Chapter 4: Searching for a New Home

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Although it was a spur-of-the-moment reaction, Li Mingxing managed to restrain himself somewhat. When it came to vengeful souls and such, he left none behind, absorbing them all; as for flesh and blood, he only took a tenth from the shattered bodies. Yet even so, he was able to gather one unit of flesh, which pointed him toward a path to completing his mission.

What pleased Li Mingxing most was that, since the being had only recently transformed into a demon of resentment, its enslaved souls had not yet been fully corrupted. Thus, among his spoils of battle, he acquired a half-demonized slave of resentment.

He wasn’t sure whether such a thing would count toward his mission, or whether the person who posted the task would accept it. If it was acceptable, then this would be an opportunity to fulfill three tasks at once.

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Li Mingxing lingered until the police had finished clearing up and left. Afterward, he gazed at the securities building, considering what identity he should assume to enter this enticingly dark realm.

The requirements of this mission were not simply to discover such a place, but to ensure it belonged entirely to him and would not be easily discovered by outsiders.

Pretending to seek employment was not an option. Even if he could secure a job here, living in the building wouldn’t be guaranteed. Besides, Li Mingxing often needed to venture into the other world to complete tasks; disappearing for days at a time would cause him to lose any job he managed to land. Thus, entering the building under the guise of employment was the least viable option.

So, he began considering whether people could actually live in this building, but ultimately had to abandon the idea. As a renowned financial center in the city, there were no plans to develop residential spaces here.

As for the notion of building a basement beneath the building or in the sewers, such thoughts never crossed Li Mingxing’s mind. He was, after all, a normal human being; though chosen by the forces of darkness, it didn’t mean he was destined to become a mole, burrowing underground.

While Li Mingxing was contemplating this at the base of the building, someone suddenly bumped into him. At that very moment, he had just reached a critical point in his thoughts, and the collision sent everything flying out of his mind.

Annoyed, he turned to look at the person who had run into him and shouted, “Are you blind?”

The other wasn’t of mild temperament either; he yelled back, “Who are you calling blind? You’re blocking the way like a pillar—are you here to play gatekeeper?”

That retort made Li Mingxing consider a new possibility. He sneered coldly, ignored the man, and strode directly into the securities building.

In truth, the building wasn’t owned by a securities company. Besides the trading floor and numerous securities firms, there were also several banks where certain people could handle cash transactions.

Li Mingxing headed straight for a bank, approached the VIP counter, and began, “I’d like to rent a safe de—”

Before he could finish, someone gently tapped his shoulder. Turning around, Li Mingxing saw his mentor, Raymond, shaking his head at him.

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Li Mingxing was startled and promptly stepped back to Raymond’s side. For some reason, the bank clerk didn’t press further but began serving the next customer.

Raymond led him to a quiet corner and took a deep breath. “I didn’t expect you to find such a good place on your first day, but this isn’t suitable for you. At least, as a hero, you must never let your castle leave your sight.”

“But that’s not what you said. You told me to find a place to build my castle, and I even asked the bartender—she said the castle could be no bigger than a human head,” Li Mingxing replied, puzzled.

“That’s true, but do you want to come here every time you need to access your castle? Do you want to fetch it in the middle of the night? Do you want other heroes to discover its existence?”

Raymond’s words made Li Mingxing realize how poorly he’d considered things. Had Raymond not appeared to stop him, his blunder would have cost him dearly.

After thanking Raymond, Li Mingxing recalled something and explained the three tasks he'd accepted, showing him the demonized slave of resentment to ask if it met the requirements.

Raymond nodded. “It does, though it’s difficult to manage. The person who posted the task will suffer with such a slave. As for your other two tasks, you didn’t handle them well. Did you not realize that vengeful souls and flesh aren’t necessarily limited to the real world?”

That stunned Li Mingxing. He slapped his forehead and said, “Why didn’t I think of that? How foolish of me.”

After a few more words, Raymond left, and Li Mingxing had to reconsider his tasks.

Although Raymond had confirmed that he could obtain vengeful souls and flesh from the other world, Li Mingxing wasn’t about to give up opportunities in the real world. He planned to manipulate the process of sowing slaves of resentment, collecting more half-demonized slaves to give the task poster headaches, which ultimately wouldn’t affect him much.

As for the location of his castle, he wasn’t in a hurry. He decided to think it through carefully, and besides, he couldn’t believe a city this large wouldn’t have a suitable place for him.

With these thoughts, Li Mingxing left the securities building, boarded a bus, and wandered the city.

This time, his focus shifted from pedestrians to buildings. By the afternoon’s end, he’d found several relatively suitable places, though none possessed the sinister and murderous aura of the securities building, leaving him dissatisfied.

Thus, Li Mingxing began to consider shifting his target from the city center to the outskirts. Just as he was about to give up, he overheard several people talking on the bus.

“Hey, brother, you’re not seriously considering moving there, are you? That’s the Ghost Building! Lots of people have moved out, and you still want to move in?”

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The remark startled Li Mingxing. He turned toward the voices and saw two or three university students talking, one of whom was carrying luggage, apparently moving house.

After hearing his friend’s warning, the student replied nonchalantly, “It’s fine. I’ve checked—the so-called Ghost Building is just a rumor. Besides, I’m not moving into the unit where someone died; mine is much farther away. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Anyway, most people have already left, so the rent is really cheap.”

Li Mingxing’s eyes lit up. Feigning curiosity, he approached them. “You’re university students, right? I just graduated and am looking for a place. You mentioned cheap rent—does such a place really exist?”

Hearing he’d just graduated, the students dropped their guard. The one moving was especially enthusiastic, describing their destination.

Among them, one was more cautious, saying, “Brother, you’d better not go there. I heard that a few years ago, a madwoman laughed hysterically and killed her husband. Even now, people say you can still hear her crazed laughter at night.”

“Really? I’ve been around here for years and never heard of such a thing,” Li Mingxing replied, pretending to be a little frightened.

“That’s because the news was suppressed. We only found out after we started looking for apartments there. The rest of us aren’t going, but Xiao Liu insists on staying a few days. If nothing happens, he’ll settle there for good. Isn’t that asking for trouble? If the place was safe, would there be so many good apartments?”

The students chimed in, each offering their opinion. Only Xiao Liu, as they called him, gazed indifferently out the window, but Li Mingxing could see he was barely holding it together.

Soon the bus arrived at the stop. As Li Mingxing got off, he cast a sinister eye over himself, but detected no trace of darkness; instead, he sensed the feng shui here was quite good—golden and purple energies were almost imperceptibly gathering.

This only dampened his interest further; he was even reluctant to go inside for a look.

But watching the students move steadily toward the building, Li Mingxing reconsidered and decided to follow them. Soon, they entered a residential complex.

Upon entering, Li Mingxing was taken aback—the place was bizarre. Just a single step inside and everything felt different.

The buildings were new, yet utterly devoid of human presence. The shade of the trees was abundant but oppressive. There were no security guards at the gate, only an old caretaker, his eyes yellowed and unclear.

Even without the sinister eye, one could feel the chill emanating from all sides. A few residents wandered the complex, but they all appeared gaunt, with little vitality to them.