Chapter 101: Two Ways to Clear This Level!
As panic spread through the warehouse, everyone instinctively looked up toward the source of the voice.
To their shock, a figure stood atop one of the high shelves, as if he had materialized out of thin air. His body shimmered with an ethereal glow, wrapped in an aura of transcendent elegance. Just the sight of him stirred an inexplicable urge to kneel in reverence.
Even the denizens of this horror-filled world couldn’t help but think—this man looks like a god.
The scar-faced man froze for a moment before warily eyeing the stranger.
What he didn’t realize was that death had brushed terrifyingly close just moments ago.
Zhang Yangqing had been ready to wipe them all out in one move—until their conversation about stolen property gave him pause.
At this stage, the sharpest challengers who had pieced together the truth about the deaths of the family in Unit 7-4 could already deduce how to clear the level without further hints.
Zhang Yangqing, armed with the most—and fastest—intel, was naturally among them.
After learning from the chain-smoker that the family had died in a fire, everything clicked into place.
[Rule 16: You must remain in your room for at least 12 hours each day. After three days, when the heavy rain stops and the landlord of Unit 7-4 appears, you may complete the level.]
When this rule first appeared, it had been a riddle wrapped in mystery.
But now, with the clues gathered over the past few days, Zhang Yangqing saw the full picture.
First, he could safely rule out the black cat as the landlord—sparing it from a brutal beating.
For most challengers, there was only one straightforward solution.
But Zhang Yangqing? He had a better way.
From Rule 16, he extracted three key conditions:
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Spend at least 12 hours in the room daily.
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Wait three days for the rain to stop.
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The landlord of Unit 7-4 must appear.
The first condition was easy enough.
The second—making the rain stop—was trickier.
Zhang Yangqing recalled the two paintings in his room when he first arrived:
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One depicted a woman holding an umbrella in the rain, leading a little boy toward a wide river.
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The other showed a boy riding a wooden horse, his face blurred, with a shadowy figure pushing him from behind.
Both boys wore identical clothing.
Combined with [Rule 15: The children here are very curious. If a child looks at you, do not meet their gaze. Stop moving until someone takes them away—otherwise, they will follow you endlessly.], the solution became clear.
The hidden rule of the paintings:
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Rain continues if the woman leads the boy away.
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Rain stops if the boy rides the wooden horse alone.
Thus, challengers needed to:
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Find a boy resembling the one in the paintings.
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Let him follow them (by making eye contact).
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Guide him to the wooden horse.
Of course, Rule 15 never said the boy would kill you—but it also didn’t say he wouldn’t. That part required judgment.
With the first two conditions met, the final hurdle was the landlord’s appearance.
Since the original landlord was dead, and the black cat served as a ward against evil, removing the cat would allow the landlord’s spirit to manifest.
The simplest method?
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Find a way to turn the cat white (nullifying its power).
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Toss it out the window.
Only Zhang Yangqing could pull off the latter right now—given the cat’s terrifying ability to repel even the most vicious spirits.
The rule about feeding the cat was really just a way to keep it from attacking you.
This was the basic, no-frills way to clear the level.
But Zhang Yangqing had a better idea—become the landlord himself, eliminating the need to kill the cat.
Higher difficulty meant greater rewards.
And since he was here, why settle for less?
So when he returned to his room earlier and found a ragged intruder unlocking his door, the pieces fell into place.
This thief was an anomaly among the tenants—too out of place.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Zhang Yangqing tailed him straight to the warehouse—and this group of ex-residents (or ex-landlords).
If they had once been landlords, they surely knew how to reclaim that status.
Hence, he spared them—for now.
His sudden appearance sent the room into chaos.
Several men bolted upright from their beds, staring in shock and fear.
One lackey opened his mouth to curse—“You—!”—before the scar-faced man yanked him back.
Are you trying to get us killed?
This newcomer had slipped past all their defenses unnoticed.
He was not someone to provoke.
And his opening words suggested he might be here to help.
Better to hear him out than pick a fight they couldn’t win.
Swallowing his pride, the scar-faced man called up, “Friend, what kind of help can you offer?”
A measured response—neither groveling nor aggressive.
Had they been hostile, Zhang Yangqing wouldn’t have bothered humoring them.
You don’t gamble on whether Zhang Yangqing will kill you. If he decides to, you’re already dead.
In the last level, those doctors might’ve lived had they asked instead of threatened.
But fools who test his patience don’t survive long.
Satisfied with the man’s tone, Zhang Yangqing leaped down—landing without a sound, like a feather.
The display left the scar-faced man speechless.
Only those with real skill could grasp just how terrifying this was.
As the room held its breath, Zhang Yangqing stated his terms:
*”I’ll help you deal with the current landlords. In return, you make me the landlord of Unit 7-4.”*
A fair trade.
Since the original landlord of 7-4 was dead, and Zhang Yangqing wasn’t stealing their properties, they had no reason to fight him.
Any challenger who made it here could theoretically strike this deal.
But whether they could enforce it was another matter.
After a moment’s thought, the scar-faced man nodded. *”Deal. Help us, and I’ll make sure you get 7-4.”*
With the agreement sealed, Zhang Yangqing asked, “What’s the plan?”
As former landlords, they’d handle the logistics.
If they tried to double-cross him?
Well, he could always readjust their attitudes.
Unlike rule-bound entities, these men were expendable.
That’s the beauty of strength in this world:
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The weak struggle to survive.
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The strong decide who dies.
“Tonight at 11,” the scar-faced man said. “We’re making our move. Be here by then.”
Zhang Yangqing’s display had convinced him—now was the time to act.
With just one capable fighter left among them, waiting meant starvation.
This was their last chance.
And Zhang Yangqing was the ally they’d been desperate for.
“I’ll be here,” Zhang Yangqing confirmed.
He had no patience for fools.
Had the man been an idiot, he’d have walked away.
After finalizing details, Zhang Yangqing left—but not before the scar-faced man gifted him two pristine raincoats from their dwindling supplies.
A gesture of goodwill.
One Zhang Yangqing appreciated.
This level was turning out to be fun.
Global Chatroom:
[Iron Tower Country]: “Watching the Dragon Country’s superhuman makes this look easy. I feel like I could do it too!”
[Britannia]: “Right? Everyone’s so nice to him. If you know the solution, it’s not even hard.”
[Bear Country]: “Oh really? Could you handle the horrors in the chain-smoker’s apartment? Or piece all this together blind?”
[Pak Steel Country]: “That’s why he’s the superhuman. Different league.”
[Blossom Country]: *”How do I immigrate to Dragon Country? The waiting list’s already 100,000+!”*
[Noodle Country]: “Forget immigration—I can’t even get a flight!”
[Eagle Country]: “Why bother? You won’t get the buffs unless you’re a citizen.”
[Noodle Country]: “Safety, genius! Our last three challengers died stupidly. I don’t trust the next ones.”
[Stick Country]: “Small minds. We’re recruiting the Dragon superhuman after he clears this. Your immigration’s pointless!”
[Three Country]: “Typical of you. At least wait until after he’s done to announce your schemes.”
Meanwhile, in the Horror World:
While Zhang Yangqing napped, others were barely holding on.
Some—like the Indian monk—rushed back just in time to find their doors forced open and corpses in their living rooms.
They hurled the bodies out the window before the cleaners could intervene.
The Eagle Country’s Miller wasn’t so lucky.
He arrived to find black-clad figures advancing on his room.
A desperate toss of flour (stolen from Dragon Country’s playbook) bought him seconds to dart inside, lock the door, and dump the corpse out.
The moment the body was gone, the figures retreated.
Others faced worse—hidden horrors already blocking their doors.
Their options?
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Kill another tenant to lure the horrors away.
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Fight through and grab the corpse.
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Die.
By nightfall, exhausted challengers collapsed into bed.
Zhang Yangqing, meanwhile, woke refreshed at 10:40 PM and headed to the warehouse.
Inside, twenty-odd men stood grim-faced.
Eight had resolved to die tonight.
For them, there was no other choice.
