The Smell of Decay

Wang Ye carefully slipped the bizarre bronze nail 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 logged into the Spirit Secret website with practiced ease and looked up information on Qinyuan Residential Area.

File: Qinyuan Residential Area.

Codename: Ghost Child. (D-Class)

Killing Pattern: Be watched by the Ghost Child and be hunted down.

Resolved.

Notes: On March 29th, Year 2 of Eternal Night, a Supernatural Incident erupted, resulting in 23 deaths. Superhuman Zhou Han led a team to resolve the incident. Most residents have since moved away, leaving the area sparsely populated.

"Resolved?"

Wang Ye frowned slightly and murmured to himself.

He believed the Post Office would not send him to do something meaningless.

From the information in this file, Wang Ye gradually came to believe that it was not that the information level for the Suburban Cemetery was too high, but that it had simply never been recorded.

After all, the information he was currently viewing showed that the Supernatural Incident in Qinyuan Residential Area had been resolved and that the place was now safe.

But given the Post Office's usual nature, how could it possibly send him somewhere safe?

Last time, just a slightly bloodstained letter had nearly gotten him killed. This time, it had directly given him a nail that was likely a supernatural item. Things were probably not that simple.

It seemed he needed to make careful plans this time.

After all, never awakening a superpower in his previous life had always been Wang Ye's greatest regret. Now that the opportunity was right before him, he did not want to stumble in the gutter.

With that in mind, Wang Ye carefully searched for Qinyuan Residential Area's address, layout map, and the interior floor plans of its rooms.

Along with a whole series of other details.

After carefully fastening the Hemp Rope around his waist and reviewing the various layouts of the entire residential area, as well as the location of Building 4 in the files, Wang Ye left home.

Qinyuan Residential Area.

By the time Wang Ye arrived at Qinyuan Residential Area, it was already afternoon.

Beneath the sunlight, the abandoned residential area seemed especially quiet, as though there were no danger at all.

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

The notion that ghosts feared sunlight and that no ghosts appeared during the day

seemed rather laughable to Wang Ye. If ghosts truly feared sunlight, then the ghost fog running rampant across the boundless Wasteland beyond the city would be a joke.

So even during the day, he could not let down his guard.

Standing at a distance, Wang Ye compared the residential area with the layout map in his mind. Once he confirmed there were no discrepancies, he let out a breath and walked in.

As an ordinary person, Wang Ye had survived one Supernatural Incident after another in his previous life not because of his top-tier fighting skills, but because of caution.

Any tiny mistake could become the reason for his death.

The buildings within the residential area were somewhat old, and not a soul was in sight.

Wang Ye did not continue observing his surroundings. Instead, he rushed toward Building 4 at great speed.

Suddenly,

a somewhat manic laugh rang out.

Wang Ye's body went slightly numb. He stood where he was and abruptly turned toward the source of the sound.

A woman with disheveled hair, dressed in bright red, stood not far away, staring at him with a crazed expression.

"Hehehehe."

The woman laughed. Her face was extremely pale, as though she had suffered from malnutrition for a long time.

"Terrifying."

"Great Terror."

The woman kept muttering to herself. Her eyes were unfocused, as though she could not see Wang Ye at all.

Wang Ye stood cautiously at a distance, staring deeply at the woman as he observed her for a long while.

In a deserted residential area, there was this madwoman, and the information on the Spirit Secret website had not mentioned her at all.

All of this made Wang Ye attach a label of mystery to the woman.

However, after watching for a long time, Wang Ye found that the woman merely stood there giggling foolishly, making no further move. He sighed in relief, took two small steps back, skirted around her, and continued toward Building 4.

People with excessive curiosity did not live long. As long as he completed the task and left alive, that was enough.

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

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

The residential area was not very large. Before long, Wang Ye arrived at the entrance of Unit 4, Building 4.

For some reason, ever since entering the residential area, Wang Ye had felt a faint sense of unease in his heart, yet he could not find its source.

Taking a deep breath, Wang Ye regained his composure. Looking at the dim corridor, he walked inside.

Since no one had lived there for a long time, the lights in the stairwell had broken, leaving the corridor somewhat dark.

Only Wang Ye's footsteps echoed continuously through the empty stairwell.

Soon, he reached the fourth floor.

Standing before the door to Room 404, Wang Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

The door to this room was not shut. Instead, it was slightly ajar, and through the crack, he could vaguely see the furnishings inside.

Sure enough, the task given by the Post Office would not be simple.

Having long prepared himself mentally, Wang Ye gently pushed open the door, walked inside, and surveyed his surroundings.

It seemed no one had lived here for a long time. Every piece of furniture was covered in dust.

An old wooden coffee table and chairs.

A huge piece of cross-stitch embroidery hung on the wall.

The embroidery was made with red thread and seemed to depict

Wang Ye froze slightly.

a hand.

That was right. The cross-stitch depicted only a Severed Hand, with blood even dripping from it.

The maker was highly skilled. The entire embroidery looked extremely lifelike.

The blood at the severed wrist seemed as though it might flow out at any moment, making one's skin crawl.

Wang Ye quickly shifted his gaze away. This embroidery gave him a very unsettling feeling. After looking at it for only a few seconds, he felt his mind grow dazed.

But soon, Wang Ye froze in place again, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

Clear footprints marked the dust-covered floor.

Someone had been here!!!

Other than him, who else would come to a place like this?

Wang Ye frowned deeply and only continued forward after a long while.

From the direction of the kitchen not far away, a strong smell drifted over. Wang Ye took a slight sniff, and his expression grew even more solemn.

The smell of a rotting corpse.

He was certain. In his previous life, he had experienced too many Supernatural Incidents and come into contact with too many decaying corpses.

Wang Ye would never forget this familiar smell for the rest of his life.

But why would this smell appear in the kitchen of Room 404?

Damn Heaven Group. Had their cleanup work after resolving a Supernatural Incident really been this sloppy?

Wang Ye cursed inwardly and walked into the kitchen.

Sure enough, the smell of rotting corpses grew even stronger in the kitchen, nearly choking him.

Yet strangely, the kitchen was covered in dust.

Wang Ye searched the pot, the refrigerator, and every place where something could be hidden, but found nothing.

Then,

Wang Ye's gaze fell upon the dust-covered cutting board.

A Boning Knife stained with dried blood lay quietly there.

The source of the rotting-corpse smell seemed to be this Boning Knife.