A Nail as a Reward, Favor Repaid

As she spoke, the Eerie Mother's slender fingers landed on her chest, her vibrant red nails like sharp little scalpels.

As her nails scraped down, Ji Yan felt as if his own chest had been cut open, his vision drowned in crimson...

But then he heard a tearing sound. He wasn't injured; instead, his sweater had been ripped open.

"Oh?"

"This sweater looks familiar. You're that old woman 404's grandson."

The Eerie Mother looked at the stray threads caught on her sharp nails, her lips curling into a smile.

"Mom! Hurry and catch him! Turn him into a 'toy'! I want a new toy!"

The Eerie Child was exceptionally excited.

Ji Yan pulled off the privilege badge on his chest. "This belongs to the Landlord..."

Before he could finish, the privilege badge was snatched away and crushed into pieces.

The Eerie Mother's smile was mocking. "This thing is useful for those residents downstairs, but to me, it's just a worthless trinket."

"You didn't think this thing would let you run around the apartment as you pleased, did you?"

Ji Yan hadn't expected the 8th Floor Residents to be so unreasonable.

Not only was the night privilege badge useless, but they didn't need a valid reason to attack a player; a mood was enough.

And something was very wrong.

The female eerie's eyes were filled with killing intent!

Just for chatting with her child for a moment, the killing intent shouldn't be this strong...

"If I've offended you, I'll leave."

"It's probably too late to run now."

"How good do you think this sweater of yours is?"

The Eerie Mother's fingernails grew sharper and longer, waving in the air like unsheathed blood blades.

"My Grandmother knitted this for me herself. If she finds out it's ruined, she'll probably come to you, sister, for an explanation!"

"Threatening me with that old woman won't work. Put her on this floor and see if she dares to speak?"

"What I mean is, can I trade this treasure for my life?"

Ji Yan took out the so-called treasure from his tool bar and handed it over, his eyes full of a desperate will to survive.

"Take a look?"

The outstretched palm opened, revealing a long, rusty nail in its center.

Before the other party could be confused, the nail shot out. Ji Yan poured all his strength into it, and with the enhancement of Eerie Power, it pierced the other party's throat, sinking in half an inch.

As if activated, the coffin nail emanated black mist, burning like a red-hot brand, sizzling and scorching the flesh.

The Eerie Mother let out a piercing scream.

Ji Yan turned and ran.

Since she wasn't going to let him go, he wouldn't hold back either.

The Eerie Child was badly frightened, crying like a doll.

Thick, dark blood flowed uncontrollably from the Eerie Mother's neck.

She pinched the coffin nail with her fingers and yanked it out fiercely.

"Shut up! Cry again and I'll rip your mouth open!"

"Get back in your room!!"

The Eerie Mother twisted her monstrous face, glared at the Eerie Child, who stopped crying in fear and scurried back inside.

"You stinking rat, you dare to play me?"

"Do you think you can escape?"

The Eerie Mother fiercely crushed the coffin nail in her hand, her hair rapidly growing and turning snow-white. Her face lost all human resemblance as she lunged forward at a terrifying speed.

Meanwhile.

Ji Yan, holding his Mother's flashlight, ran quickly down the stairs.

Hearing the hysterical roars from the stairwell, he didn't dare to slow down at all.

After running down to the seventh floor, Ji Yan headed towards the end of the corridor without any hesitation.

Bang bang bang!!!

The door to 702 was knocked on, and Ji Yan shouted, "Mr. Liu, open the door quickly!!"

The door opened a crack.

Liu Nianqing showed half his face. "I have a bad feeling about this. You knocking on my door late at night probably means trouble."

Ji Yan panted, "Let me in first."

"Help, a resident is trying to kill me!"

"Don't you know that most of the residents who die each month die while wandering around at night?"

"You don't sleep at night and like to seek thrills?"

Despite saying this, Liu Nianqing still opened the door.

"Who did you provoke?"

"I'll help you this once, and then we'll be even."

After closing the door, Liu Nianqing turned to look at the disheveled Ji Yan.

Ji Yan listened to the sounds outside the door, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said, "The resident upstairs..."

As soon as he heard the 8th floor, Liu Nianqing's face darkened.

"You said you wouldn't help anyone except the landlord, but you'd help with everything else."

Liu Nianqing's mouth twitched, and he could only grit his teeth and ask again, "Who did you provoke?"

"Heaven and earth know my conscience, I was just passing by, and that brat's mother wanted to kill me. I'm completely clueless."

Ji Yan tried his best to portray himself as innocent.

"The family of three in 804?"

"That family has a bad temper."

Liu Nianqing narrowed his eyes, "That woman wouldn't have such a strong killing intent towards you for no reason. You must have done something!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door behind him visibly decayed: "Liu, hand that kid over."

"I don't have the energy to cause trouble for you."

Liu Nianqing was silent for a moment and said faintly, "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Tell your child to stop playing marbles upstairs. It's too noisy late at night."

There was silence outside the door, and then the Eerie Mother's gloomy voice came through: "What, you want to protect that little mouse?"

"You, a widow who can barely pay rent and is starving, still have the energy to be a backer for others?"

"That brat put a hole in my neck, you can't protect him!"

Crack crack.

White hair, like a flood, began to seep through the cracks of the decaying door, extending towards the floor. It was about to break through.

Liu Nianqing rubbed his temples, feeling helpless.

He asked Ji Yan, "Do you have the cleaver?"

"Yes."

"Lend it to me."

Ji Yan didn't waste any words. He took out the cleaver and handed it over.

Gripping the cleaver, Liu Nianqing turned and thrust it directly at a spot on the door.

A strange sound came from outside, and then the white hair that had been seeping in retreated rapidly, like birds startled by a bow.

When the cleaver was pulled back, it was stained with a few drops of black blood.

Liu Nianqing threw it back to Ji Yan and then spoke to the outside again, "Stop screeching outside like a shrew."

"There's no one in my house. If the neighbors see, and gossip reaches your sensitive husband's ears, he'll think I'm cheating on him."

The Eerie Mother's voice outside was almost gritted through her teeth: "Liu Nianqing, if you insist on interfering, we'll play slowly."

"I can't deal with you, but when my hot-tempered husband comes, let's see if you can still stand tall?"

The commotion outside gradually faded.

The dilapidated door astonishingly returned to its original appearance in the blink of an eye.

Liu Nianqing shook his head, turned to the table, and poured himself a glass of water.

Ji Yan hadn't expected Liu Nianqing to go head-to-head with the 8th-floor resident, and he was directly sent away.

This favor was quite valuable!

"Mr. Liu, thank you."

Liu Nianqing said faintly, "Now we're even."

"How did you enrage that white-haired hag so much? I won't ask, and I'm not interested."

"You can leave now, I need to rest."

"I want to have a drink of water before I go," Ji Yan still wanted to linger for a while, in case the other party was waiting outside.

Liu Nianqing shook his head, "That won't do. You can't stay here for another second. Hurry up and go."

"So urgent?"

Liu Nianqing stopped pretending: "Nonsense, if you stay any longer, that hag's husband will be down here soon."

"This door of mine can't stop that lunatic. I've repaid the favor. Whether you live or die is none of my business. Get lost!"

"..."