Chapter 22: Feeding Apartment Building (2) What’s inside the shrine Tonight…
"The breeding apartment building... Are you talking about the strange story about the shrine? It's a bit troublesome. This thing is connected to the consciousness of the parasitic humans, and we have to cultivate the strange story successfully." After listening to Bo Bei's description of the content of the post on the phone, Chen Que felt that this matter might be a bit troublesome.
However, he happened to be near the breeding apartment building. After Chen Que confirmed the itinerary with his assistant, he immediately said that he would wait for Bo Bei downstairs of the apartment building, without giving anyone a chance to refuse.
Bo Bei, who just wanted to reassure people rather than recruit them, said: "...Forget it."
[A breeding apartment building, a breeding ghost story?] The system hadn't anticipated an S-class, high-risk ghost story arriving so soon, even though it was initially only A-class. [Strange, it was only A-class when it first appeared. Didn't the Operations Department's detectors detect it?]
"It's impossible to detect. The shrines used as carriers of strange stories will protect the consciousness to the greatest extent possible, hiding its existence."
When he had previously played this game, the shrine existed as the "nest" of the consciousness of the main body of the ghost story. Moreover, the shrine was not a dead object, it also had life. Naturally, the detector could not detect the consciousness hidden within it.
[But... to raise it... wouldn't it be necessary to provide food to cultivate the consciousness of the Kwaidan?]
The system said in horror: [No, I'm not raising it with my own flesh and blood...]
"Congratulations, you got half of it right." Bo Bei raised his hand and pointed at his head. "And there's also the sanity value. Players can't use recovery items in the game, and neither can the residents of the real apartment building. This strange story is truly torturous."
Bai Bei remembered that when he was playing the game, most of the players in this dungeon had hallucinations caused by low sanity, and then fell into a state of madness. Even if they came out, they would most likely become madmen.
"We'll be checking around the apartment, but you'd better not look," Bo Bei kindly reminded him. "After all, there's a good chance you'll see residents covered in blood and without heads, or chewing on their own arms with blood in their mouths, and so on."
System: […Please stop talking.]
Bai Bei: "I'm giving you a heads up. Otherwise, if you start screaming at a high decibel in my head, I might die."
System: [Sleep mode is on.]
Before Bo Bei arrived, Shen Que had been waiting downstairs for a while. He also used his ability to check the basic situation of the apartment building. "It's not good, especially the residents on the ninth and tenth floors. They seem to be on the verge of madness."
"The casualties are very scattered." Shen Que concluded, "Focus on checking the ninth and tenth floors."
The problem now was how to avoid being discovered. The apartment building strongly rejected the presence of non-parasites. Shen Que pondered this, not even noticing that the person next to him had already walked into the lobby on the first floor. Bo Bei pushed open the door and turned to look at him. "Let's go. What are you doing standing there?"
Shen Que felt that he was really worrying too much. Bai Bei would always have a way. As for how he did it... just ignore it.
Bai Bei hypnotized the people in the lobby with props and then walked directly into the elevator. Chen Que, who also hadn't checked in, followed him. He tilted his head and asked, "Do you want to change into Fei's appearance?"
"Yeah." Bai Bei pressed the button for the tenth floor. He took out the unopened mask from his pocket and handed it to Chen Que, then opened the panel, "Put it on. Shi Yu and the others might come looking for you again. Don't get caught."
Chen Que said that a mask couldn't cover anything, but he still took it honestly. Then Bai Bei threw him a hat, and he put it on with a blank face. "Why do you have to cover yourself so tightly? Who would wear a hat and a mask indoors?"
Fei, who had changed into his appearance in the game, asked: "Are you pointing at yourself?"
Shen Que: "...Abei, you have changed."
Fei: "Don't shout, it's disgusting."
Shen Que: "Okay, I get it, the feelings are still fading."
Fei responded with a silent look. After the door opened, he walked out of the elevator and followed the area instructions written on the wall to the right. Finally, he stopped in front of an apartment with room number "1006". He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
Almost immediately, hurried footsteps sounded, and without even a question, the apartment door was flung open. A haggard young man ran out in slippers, not even bothering to straighten his crooked glasses.
"I, let's go talk in the lobby! Or we can find a cafe nearby!" The young man with disheveled hair obviously had no intention of taking care of himself. As he spoke, he was about to rush out without even changing his shoes. Before he was about to pass Fei, his arm was grabbed.
"Go back, I want to see the shrine." The young man staggered because of Fei's pull and could only look at him subconsciously, but he gradually calmed down under his gaze, and only fear and numbness in his brain seemed to vaguely regain rationality.
When he wasn't paying attention, Fei used props to restore some consciousness to the boy with glasses who was obviously in a bad state. Seeing that the man looked much more sober, he didn't pay any more attention to him.
Fei's gaze fell directly on the shrine placed against the wall in front of the living room. He nodded and said, "I will go out, but not now. Go and clean up."
"Oh, oh... OK." The man responded stupidly, turned around obediently and went back to the bedroom.
The contents of the shrine will come out tonight. Fei bent his fingers and gently tapped the shrine a few times. Not long after, a six-fingered hand stretched out from the open small pavilion and touched his fingertips, wanting to absorb more nutrients from him.
Unfortunately, it got nothing. Fei calmly withdrew his hand. Beside him, the unruly Chen Que was still gossiping, "Have you told Xiaoyu? He will definitely be surprised if he can't find you."
"...Are you here to play?" Fei flattened the curve of his lips and began to instruct people, "Go downstairs. I'll be responsible for confirming the specific situation on the tenth floor. The ninth floor and the other floors are yours to check."
Shen Que: "No way, boss, this is exploitation."
Fei didn't intend to waste any more time talking to anyone, so he pushed Shen Que out of the apartment. He closed the door, and when he stood in front of the shrine again, he guided the shadow in the corner to seep into the interior of the shrine.
Squeezing, forcing, and tightening, Fei gave orders in a cold voice: "Change your parasitic object and attach yourself to me."
There was no response from the shrine. Fei increased the intensity of his infiltration until the dark hand finally stretched out again reluctantly, and he also withdrew his ability.
A crack opened in the palm of the hand, revealing sharp teeth as it opened, eager to bite off the flesh of the new patron and suck their blood. Fei raised his hand and slapped it away, turning away without a second thought.
[Will you be affected?] Although it knew Fei wouldn't do anything without confidence, the system still couldn't help but feel a little worried. [Will you feel uncomfortable?]
"It's okay, it doesn't affect anything." Fei didn't feel anything at all. The side effects of parasitism were imperceptible to him.
The apartment was a common studio apartment. In addition to the bedroom and living room, it was also equipped with a kitchen and a private bathroom. A thin black fog filled the air wherever Fei could see, making people feel extremely depressed and uncomfortable. He turned his ability and waved away the black fog.
The man wearing black-framed glasses had combed his frizzy short hair when he came out again. He changed out of his pajamas. Perhaps because he was much more awake, he looked more energetic, not as listless as before, and showed a clean handsomeness.
"Where are we going?" The boy with glasses, who regained consciousness after seeing Fei, followed closely behind. When he noticed that the person in front of him had stopped, he asked eagerly, "Aren't you going?"
Fei looked at him without saying a word. He knew in his heart that it was because he used props to help the man recover from the collapse, which made him unconsciously develop a liking and dependence on him without knowing the truth, but this did not mean it was a good thing.
Fei never felt that he was worthy of being thanked. He was just using them. Whether it was to gain more benefits or to establish an image of "friendly and upright", the purpose was the same, just an equal transaction.
"I'm going to other rooms to check on the residents. You can leave the apartment building and go anywhere you want."
After hearing what Fei said, the boy with glasses was instantly at a loss. After experiencing the mental torture of strange things happening these days, he finally met someone who could save him. He didn't dare to go too far away, for fear of returning to that nightmare and afraid that something would happen to the person in front of him.
"I can follow you! I can explore the way and get things!" The boy with glasses looked like he was about to cry. "I believe you can deal with it, and you really helped me regain consciousness. That thing has been pestering me. If I were alone outside, I would definitely be killed. Please..."
Fei's expression remained unchanged. There was no point wasting hypnosis props in this situation. He explained, "I've already let it parasitize me. Now I'm the patron of the shrine, so you can leave without worry. It won't bother you anymore."
He thought the other party would definitely leave now, but the boy with glasses widened his eyes and became more and more excited: "This, this won't work! Then let it eat me. How can I let it parasitize you! I'm not the kind of ungrateful person!"
Fei had a headache. He grabbed the shoulders of the person in front of him and said word by word, "I will be fine. The thing in the shrine will come out tonight. I took the initiative to let it parasitize so that it can be easily eradicated."
"After you understand, you must follow my instructions and tell me about the unusual events that have occurred in the past few days. Be more specific. You must stay within my sight and leave the apartment building before dark. Don't lag behind."
Fei finished his explanation and walked away without caring whether the people behind him understood him or not. Soon, another pair of footsteps sounded beside him. "Brother, what do you need to know? By the way, what's your name, brother? I can't call you benefactor. You look like you'll be annoyed by that name."
"... Fei." Fei was wondering why he always picked the chatterbox when saving someone. "Tell me about the other residents in the apartment building. Focus on the important points and don't waste time."
"Okay! Brother Fei, just call me Xiao Gu!"
“…”
Fei stood aside with his arms folded, motioning for the other party to knock on the door to communicate with the neighbors and let them in. Xiao Gu immediately went forward to do so, but a long time passed and no one came to open the door.
Realizing that something was wrong, Fei reached out and touched the door handle. Xiao Gu was about to ask him if he wanted to contact the owner, but the next second he saw him twist the handle and open the door directly.
Little Gu was so stunned that stars were almost coming out of his eyes.
A figure lying on the ground came into view along with bloodstains, and a strong smell of blood spread in the air. Fei walked closer quickly, squatted down, and found that the resident had no breath, and the skin exposed outside the clothes was already missing flesh.
Under the control of the shrine's consciousness, he was offered all his flesh and blood, and died a tragic death.
If Fei hadn't come, Xiao Gu would probably have ended up like this.
"Find some white cloths. I'll go check on the other residents. You come up and cover anyone you see who's in trouble with the white cloths." Fei gave the instructions hurriedly, then stood up and rushed to the next apartment. He could only try his best.
The situation in the apartment building was indeed much worse than he had imagined.
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The author has something to say: I’m organizing a small lottery and the draw will start at 8 o’clock in the evening!
I originally planned to open it yesterday, but since I remembered there’s a list for tomorrow’s 1,000-word ranking on Wednesday, I decided to open it tonight (eyes shifted)
The number of participants in Jinjiang lottery cannot exceed 5% of the collection, and only 25 babies can be drawn. Jinjiang, what can I say about you? :)
There should be more people on Thursday, so we'll open another one then [laughing]
Also, don't worry, Xiao Gu won't hold us back. He's only responsible for providing information, and no one can hold Fei Ge back. [Sunglasses]
Congratulations to Feige's fanboy +1 (not)
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