Chapter 36 Tenant Requests Visit to Slaughterhouse (Bonus Chapter for 7,000 words) ...
Hong Zhong parked his car in front of Liwan Apartment.
He opened the car door and got out, then pulled down the truck bed flap to let the furniture out of the vehicle.
The cold sweat on his back was blown by the wind, and the chill seemed to penetrate his spine and pierce his heart. Recalling that glance they had just exchanged, Hong Zhong felt his heartbeat involuntarily quicken.
Just then, Hong Zhong suddenly heard a ghostly voice behind him: "You've come..."
The 1.9-meter-tall man was so frightened he almost jumped up.
Hong Zhong turned around in horror, staring in shock at the figure that appeared in the apartment doorway.
The landlord was just admiring the flowers in the abandoned garden in the middle of the building, and then he reappeared at the apartment entrance in such a short time. He's really elusive.
"Yes, I... I've brought the furniture back." Hong Zhong forced a smile and walked into the apartment building.
The furniture on the truck bed bounced off one by one, as if it couldn't wait to enter the Liwan Apartments.
Hong Zhong stepped slightly to the side to make way for them.
He glanced at the passing furniture, head bowed in thought, pondering how to probe the landlord's current state... Could he really leave the apartment? If he could, what did he want to do? Was it truly just about targeting that God System?
Zhou Fangdong was also deep in thought, figuring out how to poach Hong Zhong, a professional cleaner, from the Department of Disorderly Investigations, to work for him in his apartment.
The two stood silently side by side at the entrance of the apartment, like traffic police watching elementary school students cross the street, as the ghostly furniture lined up and walked towards room 107, both pondering how to start a conversation.
Finally, Zhou Fangdong spoke first, asking, "Hong Zhong, I remember when we first met, you seemed to be looking for a place to live. Have you found a new place yet? If not, I happen to have a spare room here that you can stay in. The rent is very cheap."
When Hong Zhong heard Zhou Fangdong extend an invitation to rent a place to him, he was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what he was talking about.
When he was cleaning room 109, he heard the landlord say that he wanted to rent out room 109, so he volunteered to rent it. However, he was told that the room was only rented to women, so he had no choice but to ask Miao Zheng to come.
I didn't expect the landlord to remember this...
Since the landlord rejected him before, why does he now want him to become a tenant at Liwan Apartments? Does he possess some value that makes him a suitable tenant?
Because of his professional habits, Hong Zhong's thoughts tend to wander as soon as he starts thinking.
Initially, because he suspected that the Liwan Apartment could use him as a medium to spread supernatural power, in order to prevent the supernatural phenomena of the Liwan Apartment from erupting in the Supernatural Investigation Department, Hong Zhong took the initiative to apply to work outside and has not returned to the Supernatural Investigation Department. He is still in this state.
In that case, he could indeed move into the Liwan Apartments.
If he lives in the apartment, compared to other tenants who are not yet familiar with the business, the information the bureau obtains about Liwan Apartment through him will definitely be more accurate and stable, and it will be more convenient for him to contact the bureau than for other tenants.
With that thought in mind, Hong Zhong made up his mind: "Landlord, I am indeed preparing to move and haven't found a new place yet. I would really like to rent from you, but due to work reasons, I need to report to my superiors to change my residence. Once they approve, I will move in immediately."
Upon hearing him mention work, Zhou Fangdong's eyes lit up, and he extended another invitation: "Since your job is so troublesome, have you ever thought about quitting and making cleaning your part-time job a full-time job? Our apartment's garbage disposal station currently needs an administrator, and I think you are very professional in cleaning, so you should be very suitable for this job."
Hong Zhong's Adam's apple bobbed, and he unconsciously took a step back.
Was it just his imagination? He had a feeling that this mysterious landlord was eager for him to stay in the Liwan Apartments, ideally working and living there... Could it be that he was being watched?
What was it about him that caught the landlord's attention?
Or is this landlord simply trying to undermine the supervisory bureau?
Thinking that the supervisory bureau had already abducted all the human tenants of the apartment, Hong Zhong suddenly felt a little guilty.
Could it be that the landlord is trying to poach him from the Investigation Department because of this?
However, the job of the garbage disposal station manager... Hong Zhong remembered that in the past, the garbage of Liwan Apartment was handled by a special person arranged by the property management, who would take the garbage away and destroy it at fixed times. He had never heard of any garbage disposal station inside Liwan Apartment.
...Wait, if he accepts this job, wouldn't that allow him to get deeper into the apartment building?
Hong Zhong's heart started beating faster again.
Perhaps this is a good opportunity to explore the apartment more deeply, and maybe even find out the reason for the strange changes in the apartment and the true purpose of this mysterious landlord.
All he needs to do is inform the bureau, and while he may outwardly resign, he can secretly maintain contact with the bureau and keep up with the information he receives from the Liwan Apartment.
Although this was dangerous, it was what he should do, what he had to do, his duty as the captain of the Special Investigations Division, and he would not hesitate to sacrifice himself for it.
Thinking about this, Hong Zhong felt an urge to agree immediately; he wanted to start working as the garbage station manager at Liwan Apartment right away.
He was very excited, but Hong Zhong didn't show it on his face. Instead, he replied ambiguously, "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Landlord. I need to think about changing jobs some more. Let's talk about it after I move into the apartment."
Although he did not receive a definite answer, Zhou Fangdong did not continue to persuade him.
Because it was clear from Hong Zhong's words that he intended to rent the apartment, that was enough. As long as he lived in the apartment, there would be plenty of time to persuade him to become the garbage dump manager. This kind of poaching had to be done slowly; it couldn't be rushed.
Once Hong Zhong confirms his rental, room 106 can be reserved for him, leaving room 105 as the only unrented room on the first floor.
While Zhou Fangdong and Hong Zhong were chatting in the apartment entrance, Miao Zheng was peeling an apple for Zhao Dawei in room 101.
Zhao Dawei looked at the apple, now peeled and only with the core remaining, and hesitated to speak.
He wanted to advise Miao Zheng not to waste food. Although the things in the convenience store were free, it was still not good to waste them like this.
But Miao Zheng saved him yesterday, and if it weren't for this brave girl, he would have died long ago. He didn't really want to lecture his savior.
While Zhao Dawei was still hesitating, to his surprise, the unpretentious girl, seeing that she had failed to peel the apple, simply stuffed the unpeeled apple pieces into her mouth and ate them.
...Hmm, that's good, nothing was wasted.
Seeing Miao Zheng eagerly preparing to attack the second apple, Zhao Dawei quickly said, "Hey, Miao, I can actually take care of myself. Why don't you go ahead and do your work or go shopping with your friends? You don't need to stay here with this old man."
After swallowing the apple in his mouth, Miao Zheng shrugged: "I don't have any friends. As for work, my job is to edit and upload videos and do live streaming on the side. Now the female ghost sister in my room can use the live streaming equipment by herself and doesn't need my help at all. I don't want to be in the way of room 109, so I thought I'd stay here with you for a while."
As he spoke, Miao Zheng picked up his phone, seemingly wanting to show Zhao Dawei the live stream of the dismembered ghost in Room 109.
But after turning on her phone and seeing the no signal icon on the screen, she belatedly realized that her phone could not be used in the Liwan Apartment.
Miao Zheng sighed and put his phone away: "Sigh... Even though there's broadband in the room, it's still quite inconvenient that there's no cell phone signal."
Seeing her dejected look, Zhao Dawei handed her his phone: "Use mine, my phone can connect to the internet."
Miao Zheng was stunned for a moment, then took the phone from Zhao Dawei and flipped through it. "Wow! Uncle, how did you do that? Your phone can even access the internet in your apartment!"
“The landlord helped with the renovation. He was probably worried that I wouldn’t be able to contact him if I encountered any danger.” Zhao Dawei chuckled awkwardly. “After all, among us tenants, I’m the one with poor physical health and a bit slow-witted. I don’t have much resistance to danger.”
Miao Zheng patted his shoulder reassuringly: "Everyone has their strengths, Uncle. You have your own shining points too. There's no need to belittle yourself like this."
“Highlights? Me…” Zhao Dawei’s eyes lit up as he looked at Miao Zheng expectantly, as if he wanted to hear from her what advantages he had.
Miao Zheng pondered for a moment, then took Zhao Dawei's phone and opened his own account's live stream: "Um, let's watch the live stream first. Let me tell you, the female ghost sister in my room is simply a live stream genius."
Zhao Dawei's attention was diverted, and he looked at Miao Zheng's live stream on his phone.
The live stream room is called "[Gentle Ghost Sister Teaches You How to Cook Quick and Easy Home-Style Dishes]".
The live stream showed an open kitchen with two black plastic bags on the counter. Two pale, purplish-blue hands with corpse spots were sticking out of the bags and chopping vegetables.
Occasionally, when cooking utensils extend beyond the length of an arm, the two ghostly hands will completely protrude from the plastic bag, and then a long string of human skeletons or other mutilated limbs will be dragged out from behind the cross-section of the arms.
At these times, the live stream screen will be flooded with gifts.
Miao Zheng said proudly, "Impressive, right? To prove that the ghost hand wasn't a special effect, I deliberately put all the kitchen utensils far away, trying to make the female ghost's hand stick out a little more."
“And another one, take a look at this…” Miao Zheng pulled out several more clips of live stream replays to show Zhao Dawei.
Zhao Dawei discovered that in addition to teaching cooking, the dismembered ghost in room 109 could also write recipes in blood, teach viewers how to clean the dead corners of the room more effectively, how to make cleaning agents from common household items to clean grease, how to kill small flying insects in the drain pipes, and how to store clothes in a small apartment.
Because of these practical tips, coupled with the visual impact of the dismembered ghost's strikingly different appearance, it unexpectedly gained popularity despite only streaming for three hours a day, consistently trending on social media every time it went live.
Zhao Dawei was stunned, because he realized something from these live stream clips.
He looked at Miao Zheng in disbelief and asked her for confirmation, "You mean, the ghost in your room not only cooks for you and cleans for you, but also helps you organize your clothes??"
Miao Zheng nodded: "Yes, the female ghost sister is so gentle and kind. I don't even need to edit or shoot videos anymore. The gifts and tips she's given me during her live streams these past few days are more than my monthly salary from the Department of Extraordinary Investigations. It seems like I can just retire and live a peaceful life in my apartment."
Zhao Dawei fell silent, momentarily at a loss for words.
What an enviable life... I've seen young people who don't work and live off their parents, and I've seen parents who don't work and force their children to become child models to live off their parents, but this is the first time I've seen someone living off a ghost.
She's incredibly strong, in every sense of the word.
How did Miao Zheng manage to do that? Does the landlord know how well she's living in the apartment?
Not only could she get a ghost to take care of her daily life, but she could even get the ghost to make money by live streaming to support her... Zhao Dawei felt a little jealous.
Although both were tenants of Liwan Apartment, the ghost in Zhao Dawei's room was barely noticeable.
Since moving in, Zhao Dawei has never seen a ghost in the room because he has strictly followed the tenant rules, and he doesn't even know what kind of ghost it is.
The two watched the live stream for a while longer, and Miao Zheng made a comment that made people want to punch her: "Actually, it's pretty boring not having to do anything. Now I just play games on the computer every day, play on my phone in bed, and occasionally give the female ghost sister some compliments."
"You don't know, in just these few days, I suddenly gained more than 800,000 followers. My career has reached its peak so easily. Suddenly I feel so empty and lost."
"I think I should go out for a walk. If I stay cooped up in the apartment all the time, I feel like I'm being spoiled rotten by that ghost sister." After saying that, she looked at Zhao Dawei, "Uncle, before you came to Liwan Apartment, did you accidentally wander into any scary or haunted places?"
Upon hearing her say this, the first thing that came to Zhao Dawei's mind was his experience at the Delicious Slaughterhouse.
"Yes, there really was. I think it was the day I moved into the apartment. I went out to look for a job and happened to see a job posting near the bus station..."
Zhao Dawei recounted his experiences at the Delicious Slaughterhouse to Miao Zheng in detail.
Miao Zheng's eyes lit up immediately: "That slaughterhouse looks interesting! I'd like to go!"
Zhao Dawei quickly stopped him, saying, "It's very dangerous there. If you want to go, I suggest you talk to the landlord first."
*
After confirming that all the furniture had been moved to room 107, Zhou Fangdong approved Hong Zhong's delivery order.
Hong Zhong didn't linger; he wanted to report his day's experiences to his superiors as soon as possible, as well as his plans to live and work at the Liwan Apartments.
Not long after seeing Hong Zhong off, Zhou Fangdong suddenly received a system notification; the apartment's surrounding beautification feature interface suddenly popped up automatically.
[Tenant Miao Zheng (109) needs to improve his combat skills and has applied to visit the Delicious Slaughterhouse]
Request a visit to our delicious slaughterhouse?
He glanced at the description of the Delicious Slaughterhouse on the system page. It said that this place could increase the tenants' combat power, but it did not explain in detail how to increase it.
Zhou Fangdong thought that since this delicious slaughterhouse was a facility near the apartment, it should be a place similar to Izumo-kan, and the tenants who had the apartment room keys should not be in danger.
With that in mind, he readily agreed to Miao Zheng's request to visit the slaughterhouse.
Miao Zheng, who was still in room 101, suddenly noticed that the key to room 109 hanging around his neck lit up, and then a small sign appeared out of thin air and fell down from mid-air.
Miao Zheng raised an eyebrow in surprise and picked up the sign from the ground.
It looks like a red name tag with a lanyard that can be worn around the neck.
Miao Zheng patted the dust off the sign, which read:
[Delicious Slaughterhouse Visitor Pass]
Usage time: 48 hours
Below is a one-inch photo of Miao Zheng, her name, and the room she rented in Liwan Apartment.
Miao Zheng flipped the sign over again and found that there were also some precautions for visitors written on the back of the visitor pass.
(Tenants of Liwan Apartments can take the Ghost Bus to the Delicious Slaughterhouse)
With this certificate, the manager of the delicious slaughterhouse will come out to greet you, provide you with weapons free of charge, and give you a tour of the factory.
Provided they abide by the factory manager's rules, tenants are free to release stress and utilize the factory's resources to enhance their combat abilities within the slaughterhouse.
(Note: Tenants are advised to warm up and stretch before going to the Delicious Slaughterhouse to prevent muscle strain.)
(Note: This area is not recommended for tenants who do not have a fitness routine or basic fighting skills.)
After reading it, Miao Zheng became very excited.
Does the sudden appearance of this little card mean the landlord has agreed to her visit? And this slaughterhouse looks so interesting! She really wants to go now!
Miao Zheng said goodbye to Zhao Dawei, took his visitor pass, and happily left room 101. As he opened the door, he ran into Zhou Fangdong, who was walking back.
"Landlord!" Miao Zheng greeted loudly, "Thank you for letting me visit the Delicious Slaughterhouse!"
Zhou Fangdong nodded to her and said, "To prevent you from getting lost in any danger, I'll modify your phone for you."
After saying that, he spent 100 ghost coins to buy a mobile phone from the system store, and then spent 30 ghost coins to open a data plan for Miao Zheng.
When Zhou Fangdong was helping Duan Wenyu modify his phone, he noticed that what was sold in the system store was not a real phone, but more like a phone case that could enhance the signal, making the tenant's original phone usable in the Liwan Apartment.
"With this phone, you can contact me from anywhere."
Seeing that his phone had changed to look exactly like Zhao Dawei's, Miao Zheng happily thanked him and then ran back to room 109 to pack his luggage.
Zhou Fangdong also teleported back to his room. Now that room 107 was almost ready, he should start writing the tenant contract based on the murder patterns of the Blood Shadow Sac.
This should be the easiest tenant rule Zhou Fangdong has ever written so far, because Zhang Zhiwu clearly stated the conditions for killing with the Blood Shadow Bag, and he only needs to apply them directly.
*
Around 5:30 p.m., Zhang Qingyang returned to Liwan Apartment carrying his luggage, two chairs and a stool, as well as recording equipment and a bag of cassette tapes.
Because Zhang Zhiwu was a ghost tenant, he could teleport directly from the Taoist temple back to room 108. In addition, Zhang Qingyang needed to go to the city to buy things, so Zhang Zhiwu did not take the ghost bus with him.
Zhang Qingyang's luggage consisted only of some changes of clothes. Larger items like bedding had been moved back to his apartment and placed in room 107 after he pleaded with Zhang Zhiwu.
When he arrived at Liwan Apartments, Zhou Fangdong was waiting for him at the entrance.
Zhou Fangdong took the recording equipment from Zhang Qingyang and put it into his inventory. He then indicated to Zhang Qingyang that he didn't need to carry the furniture anymore; he could release them, and they would carry the furniture themselves around the apartment.
Sure enough, just as he said, as soon as Zhang Qingyang let go, all the ghosts inside the furniture popped out, carrying their furniture and rushing into the corridor without looking back.
Zhang Qingyang's hand was still outstretched, but the furniture had already vanished.
He silently withdrew his outstretched hand, clutched his chest, and suddenly felt the heartache of an old father who couldn't keep his children after they grew up.
Zhou Fangdong led Zhang Qingyang to room 107 and handed him the tenant contract.
[Room 107 Tenant Rules]
① Tenants are prohibited from snoring when sleeping in Room 107.
② Tenants need to wear earplugs when sleeping.
③ If you find strange bloodstains in the room, do not clean them up or panic; this is normal.
④ Bloodstains found in room 107 will smell like rotten fruit. If you find bloodstains in the room but they do not have a sweet or fishy smell, please notify the landlord immediately.
⑤ Tenants must carry the key to room 107 with them at all times. Losing the key will be considered an automatic termination of the tenancy agreement.
⑥ Tenants must pay 30 yuan in cash each month. If they breach the contract, it will be considered an automatic termination of the rental agreement.
⑦ If you discover any outsiders or ghosts invading your private space, please do not panic. If you follow the above rules, the landlord will come to resolve the issue for you as soon as possible.
Zhang Qingyang quickly read through the tenant rules and immediately guessed what was in the room: "Landlord, you're keeping a Blood Shadow Sac in this room? I've learned something new. I never expected to encounter such an extinct ancient monster in an apartment."
“It wasn’t just one, it seems like four of them merged together,” Zhou Fangdong added. He then gave Zhang Qingyang a general account of what happened to the four college students. “That’s how it happened. Your master said they probably treated themselves as sacrifices and were turned into this state by the ritual.”
Zhang Qingyang looked distressed: "It's so pitiful. In that case, their souls must be gone. Both their bodies and souls have turned into this man-eating monster."
With a sigh, Zhang Qingyang signed his name on the tenant contract and handed the 30 yuan and the contract to Zhou Fangdong.
The moment the contract was received, the system's electronic voice sounded:
Side Quest 6 Completed. Rewards: 300 Ghost Coins, 1000 Experience Points, 1 Random Skill Point.
[Tenant Profile: Intermediate Tenant - Young Taoist Priest in the Growth Stage, Unlocked]
[The new tenant's profile has been unlocked; please claim your reward promptly.]
Zhou Fangdong opened the character attribute panel and checked it. Including the skill points given by room 108, he now had two more skill points. His character level was still two thousand experience points short of leveling up.
After giving the key to room 107 to Zhang Qingyang, Zhou Fangdong was teleported directly to room 103.
In room 103, Mu Yuechan was practicing her singing. Luckily, the apartment was well soundproofed, otherwise she would definitely have been complained about by her neighbors.
Noticing Zhou Fangdong's sudden appearance in the room, Mu Yuechan greeted him with a smile, as if there had never been any discord between them.
"What brings you to my room, Mr. Landlord?" Mu Yuechan flicked her water sleeves and struck a pose. "How are you feeling? Is my body still functioning well?"
Zhou Fangdong ignored his teasing, took out a recording device from his inventory and handed it to him: "Read and memorize what's inside."
A flicker of surprise crossed Mu Yuechan's eyes, and she happily accepted it as if she had received a gift: "What is this? A record player from this era? Mr. Landlord, do you want me to learn some opera songs from it and sing them for you?"
As he spoke, he pressed the play button, and then a clear and resonant broadcast voice came from the tape recorder. The content was extremely dry and monotonous, causing Mu Yuechan's smile to freeze and her face to almost fall off.
“It’s not a record player, it’s a personality corrector,” Zhou Fangdong replied expressionlessly. “It contains audio files of ‘Common Sense of Ideological and Moral Knowledge’ and ‘Common Sense of Law.’ You need to memorize all of these first.”
"Huh? Why do I have to memorize this? It's so boring... Mr. Landlord, how could you do this to me..."
Zhou Fangdong completely ignored his complaints, and after giving him the items, he teleported back to his own room.
Back in his room, he opened the system panel and first glanced at his account balance, as was his habit.
After completing side quest 6, he now has a total of 4960 Ghost Coins.
He then opened the tenant catalog and checked out the newly unlocked entries.
[Intermediate Tenant - Young Taoist Priest in His Growth Stage]
(A growable tenant; placing this tenant alongside [Zombie Taoist Priest Zhang Zhiwu] will double the growth experience points gained by this tenant.)
Illustration Description: A young Taoist priest still in his formative years, dreaming of becoming a great Celestial Master like his master. Originally vowing to revitalize his sect and restore its glory, after his master's return, he now only wants to cling to his master's coattails and fulfill his filial duties.
Traits: Honest, optimistic, easygoing, and adaptable. Having been isolated from society since childhood and living in a Taoist temple, he has somewhat low emotional intelligence and lacks social skills. He will never voluntarily terminate his lease in order to protect the ordinary people in the temple.
(Note: This tenant is quite active because he has a habit of meditation. He doesn't need sleep and likes to follow the [Ghost Tenant - Zombie Taoist Priest] around. Please be careful not to let him leave the apartment at night! If this tenant goes out with the Zombie Taoist Priest at night, the host may lose this tenant forever.)
After seeing the note at the very bottom of Zhang Qingyang's profile, Zhou Fangdong unconsciously frowned.
The zombie Taoist priest Zhang Zhiwu leaves his room and goes out at night? How come he didn't know? Why didn't the system remind him?
Zhou Fangdong opened the special tenant watchlist and found that Zhang Zhiwu's name was not on it.
By the way, after the second ghost tenant successfully checked in yesterday, his mind was still under the influence of the dementia debuff, so he didn't add Zhang Zhiwu to the special tenant watchlist. Therefore, the system did not report Zhang Zhiwu's movements to him.
His special tenant watchlist has five slots. Currently, there are four tenants on the list: Zhao Dawei, Miao Zheng, Duan Wenyu, and Ghost Tenant Mu Yuechan. There is one slot left.
Zhou Fangdong thought for a moment and then called out to the system: "System, how many Ghost Coins are needed to create a new slot in the special attention list?"
100 Ghost Coins
It's alright, not too expensive.
After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Fangdong said, "System, open up three more empty seats for me."
This way, he can put all the first-floor tenants inside and keep an eye on their activities at any time.
[300 Ghost Coins deducted; three slots in the Special Attention List have now been successfully opened]
Zhou Fangdong put Zhang Zhiwu and Zhang Qingyang inside. After doing all this, he continued to check the rewards after unlocking Zhang Qingyang's illustration.
Intermediate Tenant Profile Unlock Reward: 300 Ghost Coins
Although it's not a prop, it's still pretty good; it just happens to make up for the ghost coins he just spent.
Zhou Fangdong stood up, preparing to go out and tell Zhang Qingyang not to go out that night.
Then, while we're at it, let's take a look at room 106 next door. Hong Zhong seems quite keen on renting a place in Liwan Apartment, so we need to clean out his room in advance.
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