Chapter 10

The bus ride was smooth and fast. When Zhao Dawei looked out the window again, the iron gates emblazoned with the words 【Delicious Slaughterhouse】 had already come into view.

The large characters were painted in red, and the paint looked as if it hadn’t fully dried yet. Streaks of liquid dripped from the edges of the letters like flowing blood, radiating a thick sense of foreboding.

The bus pulled up directly in front of the slaughterhouse gates.

Adopting the mindset of “I’m already here anyway,” Zhao Dawei hesitated for a moment before finally stepping off the bus.

As luck would have it, just as Zhao Dawei came to a halt in front of the slaughterhouse, the three-meter-high iron gates suddenly groaned into motion. A figure emerged from within.

It was a man who looked to be over two meters tall. Despite the sweltering heat, he wore a gray long-sleeved work uniform. Over the uniform was a transparent waterproof apron, and he wore long rubber gloves on his hands and tall waterproof boots on his feet. With a dust cap and a face mask, the only part of him exposed to the world was his eyes.

Just looking at his outfit made Zhao Dawei feel like he was suffocating.

The temperature this summer was exceptionally high. Even in short sleeves, Zhao Dawei would be drenched in sweat after walking just a few steps. Yet, this “brave soul” before him was not only wearing long sleeves and pants but was also encased in airtight gloves and boots. Could this be the slaughterhouse uniform? If he got the job, would he have to dress like that too?

At this thought, Zhao Dawei began to have second thoughts again.

The man who had emerged from the slaughterhouse sized Zhao Dawei up and asked in a muffled, booming voice, “Here for the security guard job?”

Zhao Dawei gave a hesitant nod of affirmation.

The man nodded. “I’m the owner of the Delicious Slaughterhouse. You’re hired. Come on in.”

Zhao Dawei was stunned. “Huh? No… no interview?”

The factory director frowned, his gaze turning somewhat unfriendly. “Isn’t this the interview? I’ve seen you, and I’m satisfied. Stop wasting time and follow me.”

Zhao Dawei didn’t dare ask anything else and obediently followed the director inside.

It was strange. Despite being separated by only a single gate, the temperature inside the factory was completely different from the outside.

The moment he stepped onto the factory grounds, it felt as if he had walked into a refrigerator. The temperature inside was just as cool and refreshing as it was inside the Liwan Apartments.

Zhao Dawei let out a sigh of comfort and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.

The director led Zhao Dawei to a security booth and handed him two pieces of paper and a walkie-talkie.

“Your probation period is two hours. During these two hours, you will patrol the exterior of the factory by yourself. If you successfully complete the patrol, you can officially join the staff.”

Zhao Dawei took the two papers. One was a map of the factory, and the other was the Security Guard Rules.

【Delicious Slaughterhouse Security Guard Rules】

(Probationary Version)

1. Security guards must patrol the factory exterior daily. If suspicious individuals are seen loitering outside the factory, notify the factory director immediately.

2. During the patrol, security guards are forbidden from making loud noises to avoid disturbing the employees working inside the factory.

3. Delicious Slaughterhouse has no employees who wear short sleeves. If you see one, notify the factory director immediately.

…These rules were quite similar to the Rental Contract for the Liwan Apartments.

Zhao Dawei let out a sentimental sigh.

People like him living in the city were protected by the Bureau of Investigation like hothouse flowers, whereas those out in the suburbs had already grown accustomed to living alongside ghosts. They had even summarized sets of rules for interacting with them.

He would have to work hard to adapt. Supernatural incidents were breaking out more and more frequently; perhaps the city would eventually become as chaotic as the suburbs.

Seeing that the director was about to leave after handing over the Security Guard Rules, Zhao Dawei quickly called out to him.

“Um, the salary…” Zhao Dawei spoke cautiously.

The amount of the salary would determine whether he needed to continue renting a room in that haunted building, the Liwan Apartments, next month. Although he could live safely in the apartment as long as he followed the Tenant Contract, as an ordinary person, Zhao Dawei still preferred to return to the city.

The director looked at him and sneered. “Talk to me about that once you’ve actually been hired.”

Zhao Dawei scratched his head sheepishly, not daring to press the matter further.

The factory map was very clear. Following the route indicated on the map, Zhao Dawei began his patrol around the exterior of the factory buildings, starting from the security booth.

During his patrol, Zhao Dawei encountered several other people walking around the factory buildings just like him. All of them held walkie-talkies and wore green, long-sleeved security uniforms.

When Zhao Dawei saw them, they noticed him as well. Their scrutinizing gazes were incredibly strange, like wolves eyeing a rabbit. It was only after they saw the walkie-talkie in Zhao Dawei’s hand that they retracted their stares.

Zhao Dawei was a bit slow and wasn’t particularly sensitive to the malice in others’ eyes. Upon seeing these patrolling guards, instead of being afraid, he felt a sense of relief.

Originally, he had worried that this strange factory was one of those shady operations that used a slaughterhouse as a front for illegal industries, which would explain why the interview was such a joke.

He hadn’t expected the factory to actually have legitimate employees. It seemed he wasn’t the only one driven to the suburbs to find work out of desperation.

Zhao Dawei continued his patrol. When he reached the back of the factory building, he discovered a door left ajar.

Suddenly, the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor came from inside, followed by a muffled groan—it sounded like someone had fallen.

Zhao Dawei looked around and realized there was no one else in the vicinity.

The person inside likely needed help. Zhao Dawei had seen short films about factory accidents before; many tragedies occurred because employees were injured while working alone and weren’t discovered in time, ultimately dying because they missed the window for rescue.

After hesitating at the door for a moment, Zhao Dawei gritted his teeth and walked in.

The Security Guard Rules didn’t say that guards couldn’t enter the factory, and since the director had told him to patrol the factory, the interior should also be within a guard’s patrol range.

Stepping through the half-open iron door, a bone-chilling cold hit him full-force—the room inside was actually a cold storage locker.

Zhao Dawei shivered. He first grabbed a nearby chair to prop the door open so it wouldn’t suddenly shut on him, and then he headed deeper into the room.

Pulling back the heavy curtain that blocked his view, the scene inside the cold storage room was fully revealed.

After seeing what was inside, Zhao Dawei froze in his tracks.

Under the eerie blue light, uncarved carcasses hung from meat hooks. The bright red flesh took on a grotesque purplish hue under the glow, emitting a bone-chilling frost.

…This slaughterhouse wasn’t processing pork; it was processing human corpses, skinned, washed, and eviscerated.

On the cold stainless steel table beneath the hooks lay a body that had just been cut open. Limbs were scattered haphazardly across the surface, and a head with eyes wide in a final, lingering death had fallen to the floor, its bloodshot gaze staring directly at Zhao Dawei.

The heavy thud and the muffled human groan from earlier—could they have come from this head?

Staring at the horrific sight before him, Zhao Dawei clamped his hand over his mouth to keep from screaming.

Security Guard Rules, Rule ②: During patrols, security guards are prohibited from making loud noises.

For the sake of his own life, Zhao Dawei had already seared those rules into his mind during his patrol.

Despite his caution, a low, cold voice rang out in his ear like a lingering ghost:

“You have violated the Security Guard Rules.”

It was the factory manager’s voice.

Zhao Dawei spun around to find the manager standing behind him, though he hadn’t heard him approach.

The manager clutched a blood-stained chainsaw. His grey long-sleeved work uniform had turned into a red short-sleeved one, and his transparent apron was covered in splattered blood. His white dust cap and mask had also turned a blood-stained blackish-red.

Even his exposed skin was bright red, as if he himself had just been flayed. Blood dripped from his hand down the chainsaw, pooling on the floor.

“I… I didn’t violate them…” Zhao Dawei stammered in defense.

The manager let out a sinister, cold laugh. “Rule ①: Security guards must patrol the exterior of the factory daily… Do you understand what ‘exterior’ means?”

He suddenly revved the chainsaw, his manic laughter mingling with the mechanical roar. “It means security guards are not permitted inside the factory buildings!”

The chainsaw swung down toward Zhao Dawei’s head, carrying a gust of metallic, bloody wind.

Zhao Dawei’s legs gave out from terror. He collapsed to the ground and closed his eyes in despair.

However, the expected pain never came. The roar of the chainsaw abruptly vanished.

Zhao Dawei cautiously opened his eyes to find that the manager had retracted the chainsaw. He was staring at Zhao Dawei expressionlessly, the bloodthirsty crimson in his eyes having cleared significantly.

The atmosphere turned awkward. The two stared at each other in silence for a long time before the manager spoke, his voice strained as he ground his teeth. “You are a tenant of Liwan Apartments?”

Without waiting for an answer, the manager grabbed him by the back of the collar and hauled him up impatiently. “Tsk! Why is a tenant from Liwan Apartments applying for a job here? Are you that bored? Do you think I’m running a haunted house attraction at an amusement park? Get out! Don’t let me see you again!!”

Zhao Dawei was tossed out of the cold storage room.

Once past the door, Zhao Dawei found himself standing directly outside the iron gates of the Delicious Slaughterhouse.

He looked at the closed factory gates, then down at the shimmering key to Room 101 that had somehow slipped out of his shirt. The tears he had been holding back finally began to flow.

He hadn’t expected the Room 101 key to not only protect him from the ghosts in Liwan Apartments but also save his life from other entities.

Zhao Dawei made up his mind: he was going to live in Liwan Apartments forever.

In this world overrun by ghosts, no matter how much money or power one had, they were helpless when facing the supernatural. There was only one end: death… just like his former boss.

In comparison, simply living in Liwan Apartments and following a few rules in the Tenant Contract was a bargain. It was essentially obtaining a life-saving artifact against ghosts at almost no cost. This was the best deal he could ever ask for.

The urge to return to Liwan Apartments had never been stronger.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a bus appeared next to the factory… it seemed as though it had been parked there all along, never having left.

Zhao Dawei wiped away his tears and scrambled onto the bus.

Back in Liwan Apartments, Zhou Fangdong was rolling around on his bed.

Although the Rental Contract for Room 109 was settled, the new furniture wouldn’t be delivered until tomorrow, and he couldn’t purchase another Honest Flyer until then either. There was no way to finish the side quest today.

Night had fallen. After confirming that his only tenant, Zhao Dawei, had returned to the apartment and was asleep in Room 101, Zhou Fangdong—who didn’t need sleep—began to feel bored.

Pounding his pillow, Zhou Fangdong started harrassing the system.

“System, download a little game on my phone to pass the time. Protect the Carrot, Anipop, any single-player game is fine. I’m not picky—”

【The system does not have a game download function.】

“Please, I’m begging you. Give me something to kill time. No food, no water, no sleep, and no games? This is literal hell! Just kill me now!”

【…】

“System, system, system! If you don’t agree, I’ll keep bothering you—”

【Tenant Roleplay function unlocked. Successful roleplaying will grant significant Experience Points. Experience can be used to increase the host’s Character Level and unlock new skills.】

Zhou Fangdong lifted his head from the pillow, looking dazed. “Huh? What kind of game is that?”

In the next instant, the world spun. When he regained his senses, he found himself in an unfamiliar room.

Furthermore, his perspective was all wrong… he seemed to have become much shorter.

Translator’s Notes

• Protect the Carrot, Anipop: These are references to ‘Baowei Luobo’ (保卫萝卜) and ‘Kaixin Xiaoxiaole’ (开心消消乐), two of the most famous and ubiquitous casual mobile games in China. Using these specific titles emphasizes the protagonist’s mundane, modern desires despite his supernatural circumstances.

• hothouse flowers: This idiom (温室里的花朵) refers to people who have been overly protected from the hardships of life. In the context of this genre (supernatural/horror), it highlights the stark contrast between the ‘safe’ urban areas managed by the Bureau and the ‘lawless’ suburbs where survival depends on following supernatural rules.