Reuniting with the Bewitching Eerie, the Girl on the Seventh Floor

"Last night, he opened the door and entered Father's room. One man and one eerie reached an unknown deal inside."

"Guess why this Wine Bottle Artifact ended up with you?"

"You've unknowingly fallen into a dead end. Whether you complete the task or not, you'll die. So how will you break out of this situation?"

Ji Yan's expression turned grave as he looked at the triggered information panel.

Sure enough, Dong Chu had set a trap for him. Was it really over nothing more than yesterday's minor argument?

Ji Yan didn't think so. More likely, that guy had traded him to the Gourmand Eerie for some benefit.

As for what kind of dead end this was, Ji Yan had already roughly guessed.

If he used this bottle to hold the Blood Lyre, the flavor would definitely change. The task would fail, and the Gourmand Eerie could use that against him.

If he used another bottle, that would count as violating the task rules. The Gourmand Eerie could still seize on that weakness.

Either way, the task would fail. It really was a dead end!

So how was he supposed to break it?

Though the hidden information was speaking in riddles, it also indirectly showed that there was a way out.

Ji Yan pondered for a moment.

Then his brows suddenly furrowed. No matter how he thought about it, there was only one reckless solution, and it carried enormous risks.

But before carrying it out, he needed to consult another original resident.

Ji Yan carried the wine bottle and left Room 404.

Before long, Ji Yan returned to the first floor of the Apartment and knocked on Apartment 101.

The door opened, and Cheng Fang poked his head out.

When he saw Ji Yan, he froze. "No, why is it you again?"

"Brothers, are you addicted to farming the Bewitching Eerie's task in my home?"

Ji Yan said, "I can't help it. I don't want to come either. My body can't take it."

Cheng Fang looked him up and down, then gave him a thumbs-up. "Respect!"

After the door was opened, Ji Yan entered, took off his coat, and rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was determined to fight to his heart's content today.

Cheng Fang recalled cleaning the room yesterday, seeing blood and scraps of skin all over the floor, and couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat.

Just how perverse was this?

"Master, that person from yesterday... has come to see you again."

By the door, Cheng Fang spoke cautiously.

"Let him in quickly! I've been wondering when he'd come again!"

The Bewitching Eerie's delighted voice came from inside the room.

Cheng Fang glanced back at Ji Yan. The latter was decisive, pulling out Killer's Spike Hammer and entering the room.

Soon, painful yet delighted indecent sounds came from within. Cheng Fang shook his head and returned to the living room to keep chewing his steamed bun. "Too brutal."

Perhaps because he was trapped in a desperate situation, Ji Yan was full of inexplicable anger. He vented it all on the Bewitching Eerie with the Spike Hammer. He was even more vicious than yesterday, yet it only made the Bewitching Eerie more infatuated.

About half an hour later.

Ji Yan lay exhausted on the blood-soaked floor. Every inch of the Bewitching Eerie's body bore horrifying wounds. Dragging her torn and mangled body, she slowly put on her clothes.

Her seductive face was filled with satisfied contentment after her release. She looked at Ji Yan in surprise. "You were even more vigorous than yesterday."

"Looks like you're more addicted than I am. Want Sister to poach you from that Dead Drunkard and replace Little Cheng?"

"You're such a treasure. You're much better than that brat's thirty-two centimeters."

The Bewitching Eerie's slender fingers caressed the eerie Spike Hammer, covered in her hair and blood, with an intoxicated expression.

"..."

Ignoring the outrageous words that would never pass review, Ji Yan said, "Sister, everything needs a sense of novelty. If it happens every day, people will eventually get tired of it."

Ji Yan had no interest in stealing Cheng Fang's livelihood, nor was there any need to.

"Speaking of that, there's something I want to ask you, Sister."

Seeing that the timing was right, Ji Yan seized the opportunity to get to the point.

"After all that buildup, this is your real reason for coming today."

"Go ahead."

The Bewitching Eerie sat in a chair, took out another thin cigarette, and casually exposed Ji Yan's little scheme.

Ji Yan coughed twice. "I want to ask whether my father has any enemies in this Apartment."

"Too many. You could say that every resident in the entire Apartment is his enemy."

"That drunkard has offended everyone he could offend just for a mouthful of alcohol."

"But the one who wants him dead the most is the resident of Apartment 702 on the 7th Floor. After all, the hatred of killing one's wife is irreconcilable."

Ji Yan's eyes lit up at those words.

Sure enough, he could obtain more background information about the Gourmand Eerie from these original residents.

Resting her cheek on one hand, the Bewitching Eerie noticed the change in Ji Yan's expression and smiled ambiguously. "You want to borrow another resident's knife to kill your drunkard father?"

"Don't even think about it. If he could be killed, he would've died countless times already."

"Why do you think he's always hiding in Room 404 and refusing to come out? It's only because of the Apartment's rules that he's managed to survive like a turtle until now."

Ji Yan shook his head. "Sister, you're overthinking it. Father has shown me tremendous kindness. How could I harbor such vicious thoughts?"

"I was only asking out of curiosity, worried about Father's safety."

As he spoke, Ji Yan took out Artist's Wine Bottle and handed it to her.

The moment she saw the bottle, the Bewitching Eerie's pretty face darkened slightly. "That Dead Drunkard is truly insatiably greedy."

"He got a taste of sweetness yesterday, and today he's gone even further by bringing an even bigger bottle."

"Does he really think I'm so easy to bully?"

Ji Yan said, "Sister doesn't have to fill it completely."

"If I don't fill it, aren't you afraid he'll eat you?" the Bewitching Eerie asked.

Ji Yan was the first Player to open the door to novelty for her. She couldn't bear to see him go offline after only playing with him for two days.

"It's fine. I don't want to make things difficult for you, Sister."

Ji Yan meant it. He knew full well that whether it was filled or not, he would die anyway. There was no difference.

But to the Bewitching Eerie, it took on a different meaning. "Oh? You're so considerate of Sister? This sympathy-baiting routine is pretty outdated, though."

"But Sister likes this kind of routine."

Ji Yan said, "..."

In the end, the Bewitching Eerie still filled the bottle with Blood Lyre. Ji Yan said nothing. He knew very well that she was not doing this because she liked him.

This female eerie merely wanted him to live a little longer so she could squeeze more out of him.

As for Ji Yan's so-called way of breaking the dead end, it was simple and brutal: get rid of the Gourmand Eerie!

The background setting of the Eerie Game was that once an eerie was killed, the task would refresh, and the original task would be lifted.

Few Players paid attention to this setting. Surviving in a Dungeon was already difficult enough. Without sufficient equipment, who would court death by thinking of killing an eerie?

But Ji Yan had already nocked the arrow. He had no other choice.

After all, he knew the Gourmand Eerie's weakness.

Based on the background information he had obtained from interacting with the Bewitching Eerie, the knife capable of killing the Gourmand Eerie should be in the hands of Apartment 702's resident.

The resident of Apartment 702 wanted the Gourmand Eerie dead, and Ji Yan wanted the same. Their goals aligned, so obtaining that life-saving piece of equipment should not be difficult.

When he came out of the room, Ji Yan's clothes were covered in the Bewitching Eerie's blood.

Ji Yan briefly greeted Cheng Fang, then carried the full bottle of Blood Lyre and hurried out of Apartment 101.

Cheng Fang finished the last bite of his fragrant steamed bun and muttered, "Is this guy here to do tasks, or to sleep with eeries?"

"Hehe, maybe if he comes a few more days, he'll even win over that female eerie!"

Cheng Fang joked with a laugh, but as he laughed, he suddenly couldn't laugh anymore. His expression froze, and he abruptly felt a sense of crisis, breaking into a cold sweat...

"Fuck!"

Ji Yan had no idea what Cheng Fang was thinking right now. His mind was entirely occupied with figuring out how to eliminate the Gourmand Eerie.

Without stopping, he headed straight up to the Apartment's 7th Floor.

According to the Apartment's floor setting, the higher the floor, the fewer restrictions the Eerie Residents faced from the rules.

The residents on the seventh floor did not even need to rely on tasks. As long as Players carelessly entered their rooms, they could directly harm them!

There were not even corridor lights on the seventh floor. Trash was everywhere, and the peeling walls made it look like a Three No Care Zone.

Ji Yan checked the room numbers as he walked through the corridor. Suddenly, his hand felt freezing cold, as if he were holding a block of dry ice.

Looking down, he saw a Girl in a ragged dress who had appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his hand.

The Girl's thin, frail body was covered in horrifying wounds. Some were still glaringly bloody, clearly inflicted by vicious beatings and torture not long ago.

The little girl raised her bruised face and looked pleadingly at Ji Yan. Pointing toward Room 706 behind her, her voice was tearful and anxious.

"Brother, please save us. Dad is drunk. He keeps beating Mother, and Mother is about to be beaten to death..."

"Please, don't leave, okay?"

Ji Yan looked at the Girl and frowned. "I might not be able to stop your Dad."

"It's fine. My Dad is very afraid of the neighbors seeing him. If you go in, he definitely won't dare hit Mother again. Please!"

The Girl clutched Ji Yan as though she had seized a lifeline, refusing to let go.

Ji Yan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. Lead the way. I'll do what I can!"

The Girl was overjoyed and turned to lead the way.

But the moment she let go, Ji Yan turned and ran in the opposite direction without the slightest hesitation.

He even threw out a line behind him. "What era is this? This kind of trick that can fool a three-year-old still exists? Would anyone really be stupid enough to fall for it?"

When the little girl turned around and saw Ji Yan sprinting away, she froze. The next second, her originally pitiful expression became exceptionally savage and venomous...