“Livestream? What livestream? This old man has no idea.”
“You’re not with that group who came earlier?” Hearing Dr Chen’s words, the old man gave him another careful look. He really did look poor and down-and-out, completely different from those young people from before.
“I’ve never seen them. I’ve been unemployed for a long time and don’t have any money on me. I heard there was a place here to shelter from the wind and rain, so I came.” Dr Chen’s bedraggled state didn’t look fake. Clothes could be disguised, but the weariness and hardship on his face couldn’t. His hair had clearly gone untended for a long time, and the dark circles under his sunken eyes were not what a normal young man should have.
“I see. Then let’s sit and talk.” The old man pointed at the worn bench in front of the apartment entrance, signaling for Dr Chen to sit. It looked like he believed him.
“Old sir, do you live here alone?”
“There are a few other retired old fellows too, the kind with no children. They live on the first floor.” Dr Chen glanced down the apartment hallway from the doorway. The floor was kept very clean, and there were even some flowerpots placed around. Someone was clearly taking care of the place.
“There are a lot of abandoned rooms here. Can I find one to stay in? If it costs money, I do have a little. Not much, though…”
“You can. Room 103 is empty, and there’s still a bed left behind by the previous tenant. You can stay there. But under no circumstances are you allowed to go up to the second floor. Got it?”
“Why?”
“No why! If you’re staying here, then you listen to what this old man says. Otherwise, leave now!”
The kindly old man from just moments ago suddenly turned stern. Dr Chen didn’t want to ask more. He had already guessed everything anyway. A fire had broken out on the third floor and burned all the residents upstairs to death, turning them into Malevolent Ghosts and vengeful spirits.
But for some unknown reason, those ghosts couldn’t come downstairs. That was why the old men and old women could live safely on the first floor. From the staircase between the second and third floors upward, however, it was the ghosts’ world.
“Got it, got it. I’m only staying a few days. Once I find a job, I’ll leave.”
“Remember what I said. Do not go up to the second floor.” Even as Dr Chen walked toward Room 103, the old man kept reminding him from behind.
“I know, old sir. What good would going up there do me? A place burned that badly might even be haunted.”
When he said the words haunted, Dr Chen deliberately turned his head and glanced at the old man. Sure enough, the man’s expression changed.
“What’s your name?”
“Dr Chen. You can call me Little Chen or just Doctor.”
Back then, his parents had given him that name because they hoped he’d study hard. That name had really brought him plenty of trouble. Forget a doctorate—he hadn’t even gotten into a normal university. Then, because the auto repair class was all boys, his classmates all liked to call him... ahem, ahem.
While they were talking, the old man and Dr Chen arrived at the room. After taking out the key and opening the door, a musty smell rushed straight at them.
Inside, the table, chairs, stools, and bed were all there. There was even bedding, but everything was covered in dust. Aside from the lack of appliances and other valuables, the room looked like the previous occupants had only taken whatever was worth money when they moved out.
“Looks like I’ll have to sneak up there.”
When he had passed the stairs earlier, Dr Chen noticed the stairway entrance had been blocked by clutter. But he didn’t need to use the stairs at all. Outside the building stood an old crooked-neck tree, just tall enough to reach the corridor window on the second floor.
“Little Chen, don’t mind these things. And one more thing—if you hear anything at night, don’t go outside.”
While Dr Chen was thinking in the room, the old man suddenly knocked and came in. He brought him a washed blanket and a few steamed buns.
“Thank you, old sir. Don’t worry. Even if you beat me to death, I won’t go up there.” Dr Chen was a little moved, but he couldn’t listen to him. He had come here to see ghosts. If the ghosts on the upper floors couldn’t come down to the first floor, then staying in this room was pointless.
If he couldn’t help falling asleep in the middle of the night, he might even attract an even stronger Malevolent Ghost.
“Let me sort out my tools.”
Dr Chen pulled the bone ash urn he always carried from his backpack, then took out a wrench, a hammer, and the rest one by one. Of course, these weren’t for fighting ghosts. As someone who had watched plenty of horror movies, Dr Chen knew all too well the common setups. For example, a door suddenly slamming shut and trapping you in a cramped room. Bathrooms and attics were the classic ones. Usually, no matter what you did, the door wouldn’t open. At that point, brute force was your only option.
“These buns... there isn’t sleeping medicine in them, right? Forget it. I already ate before coming, so I’m not hungry anyway.” Thinking of how the old man had repeatedly warned him not to go upstairs, Dr Chen wondered whether he might drug him as a precaution.
After sorting out his tools, he leaned against the bed and dozed for a while. The sky gradually dimmed, and once the sun fully set, the whole apartment sank into darkness.
There were no streetlights nearby. From here, he couldn’t see the moon or stars in the sky. Without any light shining down, the darkness above the third floor slowly spread as the sun sank lower, little by little wrapping the entire building inside it.
“We’re really doing the livestream here? That old man clearly told us not to.”
“What do you know? This place is famous as a haunted house. If we use it, the popularity of our stream will definitely jump again. Don’t you want to become a famous streamer?”
“Fine. You climb up first.”
“You two stay behind me, and hold your phones steady in a bit. Old Wang, you go up first. Make some noise when we start streaming.”
Just as Dr Chen was about to climb up along the old crooked-neck tree, a small group had already beaten him to it.
