Exchange of Favors, So-Called Key

"How did you know this apartment building had a basement?"

Upon hearing Ji Yan's words, Miss Xu's beautiful eyes flickered, and she smiled calmly.

"I noticed it when I went from the first floor lobby up to the eighth floor."

"The first floor had the most cracks, looking like it could collapse at any moment. The higher the floor, the fewer the cracks."

"So it wasn't hard to guess that the real thief, the culprit responsible for the damage to the apartment, was in the basement, or perhaps, beneath the apartment."

"The source of the apartment's damage was likely its foundation being gnawed and destroyed."

"It's just that the Multi-faced Eerie was quite unlucky. Its actions and unknown identity perfectly matched the culprit, so it was mistaken for the thief everyone was trying to catch!"

Ji Yan's words were speculative, but his tone was certain.

If not for the hidden information obtained through his [Talent], Ji Yan would also have been misled, trying to kill the Multi-faced Eerie and accelerating the destruction of the apartment dungeon!

Through the hidden information obtained, it could be inferred that the eerie face skin on the Multi-faced Eerie also belonged to the apartment's native inhabitants.

It was just that due to "aging materials" or other reasons, it had been eliminated.

That black bug eerie was responsible for housing these eliminated native residents' faces. When the apartment faced a crisis of destruction, it would come out and do its best to save the apartment building.

But their help was only superficial.

To truly save the apartment, it still depended on the players!

"There is indeed a basement, but the key..."

Miss Xu picked up a cup of hot coffee from the table and added two sugar cubes.

"Is the key with the Landlord?"

"It is indeed with the Landlord, but he won't be involved in this crisis."

"He's been sleeping lately."

Miss Xu took a sip of coffee, answering nonchalantly.

Ji Yan frowned. "The apartment building is about to be destroyed, and the Landlord is sleeping?"

He found it unbelievable. The Landlord seemed to be the biggest boss in the apartment dungeon, yet he had no part in the main quest?

Miss Xu picked up a spoon and stirred the dark brown coffee. "This old man doesn't get involved in many things."

"His thinking is very old-fashioned."

"If the apartment is truly destroyed, he will consider it fate and willingly perish with the apartment in this world."

Miss Xu's words enlightened Ji Yan.

The Landlord seemed to be the biggest boss in the Crimson Apartment dungeon, but in reality, he was just a manipulated, dull NPC under the dungeon's rules.

Ji Yan shook his head. "There must be a way."

"Since I was able to discover the true culprit hiding beneath the apartment, it means this is definitely not a dead end!"

Miss Xu's eyes showed a hint of approval. "Not bad, your brain is sometimes quite sharp."

"Besides the Landlord, the native inhabitants also have ways to access the apartment's basement."

"But, the native inhabitants are very resistant to us outsiders. It's difficult to even communicate with them, let alone get them to help you get into the basement."

Miss Xu's words suddenly sparked an idea in Ji Yan.

His eyes flickered. "I suddenly thought of a special native inhabitant."

"Perhaps, she can help me."

As he spoke, Ji Yan said goodbye to Miss Xu and was about to leave.

"Wait."

"Here's a gift for you. I've bet on you, so don't disappoint me."

Miss Xu called out to Ji Yan and flicked her slender jade finger.

Three small paper cutouts landed on Ji Yan.

The paper figures had a life of their own. They were like the little people in Andersen's fairy tales, lining up and hopping on his shoulders before finally burrowing into his hair.

"Ding! Congratulations to the player for discovering the hiding location of the main quest's true [Culprit], and you have received the blessing reward from resident 801."

"Special Eerie Item: Paper Cutout."

"Quality: Legendary."

"Eerie Item Description: In ancient legends, paper cutouts could house wandering souls. Older generations liked to hang them by the window. When a soul resided within the paper figure, it could guide blessings for the owner and ward off disasters."

"Hidden Information: The three paper cutouts respectively possess the special abilities of curse, blessing, and disaster avoidance."

"Another Legendary equipment!"

Ji Yan's expression changed slightly. He hadn't expected Miss Xu, who wasn't his eerie family member, to interact with him and drop a Legendary item.

He had to admit, the drop rate for this main quest was really high!

"Don't start celebrating yet. These three paper cutouts of mine have quite a temper."

"I'm giving it to you, but you might not be able to use it anyway."

Miss Xu said nonchalantly.

Ji Yan nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then exited Room 801.

Time was pressing, so Ji Yan went back down to the first floor and knocked on the door of Room 102.

This was the room that the Plague Eerie had entered through initially. If he remembered correctly, the Plague Eerie had mentioned it had troubles and could ask its daughter for help.

Favors were like currency.

As long as they remained outstanding, they always held value and would eventually be useful.

The door was opened by the dyed-hair girl again. The moment she saw Ji Yan, her expression soured. "Why is it you again?"

"What kind of dirty thing have you brought this time? I always get a premonition of bad luck when I see you."

Because her daily tasks didn't require her to go out, the dyed-hair girl was like someone isolated from the world.

She believed she would remain content in her little Room 102, unaware that the apartment was facing imminent destruction.

"I'm looking for your landlord!"

Pushing the door open, Ji Yan walked in and, dust-covered, headed straight for the landlord's room at the end of the corridor.

"Hey! At least take off your shoes. Where have you been? Your soles are covered in red paint!" Seeing the soiled floor, the dyed-hair girl's pleasant mood for the day immediately vanished.

Inside the landlord's room.

The blood wall was continuously oozing blood, which formed into a line of distorted words.

"...I knew you would come..."

"Excuse me, I want to know how to get to the apartment's basement. Do you know?" Ji Yan asked directly, getting straight to the point.

The blood words shifted: "I know..."

"But the basement was once a forbidden place where the apartment confined severely violating residents..."

"It's very dangerous... You are my and my father's benefactor, and I don't want to harm you."

"If you don't go, the apartment building will collapse anyway, and the outcome will be the same."

"Everyone else has been deceived and misled, but only I know where the problem originates. This dangerous place is the only place I can go!"

Ji Yan's words carried a sense of desolation, as if he were saying, If I don't go to hell, who will?

But in reality, he was just afraid that other players would snatch the credit.

He wouldn't be the only one to realize they had been misled.

Therefore, he had to hurry and seize the initiative!

The blood wall was silent for a moment, and the blood words shifted again: "Tear open the floor, and I'll send you down."

"The apartment rules cannot restrain what's below. Be careful yourself."

Ji Yan's eyes flickered upon hearing this.

He then took out Grandmother's Embroidery Needle and gently traced it along the floor.

The floor was like a thin piece of fabric, easily torn open, and a large amount of blood seeped out.

The flesh and blood beneath the floor writhed, and with a tearing sound, a dark staircase leading to the basement was forcibly opened!

Ji Yan's eyes widened slightly.

He finally understood why Miss Xu had said that the key to the basement, besides the landlord, was only held by the natives.

And it was very difficult to make them willingly hand over the key.

It turned out that the natives could only open the basement door by tearing open their own flesh and blood.

The so-called key was merely an act of self-harm by the natives!