Entering the living room, Ji Yan saw that Liu Yitong had already finished eating. He wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin and asked Ji Yan, "Where's your dinner?"
"The kitchen."
Ji Yan entered the kitchen. Beside the stove sat a steaming clay pot. When he lifted the lid, white vapor billowed out along with a piping-hot meat soup.
Black chunks of meat churned beneath the greasy surface of the broth. It smelled decent enough, but its appearance stirred unpleasant thoughts and made it hard to swallow.
"Whatever. As long as it doesn't kill me."
Ji Yan carried it out of the kitchen.
Liu Yitong's eyes widened slightly when he saw the pot of hot soup.
"Want some?" Ji Yan asked.
"No... This is your Special Nutritious Meal. I shouldn't drink it, or it might affect my favorability with Eerie Grandmother."
"But how did you manage that? I completed seven daily tasks for Eerie Grandmother, yet she never personally made me dinner."
"You've only interacted with Eerie Grandmother for one day. This is unbelievable!"
Ji Yan was not particularly surprised.
He had cut half of Room 404's rent for seven days. A rewarding dinner was only reasonable.
But when he thought of tonight's unknown late-night mission, Ji Yan inexplicably felt as though Eerie Grandmother had made him a farewell meal.
Ji Yan quickly dismissed that thought.
It was far too unlucky.
Since Liu Yitong refused, Ji Yan did not press him. Already starving, he ladled himself a bowl and began eating.
He had no idea what kind of meat the Black Meat was.
It tasted sour.
It was not bad, and it seemed to have been stewed for a long time. With a light bite, it fell apart.
"Ding! Player notification: After consuming the Special Nutritious Meal, your body has absorbed additional nutrients. All status values have recovered to full." "Eerie Power +1, Eerie Power +1..."
Seeing the green notification panel that popped up, Ji Yan's expression changed. He immediately began shoveling the food into his mouth even faster.
After devouring it like a whirlwind, he did not leave behind even the last drop of broth.
Liu Yitong sat nearby. "Looks like you really were starving."
Wiping the corner of his mouth, Ji Yan felt strength surging through his body. "The point of a Nutritious Meal is nourishment. Whether it tastes good is secondary."
Liu Yitong suddenly remembered something. He took a flashlight from his pocket and handed it to Ji Yan. "This is for you."
Ji Yan asked, "Why are you giving me this?"
"Eerie Mother asked me to give it to you."
"Don't ask me. I don't know either."
"You clearly haven't even interacted with Eerie Mother, yet you still got an equipment reward from her. This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this."
Liu Yitong could not have been more astonished.
At first, Ji Yan had seemed possessed by the God of Misfortune. Yet after Eerie Father went offline, his bad luck seemed to have turned into incredible fortune.
"She only gave one instruction: take it with you tonight. If you can't find the way home in the Abyss, turn on the flashlight. The path it reveals will guide you home."
Liu Yitong was confused by those words.
Ji Yan, however, fell into thought.
Both Eerie Mother and Eerie Grandmother had warned him to be careful late at night. Just how dangerous would tonight's mission be?
When he took the flashlight, information about the equipment popped up, though there was no hidden information.
"Congratulations player, you have obtained equipment—Wandering Soul's Flashlight."
Ji Yan gave it a quick look before tossing it into the Tool Bar.
On second thought, Mother and Grandmother had indeed taken excessively thorough care of him. But then again, he had killed Eerie Father and reduced the rent. With the double favorability boost, triggering these protective rewards was perfectly reasonable.
Before long, the sky darkened.
The Players bustling about the Apartment returned to their respective rooms.
Ji Yan lay on his bed but could not fall asleep. It was not insomnia; he was simply too energized.
Because of that pot of soup, all his status values were now full. Grandmother had clearly planned this in advance. If a Player lacked sleep, his condition would noticeably decline, causing dizziness, blurred consciousness, and other symptoms that would severely affect gameplay.
Taking advantage of his free time, Ji Yan opened the Chest that had been sitting unopened in his Tool Bar.
Opening a mystery box was always exciting.
He tapped to claim it, and the item obtained appeared before him.
"Successfully opened a Treasured Purple Chest. Congratulations player, you have obtained the 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."
That was it.
Just Three Nails?
Ji Yan studied the three rusty, index-finger-length nails in his palm.
They looked like rusty iron nails picked up off the roadside, but since they were rated Treasured Grade, their destructive power was surely formidable. Still, such a large Chest had only produced Three Nails, which was somewhat disappointing and below Ji Yan's expectations.
One more Eerie Weapon meant one more measure of security.
Ji Yan was only human. He cherished his life and feared death. Those desperate gambles for wealth and danger were merely forced upon him by circumstance.
He continued resting in his room. Outside, he gradually began to hear the movements of the NPC Eeries that spawned at night.
As expected, his door was knocked on again. Ji Yan ignored it.
Only when the clock struck midnight did Ji Yan open his eyes, get out of bed, take out the Night Patrol Pass, and pin it to his chest.
"Ding! Eerie item activated. You have obtained the privilege to go out at night. Until 3:00 a.m., you will be immune to the hostility of all nighttime Eeries." "Hint: You are only immune. Do not provoke them."
The door was still being knocked on. Ji Yan opened it.
Outside lay an Eerie with no lower body. Dragging its mangled waist behind it, it raised a face rotten on one side, just about to attack.
The next second, it seemed to lose its target, its expression turning blank.
Then it silently turned around and went to knock on Liu Yitong's door next door.
Ji Yan blinked and headed out toward the living room.
The living room was as lively as ever in the dead of night.
Terrifying, blurry Eerie shadows wandered through every corner of Room 404, like homeless, aimless wandering souls.
As Ji Yan walked among them as a human, every hair on his body stood on end.
But because of the badge on his chest, those nighttime Eeries acted as though they could not see him, passing right by him.
"It's midnight already. Why hasn't the Old Landlord come yet?"
Just as Ji Yan thought that, the door was knocked on.
The next second, the nighttime Eeries in the living room scattered like Rats that had heard a disturbance, scrambling away in panic.
"What could have scared them this badly?"
Though Ji Yan muttered that, he had a rough idea of who stood outside.
Sure enough, after opening the door, he found the old man in a White Tang Suit standing in the corridor. He held an Old Smoking Pipe in one hand and a Birdcage in the other.
The parrot inside stared straight at Ji Yan.
"Taking your bird for a walk at this hour, Old Landlord? You're in quite the mood," Ji Yan said perfunctorily.
Inside, however, he mocked, Who walks a bird after midnight? He's completely insane.
"Smooth talker."
After saying that, he handed over an Old-fashioned Key.
"Go to work."
"This is the key to the gate on the Rooftop..."
Ji Yan accepted the key, utterly confused. "What am I supposed to do?"
"There's a problem with the Apartment's Rooftop water tank. Residents have been reporting it recently, saying their tap water has been dirty. Go clean it."
As he spoke, the wrinkles on the Old Landlord's face stretched out, forming an eerie smile. "There's just a little filth in the water tank. Go clean it up."
"The task is simple."
The Landlord patted Ji Yan on the shoulder.
Though Ji Yan tried hard to believe him, both that smile and every word he said told Ji Yan one thing.
This job was not simple. It was absolutely deadly!
Before you continue