Chapter 15: Favorability rating soars to 80 for tenant Miao Zheng (rank 109)...
Looking at the deformed black mass of flesh so close to him, Zhou Fangdong hesitated for a moment before finally using a [low-level protective talisman] on himself.
We don't know the killing patterns of this ghost yet, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
Using a talisman costing 90 ghost coins at the start is a bit extravagant, but it grants him immunity to attacks from ghosts below Grade B for the next thirty minutes. As long as he doesn't do anything reckless, he should be safe.
Zhou Fangdong shakily stretched out his hand, preparing to use his skill on the black mass of flesh.
As the hand drew ever closer, the black mass of flesh remained completely unresponsive, much like real clay.
Finally, Zhou Fangdong's hand successfully touched the top of the fleshy mass's head.
[Skill 1: Warm Mind Reading]
Countless complex emotions, along with fragmented memories, surged into Zhou Fangdong's brain like a torrent.
Zhou Fangdong felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and immediately knelt down on the ground.
Nobody told him that using skills was so painful... My head feels like it's going to split open.
Among these complex emotions, the most prominent was the terrifying feeling of hunger.
—A burning sensation ran through my abdomen, as if my internal organs were devouring each other. At the peak of my hunger, I felt nauseous, and my stomach and esophagus contracted and writhed uncontrollably, as if trying to burst out of my mouth to eat on their own.
Hidden beneath the hunger was also a pent-up resentment with nowhere to go.
She didn't understand why her father always looked at her like she was an enemy, why her mother said she loved her even though she clearly hated her, and why her mother blamed all her suffering on her...
After being washed away by countless fragments of memories and a torrent of emotions, Zhou Fangdong gradually recovered and realized the true identity of the ghost in Room 102.
The deformed black fleshy monster in front of him is the child from room 102 that he once played.
*
While Zhou Fangdong was encountering the ghost in Room 102, Miao Zheng was humming a song and packing his luggage in Room 109.
Miao Zheng was overjoyed to learn that he could safely live with a real ghost.
As long as she lives here, she can capture fresh horror material every moment.
There's no internet or cell phone signal at Liwan Apartment right now, so she can't do a live stream. Therefore, she can only set up her camera equipment to record the footage, shoot it first, and then edit and upload it later.
However, such videos are likely to be questioned as being photoshopped or using special effects...
Miao Zheng sighed.
A live stream would be better. I'll ask the landlord to help me get broadband installed in the room when he's free.
She'd already come up with a title for the live stream: "[Shocking! First on the entire internet! Daily life living with a female ghost sister]."
Thinking of this, Miao Zheng couldn't help but chuckle to himself again.
Just as Miao Zheng was tidying up the shoe rack next to the entryway, the sound of the door hinges turning suddenly came from behind him.
Something pushed the door open and came in.
Miao Zheng's expression turned serious, and he subtly reached for his waist.
Contract workers like her in the Special Investigations Department aren't authorized to carry guns, and those special bullets capable of killing ghosts and monsters certainly wouldn't be assigned to her.
The equipment provided to contract workers by the logistics department were all outdated products developed during the early stages of the paranormal outbreak, like the telescopic steel pipe in Miao Zheng's hand. These devices do not have the ability to kill ghosts, but only to temporarily repel them, and they require a high level of skill from the user.
The landlord only said that following the tenant rules is safe, but what if some ghost or spirit from outside invades the room...?
After the door opened, there was a sickeningly loud screech of a heavy object scraping against the floor.
Miao Zheng turned around without warning and suddenly swung the steel pipe in the direction from which the sound came.
With a clang, the ear-piercing sound of metal clashing rang out, and Miao Zheng's wrist went numb from the impact, almost causing the steel pipe in his hand to fly away.
She rubbed her wrist, looking at the thing that came in through the door with a puzzled expression.
A pile of unassembled alloy clothes hangers came in from outside, and behind the hangers was a single floor bed.
It wasn't an invading ghost, but furniture... Is this the furniture the landlord mentioned would be delivered to our door?
Miao Zheng looked left and right but couldn't see anyone moving furniture.
Was it delivered by a ghost?
She keenly sensed the presence of the subject matter and immediately picked up the camera from the kitchen counter, pointing it at the door.
However, the ghost that was supposed to move the furniture did not appear, and the furniture did not move on its own. Instead, the two black plastic bags in the entrance hall of room 109 were moved.
An eerie black aura, almost solidified, emanated from the plastic bag, enveloping the two sets of furniture. Then, two blood-stained ghostly hands emerged from the plastic bag.
The two ghostly hands were clinging to the clothes rack and the single bed, respectively.
As the ghostly hand touched them, the clothes rack and the single bed trembled simultaneously.
Inside the hollow steel tube of the alloy clothes hanger, a pool of red and white fleshy paste wriggled out and reluctantly flowed out of the room.
There was movement under the single bed mattress. A woman with twisted joints, dressed in white, and with black hair covering her face, slowly crawled out from the gap in the mattress. Her exposed skin was covered with dense, raised scars. Her deformed limbs, covered with bluish-purple lividity, climbed up the door frame with extremely agile movements and then climbed up the door frame to the ceiling of the corridor.
After the ghost in the furniture left room 109, the two scarlet ghost hands that emerged from the black plastic bag tugged hard at the clothes hanger and the single bed.
As the ghostly hand pulled, the plastic bags ignored the size of the furniture and swallowed it all... The two bulging black plastic bags were like black holes that could devour everything.
Miao Zheng couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Wow! That's amazing!"
Upon hearing her exclamation, the wriggling of the black plastic bag noticeably paused, then the black plastic bag in the entryway calmed down, while the black plastic bag in the kitchen started wriggling again.
The strange trajectory of these plastic bags is as if an invisible person is stepping on them and walking into the house.
Seeing this, Miao Zheng followed the plastic bag that had undergone the change, filming it all the way into the bedroom.
Finally, the black plastic bag in the corner of the bedroom was opened, and two ghostly hands appeared again, pulling the single bed and the unassembled clothes hanger out of the plastic bag.
During this time, Miao Zheng kept filming with a camera, exclaiming in surprise as he filmed:
"That's incredible! How can furniture be transported like that?"
"Sister, your hands look so good in photos! The black plastic bag really complements your skin tone!"
"Can we try a different angle? Yes, yes, this angle makes your fingers look especially slender! Perfect!"
Miao Zheng's voice was filled with barely suppressed joy and excitement. His praises never stopped from the moment the furniture appeared, maximizing his emotional appeal.
The ghost inside the black plastic bag was clearly not used to such enthusiastic praise. After moving the furniture, its ghostly hands didn't linger and all retracted into the plastic bag.
Having successfully recorded the footage, Miao Zheng happily placed the camera on the table and then continued packing his clothes.
Having thoroughly studied the tenant rules, Miao Zheng knew that the female ghost in room 109 disliked anything that could hide people, so she didn't use a suitcase but instead packed her clothes in a transparent plastic bag.
After assembling the clothes hangers, she took out the packed clothes one by one, preparing to hang them on the hangers.
However, after packing half of the clothes, Miao Zheng suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.
Oh no, there's something wrong with the takeout I ate before coming to the apartment.
That despicable business! They said it wasn't pre-made food, and they ripped me off. I'm going to give them a bad review later.
Miao Zheng can't cook and often eats takeout that's high in oil and salt. In addition, she has a habit of staying up all night and drinking coffee because of her work. As a result, her stomach is very fragile and she is prone to diarrhea if she eats something unclean.
Fortunately, the newly rented room had water... Miao Zheng stumbled and rushed to the bathroom.
After she had released her pent-up emotions, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
Miao Zheng realized with despair that he seemed to have forgotten to put toilet paper in the bathroom.
She bought a pack of toilet paper this morning, but since she had just moved in and there was so much stuff and everything was so messy, she forgot to put the toilet paper in the bathroom.
Just as Miao Zheng was in despair, a sudden thought flashed through her mind, and she abruptly turned her head to look at the black plastic bag next to the sink.
After a moment's hesitation, the despair of having no toilet paper ultimately overcame the shame.
Miao Zheng mustered his courage and said shyly, "Um, ghost sister, I'm in a real emergency... Could you please get me a roll of toilet paper? My new roll of toilet paper is on the kitchen counter opposite the bathroom."
The black plastic bag in the bathroom trembled slightly, but remained unchanged.
But the black plastic bag in the kitchen opened by itself, and a blood-stained ghostly hand reached out from it.
Before taking the toilet paper, the ghostly hand deliberately tore off a few sheets of paper, wiped the blood off its hand, and then took the toilet paper and shrunk back into the plastic bag.
At the same time, the black plastic bag in the bathroom sink slowly opened.
First, a pale arm holding a roll of toilet paper emerged from the plastic bag. At first, it was only the length of an average human arm. Once the arm was fully extended, a small leg was pulled out from the cross-section of the arm. Attached to the small leg was another arm, and at the end of this arm, a bone resembling a spine was dragged out...
Several severed limbs formed a bizarre rope that stretched across the entire bathroom, handing the toilet paper roll to Miao Zheng.
Seeing this bizarre scene before him, Miao Zheng was moved to tears.
Who said this female ghost sister is bad? This female ghost sister is absolutely wonderful, waaaaah!
She sat on the toilet, gratefully accepting the toilet paper with both hands: "Sister, from now on you are my only sister."
After successfully surviving the toilet paper crisis, Miao Zheng made several more trips to the toilet.
That bastard boss must have used laxatives to make the takeout...
Miao Zheng emerged from the bathroom, leaning weakly against the wall, and let out a feeble sigh: "I need montmorillonite powder... Damn it, I swear I'll never eat takeout again. Starting tomorrow, I'll try to learn to cook..."
As Miao Zheng passed by the open kitchen, she was surprised to find that there were signs of cooking in the kitchen, and the plastic bags containing the ingredients from that morning had also been moved.
Turning my head again, I saw a steaming bowl of congee with preserved egg and lean pork on the bedroom table.
Miao Zheng really cried, and knelt down on the ground, hugging the nearest black plastic bag.
"Mommy!!! This ghost sister is so authoritative! She's practically a mommy! Waaaaah—what have I done to deserve this? I've rented such a nice house and am living with such a wonderful ghost sister—"
A pale, ghostly hand struggled to squeeze out of the plastic bag in Miao Zheng's arms. It hesitated for a moment, then gently patted Miao Zheng's back as if comforting a child.
*
After using his skills on the ghost, Zhou Fangdong walked out of Room 102 looking exhausted, and then encountered Miao Zheng again in the corridor.
Not long ago, Miao Zheng seemed healthy and energetic, but after only a short while, her face inexplicably turned very pale, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness.
Even though she looked very weak, she still had a happy expression on her face, carrying a camera in one hand and a drone in the other, smiling as if she had just won a huge lottery prize.
To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Zhou Fangdong took the initiative to ask, "Where are you going?"
Although the tenant key can protect tenants from attacks by ghosts in the corridor, Zhou Fangdong doesn't know if the key will still protect them if the tenants actively attack the ghosts.
Miao Zheng seems like the type who would harass ghosts for video material.
"I want to film a check-in vlog and shoot a panoramic view of the apartment from outside." Miao Zheng waved the drone in his hand. "By the way, landlord, could you please get me broadband? I can't do a live stream without internet in the room."
At that moment, Zhou Fangdong suddenly regretted calling out to Miao Zheng.
Time to spend money again... My virtual currency is too cheap.
Zhou Fangdong urgently called upon the system in his mind.
"System, how much does it cost to set up broadband for the tenant?"
[90 Ghost Coins per month, discounted price for a yearly subscription: 1000 Ghost Coins]
"Will all tenants be able to use it after it's opened?"
No, broadband costs 90 ghost coins per room per month.
It's so dark, so incredibly dark.
He only has 120 Ghost Coins left, and after he gets the broadband, he won't have many left.
Zhou Fangdong thought for a moment, then asked, "System, can you give the tenant a data plan similar to my phone's?"
[The tenant's phone number does not belong to the apartment management company and is not subject to system changes; therefore, the tenant cannot use a mobile data plan.]
“Just like I created a hotspot for Hong Zhong back then, I’ll create one for Miao Zheng too, you see…” Zhou Fangdong persisted, trying to find other ways to save money.
A cold, electronic voice interrupted him: "[This function is not available in the system]."
No matter how much he bargained, the system would only repeat this one sentence.
Looking at Miao Zheng standing in front of him with an expectant face, Zhou Fangdong gritted his teeth and bought a month's worth of broadband first.
After all, this live stream was based on his own set of tenant rules, and broadband was essential to ensure the safety of the tenants in room 109.
Zhou Fangdong was haggling with the system in his mind, disregarding his image, but in Miao Zheng's eyes, the mysterious landlord just lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying to her, "The broadband is already turned on, and the network cable in the room can be used now."
Miao Zheng let out a cheer: "Thank you so much! Landlord, you're so kind! Thank you for renting me such a great place, I'll do my best to promote it!"
After getting broadband, Miao Zheng didn't linger in the corridor. He excitedly carried the camera and drone and ran towards the apartment entrance.
[Beep—Tenant Miao Zheng's favorability rating has exceeded 80, the favorability system interface is now unlocked]
[Tenant favorability rating reaches the target; rewards can be claimed on the favorability rating interface.]
A note from the author:
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