Chapter 43: Ghost Market Unlocks the Second Floor of Apartment, Miao Zheng Visits the Slaughterhouse...
Zhou Fangdong walked up the stairs, stepping on the mummy-patterned steps to the second floor of the apartment.
Perhaps because I had the sandalwood memorial tablet in hand, the staircase was very quiet this time. There was no white mist, nor did it appear as an endless staircase.
When Zhou Fangdong turned the corner at the stair landing and saw the entire second floor of the apartment building, he was stunned.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself before coming up, knowing that the unstable yin energy on the second floor might be different from that on the first floor, he never expected to see this scene.
The walls, floor, and ceiling of the second-floor corridor were all covered in scarlet flesh and blood. Being in the second-floor corridor felt like being inside the intestines of some enormous creature.
As far as the eye could see, everything was crimson, with bluish-purple veins weaving through the scarlet flesh like the thick roots of an ancient tree sprawling underground. The flesh was still slowly writhing, as if alive, trembling gently, driven by the beating of some enormous heart.
Not only that, but the air was also filled with a strong, steaming smell of blood. Every breath felt like a mouthful of warm, fresh blood, making Zhou Fangdong feel so nauseous that he almost fainted.
He took several steps back, almost unable to resist teleporting back to his room.
This environment is absolutely suffocating.
If the first floor of Liwan Apartments is just an ordinary abandoned floor, then the second floor can no longer be described as a real building; the scene is truly bizarre.
Even though he had seen many bloody and horrific scenes in recent days, he still couldn't adapt to the scene before him.
Just then, Qian Duolai, who had come up with Zhou Fangdong, suddenly rushed up to the second floor.
Because he was running too fast, just as he reached the second-floor stairwell, the jelly-like, wobbly head on his neck was violently thrown to the ground by the momentum of his forward run, splattering red and white blood all over the ground, blending together with the scarlet flesh and blood covering the second-floor corridor floor.
Qian Duolai quickly lay down on the ground, frantically groping around, seemingly trying to collect the fleshy bits from its head again.
Strangely, as it collected the flesh and blood from its own head, the chunks of flesh covering the corridor floor began to slowly recede, revealing a small piece of marble floor tile whose color was indistinguishable.
Zhou Fangdong was stunned by the scene.
Qian Duolai...it looks like it's cleaning?
By the way, she's a cleaner from Liwan Apartments...
Could the second-floor corridor have turned into this state because Qian Duo has been trapped on the first floor these past few days?
No wonder it has been sitting in the stairwell for the past few days, staring intently at the stairs.
Zhou Fangdong dared not imagine what would happen to the second floor of his apartment if things were delayed for a few more days.
Qian Duolai cleaned very quickly. As it kept repeating the process of 'collecting minced meat and placing it on the neck - the minced meat head exploded due to the large movement - collecting minced meat and placing it on the neck again', several small clean areas were quickly cleared in the second-floor corridor.
Although some clean areas have been cleared out, there is still no space to stand on the second floor.
Because this cleaner's cleaning method is erratic; sometimes it tidies up the floor, sometimes it scratches the walls, cleaning only wherever its smeared head lands.
Seeing its flustered state, Zhou Fangdong bought a low-level automatic cleaning tool for 30 ghost coins from the system store and tried using it on the stairwell.
As expected, the system informed us that the cleaning tools could not remove the stains caused by the ghost.
The environment on the second floor was too appalling, and it would be difficult to clear any space to walk in a short time. Moreover, the smell of blood here was really unbearable... Zhou Fangdong decided to go down and wait for a while until Qian Duo had cleaned it up before coming back.
Just as he was about to go downstairs, two ghosts suddenly rushed down the stairs above.
They look exactly like Qian Duolai, with heads covered in mud and wearing blood-stained sanitation worker uniforms. They even have similar body shapes, just like triplets.
The two frizzy-haired ghosts rushed down and began cleaning up the blood and flesh in the second-floor corridor. With their help, the cleaning speed on the second floor increased considerably.
Zhou Fangdong looked up in the direction the two ghosts had come from.
The stairs above should lead to the third floor.
After the staircase is closed, does that mean not only the first and second floors are disconnected, but all floors in the entire Liwan Apartment complex are now cut off from each other? And then, one of the cleaning staff is locked on the first floor, and two are locked on the third floor?
...But aren't there five cleaners in total? Where are the other two?
Seemingly noticing Zhou Fangdong's scrutinizing gaze, the two cleaners who had run down from the third floor paused in unison, then turned around in unison, took out a card from their newly reconstructed fleshy heads, and handed it to him.
Zhou Fangdong took the two cards, and the cards, which were completely stained with blood, slowly returned to their original state in his hands.
—It's the same work ID for a cleaner at Liwan Apartment as Qian Duolai's, even the photo with the same afro hairstyle is exactly the same, the only difference is the name.
One is Quan Duolai.
One is that one has more life.
After Zhou Fangdong received the two work permits, the progress of side quest 4, item 2, 'Hire the deceased cleaners and put them back on the job', has changed to (3/5).
Zhou Fangdong handed his work ID back to the two ghosts and asked, "There are five cleaners at Liwan Apartment. Do you know where the other two went?"
The three ghosts present shook their heads in unison, and with the movement, their fleshy heads once again scattered on the ground with a 'splat' due to inertia.
The three ghosts got busy again.
Okay, looks like I'll have to find it myself.
Zhou Fangdong looked again at the stairs leading to the third floor.
The second floor already felt dangerous to him, so he was hesitant to go to higher floors.
After all, anyone who has played games knows that you have to stay in the area corresponding to your level and you can't challenge dungeons that are too high up... A player who hasn't even left the starting village and is carrying the village's best sword to fight the final boss is committing suicide.
Let's just let things take their course. Anyway, the stairwell has reopened now, so maybe those two cleaners were stuck on a floor too, and they'll wander up to the second floor on their own in a while.
Zhou Fangdong walked down the stairs and returned to room 106.
Room 106 had been cleaned, and the furniture from the furniture store had arrived and was being moved into the room one by one.
Once inside the room, the ghosts hidden inside the furniture were chased out one by one by the kittens in the room.
Everything is ready now, except for Hong Zhong.
Zhou Fangdong was eager to see what his main quest reward would be, hoping the Bureau of Abnormal Inspection would approve Hong Zhong's relocation application soon.
*
Hong Zhong doesn't have time to move yet because he's dealing with a very difficult and urgent case.
After he submitted his report yesterday, his application was approved in just two hours.
Moreover, they not only agreed to his application to move into the Liwan Apartment, but also agreed to his plan to pretend to resign and work as a cleaner in the apartment.
The reason he hasn't gone to Liwan Apartment yet is because he hasn't finished dealing with this case.
After submitting the report yesterday, Hong Zhong wanted to go home to pack his luggage for the Liwan Apartment, but he suddenly received an urgent mission transfer message on his phone.
The message said that one of his B-level investigators had gone missing, and Hong Zhong needed to find the missing investigator within 24 hours based on the existing clues... He needed to find him alive or dead.
Even if there is no body, we must find the recording device on his body.
The missing Class B investigator was named Li Zhe. This young man was assigned to Hong Zhong's team as soon as he joined the Anomaly Investigation Department, and he was Hong Zhong's apprentice.
The paranormal event that Li Zhe investigated before his disappearance is related to the recent child abduction case in the city center.
Linjiang City has a strict curfew in the city center, and neither adults nor children are allowed to go out at night... But for some reason, even when staying at home, the child still mysteriously disappears.
According to witnesses, before their children went missing, they vaguely saw a peddler dressed in ancient style and wearing a large straw hat walking past their door.
As the peddler walked away, the children in the family would soon disappear as well.
Li Zhe disappeared while investigating this strange peddler; he is the only adult among the recent victims of these disappearances.
Before he disappeared, the only message he sent back to the Special Investigations Department was two words: "Ghost Market".
You can tell how dangerous his situation was from such a short message... Li Zhe probably only had time to type those two words.
After an afternoon of investigation yesterday, Hong Zhong found that Li Zhe's last known location was in the southern suburbs of Linjiang City.
In order to obtain more clues, he drove there directly this morning.
Then he discovered a strange factory in the southern suburbs, a factory that was still operating and had human activity—the Delicious Slaughterhouse.
*
Just as the manager of the Delicious Slaughterhouse finished hanging up the fresh goods he had bought from the Ghost Market, he suddenly noticed something unusual happening outside the factory.
He assumed it was another security guard applying for a job, so he put away his chainsaw and teleported to the factory gate.
...Then he saw a girl who was 1.8 meters tall carrying a video camera and filming frantically at the factory gate.
When she saw him come out of the door, her eyes lit up, and she shoved the camera right in his face.
The factory manager took a step back and silently pulled out a chainsaw.
Seeing that things were not going well, the guy carrying the camera quickly took out a card from his pocket and handed it to him.
Sensing the familiar yet terrifying aura emanating from the card, the factory manager paused, put the chainsaw back, and took the card from her hand.
The sign above read: "[Delicious Slaughterhouse Visitor Pass]"
The factory manager's lips twitched slightly, hidden beneath his mask.
His gaze moved down and he saw the name and a one-inch photo below.
Miao Zheng, tenant of room 109, Liwan Apartment
The factory manager held the visitor pass in his hand, looking at it over and over again, and occasionally glancing at Miao Zheng, trying to find any possibility that the pass was forged.
Miao Zheng met his gaze eagerly, completely unafraid of his malicious scrutinizing look.
The factory manager sighed heavily, patted his head, closed his eyes and then opened them again... The visitor pass in his hand was still there, and the little girl carrying the camera was still there.
"Alright, come with me." The factory manager finally gave in, though his muffled voice sounded like he was in pain.
The factory manager thought that he had already suffered enough by enduring humiliation and bringing a human to visit the factory, but to his surprise, the visitor was particularly talkative, buzzing in his ear like a mosquito.
"Factory manager, factory manager, how much money do you make each year running such a large factory? Do you pay taxes? Do the employees in the factory have the five social insurances and one housing fund? What made you decide to open a factory in the suburbs? What does your factory mainly slaughter? Where are you planning to take me for a visit next?"
The factory manager abruptly stopped and turned to glare fiercely at Miao Zheng. His eyes, the only part of his face that was completely covered, seemed to be turning red.
Miao Zheng acted as if she couldn't see anything and continued to ask with a grin, "By the way, factory manager, can I take a photo with you and get your autograph? I'm from the countryside, and this is the first time I've seen such a big factory, and also the first time I've seen the legendary factory manager." As she spoke, she produced a camera from who-knows-where.
The factory manager's gray long-sleeved uniform had faint bloodstains seeping through it.
He took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "No way! No photos are allowed inside the factory! Take all your naughty little toys back, including the ones you're wearing around your neck and waist!"
"Tch." Miao Zheng curled his lip and obediently put the video camera, still camera, portable action camera, thumb action camera, and pinhole camera back into the photography equipment bag.
“Damn it, if you weren’t a tenant of Liwan Apartments…” A faint grinding sound came from beneath the factory manager’s mask.
"Damn it, the last guy who came to apply for a security guard job and messed with me was the same. Do you guys think this place is a haunted house in an amusement park? Coming and going as you please... It's infuriating... If I could beat him up... Damn it..."
As he led Miao Zheng into the factory, the factory manager kept muttering something until his voice became indistinct, like the roar of a wild beast. All that could be heard was the word "Damn it."
Miao Zheng pretended not to hear anything.
With the visitor pass given by the landlord, we could naturally treat it like a haunted house and play around with it without worry, what else could we do?
The factory manager led Miao Zheng into the factory building closest to the entrance.
Upon entering, one finds a warehouse storing 'goods'. The goods are all in their initial, unprocessed state, with hooks piercing their collarbones and hanging from the ceiling, their blood staining the warehouse floor.
The factory manager's sinister voice suddenly rang out:
"Welcome to the slaughtering line of the Delicious Slaughterhouse... These are all goods that have not yet been processed in our factory."
"This is a disobedient security guard who broke the rules and violated taboos."
"This is a half-ghost security guard who has been corrupted by resentment and yin energy and has lost his mind."
"This is a security guard who has possessed our body; he appears to be human but is actually a vengeful ghost."
"I can provide you with tools such as a chainsaw and a cleaver. Which one do you want to slaughter?"
The factory manager stared at Miao Zheng with ill intent, seemingly waiting for her to make a choice before putting down the one with the highest risk factor.
Miao Zheng looked at the security guards hanging from the ceiling, their faces twisted and ferocious, no different from vengeful ghosts, and hesitated to speak.
She really wanted to complain, "Being a security guard at your slaughterhouse is quite dangerous."
Is this the Meiwei Slaughterhouse or the Baoan Slaughterhouse?
Miao Zheng shook her head, declining the activity: "Aren't there any other tours? I'm a weak woman and I can't handle this kind of bloody slaughtering. Why don't you show me around the factory a bit more? You're just killing time anyway."
The factory manager looked at the frail woman in front of him, who was 1.8 meters tall and had arm muscles as perfectly defined as the statue of David. He remained silent for a moment before continuing to lead her inside.
Further ahead is the slaughterhouse's assembly line, which is highly mechanized. Some staff members, dressed in long-sleeved uniforms, hats, and masks, and looking similar to the factory manager, are busy inside.
They were all living people, seemingly unable to see what kind of goods they were handling with the machinery. Everyone had a normal expression, and their movements were very professional and fluid.
The factory manager and Miao Zheng appeared at the starting point of the assembly line, where a pile of 'goods' were hanging, waiting to be transported to the assembly line by the soon-to-be-started conveyor belt.
Miao Zheng immediately noticed the person hanging on the outermost edge.
The clothes he was wearing... were the uniform of an investigator from the Special Investigations Division.
The male investigator was pale, his eyes were closed, and his hands were bound with chains. A hook hanging from the ceiling passed between the chains, suspending him from the ceiling and making him look like a pig or sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
This person's appearance looked familiar; she was certain she had seen him in the Special Investigations Department.
"Can I take this with me?" Miao Zheng asked, pointing at the investigator.
The factory manager snorted coldly: "Little girl, this is cargo that our slaughterhouse is about to process. After slaughtering it, I still need to sell it. This is related to our factory's operating income, and it's not within the scope of your tour and play. If you want to play with this kind of human-shaped cargo, I'll release a few more security guards possessed by vengeful ghosts for you."
Miao Zheng shook his head: "I want this one. Are you selling this person? How much are you willing to pay?"
The factory manager let out a cold laugh: "This is fresh goods I just bought from the ghost market this morning. It's going to sell for three hundred ghost coins. Can you afford that?"
"Ghost coins?" Miao Zheng scratched his short hair, thought for a moment, and took out a small, palm-sized black plastic bag from his pocket. "Is this it?"
This was given to her by the female ghost in room 109 before she left. She wrote on the ground in blood that it was 'money' and told her to buy whatever she liked when she went out and not to deprive herself.
The factory manager took it, and checked it in his hand... exactly three hundred ghost coins, no more, no less.
He silently opened the plastic bag, and a thick black mist wafted out and directly merged into his body.
The factory manager closed his eyes and let out a long, satisfied sigh. His previously agitated state visibly relaxed considerably.
"Fine, take this kid and get out of here." He waved his hand impatiently at Miao Zheng.
"Huh? The tour is over already? But I haven't..."
"Get the hell out of here!"
"Oh, I'll get lost." Sensing that the factory manager's patience had completely run out, Miao Zheng, who was very good at reading people's expressions, immediately became obedient.
She quickly lowered Li Zhe from the hook and hoisted him onto her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Then, carrying a 10-kilogram photography equipment bag on her back and a 70-kilogram living person on her shoulders, she quickly ran out of the delicious slaughterhouse.
Before she left, the factory manager's gray long-sleeved uniform was already mostly stained red with blood.
When Miao Zheng carried the investigator out of the large iron gate of the Delicious Slaughterhouse, they ran into Hong Zhong, who was loitering outside the factory.
Hong Zhong watched as Miao Zheng carried Li Zhe and ran briskly out of the factory, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
It was indeed Miao Zheng.
How could it be Miao Zheng??
What was she doing at the factory? Could it be that Li Zhe was kidnapped by her? That's impossible...
"Captain Hong? You're here. I was just about to call you." After saying that, Miao Zheng put Li Zhe down from his shoulder. "This should be one of your team members, right? I think I saw him in the Special Investigations Department during the special training."
Hong Zhong checked Li Zhe's breathing and pulse, and relaxed slightly after finding that he was still alive.
He looked at Miao Zheng and asked, "What are you doing in this factory?"
Fearing that Hong Zhong would accuse her of wandering around haunted places, Miao Zheng quickly said, "The landlord asked me to come!"
In her opinion, this made perfect sense, since she could only visit the delicious slaughterhouse with the landlord's permission. Moreover, with the visitor pass provided by the landlord, she could be very safe inside the factory.
But Hong Zhong interpreted X's words in a different way.
—Could it be that the landlord had anticipated that the missing Li Zhe would appear at the factory, and therefore specially sent Miao Zheng to help him?!
Could this be one of the perks of being a tenant at Liwan Apartments?
After agreeing to become a tenant of Liwan Apartments, not only will he be protected by the landlord, but also those associated with him will be protected by the landlord.
Thinking of this, Hong Zhong gasped.
I never imagined that the landlord not only possessed unfathomable strength, but also had the ability to foresee the future... What terrifying power this is, it's simply terrifying!
*
In Liwan Apartment, Zhou Fangdong, who was checking the system interface in room 106, suddenly felt a tickle in his nose and a feeling of wanting to sneeze.
He looked at the little black cats darting around the room, chasing and playing, with a puzzled expression, and mentally called out to the system: "Do cat ghosts shed fur too?"
He is allergic to both cat and dog hair, so although he loves animals, he has never owned one.
[Cat ghosts are considered spirits, aggregates of resentment. The system believes they shouldn't have the ability to shed fur.]
Zhou Fangdong rubbed his nose. "Strange... Never mind that for now. System, why has a new [Ghost Market] been unlocked in my map exploration interface? I don't think I did anything just now?"
[Tenant 109, Miao Zheng, has been detected to have purchased goods from the Ghost Market. The Ghost Market teleportation point has been automatically activated for the host.]
"Miao Zheng?" Zhou Fangdong was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized, "Wait, didn't my tenant go to the Delicious Slaughterhouse for a visit this morning? When did she go to the Ghost Market again?"
Without waiting for a system response, he quickly opened the [Linjiang City Map] and breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the small red dot representing Miao Zheng approaching the apartment.
Thankfully, nothing happened. He was so scared that he thought Miao Zheng had been caught up in some strange supernatural event on his way to the Delicious Slaughterhouse.
[Tenant 109 has already visited the Delicious Slaughterhouse. Due to the factory manager's extremely low opinion of the tenant, the tenant is temporarily barred from visiting the slaughterhouse again for one month.]
Zhou Fangdong didn't care what Miao Zheng had done at the Delicious Slaughterhouse that caused the factory director to have such a low opinion of her; as long as she was alright, that was fine.
After confirming that his tenants were safe, Zhou Fangdong exited the [Linjiang City Map], zoomed in on the map interface, and opened the [Ghost Market] introduction details.
I don't know what the purpose of this newly unlocked area is.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com