Chapter 29 The First Ghost Tenant (Bonus Chapter with 3,000 Nutrition Points) Republic of China Flowers...
The middle-aged woman was not only strong but also fast. Zhao Dawei only managed to shout for help before being dragged into room 103.
Upon entering room 103, Zhao Dawei was devastated to discover that there was another man in the room.
The man was shirtless, and although he looked to be in his forties, he was covered in well-defined muscles.
Zhao Dawei, with his beer belly, couldn't even beat a middle-aged woman, let alone this muscular man.
The man's upper body was covered with strange runes painted with red pigment on every inch of his skin. He also seemed to be wearing a leather hat on his head, which was wrinkled and appeared to be embroidered with the same runes on his body using black silk thread.
However, none of that is the main point. The main point is the long boning knife the man is carrying, and a row of gleaming, professional-looking meat-chopping knives on the ground.
Zhao Dawei was drenched in sweat.
What are these two trying to do?
These two are definitely not tenants of Liwan Apartments. Room 103 isn't even furnished; it doesn't look like it's available for rent at all. How did they get in? Does the landlord know they're here?
Although he was terrified, Zhao Dawei forced himself to remain calm and said, "Whatever you're planning to do, I advise you to stop immediately. If the landlord finds out you've sneaked into the apartment, he will definitely not let you off the hook."
"Landlord?" The middle-aged man revealed a mocking smile. "We were let in by that Mr. Landlord you mentioned."
Zhao Dawei was stunned for a moment. Before he could say anything, the woman standing next to him dislocated his jaw and then scolded the man sharply, "So annoying! What are you doing, dawdling with a sacrificial offering? Hurry up and summon that guy's soul back, and then find out how that thing was made."
The couple had searched the box thoroughly but couldn't find what they were looking for. They probably realized that it was unlikely to be found, so they decided to take a different approach and summon the souls of the former tenants who used to live there.
Although this soul-summoning ritual has significant side effects—it requires a living person as a sacrifice, and the summoned soul will only be awake for a short period before turning into a terrifying, resentful ghost—it still has serious side effects.
Moreover, even after the ritual ends, the lingering ritual energy continues to attract other vengeful spirits.
But the two of them didn't care. They would leave once they got the information they wanted. No matter how many vengeful ghosts they attracted, how fierce they were, or how many people they killed, it wouldn't matter to them.
After being scolded by the woman, the man scratched his head sheepishly and didn't say anything more. He picked up the knife and walked up to Zhao Dawei: "Sister, could you please dislocate his limbs as well? I'm afraid that if this guy struggles, he'll make a mess of blood, which will make it inconvenient to draw the ritual runes."
"Tsk, what use are you?" The woman glared at him, her expression sinister and her actions ruthless. She didn't give Zhao Dawei any chance to react, pinning him to the ground and dislocating all four of his joints.
After a sharp pain, Zhao Dawei could no longer feel his limbs. He tried to call for help, but with his jaw dislocated, he could only make some indistinct sounds.
As the man with the knife drew closer, Zhao Dawei felt like a pig waiting to be slaughtered.
Tears streamed down his face. At this moment, he finally understood what the strange Taoist priest meant by the bloody calamity.
It actually came true...
And it was truly a man-made disaster.
Zhao Dawei's tears did not evoke any pity from the man. He acted like a skilled butcher, making two cuts on Zhao Dawei's wrist.
On his wrist, two gruesome wounds suddenly opened up like fish mouths, and blood gushed out. Zhao Dawei was in so much pain that his whole body twitched.
"Big sister, let's begin." The middle-aged man took a calligraphy brush and squatted down to Zhao Dawei's right.
The middle-aged woman pulled off her wig again, put on the human skin hat, and, holding a brush, together with the middle-aged man, began to write strange runes on the ground with Zhao Dawei's blood as the center.
The middle-aged couple are currently facing away from the door.
Just as they were concentrating on drawing the runes, the door to room 103 quietly opened a crack.
Miao Zheng walked in barefoot from outside, holding a telescopic steel pipe in his hand.
Just now, when she and Zhao Dawei parted ways at the convenience store entrance to return to their rooms, she vaguely heard Zhao Dawei's cries for help. Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw a figure resembling Zhao Dawei being dragged into a room next to the convenience store.
That should be room 103.
Although the apartment was absolutely safe, Miao Zheng decided to go and see what had happened just in case.
To avoid attracting attention with her footsteps, she deliberately took off her shoes.
The door locks at Liwan Apartment are very special; without a key, you can't lock the door even from inside the room... and Zhou Fangdong didn't give the middle-aged couple a key to room 103.
Therefore, Miao Zheng opened the door to room 103 without any trouble. He then saw Zhao Dawei lying on the ground with blood streaming from his hands. Two bald men, who appeared to be cult members, were squatting on the ground with their backs to the door, writing and drawing something.
Miao Zheng pressed the electric shock switch on the telescopic steel pipe.
The equipment provided by the Logistics Department of the Disorder Investigation Division can be used to deal with both ghosts and humans.
Miao Zheng chose to focus on the middle-aged woman who was closest to her first.
As it turned out, her choice was correct.
The middle-aged woman's physique was terrifyingly strong. The electric shock from the telescopic steel pipe, which was amplified by the logistics department, would not last an ordinary person even a second, but the middle-aged woman not only endured it for three seconds, but even had the strength to knock the steel pipe out of Miao Zheng's hand before collapsing.
Only after the woman fell did the middle-aged man recover from the sudden turn of events. His expression twisted, and he charged menacingly at Miao Zheng, knife in hand.
Even when facing a muscular middle-aged man wielding a knife with his bare hands, Miao Zheng showed no fear.
When Zhou Fangdong gave her the camera that could ward off ghosts yesterday, she had already made up her mind.
Even if I can never repay the landlord's kindness, I will do my best to repay him!
The landlady said that her biggest wish is for the tenants to be safe—so she will do her best to protect the other tenants of Liwan Apartments.
If I can't handle ghosts, surely I can handle people?
Miao Zheng sidestepped the man's stabbing blade, grabbed the man's arm, pushed off the ground with his feet, and rushed into his arms. Then, he thrust his shoulder upwards, twisted his waist sharply, and executed a smooth over-the-shoulder throw, bringing the man to the ground.
The middle-aged man was stunned by the fall, lying on his back like a giant turtle whose lid had been flipped over.
However, Miao Zheng gave him no chance to react, rushing forward and executing another rear naked choke, tightly gripping the man's neck with his arm and forcefully compressing his carotid artery, forcibly choking the man unconscious.
Although the man had passed out, Miao Zheng was still worried. He walked over breathlessly, picked up his telescopic steel pipe, and gave the man another electric shock.
The stench of incontinence filled the air. After confirming that the man wouldn't wake up, Miao Zheng gave the woman several more electric shocks just in case.
After confirming that neither of the two cult members would wake up, Miao Zheng hurried over to check on Zhao Dawei's condition.
During his special training at the Department of Differentiation, in addition to basic combat skills, Miao Zheng also learned basic first aid. He could tell at a glance that Zhao Dawei's limbs and jaw were dislocated.
After repositioning his joints, Miao Zheng pulled out Zhao Dawei's shoelaces and tied them around his arms near his heart. Then, ignoring the unconscious couple on the floor, she carried Zhao Dawei out of the room and ran quickly towards the 104 convenience store.
It's only been about ten minutes since the incident happened, and the landlord should still be in the convenience store.
Remembering the miraculous hemostatic tool Zhou Fangdong had used on her last time, Miao Zheng ran while confidently comforting him, "Uncle, hang in there! Just a little longer! Once we find the landlord, he can heal all your injuries instantly."
*
While Miao Zheng was fighting with two cult members in Room 103, Zhou Fangdong had just appeased the wedding dress ghost and the long-tongued ghost with two sticks of incense.
After finishing a stick of incense, the long-tongued ghost returned to the cashier and even helped tidy up the overturned shelves and pick up the goods scattered on the ground.
On the other side, Zhou Fangdong, who had brought the wedding dress ghost to the vicinity of the warehouse, took out three incense sticks and said to it, "The convenience store is closed today, so please collect all the red envelopes containing 'life-saving money' that you used to scatter around the apartment. These three incense sticks are your overtime pay."
The wedding dress ghost nodded, and with its movement, the veil was lifted slightly, revealing Zhou Fangdong's scarlet mouth stretched all the way to its ears.
After carefully accepting the incense offered by Zhou Fangdong, the ghost in the wedding dress slowly sank into the shadows and disappeared into the convenience store.
Watching it leave, Zhou Fangdong breathed a sigh of relief.
I still have 17 sticks of offering incense left. I'll make some more when I have time. Offering incense is really versatile.
Zhou Fangdong walked back to the entrance of the convenience store.
The long-tongued ghost was very efficient; in the short time it took him to talk to the wedding dress ghost, it had already neatly arranged all the overturned shelves and goods at the door.
Just as Zhou Fangdong was about to teleport back to his room, he suddenly saw Miao Zheng carrying Zhao Dawei as he rushed towards him.
Seeing Zhao Dawei's bloodied and weakened appearance, Zhou Fangdong's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly went over to him: "What happened?!"
After seeing Zhao Dawei's condition, he gasped.
Damn it, who on earth injured his tenant like this in the Liwan Apartments? Isn't this tantamount to robbing him in public and then slapping him twice on the side?!
The worst part is that he doesn't have any bandages on his hands right now; he gave them to Duan Wenyu a couple of days ago.
Zhou Fangdong quickly opened the system shop and searched for any healing items that could be unlocked.
The store has indeed unlocked treatment items, but they are all sold in bundles. If Zhou Fangdong wants to buy bandages, he can only buy a basic first-aid kit.
At this moment, Zhou Fangdong didn't care about wasting money and directly bought the basic medical kit priced at 300 ghost coins. Then he took out bandages and used them to stop the bleeding from both of Zhao Dawei's wrists.
While Zhou Fangdong was treating Zhao Dawei, Miao Zheng recounted what had just happened, with Zhao Dawei weakly adding to the story from the side.
After learning what had just happened, Zhou Fangdong felt a wave of fear.
It's all his fault! He never expected that couple to be so brutal. He wasn't paying attention for a moment, and they almost killed his tenant. If it weren't for Miao Zheng... Damn it, those wicked cultists!
However, there's still something strange...
"System, isn't Zhao Dawei on the list of tenants under special attention? Why didn't you notify me when he encountered danger?"
Tenant Zhao Dawei (101) is not in mortal danger. It has been detected that tenant Miao Zheng (109) will arrive promptly. Based on system predictions, they can find you in time, and Zhao Dawei will receive medical treatment.
Zhou Fangdong felt a lump in his throat, unable to spit it out.
I'm so angry! Even though the system is right, I'm still so angry.
He'll go to room 103 and drag out those two suspected cult-like psychopaths and killers, then break all four of their limbs and feed them down the stairs.
*
When Miao Zheng and Zhao Dawei left room 103, something strange happened inside.
The white costume that the middle-aged man and woman had thrown aside suddenly stood up and slowly approached the two unconscious people, as if an invisible person was walking in the costume.
As they got closer to the two people lying on the ground, the white costume seemed to have been cut in half at the waist, instantly splitting in two.
The upper garment with flowing sleeves wrapped around the unconscious man, while the long white skirt draped over the unconscious woman.
The costumes covering their bodies tightened further and further, causing their bones to crack under the strain. Then, a sound like a wild beast tearing apart its prey came from inside the clothing.
The once-bulging costume shrank rapidly, leaving only a scattered costume stained red with blood on the ground.
After a moment of silence, abrupt footsteps suddenly echoed in room 103, followed by a soft, melodious chanting:
"Stripped of youth to make a shroud, little did they know that the cycle of life is inevitable. Wearing a blood-stained hat, one is ultimately a ghost; skinned alive, bones turn to ashes..." (*Note 1)
A slender, fair hand with distinct knuckles appeared out of thin air above the blood-stained costume and picked it up.
Currently, only one severed hand is visible; the rest of the body is not.
As the costume rose higher, the bloodstains on it quickly congealed, turning into patches of mottled scabs that fell down like dirt.
The invisible figure donned the white costume, which had transformed back into its original form. Once fully dressed, a graceful figure suddenly appeared in the room.
He turned his head to the side, half of his face was as beautiful as a peach blossom, his eyes full of affection, while the other half of his face was like shattered white porcelain, with black runes crawling like spider webs all over every inch of his skin.
"Hehe..." The man in the white theatrical costume waved his flowing sleeves, covering half of his face, which was covered with runes.
Without headdress or makeup, but with just a single movement and the flow of her eyes, she perfectly conveyed a sorrowful and affectionate state, portraying a heartbroken woman who had been wronged.
The mournful lyrics escaped his throat:
“He died unjustly, his resentment is hard to quell, all because of tender feelings that stirred up waves… His soul has not dispersed, his spirit has not faded, he wants to be like mandarin ducks returning to their nest…” (*Note 2)
"Sanlang~ Nu, I've come back to find you..."
A terrifying crimson aura of resentment, like a churning sea of blood, rapidly emanated from his body. His pair of sorrowful and affectionate dark eyes were instantly stained with blood. He glared hatefully at the west, his expression gradually contorting, and his stunningly beautiful face even showed signs of skin and flesh separating.
Just as Zhou Fangdong finished bandaging Zhao Dawei's wound, a system pop-up window suddenly appeared in front of him. This time, several flashy little firecrackers even appeared next to the system pop-up window.
Then, a slightly excited electronic voice rang in my mind:
[Ding—Congratulations, host, you have acquired your first ghost tenant!]
[The tenant agreement has been automatically signed successfully. [Mu Yuechan, a famous actress from the Republican era] has officially moved into room 103!!]
Side Quest 4: Renovate and rent out Room 103 (Completed)
Side Quest 4 Rewards: 300 Ghost Coins, 1000 Experience Points, Random Character Skill x1
[The tenant profile [Special Tenant - Republican Era Actress] has been unlocked. Please claim your profile reward in time.]
[Special Ghost Item Rental Fee: 2000 Ghost Coins (per month)]
[A ghost tenant has been detected in the host. The avatar interface is now unlocked! Map exploration is now unlocked! Dungeon erosion is now unlocked!]
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Author's Note: Note 1: Selected from "Northern Folk Customs and Strange Tales, Volume Two, Collection of Folk Rhymes and Proverbs" (1957 mimeographed revised edition)
Page number: Page 38, the second of two satirical rhymes about sorcery, quoting a children's rhyme from Zhili.
Note 2: Selected from the lyrics of Yan Xijiao's Xiang Opera "Capturing Sanlang Alive"
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