Haunted Apartment Complex?

Haunted Apartment Complex?

"Beep!"

At dusk, outside the library entrance, the punch clock on the wall chimed pleasantly.

"Clocked out! Qin Yang, end of shift: 17:00."

Qin Yang lazily yawned, pocketed the access card he had used to clock out, and strolled leisurely out of the library.

"Another day of leaving work right on time."

It was a fine habit he had maintained for years.

After leaving the library, Qin Yang wandered beneath the sunset. The streets around him bustled with people, and plenty of snack vendors had rolled out their carts. Oil sizzled in iron pans, filling the air with the rich scent of street food.

After the Blood Demon incident ended, Jianghai City had returned to its former peace, and he had gone back to his laid-back life.

Working nine to five every day, living plainly, slacking off until clocking out—the days were quite comfortable...

Just then.

Beeep—

A long car horn blared from the roadside.

"Hey, Lao Qin, heading home? Get in! I'll give you a ride!"

A luxurious red sports car pulled up and stopped by the curb. The window rolled down, revealing Xia He's smug face.

The flashy car immediately drew plenty of curious glances from passersby.

"It's not far. I can get back on my own."

Qin Yang waved him off, feeling rather speechless under everyone's stares.

After hanging around Xia He for so long, he had nearly forgotten that this guy was a filthy rich heir...

"Alright, then. Be careful on your way home, bro. I'm off first."

Xia He did not press the matter. He floored the accelerator and sped off in the luxury car, leaving a cloud of exhaust behind... "Cough, cough, cough..."

Covering his mouth and nose against the dust, Qin Yang watched the car disappear into the distance and cursed inwardly.

Filthy rich bastard! So what if you can throw money around?!

He was making his way in the world alone. He could not compare to an old capitalist like Xia He, who came from such a wealthy family. He could only afford to rent a cheap place.

"Forget it. No point thinking about it. I should get home."

Qin Yang shook off the stray thoughts, bought a scallion pancake from the roadside, and ate as he walked. Before long, he returned to the apartment complex he rented in.

The complex was not large and sat relatively far from downtown. Many of its facilities had aged badly.

The elevators were either under repair or on their way to being repaired, and in winter, the pipes occasionally froze and burst.

Putting those flaws aside.

It did have an advantage.

It was cheap... At this price, what more could he ask for?

Qin Yang wound his way through the complex and headed skillfully toward his building.

But just as he reached the entrance downstairs, he spotted a moving company truck. Someone appeared to be moving out, with workers busily stuffing box after box of appliances into the cargo compartment.

And the person directing the movers was someone he knew—

His upstairs neighbor!

But at the moment, the man looked terrible. His eyes were haggard, as though he had not slept properly in a long time.

Qin Yang could not help glancing at him a few more times before walking over to greet him.

"Moving to a new place?"

"Yeah, moving. I can't stay in this place anymore."

The neighbor shook his head helplessly and sighed. "Jianghai City hasn't been peaceful this year. One disaster after another. I'm planning to go to Lin City and avoid the storm for a while."

"Yeah. Life isn't easy."

Qin Yang nodded in understanding.

In this world, star beasts ran rampant, while the powerful could soar through the skies and vanish into the earth.

But in the end, it was ordinary working people like them who suffered.

If he did not have the system, what would he have become? He would probably be like this neighbor, fleeing from danger everywhere just to survive... "Speaking of which, you should find time to leave too."

The neighbor glanced at Qin Yang and studied him with bloodshot, exhausted eyes. "This complex isn't safe. You'd better move out early. Don't get tempted by cheap rent and end up getting yourself killed..."

"What do you mean?"

Qin Yang froze.

He had lived here for more than half a year, and this was the first time anyone had tried to persuade him to move out.

However, just as Qin Yang was feeling puzzled.

The neighbor furtively looked around, as though guarding against something, then lowered his voice mysteriously.

"This complex isn't clean. Something dirty has been wandering around the hallways... Last night, Aunt Wang on the third floor saw that thing... It seemed to be a woman. Aunt Wang fainted on the spot when she saw it. When she woke up this morning, her son came over and took her away!"

"A haunting? A female A Piao?"

Upon hearing that, Qin Yang suddenly remembered.

The complex had been on edge these past few days. People kept saying they had seen a white shadow in the hallways, and at midnight, they heard an eerie, vicious laugh that sounded like a woman's.

At first, Qin Yang thought it was just a prank.

But now, it seemed there might be more to it... "So, A-Yang, you should move out as soon as possible too!"

The neighbor looked at Qin Yang, then raised his head toward the scattered lights upstairs.

"In a few more days, almost everyone in this building will have moved out. By then, you'll be the only one left... Aren't you scared!?"

"Well... I wouldn't say I'm scared."

Qin Yang pondered for a moment before saying,

"I'm used to living here, and the rent is cheap. It won't be easy to find another place... Besides, with this haunting business, I might even be able to bargain with the landlord for a lower price..."

"When others are fearful, I buy more. I'm making a killing on this one!"

"???"

The neighbor was instantly speechless.

What kind of thought process was that?

You could play it like this?

"Kids these days would rather risk their lives than spend a little more money. Sigh, you can't reason with someone determined to die."

The neighbor shook his head, wearing the expression of someone looking at rotten wood that could not be carved.

"A poor bastard fighting a female ghost—what a pair of geniuses you two are!"

"You flatter me."

"..."

Night fell.

The stars shone brilliantly.

Qin Yang lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling instead of sleeping. He spread out his star power senses, keeping watch over the activity in the complex.

In an instant.

Powerful star power enveloped the entire complex like spring rain falling silently, missing not the slightest movement.

The squeaking and scurrying of rats in the pipes, the hushed conversations of other neighbors, and even certain gasps that made one blush just hearing them... he could hear everything with perfect clarity.

"Tsk, getting this wild in the middle of the night. Society really is going downhill!"

Qin Yang monitored the various sounds throughout the complex, then rolled over in bed.

This star power coverage was incredibly powerful, like turning on a full-map eavesdropping mode.

If he had not heard his neighbor mention the female ghost, he never would have activated it.

After all, peeping into a neighbor's private affairs... really was not very proper.

But there was no helping it.

The female ghost had gotten completely out of hand and was practically climbing onto his head...

How could he allow another to snore beside his bed? If I don't drag you out, I definitely won't be able to sleep peacefully!

As Qin Yang thought this.

Suddenly!

A ripple of star power surged through his mind.

Its location instantly locked onto a nearby building! "It's here!"

Seeing this, Qin Yang quickly got up and immediately used the Seven Stars Dragon Swimming Steps, moving toward the source of the sound.

A moment later.

He arrived at where the sound was coming from.

The cold, silent hallway was lit by the eerie green glow of an emergency exit sign. Accompanied by ghostly laughter drifting through the air, it felt as though he had stepped into the underworld.