Ascend Team

"Going to explore the Fourth Floor on my own initiative..."

This was no laughing matter.

Although the Fourth Floor offered top-tier rewards like Black Cards, very few Apartment Residents dared to go up there voluntarily. No matter how good the reward, you needed to be alive to use it.

Unless it was a Green Text Mission, where failure meant death? Otherwise, no one would risk their life.

Even someone as bold as Jiangyang, recalling his experience on the Fourth Floor, still felt a lingering fear:

"When I first arrived at the Living Person Apartment, my first two Newcomer missions went relatively smoothly. I got a bit arrogant, thinking I was really powerful. My curiosity was also piqued, and I wanted to see what kind of ghosts were on the Fourth Floor."

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He paused here.

He had obtained his first Black Card, and it was his only one.

Jiangyang rarely spoke about what exactly he encountered on the Fourth Floor. But from then on, he became much more humble and never again ascended those stairs.

Shata's gaze fell on Yusheng, who had his eyes lowered:

"If anyone wants to see what the Fourth Floor is like, Yusheng should be the expert on this.

"After all, he's the one who possesses four Black Cards."

Upon hearing this, the few remaining people in the room let out low gasps.

This Bald Monk, who seemed unassuming, was actually this formidable. He had completed six Green Text Missions and obtained four Black Cards, putting him far ahead of everyone else in the Living Person Apartment in all aspects.

If Shata hadn't been secretly observing, no one would have known this, as Monk Yusheng himself never mentioned it.

Facing the astonished and impressed gazes of everyone, Yusheng simply brushed it off:

"Actually, it wasn't four.

"I went up four times, but twice I encountered situations I couldn't handle, forcing me to use two Black Cards and return to the First Floor Hall.

"So, I only have two Black Cards left now.

"Also, your deductions are correct. Above the Fourth Floor is the Fifth Floor, and above the Fifth Floor are new floors.

"The number of floors in the apartment is the same as the number of Green Text Missions. The higher you go, the more difficult it becomes. The difficulty of the Fifth Floor has reached an unimaginable level. As for the Sixth Floor above that, I had the chance to go up, but my instincts told me that the moment I stepped onto those Blood Red stairs, I would surely die on the Sixth Floor. Even a Black Card wouldn't save me."

He spun his prayer beads, which made a crisp sound:

"If you plan to go upstairs, I advise you.

"Go up to the Fifth Floor at most, at the absolute most."

"The things on the Fourth Floor have likely already reached your limit. Not to mention the Fifth Floor, or even the Sixth."

Zhao Zhenjia couldn't help but ask:

"You risked your life to go up there so many times, is it because you know there's something you need on the upper floors?

"Yusheng, you've completed six Green Text Missions so far, but all the residents who did missions with you are dead. That means no one has seen you fight, no one knows your background, or the effects of your Supernatural Items."

Facing Zhao Zhenjia's somewhat aggressive questioning, Yusheng remained unmoved:

"Sorry, I cannot disclose that.

"I won't join your expedition team, but if needed, I can write you a guide for the Fourth Floor. Some apartment numbers are inhabited by fixed residents, and as long as you follow certain rules, you can effectively avoid direct conflict with them.

"Of course, even then, going upstairs is a Nine Deaths, One Life situation. The Fifth Floor is Ten Deaths, No Life."

Yusheng glanced at the sky outside the window:

"It's getting late, this Monk will head back to rest now."

After saying this, he didn't care about the reactions of the other residents present. He stood up and walked straight to the door, opened it, and left.

Yusheng has always been like this, indifferent to the other residents of the apartment, leaving whenever he pleased.

This team-based instance was treated by him as a single-player game. Yusheng explored the entire apartment alone, treating others as if they didn't exist.

Gao Tian's thought resurfaced in his mind.

If he could use the Shattered Face Ghost's ability to steal all of Yusheng's memories...

But this idea was too evil. Once he obtained Yusheng's five facial puzzle pieces, he would be stealing not just his memories, but his life as well.

For Gao Tian to kill an ordinary Monk for such a reason, he couldn't get past it psychologically.

The other party was merely tight-lipped, not someone who had committed heinous crimes. If it were someone like Zhao Qiang, a triad member, Gao Tian would have no psychological burden using his ghost abilities on him.

Moreover, as an Old Resident who had completed six Green Text Missions and been upstairs four times, Yusheng must possess many Supernatural Items. No one knew what consequences might arise from rashly attacking him.

Jiangyang shook his head:

"Forget it, let's not talk about Yusheng.

"I think Gao Tian has a point. Instead of waiting for those Evil Spirits on the Fourth Floor to come down and harass us, why don't we proactively go up and see what these guys are up to.

"We haven't tried it before, sending a team up to investigate the Fourth Floor.

"Fighting alone, it's indeed difficult to deal with the endless stream of ghosts, and one can't reach higher floors. But if it's a small team that complements each other's weaknesses, then it might truly be possible to achieve what previous residents couldn't."

Zhao Zhenjia expressed his concerns:

"If this elite squad includes all the elites and administrators from all the apartments. Does this mean that after going upstairs, the squad encountered some unavoidable rule of death, and if they were all wiped out on the fourth floor, then everyone else in the apartments would be finished?"

There are no such senior administrators in the apartments, and the newcomers don't know the mission flow.

Shata said calmly:

"After entering the Living Person Apartment, it's always more deaths than lives.

"In the past few decades, apart from the legendary Xu Yuan, no one else has been known to complete ten missions.

"If you're afraid of death and don't want to go to the fourth floor, then you might as well not complete any Green Text Missions."

Shata's words were the final word.

After entering the Living Person Apartment, it's always more deaths than lives; you have to treat a dead horse as if it were alive.

Since it has been decided to go to the fourth floor, and it's an unprecedented luxurious lineup for this session's apartment residents. The next step is to confirm the personnel list for those going upstairs.

In supernatural events, it's not about having more people; more people also mean a higher chance of stepping on the ghost's killing rule. If there are people in the team who don't follow orders, or whose mental fortitude is so poor they could break down at any moment, they are unstable bombs. It's better to not have such people than to bring them into the team.

After a brief discussion, the team going to the fourth floor is confirmed to be between four to six people. The first criterion for joining the team is to possess a Black Card, allowing them to return to the first floor hall at any time if things turn bad.

With this criterion, only a few of the remaining third-floor residents could meet it. The final remaining members are Jiangyang, Shata, Zhao Zhenjia, and Gao Tian, four people.

The other three have no issues, but Zhao Zhenjia shows obvious opposition towards Gao Tian:

"No, a newcomer who has only completed two Green Text Missions absolutely cannot enter the fourth floor with us.

"Your strength, your mental fortitude, these cannot be trained within a short period. You have potential, but our goal is to reach the fifth floor, or even the sixth floor, and at least complete three to four Green Text Missions, and have four items for registration."

If Yusheng had a normal mind, he would be the perfect candidate for the fourth spot on this squad. Unfortunately, Yusheng is erratic, leaving their team with only three people and one vacancy.

Gao Tian responded:

"The first day I came to the Living Person Apartment, I went to the fourth floor.

"Although that place is dangerous, I survived it without completing a single Green Text Mission.

(Other residents are unaware that Gao Tian obtained a supernatural item in the chat group.)

"Moreover, items are about quality over quantity. The supernatural items you possess may not be of higher quality than mine."

He possesses the urn, which imprisons the Shattered Face Ghost, and has also stolen the Memory Ghost's abilities. With the Ghost Card to increase fault tolerance, he is well-equipped for both offense and defense.

Hearing this ignorant newcomer dare to provoke him, Zhao Zhenjia's veins bulged on his neck:

"What did you say, kid.

"I'm not letting you go upstairs for your own good, don't be ungrateful."

"If your mind is sound, that girl upstairs has already set her sights on you. She might be waiting for a fool like you to walk into a trap. If you run into any danger on the fourth floor, we won't have the spare strength to help you."

Just as the two were about to argue, Shata interrupted their dispute:

"Gao Tian, your next Green Text Mission is in about two weeks, right?"

Early Stage Green Text Missions were relatively simple, but the intervals between mission releases were quite short. Late Stage missions would see an explosive increase in difficulty, but the gaps between them were measured in years.

Gao Tian had joined his second Green Text Mission in a disruptive entry. If the third Green Text Mission followed the normal timeline, it should be released in one month. The Sapphire Mall had ended about two weeks ago, which was around this time.

He didn't know what Shata meant by bringing this up now, but he still nodded:

"About that."

Shata:

"Then that's fine.

"Our team is still waiting for one person to return.

"That person will return to the Living Person Apartment in about three weeks. They are an important supplement to the team. Gao Tian, if you can pass your third Green Text Mission by then and reach the minimum requirement, you can join our team. Our team will then have five members.

"If you don't reach it by then, we will ultimately go to the fourth floor with four people.

"Everyone, is that okay?"

Hearing the compromise plan proposed by Shata, Zhao Zhenjia reluctantly accepted:

"Completing three missions is the minimum requirement to go upstairs with us.

"If you can complete three missions, it means you have a certain ability to protect yourself. I agree to let you join our team."

However, this time the opposition came, unexpectedly, from Jiangyang:

"Sister Ta, why did you agree to let that madwoman join our team?

"Isn't her existence more dangerous than Yusheng's? Yusheng at most likes to play the riddler and knows things without telling us. If that madwoman goes crazy upstairs, she could really get us all killed."

In response, Shata brushed it off lightly:

"It's fine. I'll handle the communication with her.

"In fact, she also really wants to know what's hidden above the fourth floor. She's currently in America dealing with a vengeful ghost incident. When she returns to the country, I'll handle the communication."