Chapter 266: The Information on the Second Floor

At that moment, Li Yi stared at the old messenger named Wang Chuan, carefully observing the qipao-clad woman without a heartbeat—but he couldn't understand why Guo You, who should have also finished his third letter and arrived on the second floor, was associating with these two.

Although messengers weren't exactly enemies, in this ghostly post office, human hearts were unpredictable, and true trust was hard to come by.

Perhaps sensing Li Yi's wariness, Guo You immediately walked over and said, "Li Yi, don't be nervous. Wang Chuan and Liu Qingqing are both second-floor messengers. Especially Wang Chuan—he's been here on the second floor for a long time, a veteran messenger. He just explained a lot about the Ghost Post Office to us, and it's been very helpful for completing deliveries and surviving."

"And they mean no harm. After all, there aren't many messengers on the second floor; no one fights over rooms. After the screening on the first floor, those who made it here have survived longer, so messengers generally avoid antagonizing each other."

Guo You had now lowered his guard—he was a newcomer with nothing worth scheming for, and delivery missions often didn't interfere with one another. On the contrary, sharing intelligence could improve everyone's chances of survival.

Li Yi's expression remained calm, but his inner vigilance never wavered; his gaze fixed on the woman named Liu Qingqing.

To him, ordinary messengers posed no threat—but spirit handlers were different. He currently had no ability to confront supernatural forces. If he clashed with a spirit handler, his only option was to strike first, killing them before they could unleash their supernatural power.

"You don't need to fear," Liu Qingqing noticed his caution and spoke coldly. "Every time a spirit handler uses supernatural power, it causes spiritual erosion. Too many uses, or too much power at once, and the force will spiral out of control—eventually, the ghost on your body will awaken. You'll die, and trigger a major spiritual incident."

"I save my supernatural power for deliveries. I won't waste it pointlessly."

Li Yi's expression shifted slightly: "Spirit handlers have such restrictions?"

He hadn't known this before.

"The stronger the supernatural power, the heavier the cost," Liu Qingqing said. "Ordinary people leap straight to unimaginable power—but the price is equally immense."

"That makes sense."

Li Yi nodded. He'd always wondered: why did people in this world not cultivate? Why could they gain supernatural power simply by controlling ghosts? And why could any random supernatural force easily kill a high-level spirit-sense cultivator like himself? If there were no costs, spirit handlers would already be invincible.

"Haha, come inside and talk," Wang Chuan spoke up, smiling and gesturing for them to enter the room. "None of us are easy to stay alive. In the Ghost Post Office, cooperation is better. You're Li Yi, right? Your caution is right—after just finishing three deliveries on the first floor and knowing nothing about the second floor, it's natural. But don't worry—I'll explain everything slowly."

Li Yi considered it. His spiritual sense detected no malice or warning from the man, so he nodded calmly.

Li Yi pondered for a moment; under his spiritual sense, he detected no malice from this person, nor any warning of danger, and then nodded calmly.

the group returned to the room.

But as Li Yi passed Liu Qingqing, the cold aura radiating from her intensified, and he caught a faint, unnatural odor—not human, but something emitted by an object. He glanced at her several times.

The second-floor room was spacious and brightly lit, less moldy and damp, yet still oppressive and uncomfortable.

Li Yi glanced around and saw many bottles of alcohol, food, water, and clothes scattered on the floor—clearly, the messenger Wang Chuan had lived here a long time.

"Li Yi, I said before—you're lucky," Wang Chuan sat down, opened a beer, gulped it down, then let out a long, satisfied sigh. "By my estimate, I'll receive my third letter in the next few days. When that happens, you'll get another choice."

"Li Yi, I told you before—you're lucky to have arrived. Based on the timing, I'll probably receive my third letter in the next few days, and then you'll get another chance to choose." Wang Chuan sat down, opened a bottle of beer, and gulped down several swallows, then let out a long, satisfied breath.

Wang Chuan spoke slowly: "Let me explain the Ghost Post Office's delivery rules—no, not the official rules, but the loopholes. Officially, every messenger must deliver letter after letter, climbing floor by floor from the first to the fifth, until the final letter is delivered and they escape."

"But after many messengers experimented, some discovered loopholes. Take you, Li Yi—you delivered your final letter and arrived on the second floor. But have you ever wondered: what if someone else took that letter and delivered it successfully instead?"

"But after countless messengers have tested the system, some have gradually discovered loopholes in delivering letters—for instance, you, Li Yi. You previously delivered the final letter, and after delivering it, you went upstairs to the second floor. But have you ever considered what would happen if someone else took your letter and successfully delivered it instead?"

He hadn't considered this—but now, with Wang Chuan's hint, he understood: delivery missions could be stolen?

"You mean, if a letter is intercepted, and someone else delivers it successfully, the Ghost Post Office will recognize them as the one who completed it—and they'll advance to the second floor?" Li Yi wasn't stupid; he grasped it immediately.

Wang Chuan nodded with a smile: "You understand quickly. Exactly. It's a loophole. If you're eager to move up, intercepting the third letter lets you jump straight up."

"What happens to the messenger whose letter was stolen?" Li Yi asked.

Wang Chuan said: "The Ghost Post Office marks them as a newcomer—they restart with the first letter, but remain on the same floor."

"How do you know this so clearly?" Li Yi was surprised.

Wang Chuan took another sip of beer: "Because I've done it myself. I've delivered the third letter more than once—several messengers I sent to the third floor. That's why I've stayed on the second floor so long."

"Huh?" Li Yi's eyes flickered: "Why would you do that? Doesn't that trap you on the second floor?"

"It's my choice," Wang Chuan said with a self-deprecating laugh. "The second floor isn't like the first. Here, messengers get a delivery only once a month. I deliver one letter, then rest a month. I know my limits—I have no chance of escaping the Ghost Post Office. The higher you go, the harder the deliveries become. I have no confidence delivering letters to the third or fourth floors."

He'd accumulated rich delivery experience on the second floor. Each mission was risky, but still within control. If he moved to another floor, the difficulty would spike—and he'd likely die instantly.

"I see," Li Yi understood, then asked: "If the second floor has one delivery per month, how often does the third floor have deliveries?"

"One every three months," Liu Qingqing said beside him.

"You're certain?" Li Yi asked.

Liu Qingqing replied coldly: "I have a friend currently serving as a messenger on the third floor. I have his contact. I can confirm it with one hundred percent certainty."

Li Yi's eyes immediately flickered with thought.

If the third floor had one delivery every three months, then reaching it meant he could completely escape the Ghost Post Office's control—because in just over two months, the cross-dimensional gate would open, and he could flee without ever delivering another letter.

Conversely, if he stayed on the first floor, he'd need to deliver at least two letters—possibly three, if his luck ran bad.

"I heard there's also a red letter—when one appears, everyone on the floor must participate in the delivery; if completed, everyone advances one floor," Wang Chuan shook the bottle and smiled: "Unfortunately, I've never seen the so-called red letter; the most unusual one I've seen was a blue letter, but the person who delivered it never came back, and the intelligence was lost."

"I heard there's also a red letter—everyone on the floor must participate in the delivery task. Once completed, everyone can advance directly to the next floor." Wang Chuan shook his bottle and smiled. "Too bad I've never seen this so-called red letter. The most unusual one I've seen was a blue letter—but the messenger who took it never came back, so the information was lost."

At this, Guo You beside him immediately asked excitedly: "What way?"

"Tear up the letter," Wang Chuan took another gulp of beer. "Tearing the letter means destroying the delivery mission—but there's a cost: it draws a ghost's attack. If you survive the ghost's assault, the Ghost Post Office will deem you to have successfully completed the delivery."

"Tear up the letter and draw a ghost's attack?" Li Yi's hair stood on end. "That's worse than delivering. Delivering might not even meet a ghost—but tearing the letter guarantees one will target you."

"That's true—but if you find special methods to avoid the ghost's attack, tearing the letter becomes highly efficient. I once met a city official who told me that in their spirit handler headquarters, there's a supernatural item called a 'substitute doll'—it can die once in your place. If you use the substitute doll before tearing the letter, the ghost won't attack you—it'll attack the doll instead."

"Once the substitute doll dies, the ghost's attack ends—and you've successfully completed the delivery."

"Substitute doll? There are such supernatural items?" Li Yi was astonished. This world was full of strange, eerie, and sinister things.

Wang Chuan said: "I'm only saying this is one possibility. Other methods exist too—for example, if you have money, you can build a gold safety house. Tear the letter, hide inside, and wait until the ghost's attack ends. Gold safety houses are now a very simple, effective survival tactic in the supernatural circle."

Wang Chuan said, "What I mentioned is just one possibility. There are other ways to avoid the ghost's attack—for example, if you have money, you can build a gold safety room, hide inside after tearing up the letter, and wait out the duration of the ghost's attack. After all, gold safety rooms have now become a very simple and effective survival method in the supernatural circle."

How much money would it take to build a house out of gold?

No wonder gold prices in this world had skyrocketed—everyone was using it to build houses.

In his own world, gold prices were low and falling. If he could return across dimensions, he'd build a safety house—though he wouldn't need one after returning, since ghosts here were special.

In his world, even if ghosts existed, they could be easily killed.

"Besides avoiding ghost attacks, there's another direct method: fight the ghost head-on," Wang Chuan glanced at Liu Qingqing. "Spirit handlers possess supernatural power, which can oppose ghosts. If you tear the letter and repel the attacking ghost, you still complete the delivery."

"But it depends on your own strength. Supposedly, the more letters you tear, the more terrifying the ghost that attacks."

Liu Qingqing said: "I've never torn a letter yet, but if the chance arises, I'll try your method."

She was confident she could handle ordinary ghosts—tearing one letter wouldn't be hard.

"By the way, while you're on the first or second floor, seize every delivery opportunity," Wang Chuan added. "Deliveries here are still relatively simple. Use this time to acquire supernatural items—or even supernatural power. If you reach the third floor without any survival tools, you'll be in serious trouble when delivery difficulty spikes."

"By the way, besides these, when you're on the first or second floor, you must seize every delivery opportunity, because delivery tasks on the first and second floors are still relatively simple. During these deliveries, you must find ways to acquire supernatural items—or even supernatural power. If you reach the third floor without any supernatural items to protect yourself, you'll be in trouble when the delivery difficulty increases."

Li Yi stayed silent. Wang Chuan was right—he'd suspected this before. Early deliveries carried hidden benefits; if he could obtain them, they'd help his survival. He'd acquired a bottle of corpse water during his first delivery—through it, he could see invisible ghosts.

But his second letter was one that pulled people into the Ghost Post Office—no chance to obtain a supernatural item.

The third letter was delivered to the spirit handler named Song Jin. Li Yi felt he'd missed something.

The third letter was given to the spirit-controlling practitioner named Song Jin. Li Yi felt he had likely missed something.