Chapter 1: Strange, thing

Thick clouds loomed over the city, and in the distance, the collapsed and incomplete buildings still stood askew. The slightly stinky and turbid air filled every corner of the city. The setting sun at dusk always carried a strange shade of scarlet.

Like other places, Tianchang City was also a wounded city.

Li Yi, who had just finished his part-time job, was walking along the desolate and dilapidated street in the old town at the moment, carrying something. He skillfully and carefully avoided the puddles on the ground and quickly ducked into an alley.

The alleys led in all directions, connecting various parts of the old town. Taking the small paths could save a lot of time.

"Cough cough!"

Li Yi, who was walking along, suddenly smelled a rotten stench. He couldn't help coughing twice but didn't dare to linger. He just quickened his pace and swiftly moved away from the area covered by the stench.

Because he knew that kind of stench was formed after a person died and the body decomposed.

The lowest-level people in the city were like rats in the gutter. Just maintaining a normal life was already very difficult. Even if they died, they could only decompose and breed maggots quietly in the dark corner until the stench could no longer be concealed, and then they would be discovered and cleared by the sanitation team.

After all, the world had changed. Even in cities with good order, the mortality rate remained high.

"I don't know how my luck will be this time. Can I survive this?"

Li Yi, who was only twenty years old, sighed helplessly in his heart. There was a hint of confusion and tiredness in his eyes, but soon his eyes became determined again, and his footsteps were faster than usual.

Following an address in his memory, he passed through the alleys and came to a community that had a history of several decades.

The community was not large, with only four buildings, which was very common in the old town.

Even though the environment of the old town was not good, at least the old town was safer than other places and less prone to accidents. So, although the old town seemed dilapidated and desolate, in fact, many people were huddled here like ants, gnawing at everything in this city, struggling to survive. Li Yi was one of them.

Wangmen Community.

"Right, that's it. This is the place." Li Yi found the location on the address.

But when he entered the community, he found that many people had gathered in the open space in the middle. Among these people, he even saw the figures of investigators.

"Could something have happened?" His expression changed slightly, and then he curiously moved closer.

"I heard that the resident of Room 701 in Building 4 died. The death was very tragic. Blood flowed all the way to the corridor. This was definitely not a normal death. It's estimated to be some kind of special accident. Otherwise, the investigators wouldn't come to this run-down place."

"Who lived in Room 701 of Building 4? I have no impression at all. Does anyone know?"

"It's that one with big wavy hair and a very flamboyant dress."

"Oh, now that you mention it, I remember. Her name is Liu Li. She's 32 years old, unmarried... and has a big chest."

"Ah?"

Hearing this, many people nearby looked at him in surprise.

It was a middle-aged man in his thirties. At this moment, he was shaking his head, looking very emotional.

At this time, an investigator came down from the corridor of Building 4. At the same time, there were several accompanying health workers behind him. They were carrying a body bag, which should contain the body of that Liu Li.

"What's the situation upstairs?" The lead investigator was called Wang Jian. This old urban area was under his responsibility.

Although Wang Jian, who had an ordinary appearance and was only in his twenties, had very sharp eyes. In the dim light, they seemed to emit a faint glow, making people feel strangely frightened.

"Captain Wang, the body of the deceased was cut into more than ten pieces. The scene was very bloody. But from the current investigation, the cause of death of the deceased should be... suicide." Another investigator walked over, his expression very solemn, and whispered some situations from Room 701.

Wang Jian nodded, his expression very calm. It seemed that he was no stranger to such situations. After all, he had encountered even more bizarre events.

"Are there any other clues?"

Another investigator said, "There is a resident opposite Room 701 who seems to have seen something."

With that, he signaled and a young man about 25 years old was brought over.

"I'm Investigator Wang Jian. Tell me, what did you see in Room 701?" Wang Jian asked.

The young man looked nervous and said, "I, I saw someone entering Room 701 one after another last night."

"One after another?" Wang Jian frowned slightly. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, definitely not. That person did enter one after another." The young man said very affirmatively.

Wang Jian's expression sank. He suddenly reached out his palm, grabbed the young man's neck, and coldly stared into his pupils. Then he threw him aside at random. "Another one who has gone crazy from cultivation. Take him away."

"Yes."

The young man immediately struggled. "No, I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. There was indeed someone entering Room 701 one after another. That person is the murderer. She didn't commit suicide. It's not suicide. I have no problem. I was cultivating by the door yesterday and saw it clearly."

But the colleagues didn't waste words and took him out of the community.

The middle-aged man who was watching the excitement shouted at this moment, "The deceased Liu Li could be taken out one after another. Why couldn't the murderer enter to kill one after another? Why did the investigator say that others were crazy?"

"He's not normal. Are you not normal either?" Wang Jian glanced at him. "Do you also want to be taken away?"

The middle-aged man then immediately spat in the direction of the young man. "This lunatic should be taken away. I was definitely influenced by him just now. This lunatic must not be let back. Maybe the murderer who killed Liu Li is him."

"I said, Liu Li committed suicide. This case is closed." Wang Jian repeated again.

"It seems that this suicide case here should just be a coincidence and has nothing to do with what I'm going to do."

Li Yi, who was watching the excitement, remained silent all the time. He just silently carried the bag and left the crowd, walking towards the first building. This matter had nothing to do with him. He came here just to make money and didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble.

"Wangmen Community, Building 1, Room 201."

Li Yi took a slight breath. He came to this strange address and knocked on the old door.

Dong dong dong!

The dull sound echoed in the dim corridor, and everything was silent around.

After a while.

The old door opened, and the yellowish light shone out. At the same time, a voice came from inside.

"Come in." The voice was very low.

Li Yi walked in nervously.

The layout of the living room was very simple. There was a sofa and several wooden chairs. The bedroom doors on both sides were closed. Under the yellowish light, the space here seemed somewhat secluded.

"Friend, don't look around. You're late. You're the only one left. We've all been waiting for you." Several people were sitting on the sofa, both men and women. The one who spoke was a young man in a sweatshirt.

Li Yi didn't speak but just looked at the person sitting on the opposite chair.

That person's body was shrouded in the shadow of the light. At this moment, he slightly raised his head. His eyes were exceptionally bright, flickering with a faint light, as if containing some special power, making people dare not look directly at them.

"My name is Lao Ya. Are you Li Yi? You're very young. Judging from your appearance, you're at most in your early twenties. Tell me, why do you want to take on this dangerous task?" This person, who claimed to be Lao Ya, spoke. His voice was still low, giving people an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Li Yi steadied himself and said seriously, "I'm short of money."

The man in the sweatshirt on the sofa behind him chuckled. "Nonsense. Anyone who comes here to take on such a dangerous job is short of money. These days, life is not valuable. There are plenty of people rushing to sell their lives."

Li Yi still ignored him and continued to explain, "My parents are in a dormant state and have been in a coma for six years."

"Both parents are in a dormant state? To have survived for six years means your family has two medical pods. Even a second-hand medical pod costs at least one million or more. You don't seem to be short of money." Lao Ya's voice turned cold. "Give me a reasonable explanation. Don't play tricks."

"The medical pod is broken and needs to be repaired. The repair cost is 50,000 yuan. I can't come up with this money. I saw someone introduce a job in the group, saying that I could get 100,000 yuan after completion. So I came to try my luck." Li Yi's heart trembled. He elaborated on his situation again.

Perhaps believing Li Yi's words or seeing the unease and urgency in Li Yi's eyes, his tone changed and then he chuckled. "Taking care of two dormant people for six years, even if there was some savings, it would have been exhausted. And now the medical pod is malfunctioning. Under such circumstances, you do need a sum of money urgently. After all, without the maintenance of the medical pod, dormant people can't survive for more than 30 days. It seems that you want to take a gamble for your parents. Very good. There aren't many filial sons like you these days. Since this is the case, I'll give you this opportunity. Your reason is accepted. Sit down."

Li Yi heaved a sigh of relief and found a stool next to the sofa and sat down.

"The last person has arrived. Before this, if anyone wants to leave, you can go now. I won't stop you. After ten seconds, I will start explaining this task." Lao Ya's bright eyes revealed a hint of threat.

Obviously, this was to tell them that if they don't leave now, it will be impossible to regret later.

In the dim living room, everyone fell silent.

Time passed second by second.

During this period, no one left here.

"Very good. It seems that all of you have reasons to risk your lives. Since this is the case, now I officially start introducing the task." Lao Ya stood up at this moment.

At the same time, the closed bedroom door on the side opened. A man in a suit came out, directly locked the main door, and then stood like a tall wall at the door to prevent anyone from escaping.

"Lao Ya, don't waste time. Just tell us what we need to do. If it's too difficult, we can't do it. After all, we just want to make money, not lose our lives. Moreover, we are all ordinary people without cultivation. There are very limited things we can do." The man in the sweatshirt wasn't nervous at all. He just grinned and said.

Lao Ya glanced at him and said, "You be quiet."

The man in the sweatshirt shrugged and didn't take it seriously.

People who dare to risk their lives to make money have nothing to fear.

The other several people seemed very silent and didn't interrupt Lao Ya at this time.

Li Yi was also just listening quietly. He only hoped that the so-called task wouldn't be too dangerous. He still wanted to go back alive.

Seeing that everyone remained quiet, Lao Ya said seriously, "Ten days ago, there was a bit of an anomaly in a building in the abandoned urban area. Our people went in to search but had an accident. Several died. Only two ordinary people who had no cultivation survived and came back. One of them went crazy and the other was seriously injured. They are still in the hospital now, barely saving half their life."

"The second time, my partner and I went to search that building again. Unfortunately, my partner died there. Only I was lucky enough to escape."

"But from these two explorations, I obtained two key pieces of information. The first piece of information is that there is a high possibility that there is a strange object in that building."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone widened their eyes, revealing an incredulous expression.

"Strange object? How is that possible? The abandoned urban area has been searched countless times. How could there be a strange object left?" The man in the sweatshirt suddenly stood up, breathing somewhat hurriedly.

Strange object.

After the Heavenly Inclination Incident, treasures from another world are said to possess mythical and magical powers.

Each strange object is worth a fortune.

Countries around the world have forcefully retrieved every strange object without reason. For this, no one knows how many battles over strange objects have been triggered.

If an ordinary person voluntarily hands in a strange object, the cash reward alone is at least one billion yuan. In addition, one can enter the Golden Academy unconditionally and will never be expelled for life. As for the villas in the stable area and honorary status, those are all additional hidden benefits.

But even with such a generous reward, there have only been two cases of voluntary submission of strange objects in the country.

Because in addition to possessing magical powers, strange objects can also allow ordinary people to change their fate against the odds and embark on a cultivation path far beyond that of geniuses.

Just by possessing a strange object for a few months, the possessor can become extraordinary. If one possesses a strange object for several years, everyone has to look at your face.

"Stop painting a big pie. I don't believe there is a strange object in the old town. The influence range of a strange object is at least five kilometers. If such a large area is affected, do you think the investigators are just eating for nothing?" The speaker was a woman. She was wearing a strappy dress and had a very sexy figure, but there was a hint of disdain on the corner of her mouth.

Her words made the others, who were still in shock, calm down a lot immediately.

"That's right. For 100,000 yuan to hire someone to look for a precious strange object, this sounds so absurd. If there was really such a thing, would it be our turn to know? This old town would have long been surrounded tightly." The man in the sweatshirt nodded in agreement with the woman's words.

Li Yi and the others remained silent and just listened.

Lao Ya's voice was still low. "Strange objects also have levels. There are complete strange objects and fragmented strange objects. Of course, those top-level strange objects are not something we can expect. But with good luck, it's not impossible to find a fragmented strange object or a strange object fragment."

"Your task for the five of you is very simple. Enter that building and find the object. Even if you can't bring it out, as long as you determine the location, I'll give you 100,000 yuan. If you can retrieve it, I'll give each of you 2 million yuan."

"With just this amount of money, you want us to risk our lives to help you find a strange object? It's very difficult." The man in the sweatshirt suddenly grinned.

"What do you mean? Do you want to quit?" Lao Ya said.

"No, I mean to increase the payment." The man in the sweatshirt stared at him.

"Don't be too greedy. Be careful that you have the money but not the life to spend it." Lao Ya said coldly. At this moment, his eyes were shining, like a beast lurking in the night.

The man in the sweatshirt was not afraid. He said, "Do you dare to do it? Kill me and this matter will fail. Once the investigators are attracted, the loss will be even greater for you. After all, our lives are worthless. You are different. You have a bright future and have the opportunity to come into contact with strange objects. It's not worth sacrificing everything for a few nobodies."

Then he turned to Li Yi and the others and said, "I'm fighting for everyone's interests now. Don't you have anything to say?"

"This task is very dangerous. I demand half of the deposit first. Otherwise, I won't go. Who knows if you will go back on your word later." The woman in the strappy dress immediately said.

Apparently, when it came to strange objects, everyone couldn't resist sitting on the ground and raising the price.

Li Yi also didn't want to back down. He said, "I also think the money is a bit less. In addition to paying a 50,000 yuan deposit first, if you find what you want, you have to pay another 100,000 yuan. As for retrieving it, we ordinary people still have some self-awareness. We don't have that ability."

As soon as he finished speaking, a muscular, crew-cut man with a square face, who was sitting on the sofa and whose height was slightly exaggerated at nearly two meters, with his head almost touching the ceiling, stood up. Although he was an ordinary person, he gave people a very unusual feeling.

"You brat, since you found me, whether the matter is done or not, I want the money. If you don't give it, I'll smash your head with one punch." This man spoke in a muffled voice, with an undeniable tone.

The last person left was a middle-aged man wearing glasses and with a slightly thin build. He had been silent until now and only spoke at this moment. "Lao Ya, right? Give all the money for the four of them to me. I'll handle this matter. But after you get what you want, I want 30%."

"..." Lao Ya fell silent immediately.

After a while, he said in a low voice: "I can see now that all of you are talents. You want money but not your lives. If this weren't a safe area, I really want to kill all of you."

The man in the sweatshirt still grinned. The woman in the strappy dress rolled her eyes and didn't care. The tall and burly man snorted disdainfully. Finally, the man with glasses slightly lowered his head, adjusted his glasses, and the corner of his mouth revealed a hint of a strange smile.

Only Li Yi seemed more normal. His eyes twitched involuntarily and he looked a little uneasy.

But seeing that no one was moved, Lao Ya chose to compromise after a brief consideration. After all, it would be very troublesome to find another group of people. Moreover, he didn't want to delay any longer. Once the news leaked, the situation would be beyond his control.

"Just as Li Yi said, pay a 50,000 yuan deposit first. After the job is done, pay another 100,000 yuan. Don't bargain with me anymore. It's settled like this."

The others were silent for a short while and obviously accepted this condition.

"You haven't said the second key piece of information." The man in the sweatshirt asked again.

Lao Ya said, "The second key piece of information is that when entering that building, ordinary people encounter less danger. People like me who have embarked on the path of cultivation are more likely to be targeted by danger. That's why I found you guys. Don't waste time. Let's set off immediately."

Saying that, he signaled his subordinate guarding the door to open the door.

"I still have a question." Li Yi said.

"What's the question? Ask quickly." Lao Ya said coldly.

"What kind of danger exists in that place you mentioned? Even you practitioners can't handle it." Li Yi said: "This question is very important. At least we all understand what we'll be facing later."

"That building... is haunted." Lao Ya finished saying this and walked out of the room.

Ghost?

Everyone froze for a moment. Under the yellowish light, a creepy chill rose in their hearts.