Chapter 2 Equipment Effects Inspection of the First Floor Room
The system did not respond to Zhou Fangdong's question and fell silent after explaining the information related to favorability.
Zhou Fangdong sighed.
He used to have to wear a suit to work every day, and now that he's a landlord of a haunted house, he still has to wear work clothes according to the system's requirements. Is he destined to never escape the fate of being a corporate slave?
I really want to live life to the fullest, according to my own aesthetic...
Zhou Fangdong, feeling dejected, folded his blood-stained suit and stuffed it into the closet.
After the cabinet door closed, the system voice sounded again:
[Host has been detected to be fully equipped with [Landlord's Clothing], 12 inventory slots have been unlocked, and 4 exclusive item slots have been unlocked.]
[Landlord's Clothes]
Equipment effect: Movement speed +10%, gain the [Silent Walk] and [Hidden in the Dark] talents.
(Note: This garment has a self-cleaning function; it can easily clean away dust, bloodstains, and even ghostly objects.)
Zhou Fangdong clicked to view the [Hidden in the Dark] talent effect.
[Hidden in the Darkness]: If you remain still for more than 3 minutes, you will become one with the darkness, and neither ghosts nor living people can detect your existence.
Upon seeing the effects of these equipment, Zhou Fangdong's resentment at having his aesthetic sense rejected vanished instantly.
It comes with 2 talents, 12 inventory slots plus 4 exclusive item sockets, and even a self-cleaning function...
From then on, the system's aesthetic became his aesthetic; freedom was irrelevant. The main thing was that he personally loved wearing work clothes to work. From then on, this outfit became his second skin; no one could make him take it off.
Zhou Fangdong picked up the kerosene lamp and opened his character level interface on the system panel.
The character level interface features a scaled-down miniature figure that allows you to preview your clothing and physical condition.
The four exclusive item slots are located on the character's clothes in the preview interface.
Zhou Fangdong looked at the embedded slot in the system interface of his mind, then at the kerosene lamp in his hand, pondering how to insert the kerosene lamp into his brain.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, the kerosene lamp in his hand shrunk rapidly into a thumb-sized pendant, which he hung on the front of his jacket like a brooch.
At the same time, a lantern pattern appeared in the exclusive item slot on the character's coat in the preview interface.
[The player has been found to have [Landlord's Kerosene Lamp (Damaged)] embedded in their device.]
[Exclusive Item Effect Bonus: Increases movement speed by 10%, [Dark Vision] talent unlocked]
Looking at the newly popped-up item description page, Zhou Fangdong nodded in satisfaction.
I didn't expect it to have special effects bonuses, that's great.
Although the inlay was successful, Zhou Fangdong did not stop. He tried to take out the kerosene lamp and make it return to its original size.
The light from the kerosene lamp can ward off evil spirits, making it the most important life-saving item at this stage. He needs to confirm whether there is a cooldown period before using it.
The moment the thought of taking the kerosene lamp arose, it immediately appeared in his hand. He took it three times in a row without any cooling-off period. Lighting or extinguishing the lamp was also done in the blink of an eye, without the slightest delay.
Zhou Fangdong was relieved and turned the kerosene lamp back into a brooch.
The system started urging him in his mind to complete the newbie guide task as soon as possible, but Zhou Fangdong ignored it.
He carefully checked the entire room inside and out, making sure he hadn't missed anything, before heading towards the entrance.
As Zhou Fangdong walked to the shoe cabinet near the entrance, he habitually opened the top drawer.
This drawer is where he used to keep his keys. He would open it before leaving the house to check in case he forgot his keys.
What's lying in the drawer now is a large bunch of unfamiliar keys.
There were many keys, probably several hundred, each labeled with a number, all hanging on a large iron ring, which at first glance looked like a uniquely shaped necklace.
Zhou Fangdong picked up the bunch of keys.
[Obtain the landlord's exclusive item: [Landlord's Key (Incomplete)]]
Equipment effect: Allows free access to any room below the 15th floor and grants the buff [Landlord's Intimidation].
[Landlord's Intimidation] buff effect: High-level ghosts and special ghosts will not be able to see the landlord's level and will not attack the landlord indiscriminately.
As the item effect page appeared, the bunch of keys in Zhou Fangdong's hand also began to change.
[The player has been detected to have a full set of [Landlord's Clothing] equipped. The [Landlord's Key] will be automatically added to the player's inventory.]
The keychain that was originally in Zhou Fangdong's palm shrank rapidly, soon becoming the size of a ring, and hung on his waistband.
[The player has been found to have [Landlord's Key (Incomplete)] embedded in their account]
[Equipped with exclusive items for bonus effects: Unlocks the [Return] skill]
[Return]: A teleportation skill exclusive to the landlord, allowing them to teleport back to the landlord's territory from any location within the haunted building.
Looking at the equipment he was now equipped with, Zhou Fangdong's confidence swelled to an unprecedented level.
With these items, what is he afraid of? Even if he can't win, he can teleport home instantly, so he can practically roam freely in the building.
Zhou Fangdong took out a kerosene lamp, lit it, and confidently pushed open the door.
The smell of dust, mixed with the fishy and rusty odor, wafted over.
Zhou Fangdong paused in his confident stride.
A blood-soaked ghost hung upside down on the door, its twisted limbs wedged into the door frame, its drooping head swaying slightly like a pendulum.
It must have jumped to its death; its face was sunken, its features distorted, and its eyeballs had detached from their sockets and dangled onto its cheekbones, which had pierced its skin. Its neck was twisted in a bizarre position, and its head resembled a smashed watermelon. Sticky, dark red blood and grayish-white brain tissue dripped slowly from its hair, pooling into a dark red pool of blood at the doorway.
Seeing Zhou Fangdong come out of the door, the eyeball connected to the optic nerve moved, slowly raised, and stared straight at him.
Just then, the door was pushed open by inertia, and the light from the kerosene lamp spilled into the area in front of the door.
The moment the dim light appeared, the ghost who jumped off the building let out a shrill wail, dragging its twisted body and scrambling to escape into the darkness, like a giant spider fleeing in panic.
The vengeful ghost escaped, but Zhou Fangdong remained motionless, standing there expressionless.
He felt his legs were a little weak.
Watching horror movies on TV and facing ghosts up close in real life are completely different experiences.
It wasn't just the visual impact; the chilling malice emanating from the vengeful ghost, directed at the living, felt tangible, as if countless fine needles were stimulating the body and brain from all angles.
Zhou Fangdong was so frightened that he was in a state of paralysis, his body muscles were completely out of control of his brain, and he couldn't even run away.
If the kerosene lamp hadn't been lit before opening the door, he might have been killed by this vengeful ghost... The system's claim of a 90% mortality rate when opening doors wasn't unfounded.
Even after a while, Zhou Fangdong's heart was still pounding.
Looking at the dark corridor that stretched as far as the eye could see, he hesitated to go any further.
"System, are all the ghosts in this building this scary?"
【no……】
Zhou Fangdong breathed a sigh of relief.
[...More ghosts, even more terrifying than this one, please prepare yourself, host.]
That breath suddenly rose to his throat again.
This is terrible! He'd never even dared to go to a haunted house before. And at least the NPCs in haunted houses don't attack tourists, but the ghosts in these two buildings are real killers.
[Beep—Please continue with the beginner's guide quest ①: Inspect the first floor and find a room available for rent]
"Alright, alright, stop dripping, I'll leave, okay?" Zhou Fangdong gritted his teeth and forced himself to walk forward.
He was now at the end of a corridor, with a row of windows on his left and the entrance doors to the apartments on his right.
The air, which hadn't been ventilated for a long time, felt thick and heavy, as if the dust had blended into the air, making it difficult to breathe.
There was no suspended ceiling above the corridor, and the rusty metal water pipes were completely exposed, with water occasionally dripping from above, making a 'drip...drip...' sound.
All the windows were boarded up, and a few stubborn, pale beams of light squeezed out from the gaps in the boards, slanting into the darkness and leaving behind streaks of light and shadow like iron bars.
Looking at the dilapidated scene before him, Zhou Fangdong felt a deep sense of despair.
Would anyone actually rent a place like this...? If he can't complete his rental quota, will he be trapped in this haunted building forever?
The only saving grace is that the hallway floor is just dusty, without any other trash, so cleaning it shouldn't be too difficult in the future.
Zhou Fangdong pushed open the door to room 109, the closest room to him.
The door hinges turned, producing a harsh metallic scraping sound, and an even stronger stench of decay wafted from the room.
Zhou Fangdong covered his nose and went inside.
Unit 109 is also a one-bedroom apartment. The interior is even darker than the corridor. The only window is boarded up tightly, and the floor is covered with a thick layer of dust, like snow.
After taking a clear look at the overall condition of the room, Zhou Fangdong finally understood why there was no trash on the corridor floor except for dust...
It turns out they swept all the trash from the hallway into the room.
The floor of room 109 was completely covered by cardboard boxes and black plastic bags filled with various items. All sorts of trash filled the gaps between the boxes and bags, leaving almost no room to step.
Zhou Fangdong carefully took a few steps inside, supporting himself against the wall.
The fragile wallpaper peeled off in large chunks at his touch, revealing the dark red stains that had been hidden.
The stains were radiating outwards. Zhou Fangdong silently followed the trail of the stains and found a saw stained with black and red blood under a cardboard box not far away.
This is a murder scene, isn't it? This is definitely a murder scene, isn't it?
Could those bulging black plastic bags be filled with fragments of people's lives?
Zhou Fangdong dared not go any further.
Aside from the excessive amount of trash on the floor and the apparent murder scene, none of the furniture in the room was usable.
The bed frame had collapsed, the mattress was gone, a two-legged chair lay next to a three-legged folding table, and only the wardrobe door remained.
There's no doubt this room will never be rented out.
Since kerosene lamps have a limited burning time and Zhou Fangdong has no way to obtain lamp oil, he didn't linger and left room 109 to check the next room.
From room 109 to 102, every room was completely abandoned and unusable. In room 104, there were even three mummified corpses hanging from the chandelier.
Fortunately, room 101 did not disappoint him. Apart from being a bit dusty and having its windows boarded up, room 101 looked like an ordinary rental room. There wasn't much trash on the floor, and all the furniture was in good working order.
After checking everything and confirming there were no problems, the system voice finally sounded:
[Host has completed the New Player Guide Quest ①, reward: 30 Ghost Coins]
Zhou Fangdong breathed a sigh of relief, put away the kerosene lamp, and used the [Return] skill to teleport back to his room.
He didn't want to stay outside for another second; after walking around like this, he felt like he was being pickled in dust.
However, as soon as he returned to his room, that familiar 'beep beep' sound began to echo in his mind again.
[Beep—Please begin New Player Guide Quest ②: Distribute flyers to increase the property's popularity and attract your first tenant.]
A note from the author:
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