Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

Lin Yu and Wang Junyue then wandered through the dimly lit and narrow passages of the walled city for a long time, trying to find more clues about "Liu Xiangxiang" or the mysterious "Longhu Mountain Master".

However, the result was disappointing.

The slightly younger residents of the walled city looked blank about the events from more than 20 years ago, either waving them away impatiently or casually saying, "I've heard the older generation mention ghosts, but I don't know anything about it."

As for the elderly people who seemed to have lived through that period, they either had vague memories and said incoherently, "Fire... a huge fire... so many people died," and when asked for details, they shook their heads and said, "I can't remember, it was too long ago."

Either they'll be like that homeless man and the old man Wang Junyue found before, only remembering fragmented pieces, or they'll simply say they've forgotten.

"It seems that too much time has passed, and the matter itself is rather eerie, so ordinary people are unwilling to talk about it in detail or really can't remember it clearly." Wang Junyue rubbed her temples, looking somewhat tired.

Lin Yu frowned as he looked at the three words "Liu Xiangxiang" and the heavy circles around them on the notebook: "We can only wait until the assembly to see if the others have made any progress."

Time passed quietly, and the light inside the fortress grew increasingly dim. At exactly six o'clock in the afternoon, the two returned to the agreed-upon corner of the first-floor entrance.

Liu Dashan was already waiting there, and Zhang Jun and Liu Yueyue came running back one after the other, panting.

"How's it going? Any discoveries?" Liu Dashan asked immediately upon seeing Lin Yu and Wang Junyue, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Lin Yu and Wang Junyue exchanged a glance and recounted how they discovered the door on the fifth floor, sealed by the [Ghost-Suppressing Lock] and [Ghost-Suppressing Rune], and their strange encounter (Lin Yu omitted the parts he could see, only emphasizing that the door gave off a very eerie feeling).

He also recounted in detail the information he obtained from the homeless and the landlord's office.

"...So, that mage is probably a fraud, or worse."

"Liu Xiangxiang is probably the key to this whole thing," Lin Yu concluded, showing the others the notes about Liu Xiangxiang in his notebook.

After hearing this, Liu Dashan's face turned so grave it could drip water: "Even silver-grade sealing artifacts only have a little durability left... whatever's pressing down there is definitely a very dangerous thing!"

He took a deep breath and shared his intelligence: "I managed to get some information out of an old man."

He said that the sorcerer from back then was not from Longhu Mountain at all! He had seen real Taoist priests perform rituals when he was young, and the procedures, ritual implements, and aura were completely different.

He said that guy was at best a charlatan with some weird skills, and didn't look like a good person.

Upon hearing his information, Lin Yu's eyes lit up, and he quickly wrote it down before looking at Zhang Jun and Liu Yueyue.

Zhang Jun and Liu Yueyue seemed somewhat embarrassed.

Zhang Jun scratched his head: "I...we asked a lot of people, and they were all...um...not very reliable rumors."

Some say there's an old woman on the third floor who keeps saying she sees a child ghost in red clothes jumping on the stairs, while others say there are ancient corpses buried under the walled city.

At night, I can hear the sound of someone scratching at a coffin lid... Oh, and several other people say there's a "child-eating ghost" in the walled city that specifically targets disobedient children...

Liu Yueyue, who was standing next to her, also raised her hand and added, "Some people say that you can hear women singing in the back alley at night, but you can't find anyone when you go to look for them... It feels like... these are all just scary stories."

Liu Dashan rolled his eyes speechlessly, barely managing to suppress a curse. These two newcomers were clearly going in the wrong direction when gathering intelligence; they were just looking for ghosts.

"What do we do now?" Wang Junyue looked at Lin Yu and Liu Dashan: "After tomorrow, that thing will be released."

According to the game rules, one person must be killed every two days... We can't just sit here and wait to be killed.

Liu Dashan frowned: "A direct confrontation definitely won't work. We need to find a way to deal with it, or... find a way to counter it left behind by that mage. Lin Yu, what are your thoughts?"

Lin Yu pondered for a moment, then his gaze fell on Liu Dashan: "Brother Liu, where did you find the old man who provided you with the information about the mage?"

"It's in those tin sheds behind the fortified village," Liu Dashan said.

"Since he could tell that the mage's ritual was wrong, it means he knows a thing or two about this, or at least he has a keen eye," Lin Yu analyzed. "This game can't just randomly create an NPC who understands this kind of situation, so even if he himself isn't capable, he probably knows who is."

We need to go find him again.

Liu Dashan smiled wryly: "I've tried. That old man is completely unresponsive. If I ask him anything more in-depth, like how to deal with ghosts, or whether he knows anyone knowledgeable in the field, he just chuckles, either pretends to be stupid or simply ignores me."

After listening to his words, Lin Yu stroked his chin, then looked at Wang Junyue: "Wang Junyue, how much of that kind of money did you show the landlord earlier still have?"

Wang Junyue paused for a moment, then immediately understood Lin Yu's meaning, and pulled out a small stack of brand-new banknotes from her pocket: "There's still 1300 yuan left."

This is the effect of my talent [Unexpected Fortune], which allows me to randomly receive a small amount of in-game currency every day after entering the game.

It refreshes every day at midnight. There should be a little more after midnight tonight.

"Okay, I understand." Lin Yu looked at the other three and asked, "When you were searching the fortress today, did you notice the prices here?"

Liu Yueyue quickly raised her hand and said, "I noticed! I saw a sign for a small restaurant: char siu rice for 1.2 yuan and wonton noodles for 0.5 yuan."

Lin Yu nodded: "Okay, compared to this, the 1300 yuan in Wang Junyue's hands is definitely a huge sum of money in this era, in this slum. It should be enough to pry open the mouths of many people, including that 'knowledgeable' old man."

Liu Dashan's eyes lit up: "That's right, how come I didn't think of that? That old man lives in the tin-roofed area, he can't even get into the city walled city, he's obviously dirt poor. Let's go."

With their objective clear, the five immediately set off for the tin-roofed slum behind the walled city.

Passing through a narrow passage filled with garbage and reeking of foul odors, the scene before you is even more shocking than the interior of the walled city.

This place is practically a giant junkyard and a mix of illegal buildings.

Various discarded sheet metal, wooden planks, and plastic sheets were pieced together to form shaky "homes".

The area was filled with sewage, swarming flies and mosquitoes, and a nauseating, sour smell permeated the air.

Their appearance, especially that of the two young women, Wang Junyue and Liu Yueyue, who were dressed relatively "well," immediately attracted the attention of the "residents" in the area.

Countless numb, curious, and even nakedly malicious and greedy gazes were cast upon us from every corner.