Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Xu Yuan’s Hometown
Xia Ta didn’t elaborate on who this "she" was. Jiang Yang had apparently worked with her before, and the experience had left him with deep psychological scars.
Zhao Zhenjia probably knew who Xia Ta was talking about as well, but since he didn’t know her well, he wasn’t too concerned.
As for "her," she must have completed at least four Green-letter Missions, otherwise she wouldn’t have dared to run off to the United States. For the first few missions, failing to return to the Apartment of the Living within the time limit meant risking obliteration.
Gao Tian knew none of the specifics about this girl—not the supernatural items she used, nor the number of Green-letter Missions she had completed.
He had only gleaned fragments from Jiang Yang: the girl’s name was simply Lan, she had some mental issues, the nerves in her brain responsible for processing fear had been damaged, and she had once gotten an important teammate killed during a Green-letter Mission.
And just like that, the matter was settled. The team heading to the fourth floor would consist of four to five people. It all depended on Gao Tian now—whether he survived his third Green-letter Mission or died trying.
They also addressed the recent incursions from the fourth floor onto the third. The few of them present discussed whether they should move to a different floor.
For starters, the lower floors were already packed. The ordinary residents were all scrambling like mad to move to the second floor, even if it meant sharing a room.
Furthermore, the ghosts from the fourth floor hadn’t actually killed anyone on the third floor yet, which suggested they were still being restrained by some unknown power. Otherwise, given their bloodlust, they would never have held back this long.
In the end, they made a temporary arrangement: Jiang Yang and Zhao Zhenjia would move into the rooms on either side of Gao Tian’s. That way, if anything happened in Gao Tian’s room, he just had to knock on his bedroom wall for Jiang Yang to arrive at a moment’s notice.
Likewise, if Gao Tian went to the spot in front of his living room TV and knocked on the wall there, Zhao Zhenjia would also be able to hear.
To be honest, Gao Tian was quite moved. Even though he was the newest resident on the third floor and Zhao Zhenjia’s group treated him as the weakest link, they were also genuinely protecting him, afraid he would become the ghosts’ first victim.
Xia Ta’s room didn’t need to be moved. She was this term’s apartment manager; if even she died, everyone else would probably lose all hope.
Yu Sheng’s room didn’t need to be moved either. No one had ever been inside the strange Monk’s room, so who knew what he was up to in there.
The meeting ended, and it was already late. Zhao Zhenjia and Jiang Yang left the room one after the other.
Gao Tian was the only one left, but neither of them showed any intention of leaving. Xia Ta walked over to the coffee machine, poured in some beans, and glanced back at him.
"What is it? Is there something else?"
Gao Tian watched her skillfully grind the beans.
"Did you learn how to do all this before?"
Xia Ta’s expression remained unchanged.
"Before I came to the Apartment of the Living, my dream was always to become a barista."
"But after coming here, all of those plans were ruined. I’m destined to never have a normal life."
Her tone was perfectly calm, as if she were discussing someone else’s life.
Gao Tian didn’t know if Xia Ta had always been so cold, or if she had become this way after arriving at the Apartment of the Living and witnessing too much death and separation.
He fell silent for a moment. Though he hadn’t known Xia Ta for long, Gao Tian felt she was someone he could rely on.
"Are there any skilled programmers in this apartment?"
"I have a very important forum post that was deleted. To recover it, I’ll probably need some professional help."
Xia Ta paused, her jewel-like eyes fixed on him.
"This post... is it related to a supernatural event?"
’Such a sharp woman.’
’You really can’t hide anything from her.’
Gao Tian said,
"I stumbled upon a website written by a Ghost Hunter with the username ’Apartment of the Living’."
"I now suspect this person is Xu Yuan. He once published a post related to the Apartment of the Living. Unfortunately, by the time I found it, the post had already been deleted."
"So I was wondering if you know any tech experts on the second floor. Maybe they could use their skills to help recover the post from here in the apartment so we can see what was on it."
He glossed over the details of how he had found the post.
He was prepared to make up an excuse if Xia Ta pressed him for more. But she didn’t get bogged down in trivial details, instead focusing on the crux of the matter.
She had already finished making a steaming cup of pour-over coffee, which she stirred continuously.
"There is a programmer from a big tech company on the second floor. But his department recently took on a huge project, so he’s been working overtime until the early hours of the morning every day."
"If you want to find him, you’ll probably have to wait. He might be able to get a day off in a month or so to come back to the apartment and help you."
Hearing that a resident of the Apartment of the Living was actually working overtime every day, Gao Tian was just as shocked as when he’d first learned that ghosts existed.
"Sister Ta, are you kidding me?"
"He’s living in the Apartment of the Living! He doesn’t even know if he’ll survive the next mission. Instead of enjoying what time he has left, he’s voluntarily working overtime?"
"What’s wrong with him? Does he need the money? But food and lodging are free in the Apartment of the Living..."
Xia Ta took a small sip and glanced at Gao Tian.
"He tested his way from a small town into Shanghai University, then fought his way into a major tech firm. Wang Wenbo has been the ’perfect child’ everyone is compared to since he was young, shouldering the immense expectations of his parents and his hometown."
"He’s already sacrificed too much to get this far."
"Forget the Apartment of the Living—even if the world were ending tomorrow, he’d still go to work to clock in."
Gao Tian was speechless, at a loss for a rebuttal.
...
...
"Hello, is this Gao Tian?"
A grim voice sounded from the other end of the line.
It was three in the morning on the third floor of the Apartment of the Living. A shrill ringtone startled Gao Tian from his sleep. Squinting, he fumbled in the darkness until he finally found his phone and swiped to answer. A familiar voice—an old friend—spoke from the other end.
Zhao Qiang.
"I’ve found the guy you were looking for."
"His name is Xu Yuan. He’s from Hengzhou City. He went to Honglong Primary School, Mingde Middle School, and a top-tier university in Shanghai before suddenly dropping out during his sophomore year."
"His parents died early in a car accident, and he was later adopted by a middle-aged man. Xu Yuan came to Shanghai in his twenties. His occupation and source of income are unknown. He stayed in Shanghai until he was about thirty-five, then suddenly vanished without a trace."
"He was last seen at the Sapphire Mall. The police opened an investigation, but since the missing person had very few social connections and no obvious enemies, the case went cold and remains unsolved to this day."
’It all lined up. Everything matched.’
’He came to Shanghai and was able to get by without a job because he’d been pulled into the Apartment of the Living.’
’He disappeared from the Sapphire Mall because he was killed by that ghost who likes to collect heads. And before his death, his body was preserved in that bizarre way.’
’It seems Zhao Qiang and his men really did look into it for me, not just throw some random information my way to shut me up.’
’The Zhao family really lives up to their reputation as loan sharks; they’re damn good at finding people. It took him less than three days to dig up every last detail on someone this hard to find.’
’But this isn’t enough.’
’This is the version of the story for ordinary people—just the tip of the iceberg.’
’What was the real Xu Yuan’s relationship with his teacher? How did he end up in the Apartment of the Living, and how did he complete ten missions and leave? Why did he later become the leader of the Jialan Society, and why did everyone in the Jialan Society die?’
’Most importantly, now that Xu Yuan has become a ghost, what is he trying to do? What does he want?’
’There are too many mysteries surrounding him. He’s one of the keys to this entire chat group.’
Zhao Qiang’s grim voice came through the phone again.
"Still there, Gao Tian?"
Gao Tian snapped back to reality.
"I’m here, Qiang."
Zhao Qiang snorted.
"We’re in a small county in Xu Yuan’s hometown right now. We found the old house his parents left behind."
"After his parents’ car accident, Xu Yuan stayed in an orphanage for a while before leaving with that middle-aged man. The house has been vacant for over twenty years. No one has touched it."
"Xu Yuan came back a few times after that. There’s bound to be more information—more of his things—inside the house."
"You want to come take a look? If not, my men and I are going to break in without you."
Gao Tian replied,
"I’ll be there."
"Send me the address. I’ll grab a cab."
