Ji Yan noticed something off about Liu Yitong's expression. "What, is there something wrong with the sachet?"
Liu Yitong opened her mouth, then finally said, "This sachet involves the Apartment's main story."
"The Main Quest?"
Ji Yan's expression shifted slightly, and then the quest panel finally appeared.
"Ding! Player has accepted Grandmother's sachet, triggering an A-Rank Quest. Deliver the sachet to Room 605 to complete the quest." (Hint: This quest involves a Main Story Character. During the quest, there is a certain chance of uncontrollable danger. Exercise extreme caution.)
Ji Yan frowned.
That old lady had said it would be a simple, easy quest, yet it had turned out to be A-Rank and even involved the main story!
The Main Quest was not only the most dangerous kind of quest, but also involved every resident in the Apartment.
Complete it, and one could clear the entire Dungeon directly.
But if the quest failed, it meant offending every Eerie Resident and facing endless Eeries that had gone berserk.
There had been far too many examples of this.
For instance, in a previous Restaurant Dungeon, Players had challenged the main story and botched it, causing all the restaurant's ingredients to be ruined and inflicting immeasurable losses. Their fate was easy to imagine.
Even death was a luxury.
That was why ordinary Players, without sufficient equipment or confidence, wanted nothing to do with something as ill-fated as the main story.
Even if they accidentally obtained clues from items involving the main story, they would hurriedly throw them away, terrified of being tainted by it in the slightest.
"Did you make Eerie Grandmother angry?"
Liu Yitong could not help asking.
Ji Yan said, "From start to finish, the corner of her mouth never dropped while she was praising me."
"She even said that after giving me this sachet, she'd personally knit me a sweater."
Liu Yitong was astonished and momentarily dumbfounded.
Having dealt with Grandmother quite a few times herself, she could not understand why, after their very first interaction, Grandmother had targeted Ji Yan.
Could he really have some kind of naturally hateable constitution?
"It only involves the main story. It's not like I'm entering it."
"I'm leaving. See you tonight."
Ji Yan waved his hand. He had already taken down an Eerie; something merely involving the main story was not enough to scare him into staying indoors.
After leaving Room 404, Ji Yan went straight to the 7th Floor.
After all, his heart was still being held by someone else as collateral.
He knocked on the door to Room 702. As expected, it was not locked.
Ji Yan pushed the door open and entered. The moment he stepped into the living room, he saw the owner of Room 702 lying in a rattan chair with his eyes closed, resting.
The black and white cats lay in his arms, sleeping soundly.
"My father..."
"He's dead. I know."
Before Ji Yan could finish, the owner of Room 702 interrupted him. "The moment that Dead Drunkard died, the stench of alcohol in the Apartment dispersed."
"I don't know how you did it, but you certainly have guts."
"Your heart is in the box. Take it back."
"As for that chopper, it belongs to you too."
Ji Yan opened the box and found his heart still brimming with life.
Then, information about the owner of Room 702 appeared in his line of sight:
"Ding! Congratulations player, you have completed the 702 Resident Wish Quest and gained 70% favorability from the 'Grudge Eerie.' You will receive this Eerie Resident's assistance and may make requests within a certain range."
"Seventy percent favorability?"
Ji Yan was secretly shocked.
One quest, and he had reached seventy percent favorability?
On second thought, this was a Grudge Eerie. The source of his resentment was the vengeance for his murdered wife. With that grudge settled, a sudden jump to seventy percent favorability seemed reasonable enough.
"I owe you one."
"If you run into any trouble in the Apartment, come find me."
"I still carry quite a bit of weight in this Apartment."
Liu Nianqing spoke slowly.
To a Player, those calm words were already the greatest reward!
With an Eerie Resident as a backer, a Player's odds of surviving in the Dungeon would at least rise significantly.
Ji Yan heard that and thought, Wasn't this convenient?
"There really is something I'd like to trouble you with."
Liu Nianqing asked directly, "Who do you want dead?"
Ji Yan said, "..."
"No one needs to die for now. I just wanted to ask if you recognize this sachet, sir."
Ji Yan took out the red sachet.
The moment Liu Nianqing saw it, his expression turned as though he had swallowed a fly.
Ji Yan asked, "What's wrong?"
Liu Nianqing said, "I'd like to take back what I just said."
"..."
"That sachet is the Landlord's. If you want me to take on the Landlord... you might as well take me out."
Ji Yan's expression turned solemn.
According to the Apartment Dungeon's background introduction, the Landlord was most likely the Dungeon's Big Boss. How did Eerie Grandmother have one of his belongings?
Looking at the sachet in his palm, Ji Yan found it more and more like a hot potato. He wanted nothing more than to throw it away on the spot.
"Don't worry, I have no grudge against the Landlord."
"I mainly wanted to know where this sachet came from."
"I only know that it's one of the Landlord's personal belongings."
"But some time ago, the sachet tore, so he gave it to your Grandmother to mend."
"Your Grandmother gave it to you so you could return it to the Landlord?" Liu Nianqing guessed the reason.
"Mm." Ji Yan nodded.
It seemed that he only needed to return the mended sachet. There should not be any danger.
Liu Yitong and he had both been too sensitive. The moment they heard "main story," it felt as though the sky were falling.
"When you deliver it, don't talk too much. It's best to stay silent the entire time."
"The Landlord has a strange personality and a bad temper. If he gets annoyed, he'll raise the rent."
"If the residents find out the Landlord raised the rent because of you, they'll tear you to pieces. Even I won't be able to protect you," Liu Nianqing warned.
Ji Yan's eyelid twitched.
"Such a huge reaction over raising the rent a little?"
"That so-called rent—even if it rises just a little, the residents will go crazy. Me included."
Leaning back in the rattan chair, Liu Nianqing spoke slowly, with a hint of a sigh in his voice.
"This Apartment isn't somewhere just anyone can live. For us to become residents here, we all paid no small price. That price is the rent."
What exactly that so-called rent was, Liu Nianqing never explained.
Ji Yan left Room 702 and headed for Room 605.
He had no interest in either the Landlord or the rent.
The more he knew, the deeper he would become entangled in the main story.
In the end, he might sink into the bottomless Abyss and never be able to climb out.
Before long, he knocked on the door to Room 605.
The one who opened it was a hunched old man.
Ji Yan blinked. This was the Landlord? He looked rather kind and benevolent, yet Liu Nianqing's every word had revealed his fear of the Landlord.
The old man said, "Young man, what is it?"
"I live in Room 404. Grandmother asked me to bring this up."
The old man reached for the sachet.
Ji Yan took out the sachet and handed it over.
The Eerie Old Man glanced at it and shook his head. "Take it back."
"That old lady didn't mend it properly. Her needlework is getting worse and worse."
Ji Yan remembered Eerie Grandmother's instructions. Whether the Landlord accepted it or not was another matter; all he had to do was deliver it.
"Alright." Ji Yan replied with only one word and turned to leave.
He was just running an errand. Why should he concern himself with so much?
"Wait!"
But the moment he turned around, Ji Yan was called back again. The Eerie Old Man stared at him. "I told you to take it back, and you actually took it back?"
With that, he snatched the sachet away, examined it carefully for a moment, then praised, "Not bad. That old lady's handiwork is getting better and better."
The corner of Ji Yan's mouth twitched.
Liu Nianqing had been absolutely right. There was really something wrong with this old Landlord. He changed his mind at every turn. Could he have split personalities?
"I'll take the sachet. Tell your Grandmother that this month's rent has been waived."
Before you continue