In front of Room 404.

Qin Nuo held the key, glancing left and right.

The long, dim corridor was empty, with only him in sight.

Or rather, on the fourth floor, he was the only Player residing there.

"Right now, I have 320 Ghost Currency and 100 Ghost Cash. Staying for 100 days isn't a problem, but food and drink are."

Moreover, the system shop also required Ghost Currency and Ghost Cash for purchases, so he had to save some for special occasions.

Creak.

As the key turned in the lock and the door began to open, he heard two door-opening sounds.

Qin Nuo turned his head to look at Room 405, which had just opened.

The door was ajar, revealing a pair of dead-fish-like eyes staring at Qin Nuo.

"Hello, I'm the new tenant..."

Bang!!

Before he could finish, the door slammed shut.

Qin Nuo, accustomed to these somewhat peculiar NPCs, shrugged it off, opened his door, and entered his room.

The room's condition was predictably poor, with a cup filled with an unknown yellow liquid and a kettle boiling yellowed underwear.

The bathroom drain was clogged with hair, but fortunately, the tap didn't spew blood.

At least Qin Nuo could take a decent shower.

"The game lasts 10 days. If it were Wang Xun, she wouldn't care about the score, probably just staying in the room to survive the 10 days and exit the instance."

"But with my four lives, how could I just hide?"

"Extra points come from building relationships with other tenants in the apartment, the more, the better."

"The tenants love gossiping, and building good relationships can effectively help in uncovering the hidden serial killer in the apartment!"

Of course, there's no rush now; better to sleep and deal with things tomorrow.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

After a quick wash, Qin Nuo threw the dirty, blood-stained sheets under the bed, used his shirt as a pillow, and lay down.

But he hadn't slept long before there was a banging sound from the next room.

Damn it!

Renovating in the middle of the night?

But remembering the need to establish friendly relations with neighbors, Qin Nuo held back.

The noise came from Room 405, the guy who had peeked at him.

Separated by just a load-bearing wall, the sound was particularly clear, as if someone was banging their head against the wall.

Feeling troubled?

Qin Nuo felt a bit irritable, covering his ears and trying to sleep.

But he clearly underestimated the hardness of the 405 tenant's head; it went on for a full 30 minutes without stopping.

Finally unable to bear it, Qin Nuo jumped up, pulled out the Bone-Crushing Hammer, and pounded the wall twice.

"Damn it, can't sleep in the middle of the night, did your girlfriend run off with someone?"

Surprisingly, after his shout, the noise from next door stopped.

"Demon's Eye: You successfully angered your 405 neighbor, gaining 40 Hatred Points!"

"Reward item—Black Stockings of a Sexy Maid!"

As the voice echoed, Qin Nuo suddenly found a pair of sexy black stockings in his hand.

The texture was delicate, exuding a faint fragrance, still warm as if just taken off a smooth, fair leg, sparking the imagination.

But Qin Nuo's expression was clearly struck by lightning again.

Damn it, these rewards are getting more and more ridiculous!

In this setting, what's the point of giving me black stockings?

Just as Qin Nuo set the black stockings aside, two heavy, violent bangs came from the wall!

The wall shook, and two large chunks of plaster fell off!

The guy on the other side seemed quite enraged.

"Is he going to break through the wall and strangle me?"

Fortunately, Qin Nuo's worries didn't come true; the two bangs seemed to be just venting anger, and then there was silence.

"These neighbors aren't as easy to get along with as I thought," Qin Nuo sighed.

He had planned to build good relations, but on the first day, he had already made an enemy of Room 405.

Deciding not to dwell on it, Qin Nuo lay down and finally fell asleep.

The next day, there was no bright sunlight, only the gradually brightening light indicating it was morning.

The morning chill lingered in the corridor.

All the room doors were tightly closed.

"Do these tenants never leave their rooms?"

Puzzled, Qin Nuo went downstairs, his stomach growling with hunger.

He remembered there was food for sale in the lobby on the first floor.

At the corner of the staircase, there was a vending machine filled with human food.

Holding a 20 Ghost Currency note, just as he was about to insert it into the slot, Qin Nuo thought of something and kicked the vending machine twice.

No response.

Qin Nuo stepped back, scrutinized it, and kicked it a few more times.

"If you're not for eating, move aside and don't waste my time."

A cold voice came from behind.

Black Rose looked at Qin Nuo as if he were a lunatic.

Qin Nuo explained, "I just wanted to see if it's really just a vending machine."

Even he felt there was something wrong with his words.

"Idiot."

Black Rose muttered, inserted her Ghost Currency, took two bottles of soda, and left.

Qin Nuo inserted his Ghost Currency and got two portions of fast food in return.

"This instance seems normal, except for the tenants and the apartment boss."

Qin Nuo muttered, taking his fast food and leaving.

At the front desk, the apartment boss was crouched under the counter, fiddling with something.

Unable to resist his curiosity, Qin Nuo peeked.

He didn't see anything horrifying.

The Old Man was just sitting on a low stool, playing chess.

Hmm...

This second instance's ghosts all behaved like normal people.

Some were busy with their own things, playing chess!

The Old Man was clearly playing against himself, pondering each move for a long time.

But Qin Nuo noticed a box labeled "Spoils" next to him.

Arms, legs, tongues, eyeballs—so-called spoils, bloodily nauseating.

He even saw a heart.

A still-beating heart!

It seemed to be connected to a body, full of vitality.

As Qin Nuo stared in shock, the Old Man suddenly looked up, saying, "Young man, interested in a game of chess?"

"If you win, I'll waive a day's rent."

"If you lose, just exchange something."

"No, I'm terrible at chess."

Not giving the Old Man a chance to speak, Qin Nuo turned and ran.

As he went upstairs, Qin Nuo thought about knocking on some tenants' doors after eating, to spread some warmth and at least establish a basic relationship.

Of course, excluding the perverted tenant from Room 405 last night.

Bang!!

But just as he reached the fourth-floor landing, there was a loud crashing sound.

Immediately followed by a man's angry curse: "Damn woman, what the hell did you make, it's disgusting!"

"Do you believe I'll kill you?!"

With that, the door to Room 403 was violently flung open.

Bright red blood flowed from the doorway...