Announcement Quest, Dungeon Veteran

Seeing the other party accept the Sachet, Ji Yan happily planned to head back and turn it in for the quest rewards.

But just as he turned around, he saw the Landlord holding a notice and posting it by the stairwell.

Driven by curiosity, Ji Yan, who had been about to head downstairs, could not help going over for a closer look.

Important Notice: A Parasitic Rat has appeared in the Drain Ditch behind the Apartment Building. To maintain a good living environment and protect the residents' rights, seven residents are needed to eliminate it.

Upon completing the cleanup mission, all participants would receive a fifty-percent rent reduction for the month. The Cleanup Squad was limited to seven people. Please take note.

Ji Yan glanced at it and reached out to touch it.

A quest panel immediately appeared in his vision.

"Ding! You have triggered an Optional Quest: Help the Apartment clean up the rats in the Drain Ditch. Complete the quest to gain 5% favorability from all Eerie Residents."

"Additionally, you will receive a randomly drawn Treasured Chest—there is a 50% chance of obtaining a Collector's-grade item, with a guaranteed 100% chance of obtaining a rare-grade item."

"Hint: Players may choose whether to accept the quest. Once confirmed, it cannot be changed."

"The rewards are this generous?"

Leaving aside the half-price rent for the month.

Just the 5% favorability from every resident, along with a chest reward, made this temptation comparable to an A+-rank quest!

Ji Yan was slightly surprised.

Once the notice was posted, it immediately attracted quite a few residents. However, they were all player residents. Clearly, this notice did not concern the Eerie Residents.

After the quest panels appeared when the players touched the notice, every one of them widened their eyes.

High rewards often meant high difficulty and high mortality.

Quite a few people secretly felt there had to be a catch.

Yet even so, several players accepted the quest without much thought.

Though they knew there were tigers in the mountains, they still headed toward them. It was not that these players did not understand the danger; they simply had no choice. If their survival conditions had not been hanging by a thread, who would be willing to risk their lives for this kind of blood money?

Ji Yan had not been interested either.

After getting rid of the Gourmand Eerie, his living conditions in Room 404 were quite good.

There was no need to risk his life like this.

But the hidden information that appeared next made him stop in his tracks.

Hidden Quest Information: The player is advised that a "Talent Fragment" has been detected during this quest. Active participation is recommended.

"What the hell is a Talent Fragment?"

Ji Yan checked it out.

He discovered that his Omniscient Understanding talent could actually be upgraded, and the required condition was this so-called Talent Fragment.

"This bugged talent can actually be upgraded too?"

Ji Yan's expression shifted slightly in astonishment.

Then he considered it carefully.

As he looked at the notice, six people had already signed up. Only one final spot remained.

Whether driven by curiosity or instinct, Ji Yan gritted his teeth and took the last Work Badge clipped beneath the notice.

Taking the Work Badge was equivalent to accepting the quest. He could no longer withdraw!

Although Omniscient Understanding was an overpowered talent, its activation condition was too rigid. It could only be triggered by touching related objects, which was somewhat harsh in a sense.

Perhaps upgrading it would fix that flaw?

At worst, if he encountered danger during the quest, he could expose Liu Nianqing from Apartment 702 and use him as backing. After all, that eerie still owed him a favor.

"Come on, man. You're fighting over a life-risking shit job like this too?"

The center-parted man beside him could not help speaking up the moment Ji Yan confirmed the quest.

He had been about to reach for the Work Badge himself, but he had been two seconds too late and Ji Yan beat him to it.

"Why can't I take it?" Ji Yan asked back.

"Don't mess with me. Your complexion's healthy, your body's intact—you can tell at a glance that your survival conditions are pretty good. Why would you take a life-risking quest like this?"

The center-parted man could not understand it at all.

In a Dungeon, one could roughly tell a player's survival conditions from their appearance.

For example, if a player went one to three days without eating, their face would become noticeably gaunt. If they went three to seven days without food, not only would they become severely emaciated, but corpse spots would also appear on their body.

Hunger, lack of sleep, and so on would lower all of a player's status values.

And when players stood close to one another, they could check each other's most basic status values.

When the man opened Ji Yan's status page, every value was full.

Good lord, his survival conditions were this good, yet he was still taking a life-risking quest and asking for trouble? Was there something seriously wrong with him?

Ji Yan merely glanced behind him and said, "Isn't that guy behind you in even better shape than me?"

Behind him, a man with an afro had also taken a Work Badge.

He was dressed impeccably and had a tall, burly build.

Looking closely, the clothes he wore and the jewelry he had on were all eerie-item equipment. The cleaver hanging at his waist radiated intense resentment; its rank was obviously not low.

It was like a fully leveled expert decked out in god-tier gear and riding a mount suddenly appearing in the beginner village.

Ji Yan opened the man's public profile, and his expression changed as well.

"Player: Long Yuan."

"Dungeon Survival Time: 109 days."

"Dungeon Progress: Completed one Main Quest, conquered 12 Eerie Residents, eliminated 4."

"Equipment: Not disclosed."

"Status: All six attributes full." (Hexagon)

Even Ji Yan was stunned by that dazzling profile, let alone the other players who had turned to look.

Their eyes widened one after another. "Holy shit, this is a real veteran!"

Only a small number of older players quietly withdrew their gazes, astonished inwardly. This guy has been sleeping for so many days, and he actually came out today!

Long Yuan took the Work Badge, chewed his gum as he looked it over a few times, then turned and headed downstairs without caring about the astonished looks around him.

Only after watching Long Yuan's back disappear did the center-parted man turn to Ji Yan and say, "That veteran is here for the Main Quest. He's not like us."

"You haven't survived for many days, have you? You don't even know the Dragon God. He's the player with the longest Survival Time in Crimson Apartment. This veteran conquered the Apartment ages ago—the previous Main Quest record was set by him."

"You're definitely wondering, if he already cleared the Dungeon, why doesn't he go to the next one? Well, he—"

"I didn't ask, and I don't want to know."

The center-parted man was obviously a Long Yuan fanboy. Just as he was getting excited, Ji Yan waved him off and turned to leave.

He had little interest in these so-called veterans. So what if he learned about them? They were not going to share a piece of meat with him.

After coming down the stairs, Ji Yan did not return to Room 404. He went straight to the first floor to meet up with the others.

Once the Cleanup Squad was full, they would depart immediately. Whether they completed the task or not, they had to return before dark.

The lobby at the Apartment entrance was already full, and Ji Yan was the last to arrive.

Of the seven-person team, five had sallow, emaciated faces. Just as the center-parted man had said, most of those participating in this announcement quest were on the verge of elimination, hoping to gamble on a slim chance of survival through this quest.

Everyone had been nervous at first.

Dense fog blanketed the area outside the Apartment, and no one could predict what unknown dangers lurked within.

But after they saw Long Yuan come downstairs, everyone's expressions suddenly changed completely.

Long Yuan was actually on this quest too!

Then clearing out the Drain Ditch was as good as a done deal.

Long Yuan would definitely take the lion's share of the credit, but as long as he carried them and they got a little something out of it, they would be satisfied.

Facing the gazes around him, the tall Long Yuan did not bother looking back. Wearing over-ear headphones, holding a book, and chewing gum, he remained immersed in his own world.

The scene created an extreme contrast.

The people around him looked like malnourished refugees from the slums, while Long Yuan alone seemed like he had come from the wealthy district for a vacation.

Ji Yan took out a piece of wheat bread and stuffed it into his mouth. Staring at Long Yuan in the distance, he muttered, "Why does he seem so full of himself?"

The moment he said it, Long Yuan suddenly took off his headphones and looked over.

Realizing that Long Yuan was looking at him, Ji Yan's expression turned slightly stunned. "No way. He could hear me even with headphones on?"