Xia Ta’s WeChat name was Rabbit King. After he accepted her friend request, she sent Gao Tian a photo. Judging by the background and the texture of the wall, it must have been taken somewhere inside the Living Persons Apartment.

Six neat lines of text were written on the wall with an unknown, fluorescent green liquid.

[Rabbit King]:

Take a look. This is tomorrow’s mission.

Besides Boss Jin, me, and Jiang Yang, two other apartment residents will be joining the second green-text mission.

[Rabbit King]:

Also, you’ll be given a specially modified walkie-talkie for the operation.

When supernatural events occur, electronic communications get severely jammed, so most of the time, phones and radios are useless.

But this Supernatural Walkie-Talkie is extremely durable and can function under most circumstances. Every resident who goes on a mission gets one.

...

...

Gao Tian enlarged the photo and closely examined the text written in the green liquid. Judging by the photo’s timestamp, it was taken today; the writing had appeared on the first floor three hours prior.

[Second Mission]

Mission Objective:

On January 3rd, spend the day at Sapphire Mall and find six scattered pieces of a corpse, then assemble them into a complete human form.

Please complete the assembly by 6:00 PM (before Sapphire Mall closes).

After 6:00 PM, the corpse will reanimate.

Game Participants: Jin Daxiang, Su Jiu, Li Jin.

...

’The mission location not only matched Xu Yuan’s request, but the content of the mission was also consistent—both involved a corpse.’

’To say this was just a coincidence would be an insult to ghosts.’

’If, hypothetically, the corpse pieces for the second green-text mission belong to the body Xu Yuan left behind in Sapphire Mall, does that mean Xu Yuan was dismembered?’

’If I help Xia Ta and the others find the six pieces and then seal them with the Ghost Transformation Spear, Xu Yuan’s task will also be complete.’

’Are the two missions actually just one?’

’Of course, it’s too early to jump to conclusions. I’ll have to wait until I get to Sapphire Mall tomorrow to make a proper judgment.’

Gao Tian suddenly remembered something. He decided to confirm the details about the Ghost Transformation Spear with Xia Ta. He simply couldn’t accept that a supernatural item, supposedly capable of subverting an entire era, was just... this.

[Gao Tian]:

Oh, right.

I have one more question for you.

[Rabbit King]:

Go ahead.

I don’t know that much myself. It’s just that everyone more capable than me is dead, so I somehow ended up as the apartment’s administrator and mentor to the newcomers.

I can’t guarantee I’ll know the answer, but I’ll do my best.

[Gao Tian]:

If there were a supernatural item, something like a sword or a harpoon...

And its only effect was to turn anyone it killed into a ghost.

How would you rate that item?

[Rabbit King]:

That sounds like a very dangerous supernatural item.

Just like that photo you brought in today, the one that can alter people’s memories.

Until we understand exactly how it works, it needs to be contained within the Living Persons Apartment. The moment such items are taken out, they’ll start causing trouble.

[Gao Tian]:

Would you consider using it as your main weapon?

...

On WeChat, the rabbit avatar went silent for a long time, as if Xia Ta were carefully choosing her words.

After a good while, she finally typed out a line with some difficulty.

[Rabbit King]:

I don’t understand what you’re saying.

You mean, you want to know if I would take a weapon that turns people into ghosts when it kills them, and carry it on a mission as my primary weapon against ghosts.

Is that right?

[Gao Tian]:

...That’s what I mean.

[Rabbit King]:

Does this supernatural item you’re describing have any other special effects?

For instance, if it can turn a living person into a ghost, maybe it can turn a ghost back into a person?

[Gao Tian]:

It doesn’t have an effect like that.

Its only effect is turning the person it kills into a ghost.

...

This time, Xia Ta on the other end of the phone was silent for even longer.

[Rabbit King]:

Gao Tian.

Is the pressure of your first green-text mission getting to you?

A thing like that... tell me yourself, would you take it out of the Living Persons Apartment?

[Gao Tian]:

I wouldn’t.

Is there any chance it could be used in tandem with another supernatural item to produce a synergistic effect, something where one plus one equals more than two?

[Rabbit King]:

Good night. Get some sleep.

Wake up early tomorrow.

...

’Without a doubt, Xia Ta’s opinion was the same as any sane person’s.’

’This spear is garbage. It only has negative effects, no positive ones. What kind of sane person would carry it on a mission?’

’Anyone who thought it held some secret that could change the era must have had their brain fried.’

...

「The next day, outside Sapphire Mall.」

Looking at the semi-enclosed shopping complex before them, Xia Ta, Gao Tian, and the others recalled the homework they’d done before coming. The project had been approved fifteen years ago and construction was completed twelve years ago. It had eight floors above ground and two basement levels. Since its grand opening, there had never been any reports of deaths inside or any associated urban legends.

How either Xu Yuan or the green-text mission managed to hide an entire corpse in such a bustling mall remained an unsolved mystery.

Participating in the mission this time, besides Boss Jin, Xia Ta, Jiang Yang, and Gao Tian, were two newcomers also on their second green-text mission: Su Jiu, a female university student, and Li Jin, a regular office worker in his twenties. They also had two hounds with them to search for the stench of a corpse.

After reading the mission description and arriving at Sapphire Mall, even though it was broad daylight, Su Jiu’s lips were already pale with fear, and her legs trembled as she walked. Li Jin, at least, managed to maintain a calm exterior, sticking close behind Xia Ta and the other veterans.

At the main entrance of Sapphire Mall, a massive neon billboard was particularly eye-catching. Gao Tian saw the giant face of some female celebrity looking down on the countless passersby, who scurried in and out like ants. Her image was in a loop, repeatedly applying a popular brand of pink lipstick. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Gao Tian recognized the celebrity. She was extremely popular lately, appearing frequently in all sorts of high-end luxury ads. He just couldn’t recall her name right then.

"It’s 9:11 AM. That gives us about nine hours until the mall closes."

"Confirm that your Supernatural Walkie-Talkies are working. Then, we’ll proceed with the plan we decided on yesterday."

Having experienced many green-text missions, Xia Ta spoke with a casual and collected air.

The mission participants had held a long meeting the previous night, guessing at all the possible places the six corpse pieces could be hidden in the mall.

The garbage dump, inside concrete pillars, construction ruins, unopened storefronts...

Every one of these places seemed like a possibility. But if the body were hidden in any of them, the two specially trained hounds would be able to sniff it out immediately, even in a bustling mall and through concrete walls.

Knowing the typical bullshit of the green-text missions, the correct answer was rarely a place the participants could guess so easily.

To save time, the participants would split into two teams. Xia Ta and Boss Jin would form one team, while Jiang Yang would take the two newcomers and sweep through all suspicious spots from the first to the fifth floors, as well as the basement levels, as quickly as possible. After confirming that those areas were clear of any corpse pieces, they would proceed to the next step of the plan.

During this time, Gao Tian, as an observer, was free to do as he pleased. His only job was to watch how the veteran residents operated; he wasn’t required to participate in the mission himself.

However, Gao Tian had his own agenda. He needed to find Xu Yuan’s body, too.

After Xia Ta and the others dispersed from the center of the first floor, leaving Gao Tian by himself, he could finally use his ghost abilities.

So far, no one else in the Living Persons Apartment knew that Gao Tian had mastered the rules of two ghosts (the Smashed-Face Ghost and the Memory Ghost). It wasn’t that Gao Tian was being selfish; the residents of the apartment actually had a great deal of freedom. Yu Sheng, for example, was full of secrets he never spoke of, and no one ever forced him to.

’My main concern is Yu Sheng,’ Gao Tian thought. ’I can’t let that Monk in gray robes know I’ve mastered a ghost’s power. When the time is right, I’ll pry Yu Sheng’s lips open by force.’

He wandered casually through the bustling crowd, glancing into a few storefronts. As he passed an old security guard with graying hair and a black glove on one hand, Gao Tian finally made his move. He clapped the man on the shoulder and greeted him like an old, familiar friend.

"Well, look at you! Long time no see, old classmate. What a coincidence running into you here. It must be fate."

"It’s been over twenty years, hasn’t it? That’s right, it’s me, Little Gao! Gao Tian! We went to middle school together. Surely you remember this face?"

Feeling a pat on his shoulder, the old security guard slowly turned his head. He stared at Gao Tian with a look of utter confusion mixed with impatience.

"Who are you, son? I think you’ve got the wrong person."

It was no wonder the guard was so impatient. There was an age gap of over forty years between them, and Gao Tian had just walked up and called him "old classmate." It was a testament to the guard’s self-restraint that he hadn’t already tried to shoo him away.

Gao Tian pretended not to notice the guard’s expression and continued without batting an eye.

"It’s me! Little Gao!"

"Don’t you remember? That day at school, you were walking by and got surrounded by Brother Dao and his dozen or so guys. They almost dragged you into an alley to beat the crap out of you. I was the one who came by and got Brother Dao to do me a solid and let you go. How could you forget something like that?"

"You wear that black glove because your arm got slashed a dozen times when you blocked a knife for him. The scars never faded."

The power of the Memory Ghost activated.

Combined with Gao Tian’s earnest tone and gestures, a look of confusion slowly crept onto the guard’s weathered face.

"Now that you mention it... I think that does ring a bell..."

"Yes, yes! I’m starting to remember now."

"So it was you, Old Gao! After all this time, you haven’t changed a bit."

"Sigh, don’t remind me. It’s been decades, but that day scared me half to death. Don’t laugh, but I’ve been out of school for years, and I still have nightmares about Brother Dao cornering me in that alley..."

Seeing the old guard getting more and more into the act, Gao Tian knew the Memory Ghost’s power had worked. It had successfully invaded the man’s mind and implanted a false memory.

"Come on, come on! Let’s go across the street. I’ll buy you a drink, and we can catch up properly after all these years."

The old guard was incredibly enthusiastic, grabbing his "old classmate"—a man decades his junior—and insisting on treating him.

Of course, Gao Tian hadn’t used the Memory Ghost’s power just to scam the man out of a drink.

"Old classmate, how long have you been working here at Sapphire Mall?"

"I actually have a few questions I wanted to ask you about this place."

"Have there been any rumors about hauntings or anything strange happening here?"