Zhu Yan noted the position and shape of the copper lock, then quickly pushed open the wooden door and slipped into the room.
In an instant, the stench of rot mixed with the musty smell of dust rushed into his nose, making Zhu Yan gag softly.
He hurriedly covered his nose and mouth and quickly surveyed the cramped attic.
The attic was fairly bright, with more than a dozen tallow candles burning in their holders.
A battered chair, so worn its original color was impossible to tell, stood by the window, facing a small wooden desk with a drawer and a large locked wardrobe.
He most likely wouldn't be able to open the wardrobe.
Zhu Yan promptly walked over to the small desk and gently pulled open the drawer.
Downstairs.
Guan En watched the landlord turn and enter the kitchen. He took the plastic cup from behind his back and examined it closely.
The other person had already arrived, but wasn't in the living room.
How far had he gotten?
What on earth was going on?
Upstairs.
Zhu Yan concentrated, rapidly scanning the yellowed sheets of paper in the drawer.
The paper was made of the same material as "Coexisting with Forbidden Things." The writing on it was twisted and strange, but Zhu Yan was surprised to find he could read it.
"[Cannibal House Rental Contract]—
Lessor: [Merry Happy Land] Highest Authority Committee
Lessee: [Plague Ghost] Walter (low level)"
He had found something as important as the [Rental Contract]!
The landlord was [Plague Ghost] Walter.
Walter.
Zhu Yan committed the name to memory.
"The lessor leases one [Cannibal House], numbered A066, to the lessee. The house is located in the gap between reality and the abyss, and its precise location may be determined by the will of either the lessee or the lessor."
"This house may be linked to any horror creature, becoming an extension of its flesh and blood. Any horror creature that exchanges this contract for shelter must understand that the house is me, and I am the house."
"If the [Cannibal House] is damaged or destroyed during the rental period, this contract shall be rendered void, but the horror creature linked to the [Cannibal House] shall also be severely affected."
Zhu Yan's heart began to race uncontrollably.
In other words, as long as he could coax out its weakness and kill the level-four house, then the level-five landlord would also...
Would it drop at least one level?
He read on.
"Upon this contract taking effect, the lessee shall gain knowledge of all the house's secrets, including its weakness."
"However, for the safety of the lessee and the [Cannibal House], once this contract is established, the lessee shall be unable to disclose the house's weakness to any other being."
Well, all right, Zhu Yan grumbled silently as he read on.
Unable to disclose it probably meant [Merry Happy Land] had some means of preventing the landlord from saying it.
Damn it, I got excited for nothing.
"The lessee must feed the [Cannibal House] numbered A066 fresh human flesh or uncontaminated livestock meat every fifty days..."
All right, it was an unimportant detail, but Zhu Yan noticed it anyway.
What did that mean?
Would even livestock be contaminated in the future?
"The monthly rent for [Cannibal House] number A066 is one Bone Coin, payable in the middle of each month."
"The lessee may not fall more than three months behind on rent (amounting to three Bone Coins). At present, the lessee has not paid rent for [3] months."
Zhu Yan took a close look at the number in square brackets.
It had originally been 2. As Zhu Yan watched, the 2 jumped to a 3 and held steady.
He thought back. Today happened to be the middle of August on the Gregorian calendar.
That matched up.
No wonder the landlord was so desperate.
No wonder it had asked for three Bone Coins right off the bat!
But the landlord couldn't reveal the [Cannibal House]'s weakness...
"If the lessee falls more than three months behind on payments, the lessor has the right to confiscate all of the lessee's property."
"If the lessee cannot afford the rent for the [Cannibal House], the lessee may transfer the right to lease the [Cannibal House]."
"All prior debts shall become the responsibility of the new lessee."
That was where the contract ended.
In the signature fields at the bottom were an intricate scarlet emblem and a terrifying mark Zhu Yan had never seen before, resembling a corpse with rotting flesh.
The two sheets beneath the contract were blank copies of the [Cannibal House Transfer Contract], one for each party.
Zhu Yan skimmed them, confirmed that their main points were much the same as those in the [Rental Contract], then put the papers back in order and gently returned them to their original position.
He quietly opened the door, restored the lock to the state he remembered, and quickly climbed down the stairs, returning to the room he had come from.
Downstairs.
Guan En hid the milk tea cup and accepted the tea the landlord handed him. A nauseating, rank stench rose from the murky liquid.
He didn't drink it. Instead, he raised his head and asked the landlord for confirmation. "Mister, am I the only player here tonight?"
The tall monster, its face deathly pale and parts of its body rotting, shot him a sidelong glance.
This time, it gave a different answer.
"There are two players," it said hoarsely. "But the other one will arrive a little later."
Guan En smiled and thanked it politely.
"Thank you, mister."
"Are you the only one in this house?"
That settled it, didn't it?
The kid had already arrived. He had used the same trick again, concealing the mark on his left hand and coming in disguised as a non-player.
Guan En shifted his body, making sure the landlord couldn't see the milk tea cup hidden behind his back.
His opponent had always been cautious and rarely slipped up.
What identity had he used to get in this time?
Guan En held the teacup without daring to put it down. He subconsciously wanted to touch the police badge in his civilian clothes pocket and the service pistol clipped at the small of his back.
The [Cannibal House], as its name suggested, ate people.
If that mysterious player had merely disguised himself as an ordinary person, he wouldn't survive long, given the enormous gap between his strength and the horror creature's and the fact that the horror creature wanted to eat people.
So there was only one answer—
That player had once again disguised himself as a horror creature!
Guan En was only a level-one player, so naturally he couldn't buy "Coexisting with Forbidden Things," which was available to level-two players, as Zhu Yan had.
The living room lights swayed and flickered. Guan En stared at the dirty, dim stairway, not daring to relax for a moment.
The landlord gave Guan En a rather malicious smile.
"Sit tight and don't move, kid." Its threat was icy. "You should know what happens to players who leave without permission."
The landlord's head jerked to one side with a crack, and the broken end of its neck bone pressed against the loose skin of its neck.
"...Like this." The head stared at Guan En as it spoke coldly.
Satisfied to see a trace of disgust and fear on Guan En's face, it turned and headed upstairs.
Players were the easiest to scare.
They feared death most of all, and they were bound by the dungeon.
Once it was sure the player wouldn't leave, it could go upstairs and report the situation to madam without worry!
At that very moment.
"Madam"—Zhu Yan—was already standing safely inside the room.
After reading the [Rental Contract], an outrageous plan had gradually taken shape in his mind.
At least, judging from the clues he had so far, the plan was unlikely to have any flaws.
Outside the door, the landlord's sluggish footsteps slowly drew closer.