Midnight Privilege, Rooftop Mission

Entering the living room, Liu Yitong had already finished eating at the dining table. He wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin and asked Ji Yan, "What about your dinner?"

"Kitchen."

Ji Yan went into the kitchen. By the stove sat a steaming clay pot. He lifted the lid, and white vapor billowed out, revealing a hot, meaty soup.

Black chunks of meat churned in the greasy broth. It smelled decent, but the appearance stirred the imagination—vaguely unsettling, hard to bring oneself to eat.

"Whatever. As long as it doesn't kill me."

Ji Yan picked up the pot and walked out.

Liu Yitong stared at the pot of hot soup, his eyes widening slightly.

"Want some?" Ji Yan offered.

"No... That's your special dinner. I shouldn't drink it—it might affect Eerie Grandmother's favorability."

"But how did you manage it? I've completed seven daily tasks for Eerie Grandmother, and she never made me a dinner herself."

"You've only been interacting with her for one day. It's unbelievable!"

Ji Yan wasn't particularly surprised.

He'd cut the rent for Room 404 by half for seven days; a dinner reward was only reasonable.

But thinking about tonight's unknown late-night task, Ji Yan couldn't shake the feeling that Eerie Grandmother was making him a farewell meal.

He quickly dismissed the thought.

Too unlucky.

Since Liu Yitong refused, Ji Yan didn't press. Already starving, he ladled out a bowl and started eating.

What kind of meat the black stuff was, he had no idea.

Sour.

Not bad, though. It seemed to have been cooked for a long time—tender, falling apart at the slightest bite.

"Ding! Notification to player: Due to consuming a Special Nutritious Meal, your body has absorbed extra nutrients. All status values have recovered to full."

"Eerie Power +1 point. Eerie Power +1 point..."

Watching the green information panel pop up, Ji Yan's expression shifted, and he began eating even more ravenously.

He devoured everything, not even leaving a drop of broth.

Liu Yitong sat nearby. "Looks like you were really starving."

Ji Yan wiped the corner of his mouth, feeling the surge of strength in his body, and said, "Nutritious meals are about replenishment. Taste is secondary."

Liu Yitong suddenly remembered something. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket and handed it to Ji Yan. "Here, take this."

Ji Yan: "What's this for?"

"Eerie Mother asked me to give it to you."

"Don't ask me. I don't know either."

"You haven't even interacted with Eerie Mother, and you're already getting equipment rewards from her. This is a first for me."

Liu Yitong couldn't hide his astonishment.

At first, Ji Yan seemed cursed by the God of Misfortune, but ever since Eerie Father went offline, it was as if his bad luck had turned into good fortune.

"She only said one thing: take this tonight. When you're in the Abyss and can't find your way home, turn on the flashlight. The path it lights will guide you back."

Liu Yitong found the words puzzling.

Ji Yan, however, fell into thought.

Both Eerie Mother and Eerie Grandmother had warned him to be careful tonight. Just how dangerous was this task?

He took the flashlight, and equipment info popped up, but there were no hidden details.

"Congratulations, player. You have obtained equipment—Wandering Soul's Flashlight."

Ji Yan gave it a quick look, then tossed it into the Tool Bar.

Thinking it over, Mother and Grandmother had been unusually thorough in looking after him. But then again, he had killed Eerie Father and reduced the rent. With double favorability boosts, triggering these protective rewards made perfect sense.

Soon, the sky darkened.

The players who had been bustling around the Apartment all returned to their respective rooms.

Ji Yan lay in bed but couldn't fall asleep. Not from insomnia—he was simply too energized.

Thanks to that pot of soup, all his status values were at full capacity. Clearly, Grandmother had planned ahead. If a player lacked sleep, their status would drop significantly, causing confusion, dizziness, and severely impacting gameplay.

With some free time, Ji Yan opened the Tool Bar and looked at the unopened chest.

Opening a blind box was always exciting.

He clicked to claim, and the item appeared before him.

"Successfully opened Treasured Purple Chest. Congratulations, player, you have obtained Eerie Weapon—Blood Coffin Nail x3." (Treasured Grade) (Single-use)

"Description: Nails capable of sealing a Blood-Robed Wraith. Their value speaks for itself. No further explanation needed."

Nothing left.

Just three nails?

Ji Yan looked at the three rusty, finger-length nails in his palm, giving them a brief once-over.

Though they looked like rusty nails picked up off the street, being rated as Treasured Grade meant their lethality was certainly no joke. Still, for such a big treasure chest to only yield a single set of three nails was a bit disappointing—it didn't meet Ji Yan's expectations.

One more Eerie Weapon meant one more layer of security.

Ji Yan was an ordinary person too—he valued his life and feared death. Those gambles of seeking fortune through danger were nothing more than last resorts.

He continued resting in the room, gradually hearing the eerie sounds of the nighttime NPCs refreshing outside.

As expected, the door was knocked on again. Ji Yan ignored it.

Only when the midnight bell tolled did Ji Yan open his eyes, get out of bed, and take out the Night Patrol Pass, pinning it to his chest.

"Ding! Eerie item activated. You have gained the privilege of going out at night. Before 3:00 AM, you will be immune to all nighttime eerie hostility."

(Note: Immunity only—do not actively provoke.)

The door was still being knocked on. Ji Yan opened it.

Outside the door crouched an eerie creature with no lower body, dragging its bloody, mangled waist. It lifted its half-rotted face, ready to strike.

The next second, it seemed to lose its target, its expression turning dull and vacant.

Then, it silently turned around and went to knock on Liu Yitong's door next door.

Ji Yan blinked, then turned and walked toward the living room.

In the dead-of-night living room, it was as lively as ever.

Ghastly, blurry eerie shadows drifted like homeless, aimless wandering spirits, roaming every corner of Room 404.

Walking among them as a human, every hair on Ji Yan's body stood on end.

But thanks to the badge on his chest, these nighttime eerie beings seemed unable to see him, passing right by.

"It's midnight. Why hasn't the old man shown up yet?"

Just as Ji Yan was thinking this, the door was knocked on.

The next second, the nighttime eerie beings in the living room scattered like rats startled by a noise, scrambling to flee.

"What scared them that badly?"

Ji Yan muttered to himself, but he had a pretty good guess who was outside the door.

Sure enough, when he opened it, the Old Landlord stood in the hallway, dressed in a White Tang Suit. In one hand, he held the Old Smoking Pipe; in the other, he carried a Birdcage.

The Parrot inside stared straight at Ji Yan.

"Taking your bird for a walk at this hour, Old Landlord? You sure have good spirits," Ji Yan said casually.

But inside, he was grumbling: Who the hell takes a bird out for a walk after midnight? That's just plain crazy.

"Glib tongue."

With that, he handed over an Old-fashioned Key.

"Go do your work."

"This is the key to the door on the Rooftop..."

Ji Yan took the key, confused. "What am I supposed to do?"

"There's a problem with the Apartment's Water Tank on the Rooftop. Lately, residents have been complaining that the tap water is dirty. Go clean it out."

As he spoke, the wrinkles on the Old Landlord's face smoothed out, and he squeezed out a creepily unsettling smile. "It's just some dirty stuff in the Water Tank. Clean it out, and you're done."

"Simple task."

The Old Landlord patted Ji Yan on the shoulder.

No matter how hard Ji Yan tried to believe him, both the smile and the words between the lines told him one thing.

This job was anything but simple—it was absolutely deadly.