Mission Failure, Bizarre Blackening

"How's your task going?"

Seeing Ji Yan's preoccupied look, Liu Yitong sat at the dining table and asked with a hint of concern.

"Not going well."

Ji Yan raised the half-full bottle of Blood Lyre in his hand.

Liu Yitong's delicate brows furrowed at the sight, and she comforted him, "It's fine, at least you still have half a bottle."

"If the task is half done, the penalty won't be too severe."

"Besides, That Eerie father is the hardest one anyway. If you randomly get the mother or grandmother tomorrow, just work hard to earn their favor and you'll be fine!"

"Those two are still easy to get along with. You can't possibly roll That Eerie father three days in a row, right?"

Liu Yitong finished with a laugh, then suddenly covered her mouth.

Maybe he really could...

After all, this guy in front of her had already been unlucky enough to make his scalp tingle.

She wanted to add a few more words to make up for it, but Ji Yan glanced behind her and mouthed, "Mother's coming out."

The kitchen's French door slid open, and the Eerie Mother's appearance was surprisingly free of any horror.

She wore a pink apron, her hair tied in a ponytail, her face still retaining a charm with a few weary crow's feet—a typical image of a virtuous homemaker.

But Ji Yan knew that once she turned dark, it was these eeries that looked the most normal that could deliver a shocking contrast to a Player.

Liu Yitong quickly sat up straight, pouring all her focus into the dinner interaction with the mother.

The Eerie Mother currently had no interaction with Ji Yan, so her favorability was zero, and he deliberately avoided drawing her attention.

This was someone else's benefit interaction event; he had no need to steal the spotlight.

Soon, Dong Chu returned as well.

He saw the Eerie Mother at the dining table, his eyes widening, then realized this was Liu Yitong's blessing. Envious, he spat out, "How come I never get this damn luck?"

As the veteran Player who first arrived at 404, Liu Yitong was now riding high in this household, while he had repeatedly lost favorability with all three eerie family members. His resentment grew stronger...

He knew that at this rate, he'd be taken offline sooner or later.

So he took some "initiative"...

He spotted Ji Yan on the couch.

He also saw that half-empty bottle of Blood Lyre, a cold smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. "Looks like someone's luck ran out today?"

Ji Yan glanced at Dong Chu, shrugged, and smiled nonchalantly, "Still got half a bottle, not too bad."

"Half a bottle? That Eerie father won't go easy on you."

"That Eerie has zero favorability for any Player. Once it catches a Player slipping, it's a one-way ticket to doom."

"Is that woman Liu Yitong feeding you chicken soup again, and you're buying it?"

"Compared to that fake woman, I'm straightforward."

Dong Chu forced a smile at Ji Yan. "Trust me, that half bottle of Blood Lyre won't keep you alive through tonight!"

Even a full bottle wouldn't.

How could this fool realize that this task was a death trap set by one person and one eerie from the start?

Ji Yan listened, neither angered nor rebutting.

Instead, he nodded seriously, agreeing with Dong Chu. "Come to think of it, you're right."

"Since this task is already a failure, why bother submitting it? I'd rather hide and drag it out a bit longer!"

With that, Ji Yan picked up the Blood Lyre and went back to his room, locking the door behind him.

Dong Chu crossed his arms.

Snorting with a cold laugh, "Once the task time runs out, it's an automatic failure."

"Task fails, eerie turns dark, and the outcome gets even worse."

Inside the room, Ji Yan listened to the taunts from outside, then looked at the Blood Lyre in the bottle.

Because of the liquor bottle, the Blood Lyre had completely spoiled.

This had already doomed the task from the start.

But there was one thing Ji Yan didn't understand.

Why would the Gourmand Eerie choose to cooperate with Dong Chu to kill him off?

Logically, as long as he was alive, the Gourmand Eerie could keep tasting the Blood Lyre. There was no reason for it to cut off its own supply of alcohol!

What temptation could be stronger than the craving for booze?

He didn't dwell on it. Ji Yan sat on the bed.

Watching the thick fog outside the window as the Eerie World gradually darkened.

He propped his chin on his hand and simply waited.

He was looking forward to the arrival of night, and also waiting for the Gourmand Eerie to turn dark and come settle scores with him...

"You're saying he didn't submit the task?"

Liu Yitong, having just finished the blessing event, walked over. After learning of Ji Yan's choice, his pretty face showed surprise.

"Submit the task? That'd just get him killed faster."

"But he doesn't know that if the task isn't submitted, once the Father Eerie is provoked, his methods get even crueler. He thinks hiding in his room will be fine—wait until tonight, then he'll know what despair really means."

Dong Chu chewed on the peanuts in his mouth, his tone dripping with schadenfreude.

"But he at least got half a bottle of Blood Lyre, so the punishment will be halved. He definitely won't die from it."

Liu Yitong furrowed his brows. He felt Ji Yan wouldn't do something this stupid.

He looked at Dong Chu: "Did you say something to him?"

"I didn't say anything."

"As an old Player, giving him a couple of reminders—that's normal, right?" Dong Chu shrugged.

He skipped over the topic: "How was your blessing? Did you get anything good?"

"No."

Liu Yitong replied coldly and perfunctorily, then returned to his own room.

He didn't understand. They were all Players, so why was Dong Chu so hostile toward newcomers, even hoping they'd get taken offline?

In the Eerie World, shouldn't kindred spirits stick together? Or was it just because Ji Yan had snapped back at him yesterday?

Liu Yitong had lost the last shred of goodwill he had for someone like this.

"Even that bitch is starting to give me attitude. Does she really think that just because she's gotten chummy with those two Eeries, she can walk all over me?"

"One of these days, I'll take you out too!"

Dong Chu stared at the door Liu Yitong had closed, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He looked toward Ji Yan's room. He couldn't quite figure it out either.

That kid didn't seem that dumb. Was he really planning to hole up in his room and wait to die?

Late at night, nine o'clock. Nightfall had descended.

The lights in the entire Apartment went out, darkness swallowing every corner.

It seemed like a quiet night, but after the Grandfather Clock's hands passed midnight, a door deep in the hallway suddenly corroded rapidly, a thick stench of rot seeping through the cracks.

Then, the father's room door slowly opened.

The darkened Gourmand Eerie was wrapped in black mist, its eyes blood-red.

"Where's my wine? Why wasn't it delivered?!"

A voice brimming with raging fury echoed through the suite.

Liu Yitong and Dong Chu, each lying in their own beds, heard it loud and clear.

Eyes shut, they could only pretend not to hear.

They knew—Ji Yan was done for!

At the same time, a panel of information popped up in front of Ji Yan.

Code
Ding! The task you accepted has expired. Because you did not submit the task, the system has judged it a failure.

Warning! You have violated the rules by failing to complete the task, causing the father to turn dark. You are about to face punishment!

Ji Yan was calm as he looked at the red warning panel. He silently dismissed the information panel.

Then, he took an item out from his Tool Bar...