"Living Apartment" was also the name of the Galan Society Group Admin.
To think this godforsaken place actually existed.
In that case, could he dig up the Galan Society Group Admin's real name from this Apartment? Could he even find out more about what those ghost hunters were like when they were alive?
Xia Ta, the superhuman girl in the gothic lolita dress, said slowly:
"It's a little different from the horror novels you've read before. The Apartment is actually somewhat humane. Every time you complete a task here, you receive a Supernatural Item as a reward.
"Theoretically, as long as you complete ten tasks, you can completely free yourself from this Apartment. But ever since I got here, I've never seen anyone achieve that condition. No one has even come close.
"Right now, the three of us hold the record for the most completions. I've completed five, slit-eyed Jiang Yang has completed five, and this bald monk, Yusheng, has completed six."
No matter how good-tempered the young, gray-robed monk was, being called bald twice in a row tested his patience. He let out a long, drawn-out "Amitabha," gesturing for Xia Ta to watch her words.
Xia Ta pretended not to hear him:
"The vending machines on the first floor of the Apartment automatically generate new food and water every morning at dawn. If you want something specific to eat, you can slip a piece of paper into the slot at the bottom. It's all completely free."The first three floors of the Apartment are living spaces for humans. No Fierce Ghost can enter them.
"In other words, as long as you are inside the Apartment, you are absolutely safe, regardless of what you might have provoked on the outside."
Above the fourth floor, however, this rule did not apply.
Gao Tian asked, "Then what exactly is above the fourth floor?"
Jiang Yang glanced at him:
"Sister Ta and I were on the first floor earlier. Seeing you walk in with such confidence, we figured you already knew about the fourth floor."
Xia Ta ignored Jiang Yang's interruption and continued explaining patiently to Gao Tian:
"The residents up there are all ghosts.
"No one knows how those ghosts moved in.
"I found a journal left by the previous floor manager in my room. She theorized that in the very beginning, every floor of the Apartment was meant for the living. But due to constant task failures, too many residents died. Some of them died outside and returned to the Apartment harboring intense resentment. Over time, the upper floors were gradually corrupted.
"Of course, the previous floor manager also mentioned that these were only her theories. She died in a task before she could even begin investigating the mystery of the fourth floor."
"Yet, every year, a very small number of people still willingly head above the Third Floor to explore."
Gao Tian asked in surprise, "Why would anyone voluntarily run into a place where ghosts live? Are they idiots?"
He remained completely unaware that he was insulting himself.
Xia Ta looked at him:
"Ah, because if you go to the fourth floor or above, pick a door, and walk inside, the Apartment will reward you with a Black Card.
"At the time, I thought you swaggered right in front of the three of us either to get that Black Card or to show off your strength."
This topic was never going to end, was it?
"The Black Card is arguably the most important Supernatural Item in the early stages of the Apartment. Each Black Card can only be used once, and only by its original owner. It cannot be transferred.
"As long as you use the Black Card outside the Apartment, no matter where you are, you will be instantly teleported to the first-floor lobby.
"This is the most sought-after effect among the Apartment residents, bar none."
Inside the Apartment, it was also absolutely safe.
This meant that as long as someone possessed a Black Card, they wouldn't have to worry about provoking any Fierce Ghosts on the outside. It was equivalent to having an extra life.
Gao Tian hadn't expected his trip to the fourth floor to yield such a significant harvest.
Not only had he used Shattered Face's power to steal the Memory Ghost's ability, but he had also obtained a reward from the Apartment.
Xia Ta sized Gao Tian up and down with her jewel-like eyes:
"Normally, you are free to move around outside, but you must spend the night here at least once a month. When a Green Text Mission is issued, you must return immediately, no matter where you are.
"Do you have any other questions? You can ask them now."
Gao Tian asked, "Among the previous residents of the Apartment, are there any legends about someone completing ten tasks and leaving?"
Even before asking the question, Gao Tian already had a faint inkling of the answer.
The Galan Society Group Admin, that mysterious person with the ID "Living Apartment."
If his deduction was correct, every Galan Society member's name was a supernatural incident they had handled while alive. If the Group Admin took "Living Apartment" as their name, it meant they had truly completed ten Green Text Missions and escaped this place.
If such a legendary figure actually existed, their legend would definitely be passed down through generations of the Apartment's residents.
Xia Ta confirmed Gao Tian's thoughts:
"According to the previous floor manager's journal I found in my room... she wrote that a name has been passed down through generations of residents: Xu Yuan. This resident supposedly completed ten Green Text Missions ten years ago and left the Apartment.
"And supposedly, before leaving, he swore to all the residents in the Apartment that he would definitely return. When he did, he would find a way to free the others and put an end to all the residents' nightmares here..."
At this point, Xia Ta's tone grew slightly despondent:
"There are two versions of what happened next.
"One is that after Xu Yuan left the Apartment, he returned to a normal life. He forgot everything he had experienced here and never came back.
"The second version is similar, in that Xu Yuan was unwilling to return to the Apartment. After all, having survived so many terrifying horrors here, who would willingly come back after finally escaping?
"Except, shortly after, Xu Yuan died in a separate supernatural incident. It was a Fierce Ghost completely unrelated to the Apartment.
"Anyway, regardless of which version is true, the result is the same."
As for which outcome was actually the truth, Xia Ta didn't know, nor did the old floor manager who had left that journal behind all those years ago.
After all, over the course of more than twenty years, who knew how many generations of Apartment residents had come and gone. Whenever a resident died, the notes and traces they left behind were almost always scrubbed clean by the Apartment itself. Only a very small fraction managed to survive by sheer coincidence.
This led to severe distortion of many past events. The absolute truth remained forever shrouded in mist.
Gao Tian brought up his second question:
"Among the past residents, did a family of four—or maybe three—ever move in together? One with a little girl with a round face?"
After Shattered Face's body had burned, it had left behind half of a torn photograph, with the words "Living Apartment" written on the back.
When Gao Tian locked eyes with the little girl in the surviving half of the photo, she had actually smiled at him.
Thinking back on it now, his memories had been tampered with right then and there. His true past was blocked out, and he had treated the Apartment's address as his own home, walking all the way up to the fourth floor step by step.
Xia Ta frowned:
"There are simply too many families like the one you're describing. Dragging their whole family around a big city, wanting to rent a full apartment but lacking the funds—they easily fall for the cheap rental ads posted outside and get lured here, becoming new residents.
"Do you have any more clues?"
Gao Tian reached into his pocket and surprisingly pulled out the half-torn photograph. He had never actually burned it.
Even the memory of "Gao Tian burning the photo" was fake, imperceptibly implanted into his mind by the ghost.
He handed it over for Xia Ta, Jiang Yang, and the others to see:
"I got this photo while handling another supernatural incident.
"As for the timeframe, it might have been ten years ago. The girl in the photo has already become a ghost."
Naturally, Gao Tian wasn't worried about the girl in the photo causing trouble here, since the first through Third Floors of the Apartment were restricted zones for ghosts. Brought into this space, the picture was nothing more than an ordinary photograph. No matter what kind of ghost entered the Apartment's domain, it had to behave itself.
Xia Ta studied the photo for a long time. When she looked at the little girl's face, her own expression hardly changed:
"Sorry. I only became a floor manager three years ago. I haven't seen her at all.
"But during today's welcome party, I can help you ask the other residents. Some of them have been in the Apartment longer than I have, so they might remember something."
The photo remained in Xia Ta's hands for the time being. However, it couldn't be taken out of the Apartment, otherwise the little girl in the picture would definitely come to life.
Just then, the monk Yusheng, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up:
"I recognize this little girl.
"Her family was killed long ago during a Green Text Mission. Unable to bear the blow, the sole surviving little girl began hallucinating. She claimed she constantly heard her family calling her name from the fourth floor, telling her to come up and reunite with them.
"Unfortunately, most residents back then didn't take her words to heart and only offered her a few simple words of comfort. After all, everyone's focus was entirely on how to survive the next Green Text Mission. One night, when the other residents weren't paying attention, the little girl secretly opened the door and headed up toward the fourth floor. From then on, her fate remained unknown, and no one ever saw her again.
"These events took place about five years ago."
He walked over to the photograph and once again pressed his palms together toward the little girl on it:
"Little girl, I hope you escape the sea of suffering and reincarnate soon. May you properly sever all ties with this life."
The little girl in the photo remained perfectly still, completely unresponsive to Yusheng's rite of salvation.
Gao Tian couldn't help but ask, "How do you know all this?"
Yusheng shook his head:
"I have a karmic bond with some of the people in the Apartment.
"New residents have arrived downstairs. This humble monk will take his leave now."
Watching him spout cryptic words and abruptly excuse himself, Gao Tian had to exert a tremendous amount of effort to suppress the urge to use the Shattered Face Ghost on him and read his memories directly.
Xia Ta gave Gao Tian a helpless shrug:
"Yusheng is just like that. He knows a lot of things, but he just refuses to say them.
"If you push him too hard, he'll say the fateful time hasn't arrived, and then disappear for days on end.
"Right now, we can only wait for him to speak up willingly."
Inside the Apartment, the abilities of all ghosts were suppressed, so Gao Tian couldn't use the Shattered Face Ghost or the Memory Ghost anyway.
Once he left the Apartment, he could certainly find an opportunity to use the Shattered Face Ghost to seize all of this monk's memories. Gao Tian was forced to restrain such dark thoughts in his mind.
He was a human, not a Fierce Ghost; he couldn't arbitrarily strip away the lives of other residents. If he used the Shattered Face Ghost on the monk, the other party would undoubtedly die.
However, all of this was predicated on the fact that he was currently not in any danger.
If a day came when the residents of the Apartment were forced into a corner, and this monk knew something but continued acting all mysterious and speaking in riddles, then Gao Tian wouldn't be to blame for breaking past this moral boundary and forcibly digging the secrets out of his brain.