Chapter 129

"I remember now! That apartment—it's that apartment..."

"The rumors say that all the recent deaths on 13th Street... are tied to that building."

"It started with that building, the Ping'an Apartments. The first deaths happened there, and even the priest the community hired performed rituals there..."

Following the direction the man pointed, Eren squinted through the dim lighting and sparse branches, catching sight of a deep gray building in the distance.

Ping'an Apartments?

Could this be the source of the mysterious incidents on 13th Street?

After gathering this information, Eren turned to the man and asked calmly, "Anything else?"

"...That's all! I swear, we're just small-time punks, not even on the radar of any real gangs. We don't know anything else..."

Eren nodded. "Alright, I won't interrupt your activities anymore."

With a snap of his fingers, Eren activated his mental abilities, triggering a surge of primal desire in the man's mind.

Holstering his gun, Eren walked away toward another group of delinquents gathering in a nearby alley.

Behind him, the remaining man, eyes red with intensity, turned to his injured companion, who shrieked in terror, "Stay away from me!"

Before long, a wailing scream echoed through the alley.

Meanwhile, Eren approached the next group and employed the same method to extract more information.

By the time a third scream pierced the night, the remaining delinquents scattered from the alleys like startled rats, abandoning their usual haunts.

The information gathered was consistent:

Everyone believed the bizarre events on 13th Street originated from the Ping'an Apartments.

While the exact cause remained unclear, the connection to the apartment was undeniable.

Walking under the flickering streetlights, Eren made his way along the uneven sidewalk. After a few hundred meters, the Ping'an Apartments came into view.

The streetlights surrounding the building were inexplicably dark.

The five-story structure was cloaked in a heavy darkness that resembled black silk. A flock of crows circled ominously above the roof.

The apartment had only one entrance—a rusted iron gate secured by a shiny new padlock.

"The gate is so worn out, but the lock looks brand new... Wait, what's this?"

Eren noticed a piece of white paper stuck next to the gate. Initially mistaking it for an advertisement, he found upon closer inspection that it was a "No Entry" notice.

After reading it, Eren activated his spiritual vision. His eyes, now glowing faintly, focused intently on the building.

Through his heightened perception, Eren saw the Ping'an Apartments shrouded in an overwhelming aura of decay and despair. The air was thick with a grayish-black miasma, resembling countless intertwining strands of hopelessness.

This oppressive aura wasn't just a coincidence—it had been forged over years by the despair of the building's inhabitants.

The sheer density of this despair suggested that even the most optimistic person would succumb to hopelessness after spending time here, their will to live gradually eroded.

"Ping'an Apartments—not peaceful at all," Eren muttered, taking a deep breath.

While entering such a place late at night seemed ominous, Eren had no intention of turning back.

As he neared the building, the Balance of Fate activated, delivering a new message:

Ding!

Detected a Class-2 Forbidden Item: "Shadow of Suffocation" currently in gestation within this building.

It is strongly recommended to contain the item before its gestation completes. Successfully containing it will yield significant Fate Points.

The notification confirmed Eren's suspicions: the strange events on 13th Street were indeed connected to a Forbidden Item.

However, unlike what he initially expected, this item was still in the process of forming.

Even so, the chaos it had already caused—claiming multiple lives—demonstrated its immense potential.

"A Class-2 Forbidden Item... that's new," Eren mused. "If the Shadow of Suffocation fully forms, it'll likely be far more dangerous than the Moonlight DJ from Morningstar Bar."

The Moonlight DJ had claimed over a hundred lives in mere days. Who knew how many the Shadow of Suffocation could kill if left unchecked?

Determined, Eren flipped his wrist, producing a thin wire.

With practiced precision, he inserted the wire into the lock, deftly manipulating it. Moments later, the padlock clicked open.

Removing the lock, Eren pulled the iron gate open with a creak.

As the heavy door swung wide, a wave of foul, putrid air rushed out, carrying the stench of decay and ruin.

The interior of the apartment was suffused with the smell of rot, typical of abandoned buildings.

Yet according to the delinquents, this building had still housed residents just two weeks ago.

The strange events had spooked the local Chinese council, prompting them to forcibly evict everyone living there.

If not for their intervention, the Ping'an Apartments might still have been occupied.

How could a building become so decrepit in such a short time?

Before Eren could ponder further, a sudden noise interrupted his thoughts.

Thud!

A shadowy figure, reeking of putrefaction, plummeted from above.

Looking up instinctively, Eren saw a ghastly face rushing toward him.

The figure's grotesque features included an unnaturally long, drooping tongue that nearly reached its chest, dripping with an unknown black fluid. Its expression was a horrifying mix of laughter and sorrow, with bulging eyes radiating despair.

As their gazes met, a suffocating wave of hopelessness surged from the figure, threatening to drown Eren's mind.

(End of Chapter)

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