Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Black Card, Monk and Jialan Society
Living Human Apartment. That was also the name of the Jialan Society’s group leader.
’I can’t believe this godforsaken place actually exists.’
If so, could I dig up the Jialan Society leader’s real name from this apartment complex? Or even more information about these Ghost Hunters’ past lives?
Xia Ta, the Lolita with monstrous strength, spoke slowly:
"This is a little different from the horror novels you might have read. The Living Human Apartment is actually somewhat humane. Every time you complete a mission here, you get a supernatural item as a reward.
"In theory, if you complete ten missions, you can escape this apartment for good. But since I’ve been here, I haven’t seen anyone even come close, let alone actually achieve it.
"Right now, the three of us hold the records for the most completed missions. I’ve done five, squinty-eyed Jiangyang has done five, and this bald guy, Yu Sheng, has done six."
Being called a "bald guy" twice in a row was starting to get to the young, gray-robed Monk, no matter how good-natured he was. He let out a long sigh of "Amitabha" and gestured for Xia Ta to show a little respect.
Xia Ta pretended not to hear him.
"The vending machine on the first floor automatically restocks with new food and water every morning at dawn. If you want something specific, you can slip a note into the slot at the bottom. It’s all completely free.
"The first three floors of the Living Human Apartment are living space for humans. No malevolent ghost can enter.
"In other words, once you’re inside the apartment, you’re completely safe, no matter what you might have provoked outside."
But from the fourth floor up, no such rules applied.
Gao Tian asked,
"What’s on the fourth floor and above?"
Jiangyang glanced at Gao Tian.
"Sister Ta and I were on the first floor when we saw you walk in so confidently. We thought you knew what was on the fourth floor."
Xia Ta ignored Jiangyang’s interruption and patiently continued her explanation for Gao Tian.
"The residents there are all ghosts.
"No one knows how those ghosts moved in.
"I found a journal in my room left by the previous resident leader. She speculated that in the earliest days of the apartment, every floor was a human-only area. But too many residents died from failed missions. Some of them, after dying outside, returned to the apartment with intense hatred. Over time, the upper floors gradually became corrupted.
"Of course, the previous leader also mentioned that this was all just her speculation. She died on a mission before she could even start investigating the mystery of the fourth floor."
"Still, every year, a very small number of people will voluntarily go to the floors above the third to explore."
Gao Tian asked in surprise,
"Why would anyone voluntarily go to a place where ghosts live? Are they idiots?"
He didn’t seem to realize he had just insulted himself.
Xia Ta looked at him.
"Ah, because if you go to the fourth floor or higher and enter one of the apartments, the building will reward you with a Black Card.
"Back then, I thought you were either going for the Black Card or trying to show off your strength, marching in there so brazenly right in front of the three of us."
’This topic is never going to end, is it?’
"The Black Card is arguably the most important supernatural item in the early stages of your time here. Each card can only be used once, only by its original owner, and it cannot be transferred.
"If you use the Black Card while you’re outside the Living Human Apartment, you can instantly teleport to the first-floor lobby, no matter where you are.
"This is the single most coveted feature for the apartment’s residents. No exceptions."
Inside the apartment, it was also completely safe.
This meant that with a Black Card, you didn’t have to worry about provoking any malevolent ghosts outside. It was like having an extra life.
Gao Tian hadn’t expected to gain so much from a single trip to the fourth floor.
Not only had he used the Shattered Face’s ability to steal the Memory Ghost’s power, but he had also received a reward from the Living Human Apartment.
Xia Ta sized up Gao Tian, her jewel-like eyes looking him up and down.
"Normally, you can move about freely outside, but you have to spend at least one night here every six months. When a Green-level Mission is issued, you must return immediately, no matter where you are.
"Any other questions? You can ask them now."
Gao Tian:
"Among the previous residents of the Living Human Apartment, are there any legends about someone completing ten missions and leaving?"
But even before he asked the question, Gao Tian already had a faint inkling of the answer.
The leader of the Jialan Society, that mysterious person with the ID "Living Human Apartment."
If his theory was correct, every member of the Jialan Society named themselves after a paranormal case they had handled in their past lives. If the leader chose "Living Human Apartment" as his name, it meant he had really completed ten Green-level Missions and left this place.
If such a legendary figure truly existed, then his story would surely be passed down through the generations of residents in the Living Human Apartment.
Xia Ta confirmed Gao Tian’s thoughts.
"According to the previous resident leader’s journal I found... she said that a name has been passed down through generations of residents: ’Xu Yuan.’ This resident supposedly completed ten Green-level Missions thirteen years ago and left the Living Human Apartment.
"And it’s said that before he left, he swore an oath to all the residents in the apartment that he would definitely return. He promised that when he did, he would find a way for everyone else to escape and end the nightmare for all the residents here..."
At this point, Xia Ta’s tone became a little dejected.
"As for what happened next, there are two versions of the story.
"One is that after leaving the Living Human Apartment, Xu Yuan returned to a normal life. He forgot everything he had experienced here and never came back.
"In the second version, Xu Yuan was also unwilling to return to the Living Human Apartment. After all, he had been through so many terrible things in this place. Who would want to come back after finally managing to escape?
"But then, Xu Yuan died in another paranormal incident, killed by a malevolent ghost completely unrelated to the Living Human Apartment.
"In any case, regardless of which version is true, the result is the same."
As for which outcome was the correct one, Xia Ta didn’t know. The old resident leader who left that journal in the room all those years ago didn’t know either.
After all, in over twenty years, who knows how many generations of residents the Living Human Apartment had gone through. After each resident died, the notes and traces they left behind were usually cleaned up by the apartment itself. Only a rare few were preserved by sheer chance.
As a result, many past events became severely distorted. The truth of what really happened remained shrouded in mist.
Gao Tian asked his second question:
"Among the previous residents, was there ever a family of four, or three, who moved in together? One of them being a little girl with a round face?"
After the Shattered Face’s body burned away, it left behind half of a torn photograph, with the words "Living Human Apartment" written on the back.
Back then, when Gao Tian had looked into the eyes of the little girl in the tattered photo, she had actually smiled at him.
Thinking back now, his memory must have been altered from that moment on. The correct past was blocked, making him mistake the address of the Living Human Apartment for his own home and walk step by step up to the fourth floor.
Xia Ta frowned.
"There are too many families like the one you’re describing. People with their whole family in tow in the big city, looking to rent a whole apartment but strapped for cash. They’re easily lured here by cheap rental ads posted outside and end up as new residents.
"Do you have any more clues?"
Gao Tian reached into his pocket and, to his surprise, pulled out the half-photograph. He had never burned the photo at all.
Even the memory of "Gao Tian burning the photo" was fake, planted in his brain by a ghost without him realizing it.
He handed it to Xia Ta, Jiangyang, and the others.
"I got this photograph while handling another paranormal case.
"As for the time, it was probably about ten years ago. The girl in the photo has already become a ghost."
Of course, Gao Tian wasn’t worried that the girl in the photo would cause trouble here, because the first to third floors of the Living Human Apartment were a restricted zone for ghosts. Brought here, the photo was just an ordinary picture. No matter what kind of ghost it was, it had to behave once it entered the apartment’s premises.
Xia Ta stared at the photo for a long time. When she saw the little girl’s face, she didn’t show much of an expression.
"Sorry. I only became the resident leader a year ago. I’ve never seen her.
"But at the welcoming party today, I can ask the other residents for you. Some of them have been in the Living Human Apartment longer than me. Maybe they’ll remember something."
The photo would stay with Xia Ta for the time being, but it couldn’t be taken out of the Living Human Apartment, or the little girl in it would surely come to life.
Just then, the Monk Yu Sheng, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up.
"I know this little girl.
"Her family was killed during a Green-level Mission a long time ago. The little girl who was left couldn’t bear the blow and started having hallucinations. She said she often heard her family calling her name from the fourth floor, telling her to go up and reunite with them.
"Unfortunately, back then, most of the residents didn’t take her words to heart and just offered her a few simple words of comfort. Everyone was focused on how they themselves would survive the next Green-level Mission. One night, when the other residents weren’t paying attention, the little girl secretly opened the door and went up toward the fourth floor. Her fate has been unknown ever since; no one has seen her again.
"All of this happened about two years ago."
He walked over to the photograph and once again put his palms together in front of the little girl’s image.
"Young one, may you soon escape this sea of suffering and be reborn. May you make a clean break with everything in this life."
The little girl in the photo remained motionless, showing no reaction to Yu Sheng’s prayer of deliverance.
Gao Tian couldn’t help but ask,
"How do you know all this?"
Yu Sheng shook his head.
"I have a certain affinity with some of the people in this apartment."
"A new resident has arrived downstairs. This humble Monk will take his leave now."
Watching him leave so abruptly after his cryptic words, Gao Tian had to use a great deal of effort to suppress the impulse to use the Shattered Face Ghost on him and read his memories directly.
Xia Ta gave Gao Tian a helpless shrug.
"That’s just how Yu Sheng is. He knows a lot of things, but he’s just unwilling to talk about them.
"If you press him too hard, he’ll just say, ’The time is not yet right,’ and then disappear for several days straight.
"For now, we can only wait for him to speak of his own accord."
Inside the Living Human Apartment, all ghost abilities were suppressed, so Gao Tian couldn’t use the Shattered Face Ghost or the Memory Ghost either.
Besides, since the Monk had passed six missions, he must have at least six rewarded items in his possession. If Gao Tian really tried to use the Shattered Face Ghost’s ability on him, there was no telling what countermeasures he might have.
It seemed that as long as he believed the time wasn’t right and was unwilling to speak, there was nothing anyone could do.
