The tall ghost growled irritably, its body turning even darker.
Suddenly, a series of light footsteps came from the White Moon City.
All the ghosts turned to look, and a young man walked over.
After he stepped outside the boundaries of White Moon City, clusters of ghosts gathered around him.
But he couldn't see them; his gaze was fixed on one spot ahead, and he called out with a slight glimmer of light, "Mom!"
Fang'er, you're back!
A wisp of ghostly spirit darted out and ran towards the man.
The man happily opened his arms to greet her, "Mom! I'm home!"
A dark figure lunged at the man, freezing his smile. The next second, his smile turned sinister as he touched his face and chest, "Hehehe, I finally have a body."
He turned around and saw no longer his dark "fellow countrymen," but a village of yellow earth.
He smiled and walked towards White Moon City, successfully entering the city's side.
A shadowy figure couldn't resist following, but was blocked outside the city by the "boundary".
"It got into the city so quickly, I'm so envious. My daughter is so stubborn, she insists on staying in the city, no amount of persuasion will get her out."
"We can't trick them out. If we just let them die in the city, we'll gain the right to claim them and enter."
"My son is fairly obedient. I just sent him a portion of my soul. Once he consumes it, I'll have the opportunity to possess him and control him to leave the city..."
The shadowy figures began to chatter amongst themselves, clutching their phones tightly, clinging to their only hope of survival.
A note from the author:
none
Chapter 129
Su Cheng didn't have much luggage in the rented apartment. She simply packed her things into her bag and left with Xu Shaowei.
As I walked out of Building 4, I bumped into a man and a woman carrying large and small bags.
They are new residents.
Su Cheng glanced at the two of them; they were wearing coats, so she couldn't tell if they had black bracelets under their cuffs.
Red Moon Garden has so many buildings, how come these two just happened to choose building number 4?
It's hard not to suspect that they were also lured into participating.
Su Cheng and Xu Shaowei exchanged a glance, then ran past them in unison, shouting, "There's a ghost! This building is haunted, filled with deadly evil spirits..."
The abrupt action made the couple stop in their tracks and look at each other in bewilderment.
"What's wrong with them? This is so unlucky." The man frowned. He had just moved and people were already saying the house was haunted. Anyone would be upset in that situation.
"I don't think they're lying. Don't you think it's even colder inside? The sun just can't shine in." The woman pursed her lips and gripped her bag tighter.
In fact, she felt uneasy when she saw the gloomy building, and now her anxiety had intensified.
"How about we try something else..."
"Alright," the man interrupted, "Don't scare yourself. Even if there are ghosts, I'm a grown man full of yang energy, what ghost would dare come near me?"
The man took the bag from his girlfriend, slung it over his shoulder, and confidently flexed his biceps. "Even if a ghost comes, I'll protect you. Don't underestimate the strength of a grown man."
"But even if you have immense power, you can't defeat a ghost."
The man chuckled, "I practice every day."
"..."
Su Cheng, who had walked away, didn't hear the couple's subsequent conversation; otherwise, she would have definitely wished the man success.
Xu Shaowei: "We did remind them, but whether they listened or not is beyond our control."
When the two arrived at the Man Moon Hotel by taxi, there was still an hour left before the designated time.
Xu Shaowei hadn't had a chance to look around the hotel properly during her last visit, while this was Su Cheng's first time here.
The Man Moon Hotel is not small, and its decor leans towards a retro European style.
Upon entering, you are directly opposite a small fountain in the center of the lobby, with a black and gold toad placed in the center of the fountain.
Su Cheng glanced at the toad a few more times, a sense of unease rising within her. This was an evil creature; if it cultivated enough and encountered the right opportunity, it might be able to transform into human form.
"Welcome, both of you."
Su Cheng looked over and saw that the receptionist's features were unfamiliar; it wasn't Yan Yu.
Xu Shaowei stepped forward first and explained her purpose.
"Our manager did mention that testers would be coming at noon, but he's out right now. Why don't you relax in the lounge for a while?" The receptionist smiled and led the two to the back of the lobby.
Behind the lobby is a lounge, which connects directly to the restaurant. The sofas and chairs are neatly arranged, the floor is clean and reflects light, and the overall atmosphere is spacious and bright.
After receiving the person, the receptionist turned around and returned to her post.
Xu Shaowei looked around and followed.
Su Cheng sat down on the sofa. A long time ago, she had stayed in a similar hotel. A regular single room cost nearly three or four hundred yuan a night, but the Man Moon Hotel was priced at ninety yuan and had a very low rating.
She took out her phone; the platform for recruiting hotel testers was called Moon Moon Joy, a popular app with many downloads.
It provides ratings for hotels and inns in White Moon City, allowing users to make informed choices based on their scores.
If a shop disagrees with the rating, it can appeal, and the platform will arrange for a test sleeper to investigate.
After the trial sleep is completed, the platform will collect the tester's evaluation report online and give them a commission.
The reason why Su Cheng and other testers came forward was because of the unsatisfactory ratings of Man Moon Hotel.
Before arriving, Su Cheng had already searched for information about Man Moon Hotel on Moon Moon Joy.
Everyone who stayed there gave it a low score, but they only gave the score without explaining why.
Su Cheng contacted the platform's customer service to inquire about the sleep tester certification, but the customer service representative, like a machine, only repeated, "Please submit your evaluation documents first [click link]".
Su Cheng was at a loss, so she searched for evaluation document format templates.
Xu Shaowei returned shortly afterward.
Following them were two men and a woman looking around nervously, as well as the hotel manager.
Around noon, all the testers arrived at the hotel.
The two boys were one fat and one thin, while the girl was dressed elegantly, wearing a floral dress under her coat.
The two boys were wearing thick coats, obscuring their wrists, while the girl's wrists were adorned with a bright black bracelet and silver chain; she was also a contestant.
Su Cheng guessed that the two of them might also be contestants.
Manager Lin smiled and bowed slightly, "Welcome everyone. The trial stay will be from 12 noon today to 12 noon tomorrow."
She then took out several documents, saying, "According to the sleep tester evaluation process, please take a look at one of these documents first."
Su Cheng took the document; it was a disclaimer stating that the hotel would not be held responsible in the event of any life-threatening situation.
"It's just one night in a hotel, why do I have to sign a waiver?" the girl in the floral dress muttered.
Manager Lin acted as if he hadn't heard, still smiling, "If there are no problems, please sign and give me your names so I can report back to the platform."
Su Cheng and Xu Shaowei quickly signed their names, having anticipated the danger posed by the hotel.
The other three, though dissatisfied, had already come all this way, so they eventually signed the documents and gave their names.
The chubby boy is named Wang Yue, the thin boy is named Lin Qing, and the girl is named Gao Xiaoyun.
Manager Lin retrieved the five documents, and the five people immediately received a text message from the Moon Moon Joy platform:
You have successfully checked in at Man Moon Hotel. Please submit your evaluation documents at 12:00 tomorrow. A commission of 50 yuan will be deposited into the bank card number you provided.
The commission was only 50 yuan, which wasn't much, but apart from Su Cheng and Xu Shaowei who had ulterior motives, most of the others were just looking for free accommodation.
"These are your room keys. Welcome to the hotel. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions."
Manager Lin led the five people to the elevator.
All five people were on the fourth floor, and it turned out that Xu Shaowei was in the same room she had stayed in before.
The two boys were acquaintances, chatting about where they were going to go later. They were here as hotel testers, simply hoping to get a free night's stay.
The girl was holding her phone, taking selfies and recording videos, seemingly creating a social media account.
The fourth-floor corridor was carpeted in a dark red color, and a faint fragrance lingered in the air.
"The hotel's decor and layout are better than I expected."
"I don't think the room rate is too expensive. If it's good this time, I'll come back to stay again next time."
"This hotel tester job is really a great deal! Why didn't you tell me about this opportunity sooner?"
"Oh dear, this is my first time too. Besides, such good things don't happen all the time. This hotel is only doing this because its platform rating dropped..."
Two boys, arms around each other's shoulders, walked towards one end of the corridor.
Su Cheng glanced at her room number; she wasn't with Xu Shaowei. "Let me check out the room first, then I'll come out later."
"Okay." Xu Shaowei walked to the other end.
Gao Xiaoyun pouted, "Why do they all have company?"
After saying that, she glanced at her room number, 414. "Die? That's awful. Doesn't the manager know I'm a blogger? He couldn't even pick a nicer number. He has no emotional intelligence."
Gao Xiaoyun muttered to herself as she turned to the side of the corridor.
After entering the room, Su Cheng took out her phone and started taking pictures everywhere.
The room was spotless, clearly having been specially cleaned and tidied. But no matter how clean it appeared on the surface, Su Cheng still found some clues under the bed when she bent down.
There were several small piles of stones under the bed.
These stones, all black in color, were arranged in several groups in different locations, resembling guiding marks.
After taking the photos, Su Cheng scattered the stones and sent a message to Xu Shaowei, reminding her to check under the bed.
Xu Shaowei's message came quickly; the situation under her bed was the same.
She also told Su Cheng about the origin of the ghost mother and child in the room—they committed suicide after being abandoned by a scumbag, and their resentment condensed into a ghost fetus, which is why the ghost fetus possessed her and was desperately looking for her father.
Whom are the markings on the pile of stones under the bed meant to guide?
Su Cheng and Xu Shaowei decided to split up and explore the hotel.
Even in broad daylight, those filthy creatures hiding in the shadows are extremely well concealed, and no one knows which corner they will emerge from at night.