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

……

"It's possible that the entire building is inhabited by living people."

Chen Xi withdrew her hand, her fingertips stained with a bit of grayish-black ash: "Lin Jianguo didn't disappear, he was eaten."

"But why...why only eat people from 1703?"

Kang Xiaojia asked in confusion, "Our room also has walls, so how come nothing happened? Could it be a ghost that came in from outside?"

Yes, why?

The group couldn't help but feel a little scared.

Isn't the place where I sleep a safe house?

All four rooms have the same wooden and cement walls, so why were only Lin Jianguo and Wang Lei in room 1703 attacked?

Logically speaking, 1703 is the safest.

There's a water ghost in 1701.

There is a family photo in 1702.

The 1704 memorial tablet has spirits.

After all, Lin Jianguo was drawn to the fact that the place was "free of yin energy," which is why he rushed to move in.

Who would have thought that this very "safe room" would become his burial ground?

A flash of inspiration struck Chen Xi.

The first taboo: Don't let the indigenous people see that you are "different".

What does "different" mean? It means the identity of a living person.

Is it possible that in a room inhabited by a ghost, the ghost's yin energy would overwhelm the yang energy of the living, preventing the person from "smelling" it?

In an empty room without ghosts, the lonely yang energy of the living is like a torch in the dark night, naturally making it easy for Lou to spot.

So the wall will come and "eat" them.

In other words, the living must live with ghosts and use yin energy to cover up yang energy in order to avoid being discovered.

The moment the thought crossed my mind, the system text appeared:

[Taboo Four: Living people must not live with ghosts; they must not stay in unoccupied or empty rooms.]

The group fell silent; the corridor was eerily quiet.

After much deliberation, Lin Jianguo ultimately chose a dead end.

They all fell into a misconception, thinking that a room without ghosts was safe, unaware that a room with ghosts was the real sanctuary.

"Uncle Lin... he's gone just like that," Zheng Wenxuan said softly, feeling a pang of sadness.

My teammates who went on the mission with me were gone in less than half a day, leaving no trace of their bodies.

Oh, my condolences.

Jiang Chen's tone was flat, revealing no emotion: "This tells us that in a dungeon, you can't be careless for even a second."

Chen Xi didn't say anything, took out a packet of glutinous rice and lime, and sprinkled it around the doorways of several rooms.

"Captain Chen, what do we do now?" Jiang Chen asked rhetorically. "Night training is about to start, and with one person missing, can we still complete the mission?"

Just as Chen Xi was about to speak, another text prompt popped up.

[Daily Quest Triggered: Second Night Patrol]

[Task Requirements: Before 4:44 AM, offer incense in front of the doors of all 44 tenant households in the building.]

[Time Limit: 44 minutes]

[Mission failure penalty: Increased activity level within the building, increased aggression of the ferocious creature.]

The expressions on their faces all changed.

Forty-four minutes, forty-four households.

This also means that they have to climb all thirty-three floors in a very short time.

There wasn't enough time to travel together; we had to split up.

This is the system forcing them to do single-line tasks.

"There's no time to waste." Chen Xi made a decision immediately: "The mission must be completed; failure would only cause more trouble."

Jiang Chen, you take Kang Xiaojia and Zheng Wenxuan down to the sixteenth floor. There are twenty-seven households in total. You are in charge.

I went up to the 17th to 33rd floors, 17 households in total, that's my responsibility.

"No!"

Zheng Wenxuan immediately objected: "Captain, there's Granny Li upstairs, and long-time residents of the upper floors. It's too dangerous. You're all alone..."

Clearly, Wang Lei, that unlucky guy, was overlooked.

"I obtained the item, which gives me some countermeasures."

Chen Xi patted the revolver behind his waist: "There are other props too. If we can't win, we can run away. Your buildings are low-rise and densely populated, so burning incense takes more time."

She paused, then said in an unquestionable tone, "It's settled then. I'll come down to find you after I finish lighting the incense."

Zheng Wenxuan wanted to argue, but after opening his mouth, he ultimately didn't say anything.

He knew Chen Xi's temperament; once she made up her mind, no one could change it.

Moreover, what the other party said was true; the few of them following Chen Xi would only be a hindrance.

"rest assured."

Chen Xi turned around, picked up Wang Lei, who was crying and shouting "Don't leave me," from the ground, and left.

Perhaps because of the paper material, Wang Lei was very light and had almost no weight. When he carried it on his shoulder, it felt like he was carrying half a bag of cardboard.

"Captain Chen...am I going to turn into a paper doll completely...?"

"Captain Chen, please, please don't leave me behind..."

"Captain Chen, am I going to die here?"

"Captain Chen, you make me feel so safe, just like my mom..."

"Shut up."

—Even as she darted up the stairs, the group could still hear Wang Lei's sobbing description and Chen Xi's slightly irritable reply.

Jiang Chen watched the two figures disappear at the top of the stairs, then turned around and distributed incense and candles: "Let's go too, we need to hurry."

The three of them walked quickly downstairs, and none of them mentioned Lin Jianguo again.

In dungeons, sadness is the most luxurious thing.

Those who are alive must first survive before they can talk about anything else.

……

……

……

Fortunately, the second night patrol ended without incident.

On the road, Kang Xiaojia encountered a child ghost who wanted to play with her.

Wang Lei was startled by the barking of "A-Kun," the big dog that Sister Lan kept, as he passed by the 22nd floor.

As Zheng Wenxuan passed by a doorway, a hand reached out from under the door and grabbed his ankle.

Jiang Chen, on the other hand, was entangled by an unknown red envelope ghost.

After the two groups met, they briefly exchanged information.

……

"How is it?" Chen Xi asked.

"It's all inserted."

Zheng Wenxuan nodded: "There are many residents downstairs, but the building is low, so it went relatively smoothly. That little devil on the third floor almost grabbed Kang Xiaojia, but we scolded him away."

Kang Xiaojia scratched her face a little embarrassedly: "He pretended to be Captain Chen and called me. I almost answered him, but luckily he didn't know my name and I figured it out."

"It's good that you're alright."

Chen Xi thought for a moment and added, "From now on in this building, don't call each other by name, address each other by our profession, or if you don't have a profession, call each other by nicknames."

I am a "constable", Xiao Jia is a "doctor", Zheng Wenxuan is an "alchemist", Wang Lei is a "paper doll", and Jiang Chen—"

Jiang Chen immediately followed up, quickly adding, "I am a 'believer'."

Chen Xi glanced at him, and although she found the nickname inexplicable, she let it go.

[System notification: Daily night patrol mission completed.]

[Reward: 50 points, 3 gold ingots]

……

……

With the gold ingot in my account, I no longer have to worry about not being able to pay the rent and being kicked out by Uncle Biao.

The group breathed a small sigh of relief.

Out of the corner of Chen Xi's eye, she caught a glimpse of a bulging red envelope lying in the shadows at the corner of the stairwell.

It was made of bright red paper, about the size of a palm, with a crooked "囍" (double happiness) character stamped on the front. The gold edges had been worn away, and it looked quite old.

It was bulging inside, like it was stuffed full of money.

"Was there...this thing just now?"

Chen Xi glanced at Jiang Chen uncertainly, and the latter followed her gaze, his expression turning somewhat unpleasant.

"It followed me up... I found this thing on the tenth floor corner, but I didn't pick it up."

"A red envelope with the character 'double happiness' inside..." Chen Xi said in a somewhat solemn tone, "either it contains a ghost marriage invitation or a life-extending gift."

There's a folk saying that if you find a red envelope at a crossroads, it means you've found a dowry for a ghost marriage, and if you do, you'll have to form a ghost marriage with the dead.

Near some hospitals, people will put patients' hair and nails into red envelopes.

It is said that this is for borrowing lifespan; whoever picks it up will have their lifespan borrowed.

In short, no matter what it is, you must not touch anything that appears in this haunted building.

"There was no danger," Jiang Chen shook his head. "Just pretend you didn't see it."

Kang Xiaojia couldn't help but look back.

The red envelope was still lying there, quiet and still, as if someone had accidentally dropped it.

She always felt that the red envelope resembled a red embroidered shoe.

……

……

……

After a short rest, the group was finally able to relax.

Wang Lei refused to sleep in the "ghost room" no matter what, and even less wanted to be eaten in room 1703. In the end, he had no choice but to squeeze into the "memorial tablet room" with Zheng Wenxuan and Jiang Chen.

The already cramped space became even more difficult to sleep in with just one more person.

In the middle of the night, Jiang Chen couldn't stand Wang Lei's neurotic behavior any longer, so he hung him on the wall—Wang Lei's body was half paper, but he could actually sleep while hanging up.

In short, the exhausted group finally managed to fall asleep.

Chen Xi, feeling a bit of a headache and not knowing how long she had slept, rubbed her temples. Then she heard a knock at the door.

"Thump, thump, thump."

Three knocks, very light and polite, unlike Uncle Biao's style, nor like a ghost knocking on the door.

A sliver of "sunlight" shone through the window, bright but offering no warmth whatsoever.

Kang Xiaojia was awakened by the knocking on the door, and groggily sat up to rub her eyes.

"Don't make a sound."

Chen Xi walked to the door, but instead of opening it immediately, she pressed her ear against the crack to listen to what was happening outside.

"Hey, I know there are people inside."

A girl's voice came from outside the door, with a slight Cantonese accent, the last syllable rising in her voice, and a nonchalant tone: "Open the door! I mean no harm. I'm Grandma Li's granddaughter from the 22nd floor!"

Chen Xi frowned and reached out to pull the door latch.

The door opened a crack, and a girl of about seventeen or eighteen stood in the doorway.

I didn't look closely when I was on night patrol before, but now I realize that this girl has dyed her hair, with some pink highlights at the ends, and her school uniform has been altered, being narrow and shorter than her calves.

"yeah?"

Li Yafei leaned against the door frame, tilting her head to examine Chen Xi with curiosity in her eyes:

"My name is Li Yafei, my mother-in-law calls me Ximei. I know you are not ghosts, so I came here specifically to find you."

The voice just fell.

With a "whoosh" sound.

Chen Xi drew his gun, cocked it, and pressed the muzzle against the girl's forehead in one fluid motion, so fast that only a blur remained.

The cold muzzle of the gun pressed against her forehead, and the girl froze instantly.

She raised her hands, her eyes wide open:

"Hey! Madam! No need for such a big reaction! I didn't mean any harm! I'm a living person too!"