At 10:00 pm sharp, a food deliveryman wearing a cap knocks on the door of Unit 502.

"Excuse me, are you the one who ordered delivery?"

Unit 502 is an apartment that's rented out to multiple people. There are three rooms here altogether.

The one opening the door is my roommate, William Yates. He has his headphones on and is currently immersed in a game. So, he waves a hand impatiently.

"It wasn't me."

The deliveryman wastes no time in pulling out a machete. Immediately, he slashes William's throat in one fluid motion.

Next, the deliveryman opens the door leading to another bedroom while holding the takeout.

"Did you order delivery?"

That room belongs to a gym trainer named Leon Holton. He's obviously taken aback by the deliveryman's presence.

"Nope. Who are—"

The deliveryman doesn't give Leon a chance to finish his question. He reacts by plunging the machete into Leon's heart.

When I'm done with my shower, I open the bathroom door to see large puddles of blood on the floor as well as the deliveryman, who's wielding a machete.

"They weren't the ones who ordered delivery. Did you do it?"

Scared out of my wits, I subconsciously shake my head. "It's not me! I don't know anything—"

Before I can finish speaking, the deliveryman hacks me to death.

When I open my eyes again, I've gone back five minutes in time before I get murdered in cold blood.

Almost immediately, I rush out of the bathroom, only to see the alarmed expressions plastered all over William's and Leon's faces.

That's when I'm certain that everyone has gotten reborn.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings loudly.

A suppressed masculine voice echoes afterward. "Excuse me, are you the one who ordered delivery?"

I looked at my roommates and noticed that we were wearing matching expressions of terror and disbelief.

William Yates was the first to snap back to his senses. He grabbed his phone, wanting to call the police, but Leon Holton stopped him.

"What are we going to tell the police? We don't have any evidence. It's not like we can tell them that we know we're going to be murdered."

The living room was spotless, devoid of bloodstains or corpses. Furthermore, the deliveryman was still outside. The police would most likely assume that we were prank-calling them.

"We have to find out who placed the order," I said, forcing myself to calm down. "It's clear that he's looking for the person who ordered the food delivery."

William immediately unlocked his phone and showed us his food delivery app, exclaiming, "I haven't ordered any food in a week!"

Leon also grabbed his phone and showed us his delivery orders. "I usually make my own meals that are tailored to my workout routine."

I navigated to my food delivery app and showed them my last order—breakfast from three days ago.

"Could the neighbors have entered our address by mistake when they placed their order?" I asked.

Each floor had two units, and our neighbors were an elderly couple.

Leon shook his head, saying, "Right before I died, I saw the address on the receipt that was attached to the bag. It was addressed to Unit 502."

The three of us looked at each other as a strange air descended upon us. We couldn't help but wonder if someone was lying.

"I really didn't order any food," I said, handing my phone to them to prove my innocence. "You can take a look at my order history."

William and Leon also checked each other's phones, confirming that none of us had ordered food recently.

"Who is it then?" William asked, grabbing his hair nervously.

Just then, I thought of someone. I was just about to grab my phone and dial a number when I heard our landlady, Josie Briar's voice coming from beyond the door.

"Zack, Will, Leon, are you home?"

Josie would drop by our apartment to collect the rent on the fifth of every month. Coincidentally, the fifth was a working day that month, so she showed up later than usual.

The color drained from our faces as our breaths hitched.

The deliveryman spoke then, asking in a low voice, "Excuse me, did you order delivery?"

Josie was momentarily stunned before she turned around and answered, "A delivery? I didn't order any delivery."

The words had just left her lips when the deliveryman raised his machete and slashed it across Josie's neck.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the hallway as Josie collapsed to the ground.

William, Leon, and I trembled in fear.

Josie had always been very kind to us. She knew that we didn't have much money right after graduating, so she didn't charge us much rent. Not only that, but she would also frequently share the food that she made with us.

My hands were shaking when I picked up my phone. I had a hard time getting my fingers to work, and it took several tries before I managed to dial 911.

"Hello, officer—"

I heard the sound of the door being unlocked before I could finish my sentence.

The deliveryman pushed the door open. He shot a sinister smile at me and asked, "What are you doing?"

Goosebumps erupted all over my body.

Josie suddenly crawled toward the deliveryman and grabbed his leg. Using the last of her waning strength, she shouted, "Run!"

The deliveryman impatiently stabbed Josie a couple more times. He then kicked her corpse aside and stalked toward us while brandishing the machete.

Leon lunged at him, hoping to fight him off, but the deliveryman took him out with a single swing of his machete.

Excruciating pain exploded all across my body as the deliveryman plunged the machete's cold blade into my chest.

I blinked in confusion and found myself in the bathroom again.

Leon rushed out of his room at the same time I ran out of the bathroom.

William's voice was thick with tears when he stammered, "W-We traveled back in time again?"

"This is the second time," Leon mumbled, frowning and looking somber.

"We have to come up with a plan this time. We can't let him kill us again," I said while sinking down on the couch and letting out a deep sigh.

The three of us got lost in our thoughts, trying to find a link between our two deaths.

It was obvious that the deliveryman's target was the person who placed the delivery order. He killed William, Leon, and me because we weren't the people he was looking for. The question was—who was his target?

"He's really skilled," Leon said suddenly. "I graduated from a sports academy, so I work out all the time, but I was no match for him just now. His movements make me think that he's a professional. He's probably gone through extensive training."

Just then, someone rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, that terrifying voice resounded in the apartment once again.

"Excuse me, did someone order delivery?"

I quickly glanced at my watch. There were two minutes left before Josie would show up to collect the rent.

"Call Josie now!"

William immediately dialed Josie's number. "Hi, Josie. Zack, Leon, and I caught a cold. We don't want you to catch it, so can you collect the rent from us another day?"

I also hastily called someone whom I didn't get to during my past life. It didn't take long for the call to connect.

"Jane, did you order delivery for me?"

I could hear Jane Quinton chuckling on the other end of the line. "I wanted to thank you for helping me with my reports today. It was supposed to be a surprise. How did you find out?"

So, Jane was the person that the deliveryman was looking for!

I looked at William and Leon. The three of us breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you know the deliveryman? He seems to be adamant about looking for you."

Jane was momentarily stunned. She sounded a little troubled when she replied, "A deliveryman? I only placed my order a few minutes ago. The app hasn't even assigned a deliveryman to the order yet. Is something going on, Zack?"

I was wrong. The deliveryman wasn't looking for Jane.

Time was of the essence at that moment. I immediately hung up on Jane without explaining the situation to her.

"Oh no!" William suddenly exclaimed. "Josie just sent me a voice message."

Josie's voice echoed from the receiver when William tapped the play button.

"All three of you caught a cold? I bet you haven't had dinner yet. I just made some chicken soup. I'll bring some over for you. I'm already on the fifth floor."

The color drained from our faces. It was too late for us to stop Josie.

The elevator doors slid open with a ding.

Josie's voice resounded through the door then, asking, "Oh, are you here to deliver something?"

"Excuse me, are you the one who ordered delivery?" the deliveryman asked in his familiar, low tone.

William, Leon, and I looked through the peephole and saw Josie standing in front of the elevator. She was looking right at the deliveryman.

She had been killed in that exact spot in our last lives.

We had cowardly hid behind the door, watching her die as she tried to save us.

We couldn't let the same thing happen again.

"Open the door," I said resolutely.

William and Leon were momentarily stunned, then nodded.

Leon hastily ran into the kitchen to grab a fruit knife while William picked up a mop.

I slammed the door open and yelled, "Get in here now, Josie!"

William swiftly grabbed Josie before she could react, dragging her into the apartment.

Leon immediately slammed the door shut, but right before it fully closed, the deliveryman shoved his knee into the gap and forced the door open.

The deliveryman stalked into the apartment. His eyes were cast in shadow by the cap he wore, but we could feel him sweeping his gaze over us.

"Did one of you order delivery?"

This time, I chose to step forward, shielding Leon and William behind me.

"I did. What do you want?"

The deliveryman pinned his gaze on me. When he didn't immediately kill me, I knew I had made the right choice.

The deliveryman handed a bag to me, saying, "It's a valuable item. I need you to verify that you received it in good condition before I can leave."

I hesitated for a moment before taking the bag from him. It was extremely light, practically weighing nothing.

I was stunned when I opened the bag. It was completely empty except for a crumpled sticky note. However, before I could get a good look at what was written on the note, the deliveryman raised his machete and drove it into my chest.

Right before I lost consciousness, I heard him hiss, "Liar! It's not you!"

I slumped down on the couch after the third time I sprinted out of the bathroom, letting out a heavy sigh.

William and Leon rushed out of their rooms soon after, looking even more upset than before.

"He killed us after he killed you."

William's voice was thick with tears as he asked, "What did you see inside the bag? Why did you look so shocked?"

I forced myself to calm down before answering, "It was empty. There wasn't anything inside."

"It was empty?" Leon asked, frowning. "Why did he insist that you had to verify it then?"

I shook my head. All I knew was that my thoughts were a complete mess.

"Wait," William said suddenly. "The first time, he killed us right after asking if we were the ones who ordered the delivery. The second time, he killed us without asking us anything. The third time, he still killed us even after Zack told him that he was the one who ordered the delivery.

"Could it be that he's not here to deliver something at all? His true motive is to kill us all along!"

A chill ran down my spine. "But why? We don't even know him."

"Perhaps he's a hired assassin," Leon muttered. "I said it before, didn't I? It's obvious that he's professionally trained."

I shook my head. "But who would go through the trouble to kill us? He must have some sort of motive."

The three of us got lost in our thoughts once again as we began combing through every detail of the incidents that had led us to our current predicament.

I suddenly recalled that there had been a sticky note in the bag. Although I hadn't been able to get a good look at it, I had a strong feeling that I knew what was written on it. However, my guess was a little too far-fetched, so I wanted to verify it with my own eyes first.

I stood and said, "This time, we're not just going to stand around and let him kill us again. I'm going to confront him and ask him what he wants."

William immediately grabbed me, looking alarmed. "No! That's too dangerous! He has a machete with him!"

"Let's go together," Leon chimed in. "We might be able to overpower him."

"It's no use," I said, shaking my head.