28 The Apartment Survival Manual

 

Picking up the book, Han Fei tried to place it inside his inventory but he failed. The system did not provide any explanation either. ‘I feel like there has to be a reason why the youngest son, Meng Changan has left these books behind.

Perhaps I can try to understand this person more by going through these books.’ Han Fei scanned through the books in the freezer but they were all too seriously damaged to be read. Using his photographic memory trained from script reading, he memorized all the book titles and would research them after he logged off the game.

As Meng Si exposed the secret in her heart, her suppressed guilt and anxiety poured out as well. It looked like the weight of the world fell on this frail old lady.

“Granny, you have to get back up. Chen Chen still needs you. No matter what, he is an innocent party in all of these. He shouldn’t have to shoulder any of the pain caused by the adults.” As naughty as Chen Chen was, the boy was never really looked after even back when he was still alive. He was killed alongside her grandmother. Honestly, he was the most innocent victim of this whole tragic story.

After helping the old lady off the ground, Han Fei carried Chen Chen into the bedroom and placed him on the bed. “Granny, I will come visit you more often. If you have any trouble, you can come find me, we can discuss it together.” Han Fei’s plan was to turn Meng Si’s house into his own safehouse. He’d come to stay here for a whole 3 hours after logging in and while he was here, he’d try to snag random quests from Meng Si or Chen Chen, this arrangement was perfect.

But Meng Si clearly did not envision that to be Han Fei’s plan because she gasped in surprise, “You’re still willing to help me even after knowing my darkest secret?” To be fair, Meng Si had already paid with her life for her mistake, and Han Fei was not there to judge her. Now he just wanted to survive in this hellish game.

“Take care of Chen Chen and do not let him run away again. For him, you’ll have to stay strong.” After saying that, Han Fei searched for paper and pen and moved to the next topic. The reason he worked so hard to gain the old lady’s friendship was because he needed Meng Si’s trust. This was the crux of his intention. Han Fei did not know much about this world and he needed someone to provide him with the necessary information. Meng Si had stayed here for a long time already, she was the perfect candidate.

“Granny, as you said, the building manager has not shown up for quite some time already, I’m afraid something has happened to him. I need to go up to the 10th floor to check on him.”

“It’s too dangerous up there. I’d rather you stay here.” Meng Si persuaded Han Fei against it.

“But if we stop ourselves due to fear, the danger will one day extend to reach us either way. I’d rather be the active party than the passive one.” Han Fei picked up the pen. “Granny, you’ve stayed here for a long time. Can you tell me about the taboos we have in this apartment building?”

Seeing the determination in Han Fei’s eyes, Meng Si ceased her persuasion. She thought about it and said, “Room 1044 that you stay at is in itself a taboo, so is Room 1034 on this floor. Normally the neighbours will stay away from these two rooms and they will hurry past them.”

“Are there places in the building which are more dangerous than these two rooms?”

“Yes, there are.” The old lady nodded. “Something is not right with the entire 9th floor. Other than the floor manager, every tenant that ventured up there had disappeared. There is a problem at the landing between 7th and 8th floor as well. According to rumors, if you go there after midnight, you’ll end up arriving at a completely different location and see some special things.”

“Have you been there before?”

“Of course not, I wouldn’t be here if I have. These are merely rumors.” The old lady was a cautious one. “Other than that, something strange has happened in Room 1084 on the 8th floor. A tenant has once run into a young woman there. When the building manager was still around, he’d warned me from going to the 8th floor alone. The 7th floor, to my knowledge, is unoccupied. The original tenants of the 6th floor have moved away and some non-locals have moved in. I rarely interact with them and I’ll stay away whenever I hear them.”

“Wait, them? There are several of them staying on the 6th floor? And they came from outside the neighbourhood?” Han Fei was reminded of the man who came to ‘welcome’ him that day. The man first appeared on the 6th floor.

“Yes. Other than these, there are other smaller taboos. For example, when you go through the corridor at night and someone calls your name, do not turn back no matter what. Do not answer any knocking at night because the tenants here normally won’t come visit at night. There is one last thing. If the voice-activated lights start to flicker when you’re in the corridor, you have to be careful because it means that something is coming…” The old lady gave Han Fei many things to be alert about and Han Fei jotted them all down.

“Granny, for as long as you stay here, is there any neighbour that you got along with? The kind you’d befriend?” Han Fei wanted to get to know more neighbours. He knew how limited a person’s strength was.

After giving it a long thought, the granny shook her head. “There is none that I’d befriend but if you really have to pick one, I personally think the tenant at Room 1052 on the 5th floor is not so bad.”

“The tenant at Room 1052?”

“Yes, her name is Xu Qin, she’s crazy.” As if worried that Han Fei might get the wrong idea, Meng Si added in a way of explanation, “She might not make sense at times but she has not actively harmed anyone before. One time, Chen Chen accidentally ran up the stairs and it was she who brought him home.”

“Okay, I will try to get in touch with her.” Han Fei was not scared back by the knowledge that the girl might be crazy. After all, compared to his murderous roommate, a crazy woman, who would not harm others, was like an angel.

“She has a pitiable background too. If you can, do try to help her.”

“Hmm, okay.” Of the entire building, there were only two tenants whom he could possibly befriend. Han Fei felt quite disappointed but he did not show it. After 3 hours of exchanging notes, Han Fei drew up a map. He marked out all the known taboo places on the map.

‘My final goal is to enter the building manager’s Room 1101 and find out why he has dragged me into this game. If possible, I’d take over anything he had left behind as well. But before that, I should try to reach out to the tenant of Room 1052 and try to get more people on my side.’ Patience is a virtue, Han Fei understood that well. This was not a game where one could rush, after all, one’s life was at stake here.

When it was about 4 am, Han Fei departed from the old lady’s home. He sneaked into the stairwell and made sure to keep his presence unknown.

“There are some additional blood red stains on the walls and children’s handprints on the banisters and steps. Looks like Weep did go berserk yesterday night. The child probably got into quite a bit of trouble because of me.”

When Han Fei returned to Room 1044, the place looked like it had been hit by a tornado. “Was Weep here yesterday night? Aiz, why can’t everyone just co-exist in peace? We’re neighbours after all…”