Ji Yan pushed open the door. The room was a complete mess, with knitted garments scattered everywhere.
Grandmother sat there, her aged body shrouded in a layer of black mist, her face exceptionally terrifying.
"Warning! Eerie family member Grandmother is currently in a semi-corrupted state. To avoid unnecessary danger, please interact with caution."
Once an Eerie became corrupted, every Player's favorability with it would plummet.
That was why even Liu Yitong, her most beloved granddaughter, received no pleasant expression and was promptly assigned an A+-rank quest.
Ji Yan paid no mind to the panel's warning. He bent down and picked up a sweater from the floor.
"Grandmother, I heard from Sister that our home was robbed."
Grandmother, her body covered in black corpse spots, rolled the Silver Needle between her fingers, looking absentminded. "That thief stole several of Grandmother's most precious Sweaters."
"Without those three Sweaters... Grandmother will be driven out of the Apartment, and you'll never see Grandmother again."
Ji Yan's expression shifted. "That serious?"
Then, thinking of something, he tried asking, "Those three Sweaters are Grandmother's rent?"
"That's right. Rent for the next two months."
"They're also Grandmother's hard work from the past three months."
Grandmother's hunched body trembled slightly.
This was Ji Yan's first time seeing such obvious anxiety and unease in Eerie Grandmother.
Compared to the Grandmother who had casually dealt with two parasitic Eeries in the hallway last night, she seemed like an entirely different Eerie!
What exactly was the mist-shrouded world outside the Apartment like?
Even Eerie Grandmother feared it this much. All Eeries tried every possible way to remain in the Apartment, terrified of being driven out.
Some Sweaters could serve as rewards for Players.
Others could serve as rent paid to the Landlord.
Ji Yan was still utterly confused about rent.
At first, he had not wanted to dig too deeply, worried it might involve the Main Quest. But now that he had accepted the Main Quest, Ji Yan had no such concerns and asked outright.
Unexpectedly, he really did get an answer through the interaction.
Eerie Grandmother rose to her feet, pinched a Silver Needle between her fingers, and sliced open a seam in one section of the wall.
The wall split like torn fabric, blood seeping out.
But this time, within the wall were chunks of writhing flesh covered in blood vessels and bluish veins!
Ji Yan's eyes widened.
The flesh within the wall brimmed with vitality.
Like a violently beating heart!
"Your mother and I are not the original residents of Room 404. The ones built into these walls are."
"They gradually weaken within the walls every day. If we outsider residents don't want to be driven away, we have to feed them and make sure the walls of the building do not crack and collapse."
"What feeds them is rent."
Ji Yan listened, still somewhat lost. He reached out and lightly touched the flesh.
As expected, his Omniscient Understanding talent was triggered.
Through the hidden information he acquired, Ji Yan finally cleared up the last of his doubts.
"Ding! Through interaction, the Player has triggered a talent and successfully obtained introductory information about the Dungeon's overall background."
Long ago, a massive fire broke out in the Apartment. All 176 original residents perished in the flames. Their flesh fused into the walls and floors, becoming indestructible building materials in the Eerie World—materials saturated with pain.
Though indestructible, the Apartment suffered countless instances of destruction and damage every day as it struggled to survive in the Eerie World.
Outsider residents had to take on the responsibility of "raising" the original residents. They needed to restore the items left over from that fire and deliver them to the Landlord, who would place them inside the walls to "feed" the original residents.
The items left behind by the fire could increase the original residents' resentment, causing their flesh to grow and making the walls sturdier.
"So the so-called rent is the items left behind by the original residents in the fire!"
With the Dungeon information completed, Ji Yan was instantly enlightened.
No wonder the rent varied so wildly.
The rent in some rooms was expensive, while the rent in others was cheap.
Thinking carefully, Room 801 truly deserved to be called the most dangerous room, with the highest rent.
It had more than a dozen original residents!
For Miss Xu to live in Room 801 and successfully feed the flesh of more than a dozen original residents to the required level, she was no ordinary person.
"Those three Sweaters belonged to three children among the original residents."
"Without those garments, the walls will gradually begin to crack, and your Grandmother will be driven out of the Apartment."
Grandmother rolled the Silver Needle between her fingers and slowly stitched the wall shut again, leaving no trace behind.
She turned to Ji Yan. "Grandson, you have to help Grandmother catch that thief as soon as possible."
As she spoke, she took a dark knitted sweater from beneath the table and handed it to Ji Yan. "Your sweater was ruined last night, so Grandmother knitted you another one."
"If you go out at night, wear it properly. Don't catch a cold."
Ji Yan's eyes immediately lit up.
He had not expected that interacting with corrupted Grandmother would yield new equipment.
This sweater could save his life at a critical moment. To him, it was far more practical than those flashy pieces of equipment.
"Ding! Congratulations player, you have obtained the Eerie item—Grandmother's Knit Sweater. Quality: Collector's."
"Effect: Can resist three fatal attacks from ordinary Eeries. Maximum toughness capacity: 110 points of Eerie Power. The greater the Eerie Power damage, the greater the damage sustained. No Backlash Effect."
Having received a benefit, Ji Yan naturally became more proactive. "Do you have any impression of the thief, Grandmother?"
Grandmother did not answer. She sat back down in her chair, lowered her eyelids, and shook her head.
She repeatedly muttered, "Find the Sweaters... find the Sweaters..."
Seeing that he could get no more information through interaction, Ji Yan could only leave the room.
It seemed that none of the outsider residents had any clues about the thief. He could only wait until tonight.
"Ding! Congratulations player, you have completed today's quest. Deliver the gift to Room 801. Eerie Mother's favorability toward you has increased by 5%, and the residents of Room 801 have increased their favorability toward you by 10%."
"You have gained 30 points of Eerie Power. They have been automatically allocated."
"You have obtained a hidden piece of information—Mother was also victimized by the Mysterious Thief and lost one of the original residents' necklaces."
"Worried that she would be driven out, she chose to make a deal with the owner of Room 801 through the method of 'gift-giving.'"
"As expected, Mother hadn't escaped unscathed either."
"Unlike Grandmother, though, Mother had left herself a backup plan—Miss Xu of Room 801. It seemed that if Mother could not pay the rent, Miss Xu would lend her a hand."
He just did not know what kind of treasure that set of cosmetics was, to make Miss Xu willing to help Mother.
Ji Yan shook his head.
He did not dwell on those trivial matters.
Right now, the Mysterious Thief was like a walking first-class merit!
Every Player wanted to catch it.
Catching it was equivalent to helping more than half of the Eerie Residents escape their misery.
One Main Quest might even clear half the Apartment's progress!
Not to mention the Privilege Key.
Naturally, Ji Yan would not slack off either.
Night fell quickly.
Wearing the Privilege Badge for Night Action, Ji Yan stepped out of his room.
The moment he opened the door, Liu Yitong from next door opened hers as well.
She wore a Night Action Privilege Badge on her chest too.
"When did you get this privilege?" Ji Yan was slightly stunned. He had put in no small amount of effort to obtain that badge.
"Everyone who joined the announcement and participated in catching the Mysterious Thief was assigned this Privilege Badge. You didn't know?"
Liu Yitong asked in return.
Ji Yan felt embarrassed.
Fine, fine, fine.
He had only enjoyed this privilege for two days, and it was already everywhere.
"You also think the thief will appear at night?"
"Not just me. The entire thief-catching team thinks so."
"First, the Apartment's rules become ineffective at night, making it easier for the thief to act. Second, the Eerie Residents generally lose their belongings at night."
"So tonight is definitely going to be lively."
Seeing Liu Yitong's eager expression, Ji Yan reminded her, "Don't forget, the quest mentioned that the Mysterious Thief is extremely dangerous."
"Having many Players doesn't mean the thief will be afraid."
Ji Yan had a feeling that many Players had been blinded by the quest rewards and truly regarded the thief as a Rat everyone could beat.
But it was a proper Main Quest boss!
It would not be some easy target...
Before you continue