Chapter 58: New skills unlocked for the garbage dump manager; the garbage dump begins operation...

Zhou Fangdong began to think about what he had done recently that had caused the back building of the apartment to become like this.

The only thing he did recently related to the back building of the apartment was this morning after completing the main god instance of the abandoned hospital. He obtained a guaranteed item lottery ticket, and then used this lottery ticket to draw three items from the back building.

...Could it be because of this?

This lottery feature in the system is such a rip-off. Not only does it exploit tenants to fill the prize pool, but it also has side effects after use.

I should have known better than to participate in the lottery. I didn't get any useful items, and instead, I created this mess for myself.

Looking at the wide-open, dark door of the back building, Zhou Fangdong sighed heavily.

I can't even imagine what a tragedy would have happened on the first floor if the cleaner had used the lottery function before unlocking it.

"You guys continue dealing with the body, I'm going to check on the back building."

Although he was going to check out the back building, Zhou Fangdong stopped walking when he reached the door.

He has upgraded many of his skills, but he still feels a little uneasy facing the back building of the apartment.

The system specifically warned that the ghost tenants in the back building are extremely dangerous, and you should not attempt to extract them without strong attack and suppression methods.

Standing at the entrance and looking inside, the layout of the back building and the front building of the apartment is similar, with elevators directly opposite the entrance, except that the elevator indicator lights in the back building are off.

We need to find a way to reseal this gate and stop the ghost that's carrying the corpse to the front building.

If only he had an attack skill that allowed him to stay alert, he could go to the back building and eliminate this anomaly.

Thinking of this, Zhou Fangdong suddenly remembered that he had just completed the side quest in room 201, which rewarded him with 2,000 experience points, and he could now level up.

After a character levels up, a skill will be unlocked... Zhou Fangdong opened the character attribute panel.

Hopefully, I can unlock a useful attack skill; if not, sealing a skill will also be fine.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Fangdong activated the newly unlocked skill.

[Talent Skill - Dead Zone Invasion]

Skill Description: Opens a rift in the Dead Zone, banishing ghosts and monsters into the Dead Zone.

(This skill cannot be removed or upgraded)

(Note: The skill will continuously consume the spirit bar during its use.)

(Highlight: This skill will cause the Yin energy to stir up; it is forbidden to use it inside apartment buildings.)

The skill descriptions are concise, and the usage methods are clear and straightforward.

I'm not sure if it's considered an attack skill or a sealing skill... Although whether it's an attack or a sealing skill, this skill can't be used inside the apartment.

However, this area is not considered part of the apartment building.

Zhou Fangdong gestured briefly to indicate the width of the main gate at the back of the building.

Ghosts have no physical form, but corpses do. If a ghost wants to move a corpse out, it will definitely have to go through a door.

If he uses the [Dead Zone Invasion] skill to open a crack at this entrance and keeps it there, he can replenish his spirit bar with ghost coins when it's almost depleted. Eventually, he'll be able to catch that ghost who's just idly moving corpses around.

300 Ghost Coins can replenish half of the Spirit Bar. Although it's a bit of a waste of Ghost Coins, it's still a solution.

I just don't know how long he can maintain this skill with one bar of mental energy... Maybe we should give it a try?

The system's electronic voice immediately sounded:

If the mental bar is constantly depleted, it will severely affect the host's thinking, making the host sluggish, and will also cause emotional fluctuations, making the host irritable, controlled by negative emotions, and irrational.

If this state persists for too long, all negative states will become permanent and will not disappear.

Zhou Fangdong decisively gave up, "Then forget it, I'll go to Chuyun Temple and consult the Taoist priest."

That Taoist priest who kills ghosts has been wandering between the front and back buildings for years; he should have a solution.

Zhou Fangdong directly activated the facilities around the apartment and teleported to Chuyun Temple.

This time, he once again appeared first in the main hall of the Izumo-kan Temple.

Several children were taking a nap on the large communal bed inside the hall.

Zhou Fangdong quietly pushed open the palace door and walked into the courtyard.

Then he was surprised to find that Duan Wenyu and Miao Zheng were both in this small courtyard.

The two of them each had a small rattan recliner, covered their heads with palm-leaf fans, and lay comfortably in the shade of the tree, seemingly already asleep.

Zhang Zhiwu, whose spot in the shade had been taken, stood with his hands behind his back in front of the stone table in the courtyard, watching Zhang Qingyang draw talismans.

Zhang Qingyang was dressed in a white Tai Chi uniform today, his sleeves stained with ink, and his face was also covered in ink stains. The temperature in the courtyard was pleasant, but he felt like he was in a steamer, sweating profusely.

His frantic, anxious look was just like that of a college student who hadn't even finished the first draft of their thesis but had to submit it the next day, racking their brains and frantically typing away under the watchful eye of their supervisor.

Zhang Qingyang was the first to notice Zhou Fangdong's presence. The young Taoist priest visibly breathed a sigh of relief and waved his brush at Zhang Zhiwu, saying, "Master! The landlord is here!"

"No matter who comes, you can't slack off. Keep drawing talismans," Zhang Zhiwu said sternly. "Calm your mind, stabilize your spiritual energy output, and try to draw a mid-grade talisman today."

When he turned to look at Zhou Fangdong, the Taoist priest's tone changed completely, and he said in a gentle voice, "Young friend, what brings you to the Taoist temple today?"

Zhou Fangdong cut to the chase and said, "The main door to the back building of the apartment is open. Daoist, do you know how to close it again?"

"The back building of the apartment building has been unsealed? How come it's so fast?" Although Zhang Zhiwu's expression was unclear, his surprise could be heard in his voice.

Zhang Zhiwu pondered for a moment, then shook his head helplessly: "Closing the back door of the apartment building again, this old man really can't do that..."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “But actually, young friend, you don’t need to worry too much. With your strength, you only need to abandon some mercy and use violence to suppress them. Once you’ve scared all the ghosts in the back building, they naturally won’t dare to cause trouble in the apartment.”

Zhou Fangdong was somewhat worried.

...If only he really had that ability.

Forget it, if we don't have enough force, we'll make up for it with props. If we can't deal with that strange corpse, then we'll arm our tenants to the teeth first.

In case the cleaners fail to remove the bodies in time, the tenants should at least have a way to save their lives if they encounter those strange corpses on the first floor.

Zhou Fangdong browsed the shop and bought a few newly unlocked intermediate-level talismans.

Whatever ran out of the back building, whether it's a corpse or a ghost, is definitely very dangerous and of a high level. The life-saving charms prepared for the tenants also need to be upgraded.

[Intermediate Amulet] Price: 150 Ghost Coins

Item Description: This item guarantees the user immunity to attacks from monsters below Rank A for 30 minutes.

[Intermediate Exorcism Talisman] Price: 90 Ghost Coins

Item Description: Can repel ghosts below Rank A. Repelled ghosts will not attack the talisman user again for 12 hours.

Zhou Fangdong bought three of each type of talisman. Then he woke up Duan Wenyu and Miao Zheng, who were dozing under the shade of a tree, and gave each of them a protective talisman and a ghost-repelling talisman. At the same time, he told the two that the first floor was not safe recently and that there might be corpses appearing. He told them to use the talismans immediately if they encountered zombies, not to be reckless, and that their safety was the most important thing.

When Zhang Qingyang saw the two talismans appear in Zhou Fangdong's hands, he gasped.

Sure enough, the next second he heard his master say in a cold voice, "Add twenty more talismans to today's homework."

Zhang Qingyang's face was filled with despair.

Master, even if I added a hundred more, I still couldn't draw a talisman like the landlord's... The perfection of that talisman is almost as good as yours.

However, Zhang Qingyang only dared to complain silently in his heart.

He wiped the sweat from his face and painstakingly ground ink to draw talismans, continuing to finish his homework under his master's supervision with a bittersweet mix of pain and joy.

After leaving Chuyun Temple, Zhou Fangdong teleported to Guijia Furniture Store, handed the remaining two talismans to Zhao Dawei, gave him the same instructions, and then returned to Liwan Apartment.

He came to the garbage disposal station again.

The side quest to repair the apartment garbage disposal station, Part 2, hiring five dead cleaners, has been completed.

We still need to appoint a garbage station manager, formulate garbage station work rules, and create a duty roster for cleaners.

The person currently selected as the garbage collector is Hong Zhong. Since he is human, it is necessary to formulate work rules for the garbage station.

This set of rules should be similar to the tenant rules, mainly to ensure the safety of the administrator.

Zhou Fangdong walked to the repaired garbage disposal station and carefully observed the large iron box-shaped garbage station.

Since there are work rules required, does that mean this garbage dump is dangerous? Are there ghosts living inside, like in the apartment rooms?

Zhou Fangdong tried using [Soul Drain] on the square tin shed.

The skill didn't take effect, but the entire garbage disposal station trembled slightly. Something seemed to surge in both the [Human Garbage] and [Ghost Garbage] windows at the same time, and then a piece of paper was ejected from the [Ghost Garbage] window.

[Waste Treatment Plant Operation Manual]

① The garbage station needs to be manually started by the administrator to operate or switch modes.

② Press the start button of the garbage disposal station before dark every day. The garbage station will chew up the garbage inside and spit out a varying amount of ghost coins the next morning.

③ The garbage station needs to be switched to night mode before dark. If it is not switched for a long time, it may cause abnormalities in the garbage station, and it may even go on a hunger strike.

④ When a garbage station experiences an anomaly, the administrator needs to live in the security booth next to the garbage station to keep it company and calm it down.

⑤ There should be boundaries between the manager and the apartment cleaner. The manager should not spend more time with the cleaner than with the garbage station.

⑥ Do not frequently change administrators, otherwise it will affect the efficiency of the garbage station.

After reading it, Zhou Fangdong put the instruction manual away.

Although the [Soul Drain] skill did not take effect, judging from this instruction manual, this junkyard does seem to be alive.

With a few minor modifications to the contents of this instruction manual, you can create a perfect set of rules for administrators.

Next, all we need to do is wait for Hong Zhong to return, appoint him as the garbage station manager, and then arrange Qian Duolai and the others' duty roster.

Just as I thought of Hong Zhong, his movements appeared on the special tenant watchlist—he was right at the apartment entrance.

At the apartment entrance, Hong Zhong was leading the four investigators from room 201 as they unloaded the body from the car.

When Li Zhe and his three other investigators left the apartment to contact Hong Zhong, Hong Zhong had just finished cleaning up the abandoned hospital and was heading back with the cult members' corpses.

This time, he brought back twelve cultist corpses in one go.

Of the cult members who died on the hospital rooftop, except for two whose names were on the wanted list and needed to be taken back to the supervisory bureau, the rest of their bodies were transported back to the apartment by Hong Zhong.

When Hong Zhong received Li Zhe's call, he explained to them why he had asked them to rent rooms in the apartment, and told them not to be too nervous, to wait for him at the apartment entrance for the time being. After helping him move the cult members' bodies, they would go back to the Supervision Bureau together.

But just as Hong Zhonggang was moving the corpse of a cult member to the apartment entrance, two identical adult men dressed in cleaning uniforms suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The two cleaners stared at the cultist's corpse with expressions of extreme alarm, their once normal faces now covered in a dense network of hideous scars.

One of them reached out and ripped open his chest like a zipper. Red, vine-like tendrils sprouted from his body, quickly enveloping the still-on-the-ground corpse and pulling it to his side.

Hong Zhong and his companions were taken aback by the sudden turn of events. Just as they were about to snatch the body back from the two strange men, they heard a familiar voice:

"These corpses are for feeding the stairs. Don't throw them in the garbage disposal station. Please put them on the empty steps of the stairs for me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the landlord of Liwan Apartments slowly emerged from the shadows.

Upon hearing Zhou Fangdong's order, the two identical-looking cleaners nodded in unison: "Yes, sir."

The people at the door breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Zhou Fangdong appear.

Thus, a small transport chain appeared at the entrance of the apartment building—four investigators lined up to help unload the body from the truck bed, Quan Wuming and Ming Wuqian stood at the door to receive the body, while the other ran into the stairwell.

The two cleaners' bodies are somehow connected, like a small portal; the one standing at the door eats the corpse, while the one standing in front of the stairs vomits it out.

While they were moving the body, Zhou Fangdong called Hong Zhong aside and said, "I want to talk to you about the apartment building's garbage disposal station manager."

Hong Zhong's expression turned serious, and he felt somewhat uneasy.

Is it finally happening? It seems this landlord is finally starting to trust him a little. However, after taking on the job of managing the apartment's garbage station, the inspection bureau's work will have to be done in private.

Hong Zhong said in a deep voice, "Landlord, I'd be happy to serve you. But if you want to resign, I need to go to the Supervision Bureau to hand over my duties. I'll go and take care of it this afternoon, and I can start my job at the garbage station tomorrow."

"You don't need to resign from the inspection bureau. Becoming a garbage station manager doesn't require long shifts; you just need to remember to start the garbage station on time."

As he spoke, Zhou Fangdong took out a work manual modified according to the instructions for using the garbage station from his inventory and handed it to Hong Zhong.

After these few days of contact, Zhou Fangdong felt that it would be better for Hong Zhong not to resign.

Hong Zhong continued working at the Bureau of Supervision, where he could not only use the Bureau's resources to help purge cultists and gather intelligence on the Bone Inheritance Society, but also bring back takeout food from cultists for them.

Hong Zhong was somewhat surprised to hear Zhou Fangdong say that he did not need to resign.

The landlord acted so openly, seemingly unconcerned about his status as an investigator with the oversight bureau, and even offered not to resign. Moreover, he had previously said he would take in his team members and provide them with accommodation.

All indications suggest that the landlord of Liwan Apartments is completely unafraid of their investigation or the unusual surveillance bureau's entry into Liwan Apartments.

Was he overthinking things? Was the anomaly at Liwan Apartments really nothing to worry about? Besides, he always felt that although the landlord of Liwan Apartments was sometimes scary, it was probably just because the power he wielded was too terrifying, instilling an instinctive fear in people. He was essentially a good person.

Thinking of this, Hong Zhong shook his head, took the work rules from Zhou Fangdong, and focused his attention on the paper in front of him.

We cannot judge a paranormal location that could affect the entire city based on personal subjective emotions. Whether the anomalies at Liwan Apartments are good or bad for humanity should be determined based on actual clues. We must continue to investigate further and collect more information related to the apartment's anomalies; this is how we can be responsible to the public.

After quickly glancing through it, Hong Zhong signed his name on the work rules without hesitation, just like signing a tenant's contract.

The manager for the Liwan Apartment garbage disposal station has been selected.

As the system pop-up appeared before Zhou Fangdong's eyes, a medal also appeared out of thin air on Hong Zhong's chest.

The medal depicted a robust pixelated figure proudly holding a trophy aloft, inscribed with four large characters: "King of Cleaning."

Hong Zhong looked down at the badge that had suddenly appeared on his chest, remained silent for a long time, and then asked in a somewhat hoarse voice, "Can I take this medal off?"

Zhou Fangdong inquired with the system and, after receiving a reply, reassured him, "Don't worry, this medal doesn't actually have a physical form. Even if you forget to take it off when you change clothes, it won't be lost; it will automatically appear on your new clothes."

Hong Zhong was not comforted at all.

He'd rather it had a physical form so he could cover it with a cloth. It was a little embarrassing for a grown man like him to go out with a medal that looked like a toy.

While Zhou Fangdong and Hong Zhong were talking, the four investigators at the door had already handed over the last cultist's body to the cleaner.

The next instant, the apartment building suddenly trembled, and the ground shook noticeably.

Hong Zhong immediately became alert.

Zhou Fangdong initially thought there was a problem at the garbage station, but he didn't expect that this anomaly was related to the stairs.

The system pop-up window appeared again:

The staircase has been repaired, and the hidden space [apartment basement] is now open.