"What exactly is the mission?"
Ji Yan asked quietly.
"You'll find out tonight at midnight. Go back and get some rest early."
"As for this mess, I'll handle it for you. Normally, this old man wouldn't be interested in chatting with you for so long."
"Whoever caused the trouble should be the one to make up for it."
"But seeing that you're a clever kid with nimble hands and feet, I'm giving you this opportunity." The Old Landlord stroked his beard and spoke slowly.
"That Long Yuan seems pretty capable. Why didn't you ask him?" Ji Yan deliberately brought up Long Yuan.
"You can't compare to him. That kid hasn't made any mistakes, and he doesn't owe rent either."
Ji Yan suddenly understood. "Got it. He has no weakness for you to grab onto."
"I caused trouble, and you caught me red-handed."
Landlord: "Sharp."
"Alright, go back. Stop getting in the way here."
The Landlord held his smoking pipe and stepped aside.
Ji Yan did not continue talking. Chatting too much with a Dungeon boss like this might trigger some deadly mission.
As Ji Yan went upstairs, the Landlord flicked away some ash and called toward the corridor beside him, "Come out and get to work. Hurry up, it'll be dark soon."
Inside the corridor, as his voice echoed, the walls on both sides began to squirm, turning over to reveal pale, ghastly eyeballs...
After going upstairs, Ji Yan finally confirmed that he had completed the announcement mission, and the game notification sounded.
"Ding! Congratulations, player. For completing the announcement mission of helping the Apartment resolve the Rat Plague in the Drain Ditch and creating a good living environment, all residents' favorability toward you has increased by 5%."
"Ding! Because the player completed the mission incorrectly, the residents on the first floor have collectively developed 15% hostility toward you."
"Announcement mission reward: Rent for Room 404 will be halved for the next seven days. You have obtained a Treasured Purple Chest!"
"Congratulations, player. You have collected one Talent Fragment. Current talent advancement progress: 1/3. Keep up the good work and continue collecting!"
Two more fragments?
Ji Yan curled his lip. He felt like he had been tricked. This had not been made clear from the beginning, misleading him into thinking one fragment would be enough to advance it.
Had this system learned Pinduoduo's bargain-cutting tricks too?
Once he collected all three, it wouldn't suddenly throw another progress bar at him, would it?
Ji Yan shook his head. Looking at the wildly fluctuating favorability values, he felt even more speechless.
So after doing volunteer work for the Apartment all this time, not a single one of them thanked him, and he had even offended quite a few residents.
Ji Yan truly could not figure out that, if the way he completed the mission had been wrong, what better method there could have been.
If he had not let the Plague Eerie in, he could not have resolved its obsession and allowed it to leave on its own. Forcefully driving it away would not have worked either...
Still, seeing the mission reward made Ji Yan feel somewhat better.
He was in no hurry to open the chest. He first returned to Room 404 to report back to Grandmother.
When he returned to Room 404 and had just stepped through the door, he received another notification.
"Congratulations, player! Because you reduced Room 404's rent by half for seven days, Mother and Grandmother both believe you are a sensible child who has grown up. Their favorability toward you has increased by 20%."
Ji Yan's eyes flickered.
In the living room, Liu Yitong had returned early and was sitting at the dining table eating dinner.
When he saw Ji Yan covered in filth, he almost failed to recognize him. He thought some Eerie had broken in, but after taking a closer look, he could not help staring in astonishment.
"You... weren't you just going to deliver a Sachet?"
"How did you end up like this?"
"It's a long story. Just pretend I fell into a drain." Ji Yan spoke helplessly.
"By the way, the first floor seems pretty lively. I heard people saying that some suicidal idiot actually smashed through the Apartment Building and flooded the first-floor corridor with filthy water, making all the Eerie residents on the first floor furious."
"I bet that unlucky guy died horribly!"
"How could someone cause such a massive disaster?"
Ji Yan was too drained to explain. He took off his shirt and headed for the bathroom.
Only after washing the filth off his body did Ji Yan knock on Grandmother's door and enter.
"Grandmother, I delivered the Sachet. The Old Landlord accepted it."
On the bed, Grandmother wore reading glasses as she knitted a sweater, looking kind and benevolent.
"It's good that you delivered it."
"But now, you've gotten yourself into a lot of trouble."
Grandmother did not look up, yet she clearly understood Ji Yan's current situation.
He had only just climbed out of the pit created by the announcement mission, only to fall into another pit dug by the Landlord.
Ji Yan forced a smile and said, "It's only right to do some volunteer work for the Apartment. It's not trouble."
Grandmother chuckled twice and slowly said, "You're like a duck."
Ji Yan blinked. "Huh?"
"Your whole body is cooked, but your mouth is still hard."
Grandmother set down the sweater in her hands and looked up at Ji Yan. "That old Landlord is shrewd. He never makes a losing deal."
"This Apartment Building may look sturdy, standing tall in this world, but in truth, it's riddled with holes."
"He will always find ways to make you outsiders fill those holes."
"He settled the mess on the first floor for you, so you think you got a good deal. In truth, he handed you an even worse mess."
"You shouldn't have looked at that announcement."
Ji Yan said nothing.
There was no point saying anything now.
"What job did that old man throw at you?"
"I don't know yet. I only know it begins After Midnight."
Hearing that it was after midnight, Grandmother shook her head. "That's a lousy job."
Clearly, she knew something, but she did not say it. Ji Yan tactfully chose not to ask.
"Alright, Grandmother knitted this herself for you. See how you like it?"
Grandmother handed him a sweater, a dark red turtleneck cardigan that did not look old-fashioned.
Ji Yan accepted it, and the hidden information panel immediately appeared.
"Congratulations, player. You have obtained the eerie item—White Silk Eerie's Sweater. It can resist three fatal eerie attacks and increase the player's mental strength by 25%." (The higher the mental strength, the stronger the immunity to eerie assimilation.)
"Hidden information: When the sweater is 95% damaged, it will trigger a Backlash Effect, producing a burning effect."
"Backlash Effect?" Ji Yan's brows twitched.
Grandmother continued, "Grandmother specially added a little extra something to this sweater."
"If you encounter danger tonight, the sweater will protect you, but only for a limited time. During that time, find a way to save yourself."
Her words indirectly revealed that tonight's mission would be quite dangerous!
Grandmother had deliberately spoken in riddles.
But she did not know that this little riddle had already been completely deciphered by the talent Omniscient Understanding.
"I understand."
"Then I'll head out first."
Ji Yan accepted Grandmother's additional reward and prepared to leave the room.
Perhaps because their favorability had been steadily accumulating, Grandmother added another reminder. "If you run into trouble you truly can't shake off, find a way to run home. Once you're inside, Grandmother can help you a little."
"But not much."
"Thank you, Grandmother." Ji Yan nodded and left the room.
"Ding! The player has completed today's mission assigned by Grandmother. Current accumulated favorability with this eerie character: 45%."
"Congratulations! You have triggered the favorability effect of Grandparent Bond. Eerie Grandmother now feels protective toward you. Within Room 404, if danger or threats arise, Grandmother will provide you with a certain degree of protection."
"Keep up the good work and develop more intimate relationships!"
"Ding! You have received Today's Dinner from My Eerie Grandmother. She personally made you a Nutritious Meal. Please collect it from the kitchen."
"So this was the benefit of favorability? Damn it, I'd survived in this Dungeon for days before I finally got to enjoy something like this."
The moment he thought about it, Ji Yan became furious.
It was all because of that damned Gourmand Eerie, which had given him such a disastrous start.
Even though that Dead Drunkard father had already been reduced to ashes and logged off, Ji Yan still wanted to drag him out and give him a vicious whipping.
Before you continue