Chapter 278: The Newcomer on the Third Floor

"It seems I'm the only one who'll survive and leave this world."

Li Yi sat by the riverbank, his belongings already packed, ready to cross over at any moment. Reflecting on the past three months, it felt like a nightmare—repeated delivery missions had nearly driven him to death; had he not been lucky enough to obtain a supernatural item, he would surely be dead by now, not alive as he was.

In truth, Qin Bing wasn't without a chance to survive—he simply lacked the means to fight the ghost, and if he'd acquired a supernatural item, he certainly could have held out until the cross-over gate reopened.

In these final days, Li Yi planned to spend his time quietly and peacefully by the river, waiting for departure.

"Pity—I still haven't earned any money for Wang Chuan's family, and I still owe Qian Yaoyao a favor." These were the only two regrets Li Yi had now. He didn't know if he'd ever have the chance to return to this suffocating, hopeless world after he left.

He probably wouldn't come back.

Yet just as Li Yi thought this.

Suddenly.

He sensed something.

He whirled around.

An icy, dark aura appeared out of nowhere, lingering without dispersing. Then, deep within the darkness, a winding, crooked path abruptly materialized. At its end, a familiar yet eerie building reappeared.

"No way? Again? Is this never-ending?"

Li Yi shot to his feet, feeling as if the Ghost Post Office had been mocking him.

They'd promised three months to deliver one letter on the third floor—how had it turned into this?

Besides, his Room 34 had no other couriers left—only Guo You and Liu Qingqing remained, so there was no possibility of a group delivery. Could his delivery mission have come early? That was impossible.

Or perhaps the Ghost Post Office had targeted him and didn't want him to leave this world?

Li Yi's expression shifted rapidly; his mind raced through countless possibilities.

"The cross-over gate will open in just a few days. Even if there really is a delivery mission now, I can just ignore it—I don't believe the Ghost Post Office can cross over to Tianchang City to kill me." He immediately thought of a solution.

The delivery period on the third floor was generous—often seven or ten days. Li Yi was certain he could wait out the gate's opening within that time. So no matter what the delivery mission was, it meant nothing to him.

Realizing this, Li Yi's mindset calmed considerably.

"I'll go take a look—just to say goodbye to Liu Qingqing and Guo You." He picked up his backpack, brushed off the dust, and walked again toward the winding path.

Returning to the Ghost Post Office felt like coming home.

Li Yi had spent a long time here—he knew every corner. But when he climbed the old stairs back to the third floor, he found Liu Qingqing and Guo You already there, standing at the door of Room 34, discussing the situation.

"Li Yi, you're here." Both greeted him immediately.

"It looks like the Ghost Post Office wants to kill us, and won't let us live in peace."

Li Yi no longer had the sharp, confident air he'd had three months ago—he was worn down, perhaps because all his teammates were dead, or perhaps because three months of torment by the Ghost Post Office had changed him.

"Li Yi, you should pull yourself together. Didn't we cooperate well before? Unless something goes wrong, this is the last letter on the third floor. After delivering it, we'll move to the fourth floor—we're close to escaping the Ghost Post Office." Liu Qingqing spoke calmly, even offering comfort now.

"I hate delivering letters. You know that." Li Yi said.

"But what can you do? If you can't resist, you must accept." Liu Qingqing replied.

Li Yi smiled: "Have you accepted your fate? Your episodes of losing control have increased lately—I sense chaotic energy on you, another person's aura invading you. And your appearance has changed too."

Liu Qingqing now wore a qipao, heavy makeup, high heels, and a mink coat—like a noblewoman from the Republican era.

"I know what the fate of a Ghost Controller is. I inquired carefully in Dazhuang City before. The Dazhuang City coordinator I met three months ago, Wang Qiao, is dead. A new one has taken his place—died from a ghost resurgence. This kind of abnormal power is a disaster for ordinary people. Surviving half a year is already good luck. Liu Qingqing, you don't have much time left."

"I know." Liu Qingqing's expression remained calm. "But I only want to live—no matter what method or means."

"Desperation for survival drives people to extremes." Li Yi said. "You've changed, haven't you?"

Liu Qingqing fell silent, then said: "Let's think about tomorrow's delivery mission. I feel this one isn't simple—the Ghost Post Office seems to have changed. Too bad old courier Wang Chuan from the second floor is dead; he'd have known something."

"Tomorrow's delivery mission means nothing to me. I hope you can break free from the Ghost Post Office's curse and find a way to survive." Li Yi said no more, turning toward Room 34.

Guo You watched their exchange without speaking. His thoughts were simple: survive as long as possible. How long he could last in the Ghost Post Office, he didn't know.

With a helpless sigh, he returned to his room.

Lights would be turned off soon. Staying in the corridor wasn't a wise choice.

Soon.

As night fell, the post office's lights went out, plunging everything into darkness. But this night, the Ghost Post Office felt unusually restless. Li Yi heard strange noises from within his room, but he paid little attention—he was leaving this world soon, and didn't care about trivial matters.

As long as he survived the night and received the delivery mission, he would return to the cross-over point and wait for the signal.

Yet when the next day arrived.

At six a. ., the lights in his room turned off on schedule—the new day began.

Li Yi, seated in his room, suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils glowed faintly as he immediately searched the room for any letter—but strangely, no letter appeared. As he searched, he heard footsteps in the corridor and voices of people talking.

"When did the third-floor couriers become so numerous?" Li Yi was surprised.

Judging by the commotion outside, there were at least four people. What had happened on the second floor? Had so many couriers successfully completed their missions?

"If there's no letter in the room, then the letter must be outside. Is this another group delivery? Have I been unlucky enough to get dragged in again?" Li Yi sensed the number of people outside and understood why a new delivery mission had suddenly appeared.

The number of third-floor couriers had suddenly surged, forcing the Ghost Post Office to assign more delivery missions.

"I'm really that unlucky—three delivery missions, all forced upon me, none of my doing. Now I even suspect the Ghost Post Office is deliberately targeting me, trying to trap me in this world."

Li Yi felt helpless, but he still had to meet these new third-floor couriers. From their conversation outside, they sounded like newcomers who knew nothing—missing crucial information. It wasn't that he cared; he feared they'd cause chaos and drag him down with them.

Thinking this, he opened his door.

As he'd sensed, the corridor was filled with unfamiliar couriers, gathered around a mailbox, staring at a yellow letter on it.

"So it really is a group delivery mission." Li Yi sighed inwardly, but among them he sensed an abnormal aura—not that of a living person, but of a Ghost Controller.

And this aura was stronger than Liu Qingqing's.

So the sudden appearance of second-floor couriers on the third floor was due to the presence of a powerful one?

Li Yi prepared to pull out his cracked short staff for safety—but when he reached into his pocket, he only found a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. These were Qin Bing's things; he'd put them in his pocket because they were useless. But his motion had drawn attention.

To avoid alarming an unknown Ghost Controller, Li Yi, as an Evolved One, reacted faster than the others. He casually lit a cigarette, took out the lighter, and spoke directly: "The letter on the mailbox isn't yours. You're rushing to deliver it—you'll die soon. You just came up from the second floor, right? You should have a three-month safety period. Why not just survive those three months properly?"

As soon as he spoke.

The unfamiliar couriers in the corridor all turned to look at him.

You just noticed me now?

I've been standing here at the door this long—how the hell have you survived so many delivery missions with this level of awareness?

Li Yi's gaze swept quickly, finally lingering slightly on two people—the supernatural aura radiated from them. To ordinary people, it was imperceptible, but to him, it stood out sharply.

Both were young. One, barely twenty, looked like a high school student, but his eyes were sharp. The other, around twenty-five, looked wary.

The rest, men and women alike, were ordinary people like Guo You—brought up to the third floor by these two Ghost Controllers.

"Two Ghost Controllers appeared on the second floor at once. No wonder this letter appeared. I suspected before—the stronger the courier on a floor, the more frequent and difficult the deliveries become. Now with two Ghost Controllers and several couriers, a group delivery isn't surprising."

As Li Yi thought, he greeted them: "Glad to meet new friends. I'm Li Yi, a third-floor courier."

He appeared friendly.

After all, he was about to leave—no need to offend two Ghost Controllers. These people were all born evil; dying wasn't enough—they'd resurrect as ghosts. A nightmare.

"I didn't see you last night." The young man, around twenty, spoke. He was Yang Jian. As he approached, even before reaching him, a chilling aura swept over.

So this man was the leader among them?

"I just arrived. Heard the noise outside, came out to check." Li Yi spoke as he lit another cigarette. "Bored outside the post office, so I came in to sit awhile."

"Come in to sit? Can you enter this place anytime? Even without a delivery mission?" Yang Jian asked again.

Of course.

These newcomers had ascended too fast—they knew nothing about the Ghost Post Office.

Li Yi smiled. He never thought he'd become an old courier himself. It reminded him of Wang Chuan.

He said: "Third-floor couriers have a privilege: we can enter and leave the Ghost Post Office anytime, even without a delivery mission. Most just don't bother, so the place feels empty."

"How do you use this privilege?" Yang Jian asked, clearly a complete novice.

"Letter paper."

Li Yi pulled out a black sheet of letter paper. "Burn it, and a path to the Ghost Post Office appears."

"Letter paper? Where does it come from?" Yang Jian asked again.

Li Yi didn't answer, only smiled: "I can tell you—but you tell me first what happened downstairs. Why did six people come up together?"

Besides the two Ghost Controllers, four ordinary people had ascended. That wasn't trivial.

"I tore up a red letter downstairs, and the stairs appeared." Yang Jian replied calmly.

A red letter?

"No, that's impossible. Red letters are the highest-difficulty letters in the post office—they can wipe out an entire floor of couriers. They only appear when the post office has anomalies or special reasons. You didn't even deliver it—you tore it up. Are you joking with me?"

Li Yi was astonished.

He'd only heard of red letters from Wang Chuan—he'd never seen one, never heard of anyone delivering one, let alone tearing one up.

Tearing up a letter invited ghost attacks.

"That's the truth. Believe it or not." Yang Jian said.

"He's telling the truth. I saw it with my own eyes. The ghost from the red letter invaded the second floor. There were over a dozen couriers on the second floor, but yesterday almost all of them died—only we remain." A woman spoke—she'd come up with them.

"Unbelievable. I've only heard of red letters, never seen one. It seems one of you is something beyond the post office's control."

Li Yi regarded the young man with serious caution.

Tearing up a red letter and surviving unharmed—this man wasn't an ordinary Ghost Controller. His power must be immense. Liu Qingqing wouldn't stand a chance against him.

It seemed a formidable intruder had slipped into the post office.

Knowing nothing, charging straight up to the third floor—only someone extraordinary could do that.

"You still haven't told me how to get the letter paper." Yang Jian pressed.

Li Yi snapped out of his thoughts and smiled: "Simple. Tonight, leave your room and walk around outside. You might find some. But there's risk—ghosts wander the post office at night. Touch one, and you're dead."

"What? You pick this up by going out at night?" One of the new couriers turned pale.

Clearly, he'd gotten a glimpse of the horror of the Ghost Post Office at night.

"What else did you think? Used properly, this can save your life at a critical moment—light this letter, and once the postal route appears, you can escape quickly from any supernatural event. Many couriers risk their lives at night to collect them; some get lucky and gather more than others, and are willing to sell a few."

"Do you need any? I can sell them to you cheap—ten thousand each. That's already cost price." Li Yi lied outright—he needed cash to repay Wang Chuan's family, and he wanted to make a big profit off these people.

"How many do you have?" Yang Jian asked. He seemed interested in buying.

Li Yi swiftly pulled out a thick stack: "A lot."

At that moment, Li Yi felt the stranger's strange gaze.

Of course—he wasn't born to be a merchant. He still had much to learn about scarcity marketing from that old man selling clay horses on Ghost Street. He quickly added: "Don't think this stuff is easy to get. It comes with risk. Of course, if any of you have the guts to open your door after lights-out at night to collect these letters, then forget what I said."

The ghost-controlling man named Yang Jian said: "Set the letter business aside for now. Since you've been on the third floor this long, do you know the fastest way to get upstairs? I don't want to stay here long—I need to reach the fourth floor. Better yet, the fifth."

"Eager to escape the post office's curse?" Li Yi looked at him.

Another person just like Liu Qingqing.

Then again, that made sense.

Ghost controllers have short lifespans. Being dragged down by the post office is a real nuisance.

"You'd better stay calm. A courier's delivery mission isn't simple. Your mindset will get you killed." Li Yi said.

"It's my business. If you know something, just tell me—I'll pay extra." Yang Jian said.

Li Yi's expression shifted: "How much extra?"

"Name your price." Yang Jian said.

"One million?" Li Yi blurted out a number. It was just information exchange—not something valuable. He thought he'd already priced it high.

Unexpectedly, the young ghost controller agreed instantly: "Fine. I'll give you three million. And twenty more letters."

"Too hasty," Li Yi thought inwardly. He hadn't expected this guy to be so flush—a rich fool.

But three million was enough. He could leave a sum for Wang Chuan's family, another for Zheng Yaoyao, settle his debts, and finally leave this realm in peace.