"Isn't this our rookie?" Cobra adjusted his glasses, smiling slightly. "What are you doing out of your room instead of staying put?"

John replied, "A neighbor lost something and asked me to retrieve it for him."

At the mention of the word 'neighbor,' both Bai and Cobra's expressions shifted subtly.

Had this newcomer already managed to establish a rapport with the residents so quickly?

In fact, when the instance was first announced, as experienced participants, they were already aware of the process of this particular instance.

There were essentially two main objectives:

One: Build good relationships with the residents of Blood Garment Apartments to gain fondness.

Two: Identify the serial killer within the apartment complex.

These were the only two ways to score high in the instance.

So, since checking in yesterday, not only John but also the other six experienced participants had been considering how to get on good terms with their neighbors.

And inevitably, they had all faced a fair share of cold shoulders!

A few residents had even managed to dissuade them from pursuing any further interaction with just a single eerie glance!

"Are your neighbors easy to get along with?" Bai asked, his complexion darkening.

His room was on the third floor, and last night he had deliberately used the excuse of a broken shower to knock on the next door.

The resident was a middle-aged man, but from the moment Bai entered, he was met with lecherous and greedy eyes.

Bai felt his skin crawl under that gaze.

When he mentioned wanting to use the bathroom, the resident's eyes lit up with feverish excitement, even offering a bar of soap with unsettling eagerness!

Bai was so frightened that he turned and ran, locking himself back in his room and adding two extra locks for good measure!

Damn it!

Even ghosts can be gay!

The thought of the resident's look from last night made Bai's expression as sour as if he had eaten something foul.

"They're pretty easy to get along with, very warm neighbors," John said, going against his better judgment.

John's words left the two of them skeptical.

"Where's the item you retrieved for the resident?" Cobra asked directly.

"The apartment owner, that old man at the entrance."

This statement caused Cobra and Bai's expressions to become somewhat nuanced.

"It seems we're all here for the same reason."

"I've got a D-level task to retrieve the eyeball of resident 202 from the apartment owner," Cobra said.

"Mine's also D-level, to get back an arm for resident 506," Bai added.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"That old man likes to collect parts of people's bodies."

"It's probably not going to be easy to get them back," Bai remarked.

"You're wrong. The reason the residents handed over parts of their bodies is that they couldn't afford the rent and had to use these as collateral."

"In other words, we just need to exchange them with ghost Coins!" Cobra analyzed.

Improving the instance rating and the benefits that come with it are worth much more than a single rent payment, so they were more than willing to solve the problem with money.

They arrived at the lobby on the first floor.

This time, the apartment owner's chessboard was set up on the table, and he was engrossed in a game against himself, puffing on an old smoking pipe.

The apartment owner didn't look up but knew that John and the others had arrived. He moved a chess piece and asked, "What do you want?"

"Sir, we'd like to retrieve some items that a few tenants have left here as collateral," Cobra stated their purpose.

"And who are you to them?"

Cobra was momentarily at a loss for words.

John chimed in, "It doesn't matter, just three good Samaritans eager to help."

The other two gave John a strange look.

Even a ghost wouldn't buy that story!

"Okay." Surprisingly, the old man nodded in agreement.

Cobra and Bai were overjoyed and quickly asked, "How many ghost Coins do we need to redeem them?"

The old man straightened up, his ghastly face lifting as he took a puff of his pipe before saying, "I don't need that stuff. Play a game of chess with me. Win, and you can take them back."

Play chess!

Cobra and Bai stared at the spoils in the cardboard box, their faces twitching with a bad premonition.

"What if we lose?"

"You'll give me something from your body."

The old man seemed to really enjoy playing chess. He scrambled the endgame on the chessboard, set it up anew, his mouth splitting into a grin that revealed yellow teeth. Paired with his terrifying and eerie face, it was incredibly unsettling.

"Come on, lads. If you win, not only will you get to take back an item, but how about I cut your rent in half as well?"

The more enthusiastic the old man appeared, the more uneasy Cobra and the others felt.

"Old man, are you good at chess?" Cobra asked tentatively.

"Well, I've won championships before, represented the country in global competitions, and won awards there too. If I had to rank myself, I'd say I'm barely a 9-dan."

The old man was brimming with pride as he recounted his past, stroking his goatee and laughing heartily.

"We'll be leaving now." Cobra immediately backed out and turned to leave.

Bai also gave an awkward smile: "Apartment owner, you just keep playing by yourself!"

Suddenly, the old man's eyes widened, clearly annoyed.

Cobra's face changed, and he quickly explained: "Sir, we're not really chess players. Playing against us wouldn't be any challenge for you!"

The apartment owner's expression softened slightly, and he sighed, "Young people these days lack the spirit of challenge. Next time you disturb my chess game, leave something behind before you go."

The old man seemed very displeased, his enjoyable endgame disrupted.

The two nodded hurriedly.

The apartment owner of Blood Garment Apartments was undoubtedly the most terrifying ghost; otherwise, the residents wouldn't be so afraid of it...

Ghost Coins were still manageable.

But to exchange body organs for fondness points would be too much of a loss. Even if they knew how to play chess, it was too risky to play that game!

"Sir, let's play a game," John suddenly agreed.

The murky eyes of the apartment owner gleamed with a sharp light, and he smiled, "You're a fine young man. Let's do it!"

Cobra and Bai, who were about to leave, were stunned.

What was this newcomer thinking?

Or did he have enough confidence in his own chess skills?

Then, they witnessed John's move.

He sat down in front of the old man, pulled out his phone from his pocket, opened a chess app, and set the difficulty to hell level.

John said with a smile, "Old man, you don't mind if I play on my phone while we play chess, do you?"

"Young people should focus on one thing at a time."

"No worries, I can win at chess without even trying hard."

"..."

The apartment owner's mouth twitched, feeling insulted, but he said nothing.

This move left Cobra and the others watching in astonishment.

Damn!

Cheating right in front of him, was this newcomer always this bold?

The game began quickly.

The apartment owner played aggressively and fiercely, while John remained calm, mirroring his moves on the phone and countering with the moves suggested by the hell-level AI.

After just seven or eight moves, the apartment owner's expression turned sour, his brows furrowed as if facing a formidable enemy.

He pondered for a long time before making a move.

John, however, responded within a second.

As the game progressed, the apartment owner's face grew increasingly ugly.

It even began to twist into something ferocious...

Cobra and Bai's eyes shone.

This seemingly suicidal tactic was actually working; perhaps they could learn a thing or two from this approach.

However, just as they began to entertain the idea, the apartment owner suddenly looked up, staring straight at John.

His voice, as if coming from the depths of hell and filled with intense malice, boomed, "Boy, what are you looking at on your phone?"