Eerie Targeting, Grandmother Appears

Ji Yan thought of the sachet Grandmother had given him before. How could that count as rent?

"That sachet was simply very important to this old man, so I had that old woman stitch it up and counted it as three days' rent."

"My sachet isn't something just anyone can mend. Only your Grandmother has that kind of skill."

The Landlord sat up, thumped his back, picked up the Birdcage, and said to Ji Yan, "It's getting late. Go back and get some rest."

"You've had quite a tiring night too."

"One more thing—cut ties with the woman in 801 as soon as possible. She's more than you can handle."

Ji Yan gave a bitter smile. He wanted to cut ties too, but this was not something a few words could settle.

When the Landlord's hunched figure disappeared into the corridor, the game notification sounded in Ji Yan's mind.

"Congratulations, player, you have completed the task assigned by the Landlord and successfully cleared the source of pollution in the reservoir."

"Reward: 5 days' worth of ordinary food."

"Eerie Power increased by 20 points. Experience increased by 220 points."

"Ding! Congratulations player, you have collected a Talent Fragment."

"You successfully resolved the water pollution issue and maintained the Apartment's pleasant environment. You have gained 5% favorability from a total of 9 tenants! The Landlord greatly approves of your abilities. Favorability increased by 2%."

"2%?"

"He's a Dungeon Boss, after all. I did two things for him and only got two points of favorability. Winning over this old man might be harder than winning over the campus goddess."

Ji Yan casually grumbled and closed the information panel.

Still, hearing that he had collected a Talent Fragment made Ji Yan feel that tonight's efforts had not been entirely in vain.

It was now three thirty in the morning.

After all that commotion, Ji Yan's excited state finally gave way to fatigue, and drowsiness began to set in.

Rubbing his eyes, Ji Yan did not linger and headed back to Room 404 to rest.

In the stairwell, Ji Yan climbed the steps while casually checking the information panel to see what he had gained tonight.

But he quickly noticed something was wrong.

These stairs... why were they so long?

He shone his light on the wall and realized that after walking for so long, he was still in the second-floor corridor.

"What's going on? A ghostly maze?"

Ji Yan immediately sensed that something was off.

He kept going up. After rounding the stairwell corner, he found himself still on the second floor.

Knowing some Eerie was toying with him, Ji Yan helplessly called out in the stairwell, "Which brother is it? I'm just going upstairs. I didn't provoke you, did I?"

There was no response.

Ji Yan's expression darkened as he pulled out his second Coffin Nail. "There's a limit to bullying people. Just because I'm being polite doesn't mean I'm a pushover."

At that moment, a glass bottle rolled down from above, bouncing down step after step before finally shattering at Ji Yan's feet. Liquor spilled across the floor.

A fat man in a short shirt, with greasy hair and an utterly filthy appearance, squatted above him. Gnawing on a chicken leg, he mumbled to Ji Yan, "You broke my meal wine."

"Do you know how precious that wine was?"

Ji Yan found it rather amusing. "It rolled to my feet and broke on its own. What does that have to do with me?"

The moment the otaku heard that, his face full of lumpy flesh turned cold.

His eyes brimmed with arrogance. "All I know is that my wine broke."

"And the bottle is right at your feet."

Ji Yan narrowed his eyes. The other party was clearly targeting him, using an absurdly flimsy excuse to come after him.

Once the Apartment reached late night, the rules completely lost their effect, and the Eeries could attack Players without restraint.

It was only because Ji Yan wore a Privilege Badge on his chest that the other party had bothered to find a simple excuse to start trouble.

Ji Yan shrugged. The other party had come for him, so saying more was useless. He simply asked, "What do you want me to compensate you with?"

Even as he spoke, he tightened his grip on the Coffin Nail in his hand.

When dealing with these Eeries, there was no need for nonsense. The moment an opportunity arose, just give them a nail.

"You're talking, so why are you holding that nail?"

"Is that your attitude when apologizing?"

The otaku swallowed the food in his hand and sneered.

The next second, the entire stairwell shook violently, and the steps slid like a playground slide.

Ji Yan staggered, and his right hand was seized. The Coffin Nail in his palm fell into the hands of the Otaku Eerie.

Ji Yan was roughly pinned against the wall. The Otaku Eerie held the Coffin Nail, but it was like gripping a red-hot branding iron, and he hurriedly flung it away.

"Where did you get this nail? It's vicious!"

The Otaku Eerie was startled. He did not dare imagine what would happen if that nail pierced him.

Ji Yan's face turned icy. Something felt wrong. No matter how vicious other Eeries were, they would not deliberately target someone.

But this guy before him was not even trying to extort any benefits. He simply wanted Ji Yan dead!

With that clash, hidden information appeared before him.

Ji Yan glanced at it and narrowed his eyes.

"You're glaring at me? You broke my wine, and you still dare glare at me?"

A cold gleam surfaced in the Otaku Eerie's slit-like eyes.

One hand grabbed Ji Yan's abdomen, but the next second, it was thrown back by the sweater on his body. With a ripping sound, the sweater tore several inches.

"You Rat have quite a few treasures on you."

"But it looks like this piece of clothing of yours is almost destroyed too."

The Otaku Eerie bared a mouthful of yellow teeth, his eyes full of mockery. Both hands suddenly seized the sweater and tore at it with force. Under the erosion of Eerie Power, the sweater continued to rip apart.

In the end, it was completely torn open.

The moment the sweater was torn open, its damage level reached 95%, immediately triggering the Backlash Effect.

A bloody glow shone from the sweater, and the Otaku Eerie's hands were instantly seared. His flesh rotted away as white smoke rose from them.

Ji Yan had been waiting for this chance. With one hand, he took out the Spike Hammer; with the other, he swiftly picked up the Coffin Nail from the ground. Aiming at the forehead of the Otaku Eerie, who was retreating in pain, he brought it down with all his strength.

Ding!!

A metallic clang rang out.

The Coffin Nail pierced through the Otaku Eerie's forehead.

A shrill scream echoed through the entire stairwell.

"I told you, being polite doesn't mean I'm a pushover!"

"Didn't you want compensation? Take this nail as payment for your wine!"

Ji Yan raised the Spike Hammer again, intending to drive the Coffin Nail completely into the Otaku Eerie's forehead.

But just as he raised it, something seemed to wrap around his wrist. An Eerie covered in cement emerged from the stairwell wall and directly dragged Ji Yan into it.

As the Cement Eerie pulled Ji Yan into the wall, he mocked the Otaku Eerie, "Liu Feng, you nearly got killed by a brat. Aren't you ashamed?"

"Kid, as for why we're coming after you, go over there and think carefully about who you offended!"

Half of Ji Yan's body was slowly dragged into the wall.

He could clearly feel the cement squeezing his body!

The Otaku Eerie on the ground clutched his ruptured head, not daring to pull out the red-hot Coffin Nail. He glared at Ji Yan with eyes split wide. "I'm going to bite this Rat's head to pieces!"

Ji Yan's face twitched as he cursed inwardly.

Just as the Otaku Eerie was about to pounce, a hunched figure appeared behind him.

"Sigh, if my grandson made a mistake, you could just settle things with us parents. Why make things difficult for a child?"

"He's still so young. He doesn't understand anything."

Ji Yan was stunned.

The Otaku Eerie froze and instinctively turned his head.

The next instant, a hand with thin, translucent skin and covered in corpse spots reached over and pressed down on the Coffin Nail.

The Coffin Nail sank straight into the Otaku Eerie's head.

Like a branding iron falling into foam, the Otaku Eerie did not even have time to scream before his head split apart, and the brain inside was melted by the Coffin Nail into a pool of bloody water...

His obese body toppled onto the steps.