Chapter 9 Drafting the Rental Contract; The Murder Patterns of the Ghost in Room 109...
Just as those ghostly hands were about to touch Hong Zhong, his keen senses, honed from years of walking the line between life and death, caused him to reflexively lunge forward, narrowly avoiding their grasp.
However, these ghostly hands were just the beginning.
It's afternoon, not yet dark, but the ghosts in the furniture store have defied their nature and started moving during the day.
Hong Zhong's sudden visit seemed to break some taboo, completely enraging the evil spirits in the furniture store and arousing their desire to attack.
In the shop window on the first floor, the mannequin that was sitting on the furniture twisted its neck, and blood gushed from its dark eye sockets. The blood instantly soaked the armchair below and flowed out of the broken French window at an extremely fast speed, spreading outwards.
Even after their first attack failed, those pale, ghostly hands didn't stop. They darted through the shadows, treating Hong Zhong's shadow as their second home, relentlessly flanking and attacking him from behind. One bullet was deflected, and another would emerge from the exact opposite direction, giving him no chance to breathe.
Even more deadly than the ghostly hands were the blood oozing from the mannequins' eyes.
The blood, like a shadow that shelters ghosts, not only stained the ground red but also distorted the surrounding air into a dark red, creating a blood-red space beneath the building on the sunny side where ghosts could roam freely.
This blood-red space was like a connection to the deepest hell, with blood churning and countless deformed and grotesque ghosts constantly emerging from the pool of blood.
The best time to stop them is the moment the mannequin undergoes its transformation. As long as the spread of blood is stopped, these ghosts will not appear.
But Hong Zhong was entangled with the ghost hand at that time and had already missed the opportunity.
Now, a blood-red chasm filled with ghosts separates him from the building's shop windows, with mannequins completely hidden behind these monsters.
Cold sweat beaded on Hong Zhong's forehead, and his hand holding the gun trembled.
Having worked in the Oddity Check Department for so many years and witnessed all sorts of bizarre things, he was still shocked when faced with this apocalyptic scene.
What exactly happened? Did all the sealed-off areas, including the Liwan Apartments, undergo abnormal changes without the knowledge of the Anomaly Investigation Department?
Just at this critical moment, a basic electronic ringtone suddenly came from Hong Zhong.
When the notification sound rang out, everyone present, both humans and ghosts, were startled.
Hong Zhong knew what the notification sound meant, but he didn't move. He kept staring intently at the ghost in front of him, not daring to move away even a fraction of an inch.
The ringtone was the notification sound when he received a cleaning order from Liwan Apartment. It must be that Liwan Apartment had given him another order, but he couldn't afford to be distracted by the current crisis.
The alarm rang a second time, and in the blink of an eye, both the pale ghost hand and the monster in the pool of blood vanished.
Everything that just happened seemed like an illusion that had never existed.
Hong Zhong remained standing in the same spot, his expression tense as he held his gun high. But now, all he was pointing his gun at was the dilapidated building, which remained unchanged, and the furniture packed up at the building's entrance.
Hong Zhong looked bewildered and slowly lowered his gun. Then, instinctively, he took out his phone and checked the screen.
The order page expands, displaying only two short sentences:
The furniture delivery person has arrived at the pickup point.
Please have the delivery person pick up the goods promptly and transport them to their destination.
Hong Zhong put his phone away, his body and mind still in a wartime state, mechanically carrying all the furniture into the back of the pickup truck as if sleepwalking.
He was still immersed in the scene just now. After realizing what had driven away those terrifying ghosts, Hong Zhong felt as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water on his head on a sweltering summer day. The lingering fear washed over his entire body like an electric current.
The landlord of Liwan Apartments managed to easily suppress the terrifying ghosts that emerged from the furniture store using only two order records.
Without his knowledge, the eerie power belonging to the Liwan Apartments had already attached itself to him, and then, using him as a medium, crossed most of the city to arrive here.
If he had stayed in the Investigation Department a little longer, if this strange power had erupted in the Investigation Department...
Hong Zhong had no idea how he managed to drive the car back to Liwan Apartment.
He had never felt so powerless.
The familiar yet unfamiliar apartment building before him made him feel like a tiny ant facing a natural disaster; the more he learned, the more powerless he felt.
After learning that the power of Liwan Apartments could influence the outside world through him, Hong Zhong took the initiative to ask his superiors to allow him to work outside the apartment on his way back.
He dared not go to the Investigation Department again; the strange power attached to him was so powerful that even the Bureau of Surveillance's detection devices could not identify it... If it were to erupt, the entire Bureau of Surveillance would be wiped out.
At that time, Linjiang City, having lost the protection of the Supervisory Bureau, will become a killing paradise for ghosts and monsters.
Hong Zhong sighed, got out of the car, and dutifully carried all the furniture inside.
The mysterious landlord was already waiting for him at the door. He seemed to be everywhere, observing his every move from the shadows.
After Hong Zhong placed the last piece of furniture in room 109, Zhou Fangdong said gratefully, "Thank you for your hard work. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know how to move all this furniture in." He absolutely couldn't have carried such a heavy wardrobe by himself.
Hong Zhong gave a wry smile.
He could no longer tell whether the landlord was genuinely grateful or just being sarcastic.
I don't know how to move all this furniture over here... Don't be ridiculous, your power is enough to cross half the city and intimidate those ghosts in the furniture store.
Hong Zhong felt that the landlord's real purpose was not simply to rent out the house, nor did he want the supernatural phenomena of Liwan Apartment to spread through the tenants.
If his goal is truly just to spread paranormal power, there's no need to place a cleaning order for him. Bringing him in will only alert the Paranormal Investigation Department to the anomalies at Liwan Apartments, thus slowing down the spread of the paranormal activity.
Moreover, this mysterious landlord possesses the terrifying ability to suppress all ghosts. In the face of absolute power, what need is there for schemes and tricks?
After eliminating all possibilities, the least likely one should be the true answer.
...So, it's highly likely that this mysterious landlord was bored and wanted to bring some living people and ghosts into the apartment for his own amusement.
Thinking of this, Hong Zhong's bitterness deepened, and his robust figure became somewhat hunched.
Zhou Fangdong, who simply wanted to hire a cleaner to clean the house for rent, had no idea what kind of dramatic thoughts Hong Zhong had been having, or what complex psychological activities were going through his mind.
He readily paid the cleaning service four hours' hourly wage and reimbursed Hong Zhong's gas money through the order tipping interface before sending him away.
After Hong Zhong left, Zhou Fangdong returned to his room and sat down at his desk to start working on the rental contract for room 109.
First, to prevent the ghost in room 109 from being stressed, room 109 can only be rented to women.
The 109 ghost was a wife in her previous life. She was always busy with housework but was ignored by her husband. Sometimes she would even become the punching bag for her husband to vent his emotions. This ghost was afraid of being seen, yet longed to be seen; afraid of being ignored, yet longed to be ignored.
The bloodstains after her death, the saw used to dismember her body, and the black plastic bag containing her body parts are all proof that she once existed and cannot be destroyed or disposed of at will.
However, one should not touch or open the plastic bag casually; one should try to remain calm and treat the plastic bag containing the body parts as ordinary furniture.
You also need to look at the plastic bag frequently to make it feel valued... but looking at it for too long may anger the ghost and make it have murderous thoughts.
...This is a bit difficult.
Wait, perhaps it can be viewed through media, and it doesn't necessarily have to be viewed by the tenant himself.
I suggest using a camera to film the plastic bags... oh wait, let's just start a live stream of those black plastic bags. We need to test the live stream duration...
Forget it, that's too much trouble. I'll just fill in three hours for now. Anyway, the system will check the rental agreement after it's filled out, and if it's not suitable, I'll just change the time.
Zhou Fangdong bit his pen, checking the first draft for any omissions.
Just then, a pop-up window suddenly appeared in the system:
[Beep—Furniture in room 109 has been detected to be damaged. Please purchase new furniture as soon as possible.]
Zhou Fangdong quickly opened the rental preview interface.
In room 109, the wardrobe he had just bought had been dismantled, leaving only the doors. The single bed had also been broken in half and completely collapsed. A scarlet ghostly hand was slowly withdrawing from the broken bed frame and retracting into a black plastic bag.
Zhou Fangdong frowned.
Why is this 109-year-old female ghost tearing down his furniture?
As I looked through the files, a sudden thought struck me: the image of the damaged furniture in room 109 gradually overlapped with the murder scene photos in the case file…
Zhou Fangdong understood.
—Wardrobes and under beds are both spaces where you can hide.
The 109 ghosts did not want their 'husband' to hide from them; they rejected emotional abuse and hoped to live together honestly.
Sigh, you should have said so earlier. What a waste of a new set of furniture.
Zhou Fangdong took out his phone and reordered a floor-standing solid wood single bed on a furniture purchasing app, and then bought a set of open alloy clothes racks.
I'll trouble Hong Zhong to help him transport the furniture again tomorrow.
After placing the order, Zhou Fangdong began to work on the rental contract for room 109.
The ghost in this room dislikes hiding places like wardrobes and under beds, indicating that it doesn't like people hiding from it.
For the safety of the tenants, let's add another rule: they cannot cover their bodies with blankets while sleeping.
After finishing writing, Zhou Fangdong carefully checked the rental contract to make sure there were no omissions before submitting it to the system for testing.
After a moment of silence, the system's electronic voice sounded:
[Beep—Tenant contract successfully completed. The Class B ghost in Room 109, the Dismemberment Ghost, is very satisfied with this contract.]
After sharing an apartment with a living person for a month, the dismembering ghost will pay 1000 ghost coins as rent each month.
After hearing the system's reply, Zhou Fangdong realized something:
"So, the ghost coins generated after the tenant survives are all paid by the ghosts who share the apartment with the tenant? The 300 ghost coins Zhao Dawei earned in Room 101 after surviving for a month are..."
Yes, those 300 ghost coins were paid by the ghost in the mirror in room 101.
To prevent ghosts from continuing to freeload in the room, please clean the room diligently, establish rules, and if necessary, remove ghosts that do not pay rent from the room and replace them with other ghosts.
[Later on, multiple ghosts will compete for the same room. Please learn to identify which ghost can afford the rent.]
Got it. On the surface, it's about renting out a haunted house to living people, but in reality, it's about finding roommates for the ghosts that are occupying the haunted house and refusing to leave.
After realizing the true nature of this rental arrangement, Zhou Fangdong clicked his tongue slightly: "I feel a little guilty... System, isn't what we're doing a bit unethical? Living with ghosts, if a tenant forgets the rules or deliberately disobeys the rental contract, they'll definitely die, right?"
Zhou Fangdong was, after all, a living person, and would subconsciously consider things from the perspective of a living person.
A low, buzzing sound swept through my mind, followed by the system's cold, emotionless electronic voice:
First of all, System X is not human and does not possess human moral concepts.
Secondly, living in Liwan Apartments was the tenants' own choice; the host didn't force them, so why should they feel guilty?
[To prevent the tenant's death, the host can monitor the tenant's movements around the clock or provide the tenant with self-defense items.]
Finally, adhering to the rental agreement is also part of the rent payment that tenants are obligated to make; it's something they must follow. Ordinary people are already very fortunate to have obtained tenant status at Liwan Apartments with such minimal effort.
Zhou Fangdong was shocked; this was the first time he had ever heard the system speak such a long sentence.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that as he completed more tasks, the system seemed to become more intelligent... even though it started out as an artificial idiot that could only repeat task content.
"However, why is it considered lucky to be a tenant of Liwan Apartments? Is being a tenant of a haunted building or haunted house something to be proud of?"
*
While Zhou Fangdong was drafting the rental contract for room 109, Zhao Dawei, the tenant of room 101, was looking for a job.
He originally only came out to buy some instant noodles at a supermarket nearing their expiration date, but while on his way to buy food, Zhao Dawei received a call from the Bureau of Abnormal Supervision.
He was told over the phone that all the employees of the company he used to work for were caught up in a paranormal event that afternoon. All the company's senior executives died, and the employees suffered heavy casualties, but he was the only one who was unharmed.
They told Zhao Dawei to go to the Supervisory Bureau the next day to give a statement and be subject to investigation by the Investigation Department.
After listening to this phone call, Zhao Dawei felt like he was some kind of cursed lone star.
First, his wife and children died unexpectedly, then his boss and colleagues all had accidents, but he was unharmed.
Now Zhao Dawei was even more hesitant to spend the 170 yuan he had left.
The company is in trouble, so forget about the N+1 compensation for layoffs; it's definitely gone now.
He looked at the instant noodles on the shelf, swallowed hard, and finally gritted his teeth and left the supermarket nearing its expiration date. He went to a nearby bus station and filled his thermos with some hot water.
Just as Zhao Dawei was about to find a bus to go back to Liwan Apartment, he suddenly spotted a job advertisement on a utility pole next to the bus stop.
[A delicious slaughterhouse is hiring patrol security guards. No age limit. Employee meals and night rest areas provided. Flexible working hours, shift work. Salary negotiable. Welcome to apply!]
Zhao Dawei's gaze was fixed on the words "[Employee Meals Included]". By the time he came to his senses, the flyer was already in his hand.
Why don't you give it a try and apply for the job?
Judging from the address on the flyer, this delicious slaughterhouse is not far from Liwan Apartment. It won't take long to get back to Liwan Apartment after the job interview... It's summer now, and it won't get completely dark until 7 pm, so there's still plenty of time.
As Zhao Dawei was looking at the flyers, a bus smoothly and silently stopped in front of him.
He glanced at the flyer, then boarded the bus without looking up.
The bus was completely empty, and the driver's seat was completely obscured by an opaque metal plate.
Above the bus door, there was originally only one stop listed: [Liwan Apartment]. But after Zhao Dawei boarded, the [Delicious Slaughterhouse] stop slowly appeared to the left of [Liwan Apartment].
A note from the author:
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