Chapter 31: Upstairs Team

"Take the initiative to explore the fourth floor...?"

This was no joke.

The fourth floor might offer top-tier rewards like Black Cards, but Apartment residents rarely ventured up there on their own. The best rewards in the world were useless if you were dead.

Aside from Green Text Missions—which meant certain death if ignored—no one was willing to risk their life.

Even someone as bold as Jiang Yang felt a lingering dread when recalling his experience on the fourth floor:

"When I first arrived at the Living Apartment, my first two rookie missions went pretty smoothly, and it went to my head. I thought I was really something. My curiosity was running high, and I wanted to see exactly what kind of ungodly things were lurking on the fourth floor."

He paused.

He had obtained the first Black Card of his life—and his only one.

Jiang Yang rarely mentioned what exactly he encountered up there. After that, however, he became much more humble and never set foot on those stairs again.

Xia Ta's gaze fell upon Yusheng, whose eyes were lowered:

"If we want to explore the fourth floor, Yusheng should be the expert in this area.

"After all, he holds four Black Cards."

At these words, a low murmur rippled through the few people remaining in the room.

This unassuming bald monk was actually that formidable. He had completed six Green Text Missions and secured four Black Cards, putting him leagues ahead of everyone else in the Living Apartment in every respect.

If Xia Ta hadn't been observing him in secret, no one would have known; the monk Yusheng certainly wasn't going to mention it himself.

Facing everyone's astonished and admiring gazes, Yusheng simply brushed it off:

"It is actually not four.

"I went up four times, but twice I encountered situations even I could not handle. I was forced to use two Black Cards to return to the first-floor lobby.

"So, I now only have two Black Cards left.

"Also, your speculation is correct. Above the fourth floor is the fifth, and above the fifth floor are new floors.

"The number of floors in the Apartment matches the number of Green Text Missions. The higher you go, the more difficult it becomes. The fifth floor's difficulty is unimaginable. I actually had a chance to go to the sixth floor above it, but my instincts told me that if I stepped onto those blood-red stairs, I would definitely die on the sixth floor. Even a Black Card wouldn't be able to save me."

He rolled the prayer beads in his hand, letting out a crisp clicking sound:

"If you intend to go upstairs, take my advice.

"Go no higher than the fifth floor. At the absolute most.

"The things on the fourth floor will likely push you to your limits. Let alone the fifth, or even the sixth."

Zhao Zhenjia couldn't help but ask, "You risked your life to go up there so many times. Is it because you know there's something you need on those upper floors?

"Yusheng, you've completed six Green Text Missions so far, but every resident who did a mission with you is dead. That means no one has ever seen you act, and no one knows your background or the effects of your Supernatural Items."

Against Zhao Zhenjia's somewhat aggressive questioning, Yusheng remained as still as a mountain:

"Apologies, I have nothing to say.

"I will not join your expedition team. However, if needed, I can write you a guide to the fourth floor. Certain apartment numbers house permanent residents. As long as you follow specific rules, you can effectively avoid direct conflict with them.

"Of course, even then, going upstairs is a near-certain death sentence. The fifth floor is absolute, guaranteed death."

Yusheng glanced at the sky outside the window:

"It is getting late. This humble monk will retire to rest."

Having said this, he ignored the reactions of the other residents, stood straight up, walked right to the door, opened it, and left.

Yusheng was always like this. He paid no mind to the others in the Apartment, coming and going as he pleased.

He treated this cooperative instance like a single-player game. Yusheng explored the entire Apartment alone, treating everyone else as if they did not exist.

That thought surfaced in Gao Tian's mind once again.

If he could use the Shattered Face Ghost's ability to take all of Yusheng's memories...

But the idea was too sinister. Once he gathered all five pieces of Yusheng's facial features, he wouldn't just be taking his memories—he'd be taking his life.

Gao Tian simply couldn't cross that psychological hurdle to murder an ordinary monk over something so trivial.

The man was just tight-lipped, not some heinous criminal. If it had been someone with underworld ties like Zhao Qiang, Gao Tian would have felt no psychological burden using ghost abilities on him.

Moreover, as a veteran resident who had completed six Green Text Missions and ventured upstairs four times, Yusheng possessed a vast number of Supernatural Items. No one knew what consequences would arise from recklessly attacking him.

Jiang Yang shook his head:

"Forget it. Let's drop the subject of Yusheng.

"I think Gao Tian makes some sense. Rather than waiting around for those filthy things on the fourth floor to come down and harass us on a whim, we might as well take the initiative to go up and see exactly what those guys are plotting.

"Sending a team up to investigate the fourth floor hasn't been tried before.

"Fighting alone, it's certainly hard for one person to deal with endless waves of ghosts or reach higher floors. But with a team that compensates for each other's weaknesses, we really might be able to achieve what past residents couldn't."

Zhao Zhenjia expressed his concerns:

"If this elite squad includes all the Apartment's elites and administrators... doesn't that mean if the team encounters some fatal Killing Rule upstairs and suffers a total wipeout on the fourth floor, everyone else in the Apartment is screwed?"

Without these senior administrators in the Apartment, incoming rookies wouldn't even know the subsequent mission procedures.

Xia Ta spoke calmly:

"After entering the Living Apartment, survival was always a long shot.

"For decades, aside from the legendary Xu Yuan, I haven't heard of a second person completing ten missions.

"If you're too afraid of dying to go to the fourth floor, you might as well just not complete the Green Text Missions either."

Xia Ta's words settled the matter.

Entering the Living Apartment meant slim chances of survival anyway; it was a desperate gamble.

Since they had finalized going to the fourth floor—with an unprecedentedly luxurious lineup for this generation of Apartment residents—they next needed to confirm the roster of those heading upstairs.

In supernatural incidents, more people did not mean better outcomes. More people also meant a higher chance of triggering a ghost's Killing Rule. Anyone mixed into the team who refused to follow orders, or whose mental fortitude was poor enough to collapse at any moment, was an unstable bomb. It was better to leave those spots empty than to bring such people into the team.

After a brief discussion, the team heading to the fourth floor was set at roughly four to six members. The first standard for joining was possessing a Black Card, allowing them to retreat to the first-floor lobby at any sign of trouble.

By this standard, very few of the remaining Third Floor residents in the room qualified. In the end, only four people were left: Jiang Yang, Xia Ta, Zhao Zhenjia, and Gao Tian.

The other three were fine, but regarding Gao Tian, Zhao Zhenjia expressed clear opposition:

"No. A rookie who's only passed two Green Text Missions absolutely cannot enter the fourth floor with us.

"Your strength and your mental fortitude aren't things that can be trained in the short term. You have a lot of potential, but our goal is the fifth floor, maybe even the sixth. You need to have completed at least three or four Green Text Missions and have some life-saving items on hand."

If Yusheng's mind were a bit more normal, he would be the perfect candidate for the squad's fourth position. Unfortunately, the monk was completely erratic. Their team only had three people, leaving one vacancy.

Gao Tian responded, "On my very first day in the Living Apartment, I went up to the fourth floor.

"That place is dangerous, yes, but I made it out of there alive without having completed a single Green Text Mission.

(The other residents did not know that Gao Tian had obtained Supernatural Items in the Chat Group.)

"Furthermore, Supernatural Items are about quality, not quantity. The Supernatural Items you hold aren't necessarily of higher quality than mine."

He had the Urn, which imprisoned the Shattered Face Ghost, and had stolen the Memory Ghost's ability. He also had the Ghost Card to increase his margin for error. He could be said to be balanced in both offense and defense.

Hearing this arrogant rookie actually dare to provoke him, veins bulged on Zhao Zhenjia's neck:

"What did you say, kid?

"Not letting you go upstairs is for your own good. Don't be ungrateful.

"If there isn't something wrong with your head, you'd know that little girl upstairs already has her sights on you. She might be waiting up there right now for an idiot like you to walk right into her trap. When we run into real danger on the fourth floor, we won't have the spare energy to look after you in a fight."

Seeing that the two were about to clash, Xia Ta interrupted their argument with a single sentence:

"Gao Tian, your next Green Text Mission is in about two weeks, right?"

Early-stage Green Text Missions were relatively simple, but the intervals between their releases were quite short. Later-stage missions would see an explosive increase in difficulty, but the intervals between those missions were measured in years.

Gao Tian's second Green Text Mission was joined midway as an intrusion, which meant his third Green Text Mission, following the normal timeline, should be released a month later. The Sapphire Shopping Center incident had concluded about two weeks ago, which made it just about time.

He didn't know what Xia Ta meant by bringing this up now, but he still nodded:

"Just about."

Xia Ta said, "Then that settles it.

"Our squad is still waiting for someone to return.

"That person will return to the Living Apartment in about three weeks as an important addition to the squad. Gao Tian, if you can pass your third Green Text Mission by then and reach the minimum requirement, you can join our team. That will bring our squad's numbers up to five.

"If you don't reach it by then, we will ultimately head to the fourth floor as a four-person squad.

"Everyone, is that acceptable?"

Hearing Xia Ta's compromise, Zhao Zhenjia reluctantly accepted it:

"Completing three missions is the absolute bare minimum to go upstairs with us.

"If you can complete three missions, it proves you at least have some ability to protect yourself. I agree to let you join our team."

But unexpectedly, the one voicing opposition this time was Jiang Yang:

"Sister Ta, why did you agree to let that lunatic join our team?

"Isn't her existence far more dangerous than Yusheng? At most, Yusheng likes to speak in riddles and keep what he knows from us. If that crazy woman loses her mind upstairs, she really will get us all killed."

To this, Xia Ta simply brushed it off with a casual remark:

"It's fine. I will handle the communication with her.

"In fact, she's also very eager to know what exactly is hidden above the fourth floor. Right now, she's in the United States dealing with a Fierce Ghost incident. Once she returns to the country, I will handle the communication."