’s go, let’s go! I don’t want to stay here for another second!]

But Ruan Xing didn’t leave immediately.

With the customers gone, Theater 4 felt eerily empty.

The massive screen was pitch black.

There was no lingering stench or signs of fire damage.

Everything was spotless and neatly arranged.

Ruan Xing searched the entire theater carefully but found no clues.

"Why are you still here? Your shift is over."

The attendant appeared silently behind him.

"The customers in Theater 4 said there was a fire. I wanted to check."

The waiter sneered. "Customers always love to lie. Just be selective about what you believe."

His attitude toward the customers was… strange.

Ruan Xing pondered for a moment. "Did something happen in Theater 4 before?"

The attendant's footsteps halted. He turned around, and his expression darkened. "I don’t know. But I suggest you stop asking questions and just do your job."

That reaction only confirmed Ruan Xing’s suspicions that something had definitely happened here.

He recalled how one of the voices banging on the door had claimed to be the owner of the cinema.

The first floor had the staff lounge, offices, ticket booth, and lobby. The second floor was entirely theaters.

If this place had a “boss,” then wouldn’t there be an office for them, too?

The attendant returned downstairs, but Ruan Xing didn’t follow. Instead, he changed course and headed up to the third floor.

Theater 7, Theater 4, Theater 8… This cinema had a total of eleven theaters.

At the far end of Theater 11, a locked door caught his attention.

[Can you pick locks?]

Fu Gui: [No, but I can shoot a rocket.]

Ruan Xing shot him a glare.

Fu Gui flapped his wings indignantly. [Just you wait!]

A moment later, the crow returned with a piece of wire in its beak.

[I’ll guide you.]

Ruan Xing twisted the wire and inserted it into the keyhole.

For something so small, Fu Gui sure had a wealth of knowledge.

Combining the crow’s guidance with his own distant memories, Ruan Xing successfully picked the lock.

The door creaked open, revealing a tidy and well-organized office.

He stepped in and switched on the light.

Directly across from the entrance, a massive office desk dominated the room. It was made of mahogany, and its surface gleamed with a faint luster. Beside it stood a large bookshelf filled with folders and documents.

The room didn’t look like it had been abandoned for long—there was very little dust. Then again, that could be caused by the lack of windows.

Most people prefer natural light in their offices, and the higher their status, the more particular they are about their workspaces. It is rare for someone in the position of a cinema owner to not have a single window.

Ruan Xing started flipping through the bookshelf.

The files inside were mostly related to the cinema’s operations and employee records.

One of them contained a familiar face.

Name: Wang Lian.

Date of Birth: June 30, Year 11 (New Calendar)

Residence: Quarantine Zone

Education: Middle school level

Employment History: Previously worked in sales and customer service and ran a small business before joining Happiness Cinema in March, Year 29 (New Calendar). Often worked overtime and lived in the cinema’s employee lounge for years due to financial difficulties.

The posters in the lounge had been dated Year 31—which meant Wang Lian had been working here for at least two years.

Ruan Xing flipped to the manager’s notes:

"Honest. Submissive. Model employee."

Even after being polluted, he was still dutifully clocking in for work.

Fu Gui: [Damn. Even as a polluted creature, he’s still working for his boss? That’s tragic.]

Ruan Xing continued searching the bookshelf but found nothing else useful.

He moved to the desk.

Scattered across the surface were forms, reports… and a photograph.

It was a family portrait.

A fat man in a suit held a little girl in a red floral dress, pressing his lips against her cheek while glancing toward the camera.

The girl smiled brightly, her face full of happiness.

Beside them, a woman with an obscured face covered her mouth, laughing softly.

A picture-perfect family, yet Ruan Xing frowned.

Fu Gui: [Wait… that fat guy in the suit… he’s the boss of this cinema?!]

There had been a certain customer in Theater 4. He had arrived early, and his unusually distinct figure made him easy to remember. Fu Gui recognized him immediately.

And as for the little girl…

[Hold up. Isn’t that the girl who asked for popcorn?!]

"Hee-hee! Uncle, are you looking for me?"

The little girl in the red dress suddenly appeared in the doorway, hugging a bucket of popcorn and wearing the same bright smile as in the photo.

"Uncle, are you here to see Daddy?"

Fu Gui’s feathers bristled. He let out a startled "GAH!"

"Uncle’s popcorn was really tasty!" The girl didn’t seem hostile.

She walked over, spotted the photo on the desk, and climbed up to sit beside it.   

 

Clutching the picture, she giggled. "Hee-hee! I haven’t seen Daddy in so long! Daddy loves Guai Guai* so much! He always buys Guai Guai popcorn!"

(*乖, guāi' = used to praise well-behaved and obedient children.)

 

  Ruan Xing asked, "Where is your daddy now?"

"Daddy went to find the pretty lady."

Ruan Xing glanced at her. "Does Daddy like the pretty lady more than you?"

The girl’s smile froze. "No! Daddy loves me the most! Daddy tells me bedtime stories every night! He would never stop loving me!"

Ruan Xing narrowed his eyes. "What about your mommy?"

The girl giggled again. "Mommy was bad. Mommy wanted to leave Daddy, so Daddy killed her!"

Ruan Xing glanced at his wristband and saw that the pollution level was fluctuating.

He slowly stepped back.

"Guai Guai, why don’t you stay here for a bit? Uncle has to go to work."

The girl’s head snapped up. "Uncle gave Guai Guai popcorn. Uncle is a good person. Uncle should stay with Guai Guai and Daddy forever!"

Her smile stretched wider—far too wide.

Her lips split open to her ears, then her entire upper jaw snapped back like a flip phone, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth and a long, black, flexible tongue.

A warped voice gurgled from the depths of her throat: "Uncle, don’t go to work. I’ll tell Daddy. Uncle can stay with me forever."

Fu Gui: [Damn it! So what if your dad is the boss?!]

Ruan Xing drew his gun and narrowed his eyes. "If Uncle doesn’t go to work, he won’t be able to see Guai Guai again."

The girl’s small body suddenly expanded, growing to the size of an adult. Her dress ripped apart, revealing bulging, jet-black muscles beneath.

Her voice, distorted like a recording through a broken speaker, whispered: "If I eat Uncle… we can be together forever… just like how Daddy ate Mommy."