The Smell of Rot

Looking at the strange bronze spike, Wang Ye carefully put it into his pocket.

After confirming that the post office would not provide any further hints, Wang Ye returned to his living room and turned on his computer.

He skillfully logged into the 'Spirit Secret' website to check information about Qinyuan Residential Area.

File: Qinyuan Residential Area.

Codename: Ghost Child. (D-Class)

Killing Pattern: Being stared at by the Ghost Child, being chased.

Resolved.

Remarks: In Eternal Night Year 2, March 29th, a supernatural event occurred, resulting in 23 deaths. Ability user Zhou Han led the team to resolve the event. Currently, most residents have moved out of the area, and it is sparsely populated.

"It's already resolved?"

Wang Ye frowned slightly and murmured to himself.

He believed the post office wouldn't send him on a meaningless task.

Through the information in this file, Wang Ye gradually believed that it wasn't that the Suburban Cemetery's information level was too high, but rather that it was not recorded at all.

After all, the information he currently saw about Qinyuan Residential Area indicated that the supernatural event there had been resolved and the area was currently safe.

But knowing the post office's usual methods, it was unlikely they would send him to a safe place.

Last time, just a slightly blood-stained letter had almost cost him his life. This time, they had given him a spike that was suspected to be a supernatural item, so the situation was probably not that simple.

It seemed he would need to plan carefully this time.

After all, his biggest regret in his previous life was never awakening his ability. Now that the opportunity was right in front of him, he didn't want to fail miserably.

With that thought, Wang Ye diligently searched for the address of Qinyuan Residential Area, as well as the area's layout map and the interior structure of the buildings.

And a series of other information.

He seriously tied the hemp rope to his waist, recalled the layout of the entire residential area again, and the location of Building 4 from the file, then Wang Ye left his home.

Qinyuan Residential Area.

It was already afternoon when Wang Ye arrived at Qinyuan Residential Area.

Under the sunlight, the now-desolate residential area appeared exceptionally quiet, as if there were no dangers.

But as Wang Ye stood at the main entrance of Qinyuan Residential Area, he gradually became vigilant.

The saying that ghosts fear sunlight and there are no ghosts during the day

Seemed somewhat laughable to Wang Ye. If ghosts truly feared sunlight, then the vast Wasteland outside the city, where ghost fog ran rampant, would be a joke.

Therefore, even during the day, one could not let their guard down.

Wang Ye stood at a distance, observing the residential area, and compared it with the layout map in his mind. Finding no discrepancies, he breathed a sigh of relief and walked in.

As an ordinary person who had survived numerous supernatural events in his past life, it wasn't his top-tier combat skills that kept him alive, but his caution.

Any minor mistake could be the reason for his demise.

Inside the residential area, the buildings were somewhat old, and it was deserted.

Wang Ye didn't bother observing his surroundings further but headed towards Building 4 at a very fast pace.

Suddenly, A somewhat crazed laugh echoed.

Wang Ye's body tingled slightly. He stood frozen and quickly looked towards the source of the sound.

A woman with disheveled hair, wearing a bright red dress, was standing not far away, looking at him with a crazed expression.

"Hehehehehe..."

The woman laughed, her face extremely pale, as if she had been malnourished for a long time.

"Terror."

"Great Terror."

The woman kept muttering to herself, her eyes unfocused, as if she hadn't seen Wang Ye.

Wang Ye cautiously stood at a distance, observing the woman intently for a long time.

The appearance of such a crazy woman in a deserted residential area, and the fact that the 'Spirit Secret' website had no information about her, All of this led Wang Ye to label her as a mystery.

However, after observing for a long time, Wang Ye noticed that the woman was just standing there, grinning foolishly, without any further actions. He breathed a sigh of relief, took two steps back, bypassed the woman, and continued towards Building 4.

People with too much curiosity don't live long. As long as he completes the mission and leaves alive, that's enough.

As for who this woman was and what was going on, he could report it to the Heavenly Group and let them worry about it.

If he was lucky, he might even earn some points.

The residential area wasn't very large, and soon Wang Ye arrived at Building 4, Unit 4 entrance.

For some reason, from the moment he entered the residential area, Wang Ye felt a faint tremor in his heart, but he couldn't pinpoint its source.

Taking a deep breath, Wang Ye regained his composure. He looked at the somewhat dim corridor and walked in.

Because the corridor hadn't been inhabited for a long time, the light in the stairwell was broken, making it rather gloomy.

In the empty stairwell, only Wang Ye's footsteps echoed.

Soon, the fourth floor.

Standing at the door of room 404, Wang Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

The door to this room wasn't closed; instead, it was slightly ajar. Through the gap, he could vaguely see the furnishings inside.

As expected, the task given by the post office wouldn't be simple.

Mentally prepared, Wang Ye gently pushed open the door and stepped inside, observing his surroundings.

It seemed no one had lived there for a long time, as the furniture was covered in dust.

An old wooden coffee table and chairs.

On the wall hung a large piece of cross-stitch.

The cross-stitch was made with red thread, and it seemed to depict

Wang Ye was slightly stunned.

It was a hand.

That's right, the cross-stitch only depicted a severed hand, with blood seemingly still flowing from it.

The person's skill was excellent; the entire cross-stitch looked very realistic.

The bloodstain on the severed hand appeared as if it were about to drip out, making one's hair stand on end.

Wang Ye quickly shifted his gaze. The cross-stitch gave him an unsettling feeling. After only a few seconds of looking, Wang Ye felt a sense of mental disorientation.

But then, Wang Ye froze in place again, his eyes flashing with sharpness.

On the dusty floor, there were clear footprints.

Someone had been here!!!

Besides himself, who else would come to such a cursed place!

Wang Ye frowned deeply. After a long while, he continued to move forward.

Not far away, from the kitchen area, a strong smell wafted over. Wang Ye took a sniff and his expression grew more solemn.

The smell of rotting corpses.

He was sure of it. In his past life, he had experienced too many supernatural events and encountered too many decaying bodies.

Wang Ye would never forget this familiar smell in this lifetime.

But how could this smell be in the kitchen of 404!

Damn the Heavenly Group. Was their cleanup work so sloppy after dealing with supernatural events!

Wang Ye cursed inwardly and walked into the kitchen.

As expected, the smell of rotting corpses in the kitchen was even stronger, almost to the point of being suffocating.

But strangely, the kitchen was covered in dust.

Wang Ye checked everywhere that could hide something – the pots, the refrigerator, and every other possible spot – but found nothing.

And then...

Wang Ye's gaze fell upon the dusty cutting board.

A bone-cutting knife, stained with dried blood, lay quietly there.

The source of the rotting corpse smell seemed to be coming from this bone-cutting knife.