Xu Yuan's Old Home

As for who the "she" Shata had mentioned was, she hadn't gone into detail. Jiangyang had clearly worked with that person too, and had been left with a deep psychological scar.

Zhao Zhenjia probably knew who Shata meant, but he didn't know much about her either, so he hadn't paid it much attention.

That woman must have completed at least four Green Text Missions. Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to go straight to America. After the first few missions were issued, anyone who failed to return to the Living Person Apartment before the deadline risked being erased.

Gao Tian knew nothing about the woman's specific background, the Supernatural Items she used, or how many Green Text Missions she had completed.

He'd only gleaned a few scraps from Jiangyang. The woman went by the single name Lan, had some mental problems, and had suffered damage to the nerves in her brain responsible for fear. She had once gotten an important teammate killed during a Green Text Mission.

That settled things. The team going up to the Fourth Floor would have four or five people, depending on whether Gao Tian survived his third Green Text Mission or died.

They also discussed whether to change floors, given the Fourth Floor's recent incursions into the Third Floor.

For one thing, the floors below were already packed. Every ordinary tenant seemed desperate to move to the Second Floor, even if it meant sharing a room with someone else.

Besides, the Fourth Floor Ghosts still hadn't actually killed anyone on the Third Floor, which suggested that some force tied to their location was still restraining them. Given how bloodthirsty they were, they wouldn't have held back this long otherwise.

They made a temporary decision: Jiangyang and Zhao Zhenjia would move into the rooms on either side of Gao Tian's. If anything happened in Gao Tian's room, he only had to knock on the bedroom wall once, and Jiangyang could come running immediately.

Likewise, if Gao Tian went to the spot by the television in the living room and knocked on that wall, Zhao Zhenjia in the room across from him would hear it.

Honestly, Gao Tian was quite touched. As the newest tenant on the Third Floor, they'd treated him as the weakest among them, but they really were protecting him, afraid he'd become the Ghosts' point of entry.

There was no need to move Shata. As the current apartment manager, if even she died, everyone else would probably lose all hope.

Yusheng's room didn't need to be moved either. No one had ever entered that strange monk's room. Who knew what he was tinkering with in there?

The meeting ended late. Zhao Zhenjia and Jiangyang left the room one after the other.

Only Gao Tian remained, but no one else seemed in a hurry to leave. Shata went over to the coffee machine, poured some beans in, then glanced back at him.

"What is it? Is there something else?"

Gao Tian watched her grind the beans with practiced ease.

"Did you learn to do all this before?"

Shata's expression barely changed.

"Before I came to the Living Person Apartment, my dream had always been to become a barista.

"But after I got here, all my plans fell apart. My mother died the year before last. I was helping new tenants analyze Green Text Missions, so I didn't even have time to go back for her funeral."

Her voice was perfectly calm, as though she were talking about someone else's life.

Gao Tian didn't know whether Shata had always been this reserved, or whether she'd gradually grown so distant after witnessing too many farewells and deaths at the Living Person Apartment.

He fell silent for a while. Though he hadn't known Shata for long, he felt she was someone he could rely on.

"Is there a decent programmer in this apartment?

"I have an important post that was deleted. It might take some expertise to restore it."

Shata stopped what she was doing and turned her gemstone-bright eyes toward him.

"Is this post related to a Supernatural Event?"

What a sharp woman.

He really couldn't hide anything from her.

Gao Tian said, "I stumbled across a website. A Ghost Hunter with the ID 'Living Person Apartment' had written a post there.

"I suspect that person was Xu Yuan. He once posted something about the Living Person Apartment. Unfortunately, by the time I found it, the post had already been deleted.

"So I wanted to ask whether you knew of anyone on the Second Floor who was an expert in anything related to the internet. Maybe they could use their skills to help restore the post here in the apartment and find out what happened."

He glossed over how he'd found the post.

He'd been ready to make up an excuse if Shata pressed him, but she didn't get hung up on the details. Instead, she went straight to the point.

"Have you already found an expert outside and gotten them to open the post once?

"Only, something in the post had Supernatural Power and killed the expert you brought in. That's why you came to me—to use the Living Person Apartment's power to suppress the Vengeful Ghost and let you see what was in the post?"

Gao Tian's expression changed dramatically.

It was true. Because of his ignorance, Cao Hua had died. Gao Tian was entirely to blame for Cao Hua's death.

It was the mistake he least wanted to remember. Yet Shata had hit him right where it hurt.

Seeing his expression, Shata didn't need to ask any more questions to understand what had happened. She simply said, "All experiments involving Supernatural Items, and anything related to the supernatural, need to be done inside the Living Person Apartment. It's still safe here for now.

"And it's my fault, too. I've been so busy lately that I should have reminded you new tenants about the things you need to be careful of."

She'd finished making a steaming cup of pour-over coffee. The stirrer turned in her hand.

"There is a programmer from a major tech company on the Second Floor. But his department has recently taken on a big project, and he's working overtime at the office until midnight every day.

"If you want his help, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while. He might be able to take a day off and come back to the apartment in a month."

Gao Tian was as shocked to hear that someone in the Living Person Apartment worked overtime every day as he'd been the first time he learned that ghosts existed.

"Sister Ta, are you messing with me?

"He lives in the Living Person Apartment. There's no guarantee he'll survive until the next mission ends. Shouldn't he be enjoying life instead of volunteering to work overtime?

"What's his deal? Is he short on money? All food and lodging in the Living Person Apartment are free..."

Shata took a small sip and glanced his way.

"At a major tech company, the odds of an employee working themselves to death are about the same as the odds of dying during a Green Text Mission.

"If he isn't afraid of overtime, why would he be afraid of a Green Text Mission?"

Well.

That made a lot of sense.

Gao Tian was speechless. He didn't even know how to argue with her.

"Hello, is this Gao Tian?"

A gloomy voice came through the phone.

At three in the morning, Gao Tian was dozing in bed on the Third Floor of the Living Person Apartment when the shrill ring of his phone jolted him awake. Squinting in the darkness, he fumbled around until he found his phone and the answer button. Then he heard a familiar old friend's voice on the other end.

Zhao Qiang.

"I've found the person you were looking for.

"His name is Xu Yuan. His hometown is in Hengzhou City. He went to Honglong Elementary School and Mingde Middle School, then attended a top-tier university in SH City. He suddenly dropped out in his second year.

"His parents died young in a Car Accident. Later, he was adopted by a middle-aged man named Lin Nan'an. Xu Yuan came to Shanghai City in his twenties. His profession and income are unknown. He stayed in Shanghai City until he was about thirty-five, then suddenly disappeared for no apparent reason.

"He was last seen at Sapphire Mall. The police investigated, but the missing person had few social connections and no obvious enemies, so the case dragged on and remains unsolved to this day."

Everything matched.

Little Wish's "Teacher" was really named Lin Nan'an.

He'd been able to keep living in Shanghai City without a job because he'd been caught up in the Living Person Apartment.

Later, he disappeared at Sapphire Mall because he'd been killed by the Ghost who liked collecting human heads. Before he died, his body had also been preserved in that bizarre way.

It seemed Zhao Qiang and the others had really gone looking for the man for him, instead of just tossing him a few details to brush him off.

The Zhao Family had made its fortune lending money, and they certainly had a knack for finding people. Xu Yuan had been so hard to track down, yet Zhao Qiang had dug up everything in less than three days.

But it still wasn't enough.

Those were details meant for ordinary people to read, just the tip of the iceberg poking above the surface.

What was Xu Yuan's real relationship with his Teacher, Lin Nan'an? How had he ended up in the Living Person Apartment, and how had he completed ten missions and left? Why had he later become the Chat Group's owner at Jialan Society? Why had everyone in Jialan Society died?

Most importantly, what did Xu Yuan want now that he'd become a Ghost? What was he after?

There were too many mysteries surrounding him. He was one of the keys to the entire Chat Group.

Zhao Qiang's gloomy voice sounded through the phone again.

"Are you still there, Gao Tian?"

Gao Tian came back to himself.

"I'm here, Xiao Qiang."

Zhao Qiang snorted.

"We're in a small county town near Xu Yuan's old home right now. We found the house his parents left behind.

"After his parents died in the Car Accident, Xu Yuan stayed in an orphanage for a while, then left with Lin Nan'an. That house has been vacant for over twenty years, and nobody's touched it.

"Xu Yuan went back there a few times afterward, so there must be more information about him inside.

"Do you want to come take a look? If not, my brothers and I will break in."

Gao Tian said, "I'll come.

"Send me the address, and I'll take a cab."