Chapter 3, the plot has begun

That night, Xiao Zhi returned from A You's small restaurant downstairs. He was now trapped within the confines of the public building, unable to go anywhere, and could only temporarily assist those around him to maintain a good reputation...

To deal with A Jiu, reliable assistance is necessary. However, being new and lacking a foundation of trust makes it difficult to recruit people

I almost forgot, Ah Jiu also raises little ghosts

Unexpected events always arrive quietly

It is truly a challenging beginning

An elderly man with gray-white hair and glasses, dressed in a loose bathrobe and shorts, walked out of room 2442! He lazily waved his hand at the crowd, saying, "It's nothing, nothing at all, you can disperse!" After speaking, he paused for a moment in front of a pale-faced old man in a Zhongshan suit, seemed to want to say something, but then silently walked away.

His footsteps have quickened

It hurts just to look at it

Conversely, A Jiu, who is also a Taoist priest, has set up a shrine in his own home. Relying on his eloquence and ability to interpret fate and fortune, he surprisingly earns quite well, leading a life that is much better than that of A You

Tonight, something went wrong. Xiao Zhi could only slowly climb the stairs. As he passed the corner of the stairs on the fourth floor, he inexplicably felt a chill rush up his spine to the top of his head, and the hair all over his body stood on end

Xiao Zhi was preparing to go down to save him, when he suddenly heard very light footsteps coming from downstairs. He hurriedly hid himself in the dark shadows

As long as Chen Dong is alive, there is nothing to worry about; however, if he were to die, it would become one of the most terrifying threats in the plot. If he can ensure Chen Dong's survival, then the danger would naturally be reduced by more than half

A Jiu stood in the corridor, watching Xiao Zhi hurriedly return to his room. He looked up at the number plate on the door, and the smile he raised was somewhat unsettling, as he said softly: "A newborn calf, indeed, indeed."

Because the identity of this old man in the Zhongshan suit can be considered the mastermind behind the imagined world of the entire film, his name is A Jiu, a ruthless and unscrupulous sorcerer of the evil faction

Xiao Zhi instinctively took a half step back, wondering what this old thing was looking for him for

Chen Dong stopped in his tracks, looking down in confusion. Unexpectedly, his foot slipped, and he tumbled down the stairs, his neck striking heavily against the steps. A crisp cracking sound echoed, and a section of his spine protruded from the back of his neck...

Hairs standing on end

The film features varying time spans, and a simple cut from one shot to another could represent a period of ten days to half a month. Xiao Zhi is unable to determine the exact day when Chen Dong encountered danger, so he can only try his best to prevent it from happening

Upon reaching the seventh floor, the staircase is circular, and standing at the edge of the railing allows one to see the situation below. Suddenly, a familiar impatient voice comes from below: "Whose family is allowing children to play out so late!"

In the following days, Xiao Zhi became much more familiar with the residents in the public building. Fortunately, it was still 2013, and his mainland currency could still be exchanged for Hong Kong dollars through others.

Chen Dong lay motionless at the corner, but the gentle rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was still alive

Xiao Zhi is very polite and amiable to everyone, even the grumpiest person, known as the foul-mouthed Chen Dong, holds him in high regard and often praises him: "This mainland lad Xiao Zhi has a bright future..."

He turned back to glance at the door number of Xiao Zhi, and only after a long while did he slowly depart

Behind the door, Xiao Zhi's expression was quite grim

He has no choice but to be afraid

He chuckled and said, "How can a young person be burdened with illness? Since you are living here, we are all like family. If you are feeling unwell, feel free to come to me, Uncle Jiu. I can easily prescribe a secret remedy for you, making you lively and vigorous..."

Damn

Being a Taoist priest does not bring in much money, and although Ah You possesses some skills, there are not many opportunities for him to showcase them. He can only stay in this small shop downstairs in the public building, frying glutinous rice...

It is A Jiu, whose old cloth shoes slowly tread on the steps, approaching Chen Dong! ... Facing Chen Dong, who is lying on the stairs, A Jiu has an expressionless face, as if none of this is particularly surprising...

Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. It was the long-faced old man dressed in a black Zhongshan suit. He was holding something unknown with which he wiped his teeth, smiling as he looked at Xiao Zhi and said, "The complexion of the young man is quite good..."

However, there are only a thousand days of thievery, not a thousand days of guarding against thieves

He tries to present himself as a young person who has just entered society, clearly lacking experience yet wanting to appear seasoned. This is almost the typical demeanor of many fresh graduates stepping into the workforce; in order to avoid being taken advantage of, they all resort to this somewhat laughable "act like a veteran" strategy to protect themselves.

Just as the aunt was about to open her mouth to speak

Xiao Zhi suddenly quickened his pace; the building was already unclean, regardless of whether it was an auditory hallucination, he had to leave as soon as possible

Xiao Zhi's reaction surprised A Jiu; there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes as he asked, "Young man, I am not some man-eating beast; you seem to be quite afraid of me..."

As people departed, Xiao Zhi also prepared to return to his room

Xiao Zhi's heart tightened, and he stopped in his tracks. In the movie, Chen Dong said this line before he died...! ... He cannot die!

After he entered, he pressed himself against the door, clearly seeing the figure of A Jiu in the corridor through the peephole. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, although he was clearly an outsider to the plot, how could this old bastard suddenly come over to strike up a conversation? ... It is worth noting that in the movie, those who were approached by this old bastard generally did not end well

A Jiu was taken aback for a moment, intermittent allergic stress symptoms? ... The name sounds like quite a troublesome illness, but ... ... it doesn't have much impact, so there's no need to pay attention to it ... ...

Xiao Zhi is very attentive to Chen Dong, often going to his home to help out

With both hands gripping the railing and looking down, I saw the old man Chen Dong slowly climbing up while holding onto the railing. At that moment, the indistinct white figure of a child at the corner of the fourth floor moved and let out a giggle once again

Once it was confirmed that Ajiu had walked far away, Xiao Zhi sat down on the sofa and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air

Little do they know that in the eyes of seasoned veterans in the real world, they are nothing but eggs without shells

But he still had to hold on, maintaining a tense expression on his face, he stammered slightly and said: "Uncle, I have intermittent neurogenic stress symptoms, your slap almost scared me into a heart spasm... it could be fatal."

As the days went by, the residents of the public building lived their lives as usual in tranquility, but Xiao Zhi's nerves were becoming increasingly taut

As a person with a strong sense of crisis, a fleeting thought of killing arose in his heart, but it quickly dissipated. He was merely an ordinary young white-collar worker from a wealthy family. Although he participated in various fitness activities during his leisure time, he had never even killed a chicken. Now, he was expected to confront a malevolent individual skilled in dark arts. Not only was the psychological pressure immense, but even if he went, it would merely be a case of delivering his own head.

This is the calm before the storm is about to arrive

He knows that the dangers at the beginning of the film mainly occur in Qian Xiaohai's room 2442, so for the time being, he is still safe

Xiao Zhi An remarked that it was not good, and he almost broke down after just one encounter

Suddenly, a blurry child at the corner ran out in a strange posture, reaching out to tug at A Jiu's hem, trying to stop him from doing something, but was impatiently brushed off by A Jiu! The child dared not obstruct him again and the blurry figure squatted back at the corner of the stairs

It is the voice of the old man Chen Dong

Although I did not turn back, I still caught a glimpse of a small pale figure crouching at the corner of the staircase in my peripheral vision

The elevator in the public building has not been maintained for over a year, and it often experiences operational failures

Chen Dong, with a body limp and swollen like a sack filled with mud and sand, crashed down after hitting several stair railings with a loud bang! Bang! Bang! He landed heavily at the corner, right next to where the white child was squatting! ... Blood slowly spread from beneath him, forming a shocking pool of blood ...

Xiao Zhi quickly nodded: "Thank you, thank you, Uncle Jiu, I will return to my room now"

During this period, Xiao Zhi encountered the old man Ayou, who wore glasses and a bathrobe, on several occasions by "chance". Through these brief interactions, Xiao Zhi discovered that Ayou's state of life was also extremely despondent. As a member of a family that had been Taoists for generations, he found that his generation had indeed fallen into decline, as people no longer needed Taoists as they did in the old days

Chen Dong, who had fallen to the ground, was assisted by A Jiu as he slowly moved up the stairs. Perhaps due to the sharp pain, Chen Dong regained consciousness and found A Jiu supporting him, instinctively struggling to break free. However, to his surprise, A Jiu's eyes glinted with malice as he tightened his grip around Chen Dong's neck and forcefully threw him down the stairs.

One may have the intent to kill, but lacks the skill to do so

A faint sound of a child's laughter came from beside my ear

Before he could finish laughing, he suddenly broke into a violent cough, the sound echoing back and forth in the corridor, as if he were trying to cough out his lungs. He hurriedly reached into his pocket, took out a self-rolled cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke. This finally alleviated his coughing, and the rich smoke swirled in the air, ever-changing