Chapter 21
Chapter 21
The person behind the door was young-almost impossibly so.
He looked to be in his twenties, tall and handsome, with the kind of “puppy-dog” face that was popular these days.
Wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of baggy shorts, he looked somewhat lean as he nonchalantly twirled a ring of keys in his hand.
“What are you looking at? I’m your Landlord.”
“The Landlord!?”
Everyone cried out in unison, staring at the man in surprise.
There was actually a Landlord?
Wang Weiye watched his every move warily. “Are you human or a ghost?”
“I’m your father.”
The Landlord’s arrogant and unruly temperament was immediately on full display.
Wang Weiye: “…”
Why does everyone want to be my father today?
Tao Jinran immediately lowered her guard. “This one is definitely human, not a ghost. After all, only humans have such an obsession with being everyone’s daddy.”
The Landlord and Yun Youyou: “…”
Sorry, but we’re both ghosts.
“Whoa! A beauty!”
The Landlord caught sight of something and suddenly dashed forward, appearing right in front of Yun Youyou.
“What’s your sign, gorgeous?”
The Landlord rubbed his hands together, looking at Yun Youyou with an expectant expression.
Caught off guard by the sudden flirtation, Yun Youyou blanked for a moment. “I’m ‘Made-of-Meat’.”
“No! You’re ‘Made-for-Me’!”
“…”
Tao Jinran became even more convinced of her judgment. “He uses cheesy pick-up lines. He’s definitely human.”
Yun Youyou felt as if the Game had gathered every unreliable ghost in existence into this single Instance.
“It’s not convenient to talk standing here. Let’s go downstairs and sit for a chat.”
Wang Weiye continued to watch the sudden Landlord with suspicion.
It really wasn’t convenient to stay in the hallway, so everyone turned to head down.
Halfway there, the Landlord suddenly patted his pockets. “Oh no, I think I’m missing something?”
Tao Jinran asked curiously, “What are you missing?”
The Landlord leaned his hand against the wall above Yun Youyou’s head, giving her a wicked smirk. “I’m missing a bit of you.”
Yun Youyou: “…”
Why don’t you just eat me instead?
She silently ducked out from under the Landlord’s arm. “I think you’re missing a brain.”
The Landlord’s cheesy lines had dealt a massive blow to everyone’s psyche.
By the time they were sitting on the sofa, not a single person spoke. Everyone seemed to still be reeling from the impact of those pick-up lines.
The Landlord jingled the keys in his hand. “Have you guys paid your rent yet?”
Everyone shook their heads in silence.
They had all been packed up and shoved in here by the Game; how could they have paid any rent?
“We have to pay rent?”
Tao Jinran looked surprised. “Doesn’t the Game pay that for us?”
The Landlord scoffed. “You think the Game is a charity? You think it would pay your rent? It’s a total Scrooge. It won’t part with a single cent; it’s stingier than an iron rooster.”
The Landlord’s teeth ground together the moment he mentioned the Game.
Yun Youyou and Shamate both knew that feeling well and nodded silently in agreement.
Wang Weiye frowned. “But we don’t have any money.”
At most, they had brought a few Game items with them. Where would they get money for rent?
“So, you’re saying you intend to stay here for free?”
The Landlord’s expression suddenly turned cold, and he stared at Wang Weiye with a sinister gaze.
“We’re all Players here. Why get hung up on a little money? If you try to force us, we aren’t pushovers.”
Wang Weiye took a hard stance, making it clear he had no intention of paying rent.
He had calculated everything clearly in his mind.
There were five of them, and only one Landlord.
They say two hands are no match for four fists. No matter how powerful this Landlord was, there was no way he could withstand ten.
“Heh, who said I was a Player?”
Dozens of tentacles suddenly sprouted from the Landlord’s side, each one covered in densely packed eyes that stared unblinkingly at Wang Weiye.
“Holy crap, what is that thing!”
As a trypophobe, Tao Jinran was completely defenseless against such a sight. She silently shrunk back behind Yun Youyou.
Wang Weiye had nowhere to hide and collapsed onto the floor in a pathetic heap.
“You can’t harm Players right at the start! That’s a violation! I’m going to report you!”
The tentacles grew even more excited upon hearing this, lunging toward Wang Weiye with wild abandon.
They didn’t do anything else; instead, they formed an orderly line, each taking a turn to deliver a resounding slap to Wang Weiye’s face. They were organized and disciplined, queuing up for their turn to slap him without any pushing or shoving.
Before long, Wang Weiye’s face was swollen, and his lips were as red and puffy as sausages.
Tao Jinran huddled behind Yun Youyou. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Slap-brand tentacles-the fighter jets of the tentacle world!”
These tentacles seemed to really enjoy slapping people. After finishing with Wang Weiye, they loomed in front of the other Players, looking eager to continue.
Fortunately, the Landlord called them all back.
Only then did the others escape the fate of being slapped into oblivion.
The Landlord crossed his arms, looking at the people before him with utter disdain. “Well? Is there anyone else who doesn’t want to pay rent?”
No one dared to raise their hand.
Shen Qingyu’s expression was grim. “But we don’t have any money.”
“No money, huh…”
The Landlord tapped his long fingers on the table. “It just so happens that I’ve lost a dog. If you can help me find it, I’ll waive your rent.”
Tao Jinran poked her head out. “What does your dog look like?”
“Two eyes, a mouth, and oh, right! A nose.”
Everyone: “…”
How are we supposed to find it with that?
Tao Jinran shrunk back behind Yun Youyou and whispered, “Is he intentionally making it impossible so he can eat us all?”
Regardless, even with such pathetic clues, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and search.
Yun Youyou had a fair amount of money in her wallet, but it was still a bit short of the required rent.
The Landlord walked up to Yun Youyou and winked at her.
“Babe, you don’t have to pay rent. All you have to do is agree to be the Landlord’s wife.”
“This is the back of my hand, this is the top of my foot, and you are my babe.”
The Landlord leaned in close to Yun Youyou’s ear, his voice thick with flirtation as he reached out to twirl a lock of hair by her cheek.
Yun Youyou pointed to the side. “This is a table, this is a chair, and you can get the hell out of here.”
The Landlord froze for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. “Woman, you’ve caught my attention.”
Yun Youyou: [Expressionless.jpg]
She stared up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle in speechless exasperation.
Who would have thought that going out to work would involve sexual harassment from a boss? Where did this overbearing CEO act come from?
Morals were truly in decline; even ghosts weren’t what they used to be.
Shamate had been worried that the Landlord would eat Yun Youyou in a fit of rage, but to his surprise, the Landlord seemed to actually enjoy this kind of dynamic.
Ghosts these days were getting weirder and weirder.
The five of them split into three groups.
Shamate and Shen Qingyu formed one group, Yun Youyou and Tao Jinran formed another, while Wang Weiye, too embarrassed to show his face, used his aching cheeks as an excuse to retreat to his room and rest.
The four of them turned the villa upside down but couldn’t find the so-called dog.
The Landlord had only given them one hour.
Once the hour was up, the group returned to the Landlord, looking disheveled and defeated.
The Landlord sat comfortably on the sofa, raising an eyebrow in feigned disappointment.