Chapter 35 The Monster in Room 107: The Knowledgeable Zombie Taoist Priest...

Zhou Fangdong began frantically calling out to the system in his mind: "System! System! Can I leave the apartment now?"

[The host cannot leave the apartment. Leaving the apartment premises will result in immediate death, from which there is no chance of revival.]

Zhou Fangdong jumped up and down twice on the spot: "See, I'm not dead!"

The host is currently located in the atrium garden between the two apartment buildings, which is within the apartment complex and does not count as leaving the apartment.

"Oh, I see." Zhou Fangdong was still very happy and not discouraged at all.

Although I still can't leave the apartment, it's nice to be able to stroll in the garden every day and enjoy the sunshine during the day.

Zhou Fangdong squinted at the azure sky above, which was divided into several sections by the covered bridge.

Those covered walkways are used to connect the two buildings of the Liwan Apartments. Walking directly along the walkways, you can walk from the front building of the apartments to the back building where the bodies are kept.

Zhou Fangdong counted the floors and found that the corridor bridge started from the fifth floor.

It's alright then, he hasn't even finished cleaning the first floor yet.

The sunlight in the garden was just right. I don't know if it was because these two buildings blocked most of the sunlight, but even though it was the height of summer, the sun wasn't too strong and it felt as refreshing as spring or autumn.

Zhou Fangdong stretched and loosened up his body.

Humans, just like plants, really do need sunlight.

If he continued to stay in that dark and gloomy apartment, Zhou Fangdong felt that he would become depressed sooner or later.

Breathing in the long-awaited fresh air and gazing at the long-lost blue sky, Zhou Fangdong finally began to explore the garden after a while.

He first walked to the very edge of the garden and circled it. The garden was surrounded by five-meter-high iron fences on both sides, each topped with sharp points wrapped in wire. Without the ability to fly, it would be impossible to leave the Liwan Apartments through this open space.

However, Zhou Fangdong's purpose in circling the garden was not to leave. Near the back building, behind a flower bed, he found what he was looking for.

—Liwan Apartment Waste Disposal Station.

The waste treatment station looks like an upside-down, square metal box, similar to the kind of mobile metal sheds used by construction workers on a construction site.

The garbage station had no door, only two windows, with the words "Human Garbage" and "Ghost Garbage" painted in red above them.

Currently, both windows are boarded up and nailed shut, and the iron plates on the surface of the waste disposal station are rusty, making it look like they could collapse at any moment.

Next to the garbage disposal station was a small building that looked like a security booth, with doors and windows. Zhou Fangdong peeked inside and saw a small single bed. However, it seemed to have been uninhabited for a long time, as the bedding was covered in blackish-gray dust.

Two tricycles with cargo beds were parked next to the security booth, which looked like they were used for transporting garbage.

Next to the tricycle, there is a sealed iron gate at the iron fence. Opening this gate should allow you to drive the tricycle away from the apartment.

When Zhou Fangdong returned after completing his circuit, the system's electronic voice suddenly sounded:

[Beep—Host detected that the Liwan Apartment garbage disposal station has been located. The garbage station is preparing to resume operation and is initiating automatic repair.]

Repair time: 2 hours

Zhou Fangdong had originally planned to look for items in the system shop to repair the garbage station, but unexpectedly it repaired it automatically... That's great, it saved him ghost coins.

Room 107 is currently being cleaned, and the automatic repair system at the garbage collection station will also take some time to complete...

Zhou Fangdong thought for a moment, opened the rental interface, clicked on the small Taoist temple icon in the north, and directly selected teleportation.

Just like being teleported to a tenant's room, Zhou Fangdong appeared in the main hall of Chuyun Temple in the blink of an eye.

There are no statues of gods in the main hall of Chuyun Temple. The altars where the statues were originally placed have been pieced together to create a large communal bed similar to a kang (heated brick bed), with rows of quilts neatly laid out on it.

Zhang Qingyang wasn't exaggerating; it really was thirty-two sets of bedding.

The large communal sleeping area already occupies most of the room's space, while the remaining small portion is occupied by four tables and various ingredients such as rice, flour, and cooking oil.

These things make the room look less like the main hall of a Taoist temple and more like a small post-apocalyptic shelter.

Pushing open the palace door and stepping out of the main hall, a small, square courtyard comes into view.

Apart from the main hall, there are no other buildings in Chuyun Temple that can provide shelter from the wind and rain. The main hall is surrounded by a wall, forming a '口' shape, which is the small courtyard space where Zhou Fangdong is now.

On the east side of the courtyard, close to the main hall, stands a large, leafy tree. Zhou Fangdong couldn't identify its species. The tree must be quite old; its trunk is about the thickness of three adults' arms.

Beneath the tree were several statues of deities, their heads covered with red cloth. Zhang Zhiwu sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, nestled in the shade of the tree alongside the statues. Layers of yellow talismans obscured half his face, making his expression impossible to discern. His body remained motionless, as if he were asleep, perfectly blending into the group of statues.

Apart from Zhang Zhiwu, Zhou Fangdong did not see any other adults in the courtyard, and he did not know where Zhang Qingyang had gone.

To cover the daily expenses of the Taoist temple, the adults in the temple would go out to work during the day wearing the talismans given to them by Zhang Qingyang, and they would only return to live there at night.

The ordinary people sheltered by Izumo Temple are those with physical disabilities who can only find odd jobs or make a living by scavenging.

These people, struggling to make ends meet and unable to afford the exorbitant rents in the city, came to the suburbs to try their luck. During their attempt, they encountered ghosts and monsters, and were rescued by Zhang Qingyang while being chased by them.

Besides these adults, there are also some children in the temple who have lost both parents or have physical disabilities. They do not leave the temple during the day and stay in the temple to help with cleaning and cooking.

As Zhou Fangdong emerged from the main hall, after surveying the courtyard, his gaze met that of a child holding a broom in the center of the courtyard.

The child, who had a large bruise on his face, let out a scream like an air raid siren upon seeing Zhou Fangdong appear out of nowhere: "Master Qingyang!! There's a ghost!!!"

Zhang Qingyang was cooking at the stove behind the main hall when he heard the scream. He grabbed a ladle and rushed out: "Where did this wild ghost come from, so reckless! Daring to invade the Taoist temple in front of my master, I think you're tired of living... Ah, Mr. Landlord."

Upon seeing that it was Zhou Fangdong, Zhang Qingyang smiled sheepishly and slapped the boy on the back of the head: "You brat, what are you yelling about? This isn't a ghost, it's our Taoist temple's new landlord."

The child with bruises on his face sniffled, looking utterly shocked: "Master Qingyang, why did you sell the Taoist temple? Is our temple finally starving?"

"What do you know, you little brat? Go, go, go and watch the fire by the stove for me." Zhang Qingyang snatched the broom from the child's hand and shoved the cooking spoon into his hands.

"Oh." The child didn't say anything more and ran happily to the back of the main hall.

Just as Zhang Qingyang was about to say something to Zhou Fangdong, he was slapped on the back of the head.

Suddenly, Zhang Zhiwu, who had been sitting cross-legged under the shade of a tree, appeared behind Zhang Qingyang: "You want that little rascal to watch the stove fire? Can he even understand it? You go and watch it too, or we won't be able to have a meal at the Taoist temple today."

Zhang Qingyang smiled apologetically, not daring to refute at all. He nodded apologetically to Zhou Fangdong, then grabbed a broom and ran to the back of the main hall.

Only Zhou Fangdong and Zhang Zhiwu remained in the courtyard.

Zhang Zhiwu stroked his beard, and his tone became much more amiable when he spoke to Zhou Fangdong: "Young friend, is there something you need from me at Chuyun Temple?"

"Here's the thing, I found something strange while cleaning my room today." Zhou Fangdong took out the Medicine Master's Gourd and handed it to Zhang Zhiwu. "Daoist Master, do you know what this is? This thing doesn't feel like a ghost to me, but it has the aura of a ghost."

“Oh, isn’t this my Medicine Master’s Gourd? I remember it was already…” Zhang Zhiwu paused halfway through his sentence, his tone somewhat emotional, “Young friend, you are truly skilled. You can enter and leave that place at will, and you were able to retrieve my gourd. You are truly promising at such a young age.”

Zhang Zhiwu took the gourd, but without opening it, he gently shook it, sniffed the mouth of the gourd, and already knew what was inside: "No wonder you don't recognize it, young friend. This is a monster called 'Blood Shadow Sac,' which should have been extinct for a long time. I didn't expect it to appear in Liwan Apartment."

Hearing him say that, Zhou Fangdong was stunned for a moment.

monster?

By the way, the system keeps talking about the 'ghosts' of Liwan Apartments. If there are ghosts in the apartment, there are naturally monsters as well.

The old man stroked his beard and continued his explanation: "This is a monster formed from human blood, most common in ancient times. If the body of someone who died unjustly has wounds oozing blood at the time of burial and is exposed to direct moonlight for three-quarters of an hour... well, that is, 45 minutes, a blood sac may form."

"This monster has no physical form; most of the time it's just a pool of blood. It won't appear in strong sunlight, and ordinary people can't see it. To distinguish it from ordinary blood, you need to look at its smell and its condition when it's being cleaned."

"The bloodstains formed from the Blood Shadow Sac have a sweet, fishy smell, like rotten fruit, and they can't be cleaned off completely. Even if you wipe them clean, they'll reappear in the same spot."

“In this day and age, corpses are cremated, and there are very few burials anymore. Logically speaking, this kind of thing should be almost extinct…” Zhang Zhiwu paused, stroking his beard, and asked, “Young friend, where in the apartment did you find this Blood Shadow Pouch?”

Room 107.

“Room 107…” Zhang Zhiwu was silent for a moment, as if recalling something. “I remember that there were a few young men in Room 107 who were tricked and used some kind of evil magic to sacrifice themselves. This should be a modern blood shadow sac made from their corpses and blood.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man asked again, "Young friend, are you going to eat this thing or keep it as a pet?"

Hearing him say that, Zhou Fangdong felt a bit uncomfortable in his stomach again.

I'm traumatized now.

“These belong to room 107. I’ll put them back after room 107 is cleaned.” After thinking for a moment, Zhou Fangdong asked, “By the way, Daoist Master, is there any pattern to how this thing behaves if it wants to kill someone?”

He also needs to draft a rental agreement based on the killing patterns of this thing, so let's ask about it all at once.

“Its killing pattern… It only operates at night, and it locates its targets by listening to people's snoring. As long as you don't snore while you sleep at night, it can't harm you.” After a pause, Zhang Zhiwu continued, “Also, it eats people by drilling into their brains through their ears. It specifically targets people's brains. If you're really worried, just put in earplugs when you sleep.”

"However, if you don't know the origin of this thing, it's quite difficult to guard against when it kills people... Young friend, are you going to rent room 107 to your enemy?"

Zhou Fangdong paused for a moment, then told the truth: "No, room 107 is intended to be rented to Zhang Qingyang."

"Hahaha, that's good, that's good, then it's alright." Zhang Zhiwu laughed and returned the Medicine Master's Gourd to Zhou Fangdong. "That kid has been cultivating with me since he was a child, and he knows a lot about the habits of these spirits. Young friend, you can rest assured to rent it to him, it's fine."

We had just started talking about Zhang Qingyang when he came over, carrying a stool.

"Landlord, do you keep ghosts in your apartment? I have a chair that's broken, and I'd like to bring it to your apartment to recuperate."

In the morning, Zhang Qingyang heard from his master that the yin energy in the corridor on the first floor of the apartment had stabilized, and x could reliably nourish the injured souls of ghosts.

He bought this stool from a furniture store when he first learned how to make incense offerings, and it has been with him for many years. The little ghost inside the stool is also very familiar with him, and if possible, Zhang Qingyang wants to find a better environment for this little ghost.

Zhou Fangdong nodded: "Sure, there's no limit to the number of ghosts the apartment has, you can bring as many as you want... By the way, what time are you planning to come to the apartment today?"

"Wait for my master to get off work. I should be able to get to the apartment around 5:30 pm. Now that the Taoist temple is under your protection, sir, there will be no ghosts invading at night, so I don't need to patrol anymore. I can go back to the apartment tonight."

"Then could you go to the city and buy me some things before you come to the apartment this afternoon? I'll reimburse you for the money when we get back to the apartment."

"Okay, no problem. What do you need me to bring for you, Mr. Landlord?"

“If you can’t buy MP3s, a regular tape recorder will do. Also, record a few audio clips for me.” Zhou Fangdong pondered for a moment. “Record a book on ‘Common Sense of Ideological and Moral Knowledge’ and ‘Common Sense of Law’… That’ll do for now. If it’s still light after you buy them, also help me find some basic literacy books, the kind for adults who can read.”

Zhang Qingyang nodded without questioning. Although he didn't know what the landlord wanted these things for, he was sure the landlord had his reasons.

These things were actually prepared by Zhou Fangdong for Mu Yuechan. Zhou Fangdong would only consider letting her go when Mu Yuechan could memorize them thoroughly.

Before leaving Chuyun Temple, Zhou Fangdong looked at the cramped little Taoist temple and mentally called out to the system: "System, how many ghost coins would it take to expand Chuyun Temple?"

[1000 Ghost Coins]

Upon hearing the amount, Zhou Fangdong hesitated for a moment, but ultimately gave up.

Although he could afford the money now, expanding the Taoist temple wasn't an urgent need at the moment. He would save his ghost coins and wait until the Hundred Ghosts Night Raid mission was over before making a decision.

When Zhou Fangdong returned to the apartment, room 107 had already been cleaned.

He skillfully opened the furniture purchasing app and placed an order for furniture.

Because Zhao Dawei was on vacation today, there was no one to deliver the furniture, so Zhou Fangdong placed another delivery order with Hong Zhong.

After confirming that Hong Zhong had successfully accepted the order, Zhou Fangdong went to the courtyard garden between the two apartment buildings to check on the progress of the garbage disposal station's repairs.

When Hong Zhong received another order from Liwan Apartment, he was not as nervous as before.

He had already received information from the bureau chief that those cruel supernatural events were created by a main god system and had nothing to do with the Liwan Apartments.

Moreover, Liwan Apartments is intentionally targeting that terrorist-like God System, and the Anomaly Monitoring Bureau is currently on the same side as Liwan Apartments.

Hong Zhong parked the car in front of the Guijia Furniture Store with practiced ease.

The furniture on the order, just like before, had all been packed up and neatly placed at the entrance of the furniture store.

A faint crimson mist suddenly emanated from the entrance of the furniture store, creating a light red space between the pickup truck Hong Zhong had driven over and the store entrance.

This time, the packed furniture didn't even need to perform; instead, they lined up in the light red space and moved to the pickup truck bed, jumping onto the truck one by one.

Hong Zhong stood silently to the side, watching until he made sure all the furniture was loaded onto the truck before pushing the truck bed over the side panel.

As he drove back to Liwan Apartments along the familiar road, Hong Zhong kept thinking about Liwan Apartments the whole way.

Liwan Apartments has always presented a particularly contradictory state.

It's good to say it's good, but the source of the first paranormal events was the Liwan Apartment... Let's not talk about how many people died in the apartment, just talk about the area around Liwan Apartment.

When the apartment building was first built, although the surrounding area was in the suburbs and not as bustling as the city center, it was still a lively place. It was home to many poor people struggling below the poverty line, and there were various street vendors, wholesale markets, and assembly line factories...

All of these people were killed by the demons who escaped from the apartment.

It's not that it's bad, but even before the Liwan Apartments were officially sealed off, the ghosts inside were already trapped inside, seemingly held captive by some unknown force. The Bureau of Supervision sealed off the apartments and surrounding roads simply to prevent any reckless adventurers from venturing in and risking their lives.

Over the years, since the Liwan Apartments were sealed off, the apartment has remained peaceful, and there have even been more paranormal events in the city center than in the vicinity of Liwan Apartments.

Then, the mysterious landlord appeared.

Not only have there been no more paranormal events around Liwan Apartments, but now people are even proactively helping to deal with them... This change is like going from one extreme to the other.

Because the road was blocked, Hong Zhong was the only car on the road. He drove very fast, and before long, he could see the silhouette of the Liwan Apartment Building ahead.

Hong Zhongkai’s road is on the side of the apartment building, and if you look to the side, you can see the abandoned garden between the two buildings of Liwan Apartment.

In a daze, Hong Zhong seemed to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. The figure was standing in the garden, seemingly admiring the long-withered flowers.

Hong Zhong subconsciously slowed down, and then he saw that face clearly—the face that had appeared countless times in his nightmares…

Just then, the man seemed to sense something as well, and at that moment he raised his head and met Hong Zhong's gaze.

Those dark eyes, as deep as an abyss, were devoid of joy or sorrow, like two obsidian stones embedded in a clay sculpture, showing no human emotion whatsoever.

The car was still moving forward, but in just that brief moment of eye contact, Hong Zhong was already covered in a cold sweat... That penetrating gaze seemed to have seen through his soul and all his inner thoughts.

That mysterious landlord actually managed to come out of the apartment?! Does this mean that Liwan Apartments is becoming increasingly powerful?

It's hard to say whether this change will be a blessing or a curse for Linjiang City...

Previously, due to the limitations of the apartment, the landlord's strength had already reached such a terrifying level. Hong Zhong simply couldn't imagine what level of power the landlord would reach if he could leave the apartment.

As Hong Zhong drove by, Zhou Fangdong was standing in front of the garbage disposal station checking its repair status when he suddenly heard a system notification saying that a human matching the criteria for a garbage disposal station administrator had been detected.

When he looked up, he saw a passing pickup truck and Hong Zhong's slightly frightened face in the driver's seat.

Zhou Fangdong remembered that the first step of the fourth side quest to repair the garbage disposal station, in addition to finding the garbage disposal station, also required him to assign a person/ghost to manage the garbage disposal station.

Unexpectedly, Hong Zhong actually met the requirements for this administrator position.

As expected of a cleaner with an hourly rate of 50,000, they are incredibly professional, and their level of professionalism has even been recognized by the system.

Zhou Fangdong breathed a sigh of relief.

Great, we can finally move on to side quest 4.

I'll go find Hong Zhong later and ask him if he still has any plans to rent a room in the apartment, and also ask him if he's interested in changing jobs and turning his part-time job into his main job.

This not only advances side quest 4, but if Hong Zhong moves in, main quest 1 will only need one more room to complete, which is perfect.