I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

Thick ropes were strung along both sides of the narrow corridor, and the ropes were covered with pieces of "clothes".

From a distance, the clothes looked colorful, including cheongsams, shirts, and trousers. The only thing they had in common was that the styles were all old-fashioned, like they were from decades ago.

When the wind blows, the clothes sway back and forth, looking like a row of people standing there.

But when they got closer, they realized that what was hanging there wasn't cloth.

It's leather.

Each piece has a clear texture.

The pores, hair, and subcutaneous blood vessels are all clearly visible and lifelike.

Some of them had dragons, tigers, and leopards tattooed on their chests—old-fashioned tattoos, the color still slightly bluish from fading.

Some have a faint ring around their wrists, as if they've been wearing watches for years.

Some had long scars on their backs, like they'd been cut with a knife.

The human skin was stretched out, dried, and finally cut into the shape of clothes, then hung on a rope as if it were being dried.

A gust of wind caused the human skin clothing to sway gently, its edges curling up to reveal the blood-streaked inner layer.

The stench of blood mixed with the aroma of preservative spices hit me right in the head.

Zheng Wenxuan finally couldn't hold back any longer, and with a "whoosh," she turned around and rushed to the corner, vomiting violently.

……

……

……

"These are all Fang Jie's new stuff. You newbies, don't touch them."

Uncle Biao spoke casually, as if he were talking about ordinary fabric: "Sister Fang used to be a tailor, and her skills were excellent. Many celebrities asked her to make clothes for them."

"Don't touch them carelessly. If you damage them, Sister Fang will be unhappy. If you anger her, she'll skin you alive and hang you here to be roasted meat. Even then, I won't be able to save you."

Uncle Biao spoke casually, but the expressions on the faces of the others were not pleasant.

Wang Lei was trembling all over, as if he was about to faint. Kang Xiaojia's face was pale, and she was almost in tears.

Uncle Biao glanced at the group and sneered, "Youngsters, you haven't seen enough of the world. You'll get used to it after you've been dead for a while."

They were clearly being treated as one of their own.

Chen Xi remained silent, looking warily at the subdivided flats at the end of the corridor.

The door was half-open, and warm yellow light shone from inside, through which a young figure in a red cheongsam could be vaguely seen.

She was holding something that looked like a rolling pin and massaging the person lying on the bed.

In the very center of the room hung a red cheongsam.

The cheongsam was embroidered with golden phoenixes. The stitches were fine and the leather had a soft sheen. Under the green light, it even had a touch of vibrancy.

If you ignore the material, Fang Jie's craftsmanship is truly remarkable.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 10 ...

Hearing the noise at the door, the figure slowly turned around.

It has no face.

His entire face was smooth, without eyes, nose, or mouth, except for two shallow depressions around his eye sockets.

She tilted her head slightly towards the doorway, as if she were smiling.

Zheng Wenxuan vomited even more violently and could not straighten up while leaning against the wall.

Kang Xiaojia quickly patted his back.

"Sister Fang, are you busy?"

Uncle Biao waved his hand and called out in Cantonese, "New security guards, show them the way."

The faceless woman nodded slightly, turned around, and continued to busy herself with the person on the bed.

"Let's go, let's keep going." Uncle Biao urged, and took the lead towards the stairwell.

The group felt as if they had been granted a pardon and quickly followed.

When passing by that row of human skin clothes, no one dared to look to the side; they all lowered their heads and walked past quickly.

A strange gust of wind blew from who-knows-where, and the human skin clothing gently brushed against a person's shoulder, feeling soft and squishy.

Chen Xi got goosebumps all over her body.

……

……

By the time Lin Jianguo reached the thirteenth floor, he was already panting heavily.

Although he exercises regularly, without an elevator, he has to climb up floor by floor, holding his breath and not daring to breathe too loudly, so his stamina has long been exhausted.

Wang Lei and Zheng Wenxuan were also pale and unsteady on their feet.

"Strange, why are you still so weak even after becoming a ghost, young man?"

Uncle Biao glanced back at them and said, "You're in such poor health, you're out of breath after climbing just a few flights of stairs."

"They haven't been dead for more than a few days, they're not used to it yet."

Chen Xi covered for him, saying, "Uncle Biao, why don't we let the three of them go back to rest first? I'll continue patrolling with the other two and memorize the route."

She could tell that if they climbed any higher, these three were bound to get into trouble.

—If the higher the floor, the more strange things there will be. Bringing three people who are not in good condition will only cause trouble.

"Alright, alright."

Uncle Biao waved his hand impatiently, took four keys off the keychain, and tossed them to Lin Jianguo:

"Seventeenth floor, rooms 1702 to 1705. Find your own room and don't wander around. You can't leave your room after 2:30."

"Thank you, Uncle Biao." Lin Jianguo glanced gratefully at Chen Xi and quickly took the keys. "Thank you so much."

He, Zheng Wenxuan, and Wang Lei slowly made their way up to the seventeenth floor, holding onto the wall.

Chen Xi, Jiang Chen, and Kang Xiaojia continued to follow Uncle Biao uphill.

……

……

……

The higher you go, the colder the hallway gets.

Uncle Biao walked along slowly, reciting the rules as if he were an old man having a casual chat, but every word he said sent chills down one's spine.

"To be a security guard, you must be blind in your eyes but not in your heart."

"When patrolling at night, if you see light shining in through the window, you can't look out. If you see something you shouldn't, you'll die."

[Taboo 3: When patrolling at night, if you see a light outside the window, do not look out.]

"If a tenant blocks the road, light an incense stick and hand it to them. Usually, the tenant will accept the incense and move aside."

"What if you encounter a very fierce tenant?" Chen Xi pressed.

Uncle Biao paused, turned his head, and the green light shone on his paper-like face, giving him a half-smile.

"How cruel?" He said meaningfully, "Then you fight. If you can't beat, then run. If you can't escape..."

He didn't say what would happen, he just chuckled twice.

Chen Xi frowned deeply.

When they reached the corner on the sixteenth floor, Uncle Biao suddenly stopped, frowned, and looked disgusted.

"What the hell is going on? Granny Li is getting more and more outrageous. She threw the trash in the stairwell, it stinks!"

The group followed his gaze.

On the open ground at the corner of the stairs, two corpses lay one above the other.

A tall, thin man with blond hair had his neck twisted at an odd angle, clearly having broken it. His eyes were wide open, and his face was filled with terror.

The other person was chubby and covered in blood, his clothes soaked through, and his face covered in large patches of blood scabs.

Blood was everywhere, dripping down the stairs.

Uncle Biao's gaze was no different from looking at two bags of rotten vegetables. He kicked the fatter corpse, his tone even harsher:

"Grandma Li beat the villain to death, and every time she threw him into the stairwell, she wouldn't listen to anything she said."

He turned around and waved to Chen Xi and the other two:

"You three, come with me and move over there. We'll leave it with Sister Fang. She's short on fabric lately, so these two piles, though a bit cheap, will do."

[Side Quest Triggered:]

[After cleaning up the trash in the stairwell, the two bodies were taken to Sister Fang's tailor shop on the seventh floor.]

[Completion Reward: 50 points, 3 raw glutinous rice lime buns, 3 gold ingots]

The moment the mission popped up, Chen Xi and the other two knew what was going on:

There will likely be many more tasks like this in the future.

"What are you still doing? Hurry up and move."

Uncle Biao urged him on, then leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette.

"I'll carry this one, you guys carry that one."

Jiang Chen glanced at Chen Xi, stepped forward, and hoisted the thinner corpse onto his shoulder.

The corpse was heavy—carrying a 100-pound corpse is completely different from carrying a 100-pound living person.

The body does not release force; all the weight presses down, hence the saying "deadly heavy."

Chen Xi supported the fat corpse's arm and lifted it together with Kang Xiaojia.

The three men carried the body up to the seventh floor.

The corridor was narrow, and when the corpse rubbed against the wall, it made a "rustling" sound, like paper rubbing against the wall.

Chen Xi glanced up at the wall unintentionally.

Two black, human-shaped marks were imprinted on the wall, exactly the same as the shapes of the two corpses on the ground.

As if she were seeing things, the shadow in the wall flickered twice, as if struggling and begging for mercy, and she could faintly hear screams and pleas for mercy.

Don't listen to what you shouldn't listen to, and don't look at what you shouldn't look at.

Chen Xi forcibly turned his head, adjusted his breathing, and moved the body.

If she looked more closely, she would notice that the wall was undulating slightly, very slowly and gently, like it was breathing.

With each breath, the human-shaped imprint on the wall deepened a little.

This building... is alive.

……

……

When the body was delivered to Sister Fang's door on the seventh floor, the Faceless Woman had already closed the door.

Uncle Biao then called out, "Sister Fang, put Grandma Li's trash here."

There was no sound from inside the door. Chen Xi and the others felt their hair stand on end as they looked at the human skin clothes. They dropped the corpses and left quickly.

[System notification: Side quest completed.]

The reward has been issued; please check your account.

Several items suddenly appeared at the feet of the three of them. They were so dark that they didn't have time to examine them, and they quickly stuffed them into their pockets.

Further up, there are fewer people living there; on the 22nd floor, there are two households.

One household was occupied by "Grandma Li," as Uncle Biao had described her. She wore a round bun and a blue cloth shirt. After the door was knocked on, she started arguing with Uncle Biao.

"The previous security guard was so irresponsible! He let outsiders in, and it scared the hell out of me!"

"Thank goodness my grandson is alright, otherwise I'd nail your effigy to pieces!"

After scolding the administrator, Uncle Biao, Granny Li looked at Chen Xi and her eyes lit up:

"What a pretty girl! A newlywed? Looks like she'll do well in school. Come visit my little sister often, and I'll make you some sweet soup."

Behind the open door, a handsome student sat at the dining table. Chen Xi glanced at him but didn't respond.

In another apartment on the 22nd floor lived a single woman.

The woman wore an old-fashioned white dress, and her face was covered with a white cloth, obscuring her features, but her demeanor exuded an indescribable elegance.

"New here? We'll be neighbors from now on, please take care of me."

After she finished speaking, a loud crash suddenly came from the room behind her, like something locked in a cage banging against something.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The impact was accompanied by sobs and wails.

"My dog, Ah Kun, is so naughty and disobedient."

Chen Shulan laughed, revealing two canine teeth peeking out from under the white cloth: "You can just call me Sister Lan."