As he spoke, it was as if he had guessed something. The old landlord's body trembled, emitting a terrifying Ghost Aura.

Cobra and Jiang Xiaobai's expressions changed, and they instantly retreated ten meters away, wearing expressions that said they didn't know him.

Qin Nuo felt as if a massive weight was pressing down on him, unbearably heavy.

Cold sweat seeped from his forehead in layers!

He had messed up!

"What are you afraid of? Don't you have two lives? Just play with one!" the Blood-Eyed Ghost taunted.

Just as Qin Nuo was about to retort, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Eye of Hell: You have gained +80 Rage Meter from the apartment landlord, rewarded with the skill—Top-tier Chess Mastery!"

What the—!

Damn, this is a hundred times warmer than coal in a snowstorm!

System, you're like my own father!

"I ask, what were you looking at on your phone!" The old landlord's aura grew even more terrifying, the whites of his eyes fading to a pitch-black, as if possessed.

Suppressing his fear, Qin Nuo calmly said, "I was just playing a little game to pass the time."

As he spoke, he turned the screen to show a game of Candy Crush.

"Alright then, turn off your phone and continue playing chess with me. If you lose, I'll decide what to take from you!" the old landlord said coldly, retracting the terrifying Ghost Aura.

"Smartass, really thinks the ghosts in the game are fools," Cobra adjusted his glasses and said blandly.

"If you don't court death, how can you be called Xiaobai?" Jiang Xiaobai smirked. Losing a competitor was no bad thing for them.

However, for a moment there, they really thought they could bluff their way through!

Seeing Qin Nuo put down his phone, the old landlord regained his confidence, shifting his chess strategy from defense to offense.

Qin Nuo's gaze returned to the chessboard, feeling entirely different.

It was like a graduate student suddenly facing a fifth-grade exam paper.

Familiar, thorough!

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

After the old landlord made a move, dozens of counter-moves instantly appeared in Qin Nuo's mind.

In fact, after the first move, Qin Nuo could even deduce the next six or seven moves!

Masterful.

Qin Nuo smiled slightly, "Old man, now I'll get serious."

This sentence made the old man's face darken again.

The insult felt like a fuse, igniting him even more.

However, ten moves later, the old landlord fell silent.

After a long pause, he slowly spoke, "You won."

The hostility that had been emanating from him quickly dissipated, as he accepted his loss wholeheartedly.

Cobra and Jiang Xiaobai, who had been waiting for the landlord to explode, were stunned, suddenly noticing the situation on the chessboard.

The red side had only one general left!

All the guards had been wiped out!

The two exchanged glances.

This guy is so strong, why was he fiddling with his phone at the start?

Qin Nuo smiled slightly, "Old man, I've learned a lot."

Hearing "learned a lot" twice, the old landlord took it as another taunt and asked in a deep voice, "Do you want to redeem that item?"

Qin Nuo pointed to something in the cardboard box.

"Liu Ze's heart, huh..."

The old landlord flicked his finger, and the beating heart landed in Qin Nuo's hand.

It throbbed vigorously, full of life. Qin Nuo was curious, if he crushed this heart, would Liu Ze die?

Qin Nuo thanked him, and the old landlord waved him off, no longer paying attention, focusing on the chessboard.

This crushing defeat was clearly a huge blow to him!

On the way back, Cobra and Jiang Xiaobai, empty-handed, looked at Qin Nuo, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

They hesitated, wanting to ask Qin Nuo to play a game for them, but couldn't bring themselves to do it.

Two veteran players asking a newbie for help was too embarrassing!

Qin Nuo didn't care what they thought. Returning to room 401, he handed the heart to it.

Picking up the heart, Liu Ze was both surprised and excited.

As he gently placed the heart into the cavity in his left chest, in the blink of an eye, Qin Nuo saw it had fully healed, without a single scar.

After pressing the heart back into his body, Liu Ze was silent for a long moment before saying, "If you ever have any trouble, you can come to me."

His tone was very calm, but Qin Nuo could tell Liu Ze was genuinely grateful.

"Not at all, neighbors should help each other," Qin Nuo replied politely.

"Ding, congratulations to the Host for gaining +60 Favorability from the 401 tenant, rewarded with 100 Ghost Power!"

"Ding, congratulations to the Host for completing a D-level character, receiving an extra rating, to be settled after exiting the game!"

"Ding, completed 'Minor Task ×1,' obtained a 'Main Quest' clue—there seems to be a secret in the rooftop water tank of the Bloodstained Apartment, why not take a look?"

"The rooftop water tank?" Qin Nuo frowned slightly.

The main quest basically referred to the serial killer.

So the clue must also be about finding the serial killer.

But what clue could be in the water tank?

Hiding a body there?

Qin Nuo thought about finding a time to go to the rooftop, but he remembered the door to the rooftop was locked, so he'd have to get permission from the old landlord.

"Do you have any trouble?" Liu Ze asked, seeing Qin Nuo standing still, thinking he had some trouble.

"No, Liu, I'll be going now."

After leaving room 401, Qin Nuo was pondering his next steps when he saw a little girl dressed in a JK uniform carrying a basket of food up the stairs.

She looked scared, glancing behind her from time to time, and accidentally bumped into Qin Nuo.

"Are you okay?" Qin Nuo asked, realizing how silly the question was.

Could he really hurt a ghost?

Qin Nuo, who also had Ghost Power, immediately saw that the little girl wasn't human either.

"There's a bad person following me..."

Following the girl's gaze, Qin Nuo saw a shadow at the stairway, with a pair of bloodthirsty eyes staring intently at the little girl, filled with insane greed.

Qin Nuo silently took out the Grave Ghost Stone.

Perhaps sensing the threat of the Grave Ghost Stone, the shadow retreated into the hallway.

Qin Nuo suddenly realized, "Could that guy be the serial killer?"

He quickly chased after it, seeing the shadow disappear into the corridor on the third floor.

"He's a tenant on the third floor," Qin Nuo squinted his eyes.

"Thank you, brother." Seeing the bad person chased away by Qin Nuo, the little girl came over and bowed in thanks.

"Do you know that person?" Qin Nuo asked.

The little girl shook her head, "Every time I go upstairs, as soon as he smells me, he follows me..."

"But once I reach the fourth floor, he doesn't dare follow anymore."

Qin Nuo pondered, "Don't you have any adults at home?"

The little girl opened the door to room 402, smiling, "My mom and dad are at home, but they don't like going out."

"Brother, would you like to come in and sit?"

Qin Nuo looked inside the door.

He didn't see anyone.

However, there were two chairs in the living room, rocking back and forth.

Invisible ghosts!

Qin Nuo shook his head, "No, just be careful when you come upstairs. If you need anything, knock on the door of room 404. I'm in that room."

The little girl nodded obediently and carried the food into the room.

On his way back, passing room 403 this time, there were no horrifying sounds of fighting coming from inside.

Qin Nuo no longer wanted to interfere in the strange disputes of this family of three, avoiding them if possible.

However, as he passed by, the door to room 403 suddenly opened, and a hand reached out to grab Qin Nuo!