Chapter 26

Listening to the “beep-beep” sound of the system scanning the Convenience Store Rules, Zhou Fangdong’s palms were slick with sweat from the tension.

Drafting these rules had been an incredibly grueling task.

After all, forcing two Specters with a blood feud to work in the same convenience store was asking far too much of any ghost.

However, separating them wasn’t realistic either. If he left one to work in Room 104, the other would undoubtedly barge in constantly to pick a fight.

When that happened, it wouldn’t just disrupt business; it would likely catch the other tenants in the crossfire.

Thus, Zhou Fangdong had simply decided to keep both ghosts as employees for the Room 104 convenience store.

From the life stories of these two ghosts, he knew that the Long-tongued Ghost was extremely sensitive to the gaze of others; its killing condition was likely based on this.

As the elder sister, the Long-tongued Ghost’s greatest obsession in life had been her beauty—the praise of others, her parents’ favoritism, and her sense of superiority over her sister all stemmed from it.

After death, her most cherished feature had been ruined. Such a drastic fall from grace meant that any attention paid to her appearance would certainly trigger a violent reaction.

Furthermore, her tongue made it impossible for her to speak after death, so communication with her had to be avoided at all costs.

Suffering from the loss of beauty, enraged by the inability to voice her grievances, and fueled by hatred for her sister—these were the obsessions of the Long-tongued Ghost.

When he reached this point while writing the rules, Zhou Fangdong recalled the events of his Roleplay Task in Room 102.

The red envelope the man from Room 102 had brought in the second time was likely the “life-buying money” offered by the Wedding Dress Ghost sister.

The reason the Long-tongued Ghost sister had rushed into Room 102 to hang the man was probably because she had been present when he picked up the money. He had ignored the elder sister and focused entirely on the younger sister’s belongings, so the elder sister killed him before the younger sister could claim her prize.

The elder sister, who had basked in attention while alive, absolutely loathed being watched after death—even a glance from the corner of one’s eye was forbidden. Yet, she allowed others to ignore her even less, especially if they were paying attention to her sister in her presence.

To be safe, he decided that customers entering the store must not speak to the employees at all. If the Long-tongued Ghost caught a customer talking to the Wedding Dress Ghost, she would undoubtedly be provoked.

The Wedding Dress Ghost sister’s obsession in life had always been escaping her family—specifically, escaping her role as the “inferior” comparison to her sister, her parents’ favoritism, and her sister’s suppression.

She had remained silent, suppressing herself until she finally snapped.

She thought she had finally won against her sister, finally found happiness, only to end up as a victim of a ghost marriage, suffocated alive in a coffin and stripped of all freedom.

A girl who had never received validation and never dared to express her desires had met her end the one time she chose to resist.

The faces on her wedding dress—the terror, pain, and rage on each one—were external projections of her suppressed inner self. The wedding dress that bound her until death was the manifestation of her tragedy and the vessel for her voice in the afterlife.

As a victim of a ghost marriage who had been objectified and robbed of her selfhood, the younger sister’s primary killing rule likely involved a hatred of being restrained. Therefore, one could not meet her head-on, block her path, or mention anything related to weddings in her presence… Customers had to avoid the Wedding Dress Ghost as much as possible within the store.

After racking his brains and making endless revisions, Zhou Fangdong produced the longest set of rules he had ever written.

This was the limit of what he could do. If the system deemed them unacceptable, he would have no choice but to give up on these two and pick any two random ghosts from the apartments to serve as staff… After all, Liwan Apartments lacked many things, but ghosts were not one of them.

After an agonizing wait, the system finally spoke:

[Scan passed. The employees are very satisfied with the Convenience Store Rules.]

[Hidden Quest ③ Completed.]

[Quest Rewards: Free storefront conversion and renovation. Basic facilities obtained: shelves, checkout counter, freezer, etc. 200 Ghost Coins obtained.]

[System is automatically arranging the storefront… Please return to inspect after 5:00 PM.]

An invisible force pushed Zhou Fangdong out of Room 104, and the door slammed shut.

Zhou Fangdong didn’t mind the system’s somewhat brusque behavior at all. He happily checked his current Ghost Coin balance.

Hidden Quest rewards were incredibly generous, almost like a bonus from the system.

He now had 1,500 Ghost Coins on him and sincerely hoped for more tasks like this in the future.

As Zhou Fangdong left Room 104, he ran into Miao Zheng in the hallway, who looked like she was about to leave the building.

Her complexion looked much better now; aside from a slight shakiness in her step, she seemed perfectly fine.

Miao Zheng was planning to head out to buy some ingredients. Her food supply at home was running low, and if she didn’t buy something, she’d have nothing to eat tonight.

If Liwan Apartments had one flaw, it was the lack of nearby supermarkets. Being in the suburbs, the apartments were far from the city; even taking the Ghost Bus took over half an hour, making shopping highly inconvenient.

Passing by Room 104, Miao Zheng looked at the door, which was slowly shifting like a black vortex, and asked curiously, “Boss Landlord, is something wrong with Room 104? Why does it look like that?”

“Room 104 is being converted into a convenience store, so things are looking a bit dramatic.”

“Liwan Apartments is getting a convenience store?!” Miao Zheng couldn’t help but cheer. “Boss Landlord, you’re the best! Now we won’t have to go out to buy things—by the way, when will it be finished?”

“After five this afternoon.”

“Awesome!” Miao Zheng pumped her fist. “Oh, does the store take cash? Or does it take… other currency?”

She had actually wanted to say “hell money” or “joss paper,” but she swallowed the words. Although the landlord was powerful, he had never explicitly stated whether he was human or ghost. If she suggested paying with funeral paper, she was afraid he would think she was trying to take advantage of him.

Buying things with useless scraps of paper… it seemed impossible when she thought about it.

However, Zhou Fangdong’s answer made Miao Zheng realize her imagination was still too conservative.

“You don’t need money to buy things in the convenience store. You just need to follow the Convenience Store Rules and have the cashier scan the items before you leave.”

Miao Zheng was stunned, followed by sheer ecstasy.

The benefits of Liwan Apartments were simply too good. Where else in the world could you live with ghosts, pay low rent, and get free groceries?

Being a tenant here was pure bliss!

“Then I’ll head back to my room and come back after five~” Miao Zheng turned to go back. Since there was a store in the building, she didn’t need to tire herself out by going outside.

Zhou Fangdong called out to her, “Wait, take this camera.”

This was the item he had obtained after Miao Zheng’s Favorability reached 100. If she took a photo of a ghost, she could temporarily trap it inside the camera.

After he explained the item’s function, Miao Zheng held the camera and suddenly went silent.

She lowered her head, lost in thought.

After a long silence, Miao Zheng snapped her head up. As if having made a monumental decision, she looked at Zhou Fangdong with a solemn expression and said, “Boss Landlord, do you have a mission for me? Just give the word. No matter what it is, as long as it’s your request, I will do my best to complete it, no matter the cost.”

Her look of grim resolve, as if facing certain death, left Zhou Fangdong stunned.

“I don’t have any mission to give you. My only wish is for you tenants to protect yourselves. As long as you’re safe, I’ll be at peace.”

Miao Zheng nodded vigorously. “I understand. I guarantee the mission will be completed.” She gripped her camera tightly and turned toward Room 109, her stride as firm as a soldier heading to the battlefield.

Zhou Fangdong became even more confused.

Wait, what did she understand? Did I just issue a mission?

He couldn’t help but feel that his tenants were all strange; he couldn’t guess what was going through their heads at all.

With a few hours left until the convenience store renovation was finished, Zhou Fangdong decided to use the time to check the apartment’s pedestrian staircase.

He still didn’t know how to use that Red Sandalwood Spirit Tablet to control the apartment stairs.

Last night, Zhou Fangdong had intended to go take a look, but he hadn’t expected to encounter that suddenly opening elevator door along the way. Not only had he wasted his lamp oil refills, but he had almost lost his life there.

Returning to that pitch-black corridor, Zhou Fangdong found that the little ghosts who had been playing there yesterday had all vanished. Only a single ghost with a melted face stood blankly in the center of the hallway.

This ghost’s head seemed to have suffered some massive impact; the skull had turned into a puddle of mangled flesh—as if it had been repeatedly crushed under a tire, then shoveled off the ground, kneaded together, and forcibly stuck back onto the neck.

Looking at its face alone, one couldn’t distinguish front from back. No matter which direction you looked from, it was an abstract and bloody mess.

Ever since he turned off the “Living Person Filter” of Skill 3 yesterday, Zhou Fangdong hadn’t turned it back on.

He found that his psychological endurance was growing stronger. Facing such a mutilated ghost at close range no longer triggered any reaction in him.

As expected, people were shaped by their experiences.

Zhou Fangdong hadn’t planned on interacting with this ghost, but it moved, proactively walking up to him.

It was then that Zhou Fangdong noticed the ghost’s attire.

It wore a cleaning uniform stained red with blood. Judging by its frame, it appeared to be a physically intact adult male.

Ghosts with the appearance of adult males were rare in Liwan Apartments; at least, Zhou Fangdong hadn’t seen many on the first floor.

After all, those persecuted in reality were mostly vulnerable groups like children, women, and the disabled. Most of those who suffered bullying in life and turned into vengeful spirits after death belonged to these categories.

“Is something the matter?” Zhou Fangdong asked calmly. Since the ghosts in the apartment wouldn’t attack him, he treated them like randomly spawned NPCs.

The ghost shook its head, but this subconscious movement caused its mushy head to wobble like jelly, frightening it into quickly grabbing its own head with both hands.

Maintaining this posture, the ghost’s hands dug around inside its skull and pulled out a card-like object, handing it to Zhou Fangdong.

Zhou Fangdong took it.

It was a card covered in filth. The writing was completely obscured by dark, blackened bloodstains, making it impossible to read.

The moment Zhou Fangdong took the card, a system mission window popped up:

[Ding—Detected that the host is holding a Liwan Apartments Janitor ID Card. Side Quest 4 is now open.]

[Side Quest 4: Repair the Liwan Apartments Trash Recycling Station]

[As more tenants move in, the amount of trash generated daily in Liwan Apartments is increasing. To maintain the apartment’s hygiene and create a clean, comfortable living environment for the tenants, a recycling station capable of processing waste is essential.]

1. Locate the original site of the Liwan Apartments trash processing station and appoint one person/ghost to manage it.

2. Search for and hire deceased cleaners to return to their posts (0/5).

3. If there are humans in the recycling station, work regulations for the station must be established.

4. Create a duty roster for the cleaners.

As the mission window appeared, the card in Zhou Fangdong’s hand also changed.

The bloodstains rapidly receded, as if time were flowing backward, turning into a brand-new state in the blink of an eye.

It was an ID card. The words “Liwan Apartments Cleaner” were written in large letters at the top, followed by a one-inch photo and the employee’s name.

The image in the photo wasn’t a human, but the “explosion-head” ghost in front of him.

His name was Qian Duolai¹.

Looking at the name, Zhou Fangdong nodded in approval and handed the ID card back to the ghost. “That’s a very auspicious name; I like it. Qian Duolai, are you willing to accept my employment and become a cleaner for Liwan Apartments once again?”

The explosion-head ghost took the ID card with both hands and nodded vigorously.

Without its hands to steady it this time, its head finally succumbed to the strain. With a wet splash, it spilled entirely onto the floor, red and white fluids flowing everywhere.

Zhou Fangdong dodged just in time.

Watching Qian Duolai squatting on the ground in a frantic scramble to reshape his head, Zhou Fangdong comforted him: “Take your time cleaning up, there’s no rush. I’ll find the recycling station when I have a moment. Once everything is ready, I’ll have you start your job.”

Zhou Fangdong saw the ghost’s neck move; it was likely nodding.

Seeing this, he didn’t linger and continued toward the stairs.

Standing before the stairwell entrance, Zhou Fangdong took out the Red Sandalwood Spirit Tablet with his name on it.

After staring at it for a long time without guessing how to use it, he followed the rule of “when in doubt, ask the system.” Zhou Fangdong asked directly, “System, how do I use this key that controls the apartment’s pedestrian stairs?”

A faint, almost imperceptible static sound crackled, and the system seemed to let out a subtle sigh.

[Place the spirit tablet on a step with the mummified corpse pattern and light one stick of Offering Incense before the tablet. The pedestrian stairs will then open/close.]

“What’s the difference between closing and opening them?”

[Closed stairs are off-limits. Neither humans nor ghosts can use the stairs to reach the second floor, and ghosts from the second floor cannot descend via the stairs.]

[The stairs are currently in an ‘injured’ state. If the pedestrian stairs are opened, the stairs will move freely at night to capture wandering tenants to repair themselves.]

[The apartment stairs cannot be opened and closed consecutively. Each operation requires a 72-hour interval.]

Zhou Fangdong fell silent.

What a bizarre staircase. It actually hunts for food?

Better keep it closed for now. He had no need to go to the second floor anyway.

Zhou Fangdong put away the spirit tablet and teleported directly back to his room.

By five o’clock in the afternoon, the convenience store renovation was complete. Prompted by the system, Zhou Fangdong clicked on the rental interface to take a look.

The room preview for Room 104 had appeared, showing a thumbnail of a convenience store on the screen.

The original two-bedroom, one-living room layout had been completely gutted. Only two rooms remained: one serving as the storefront and the other as a warehouse.

The interior design of the convenience store was minimalist, primarily using green and white. Although the shop wasn’t large, it was fully equipped with snack shelves, a deli section, a beverage area, a frozen/refrigerated section, and a checkout counter.

The system was highly efficient, having filled all the shelves with merchandise in such a short time.

His two ghost employees were already there. The cashier, the Long-tongued Ghost, was sprawled on the ceiling above the register, while the stocker, the Wedding Dress Ghost, was at the very back of the store next to the freezers. The two ghosts maintained the maximum possible distance from each other.

And at the entrance of the convenience store, a plump pixel figure was peeking around the door…

Seeing this plump pixel figure, Zhou Fangdong suddenly stood up.

Was Zhao Dawei off work?

To prevent Zhao Dawei from rushing into the convenience store blindly, Zhou Fangdong clicked directly on the room preview interface and teleported to the entrance of Room 104.

He had originally worried that Zhao Dawei might encounter danger by entering the store without knowing the Convenience Store Rules, but once he arrived, he realized he had overthought it.

Unlike ordinary convenience stores that played soft background music, the Liwan Convenience Store’s internal broadcast system played the Convenience Store Rules on a continuous loop.

While they were difficult to see clearly in the pixel-style rental interface, in reality, the Convenience Store Rules were posted prominently on the walls and the door, making them impossible to miss.

[Liwan Apartments Convenience Store Rules]

1. There are only two employees in the convenience store: a stock clerk and a cashier.

2. The cashier only appears at the checkout counter. The stock clerk wears a red bridal gown and walks between the shelves.

3. It is forbidden to speak to the convenience store employees.

4. Do not look directly at the cashier’s face. Do not show any unusual expressions to the cashier.

5. In the checkout area, it is forbidden to mention the stock clerk.

6. It is forbidden to speak about any topics related to “weddings” inside the convenience store.

7. Do not block the path of the stock clerk. If you see red clothing between the gaps in the shelves, avoid that aisle in advance and let the stock clerk pass first.

8. If you see both employees appearing in the same area, please leave the convenience store as quickly as possible and notify the landlord.

9. The convenience store does not sell coffins or anything related to weddings. If you find such items, please notify the landlord immediately.

10. You do not need to pay for items in the convenience store. Simply take the goods to the checkout counter and let the cashier scan them.

11. If a convenience store employee asks you for Ghost Coins or Offering Incense, do not give it to them. The landlord will come to resolve the matter.

Standing at the door, Zhao Dawei had also seen these rules. Even knowing them, however, he had no intention of going inside; he simply watched from the entrance with curiosity.

He was a timid man. Before he understood exactly what was going on with this store that had appeared out of thin air, he would never dare to enter recklessly.

Upon seeing Zhou Fangdong materialize out of thin air inside the convenience store, Zhao Dawei breathed a sigh of relief.

To be safe, Zhao Dawei still asked cautiously, “Mr. Landlord, did you open this convenience store?”

Zhou Fangdong nodded. “I did. Liwan Apartments is too far from the city center, and it’s too inconvenient for you all to go out and buy food.”

“Shopping at the Liwan Convenience Store doesn’t cost money. In the future, you can come here directly for supplies whenever you need them. As long as you follow the Convenience Store Rules, the employees inside won’t hurt you.”

Zhao Dawei felt completely at ease.

The landlord was truly a wonderful person. He had probably noticed that Zhao Dawei was reluctant to spend money on food…

Because his wages hadn’t been paid yet, Zhao Dawei didn’t dare spend the cash he had on hand. For the past few days, he had only eaten one meal a day, consisting of the bread and milk without production dates given to him by the furniture store manager.

After a few days of this, Zhao Dawei felt like his stomach had shrunk by a size.

But now that there was a convenience store in Liwan Apartments, he never had to worry about food again.

“Oh, right, Mr. Landlord.” Zhao Dawei remembered the strange customer he met at work today and said to Zhou Fangdong, “I met a very strange customer today. He seemed to be a Heavenly Master living in a Taoist temple. He said I have a blood-light calamity coming my way.”

Zhao Dawei briefly recounted his experience at work, emphasizing that the customer was very interested in the Peace Talisman he carried and seemed to be quite afraid of Liwan Apartments.

After listening to Zhao Dawei, Zhou Fangdong felt inexplicably guilty.

He had a feeling that this sudden “blood-light calamity” Zhao Dawei mentioned might have something to do with him.

Last night, Zhou Fangdong had taken a measure of lamp oil from the door of Room 101. The changes in Room 101 at that time had given him a very bad feeling… Surely Zhao Dawei wouldn’t suffer terrible luck because of that?

This middle-aged man was already unlucky enough; Zhou Fangdong didn’t want him to be seriously injured or die because of his own actions.

Zhou Fangdong opened the System Mall and browsed quickly to see if he could find any useful items for Zhao Dawei.

He currently had fifteen hundred Ghost Coins on him, so he wasn’t afraid of spending money.

Zhao Dawei already had a Ghost Expelling Talisman and a Peace Talisman, so he wasn’t afraid of encountering ghosts; what he feared was encountering humans with ill intentions.

Zhou Fangdong saw several newly unlocked items in the mall, one of which was a mobile phone.

This phone looked very similar to the one in his own hand, almost like a copy-paste job.

The system had mentioned before that because the tenants’ phones did not belong to the apartments, it couldn’t provide data for them.

Therefore, as long as the tenants were inside Liwan Apartments, their phones had no signal. They could neither contact the outside world nor each other. If they encountered danger, it all depended on when Zhou Fangdong noticed.

But with this phone, tenants could contact him at any time… and it was quite cheap, only slightly more expensive than a protective talisman.

Zhou Fangdong spent 100 Ghost Coins to buy a phone from the System Mall, then used the free data voucher he received from Miao Zheng’s Favorability to activate the data.

Zhao Dawei’s phone was completely different from his own. It could actually download apps, including common games and such, which made Zhou Fangdong a bit envious.

Although he wouldn’t stoop to stealing a tenant’s phone, he felt like the system was playing favorites… Dammit, why was his the only phone that couldn’t download games?

Zhou Fangdong took out his own phone and glanced at it. He found that while his interface was still empty, a communication function had been added.

Opening it, he saw that Zhao Dawei was the only contact listed.

This function was likely just to make it easier for him to contact tenants who owned mall phones.

Zhou Fangdong sighed silently and handed the phone to Zhao Dawei.

He explained the phone’s functions to Zhao Dawei, telling him that with this, he could contact him promptly even from within Liwan Apartments or the furniture store. If that “blood-light calamity” actually manifested, he could use this phone to call for help.

Zhao Dawei accepted it gratefully.

He had just been wondering how his phone had suddenly ended up in the landlord’s hands, and then, in the blink of an eye, the phone’s appearance had changed.

It turned out the landlord had specially modified his phone to look after him.

Zhao Dawei put the phone away, bid Zhou Fangdong farewell, and headed toward his room.

He still didn’t have the courage to enter the convenience store.

Zhao Dawei planned to come back and check it out tomorrow. He was off work tomorrow, so he would wait by the door to see which other tenant was going to buy something and then follow them inside.

After watching Zhao Dawei enter Room 101, Zhou Fangdong did not return to his own room.

The Night Attack of a Hundred Ghosts event being moved up by ten days gave him a strong sense of urgency. He needed to continue cleaning rooms and strive to rent out all the rooms on the first floor as soon as possible.

Of the rooms on the first floor, Room 101 was rented to Zhao Dawei, Room 102 to Duan Wenyu, Room 104 was the convenience store, and Room 109 was rented to Miao Zheng.

Among the first few connected rooms, only Room 103 was still vacant. He would clean Room 103 next.

Zhou Fangdong remembered that when he first inspected the rooms on the first floor, aside from Room 104 with the three mummies hanging from the ceiling, Room 103 had left the strongest impression on him.

Translator’s Notes

• bloodlight disaster: A translation of ‘xueguang zhizai’ (血光之灾), a common term in Chinese fortune-telling. It refers to a prophecy of an impending violent accident or injury involving bloodshed.