"Your job is a janitor?" Qin Nuo wasn't too surprised to see Xiao Yuexin. All the living people here were her classmates, so it was only a matter of time before they ran into each other.
"Yes, I'm responsible for cleaning up this room." Xiao Yuexin held a broom and pointed to the cluttered shelves behind her, while nervously watching the outside.
It was a storage room, judging by the various sized cardboard boxes on the shelves, it seemed to be a place for storing documents.
"Why is everyone hiding?" Qin Nuo was puzzled. With their uniforms on, doing their assigned tasks, the ghosts wouldn't harm them. Yet, Xiao Yuexin looked terrified and uneasy.
"There's a ghost in the corridor. As long as we stroll along the hallway, it leads us in circles."
Xiao Yuexin explained. Yesterday, many classmates were harassed by the ghost in the corridor, leaving them in a sorry state.
Even with the uniforms, the ghosts still held a lot of malice towards humans. They wouldn't harm you, but they would make things difficult and prank you.
That's why she pulled Qin Nuo inside.
Qin Nuo knew she was talking about the ghost in the walls and said, "Don't worry, I dealt with it. It won't dare to cause trouble anymore."
Whether she believed him or not, Qin Nuo asked, "Is Tang Ming responsible for the restroom area?"
"Yes, he shares a dorm with me, but he didn't come back last night. You saw that door with the black aura, right? He's been trapped inside since yesterday and hasn't come out."
"It seems he offended the ghost in the restroom, he might already be..." Xiao Yuexin knew about Qin Nuo and Tang Ming's relationship, so she didn't finish her sentence.
Qin Nuo's face darkened, "Can I go in?"
"You can't. The door is locked, and the key is with the dorm manager granny in the lobby."
As classmates, Xiao Yuexin wanted to ask the dorm manager granny to save Tang Ming trapped in the restroom.
But seeing Ghost Granny's bloody eye sockets, she couldn't muster the courage.
"Alright, thank you." Qin Nuo nodded.
Xiao Yuexin knew Qin Nuo was going to get the key and advised, "Tang Ming has been in there for almost 48 hours now, the chances of him being alive are slim."
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Although saying this might upset you, that Ghost Granny is terrifying. If you anger her, you won't be able to leave this building."
"It's alright, ghosts are actually quite reasonable. Just talk some sense into them."
"???"
Reasonable? Xiao Yuexin looked at Qin Nuo with a strange expression.
Qin Nuo waved his hand, ready to leave, "You go on with your work, I'll be off."
"Wait!"
Xiao Yuexin called out to Qin Nuo, her expression a mix of pleading and fear.
"What's wrong?" Qin Nuo asked.
Xiao Yuexin stepped aside and pointed to a messy shelf in the corner, "I can't seem to organize this shelf. Every time I arrange it, it gets thrown off."
"Time is almost up, if the dorm manager granny sees I haven't tidied up, I won't survive!" Xiao Yuexin was so anxious her eyes were red.
She wasn't sure if Qin Nuo would help.
Although they were classmates, they hardly interacted in class.
Besides, who would willingly provoke a ghost?
"Can't put it up?"
Qin Nuo was puzzled, picking up a box of tape and placing it on the second shelf.
But the next second, the box was thrown off.
At the same time, the entire shelf began to twist, emitting a sinister laugh.
A pair of hands emerged from the shelf, grabbing the items and throwing them around chaotically.
Clearly, Xiao Yuexin was being targeted by a shelf ghost.
As a human, she was helpless, crying in fear while constantly picking up items and placing them back.
Yet after two hours, the place was still a mess, the shelf ghost was determined to mess with her.
Xiao Yuexin broke down in tears, finally begging Qin Nuo for help.
The eerie laughter echoed in the room, filled with smugness.
Qin Nuo was silent for a moment, then smiled, "This is easy to handle!"
With that, he took out the Bone-Crushing Hammer and a human bone nail, driving the nail half an inch into the shelf with a single strike!
White smoke sizzled out, and the ghost in the shelf let out a miserable cry, "Human, how dare you stab me?"
The shelf shook violently, as if it was about to turn into a bloody mouth and swallow Qin Nuo whole.
Qin Nuo said nothing, striking again, driving the nail another half inch.
"I'll tear you apart!!"
The response was another strike!
As a large amount of black smoke billowed out, the shelf oozed black blood and became indistinct.
Finally, it realized it was dealing with someone ruthless and begged for mercy, "Boss, let's talk this out, please stop, or I'll be obliterated!"
The voice trembled with fear.
The initial arrogance and ferocity vanished completely.
Qin Nuo smiled slightly, "See, isn't it better to talk like this? I'm actually quite easygoing."
Shelf Ghost: "..."
"How much time do you have left?" Qin Nuo turned to ask Xiao Yuexin.
"Five minutes." Xiao Yuexin kept an eye on the clock on the wall.
Qin Nuo said to the shelf ghost, "Five minutes, clean up this room. If there's even a hint of mess and my friend gets punished, you won't survive either!"
The shelf ghost didn't dare to resist.
It was just a supernatural entity formed by long-term exposure to ghost aura, not even a full-fledged ghost, only capable of bullying newcomers. When faced with someone tough, it immediately cowered.
"It'll be spotless, don't worry, boss!"
With that, the scattered items on the floor seemed to grow legs, climbing onto the shelves, each returning to its place.
Qin Nuo raised an eyebrow at Xiao Yuexin, "Ghosts are just like us, they bully the weak and fear the strong. If you're tougher than them, they'll back down."
Xiao Yuexin was too shocked to say a word, thinking to herself that you needed skills like his to pull it off!
"Problem solved, I'm off."
Bidding farewell to Xiao Yuexin, Qin Nuo returned to the first-floor lobby.
Ghost Granny was coming out of a room, dragging two mangled corpses, tossing them into a meat grinder.
Qin Nuo approached and politely greeted, "Granny, I'm back."
Ghost Granny ignored him, slowly grinding the meat.
"Granny, can I borrow the key to the second-floor restroom? I need to use the bathroom."
Qin Nuo got straight to the point.
Ghost Granny remained silent as if she hadn't heard.
After a moment of thought, Qin Nuo said, "I can make a deal with you."
With that, he took out a few pieces of ghost currency.
Ghost Granny suddenly looked up, her eye sockets pitch black, the eyeballs missing again, "You want to save the boy in the restroom?"
Qin Nuo nodded.
"Find my mischievous grandson, and I'll give you the key."
Qin Nuo's face lit up with joy.
Ghost Granny saying this meant Tang Ming was still alive!
"Alright, where is your grandson?"
"He's very naughty, always running around. He might be in the basement, on the rooftop, or in some corner."
"You'll have to find him yourself."
"Alright, Granny, wait here."
Meaning he would only be within this building, not too hard to find.
Qin Nuo turned to leave.
Ghost Granny suddenly called out to him, adding, "Also, help me find my eyeballs."
"..."