The call connected, and after a few rings, a gentle, slightly aged voice answered.
“Hello, who is this?”
“Uncle Zhou, hello. I am Su Wan, Su Zhenhua’s granddaughter.” Su Wan got straight to the point, her tone respectful.
There was a brief silence on the other end, seemingly out of surprise, before the voice softened even further. “Oh, it’s Wanwan. Sigh... Is there something you need my help with?”
Zhou Shikun’s tone carried a faint, almost imperceptible hint of lament and caution.
“Uncle Zhou, I’m sorry to disturb you.”
“I wanted to ask about some old history regarding that unfinished building at the foot of Phoenix Mountain in the western suburbs—the one called ‘Jinxiu Garden.’”
“Do you still remember it? I’d like to know who the original developer was, why construction stopped, and what the current property rights status is.” Su Wan asked directly, though she made it clear she was only seeking information.
“Jinxiu Garden?” Zhou Shikun repeated the name, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, he said, “That place... why are you asking about it? It’s not a good place.”
“I have some personal matters I want to look into. It won’t cause you any trouble,” Su Wan promised.
Zhou Shikun fell silent for a few more seconds. Perhaps he was remembering his old friendship with the Su family, or perhaps he felt that a building abandoned for years was insignificant. Finally, he spoke.
“That place... honestly, it’s quite eerie.”
“It started about ten years ago. A businessman from Hong Kong took a liking to the spot, thinking the mountain view was good and it wasn't too far from the city. He wanted to develop it into a high-end residential area called ‘Jinxiu Garden.’”
“All the permits were in order back then, and construction had even begun...”
“Then why did it stop?” Su Wan pressed.
“That’s where it gets spooky.” Zhou Shikun lowered his voice, his tone taking on the mysterious quality of someone recounting an old legend. “When the building reached roughly its current stage, strange things started happening. They weren't ordinary construction accidents, but things that couldn't be explained by common sense.”
“For example?” Su Wan felt a stir in her heart.
“First, the night shift workers kept saying they heard women crying or children running in the building, but when they went to look, there was nothing. Later, tools started mysteriously disappearing and turning up in impossible places.”
“After that, several workers began sleepwalking in the building one after another. When they woke up, they said they dreamed of being chased by something. They were mentally shaken for a long time.”
“The most serious incident involved a foreman who went to check on progress in the middle of the night. The next morning, he was found unconscious in a concrete shell. When he woke up, he spoke nonsense, saying he saw things he shouldn't have seen. Not long after, he resigned and went back to his hometown. I heard his mental state was never quite right after that.”
Zhou Shikun paused before continuing. “Rumors spread like wildfire through the construction site, leaving everyone panicked. The progress was heavily affected.”
“That Hong Kong businessman didn't believe in superstitions at first. He invited monks and Taoist priests to perform a ritual. But halfway through, all the incense and candles went out. The master he hired ran away without even taking his full payment.”
“The businessman still wasn't willing to give up and forced the project forward for a few more months. In the end, his own family started having consecutive accidents, and his business mysteriously began to fail.”
“Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and had to admit defeat. The project was completely halted, leaving that half-finished building behind. He left Jiangcheng, and the land and the unfinished building were eventually mortgaged to a bank to settle his debts.”
Su Wan understood everything now.
So, this building already had a reputation for being haunted on Blue Star!
This seemed to faintly echo the eeriness she had experienced herself and the nature of the apocalyptic travel.
“What about the property rights now? Are they still with the bank?” Su Wan asked the most crucial question.
“Probably,” Zhou Shikun said, sounding uncertain.
“A cursed place like that is a hot potato for a bank. It was listed as a non-performing asset long ago. I imagine it’s hard to even auction off, so the paperwork is likely frozen.”
“Anyway, Wanwan, you’re not asking because you’re interested in that place, are you? Take some advice from your Uncle Zhou—stay far away from there. That place is very sinister.”
“Thank you, Uncle Zhou. I was just asking out of curiosity; I won’t touch it.” Su Wan replied casually. After a few more words of thanks, she hung up.
Putting her phone down, Su Wan stood by the roadside, her gaze flickering with calculation.
Developed by a Hong Kong businessman, abandoned due to supernatural events, mortgaged to a bank, and now an ignored bad asset...
This background was even more suitable than she had imagined.
The reputation of being eerie would make ordinary people avoid it, perfectly concealing the building’s true anomalies.
The fact that the property rights were frozen with the bank meant there was no clear private owner, which might provide more room for maneuvering.
As a non-performing asset, its value was extremely low; it might even be a negative asset that required disposal costs.
This was practically a “base” tailor-made for her!
To fully control it, she had to obtain the property rights.
And acquiring a low-value, ill-reputed bad asset from a bank was not impossible.
A plan gradually began to take shape in Su Wan’s mind.
She needed to find out the specific debt situation and the bank’s disposal intentions.
Then, she would need to find a suitable “agent” or “shell company” to handle the acquisition...
No matter what, she had to firmly grasp this Blue Star anchor point for the Terminal Station in her own hands.
Su Wan found a small shop in the western suburb’s urban village to eat something before returning to the unfinished building.
After a day of high mental tension, she was exhausted. She lay down on the soft, comfortable bed and fell fast asleep.
When she opened her eyes again, she had already traveled back to the Apocalyptic Plane.
Outside the window was a murky, grey light, and the air was filled with the scent of fine dust unique to ruins.
After a brief moment of adaptation, Su Wan habitually sank her consciousness into the system to check her status.
The first thing that caught her eye was the prompt for the new Main Quest. The progress bar instantly made her feel much more awake.
【New Main Quest: Rise of the Shelter】
【Quest Content: Successfully recruit and accept one hundred (100) new Official Tenants.】
【Current Progress: 65/100】
【Time Limit: 7 natural days (Local Plane time). Remaining time: 6 days, 12 hours.】
Sixty-five already?!
Su Wan was shocked.
She remembered that before she traveled away yesterday, there were only about a dozen new tenants. Including the original ones, the total was barely over twenty.
In the span of a single night, the number had actually surged to sixty-five?
This expansion speed far exceeded her expectations!
But it made sense. A shelter that could completely withstand the Death Tide would have an explosive effect among the vagrants in the Ruin Zone.
The old tenants, in their eagerness to earn referral rewards and the price difference from selling gold, were likely sparing no effort to spread the word everywhere.
Word of mouth had spread from one to ten, then ten to a hundred. The reputation had fermented rapidly, attracting a large number of desperate or stability-seeking vagrants.
This was undoubtedly a good thing.
Population was the foundation of development.
There were only thirty-five people left to reach the goal of one hundred. At this rate, it was very likely she could complete it within the day!
Rate on N.U.
