Yusheng, a monk, was the only resident in this generation of the Living Person Apartment to have completed six Green Text Missions—one more than the apartment administrator, Shata.
If he hadn't been so eccentric, so quiet and taciturn, and so fond of speaking in riddles, the administrator's position would have belonged to him without question.
It was easy to imagine how much respect Yusheng commanded among the residents. He was every bit as influential as Shata. As soon as he spoke, everyone else fell silent. Zhao Zhenjia fixed his gaze on him.
"May I ask what evidence you have, Mr. Yusheng?"
Yusheng replied calmly:
"One night, around two in the morning, I was troubled and tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. I couldn't focus on my Buddhist scriptures, either. I felt my Inner Demon was invading my Six Senses.
"So I opened my door, intending to walk around the floor. Just then, I heard strange laughter. Children were playing in the distance, and a round object rolled right up to my feet.
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"The laughter seemed to come and go. Then a little boy's voice rang out in the distance. He said, 'Bald Uncle, could you kick the soccer ball back?' I immediately sensed something was wrong. It was true that parents with children lived in the Living Person Apartment, but families with minors were usually placed on the Second Floor, so their children wouldn't hear the Monsters on the Fourth Floor and suffer long-term harm to their physical and mental health.
"It was the middle of the night, too. How could the children from the Second Floor be playing in the Third Floor hallway? I didn't dare let my guard down. As I reached for the ball, I was already on alert. When I looked up, I saw several short figures that looked like children standing on the stairs between the Third and Fourth Floors. Their posture suggested they were watching me.
"My hand clearly touched a soccer ball, but it came away covered in blood. The ball, which should have had a smooth surface, was bumpy, like a human face. When I looked down, I saw that what had rolled to my feet wasn't a soccer ball at all. It was a freshly severed human head..."
Yusheng told his story with such vivid detail that a chill ran through everyone present. Many faces changed. If what he said was true, then the Supernatural Event had already spread to the Third Floor, and Gao Tian wasn't the only one affected.
Zhao Zhenjia couldn't help interrupting him.
"Master, when did this happen? Why didn't you tell us about something so important sooner?"
Yusheng replied calmly:
"It happened about three months ago.
"There were two reasons I didn't tell anyone.
"First, the instant I touched the head on the floor, everything suddenly vanished. The blood on my hands, the head by my feet, and the children standing on the stairs leading down from the Fourth Floor—all of it disappeared without a trace.
"The hallway was empty. I was the only one there. If I had shouted for help, all the residents on the Third Floor would have come out to find me standing alone in the empty corridor in the middle of the night, babbling and raving as if I were sleepwalking. Who do you think everyone would have believed was losing his mind?
"The second reason had something to do with you, Mr. Zhao Zhenjia—"
Yusheng's eyes, as calm as a still pool, settled on Zhao Zhenjia across from him.
"That night fell right before you were due to complete your Fourth Green Text Mission.
"If I'd made it public that the Ghost on the Fourth Floor could affect the Third Floor hallway, it would have caused panic among the residents on the Third Floor, perhaps even throughout the entire Living Person Apartment. That would have put enormous pressure on you, too. After all, whether or not you completed your Fourth Mission, the Living Person Apartment you returned to would no longer have been the absolutely safe place it once was.
"So I took it upon myself to keep quiet. A week later, you returned successfully. I could have shared what I'd encountered that night, but there was no evidence, and so much time had passed that no one would have believed me.
"I've actually been gathering evidence for the past three months, hoping to find the right moment to tell everyone. Now that Gao Tian, a newcomer, has also encountered the mysterious Supernatural Power from the Fourth Floor, I don't think this can wait any longer, whether or not people believe me."
Zhao Zhenjia, a resident of the Third Floor, had completed his Fourth Green Text Mission about three months earlier. He was now only one mission behind Shata and Jiangyang, and was also a candidate for apartment administrator. That was why he had chosen to live on the Third Floor, to strengthen his courage and mental resilience.
If a newcomer like Gao Tian claimed that the Ghost on the Fourth Floor could affect the Third Floor, no one would take him seriously. They would assume another promising newcomer had been frightened into madness. But when Yusheng said the same thing, it corroborated Gao Tian's account—and carried a very different weight.
A newlywed couple on the Third Floor turned pale and immediately looked to Shata.
"We want to change rooms. Move us to the Second Floor right away.
"When we first came to the Living Person Apartment, the Second Floor was full, and you assured us the Third Floor was just as safe. That's the only reason we agreed to move here.
"Now that the Third Floor isn't safe... and my wife just found out she's pregnant. If anything happens, it'll cost two lives. Please, let us move to the Second Floor."
They weren't the only ones. Several other Third Floor residents also turned pale and began murmuring among themselves, wondering whether they should move to the Second Floor, even if it meant sharing a room with other residents.
The Vengeful Ghost on the Fourth Floor hadn't killed anyone yet; it had only sent down some messages. But who could guarantee that things wouldn't get worse?
Shata's expression remained calm. She had always known that most residents were timid and easily cowed. They didn't care about the truth of the Living Person Apartment or what the future held; their only concern was their own safety. There were only a handful of people in the entire apartment she could rely on.
"I understand. Jiangyang, make a list of everyone who's requested a room change and see what arrangements you can make.
"There are only two vacant rooms left on the Second Floor, so obviously we can't move every Third Floor resident there. One possible solution is to have two families share a room temporarily. After all, if you want to be safe, you'll have to give up some comfort. Can you accept that?"
From beginning to end, Shata spoke in a calm, even tone.
"Anyone who's confirmed they're moving to the Second Floor can leave if they want. The matters we're about to discuss won't have much to do with you for now."
During a Supernatural Event, involving more people didn't necessarily mean more would survive.
The residents asking to move to the Second Floor were all timid. There was little point in making them stay.
After a brief commotion, only the three administrators, Gao Tian, Zhao Zhenjia, and a few others remained in the crowded room. The other residents had given their names to be added to the list, then hurried out of Shata's room to pack, eager to move downstairs that very night.
Zhao Zhenjia naturally had no intention of leaving the Third Floor. After one more Green Text Mission, he would be on equal footing with Shata. He was ambitious enough to vie for the position of Living Person Apartment Administrator.
The only surprise was that Gao Tian, a newcomer who had completed only two Green Text Missions, had chosen to stay on the Third Floor.
Jiangyang narrowed his eyes until they were almost slits as he looked at Gao Tian.
"Oh, that's interesting.
"You've completed just two missions, and you've been hit directly by the Supernatural Event on the Fourth Floor, yet you're still choosing to stay?"
Gao Tian replied:
"When I first came to the Living Person Apartment, I already passed through the Ghost's Gate on the Fourth Floor. I was lucky enough to make it back alive, and I even got a Black Card.
"I'm afraid of those 'residents' on the Fourth Floor, but I'm even more curious about them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen this floor when I first picked a room."
He turned toward Shata.
"I remember you saying that the girl who found the previous apartment administrator's journal had also speculated that the entire Living Person Apartment had been safe at first. But as more and more residents died, the Supernatural Power gradually spread through the upper floors, turning them into the Ghosts' territory. Is that right?"
Shata nodded.
"That's what the journal said."
Zhao Zhenjia stroked his chin with interest.
"Kid, following your logic, do you think that if the previous administrator's theory was right, the Fourth Floor could be corrupted by the supernatural, and now the Third Floor could be corrupted as well?
"Are the strange things happening in your room signs that the Ghosts on the Fourth Floor have begun to spread their influence to the Third Floor?"
Yusheng turned the Prayer Beads in his hand.
"From the outside, the Living Person Apartment clearly has more than four floors.
"Above the Fourth Floor, there are at least the Fifth Floor, the Sixth Floor, and the Seventh Floor.
"But the entire Fourth Floor is occupied by Ghosts. Few Living Persons have managed to enter and return, let alone reach the Fifth Floor, which is even higher."
Gao Tian had been at the Living Person Apartment for less than a month, but what he said was so bold that even the administrators looked at him in surprise.
"If the previous apartment administrator's theory is true—and it does seem possible—then if we let the supernatural forces above keep spreading downward, sooner or later the Second Floor, and even the First Floor, will be forcibly absorbed into the Ghosts' territory.
"Then there won't be a single safe place left in the Living Person Apartment. We won't need to worry about how to complete our next Green Text Mission. Either way, we'll die: if we return to the Living Person Apartment, we'll be killed; if we don't return within the time limit, the apartment's rules will kill us."
He put forward his proposal:
"Before things get completely out of control, we should form an Elite Squad and take the initiative to go up to the Fourth Floor and investigate what's happening above.
"If conditions allow, we should even explore the Fifth and Sixth Floors."
He paused to confirm one detail.
"After you use a Black Card, it brings you back to the apartment. But if you use one on the Fourth Floor, do you stay where you are?"
Shata replied:
"You'll return to the First Floor lobby."
That was a surprisingly humane feature.
In other words, a Black Card could be used while exploring inside the Living Person Apartment, too.
With no fear of the consequences, Gao Tian said:
"I'm willing to be the first to join the squad.
"If we do nothing but sit around and wait to die, there's no point in risking our lives to complete the next Green Text Mission."
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