"I've thought about it for a long time, and finally embarked on this path of collecting."
"Would you like to see my collection?"
Zhou Wu's lips were twitching uncontrollably now.
At first, he thought Xiao Xing was recounting his own tragic experiences.
But then suddenly, there was talk about some painter and turning people into specimens?
He wondered, had Xiao Xing been reading too many web novels?
Had he lost his mind?
Who did he think he was scaring?
Did he think Zhou Wu was some timid woman who'd be easily frightened?
"Sure, show me your collection."
Zhou Wu didn't mind giving him a bit more money - once he was free again, this guy was dead anyway.
As for seeing his collection?
What could a poor bastard possibly have collected?
Just wait until Zhou Wu exposed this ridiculous story about a "collection."
Xiao Xing looked delighted when Zhou Wu agreed.
He immediately walked over to the massive cabinet that occupied half the tiny room.
Though Zhou Wu hadn't been tied up here for long, he'd already noticed how oddly out of place this cabinet looked.
It was simply too big for this cramped space - like housing a giant Buddha statue in a tiny temple.
The cabinet had double doors that slid open sideways.
Equipped with wheels at the bottom, they could be opened with minimal effort.
Xiao Xing pulled them open quickly, unlike those collectors who make a big dramatic production out of revealing their treasures.
But given the cabinet's size, he couldn't expose everything at once - the central section came into view first.
Zhou Wu, still bound to the chair, turned his head to look.
His expression was initially full of disdain.
But as the cabinet doors parted to reveal the center section...
His eyes bulged forward involuntarily.
As more of the cabinet became visible...
His face underwent a dramatic transformation - mouth agape, eyes filled with confusion, incomprehension, then terror.
His facial muscles froze completely.
Finally, the cabinet stood fully open.
And Zhou Wu was utterly shocked.
All his previous contempt vanished instantly, replaced by infinite astonishment and horror.
The cabinet was divided into compartments like a Go board, arranged in neat rows and columns.
And in each compartment was... a human head.
So many of them.
Men and women.
Of all ages.
But that wasn't the most terrifying part.
The most terrifying part was how incredibly lifelike they all looked.
Every facial feature, every strand of hair, every inch of skin...
So realistic it was impossible to tell if they were real or not.
And then there was the most bizarre detail of all:
Every single head in that cabinet was smiling.
Yes, every single one wore an identical smile.
Can you imagine? An entire cabinet full of human heads... all smiling at you?
Zhou Wu was utterly horrified, his heart pounding wildly, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
At this moment, Xiao Xing turned to Zhou Wu and asked: "Well? Not bad for a collection, right? I'm not as good as the painter who introduced me to this, but I think I'm doing alright."
"Zhou Wu, our esteemed resident... would you like to become part of my collection?"
Xiao Xing gave Zhou Wu a friendly smile, then imitated a Western-style bow with his left hand over his chest.
Zhou Wu's face twisted in panic as he screamed: "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"
"WHO WOULD WANT TO BE PART OF YOUR SICK COLLECTION?!"
"AND THESE HEADS HAVE TO BE FAKE! THEY'RE ALL FAKE!"
Initially, the sight of those heads had shocked Zhou Wu to his core, making him feel like his world was collapsing.
This was more shocking than seeing ten million yuan in cash before him!
How was this any different from a horror movie?
A whole cabinet full of human heads!
In the same tiny room with you!
Wasn't this utterly terrifying?
Couldn't he feel the overwhelming sinister aura?
And every single head was smiling, making it even more horrifying!
As his initial shock subsided, Zhou Wu became convinced they must be fake.
Each head represented a human life.
There had to be dozens here - meaning dozens of murders?
Was this some kind of joke?
A mere security guard being a serial killer who murdered this many people?
And never got caught?
The only way to obtain so many heads would be working at a mortuary.
But even then, procuring heads would be extremely risky.
More importantly, how were these heads so perfectly preserved?
No signs of decay at all?
They looked like they belonged to living people...
So they must be figurines or wax replicas!!!!
Faced with Zhou Wu's protests, Xiao Xing just kept smiling without responding.
Then came a loud knocking at the door.
"Ah, they're here," Xiao Xing said cheerfully.
It wasn't clear whether he meant the person outside... or Zhou Wu.
The knocker was a middle-aged man.
Dressed in a white lab coat and black leather shoes, carrying a medical kit diagonally across his body.
Clearly a doctor.
Zhou Wu didn't recognize him, but he never imagined Xiao Xing would have accomplices!
"Did you bring it?" Xiao Xing asked.
The doctor replied calmly: "Yes."
From his Red Cross-marked medical kit, he produced an unopened disposable syringe and a glass vial of medicine.
"What are you doing?! What do you think you're doing?!"
Zhou Wu sensed danger - this sudden appearance of a doctor, the syringe and medicine - clearly they intended something for him.
Xiao Xing leaned down until their eyes were level, four black pupils staring intensely:
"Zhou Wu, our esteemed resident."
"You're lucky."
"After we administer the anesthetic, I'll remove your head painlessly."
"Unlike the others who died in agony."
"Of course, you should thank Alice Apartment... and this doctor here."
Zhou Wu began struggling violently, making the chair rock back and forth:
"XIAO XING! STOP JOKING AROUND! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE DOING? THIS IS ILLEGAL! THEY'LL EXECUTE YOU FOR THIS!!!!"
Xiao Xing remained silent, just smiling.
Zhou Wu completely broke down, screaming: "HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME! IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN SAVE ME?!?!"
"AAAAHHHH! HELP!!!!"
"WAAAAHHHHH—"
He began crying uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down his face: "Xiao Xing, I'm begging you, let me go this once! I'll apologize for what happened yesterday - I'll get on my knees and apologize if you let me go!"
"I'll pay you compensation too! Any amount! How about 100,000 yuan? Not enough? I'll give you 500,000! 500,000 yuan! That's more than you could earn in years!"
"And - you saw my girlfriend when you came to my place last night, right?! Isn't she beautiful?! Let me go and I'll let you have her, do whatever you want with her, throw her away when you're done!! JUST LET ME GO THIS ONCE!!!!"