Build an ancient-level power in the nightmare world

Just as Chris was putting away the star cards in the brass box and preparing to make himself a simple dinner, there was a knock on the apartment door.

"Knock knock knock".

Chris turned to look at the doorway.

He was slightly surprised; who would be looking for him at this time?

Out of caution, Chris instinctively wanted to use his psychic vision to check what was happening outside the door.

Although spirit messengers cannot achieve physical clairvoyance, they can see the spiritual fluctuations emanating from other beings within a certain distance, even if they penetrate some physical barriers.

If the person outside the door harbors ill intentions, then Chris should see some unusual spiritual brilliance.

But then he suddenly remembered that Chess and his companion, who appeared to be the torchbearers, lived opposite him.

In the end, they gave up on the plan.

The peephole on the door was covered with a layer of dust that could not be wiped clean no matter how many years it had been there.

Chris could only vaguely make out a slightly petite figure standing outside.

It looks like a woman?

He slowly moved his head away from the peephole, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, but he still carefully opened the door.

After opening the door, Chris could see that the person standing outside was a young woman with a single ponytail.

"Good evening, Mr. Chris," the other person greeted him as if they recognized him.

Seeing this, Chris, though he didn't recognize the woman, gave her a friendly smile and replied, "Good evening, beautiful lady."

"My name is Vivian, and I live next door." As she spoke, she pointed to the left rear, to room 101, whose door was currently open.

Although there are only two units per floor in Apartment 037, the doors of these two units are not directly opposite each other, but are offset by about one meter, effectively preventing the somewhat awkward situation of opening the doors and looking directly at each other.

"Oh, it's Miss Vivian. What brings you here?" Chris looked away from Room 101, a look of sudden realization on his face.

Vivian suddenly grinned and said gently, "Chase is preparing dinner tonight, and we'd like to invite Mr. Chris to dine with us. Would that be convenient for you?"

Upon hearing Vivian's invitation to dinner, Chris's gaze shifted and he couldn't help but look back at Room 101.

At that moment, he did indeed smell a fragrance wafting from the direction of Room 101.

His stomach also let out a few uncooperative noises at that moment.

"Uh...it seems my body has already agreed on my behalf," Chris suddenly laughed, trying to cover up his embarrassment with these slightly joking words.

"Hehe." Vivian, seeing this, also cooperated by gently placing her right hand in front of her mouth, her eyes widening slightly, revealing a slightly surprised expression. "It seems our invitation came at just the right time."

……

Room 101 Nottingham Street.

Chris was already seated, with Vivian sitting opposite him.

Meanwhile, Chase was busy on the side.

He wanted to go and help, but the other person said that he could manage on his own.

During this time, Chris couldn't help but quickly scan the layout of the living room in Room 101 with his eyes.

It was similar to the scene he had seen in his lucid dream, except that the furniture clearly showed signs of age.

Soon, Chase brought out a steaming pot of seafood beet soup, placed it in the center of the table, and then moved it slightly towards Chris.

This is tonight's main course.

In addition, there were fried bacon, heated cheese slices, and sliced ​​wheat bread on the table, all served on porcelain plates.

The simple yet exceptionally shiny tableware on the table clearly indicated that the other party had made ample preparations for today's dinner.

Chase did not sit down immediately. Instead, he served each of the three people dining that night a bowl of seafood soup before slowly sitting down next to Vivian.

Chris looked at his bowl of soup, which was full of seafood but contained only a small piece of beetroot, and couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

He still has doubts about Chase and his companion's identities.

Based on their clothing and conversation during their first meeting, Chris judged that they were a young couple who had just entered the workforce.

Entering the workforce at this age, there's only one possibility: the other person must be a college student.

College students are a rare commodity these days.

But considering that Chase came out of Immorales Funeral Home, if he didn't work there, could it be that someone in his family died?

Chris saw no signs of mourning in Chase.

Therefore, there is only one possibility: the other party is an employee of the funeral home.

But why would a college student work at a funeral home?

Could it be that universities in this world offer majors related to funeral services?

Chris was filled with doubt.

But their hands were not idle.

Regardless of Chase's true identity, let's fill our stomachs first.

Even if the other party really was the torchbearer, based on Chris's understanding of them, they shouldn't resort to poisoning an ordinary person like him who showed no abnormal behavior.

Chris scooped up a spoonful of soup and slowly put it into his mouth.

The combination of sweetness and just the right amount of saltiness allowed Chris's taste buds to experience umami for the first time in the world.

"I never expected that our Mr. Chase would be such a culinary master," Chris praised without reservation. "This is the best seafood soup I've ever had."

Hearing Chris's praise, Chase's smile widened slightly, but he deliberately restrained it, his youthful awkwardness perfectly reflected on his face.

Seeing this, Chris began to doubt his previous judgment.

Chase's behavior was all too natural, too much like that of a student who had just entered the workforce.

If all of this was an act by the other party, then their acting skills are just too good.

Vivian, who had been quietly sipping her soup while keeping an eye on Chris and his companion, chuckled and teased, "Chase is a real all-rounder. Not only is he an excellent cook, but he also..."

Vivian swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

She smiled and glanced at Chess, as if seeking his consent.

Seeing this, Chris remained silent and quietly watched the young couple.

"Hey, I'm not some kind of all-rounder. I was just interested in everything when I was younger, and I know a little bit about everything, but I wouldn't call myself an expert." Chase unconsciously scratched his hair, his face almost overflowing with shyness.

"Our Mr. Chase is very modest," Chris suddenly said with a smile.

After laughing, he very naturally changed the subject: "Does Mr. Chase work at Immorales Funeral Home?"

Upon hearing Chris's question, Chase's expression stiffened slightly before returning to normal, and he smiled and said, "Well, sort of. I was doing temporary work there."

"That's good. That funeral home has a pretty good reputation in the surrounding area, so the treatment should be quite good."

As Chris spoke, he picked up a piece of wheat bread from the plate next to him, dipped it in some seafood soup, and took a bite of the soup-covered part.

The sweet broth, combined with the aroma of wheat and its slightly chewy texture, formed a stark contrast to the white food Chris had been making for himself over the past month.

Although Chris pretended to enjoy the food, his eyes kept glancing at Vivian and Chase.

Upon hearing this, Chess laughed and said, "It's alright, it's just that the boss sometimes likes to nitpick over small things, haha."

Vivian, who had been listening to Chris and Chase's conversation, suddenly interjected, "What does Mr. Chris do?"

Chris's gaze involuntarily drifted to Vivian, whose lips still glistened with oil.

He smiled and said, "I work for the Louis Leather Goods Company; I'm a leatherworker."

Chris didn't mention his title as a senior craftsman; he simply gave a brief introduction to his work.

He could tell that Vivian and Chase both seemed very interested in his work.

So we talked about this topic for a while longer.

Chris recounted almost every interesting thing that happened to a leatherworker.

He looked at Chase and very naturally asked the question that interested him most.

"Working at a funeral home must be quite interesting, right?"

"Haha, it's alright, I mainly deal with all sorts of funeral supplies."

As Chris and the two became more familiar with each other, Chase lost his initial shyness when talking about his work at the funeral home.

"Has Mr. Chase ever dealt with the dead?" Chris asked curiously.

"not yet."

Chase put the last small piece of bread he had left in his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it whole. He then said, "I've only been working there for a few days, and the shop hasn't received any business related to the deceased lately."

"but……"

Chase suddenly changed the subject. He picked up a piece of bacon, then a piece of whole wheat bread, folded the bread in half, sandwiched the bacon between the two pieces, and continued:

"These past few days, my boss has indeed taught me some things to keep in mind when dealing with the deceased, saying that we might have business with the deceased coming to us in the next few days."

"Oh? The precautions for dealing with the dead sound rather mysterious." Chris's curiosity was undisguised.

Seeing this, Chess began to recount in detail what he had learned at the funeral home.

Vivian listened quietly to the side, occasionally revealing a hint of surprise in her eyes.

It seems that Chase had never brought up these topics with her before.

"By the way, Mr. Chris, how long have you been living here? Have you ever felt that the atmosphere in this apartment building is a little strange at times?"

Just as Chase finished recounting a rumor circulating within the funeral home about the resurrection of the dead, he suddenly looked at Chris and asked quite naturally.

Upon hearing this, Chris paused slightly in his act of ladling soup.

A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

It was as if he was genuinely thinking about Chase's problem.

"I've lived here for over a year and haven't found anything strange about it."

"However, this apartment building is indeed quite old, and it hasn't been renovated in a while. There's not even any electrical wiring. Isn't that a bit strange, haha?"

Chris steered the conversation toward the apartment's dilapidated state.

He wasn't sure if Chess's sudden question was simply out of curiosity or if he had actually sensed something.

If the other person is truly an ordinary person, and if his original experience was indeed related to this apartment building itself.

If the other party has this feeling, it is very likely that the strange occurrences in this apartment building are not over yet.

I wonder if the other tenants in this apartment building feel the same way.

Thinking about this, Chris suddenly realized that he hadn't encountered any other residents in the apartment for several days.