Free Web NovelChapter 15: Chapter 15: The President’s Corpse
It was clearly daytime, but the hallways of the Living Persons’ Apartment were pitch-black. Walking through them felt like traversing the inside of a massive coffin.
The young man named Jiang Yang had dyed silver hair and wore a black jacket. His eyes were always squinted, as if he could never fully wake up.
After Xia Ta and Yu Sheng left, he was the one who stayed behind to help Gao Tian pick a room.
"Right now, you can choose a room on the second or third floor. But most residents pick the second floor, because the third is too close to the fourth. Even if the ghosts can’t come down from the fourth floor, not many people are willing to live with those filthy things right above their ceiling."
Gao Tian remembered Yu Sheng saying that the little girl had gone upstairs because she heard her "family" on the fourth floor calling to her.
He asked,
"If I live on the third floor, will I sometimes hear muttering from the residents on the fourth floor?
"Can the ghosts use some sort of rule to make a third-floor resident hear the sounds and wander up to the fourth floor in a daze?"
Jiang Yang, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped.
He turned his head and glanced at Gao Tian.
"Me, Xia Ta, and Yu Sheng—the three apartment administrators—all live on the third floor.
"Sometimes, during the day, Xia Ta and Yu Sheng have said they hear noises from the fourth floor—the sound of people walking and talking.
"Maybe it’s because I sleep like a log, but I’ve never heard a thing.
"But no one’s ever been lured upstairs. The apartment’s rules are absolute. The abilities of any ghost on the fourth floor have no effect on third-floor residents.
"The rooms on the second floor get snatched up fast. If you want one, you should go down now. Otherwise, if another new resident picks before you, you’ll be stuck on the third floor."
He fully expected that after hearing about all the strange phenomena on the third floor, Gao Tian would choose the second floor without hesitation. But to his surprise, Gao Tian thought for a moment before declining Jiang Yang’s well-intentioned advice.
"You know, I think I’ll just stay on the third floor.
"If the Living Persons’ Apartment can guarantee that this floor is also absolutely safe, then I’m very interested in hearing what the ’residents’ on the fourth floor have to say in the middle of the night."
In the end, Gao Tian chose Room 313. After getting the key, Jiang Yang gave him a sly grin, offered a few words of advice, and left the third floor.
The apartment was quite spacious: a single bedroom, a living room, an open-concept kitchen, a bathroom with a separate shower area, and a fully enclosed balcony. It had everything one could need—much better than the residential building Gao Tian lived in himself. The refrigerator was also stuffed to the brim with food, and the cabinets were filled with brand-new toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, and all other daily necessities.
Gao Tian walked to the bed. On the nightstand, there was a solid black, rigid card. It was smooth to the touch, almost like a VIP card, made of some unknown material.
On the back of the black card, only two small white words were deeply imprinted: "Gao Tian." There was nothing else.
This was the reward Xia Ta had mentioned for going to the fourth floor—the black card.
Gao Tian lay down on the soft, large bed. A heavy wave of sleepiness washed over him.
One night and then the next day, he had faced two supernatural incidents in a row. While confronting those filthy things, Gao Tian had been in a state of extreme tension, his nerves stretched taut, so he hadn’t felt the slightest bit of fatigue. But now that it was all over and he knew his surroundings were safe, the hyper-aroused nerves throughout his body finally began to relax, and he couldn’t hold on any longer.
After all, Gao Tian wasn’t made of iron; he still needed proper sleep and rest.
Without even taking off his shoes, he fell onto the bed and was soon dead to the world.
...
...
When he woke up again, it was already around five or six in the afternoon.
The sky outside had already begun to dim.
What woke Gao Tian wasn’t just his natural body clock, but also the constant PING of incoming message notifications from his phone.
Someone was sending messages.
Gao Tian was instantly wide awake. He didn’t hesitate to open his phone and check.
His biggest worry right now was that the ghosts in the Jialan Society had started talking again. He was the only living person mixed in with dozens of ghosts in this group, and with the ridiculously intuitive Ghost Cave, he could be identified and hunted down at any moment.
This time, he had claimed Ghost Cave’s black envelope and barely survived. He wondered if he had managed to escape disaster for now and dispel Ghost Cave’s paranoia.
With a sense of unease, Gao Tian opened the chat group.
[Ghost Infant]: ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Yo yo yo.
@Ghost Cave
A whole day and night have passed. How come no one’s dead yet?
After all, everyone here claimed the black envelope, just like you asked.
So where’s the living person?
[Living Persons’ Apartment]:
Everyone in this chat group is a ghost. There are no living people mixed in.
Every user who applies to join the group is confirmed by me. If they were human, they would’ve been rejected long ago.
[Ghost Infant]:
HAHAHAHA. I’m dying.
So this guy was shadowboxing all night.
[Ghost Cave]:
...
It’s true. A night has passed, and no one died.
Could it be I was just being paranoid? Is this chat group completely normal?
[Ghost Infant]:
Of course you were, you idiot. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
[Ghost Cave]:
But I still feel like something’s wrong.
No, that living person is still alive.
Trust me.
I can feel it. Right now, he’s reading our conversation. Not saying a word, probably gloating to himself and laughing at us fools.
Something must have gone wrong somewhere. Let me think... where’s the flaw?
[Living Persons’ Apartment]:
That’s about enough.
We have a lot of things to do. This chat group wasn’t created so you could get your kicks playing spy-catcher.
[Ghost Infant]:
Yeah, exactly.
...
After being mocked by the group like that, Ghost Cave went silent. It seemed like he’d given up.
’I’ve barely passed this trial, at least.’
After a long silence, Ghost Cave finally sent a new message.
[Ghost Cave]:
Okay, maybe I really was wrong this time. There’s no so-called living person in the group. I’ve wasted everyone’s time.
But these are extraordinary times, so it’s better to be cautious.
...
The group owner, "Living Persons’ Apartment," sent out a black envelope.
...
[Ghost Infant]:
What for? @Living Persons’ Apartment
Boss, you haven’t said a word, why suddenly send a black envelope?
[Living Persons’ Apartment]:
Don’t claim this one carelessly. If you take it, you have to do something for me.
@everyone
My corpse is still at the Sapphire Mall, and that jar is at my old home.
If the corpse isn’t dealt with, it will reanimate soon. It might even go to my old home to find that jar.
[Ghost Infant]:
Why do you still care about such a trivial little thing?
The corpse at the Sapphire Mall? If it reanimates, just let it reanimate. If it wants to go to your old home and take the jar, just let it.
Anyway, we don’t have much time left. In a few decades, everything will be over.
[Living Persons’ Apartment]:
No. The corpse I left behind must be dealt with.
My death was rather sudden. I only had time for a hasty arrangement before I died. It’s a miracle it’s remained hidden for two years using a special method in a mall with so much foot traffic.
I’m just worried that someone from that apartment back then is still alive. If they recognize my true identity from my corpse and use it to find the jar at my old home, it’ll be trouble.
[Ghost Infant]:
What are the odds of something like that happening?
Didn’t you say that no one else made it out of that apartment alive?
[Living Persons’ Apartment]:
No matter how small the possibility, we need to nip it in the bud. There’s not much time left until everything is over.
[Ghost Infant]:
A shame. After taking your black envelope, how many days do we have to complete the mission?
My corpse has been sunk at the bottom of a deep lake recently, so I can’t get to Shanghai for now. If I were to take this mission, it would take me at least a month to get there.
[Living Persons’ Apartment]:
That’s completely unacceptable.
The sooner the better. Ideally, someone would leave tomorrow and dispose of the corpse I left at the Sapphire Mall as quickly as possible.
The best way to handle it right now is to insert my main weapon—the one I always used when I was alive—into the corpse. It will sense the familiar aura and be sealed for a while longer.
[Ghost Cave]:
Brother Yuan.
To deal with that corpse left in the mortal world, you’re even giving away that important thing your teacher left you as the reward in the black envelope?
(When he saw the two words "Brother Yuan," Gao Tian’s suspicion was confirmed.)
[Living Persons’ Apartment]:
It’s not that important. My teacher spent fifty years trying to find the secret hidden within this supernatural item and failed. My wisdom and experience aren’t even a tenth of my teacher’s; I could spend a hundred years and never find it.
As long as its secret isn’t uncovered, this spear is completely useless.
[Incineration Ghost]:
I might have time in a week.
Old man, where in the mall did you put this corpse of yours? And once I find it, what do I do with it? Just stab your main weapon into it and that’s it?
[Living Persons’ Apartment]:
Ghost Cave, are you free in the next few days?
[Ghost Cave]:
I have the time...
But I’ve been lazy lately, and Shanghai is too far away. I don’t really feel like making the trip.
Mostly, my body is highly decomposed. Every time I move, chunks of flesh fall off. I can’t take human transportation, and walking all the way to Shanghai just isn’t realistic.
[Incineration Ghost]:
Hey!
Hey!
[Living Persons’ Apartment]:
If I can’t find anyone for now, then forget it.
I have about a week left where I can move around for a bit. I’ll just go myself then.
...
...
From this exchange, Gao Tian deduced that the "Yuan" in "Brother Yuan" was part of the ghost’s real name. Xu Yuan’s name also contained "Yuan." What’s more, both of them had been to a "Living Persons’ Apartment" and left alive. It would be too much of a stretch to call it all a coincidence.
Gao Tian was now 99% certain that the real name of "Living Persons’ Apartment" was Xu Yuan.
Additionally, seeing the black envelope from "Living Persons’ Apartment" still unclaimed in the chat, Gao Tian’s fingers started to itch.
’I wonder what’s really inside the black envelope that "Living Persons’ Apartment" offered to get the other ghosts to complete his mission?’
But Gao Tian was still hesitant to accept it. "Living Persons’ Apartment" had said that the ghost who took the envelope had to help him complete the mission.
A somewhat reckless idea slowly formed in Gao Tian’s mind:
’Why not?’
’I want to investigate the truth about Xu Yuan (Living Persons’ Apartment), and now, his corpse is practically laid out right in front of me. Could there be a better opportunity than this?’
’And what’s this about a main weapon and a jar?’
Staring at the chat log, Gao Tian fell silent. The scales in his mind began to tip toward taking action, but his cautious nature made him hesitate to make a move.
Just as he was weighing the pros and cons, a knock came from the door.
"Are you there?"
