Main Character, Apartment Landlord

Ji Yan noticed Liu Yitong's expression turning sour. "Judging by your face, is there something wrong with the sachet?"

Liu Yitong opened his mouth, then finally said, "This sachet involves the Apartment's main quest."

"Main Quest?"

Ji Yan's expression shifted slightly, and then the quest panel finally popped up.

"Ding! Player accepts Grandma's sachet, triggering an A-Rank Quest. Please deliver the sachet to Room 605 to complete the quest."

(Tip: The quest involves main quest characters. During the process, there is a certain probability of uncontrollable danger. Proceed with caution.)

Ji Yan frowned.

That old woman had promised a simple, easy task, but it turned out to be an A-Rank, and it involved the main quest!

The main quest wasn't just the most dangerous—it also implicated all the residents of the Apartment.

Completing it would allow a direct clear of the entire dungeon.

But if the quest failed, it meant offending every single Eerie Resident, facing endless waves of corrupted eeriness.

There were too many examples of this.

Take a past Restaurant Dungeon, for instance. A player challenged the main quest, botched it, and caused all the restaurant's ingredients to be wasted, leading to incalculable losses. Their fate was easy to imagine.

Death was a luxury.

So ordinary players, without sufficient gear and confidence, wanted nothing to do with the main quest's bad luck.

Even if they accidentally obtained some item hint related to the main quest, they'd hurry to throw it away, afraid to touch it at all.

"Did you make Eerie Grandmother angry?"

Liu Yitong couldn't help asking.

Ji Yan: "From start to finish, the corner of her mouth never dropped while praising me."

"She even said that after giving me this sachet, she'd personally knit me a sweater."

Liu Yitong was stunned, momentarily at a loss.

Having dealt with Grandma many times, she couldn't understand why their first interaction would target Ji Yan.

Did he really have some kind of aggro-attracting constitution?

"It's only 'involves,' not 'enters' the main quest."

"Let's go. See you tonight."

Ji Yan waved his hand. He'd already killed one eerie—being involved with the main quest wasn't enough to scare him from leaving the room.

Exiting Room 404, Ji Yan headed straight for the 7th Floor.

After all, his own heart was still staked as collateral with someone else.

He knocked on the door of Room 702. It wasn't locked.

Ji Yan pushed it open and stepped into the living room, where he saw the resident of Room 702 lying on a rattan chair, resting with his eyes closed.

The black-and-white cats lay in his arms, sleeping soundly.

"My father..."

"He's dead. I know."

Before Ji Yan could finish, the resident of Room 702 interrupted: "The moment that Dead Drunkard died, the stench of alcohol in the Apartment dissipated."

"I don't know how you managed it, but you've got guts."

"Your heart is in the box. Take it back."

"As for that chopper, it's yours too."

Ji Yan opened the box. His heart was still beating with vivid life.

Then, an information panel about the resident of Room 702 appeared in his line of sight:

"Ding! Congratulations player for completing the wish quest of the Room 702 resident. You have gained 70% favorability with the Grudge Eerie. You will receive assistance from this Eerie Resident and may make requests within a certain scope."

"70% favorability?"

Ji Yan was secretly shocked.

Just one quest, and he'd hit 70% favorability?

On second thought, this was a Grudge Eerie. The source of its grudge was the murder of its wife. With that revenge settled, a sudden spike to 70% favorability seemed reasonable.

"I owe you a favor."

"If you run into any trouble in the Apartment, you can come to me."

"I still carry some weight around here."

Liu Nianqing spoke slowly.

A plain sentence, but for a player, it was already the greatest reward!

Gaining an Eerie Resident as a backer significantly increased a player's chances of surviving the dungeon—at least by a large margin.

Ji Yan's heart skipped a beat. Well, isn't that convenient.

"Actually, there is one thing I'd like to ask."

Liu Nianqing asked directly, "Who do we hit?"

Ji Yan: "..."

"Not hitting anyone for now. I just wanted to ask, Uncle, do you recognize this sachet?"

Ji Yan took out the red sachet.

The moment Liu Nianqing saw it, his face twisted like he'd swallowed a fly.

Ji Yan asked, "What's wrong?"

Liu Nianqing: "I take back what I just said."

"..."

"This sachet belongs to the Landlord. If you're asking me to go after him... you might as well take me out instead."

Ji Yan's expression turned serious.

Based on the Apartment dungeon's background, the Landlord was likely the dungeon's biggest Big Boss. How could the Eerie Grandmother have something of his?

Staring at the sachet in his palm, the more Ji Yan looked, the more it felt like a hot potato. He was tempted to toss it on the spot.

"Don't worry, I've got no grudge against the Landlord."

"I mainly want to ask—what's the story behind this sachet?"

"All I know is, it's one of the Landlord's personal belongings."

"But a while back, the sachet fell apart, so he gave it to your grandmother to mend."

"Your grandmother gave it to you to return to the Landlord?" Liu Nianqing guessed the reason.

"Mm." Ji Yan nodded.

So it seemed returning the mended sachet wouldn't bring any danger.

He and Liu Yitong had both been too jumpy—the moment they heard "main quest," they felt like the sky was falling.

"When you deliver it, don't say much. Best to stay silent the whole time."

"The Landlord's got a strange temper and a bad mood. One wrong move and he'll hike the rent."

"If the tenants find out the rent went up because of you, they'll tear you apart. I won't be able to protect you either." Liu Nianqing warned.

Ji Yan's eyelids twitched.

"People react that strongly to a rent hike?"

"That so-called rent—even a tiny increase—would drive the tenants crazy, me included."

Liu Nianqing leaned back in his rattan chair, speaking slowly with a sigh.

"This apartment isn't for just anyone. All of us tenants paid a heavy price to live here. That price is the rent."

What exactly the rent was never got spelled out. Ji Yan left Room 702 and headed for 605.

He had no interest in the Landlord or the rent.

The more he knew, the deeper he'd sink into the main quest.

Before long, he'd be trapped in an abyss with no way out.

Soon, he knocked on the door of Room 605.

An old man with a hunched back opened it.

Ji Yan blinked. This is the Landlord? He looked kind and gentle, but every word from Liu Nianqing reeked of fear toward him.

The old man: "Young man, something you need?"

"I live in 404. My grandmother told me to bring this up."

The old man reached for the sachet.

Ji Yan took it out and handed it over.

The Eerie Old Man glanced at it and shook his head. "Take it back."

"That old woman didn't mend it well. Her needlework's getting worse and worse."

Ji Yan remembered the Eerie Grandmother's instructions—whether he accepted it or not was another matter; just delivering it was enough.

"Okay." Ji Yan replied with a single word and turned to leave.

He was just an errand boy. Why bother with anything else?

"Wait!"

But the moment he turned, Ji Yan was called back. The Eerie Old Man stared at him. "I told you to take it back, and you actually do it?"

With that, he snatched the sachet, examined it closely for a moment, then praised, "Not bad. That old woman's hands are getting more skillful."

The corner of Ji Yan's mouth twitched.

Liu Nianqing was spot-on. This Landlord old man really had a screw loose—one moment one way, the next another. Did he have a split personality?

"I'll keep the sachet. Tell your grandmother this month's rent is waived."