Chapter 12 : Chapter 12
Chapter 12: The Strange Tenant
Perhaps it was because the building had never been properly repaired after the fire, or perhaps it was simply because the apartment complex was too old. Power outages happened frequently here. The problem was that a blackout on an ordinary day might be tolerable—but tonight was different.
It meant she would have to deal with those ghosts in complete darkness.
The difficulty instantly increased.
Darkness naturally filled people with fear. Even a faint dim light in the hallway could make someone feel slightly safer.
Using the light from her phone, Zhao Mingyue found her flashlight. She did not rush to open the door. Instead, she leaned against the wooden door and carefully listened to the sounds outside.
She entered the situation quickly and became extremely focused.
Even Bai Yu, hiding within her shadow, could not help but nod silently. She could not help but think that this girl had potential. Zhao Mingyue lacked experience, but her attitude alone was already good enough.
“You’re doing the right thing. The tenants here are not simple either. Learning more information will help you.”
In the darkness, Bai Yu’s voice echoed in Zhao Mingyue’s mind.
Just as her words faded, a sound came from downstairs.
It was the voice of a young man.
What surprised Zhao Mingyue was that it was not Lu Liangting.
“Someone else came in!”
Her thoughts stirred slightly. She had lived here for quite some time and was very familiar with the building. In all those months, she had never seen anyone check in here late at night.
“This won’t work. I can’t hear clearly from inside the room.”
Since the power was out, even if the person came upstairs, they would not immediately see her.
With that thought, Zhao Mingyue opened the door slightly and poked half of her face out through the crack.
The person downstairs seemed to be dragging a very heavy suitcase. The sound of the suitcase wheels rolling across the floor was extremely clear. Judging from the voice, the man was probably under thirty years old.
Clang.
The sound of an iron door opening echoed.
Immediately afterward came the voice of the old landlord.
Their conversation was brief.
The young man wanted to stay for one night because the rain outside was extremely heavy. He said he would leave early the next morning.
The old landlord hesitated for a moment before agreeing and handed the key to the young man.
“This is your key. The room is on the second floor. Go find it yourself. Let me warn you—do not go outside wandering at night. And you absolutely must not go up to the fourth or fifth floors. If you do, you’ll bear the consequences yourself.”
“And the room has everything you need, including hot water. But remember—you cannot take a shower. If the power goes out, I don’t know when it will return. Just wait.”
BANG.
The iron door of a room on the first floor slammed shut.
The service attitude was terrible.
Zhao Mingyue could hear the man complaining. He muttered that if it were not for the heavy rain, he would never come to such a ghostly place.
“Rain?”
Zhao Mingyue frowned and looked out the living room window.
Although the wind outside was fierce, it was definitely not raining. The weather forecast had clearly said the storm would not arrive until later in the night.
But something even stranger followed.
After the man finished muttering, he began climbing the stairs.
His footsteps sounded extremely odd.
It was as if he were wearing rain boots completely soaked with water. Each step carried a faint sloshing sound. Because the suitcase he carried was heavy, both his breathing and footsteps sounded strained.
“Something’s wrong. It clearly isn’t raining outside. Where is that water sound coming from?”
“And why would someone drag such a heavy suitcase here in the middle of the night after taking a taxi?”
“If he came from another city, he shouldn’t be staying here. With a taxi, it would be easy to find a hotel—or just go home.”
“Taxi drivers usually refuse to come near this place at night. That means the driver probably didn’t bring him here willingly. Most likely he specifically requested this destination.”
“Normal people would head toward the city center. But this man came out toward the outskirts instead…”
Zhao Mingyue waited for a while longer.
She confirmed that the man had entered his room. After that, everything fell silent.
The game had not even begun yet, but Zhao Mingyue already felt a trace of pressure.
She was beginning to understand what Bai Yu had meant.
Sometimes humans were far more terrifying than ghosts.
Time passed little by little.
Zhao Mingyue checked the time.
It was already eleven o’clock.
Lu Liangting still had not arrived. She wondered if he had changed his plans.
Even before midnight arrived, Zhao Mingyue could already feel a change.
The surroundings had become strangely silent.
Cold winds blew from somewhere unknown, brushing against her skin and raising goosebumps. Somewhere in the hallway, a broken water pipe seemed to drip endlessly.
Drip.
Drip.
Something crawled across the pipes and walls with faint rustling sounds.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Zhao Mingyue felt that the smell of disinfectant in the air was growing stronger.
Such a strong disinfectant smell did not remind people of sterilization.
Instead, it felt as though it was deliberately masking another odor.
Zhao Mingyue quickly returned to the room and put on her backpack.
Inside were her Magic Staff, a kitchen knife, and the Bloodstained Doll.
“Bai Yu… Sister Bai… can I go out now?”
Her plan was simple.
If ghosts officially appeared at midnight, then since it was only eleven o’clock, she could first investigate the other residents on the fourth and fifth floors.
Although she had lived here for a long time, she did not actually know how many people lived in the building. She only knew that other tenants definitely existed.
“You can go. I’ll remind you when the time comes.”
“Alright!”
Since Lu Liangting had not arrived, she decided to gather information herself.
Zhao Mingyue quietly opened the door and stepped outside.
She even left a small precaution.
To prevent someone from sneaking into her room while she was gone, she pulled out one of her hairs and stuffed it into the keyhole.
Leaning against the door, Zhao Mingyue stared into the dark hallway.
An instinctive unease rose in her chest.
The cold wind that seeped everywhere and the sharp smell of disinfectant both made her heart pound.
Tomorrow Apartments had a “日”-shaped floor layout.
The staircase was in the center, and there was only one.
Her room was 404, located exactly at the corner of the “日” layout.
On her left were four additional rooms. Two more rooms were tucked into the corners.
Each floor had eight rooms in total.
She tiptoed to Room 403, the room next to hers.
She raised her hand and knocked lightly on the door.
Then she listened carefully.
Behind the door, there was only an eerie silence.
Taking out her flashlight, she shone the beam onto the iron door.
It was covered with thick dust.
Clearly, no one lived there.
“The landlord didn’t allow that man to go to the fourth or fifth floors. There must be a reason.”
Muttering to herself, Zhao Mingyue cautiously moved along the wall toward the staircase.
The smell of disinfectant was strongest near the stairwell.
“The landlord repaints the walls almost every two months. What exactly is on these walls?”
When she reached the stairwell, she confirmed that the nearby room door was also covered in heavy dust.
She then aimed her flashlight at the wall.
The white surface looked unnervingly pale.
Squatting down, she took out her Magic Staff from her backpack and used the pointed end to scrape forcefully across the wall.
The white putty peeled off more easily than she had expected.
But what lay beneath it sent a chill down her spine.
“…Is this blood?”