After finalizing their lodging arrangements, the group walked in through the main entrance of the apartment building.
The stairwell was filled with a musty odor mingled with the damp sea air, along with a faint, indefinable smell of cooking fumes. The concrete steps beneath their feet had been worn smooth and shiny by time, with some of the edges chipped away to reveal the rough gravel underneath.
The walls were even more mottled and dilapidated. Aside from large patches of peeling paint, there were numerous children's doodles and blurry flyers plastered about. The wind whistled through the gaps in the windows, carrying the wailing sound of the waves as it echoed in the empty stairwell.
“The manager's office should be in the first-floor lobby, right?” Wang Qiang walked at the front, his eyes scanning both sides of the hallway. He quickly spotted a room at the end of the corridor with a sign that read “Property Duty Room.” The door was slightly ajar, and the faint sound of a radio drifted out from inside.
Wang Qiang raised his hand and knocked on the door. “Excuse me, is anyone there? We're here to rent a room.”
The radio inside paused, followed by a slightly raspy male voice. “Come in.”
Pushing the door open, they saw a man in his fifties sitting behind a wooden desk by the window. He held a cigarette between his fingers, and an old desktop radio sat in front of him.
“Renting?” The man wore a faded blue work uniform. His hair was graying, and his face was lined with deep wrinkles. He looked Wang Qiang up and down, then glanced over Bai Ci and the others before slowly stubbing out his cigarette. “Are you all together?”
Wang Qiang took a step forward and spoke according to their pre-arranged cover story. “Yes, we're colleagues from the same company. We want to rent a place together nearby so we can look out for one another. Are there any suitable rooms available?”
Hearing this, the man scanned the group once more. Without asking further questions, he pulled a yellowed registry book from a drawer. “What kind of place are you looking for? This is an old building, so there are no fully furnished apartments. They're all basic single rooms with a small balcony and space for cooking.”
“Are there any rooms on the fourth floor?” Wang Qiang asked. “A higher floor might be a bit less damp.”
“There are two vacant rooms on the fourth floor, right across from each other. There are also a few vacancies on the fifth and sixth floors, but not many,” the man said as he flipped through the registry. “How many rooms do you need?”
“We'll take three,” Wang Qiang replied.
The man nodded, closed the registry, and stood up to grab a ring of keys hanging on the wall. “Alright, I'll take you up to have a look. You can decide after.”
The group followed the manager toward the elevator lobby. The apartment building was equipped with an old-fashioned iron-cased elevator. Its cramped space could only hold five or six people, and the metal walls inside were covered in scratches. After the button was pressed, the elevator creaked and groaned as it slowly ascended.
Riding this kind of old elevator for the first time, Zhao Lei couldn't help but reach out and touch the cold metal wall. “This elevator looks like a relic. It won't suddenly plummet, will it?”
“Don't worry, it's sturdy,” the manager said dismissively. “This building was built nearly thirty years ago, and the elevator has been running just as long. It's never had any major issues.”
Just as he spoke, the elevator suddenly came to a halt on the second floor. The indicator light chimed, and the heavy elevator doors slowly slid open.
Standing outside was an old man with a hunched posture. His head was lowered, obscuring his expression. He wore a dusty, worn-out gray jacket with frayed cuffs and hem, and his messy hair was matted together as if it hadn't been washed in ages.
The old man dragged a bulging nylon sack, its opening revealing a few plastic bottles and discarded cardboard. A sour stench drifted into the elevator, mingling with the damp, musty air and making them want to cover their noses.
“Hey, Old Man Li, this elevator is going up!” Seeing this, the manager immediately stepped forward and waved him away, his tone carrying a hint of impatience. “If you want to go down, take the stairs. You smell awful, don't ruin things for the prospective tenants.”
The man addressed as Old Man Li seemed not to hear him, continuing to stand in place with his head lowered.
The manager clicked his tongue and ignored him, pressing the door close button. The elevator doors slowly shut, locking the sour stench outside.
“Who was that old guy? He looked pretty creepy.” Only after the elevator resumed its ascent did Zhao Lei dare to speak.
“Just a resident of the apartments. His last name is Li, and everyone calls him Old Man Li,” the manager explained as he led the group out of the elevator. “He lives alone, has no children, but he's still relatively nimble. He gets by every day collecting recyclables around the neighborhood. That smell on him comes from the junk he hoards.”
“Then why didn't he say anything just now?” Su Xiao asked softly, her voice still trembling slightly.
“Senile, probably. His mind isn't very sharp anymore. Sometimes when you talk to him, it's like he doesn't hear a thing.” The manager waved his hand, dismissing the topic.
As they spoke, the elevator reached the fourth floor. The fourth-floor hallway was cleaner than the first, and the damp smell was indeed much lighter, though it still carried the distinct odor of an old building.
The manager led them to two doors facing each other and unlocked the one on the left first. “Take a look at this one first.”
The door opened, and a faint smell of dust wafted out. The room wasn't large, but the layout was fairly neat. To the left of the entrance was a tiny kitchen corner with an old-fashioned gas stove and a small sink. To the right was the bathroom, which was quite small, only fitting a toilet and a simple sink. The main area of the room contained a single bed, a peeling wardrobe, and a desk. Near the window was a small balcony cluttered with some random items.
“Now look at the one across the hall,” the manager said, opening the door diagonally opposite. “The layout is about the same, just with a different window view.”
Bai Ci stepped into the room, her gaze immediately landing on the window.
This window directly faced the sea outside the apartment building. Although the glass was somewhat dusty, pushing it open offered a clear view of the seawall and the churning waves across the street. The sea breeze blew in, carrying a fresh, salty scent that chased away the stuffiness in the room.
“I'll take this one,” Bai Ci said immediately. A room facing the sea offered a wide view and would allow her to monitor any activity along the coast right away, which might lead to some clues.
Su Xiao nodded softly in agreement, showing no objections.
Lin Wenyu had no objections either, merely scanning the room's layout. “Then I'll take the one across the hall.”
Wang Qiang and Zhao Lei also checked the rooms and found no issues. “Then it's settled. These two rooms on the fourth floor will be for the ladies. We'll head up to the fifth floor to check out that room.”
The manager took them to the fifth floor to look at the other room. The layout was similar to the ones on the fourth floor, but being on a higher floor, it offered a better view. Both Wang Qiang and Zhao Lei were satisfied and made their decision on the spot.
“Alright, let's head down to sign the contract and pay the rent.” The manager locked the door and led the group back to the elevator.
Just as they reached the first-floor lobby, they saw a woman standing by the stairwell entrance with a stack of papers in her hand. Seeing them walk out, she immediately rushed over, her tone filled with urgency and pleading: “Excuse me... have you seen this child? This is my daughter, Lele. She's six years old, and she went missing in the neighborhood half a month ago...”
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