"Uh... that was pretty melodramatic."
After hearing the backstory, Dyed-Hair Girl fell silent for a while before finally summing it up.
"Whether it was melodramatic or not didn't matter. What mattered was completing the mission."
Ji Yan kept watching the time. Listening to what was going on in the room, he grew increasingly anxious.
Fortunately, after more than ten minutes of interaction, the room's door slowly opened.
Plague Eerie walked out. His face, obscured by sticky black hair, looked like a drowned ghost staring at them, making their skin crawl.
Dyed-Hair Girl fearfully hid behind Jiyan.
"Thank you. Seeing my daughter settle down safely here has fulfilled my last wish."
"I should leave now. I've caused you so much trouble."
Plague Eerie spoke slowly to Ji Yan. The obsession that had tormented him like shackles had finally been severed.
Ji Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but then he thought of the massive hole chiseled through the wall and began to worry again.
How was this enormous hole supposed to be dealt with? Who was going to patch it up?
Plague Eerie raised a hand, reached into his mouth, and pulled a key from his throat before handing it to Ji Yan. "If you run into trouble, use this key to open the gate to Room 801."
"That resident isn't easy to talk to, but he should... perhaps... help you out for the sake of our friendship."
Plague Eerie sounded utterly uncertain.
But he knew that Ji Yan had risked offending every resident in the Apartment Building by forcibly breaking through the wall to let him enter. He had caused quite a mess, and Plague Eerie had to show his gratitude.
This was the only compensation he could think of.
The Corner of Ji Yan's Mouth twitched as he gave a bitter smile. "Brother, don't give me any 'should' or 'perhaps.'"
"The residents on the Eighth Floor are all ruthless characters."
"If your reputation doesn't work, then this isn't repayment. It's straight-up revenge!"
Plague Eerie said hoarsely, "I know how difficult it is to survive in this Apartment Building. I've done all I can."
"If you run into trouble, you can also come to this room. My daughter will help you."
After explaining everything, Plague Eerie walked outside. The Rats gathered outside the gate swiftly dispersed after him.
Ji Yan held the key in his hand.
A game notification sounded in his mind:
"Congratulations player, you have received an additional mission reward—Key to Room 801." "Hint: The 8th Floor Residents of the Apartment involve complex backstories and have eccentric personalities. Do you think the key in your hand will bring fortune or disaster?"
Why were even the game notifications asking such punchable riddles?
Holding the key, Ji Yan felt as though it were scalding hot.
Liu Yitong had said before that an announcement had reported there were currently only four residents on the Eighth Floor. As the highest floor of the Apartment Building, its rent was double that of the other residents. Many rules could not restrain that floor, every resident had multiple backstories set for them, and the missions triggered there were at minimum A+ rank.
Every one of them was comparable to a Dungeon Mini-Boss!
Ji Yan repeatedly rubbed the key, hoping to trigger his talent, but there was still no hidden information. He could only give up.
"Why are you still standing there? Get out already. It'll be dark soon, and I need to hurry up and clean the room," Dyed-Hair Girl said, rolling up her sleeves.
Ji Yan came back to his senses, apologized to Dyed-Hair Girl for disturbing her, and hurriedly left the room.
"What kind of person was that? In the end, I got nothing and still had to help clean up this mess."
Dyed-Hair Girl grumbled nonstop.
Still, the good thing was that she had not been expelled and could continue loafing around in 102 to survive.
But then she received a summons from the Blood Wall and hurried into the room.
More blood seeped from the Blood Wall. Bloodstains writhed over its mottled surface before gathering into two words: "Thank you."
By the time Ji Yan returned to the corridor, Plague Eerie had already left with the invading Rats.
But after all that commotion, the first floor was a complete disaster.
Filthy water and garbage covered every corner, and the stench was overwhelming.
"He left feeling perfectly satisfied, but what about me?"
Staring at the massive mess before him, Ji Yan clutched his head in distress.
As soon as he said that, a chill swept over him from behind.
Ji Yan's heart skipped a beat. When he turned around, Old Landlord was already standing behind him.
As the boss of this Dungeon, even though the old man looked amiable, he always carried an indescribable sense of pressure.
Like the Abyss—what could not be seen to the bottom was the most terrifying.
"Good news or bad news? Which would you like to hear?" Landlord narrowed his eyes, and his smile sent shivers down the spine.
Ji Yan paused. "The good news?"
"The good news is that those annoying Rats have left, so you've completed the mission."
Ji Yan showed no joy. "What's the bad news?"
"The bad news is that you used the worst possible method to complete the mission."
"The mission rewards can't make up for the hole punched through the wall, nor the mess on the first floor."
That did not make Ji Yan look troubled. He asked directly, "So how am I supposed to compensate for it?"
Old Landlord smiled. "A little brat who can't even pay his rent and relies on 'parasitizing' 404—what could you possibly use as compensation?"
Ji Yan shook his head. "If I couldn't make up for this hole, you wouldn't be wasting your breath here with me."
"Those First-Floor Residents who hate me to the bone would have already used me to vent their anger."
"You were the one who stopped them."
Old Landlord shook Old Smoking Pipe, looking rather surprised. "Heh, you're pretty sharp, aren't you?"
"I'll give you a Night Mission. If you complete it, I won't pursue the matter of the enormous hole in the wall."
Night Mission. Its mortality rate was twice that of daytime missions!
Ji Yan tried to find an excuse to get out of it. "But doesn't the Apartment have rules requiring all residents to rest at night? How about changing it to daytime?"
"This mission can't be completed during the day."
"You brat have a Night Patrol Pass. You can't fool this old man."
"You have only two choices. The other is for me to hand you over to those residents to deal with."
"What do you say, young man?"
Faced with Landlord's kind and benevolent expression, Ji Yan smiled more painfully than if he were crying. "Do I even have a choice, Old Landlord?"
Old Landlord patted Ji Yan on the shoulder. "Young man, I think highly of your abilities."
"We're all residents of the Apartment Building. To maintain a good environment here, everyone should contribute, shouldn't they?"
"Don't feel like you're getting the short end of the stick. If you do the mission I give you well, I'll personally give you a gift."
The more amiable Landlord acted, the less reassured Ji Yan felt. He simply asked directly, "Old Landlord, let's not beat around the bush. How many people have done this late-night job?"
"So far, around eleven."
"Any survivors?" Old Landlord shook his head with a smile before saying, "Not many."
"..."
Ji Yan was exhausted in both body and mind.
These life-risking jobs just kept coming one after another!
Was fate trying to see whether he was tough enough, or was someone manipulating things behind the scenes?
If he remembered correctly, today's original mission had merely been to deliver a Sachet. He could have wrapped things up nicely and loafed around for another day of survival.
But because he had taken one extra look at the notice in the corridor, it had turned into this dire situation!
It really was true: don't casually pick the pretty flowers by the roadside.
"Be content. Compared with those other unlucky fellows, at least you're still alive."
Ji Yan knew Landlord meant the other Players who had accepted the mission, so he could not help asking, "What happened to them?"
"They failed the mission, so they were all used to fill in and patch the wall."
"..."
Before you continue