Chapter 9

The moment those ghostly hands were about to touch Hong Zhong, the keen intuition honed by years of walking the line between life and death kicked in. He lunged forward in a reflexive dive, narrowly evading their grasp.

However, the hands were only the beginning.

It was afternoon, and the sun had not yet set, yet the entities within the furniture store were defying their natural instincts, moving openly in broad daylight.

Hong Zhong’s sudden intrusion seemed to have broken some unspoken taboo. It had utterly provoked the malevolent spirits within the store, triggering a violent urge to attack.

Inside the first-floor display window, a mannequin that had been perched on a piece of furniture jerked its neck. Fresh blood began to gush from its pitch-black eye sockets, instantly soaking the armchair beneath it. The blood then flowed rapidly out through the shattered floor-to-ceiling windows, spreading across the ground.

The pale, ghostly hands did not stop after their first failed attempt. They darted through the shadows, treating Hong Zhong’s own shadow as their second home, launching a relentless series of flanking maneuvers. As soon as a bullet severed one hand, another would emerge from the opposite direction, leaving him no room to breathe.

Worse than the hands, however, was the blood overflowing from the mannequin’s eyes.

Acting like a shroud of shadow that shielded the supernatural, the blood did more than just stain the ground; it distorted the very air into a murky crimson. Beneath the sun-facing side of the building, it created a blood-colored domain where ghosts could roam freely.

This crimson space felt like a gateway to an endless hell. The blood churned, and countless grotesque, deformed entities began to crawl out from the gore.

The best time to stop this would have been the exact moment the mannequin began its transformation. Had the spread of the blood been halted then, these entities would never have manifested.

But Hong Zhong had been pinned down by the ghostly hands and had missed his window.

Now, a blood-red chasm teeming with monsters stood between him and the display window, with the mannequin completely hidden behind a wall of ghosts.

Cold sweat beaded on Hong Zhong’s forehead, and the hand holding his gun trembled.

Having worked for the Paranormal Affairs Department for so many years, he had seen all manner of eldritch horrors, yet he was still shaken by the apocalyptic scene before him.

What was happening? Had all the quarantined zones, including the Liwan Apartments, undergone a mutation without the Department’s knowledge?

At this critical juncture, a standard electronic ringtone suddenly chimed from Hong Zhong’s person.

The moment the notification sounded, both the man and the ghosts froze.

Hong Zhong knew exactly what that sound was, but he didn’t move. He kept his eyes locked onto the entities in front of him, not daring to look away for even a fraction of a second.

That ringtone was the notification for a cleaning order from the Liwan Apartments. The apartments must have sent him another task, but in this life-or-death crisis, he couldn’t afford the distraction.

The ringtone chimed a second time. In the blink of an eye, the pale hands and the monsters in the blood pool vanished.

Everything that had just occurred seemed like a phantom that had never existed.

Hong Zhong remained where he was, gun raised and muscles tensed, but now his weapon was pointed at nothing but a dilapidated building and the packed furniture waiting at the entrance.

Looking dazed, Hong Zhong slowly lowered his gun. He instinctively pulled out his phone and opened the app.

The order page displayed two short sentences:

【Furniture delivery personnel has arrived at the pickup point】

【Please collect the goods promptly and transport them to the destination】

Hong Zhong put his phone away. His body and mind were still in a state of high alert, yet he began mechanically loading the furniture into the back of his pickup truck like a sleepwalker.

He was still reeling from what he had just witnessed. Once he realized what had driven away those terrifying entities, Hong Zhong felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head in the middle of summer. A wave of lingering fear washed through him like an electric current.

The landlord of the Liwan Apartments had suppressed the horrors of that furniture store with nothing more than two simple order notifications.

Without him even noticing, the eerie power of the Liwan Apartments had latched onto him. Using him as a medium, it had crossed half the city to reach this place.

If he had stayed at the Paranormal Affairs Department a moment longer, if that eerie power had erupted there…

Hong Zhong didn’t even remember how he drove the truck back to the Liwan Apartments.

He had never felt so powerless.

This familiar yet alien apartment building made him feel like a tiny ant facing a natural disaster. The more he learned, the more futile his efforts seemed.

Realizing that the power of the Liwan Apartments could influence the outside world through him, Hong Zhong had proactively requested to work remotely while on his way back.

He didn’t dare return to the Paranormal Affairs Department. The eerie power clinging to him couldn’t even be detected by the Bureau’s monitoring devices… if it ever broke out, the entire Bureau would be wiped out.

If that happened, Linjiang City, stripped of the Bureau’s protection, would become a slaughterhouse for ghosts.

Hong Zhong let out a long sigh, stepped out of the truck, and began dutifully hauling the furniture inside.

The mysterious landlord was already waiting for him at the door. He seemed to be everywhere, watching Hong Zhong’s every move from the shadows.

Once Hong Zhong placed the final piece of furniture in Room 109, Zhou Fangdong said gratefully, “Thank you for your hard work. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known how to get all this furniture inside.” He certainly couldn’t have carried such a heavy wardrobe on his own.

Hong Zhong managed a bitter smile.

At this point, he couldn’t tell if the landlord was being sincere or if he was indulging in some twisted mockery.

Wouldn’t have known how to get the furniture here… Don’t make me laugh. Your power can reach across half the city to intimidate the ghosts in that shop.

Hong Zhong felt that the landlord’s true objective was far more complex than simply renting out rooms, and it certainly wasn’t just to spread the supernatural influence of the Liwan Apartments through the tenants.

If his goal was truly just to spread that power, there would be no need to send him cleaning orders. Dragging him into this only alerted the Paranormal Affairs Department to the changes at the Liwan Apartments, which would only serve to slow the spread of the supernatural.

Besides, this mysterious landlord possessed the terrifying ability to suppress any ghost. In the face of such absolute power, what need was there for schemes and trickery?

Once all other possibilities were ruled out, the most improbable one had to be the truth.

…Therefore, it was highly likely that this mysterious landlord was simply bored and wanted to find some living people and ghosts to move into the apartment for his own amusement.

At this thought, the bitterness on Hong Zhong’s face deepened, and his sturdy frame seemed to hunch over slightly.

Zhou Fangdong, who simply wanted to find a cleaner to tidy up the place so he could rent it out, had no idea what kind of dramatic narrative Hong Zhong had constructed in his head, nor how complex his internal struggle had become.

He briskly paid the cleaner for four hours of work and even reimbursed Hong Zhong’s gas money through the order’s tip interface before seeing him off.

After Hong Zhong left, Zhou Fangdong returned to his room and sat at his desk, beginning to draft the Rental Contract for Room 109.

First, to prevent the ghost in Room 109 from being triggered, the room could only be rented to women.

In life, the ghost of 109 had been a wife who slaved away at housework only to be ignored by her husband, occasionally serving as a punching bag for his emotional outbursts… This ghost was afraid of being seen, yet craved it; she feared being ignored, yet longed for it.

The bloodstains from her death, the saw that dismembered her body, and the black plastic bags containing her remains were all proof that she once existed. They could not be destroyed or disposed of haphazardly.

However, one couldn’t just touch or open the plastic bags either. One had to maintain a calm demeanor and treat those bags of body parts like ordinary furniture.

One also needed to look at the bags frequently to make them feel valued… but looking for too long would likely infuriate the ghost and incite murderous intent.

…This was a bit tricky.

Wait, perhaps a medium could be used for viewing, and it didn’t necessarily have to be the tenant themselves.

I suggest using camera equipment to film the plastic bags. Hmm, scratch that. Let’s just start a livestream for those black plastic bags. I’ll need to test the livestream duration…

Forget it, too much trouble. I’ll just put down three hours for now. The system has to review the Rental Contract once it’s finished anyway. If it’s not appropriate, I’ll change the time.

Zhou Fangdong chewed on the end of his pen, checking the rough draft for any omissions.

Just then, a system notification popped up:

【Ding—Detected that furniture in Room 109 has been damaged. Please purchase new furniture as soon as possible, Host.】

Zhou Fangdong hurried to open the rental preview interface.

In Room 109, the wardrobe he had just added had been torn apart, leaving only the door panels. The single bed had been snapped in half, completely collapsed. A crimson ghostly hand was withdrawing from the broken bed slats, slowly retreating back into a black plastic bag.

Zhou Fangdong frowned deeply.

Why was the Ghost Sister in 109 wrecking his furniture?

As he watched, a flash of inspiration struck him. The image of the damaged furniture in Room 109 slowly overlapped with the crime scene photos from the case file…

Zhou Fangdong understood.

The wardrobe and the space under the bed were both places where one could hide.

The ghost of 109 didn’t want its “husband” to hide from it. It rejected the silent treatment and wanted to live together with total transparency.

Sigh, you should have said so earlier. What a waste of a new set of furniture.

Zhou Fangdong took out his phone and ordered a solid wood platform bed from a furniture app, followed by a set of open-style alloy garment racks.

He’d have to trouble Hong Zhong to help him transport another load of furniture tomorrow.

After placing the order, Zhou Fangdong continued drafting the Rental Contract for Room 109.

Since the ghost in this room hated spaces like wardrobes and the undersides of beds where people could hide, it meant she disliked people avoiding her.

For the tenant’s safety, let’s add another rule: Do not cover your body with a blanket while sleeping.

Once finished, Zhou Fangdong carefully reviewed the Rental Contract. After ensuring nothing was missing, he submitted it to the system for review.

After a moment of silence, the system’s electronic voice rang out:

【Ding—Tenant Contract successfully established. The B-rank ghost in Room 109, the Dismemberment Ghost, is very satisfied with this contract.】

【After cohabitating with a living person for one month, the Dismemberment Ghost will pay 1,000 Ghost Coins per month as rent.】

Upon hearing the system’s reply, Zhou Fangdong realized something:

“So, the Ghost Coins generated after a tenant survives are actually paid by the ghost they’re living with? The 300 Ghost Coins from Zhao Dawei surviving for a month in Room 101 was…”

【Yes. Those 300 Ghost Coins were paid by the Mirror Ghost in Room 101.】

【To prevent ghosts from continuing to squat in rooms for free, please work hard to clean the rooms and establish rules, Host. If necessary, you may clear out ghosts who do not pay rent to make room for others.】

【In the later stages, multiple ghosts may compete for the same room. Please learn to distinguish which ghost can afford the rent.】

I see. On the surface, I’m renting haunted houses to the living, but in reality, I’m finding roommates for the ghosts who refuse to leave.

Realizing the true nature of this rental business, Zhou Fangdong clicked his tongue softly. “My conscience hurts a bit… System, isn’t this a bit unethical? Living with ghosts… if a tenant forgets the rules or deliberately seeks death by breaking the Rental Contract, they’ll definitely lose their life, right?”

Zhou Fangdong had been a living person after all, and he subconsciously considered things from a human perspective.

A faint static hum crackled in his mind, followed by the system’s cold, emotionless electronic voice:

【First, the system is not human and does not possess human moral concepts.】

【Second, living in Liwan Apartments is the tenants’ own choice. You did not force them, Host, so why feel guilty?】

【If you do not wish for tenants to die, you may monitor their actions twenty-four hours a day or provide them with self-defense items.】

【Finally, following the Rental Contract is also a form of rent the tenants must pay. It is a requirement they must observe. Ordinary people are already very lucky to obtain tenant status in Liwan Apartments for such a small price.】

Zhou Fangdong was stunned. This was the first time he had heard the system speak such a long paragraph.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but it felt like as he completed more tasks, the system was becoming more intelligent… whereas at the very beginning, it had been nothing more than a “smart-idiot” that could only repeat task descriptions.

“But why would anyone say it’s lucky to be a tenant of Liwan Apartments? Is being a resident of a haunted building full of ghosts really something to be proud of?”

While Zhou Fangdong was busy drafting the Rental Contract for Room 109, the tenant of Room 101, Zhao Dawei, was out looking for a job.

He had originally stepped out just to buy some instant noodles from a clearance supermarket. However, while on his way to get food, Zhao Dawei received a phone call, a call from the Bureau of Paranormal Oversight.

The person on the other end informed him that every employee at his former company had been caught in a paranormal incident this afternoon. The upper management was dead, and the staff had suffered heavy casualties. He was the only one left unscathed.

They instructed Zhao Dawei to come to the Bureau tomorrow during the day to give a statement and undergo an investigation by the Paranormal Affairs Department.

After hanging up, Zhao Dawei felt as though he were cursed, a literal harbinger of doom.

First, his wife and child had died in an accident, and now his boss and colleagues were all gone. He was the only one left standing.

This made Zhao Dawei even more hesitant to spend the last 170 yuan he had to his name.

With the company in ruins, any hope of a severance package was gone.

He looked at the instant noodles on the shelf and swallowed hard. Ultimately, he gritted his teeth and walked out of the clearance supermarket, heading to a nearby station to fill his thermos with some hot water.

Just as Zhao Dawei was looking for a bus back to Liwan Apartments, he spotted a recruitment flyer posted on a utility pole near the station.

【Delicious Slaughterhouse is seeking patrol security guards. No age limit. Staff meals provided. Overnight rest area provided. Flexible working hours, shift-based. Salary negotiable. We look forward to your application!】

Zhao Dawei’s gaze locked onto the words “Staff meals provided.” By the time he snapped back to his senses, the flyer was already in his hand.

Maybe he should give it a try?

According to the address on the flyer, the Delicious Slaughterhouse wasn’t far from Liwan Apartments. It wouldn’t take long to head back home after the interview. It was summer, so it wouldn’t be completely dark until seven in the evening. He still had plenty of time.

As Zhao Dawei was studying the flyer, a bus pulled up and stopped silently in front of him.

Keeping his eyes on the paper, he stepped onto the bus without looking up.

The bus was completely empty. The driver’s seat was walled off behind an opaque iron plate, sealing it tight.

Above the door, there had originally been only one stop listed: [Liwan Apartments]. But after Zhao Dawei boarded, the [Delicious Slaughterhouse] stop slowly materialized to the left of [Liwan Apartments].

Translator’s Notes

• harbinger of doom: The source uses the term “Tiansha Guxing” (天煞孤星), a specific astrological concept in Chinese culture referring to a person destined to lead a lonely life because their fate brings extreme misfortune or death to everyone close to them. It characterizes Zhao Dawei’s survivor’s guilt as a perceived cosmic curse rather than just bad luck.

• endless hell: The source text uses “Wujian Diyu” (无间地狱), also known as Avici, the lowest and most painful level of the Buddhist hells. It is characterized by “no cessation” of suffering, space, or time. This allusion emphasizes that the blood-colored space is not just a portal to a generic hell, but to a place of ultimate, inescapable torment.