Chapter 97 Apartment Cultural and Creative Products Hu Feng: Huh? You're kidding, right? I...
When Zhou Fangdong teleported to the basement, Yingmei was stretching her body out of boredom.
It transformed its lower body into a retractable spring, pressing against Zhou Fangdong's face, and hopped around the basement like a clown in a scare box.
Noticing Zhou Fangdong's figure appear in the basement, it compressed its body forcefully and sprang over.
Before Zhou Fangdong, who had just been teleported there, could even see his surroundings clearly, he saw a large face that looked exactly like his rushing towards him at an extremely fast speed, as if it was about to headbutt him.
Startled, Zhou Fangdong quickly dodged, and then saw Yingmei's face slam into the ground with a sharp crack.
Ugh... I totally empathize. Just looking at Zhou Fangdong makes my face hurt.
The Shadow Demon was completely oblivious. It rubbed its face, smoothing it back into its original shape, and then, with a clear, dazed yet happy smile, it moved closer to Zhou Fangdong.
This guy had clearly forgotten about being frightened by Zhou Fangdong yesterday, and was jumping around Zhou Fangdong without a care in the world.
Zhou Fangdong casually ruffled Yingmei's hair and pushed it aside: "Go play somewhere else, I have things to take care of."
With her messy, unkempt hair, Yingmei obediently stepped aside.
Zhou Fangdong walked to one of the oil refining units.
The corpse in the iron pot was gone, and two familiar yellow-black turbid oily substances were found in cylindrical glass jars on the long table next to it, which was used to display various alchemy equipment.
One corpse can yield two jars of oil, which means a corpse with his face is worth 60,000 ghost coins... Hmm, not bad, his value has increased again.
Zhou Fangdong put the two jars of lamp oil into his inventory, stacking them in the same inventory slot as the jar he received as a reward from the first main quest.
Then he opened the lamp oil manufacturing page and dragged another corpse into the iron pot.
You can never have too much lamp oil.
As he operated the machine, the two idle corpses began to move again.
Zhou Fangdong began to explore the new features of the newly unlocked lamp oil manufacturing page.
—The new feature is a workbench that can create lamp oil byproducts.
It takes 1,000 Ghost Coins to make this workbench. Zhou Fangdong currently has 23,150 Ghost Coins, so he didn't hesitate and made the workbench directly.
Let's place the workbench between the two iron pots.
As Zhou Fangdong manipulated things, a long table appeared out of thin air in the basement.
The long table resembled a jewelry workbench, with tools such as magnifying glasses, tweezers, and screwdrivers on its surface, along with numerous shelves. The shelves were filled with many exquisite velvet boxes containing all sorts of gemstones, each one appearing sparkling and exceptionally expensive.
Zhou Fangdong curiously tried to pick up a box containing diamonds, but the box wouldn't budge, as if it were glued to the shelf, and he couldn't pry the gems out of the box.
The only thing he could move was the cheap repair tools scattered haphazardly on the table.
...This system is really unreliable; all the gems are just decorative game textures.
After the workbench is completed, a new subpage called [By-product Production] will appear in the lamp oil production interface.
The currently unlocked craftable item at the workbench is the [Lamp Oil Pendant], which requires one jar of lamp oil and 10% of your health as raw materials.
Zhou Fangdong checked the item description for the [lamp oil pendant].
[Lamp Oil Pendant]: Crafting requires 1% lamp oil and a small amount of landlord's blood.
Item effect: Provides long-term protection for an area of 100 square meters. Low-level ghosts will automatically avoid the area protected by the lamp oil, while high-level ghosts will not actively invade the area protected by the lamp oil.
It has a function to dispel ghosts regardless of level. This function needs to be used actively by the holder. After the dispelling function is used, the item will disappear.
Such a practical tool, it seems very suitable for ordinary people to use.
In terms of consumption, 10% of your health bar and a can of lamp oil are enough to make 100 pendants, which is very cost-effective.
Anyway, he has plenty of lamp oil in reserve, so let's give it a try.
Zhou Fangdong placed a can of lamp oil on the workbench. Just as he was pondering how to precisely release 10% of the blood, a system pop-up window appeared just in time:
[Does the host wish to pay 10% of their health as raw material for the [Lamp Oil Pendant]?]
"yes."
The system has automatically deducted health points; the [Lamp Oil Pendant] can now be crafted.
A jigsaw puzzle game slowly appears on the by-product creation page.
From the scrambled images, one can vaguely discern that the assembled image is a pendant shaped like a small kerosene lamp.
...a total of sixty puzzle pieces.
Zhou Fangdong sighed and gritted his teeth to start working hard.
...He hated jigsaw puzzles, he hated Huarong Road, he hated all time-wasting puzzle games.
After more than ten minutes of work, Zhou Fangdong finally managed to put together the pendant puzzle.
As the puzzle was completed, a kerosene lamp pendant, about the size of a thumb, appeared on the table.
Zhou Fangdong wiped the sweat from his forehead and picked up the lamp oil pendant from the table.
[A [Lamp Oil Pendant] has been successfully crafted. Reputation points for Liwan Apartments have been unlocked.]
What is the reputation value of Liwan Apartments?
Seemingly sensing Zhou Fangdong's confusion, another pop-up window appeared:
[The reputation value of Liwan Apartment represents the favorability, trust, and evaluation of the apartment by the citizens of Linjiang City. Please strive to increase the reputation value of the apartment.]
Zhou Fangdong exited the lamp oil making interface and glanced at the system main panel.
The apartment's reputation value is -999, a glaring scarlet number.
Good heavens, it's a negative number...
Zhou Fangdong suspected that the -999 was likely the limit of the displayed value, rather than the limit of the reputation of Liwan Apartments.
[Apartment reputation has been unlocked; Room 206 has been cleared; Ghost has a human roommate; [Ghost Postman Cai Yizhan] and the apartment delivery station have been unlocked—Apartment e-commerce page is officially open.]
Zhou Fangdong fell silent.
I never imagined that his real estate management system could also open an online store... Speaking of which, why would he open an online store? He doesn't lack human currency right now; he has a nine-figure sum in his bank account.
The host can sell the [Lamp Oil Pendant] online and increase the apartment's reputation by sheltering ordinary citizens.
As the apartment's reputation increases, the yin energy within it becomes more stable. Reaching a positive reputation level unlocks free items in the system shop.
"Our apartment building is getting better; we can even sell cultural and creative products now..."
Zhou Fangdong casually opened the apartment e-commerce interface, and then suddenly fell silent.
The apartment's online store page is no different from a regular e-commerce merchant's page, and the system even thoughtfully helps to list the products.
It's just the purchase method listed below the lamp oil pendant...
"...System, are you serious about setting this purchase amount and currency?"
The product page stated: "Employees of the Supervisory Bureau need to pay one C-grade sealed item and ten corpses of cult members of the Bone Society to purchase the [Lantern Pendant]. If you do not have cult corpses, you can purchase it with one B-grade sealed item."
Ordinary people only need to pay for shipping when purchasing lamp oil pendants. However, within fifteen days of purchase, you need to post at least three user reviews on any online platform, and the total number of likes on all posts must exceed 500 (likes from bots are not included). Otherwise, customer service will proactively come to your door to collect the item.
The Bureau of Supervision's offer is still within reasonable limits. If they want to buy it, they can just have the cultists' corpses and the sealed items placed at a designated location, and then have the ghost postman retrieve them.
But for posts from ordinary users sharing their experiences, are they really going to monitor each and every one of their social media accounts to check the number of likes? And how are they supposed to tell whether the likes are from bots or real people?
That's outrageous. Does the system think he's too idle and want to increase his workload?
Seemingly having heard Zhou Fangdong's inner complaints, a system pop-up window appeared promptly:
[Should we hire the ghost from room 206 as customer service for our online apartment store? Hiring the ghost will allow them to filter posts to see if they meet the criteria. If not, they will come directly to collect the items.]
[The ghost seller will also proactively screen the identities of customers who purchase the product. If they discover that the buyer is a member of the Bone Cult, the customer service will curse the buyer to death.]
Zhou Fangdong breathed a sigh of relief: "Hire him."
[Room 206 has been hired as customer service for the apartment's online store]
[Hiring this ghost as a customer service representative for an online store requires paying him 12 sticks of incense as a monthly salary.]
[Unlocking the online store adds logistics and delivery work to [Ghost Postman Cai Yizhan], and the host also needs to pay him 12 sticks of incense as a salary each month.]
[Please pre-store 24 sticks of incense in the system for offering, which will be distributed by the system.]
"Just take it from my inventory."
When Zhou Fangdong prepared the wages for the cleaners last time, he made a lot of incense sticks for offering. He still has 81 sticks left, which is enough.
[24 sticks of incense have been automatically deducted for offerings]
[Should the lamp oil pendant in the host's possession be automatically added to the remaining stock?]
"Put it in."
As soon as he finished speaking, the pendant in Zhou Fangdong's hand disappeared, and at the same time, the number of items on the product page increased by 1.
The online store setup is mostly done, but production...
"System, jigsaw puzzles are really troublesome. Can the production of lamp oil pendants be automated, just like the production of lamp oil?"
[...]
[[Refined Lamp Oil Worker] has been unlocked. Please go to the Lamp Oil Worker crafting interface to view it.]
Zhou Fangdong opened the window and checked it. He found that the crafting items needed for the newly unlocked worker were the same as those needed for the worker who boiled lamp oil: a worker's uniform made by the Ghost Tailor, shackles made by the Silversmith, and a corpse in the back building.
Let's prepare the body in the back building first...
Zhou Fangdong teleported back to the apartment garden.
During the time he was away, all the supernatural items he had given to He Yansheng had been planted in the ground.
Because the courier station will not officially open until tomorrow, Xiao Xiaoyu is still staying in the garden.
Xiao Xiaoyu, He Yansheng, and Ke Yan sat in a row on a bench beside the field, eating popsicles and basking in the sun. The three of them were arranged in a neat row from shortest to tallest, looking like a Wi-Fi number.
Zhou Fangdong noticed that Xiao Xiaoyu's eyes had been installed. She had ultimately chosen heterochromatic eyes, with her left eye being blue and her right eye being red.
When he first teleported to the garden, he heard Xiao Xiaoyu suggest that Ke Yan could make a seven-colored eyeball. Since they were all detachable anyway, why not make them even cooler?
Ke Yan valued customer feedback and nodded earnestly.
Zhou Fangdong nodded with satisfaction.
He felt that he might get along well with Xiao Xiaoyu.
After having Ke Yan retrieve a body from the back building, Zhou Fangdong carried the body back to the basement, placed it downstairs, and then went to the hidden room on the second floor.
He planned to go to the ghost market to ask Hou San to help him prepare some furniture, and also to buy workers' uniforms and shackles from the funeral shop and silversmith shop.
After Zhou Fangdong entered the hidden room on the second floor, the door to room 207 quietly opened a crack, and a middle-aged man with a full beard peeked out from behind the door.
He glanced around furtively, and seeing that no one was in the corridor, he finally came out of the room.
Hu Feng shook his SpongeBob SquarePants vest, picked up his abacus, put his hands on his hips, and struck a pose: "The messenger of justice has arrived! Now, it's my turn to save the world!"
Then, as if someone was chasing him, he took off running.
The debt collector stood at the door of room 207, watching with a resentful expression as the bearded man stuffed his abacus into his waistband and ran further and further away.
The ghost in the Liwan Apartment room cannot leave the room at will, otherwise the room may be occupied by other ghosts.
Zhou Fangdong did not order Hu Feng to stay home. He simply explained the dangers of the apartment, just like he would to any other tenant, and ordered him not to cause trouble in the apartment and not to leave his key with him.
Before Hu Feng came to the Liwan Apartment, he only watched cartoons at home every day and never went out, so Hong Zhong did not issue him an order to stay indoors.
And so, Hu Feng was free.
He was like a wild horse, wearing flip-flops, galloping wildly towards the apartment gate.
He ran out of the apartment, onto the ghost bus, and, hands on his hips, shouted, "Navigator! Forward! Hard to starboard!"
The ghost bus remained motionless.
Seeing this, Hu Feng pulled the abacus out of his crotch, pondered for a moment, and said in a deep voice:
"The East, the abandoned Nova Resort... that world is calling to me. The dark power within me can no longer be suppressed."
A static crackled through the bus's loudspeaker, followed by an electronic announcement: "Next stop, Xinxing Resort. Passengers, please hold on tight and be seated."
Hu Feng tucked the abacus back into his waistband. To prevent it from falling in again, this time he made sure to thread the belt through the middle of the abacus and fasten it securely.
The abacus, parasitized by the debt-collecting ghost, has become a terrifying supernatural artifact due to its long-term taint of yin energy.
Although the debt collector is no longer on the abacus, the abacus still has the effect of collecting debts... or rather, without the debt collector, the abacus's effect of collecting debts is even more unpredictable.
It will demand repayment of life debts based on the karmic consequences of the holder.
Simply put, Hu Feng has temporarily taken over the position of the debt collector, and the abacus will use Hu Feng as a medium to curse all those who have hurt him.
Hu Feng has six bullet holes and thirty-two knife wounds. He has been cursed by supernatural objects countless times. The most serious curse, which is also the most recent one, was the supernatural router that forced Hu Feng to retire.
Therefore, the person who used a router to create paranormal events in the downtown area will become the first target of the abacus's debt collection efforts.
Using the abacus, Hu Feng sensed that the person's location was in the New Star Resort in the east.
The abacus is a byproduct of the debt collector, and the debt collector receives lifespan and fortune stolen by the abacus. Although it's somewhat unpleasant to have one's abacus stolen, the ultimate beneficiary is the debt collector, so Hu Feng pays no price for using the abacus.
He was more like a signal amplifier and debt collection medium, helping to spread the influence of the abacus and helping the debt collectors expand their debt collection business.
The ghost bus quickly arrived at the New Star Resort.
Xinxing Resort, whose full name is Xinxing Hot Spring Forest Resort, was once the most popular tourist attraction in Linjiang City.
The ghost bus stops at the back gate of the resort, which is also the best-landscaped garden area of the resort.
Because it was abandoned for a long time and no one took care of it, the lush garden grew freely into a primeval forest.
Hu Feng picked up a straight wooden stick from the ground and went straight into the garden.
As he swept the surrounding bushes with the wooden stick in his hand, he bent over and looked around, muttering to himself, "Hu Feng, remember to sneak in quietly and don't attract attention..."
However, as soon as Hu Feng swept aside a bush and crouched down to move forward, he made eye contact with a bald man who was taking a dump in the wild.
When he encountered a stranger at his most vulnerable moment, the cult member was helpless and momentarily stunned.
Hu Feng was the first to react. He slammed a wooden stick into the cultist's face: "—As long as you kill everyone who sees me, that counts as a successful infiltration!"
The bald man was so slapped that he lost his balance and ended up sitting directly on his own freshly produced, still-warm excrement.
Although he was in a sorry state, the cultist immediately tried to press the alarm device on his waist after he realized what was happening.
Just then, the abacus beads hanging from Hu Feng's waist suddenly moved.
The crisp sound of beads colliding rang out one after another. The cultist's body suddenly stiffened, and he fell to the ground in a very undignified posture. His breathing began to weaken and eventually disappeared.
Hu Feng, who was about to strike again with the stick, asked in confusion, "How did you fall down before I even used any force?"
Just then, two long snakes crawled out from under the cultist and darted into the bushes in the distance at an extremely fast speed.
Hu Feng quickly retreated away from the corpse: "Good heavens, it turns out it pulled an SSR, and was bitten by both the Silver Ringed Serpent and the Original Spearhead Viper at the same time."
"It seems this path is not viable; we need to find another way..."
Just as Hu Feng was about to change direction, he heard another person walking over, cursing: "...Lazy people always have too much to do. You've been in the toilet for so long, are you constipated?"
The man forcefully swung aside the branches obstructing his view and was startled to see a strange, bearded man.
Hu Feng, who was prepared, threw a punch right away: "See this fist? This is a fist that can pierce the sky—take my Pegasus Meteor Fist!!"
*
After returning from the ghost market, Zhou Fangdong went to the basement and brought out the workers who were refining lamp oil.
The worker stood in front of the long table, rapidly making lamp oil pendants at a rate of one per minute.
Seeing the lamp oil pendants quickly piling up into a small mountain, Zhou Fangdong decided to find a way to promote his online store and sell these things as soon as possible.
The apartment e-commerce interface does have an advertising function, but the cheapest one costs 500 ghost coins and only lasts for one hour.
Zhou Fangdong didn't spend any money finding tenants for the apartment, let alone spend money on advertising a small, run-down online store.
He plans to make good use of tenant resources and ask Miao Zheng to help make a video to promote the apartment's online store.
Zhou Fangdong originally wanted to check if Miao Zheng was in the apartment, but after opening the rental preview interface, when he glanced at the second-floor floor plan, he was horrified to find that room 207 was empty!
—The bearded man who was wandering around the room this morning is gone!
This tenant is practically insane; nobody knows where he'll go after leaving the apartment. What if he decides to do something righteous and ends up in a ghost town... just thinking about it is despairing.
Zhou Fangdong quickly opened the special tenant watchlist... Yes, because of the bearded man's special status, Zhou Fangdong, who hadn't opened the special watchlist for a long time, added Hu Feng to it as soon as Hu Feng signed the rental contract.
The tenant's movements showed that after leaving the apartment, the bearded man went to the New Star Resort.
Upon seeing this location, Zhou Fangdong was stunned.
He was very familiar with this place. Last night, when he used [Evil God's Descent] in the underground cave evil god factory, the cultist he possessed wrote this place on a piece of paper.
—The New Star Resort is the location of the evil god's resurrection ceremony east of the Bone Inheritance Society.
Seeing that the bearded man had appeared here by such coincidence, Zhou Fangdong began to doubt his own understanding.
...Could it be that Hu Feng is not a madman, but a genius with strong inspiration?
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