Chapter 17 (1/2)

Translator: Lonelytree  Editor: Millman97

From a stranger’s perspective, Wang Qi might have appeared to be too insistent in chasing the newcomer away. Therefore, Chen Ge did not promise the man anything; if anything, after listening to Wang Qi’s story, he had a sneaking suspicion that the man was hiding something.

“I’ve told you everything I know, and there’s still time to leave. When the clock strikes twelve, the apartment will turn into something else.” After saying that, Wang Qi brushed the dust away from his clothes and turned to leave.

It was not until Wang Qi’s shadow disappeared among the darkness of the night that Chen Ge came to. His original intention was to obtain more information from the tenants about the building, but now, he ended up with more question than answers.

That man sure is a curious character, but I can’t tell whether he’s crazy or not.Recalling Wang Qi’s pair of cloudy eyes that had not focused once throughout their conversation, Chen Ge felt uncomfortable. The pain and tiredness in the man’s eyes could not be faked. But it does seem like he loves his fiancé dearly.

As Chen Ge went back to his room, he paused when he passed the woman’s room on the first floor. He hesitated before knocking on the room.

“Hey, fresh blood!” The woman’s room door remained unmoved, but to Chen Ge’s surprise, the door to the room directly opposite from hers fell open. A lanky man was leaning against the open door. He looked to be in his thirties, and the man’s appearance was very unkempt. His beard was almost joined to his hair, and the back of his hand had a tattoo of a peony.

“And you are?” Chen Ge turned around with alarm.

“The man who was spreading the missing person notice around is not even a tenant of this building; there’s something wrong about him up here.” The thin man pointed at his temple. “Don’t believe a word out that comes out of his mouth, and try not to get too close to him.”

It was the first time Chen Ge had seen this man, and even though the man’s appearance left much to be desired, the man’s mannerisms were the most normal of all the characters he had met at the apartment. “The man’s actions sure are weird, but perhaps that is because he was too devastated from the loss of his fiancé.”

“Did he tell you his fiancé disappeared around this apartment?”

“Yes.”

“Did he tell you he receive that information from the police and that’s why he has been searching for her here?”

“Yes.”

The man chuckled mirthlessly before saying, “I’ve lived here for nine months already, and I’ve seen no trace of the police coming here. The mad man is lying to you; I’m sure you don’t believe his talk of ghosts, right?”

He pulled out a cigarette to dangle on his lips. “There are no ghosts in this world! At most, it’s someone pretending to be a ghost. In any case, it’s getting late, so you’d better return to your room.”

Chen Ge thanked the man and turned to leave. As he wandered up the steps, he thought to himself, Obviously, one of them is lying, but which is it?

Lost in his thoughts, Chen Ge did not realize he had walked up to the third floor. The faded number was printed on the corner of the wall, and the voice-activated light above his head flickered on and off. Chen Ge looked down the long corridor and realized this whole floor was in a state of complete disrepair. The floor was thick with grime, and there were signs of burning everywhere. The coating of the wall was peeling off like skin, and underneath it were lines that looked like thick cuts.

Why have they left the third floor unfixed? Not enough budget, or is there a more sinister reason?

The voice-activated light soon went off, and Chen Ge was submerged in a world of darkness. Due to his work at the Haunted House, Chen Ge was used to working in the darkness. The sudden blindness did not unhinge him. He pulled out his phone and was about to turn the flashlight on when he spotted a shadow dash past the darkened corridor.