Inverted Clock, Returning the Favor

"Notification! The Player successfully killed the Family Eerie. The mission would now be reassessed."

"You unlocked a new achievement—Rookie Eerie Hunter!"

"You received the title reward—Inverted Clock."

"Congratulations player, you completed a hidden mission. Status level +1. All your attributes increased by 90 points."

"You unlocked the Apartment Privilege—Night Patrol Pass." (Between midnight and 3:00 a.m., wearing your work badge would make you immune to the hatred lock-on of midnight Eeries.)

"The Apartment at night hid more missions and equipment, including ways to complete the Dungeon's main storyline. Explore actively!"

"Notification! Because you killed Father, Grandmother and Mother's favorability toward you increased by 90 points!"

"They believed you were a grown-up, sensible child. What was the point of keeping such a failed father, one who drank all day and abused his children? His disappearance would make this family happier and more complete!"

Ji Yan's eyes widened slightly.

Killing a Family Eerie actually came with so many rewards?

But on second thought, the risks involved seemed worthy of such rewards.

He took out the item he had just obtained from the Tool Bar.

It was a wall clock whose hour, minute, and second hands were completely scrambled. It looked utterly ordinary, as if it had been broken for a long time.

Ji Yan opened the item information.

"Item Background—Before lights-out every day, Mother would always tell the little girl a story and put her to sleep on time. Later, wanting to see Mother sooner, she set the alarm clock beside her bed ahead. But after that night, Mother never appeared again..."

The backstory was vague and a little unsettling.

Ji Yan was not particularly interested, but after checking the item's effect, his eyes lit up...

He looked up at the time in the room. It was three-thirty in the morning.

The troublesome source known as the Gourmand Eerie had been dealt with.

"Then Dong Chu should be next."

He did not like leaving grudges overnight. If there was a grudge, he settled it immediately.

Ji Yan had not originally wanted to fall out with another Player living under the same roof. Trading a few insults was hardly enough to warrant that.

But he had still underestimated the wickedness of human hearts.

Now it was time for him to return the favor...

That night, Dong Chu had indeed slept soundly.

In his dreams, he vaguely heard Ji Yan's screams, and slept even more peacefully.

The next morning, the dawn mist was hazy.

When the alarm went off, Dong Chu woke with overwhelming drowsiness and shut off the piercing ringing.

He did not dare delay. He quickly got dressed and left his room.

When he entered the living room, Liu Yitong was nowhere to be seen. Instead, at the dining table, he saw a fat figure sprawled there, stuffing food into his mouth.

"F-Father?!"

Dong Chu went blank.

The Eerie Father had actually left his room. The odds of that were even rarer than encountering the other two Eeries!

A bad feeling rose in his heart.

Could something have gone wrong last night?

Uneasy, he watched as the Gourmand Eerie squeezed out a single word.

"Sit."

Dong Chu sat down as if on pins and needles.

The Gourmand Eerie's face, covered in horrifying lumps, faced him. Then it forced out a smile uglier than crying.

"As a father, it seemed I hadn't eaten breakfast with my own children in a long time. I got up early especially for today."

"Of the three children, I value you the most."

"You're calculating and decisive. That's what makes you worthy of being my child!"

The Gourmand Eerie grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

It praised him without the slightest restraint.

To Dong Chu, it was as unbelievable as seeing the sun rise in the west.

Did I hear that right?

Wait, did I gain favorability with this Eerie and trigger a blessing?

He suddenly realized that this breakfast invitation was a benefits event.

He was both incredulous and excited.

So this Eerie could be won over too!

For the sake of favorability, he endured his disgust and began eating the food on the table as well.

"Father, my younger brother last night, he... how is he?"

The Gourmand Eerie stuffed a piece of meat drenched in sauce into its mouth.

"What, you still haven't recognized him?"

"Isn't everything on the dining table your dear younger brother?"

Dong Chu froze. Looking at the steaming basins of meat on the table, his stomach churned, and he instinctively wanted to vomit.

The Gourmand Eerie's thick brows furrowed. "What? You're going to throw up the breakfast Father worked so hard to make for you?"

Dong Chu's expression turned as ugly as liver. He covered his mouth with both hands.

In the end, after struggling inwardly, he still forced it down.

"It's fine, it's fine. In the end, this is just the Eerie Game, not the Real world."

"I ate it, so I ate it. It's no big deal. It doesn't mean I've abandoned morality or lost my humanity."

That was how he comforted himself.

But as he ate, he noticed something was wrong.

He opened the information panel, but there was no reaction at all.

That was not right. If Ji Yan had really died, why had his talent not activated and plundered Ji Yan's equipment?

As Dong Chu stared at the motionless Tool Bar in confusion, his head began to feel heavy and dizzy. He shook it hard.

When he raised his head again, he discovered that the daylight outside the balcony was gradually darkening.

In the blink of an eye, it became night!

He froze, then abruptly turned to look at the wall beside him.

That old Grandfather Clock still showed three-thirty in the morning!

"What's going on?"

"...Wasn't it already daylight? I clearly heard the alarm!"

He was dumbfounded. The next second, he realized something, and his scalp went numb.

He rushed into the hallway and sprinted toward his room!

An Eerie Child wearing diapers and with gray skin was crouching outside his gate, clutching a headless Cloth Doll.

Its pitch-black eyes, devoid of whites, stared at Dong Chu. "Brother, my doll's gone missing again. Can you help me find it?"

Dong Chu's heart nearly stopped.

He did not dare answer at all. He knew perfectly well that once he responded, he would have to accept the mission.

The mortality rate of midnight Eerie missions was practically ninety-nine percent!

He frantically pounded on the gate to the room on his left, calling to Liu Yitong for help. "Liu Yitong! Open the door! Save me! Stop sleeping!"

Liu Yitong heard him from inside the room.

She pulled the blanket over herself, covered her ears with both hands, and muttered, "So annoying. These Eerie things use the same tricks every night!"

How could Dong Chu, who was sleeping perfectly well in the room next door, possibly be outside?

"Brother, Brother, why won't you answer me?"

"Please, help me find my doll's head. It was a birthday gift from Dad. If he finds out, he'll definitely beat me."

The Eerie Child crept closer step by step.

Its voice was pleading, but the signs of corruption became increasingly obvious.

Dong Chu backed away step by step until his back pressed against Ji Yan's gate. He paused, then tentatively knocked twice.

"Ji Yan?"

"What?"

Dong Chu's pupils shrank. A response came from inside the room.

He had not died!

Why had he not died?

"Y-you..."

He was at a loss for words.

"Why didn't I die?"

"Why don't you take a guess?"

Ji Yan's calm voice came from inside the room.

Dong Chu reacted quickly. Ji Yan's death was not the issue right now. He hurriedly said, "Ji Yan, don't take what I said during the day to heart. I was doing it for your own good, reminding you to be smarter."

"I was teaching you how to survive in this Dungeon. From beginning to end, I never meant to harm you. Can you open the door first?"

His desire to survive made him lower himself as far as possible.

All he could think about now was getting into the room first and staying alive.

Ji Yan's cold laugh came from inside. "That's true. I should thank you."

"If you hadn't gone to such lengths to set me up, I wouldn't have had the chance to kill that Eerie Father, nor would I have known there were so many rewards."

"So, as repayment..."

"The Eerie Wine Bottle you gave me has been returned to you completely intact."

Dong Chu opened his mouth.

His face gradually turned pale.

"You knew? So you knew all along!!"

"Were you the one who lured me out of my room at night too?"

Dong Chu's eyes turned bloodshot.

"You toasted me, so I returned the toast."

"Returning courtesy for courtesy, what's wrong with that?"

"When you enter the next Dungeon, learn to be smarter. Don't provoke those you can't afford to provoke."

"Good night."

Ji Yan yawned and returned to bed.

Outside the gate, Dong Chu howled and cursed hysterically.

Until the Eerie Child behind him, having received no response, completely corrupted.

Those little hands grasped his neck. "Brother, why won't you answer me?"

"Your head... is very nice. Can I put it on my doll's neck?"

Before Dong Chu could answer, those little hands gave a light tug, and his head was easily removed from his neck.

Blood sprayed everywhere, and the headless corpse collapsed onto the floor.

The Eerie Child held the head and the doll, hopping away until it vanished into the darkness.

"Tonight really was exhausting."

"Fortunately, the gains were plentiful, and I got rid of an annoying fly too."

With both hands behind his head, Ji Yan murmured as he closed his eyes and fell peacefully asleep.