"Room 102 is my home... I may have forgotten many things, but I have always remembered that there is something very important to me inside Room 102..."
"Let me in... let me in!"
Plague Eerie Huang Sheng let out a hoarse voice, desperately gnawing at the Apartment Building's wall in an attempt to burrow inside, but his enormous body was hopelessly stuck.
His words were slurred, yet they carried pleading and unwillingness.
Ji Yan's expression turned contemplative.
It seemed the source of this resentment lay within Room 102.
If he wanted to drive this eerie thing away, forcing it would definitely not work.
But what would happen if he went along with him and let him find the source of his resentment?
Ji Yan felt this approach was feasible. At the very least, it was better than forcing it.
He turned to the players standing in the fog, looking as though they were waiting to die. "Anyone willing to help?"
"Help with what? Even Long Yuan couldn't kill this eerie thing, let alone us."
"As long as it gets stimulated, it'll speed up the destruction at the corner of the wall. There's no way to deal with this!"
Ji Yan shook his head. "Help him enter the Apartment Building. He's stuck there."
"We need to help him break open the hole!"
The moment those words came out, everyone present was dumbfounded.
Wait, weren't they here to get rid of these Rats?
He actually wanted to help these things invade the Apartment Building?
Bandage Eerie, who had been watching the whole time, also stared at Ji Yan strangely.
"I know it's suicidal, but this is the only way to complete the task."
There was not much time left. It would be best to have a helper.
But no one paid Ji Yan any attention. They all thought he had gone mad.
Seeing that no one agreed, Ji Yan shook his head, pulled out the Spike Hammer, and walked over, joining Plague Eerie in chipping away at the Apartment Building's corner.
The Mutant Rats around Plague Eerie had originally been hostile toward Ji Yan, but upon seeing what he was doing, they scattered aside as well.
Ding! Due to an incorrect game operation, the player has damaged the Dungeon Map and angered the Eerie Residents. A total of 12 have developed hostility toward you!
The warning panel appeared again.
Ji Yan ignored it.
They had not liked him to begin with.
So what if they hated him? He did not care!
Ji Yan gripped the eerie Spike Hammer and swung it down forcefully again and again.
Every chunk he chipped from the wall seeped with blood.
Ji Yan's eyelids twitched. This Apartment Building was hiding quite a secret.
Perhaps these bleeding walls were connected to the Main Quest.
"He's really gone crazy. Does he think he isn't dying fast enough?"
The players behind him broke out in cold sweats.
Even Bandage Eerie could no longer stand watching. "You're playing with fire."
Ji Yan replied, "I have my own method of driving him away."
"As long as the task timer hasn't run out, I can do whatever I want. If I fail, I have no objection to whatever punishment I receive."
Bandage Eerie did not stop him, because Ji Yan was right.
Still, it sneered. "Destroying the Apartment Building, angering the Eerie Residents, and harming the Landlord's interests."
"Once the task time runs out, I can't even imagine how terrifying your punishment will be."
"That's a problem for later. Don't interrupt me while I'm working."
Ji Yan's response left Bandage Eerie's eyes blazing with anger, and it gave a cold snort.
Boom!
Another section of the wall collapsed. No dust rose; instead, it fell with a wet splatter, dripping sticky blood.
It had broken through. Ji Yan's eyes flickered with no joy or terror, only tension.
As the opening widened, Plague Eerie's enormous body was no longer constrained. He easily sank into the Apartment Building, filthy water splashing across the first-floor corridor.
The stench spread into every resident room on the first floor.
"It really got in..."
Ji Yan followed behind him. The moment he crossed through the wall, he vaguely heard countless Eerie Residents cursing from all directions.
"Get out!!"
"Which damned bastard brought this filthy thing into the Apartment Building?"
"Disgusting! Whose brat is this? Destroying the Apartment Building's wall wasn't enough, and now he brought outside Rats into the Apartment Building!"
"It's the Brat of 404, that Dead Drunkard's kid. Like father, like son!"
Ding! Due to helping an expelled resident illegally enter the Apartment Building, 25 Eerie Residents have developed hostility toward you. Among them, 7 Eerie Residents have reached 75% hostility. Once the task ends, they will seek revenge on you.
"The mess you're making is getting bigger and bigger!"
"Is there really any way to clean this up?"
Listening to the greetings coming from every direction in the corridor, Ji Yan could not help taking a deep breath. Sweat drenched his back.
Sixth Floor.
Old Landlord puffed on Old Smoking Pipe. He knew what had happened on the first floor, but he did not stop it.
He muttered, "Is that kid trying to be born from death? He's got some nerve."
The door to Room 102, First Floor opened.
Cheng Fang carried out two dead Rats and tossed them away, his face filled with disgust. "Has this Dungeon been infected with Rat Plague today?"
When he looked up, he saw the broken opening at the end of the corridor, along with Plague Eerie dragging his mountain-like body across the floor, filthy water flowing from him.
He cursed, just about to duck back into his room, when he spotted a familiar face. "Aren't you... Ji Yan?"
"What are you doing there, patching up the wall or driving out the Rat Plague?"
Ji Yan glanced at Cheng Fang and shook his head. "Neither."
"I helped break open the wall, and I also helped let that eerie thing in."
"..."
Cheng Fang's mouth twitched. His first thought was: How did he manage to cause such a huge disaster?
"No, do you not want to survive this Dungeon? Don't drag us first-floor players down with you! Today was supposed to be easy, but those damned Rats nearly worked us to death!"
Ji Yan put away the Spike Hammer and wiped the filth from his face. "I'm doing this because I want to live."
"You won't be living at all, brother."
"Every resident on the first floor wants to tear you apart now. Even the little bit of favorability that Bewitching Eerie in my room had toward you is gone."
"Those Rats got inside and chewed up her 'treasures.' She's shouting that she wants to suck you dry!"
Ji Yan did not care.
Cheng Fang wanted to say something else, but suddenly shut his mouth, turned, ran back into his room, and bolted the door.
The stench hit him.
Ji Yan turned around, and Plague Eerie's horribly swollen, revolting face leaned close. He stared at Ji Yan. "Why did you help me?"
Ji Yan said, "I like helping people. I don't need a reason."
Plague Eerie did not care about the flimsy answer. He turned to look down both sides of the corridor. "I've lost all memories of this Apartment Building."
"Can you help me find the room I used to live in?"
"I know the Landlord will come down to drive me away soon. As long as I do what I want to do, I'll leave on my own."
Just as expected.
This method would work!
If he helped the Grudge Eerie fulfill his wish, there was no need to drive him away by force. He would leave on his own, and the Rat Plague would naturally disperse as well.
"I'll lead the way!" Ji Yan turned and guided Plague Eerie onward.
Just as they rounded the corner, they saw a familiar figure: Long Yuan, who had just returned to the Apartment Building.
Their eyes met.
Long Yuan froze.
"You... how did you get inside the Apartment Building?!"
Ji Yan said nothing, but Plague Eerie following behind him provided the answer.
Long Yuan immediately understood. "You actually brought this eerie thing into the Apartment Building?!"
"You must be tired of living. Not even immortals can save you now!"
Ji Yan coolly said, "If immortals won't save me, I'll save myself."
"Move."
Before you continue