Chapter 18

Zhou Fangdong felt like his two tenants were a bit strange… Why was their Favorability increasing so rapidly?

Miao Zheng had given him 80 Favorability points the moment they met, and Zhao Dawei was even more exaggerated. After just a few words of comfort, his Favorability had soared straight to 100.

Could this be a benefit provided by the system during the early stages of the game? Or was the Favorability growth rate for “Low-level Tenants” always this high?

Looking at Zhao Dawei, who was sitting on the floor crying uncontrollably, Zhou Fangdong sighed. He was about to say something more when the chubby middle-aged man suddenly wiped his face hard and said, one word at a time:

“Please rest assured, Mr. Landlord. I will never betray you. You don’t need to help me quit the job at the furniture store. I’ll go back and wash up, then take the bus to work.”

With that, he walked toward Room 101 without looking back, as if he had made a firm resolution.

Shortly after Zhao Dawei left, Hong Zhong returned, having quickly finished two packs of compressed biscuits in his car.

Zhou Fangdong led Hong Zhong toward Room 102, instructing him as they walked:

“When cleaning Room 102, do not turn on the main light sources, such as the living room chandelier or the bedroom ceiling light. Do not use any open flames. Most importantly, do not open the door to the utility room. No matter what noise comes from inside, ignore it. You only need to clean the living room and the master bedroom.”

Pushing open the door to Room 102, Hong Zhong looked at the scorched earth before him and suddenly didn’t know where to start.

The interior looked as if it had suffered a massive fire. The ceiling, walls, and floor were all pitch black. He could vaguely see what looked like melted wires and pipes protruding from the surfaces.

This wasn’t just a matter of repainting and renovating; even the plumbing and electrical systems would need to be completely re-laid.

Hong Zhong began to suspect whether the landlord already knew something and was intentionally using this terrifying workload to make things difficult for him.

…Could he have already discovered their probing?

Hong Zhong suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

If the office building death-game incident really was related to Liwan Apartments…

To this unfathomably powerful landlord, renting out rooms and cleaning houses was a pastime. Locking down a building to create a human-ghost survival game was likely just another form of entertainment to him.

Hong Zhong didn’t know if Zhao Dawei had said something wrong just now, nor did he know if the Bureau’s secret contact with the apartment tenants would enrage the landlord. But to prevent any accidents, he had to shoulder everything himself. He had to let the landlord vent all his anger on him and ensure no one else was implicated.

The most important thing right now was to show a serious working attitude and follow the landlord’s arrangements. He couldn’t shrink back just because of the massive workload. He had to use a submissive attitude to show that he had no intention of becoming an enemy.

Thinking of this, Hong Zhong weighed his words and spoke cautiously. “Understood. I will follow the rules and complete the cleaning of Room 102. However, the workload for this room is quite large. Mr. Landlord, could you give me a few days? Five days… no, three days. I can restore the room to a rentable state in three days.”

Zhou Fangdong frowned slightly.

Seeing this expression, Hong Zhong’s heart leaped into his throat.

“Forget it then,” Zhou Fangdong refused decisively after a moment’s thought.

Zhou Fangdong had just checked with the system in his mind. The system said that using the Automatic Cleaning Tool could clean Room 102, and even the burnt plumbing and electrical systems could be restored to their original state.

In that case, there was no need for manual cleaning—it was a waste of time and money.

Hong Zhong’s hourly rate was 50,000. If it took him three days to paint a room, based on an eight-hour workday, his wages for those three days would hit 1.2 million. Although Zhou Fangdong was wealthy now, he didn’t want to be a sucker. 1.2 million was enough to buy an entire house.

Hearing such a decisive rejection, Hong Zhong froze. Cold sweat began to seep out, sliding down his temples.

What did he mean by “forget it”? Was his life over just like that?

Had he said something wrong just now?

Hong Zhong’s muscles tensed. He stared at Zhou Fangdong with eyes full of nervousness, ready to strike back at any moment.

Even if the landlord’s strength was unfathomable, he wouldn’t just wait for death.

He would use his life to find clues for his colleagues. The colleagues who came to investigate Liwan Apartments later would only need to find the recording device on his body to transmit the footage of his final moments back to the Paranormal Affairs Department.

Just as Hong Zhong’s brain was racing, thinking about his next move, he suddenly heard the mysterious landlord say, “I’ll see you out first. This cleaning order is over. I’ll reimburse you for your gas money.”

The voice was as gentle as ever, the words considerate and clearly articulated, but Hong Zhong felt as if he couldn’t quite understand what the landlord was saying.

Was it really as simple as just ending the cleaning order? He didn’t need to end his life?

Hong Zhong’s face was a mask of confusion. He followed Zhou Fangdong to the apartment entrance with mechanical steps.

It wasn’t until he had actually walked out of Liwan Apartments that he finally confirmed the landlord had no intention of getting rid of him.

Watching Hong Zhong drive away, Zhou Fangdong rubbed his chin.

That cleaner seemed a bit weird today.

Ever since he saw Room 102, his expression had been shifting constantly—one moment his face was pale, the next he was covered in sweat…

Could he be feeling unwell?

It was a good thing he ended the cleaning order. Otherwise, if the man worked while sick, not only would the schedule be delayed, but Zhou Fangdong would probably have to reimburse his medical bills too.

Zhou Fangdong shook his head helplessly.

Once he wasn’t so short on Ghost Coins, he would stick to using items to clean the rooms. Human cleaners were simply too unreliable.

Zhou Fangdong returned to Room 102.

Originally, he had planned to spend his last 30 Ghost Coins to buy a set of Automatic Cleaning Tools. But just as he opened the system interface, he remembered that he hadn’t claimed the reward for Zhao Dawei reaching 100 Favorability yet.

Hoping that he might get a cleaning tool from the Favorability reward, Zhou Fangdong opened the Favorability interface and clicked on Zhao Dawei’s name.

There were two sets of rewards: one for 80 Favorability and one for 100 Favorability.

Zhao Dawei’s 80 Favorability rewards were: a set of low-grade Automatic Cleaning Tools, a monthly bus pass, a guide to fishing spots in Linjiang City, and a set of high-quality fishing gear.

Fortunately, it actually gave him cleaning tools. However, the items following that were useless… Was Zhao Dawei actually a fishing fanatic? It seemed the 80 Favorability rewards were closely tied to a tenant’s hobbies.

Compared to the 80 Favorability tier, the 100 Favorability reward was much more useful—it was actually a rechargeable, reusable item.

【Low-grade Talisman: Peace Talisman】: An ancient, orthodox Taoist talisman used to pray for peace and ward off evil.

Item Description: Protects the wearer from harassment by D-rank ghosts and can negate three attacks from C-rank ghosts. When a malicious entity lingers near the wearer, the Peace Talisman will heat up as a warning.

(Note: If the protection charges are exhausted, you can burn Offering Incense to recharge it.)

What a practical item.

While this talisman wasn’t particularly useful to Zhou Fangdong, it was vital for ordinary people who had no way to resist ghosts.

Since this item was unlocked by reaching maximum favorability with Zhao Dawei, he would give the Peace Talisman to him when he returned from work.

Zhao Dawei currently worked at a furniture store and spent long hours outside. If he encountered any danger, this talisman could protect him.

Zhou Fangdong claimed all of Zhao Dawei’s favorability rewards and then used the Automatic Cleaning Tool on Room 102.

It would take about thirty minutes to finish cleaning.

Zhou Fangdong didn’t linger in the soot-covered Room 102 and teleported directly back to his own room.

With the start of a new day, the usage count for the 【Honest Flyer】 had refreshed.

Zhou Fangdong opened the rental forum app and clicked send once more.

The moment the flyer was successfully sent, Hong Zhong received an alert from the Monitoring Department. He hurried to have another paranormal streamer reply to the post to schedule a viewing.

When the notification for a viewing request popped up, Zhou Fangdong frowned instinctively.

Another instant reply…

Zhou Fangdong checked the reply. Upon discovering that the person requesting a viewing was yet another paranormal streamer, he decisively rejected them.

The paranormal streamer entry in the Tenant Illustrated Guide was already lit up; there was no need to find another one.

Besides, the personality traits of paranormal streamers usually involved being adventurous and having a death wish. One Miao Zheng was enough; he didn’t have the energy to look after another one for now.

After the rejection, Zhou Fangdong was prepared for a long wait before another tenant replied. To his surprise, shortly after he rejected the streamer, someone else requested a viewing.

This time, the reply came from a recent college graduate.

Zhou Fangdong quickly scanned the reply. Feeling that this tenant’s profile fit the requirements for Room 102 perfectly, he approved the viewing application.

It felt like he wouldn’t need to spend Ghost Coins on flyers anymore. This Honest Flyer definitely had a “pity system” or guaranteed success rate. It was likely a bug in the system’s programming that had mixed up the effects of the Honest Flyer with other promotional materials.

However, Zhou Fangdong wasn’t going to notify the system. This bug saved him a lot of trouble, after all.

Duan Wenyu limped to the bus stop, leaning against a pillar before slowly sinking to the ground.

There probably wasn’t a more unlucky person in the world than him.

As an ordinary student in the College of Agriculture, he had to delay his graduation twice before finally securing his undergraduate degree.

The year before last, his graduation thesis—which he had literally grown in a field—was stolen by some random elderly locals. Last year, his graduation thesis was eaten by the graduation thesis of a student from the neighboring Veterinary Medicine department.

This year, he simply applied for a specialized tent from the Paranormal Affairs Department and lived in the fields, guarding his thesis day and night.

After turning three shades darker and being covered in mosquito bites, Duan Wenyu finally managed to graduate.

Yet, this successful graduation was the beginning of a nightmare—an accident occurred during the commencement ceremony.

Over two hundred graduates were trapped in the auditorium by a mysterious power.

They couldn’t contact the outside world, nor could they even call out to their professors who were in the same hall.

The professors couldn’t see them, and the parents who came to watch the ceremony couldn’t see them either. These two hundred-plus graduates were seemingly isolated from the world by that mysterious force.

Before long, a strange point system suddenly appeared on the graduates.

The system claimed to be a sub-system of the Main God System from the infinite-flow genre. It bound itself to players to record points earned in dungeons and allowed players to exchange those points for items from the Main God.

In a cold, electronic voice, the system told them that the graduation hall was a beginner dungeon used to screen infinite-flow players. All of them had been chosen by the Main God and needed to play a game with a vengeful ghost; the victors would earn the status of “Infinite-Flow Player.”

Then, the two hundred graduates were divided into ten groups to begin an absurd and cruel game of real-life Werewolf.

As long as they couldn’t find the ghost hidden among the graduates, one student would die every round.

Those dead students were real people… juniors from neighboring departments he knew in passing, classmates he had studied and sweated with in the fields, and roommates who had stayed back with Duan Wenyu for two extra years.

Finally, after more than half the students had died, the ghosts hidden among them were found. Four of the ten groups were completely wiped out, and the remaining six groups that defeated the ghosts suffered heavy casualties.

However, it wasn’t over.

Even though they won the game, the surviving students remained isolated from the world. They couldn’t touch the outside world, couldn’t interact with others, and it was useless even when they ran directly to the Bureau of Paranormal Oversight to report the crime.

The point system stated that because there were currently too many survivors, a second round of screening was required. They were ordered to return to the auditorium in three days.

Duan Wenyu would have to be tired of living to ever return to this godforsaken place.

However, that points system haunted him relentlessly, and a pale blue countdown timer flickered incessantly before his eyes.

…He desperately needed a sanctuary, a place that could withstand this eerie power.

To deal with something this supernatural, he had to find something even more malevolent.

Almost instantly, the words “Liwan Apartments” flashed through his mind.

Before the graduation ceremony began, Duan Wenyu had come across a certain video.

It was posted by a paranormal streamer named [Zheng, Are You For Real?], titled [Daily Life Living with my Female Ghost Sister].

The video had a high view count and had even trended, but the comments section was filled with hostility. They were packed with mockery like “Photoshopped,” “Nice special effects,” and “Fake at first glance.”

Curious about the streamer’s other content, Duan Wenyu had clicked on her profile and found a vlog of her moving into the Liwan Apartments.

At the time, his only thought after watching the video was admiration for the streamer’s courage. He truly hadn’t expected someone to actually move into that haunted building just for the sake of views.

Now, however, he was the one desperate to move in.

He hoped the rumors about Liwan Apartments were true. He hoped that everyone associated with the building really was haunted by vengeful spirits and destined for a gruesome end, just as the legends said.

Even if it was like drinking poison to quench a thirst, and even if moving into Liwan Apartments meant he was doomed to die, it was still better than dying silently in the assembly hall three days from now… At the very least, he would have time to say goodbye to his parents.

Besides, since that paranormal streamer dared to live there, she likely had a way to deal with the building’s curse. Perhaps he could both escape this points system and be lucky enough to survive.

Although he had made his decision, Duan Wenyu didn’t know the exact location of the Liwan Apartments. His phone had no signal and no internet connection, making it impossible to use GPS navigation.

As he kept refreshing his phone in an attempt to find a signal, he accidentally tapped on the app store.

In the middle of the perpetually loading app store page, a green rental forum app suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Despite the lack of internet, the app was available for download and installation.

With a “nothing to lose” attitude, Duan Wenyu installed the app.

Then, within that rental forum, he scrolled onto a post advertising rooms for rent in the Liwan Apartments.

…Perhaps he really wasn’t meant to die yet.

With trembling fingers, Duan Wenyu wrote a reply requesting to view the property.

After receiving a response from the landlord, he followed the instructions in the post and headed to the nearest bus stop, waiting for the bus that would take him to the Liwan Apartments.

Translator’s Notes

• drinking poison to quench a thirst: This is a translation of the Chinese idiom “yin zhen zhi ke” (饮鸩止渴). It refers to a desperate person using a remedy that provides temporary relief but results in certain death, emphasizing that Duan Wenyu knows the apartment is dangerous but has no other choice.

• pity system: The term “guaranteed success rate” refers to the “baodi” (保底) mechanic common in gacha games (like Genshin Impact), where a player is guaranteed a high-level reward after a certain number of failed attempts. The protagonist suspects the flyer has a similar hidden mechanic.

• Werewolf: Referring to the social deduction game “Werewolf” (狼人杀), which is immensely popular in China. In this context, it implies a death-game scenario where players must identify the “killer” among them to survive.

• infinite-flow: “Infinite flow” (无限流) is a popular Chinese web novel genre (inspired by ‘Gantz’ or ‘Saw’) where characters are transported into various horror or survival game “dungeons” to complete tasks for a mysterious “Main God” (主神).

• graduation thesis: In Chinese agricultural and biological sciences, a “graduation thesis” (毕业论文) often refers to the physical crop or animal being studied. The humor here stems from the literal destruction of his “thesis” by theft or being eaten, which is a common internet meme among Chinese students in these majors.