Fourth Floor
Am I the Only Living Soul in This Chat Group?
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Fourth Floor (四楼) |
| Affiliation | Living Person Apartment 13 14 |
| Occupation/Role | Ghost-occupied floor and exploration destination where residents can earn Black Cards 14 |
| Status | Occupied by vengeful ghosts; supernatural influence has begun reaching the Third Floor, although no resulting deaths there have been recorded 30 32 |
Background / History
The Fourth Floor lies immediately above the Living Person Apartment’s three floors reserved for living residents. Its inhabitants are ghosts, but how they originally moved in is unknown. A former apartment administrator proposed that the entire building was once safe for humans, until residents who died during missions returned with intense hatred and gradually contaminated the upper floors. Shata presents this explanation as speculation rather than established history 14.
About five years before Gao Tian’s arrival, an orphaned girl reported hearing her dead family calling her from the Fourth Floor. Other residents largely dismissed her claims as hallucinations. She eventually went upstairs alone and was never seen again by them 14. The girl later speaks to Gao Tian from upstairs, describing the Fourth Floor’s inhabitants as caring “uncles and aunts” and encouraging him to join her 28 29.
Boundaries and Rules
| Rule or feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Ghost territory | The Fourth Floor is the lowest ghost-occupied floor. The First, Second, and Third Floors are designated living-person areas 13 14. |
| Different dangers in each room | Individual rooms contain different ghosts. Shata warns that some are effectively unsolvable encounters in which entering means certain death 13. |
| Original boundary protection | Ghosts are forbidden from descending into the living-person area. When an attacking ghost’s arm reaches the Third Floor window, green plants sprout from its rotten surface, forcing it to withdraw 13. |
| Previously accepted safety rule | Jiangyang states that Fourth Floor ghosts’ abilities cannot affect Third Floor residents. Later incidents challenge this understanding 15 28 30. |
| Remaining restraint | Despite disturbances downstairs, the ghosts have not killed anyone on the Third Floor by the time protective arrangements are made. Residents infer that some boundary power still restrains them 32. |
| Higher floors | The Fifth Floor and further floors exist above it, with increasingly dangerous encounters. Yusheng advises exploring no higher than the Fifth Floor 31. |
Inhabitants and Supernatural Activity
The Little Girl
The girl associated with the photograph left behind by the Shattered Face Ghost becomes Gao Tian’s most direct contact with the Fourth Floor 29.
- Her brother became the Shattered Face Ghost after being betrayed during his third Green Text Mission and having his face peeled off 28 29.
- She says the Fourth Floor’s inhabitants treated her kindly after her family died and the living residents neglected her 28.
- She asks Gao Tian to retrieve missing marbles, claiming her mother will beat her to death if any are lost 28.
- She insists that outside ghosts fear the Fourth Floor and calls it the safest, warmest place in the apartment. This is her claim, not a verified description 29.
Disturbances Heard Below
- Rolling marbles, running bare feet, childish laughter, and unintelligible babbling are audible through Gao Tian’s ceiling. These episodes usually last three to five minutes 26.
- A woman’s screams and a baby’s cries sometimes wake him, then quickly disappear 26.
- Shata previously heard occasional murmurs and calls from upstairs without experiencing any substantial effects during her three years in her room 29.
Influence on the Third Floor
- Physical objects: Two marbles inexplicably appear in Gao Tian’s bedroom after the girl asks him to collect them. Shata later finds them, providing evidence beyond Gao Tian’s testimony 28 29.
- Suspected ghost presence: Knocking from low on Gao Tian’s door suggests a child-sized visitor. He suspects the upstairs girl has descended, but does not open the door to confirm her identity 29.
- Yusheng’s encounter: About three months earlier, Yusheng encountered children and a human head in the Third Floor corridor. The head, blood, and children vanished when he touched the head, leaving no evidence 30.
Exploration and Rewards
Black Cards
Entering a chosen unit on the Fourth Floor or above earns a Black Card from the apartment 14.
- Each card is single-use, usable only by its original owner, and non-transferable 14.
- Activating it outside the apartment instantly returns its owner to the First Floor lobby 14.
- It also returns an explorer from the Fourth Floor to the lobby, making it an escape option during an expedition 30.
Documented Explorers
| Explorer | Experience |
|---|---|
| Gao Tian | Enters under altered memories on his first day, escapes to the Third Floor, and receives a Black Card. He also acquires the Memory Ghost’s ability during the encounter 13 14 26. |
| Jiangyang | Explores after completing his first two newcomer missions. He obtains his only Black Card, but the experience frightens him enough that he does not return 31. |
| Yusheng | Goes upstairs four times and earns four Black Cards. Two encounters force him to expend cards to escape, leaving him with two 31. |
Yusheng offers to write a Fourth Floor guide rather than join the expedition. He explains that certain rooms have fixed inhabitants whose rules can be followed to avoid direct conflict, while stressing that exploration remains extremely dangerous 31.
Major Story Events
| Event | Developments |
|---|---|
| Gao Tian’s escape | Pursued from the Fourth Floor, Gao Tian reaches Shata’s Third Floor window. The boundary repels the ghost’s pursuing arm 12 13. |
| Emergency meeting | Gao Tian’s marbles and Yusheng’s testimony undermine confidence in the apartment’s safety. Several residents request relocation to the Second Floor 29 30. |
| Ascend Team proposal | Gao Tian argues that unchecked contamination could eventually consume every safe floor. He proposes an elite squad to investigate upstairs 30. |
| Expedition planning | Shata, Jiangyang, and Zhao Zhenjia are selected. Gao Tian may join if he completes his third Green Text Mission before departure; another resident, known as “Lan,” is expected to return from America 31 32. |
| Entry requirements | Every expedition member must possess a Black Card. Gao Tian’s minimum qualification is three completed Green Text Missions 31. |
| Interim protection | Jiangyang and Zhao Zhenjia move into rooms beside Gao Tian so he can summon assistance by knocking on the walls 32. |
Notable Quotes
“Soon, you too will willingly go up to the Fourth Floor and become like me...”
— The little girl speaking to Gao Tian 29