Chapter 130: Overstaying and Playing Nice

Chapter 130: Overstaying and Playing Nice

"How's Grandmother doing?"

Regaining his composure, Ji Yan asked, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward the dim hallway leading to the bedroom.

"Unfortunately, that old hag isn't dead yet."

"She sewed two 'Good Clothes,' so the Landlord didn't kick her out. What a shame..."

The Mother Supernatural Entity picked up a bowl, ladled out two servings of meat soup, and set them on the table.

Tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, she smiled at Ji Yan and said, "Son, sit down. It's been so long since you've had my soup."

"Next time. I have important matters to attend to back at the apartment."

Ji Yan shook his head, glancing at the wall clock before politely declining the invitation.

The New Player thought he must have misheard. What? He’s turning down a Blessing Activity? A pure benefit event like this?

The Mother Supernatural Entity didn’t seem bothered, smiling faintly as she remarked, "I heard you took a job at a hospital."

"And you’ve been doing quite well—even became the Chief Doctor. My son really is outstanding!"

"How did you know, Mother?" Ji Yan looked surprised.

How could a Supernatural Entity confined to this Instance know about events in other Instances?

"Miss Xu told me."

"She said you’re deeply loved by the patients there, get along swimmingly with the other doctors—even fought your way into their circle!"

"She mentioned that when you asked for leave to return to the apartment, the doctors were so reluctant to let you go they clung to you, saying the hospital couldn’t function without you."

Ji Yan: "..."

His lips twitched as he forced a dry chuckle. "Yeah, we really fought our way close."

Internally, he scoffed. Of course they wouldn’t let me go. Without the Sheepskin Scroll in his possession, both the Goat and the Tiger doctors would lose their minds.

He’d forgotten—the Mother Supernatural Entity and Miss Xu were "best friends."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Ji Yan excused himself and left Room 404.

"Watching your older brother excel like this, I suddenly realize how far behind you, the Second Child, seem..."

As she watched Ji Yan leave, the Mother Supernatural Entity turned her gaze back to the New Player, her expression growing increasingly disdainful, as if this "alternate account" of hers had been a failed investment.

Ding! "Reminder: Due to unknown reasons, your [Mother Supernatural Entity] has developed a dislike for you. Favorability Progress decreased by 10%."

"???"

The New Player, who had been keeping his head down and eating quietly to avoid setting her off, nearly choked on his food at the notification.

What the hell? Who did I offend?

I just lost 10% Favorability Progress out of nowhere!

Talk about catching strays—I was just sitting here!

---

Exiting Room 404, Ji Yan turned and sprinted up the stairs toward the 8th Floor.

But on the 7th Floor, he spotted a slightly hunched figure.

The Landlord, as usual, was clutching a stack of Announcements, posting them on the bulletin board of each floor—daily Free Missions.

Ji Yan didn’t dare greet him.

Silently, he slipped past the old man and continued upstairs.

The Landlord didn’t turn around. As he affixed the notices, his raspy voice cut through the air:

"What, can’t even spare a greeting for this old man now that you’re back?"

"I—"

Before Ji Yan could respond, the Landlord interrupted:

"I don’t care what mess you stirred up at that hospital, but don’t expect this apartment to clean up after you."

"You’ve got half an hour. Leave on your own."

"My rusted bones dislike seeing guests off personally."

Ji Yan thought to himself, So this is the Instance Boss—he saw through my secret at a glance. With a polite smile, he replied, "Don’t worry, old man. I’m just feeling homesick."

"You know me—I’m the most honest and well-behaved person around."

The Landlord lifted his eyelids slightly. "How do you say that without blushing or your heart racing?"

Ji Yan: "..."

After parting ways with the Landlord, he went up to the 8th Floor and knocked on Room 801.

The door opened, revealing Xi Xi—the same sickly-looking girl who had torn her parents apart on the rooftop earlier.

"Brother, we meet again."

"Elder Sister just woke up and said you’d come."

Her face icy, Xi Xi stepped aside.

In the living room, Xu Xin lay as usual on the recliner, gently rocking.

No longer in her Ghostly Nurse guise, she wore a black dress, her stunning beauty restored.

Compared to her appearance in the Undead Hospital, she looked like a completely different person.

"Miss Xu, I knew you’d be back too."

Perhaps due to the presence of the Blood-Stained Paper Figure, Ji Yan had sensed Xu Xin’s return the moment he entered the apartment.

"The Hospital Director killed my nurse identity at the hospital, so of course I came back."

Her tone was indifferent, as if she had expected this outcome.

From this, Ji Yan roughly deduced the rules of a "Free NPC." By bringing the Blood-Stained Paper Figure into a new Instance, Miss Xu could use it to create an NPC identity there—but only once.

Once that identity was killed, she would return to her original Instance.

"So, what’s your plan now?"

"You have less than ten minutes before you’re forcibly sent back to the Undead Hospital. That bomb over there hasn’t been defused yet."

Xu Xin glanced sideways at Ji Yan.

"If they discover your 'Lies,' you’re still finished."

"And there are at least two hours left before the Order Review."

Ji Yan said, "Which means time now decides life or death."

"I need to stay in this apartment longer."

Xu Xin arched her slender brows. "Oh? Planning to squat here indefinitely?"

"The Landlord isn’t someone to mess with."

"He’s even more 'ferocious' than the Supernatural Hospital Director!"

Ji Yan rolled up his sleeves, a mysterious smile on his face. "I have a way—both reasonable and effective—to stay longer."

"It’s just… a little unethical."

"Might make the other tenants curse my ancestors."

"But whatever. I’ve been an orphan since childhood—no parents to speak of. Let them curse all they want!"

The moment Ji Yan grinned like that, Xu Xin knew he was about to pull some shady stunt.

But clearly, she was cut from the same cloth.

She smirked and asked bluntly, "Stop beating around the bush. Just tell me what you need me to do."

"A small favor."

Ji Yan: "I want to go to the apartment’s Basement..."

...

Ten minutes later.

As the second hand on the wall clock passed 12, the door to Room 801 slowly creaked open, releasing a wave of rot.

"Miss Xu, that guy is no longer a tenant here. Half an hour’s up, and he hasn’t left. That breaks the rules!"

The Bandaged Supernatural Entity stood at the doorway but didn’t dare enter.

"Hand him over, Miss Xu. I’ll personally escort him out."

Xu Xin flipped through her book and replied absentmindedly, "He's not here."

"I can smell his scent. It disappeared around your place."

The Bandaged Supernatural Entity's eyes darkened. "Miss Xu, you should know better."

"If you don't hand him over, the Landlord will come 'invite' that brat himself soon."

Xi Xi, who was hanging upside down from the ceiling in the entryway, seemed to sense the Bandaged Supernatural Entity's hostility. She asked Xu Xin, "Elder Sister, should I chase him away?"

Xu Xin shook her head, glancing at the Bandaged Supernatural Entity. "If the butler doesn’t believe me, he’s welcome to search."

"If you find him, punish me however you like."

"Of course, if you don’t find him, then you’re trespassing."

"My younger sister bites very hard!"

The Bandaged Supernatural Entity glanced at Xi Xi, about to speak, when suddenly he noticed cracks forming on the wall by the door.

Flesh embedded within oozed blood...

Seeing this, he immediately realized something. "That brat’s in the basement?!"

"You sent him down there?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Miss Xu played dumb, continuing to read her book.

The Bandaged Supernatural Entity’s expression darkened before he turned and left.

Soon, he returned downstairs.

"Landlord, about 404—"

Before he could finish, the Landlord, who was trimming potted plants on the balcony, interrupted him. "I know. That brat ran to the basement."

"And he damaged the Foundation. I told you he came back just for revenge!"

The Bandaged Supernatural Entity’s face twisted with fury.

Setting down his scissors, the Landlord spoke calmly. "That little schemer isn’t here for revenge—he’s looking for a way out."

"A way out?"

The Landlord clapped his hands together, sighing. "That kid… I knew nothing good would come of his return..."

Meanwhile.

In the apartment’s Hidden Map Area—[Basement].

In the dim, suffocating room, the imprisoned Supernatural Residents cowered in terror, watching the scene unfold before them.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

"Do you even know what you’re doing?! The Landlord will tear you apart!!"

Deep in the corner.

Ji Yan swung his hammer, first smashing the basement’s foundation, causing cracks to spread through the apartment building.

Then, he turned the hammer on the Landlord’s bed—the Black Coffin—pounding it relentlessly.

[Warning! You have maliciously damaged the apartment’s Foundation, causing structural collapse. You will face punishment from the Instance Order!]

[Warning! You have maliciously damaged the Instance Boss’s exclusive Supernatural Artifact—[Black Coffin]. You will face punishment from the Instance Order!]

Wiping sweat from his brow, Ji Yan ignored the game’s warnings and the horrified pleas of the imprisoned Supernatural Residents.

He just kept swinging.

Once the destruction was sufficient, he finally stopped.

Stashing the hammer away, he muttered to himself, "Alright… now I just wait to get dealt with..."

The moment he finished speaking, a chill ran down his spine.

As his hairs stood on end, the Landlord’s icy voice whispered in his ear:

"Kid, if I recall correctly, just ten minutes ago, you promised me you’d behave, didn’t you?"