Chapter 15: First Meeting with Grandmother, the Sachet Mission

Chapter 15: First Meeting with Grandmother, the Sachet Mission

Early morning.

The pendulum clock chimed, and white mist lingered in the air.

With a creak, Liu Yitong’s door slowly opened.

Seeing the bloodstains still smeared across the hallway, she muttered under her breath, “Last night was really lively, huh? I wonder which Supernatural Entity was so pumped up, banging on my door nonstop—so annoying!”

She was angry.

Not because she was groggy from waking up.

But because if Players didn’t get enough rest at night, their stats the next day would suffer.

They might even become mentally exhausted and disoriented, which could easily affect their Missions.

She headed to the living room, planning to freshen up quickly.

But soon, she noticed something was off.

The hallway had gotten shorter.

After surviving in this dungeon for 22 days, she had walked these paths countless times. Every inch of this apartment was ingrained in her muscle memory.

She couldn’t be wrong—why was the hallway shorter now?

She turned her head, glancing left and right, and suddenly her expression changed.

Two of the doors that had been there before were gone!

The six-bedroom, one-living-room suite had become a four-bedroom, one-living-room setup.

Her first thought was Ji Yan, but after a closer look at the missing rooms, she realized they belonged to Dong Chu and the Father Supernatural Entity!

Tilting her head in confusion, she froze.

Coincidentally, Ji Yan also opened his door and stepped out at that moment.

“Morning. Another energetic day ahead,” he greeted casually.

“Ji Yan, Dong Chu, he…”

Ji Yan turned back with a faint smile. “You heard it too? That guy kept knocking on my door last night. I thought it was just a Supernatural Entity mimicking sounds.”

“But now it seems it really was him. How could a veteran Player make such a rookie mistake?”

Liu Yitong fell silent.

She also knew Dong Chu wouldn’t make such a mistake—unless…

Her eyes flickered briefly, but she didn’t press further.

Indeed, no matter the environment, the battles between human hearts were always this terrifying.

She didn’t feel much sympathy for Dong Chu. Someone so selfish, who expected everything to revolve around him—his death was more like defusing a ticking time bomb. She let out a long sigh of relief.

“But… how did the Father Supernatural Entity die? How did you… manage that?”

Liu Yitong couldn’t help but ask.

The Father Supernatural Entity had the most Danger Zones and the deadliest Missions. Overnight, the biggest threat to Players had been eliminated just like that!

At the dining table, Ji Yan chewed on a piece of wheat bread. “Whether I killed him or not isn’t really important.”

“All I know is that without that tumor of a Father Supernatural Entity in Room 404, this place will become much cozier and safer.”

“Don’t you agree?”

His words indirectly confirmed his involvement while also carrying an unspoken message—when someone does something beneficial for the group, there’s no need to ask questions. Just quietly enjoy the benefits.

Liu Yitong suddenly understood.

She nodded. “You’re absolutely right.”

As expected, her decision not to reject this newcomer like Dong Chu had was the right one.

That Dong guy was a complete idiot!

After a simple breakfast, a call soon echoed through the hallway.

The new day’s Missions were about to be assigned.

Liu Yitong was once again given a Mission by the Mother Supernatural Entity.

Now, she could say she was completely stress-free.

The Mother’s favorability toward her had already reached 70%!

Once it exceeded 65%, the [Blessing] benefit would activate.

Even if she failed a Mission once or twice, it would only lower her favorability slightly—there’d be no Punishment at all.

And when the favorability reaches 100%, the [Perfect Strategy] achievement will be unlocked, freeing you from the daily nerve-wracking missions.

A successfully "strategized" Supernatural Entity will no longer pose a risk of turning hostile. In fact, if you provoke other supernatural tenants, they might even step in to shield you from harm.

Only at that point can the little apartment truly be considered a safe haven.

This is also why Liu Yitong and Dong Chu exhaust themselves daily to complete tasks, striving to satisfy their supernatural family members to the fullest.

Without strategizing, survival in this instance is nearly impossible!

It’s eerily similar to a dating sim game.

"Don’t worry, the Grandmother is much kinder than the Father. Though she doesn’t have much fondness for male players, she won’t deliberately target you," Liu Yitong reminded Ji Yan.

She was terrified that Ji Yan might impulsively lash out and take down the Grandmother Supernatural Entity too!

All the effort she’d poured into winning the Grandmother’s favor would then go to waste.

"Relax."

"I’m aiming to strategize as well. If we wipe out all the supernatural family members in Apartment 404, it’d be no different from a broken home."

Ji Yan knew what she was thinking—did she really see him as some reckless brute who solved everything with violence?

Without further discussion, the two parted ways and entered their respective supernatural family members’ rooms.

The Grandmother’s room retained an old-fashioned aesthetic, with many objects bearing the marks of time. The air carried a faint sour cotton scent from knitted fabrics.

On the bed, the Grandmother sat, weaving a sweater in her hands, with a small mountain of finished ones piled beside her.

To her, it seemed there were always more sweaters to knit.

"Child, though this is our first meeting, you’re much more pleasant to look at than that noisy boy," the Grandmother remarked, her eyelids drooping slightly.

Ji Yan knew she was referring to Dong Chu. Poor guy—even after getting eliminated, he was still getting dragged.

Failing at both human and supernatural relations, surviving over twenty days was nothing short of a miracle.

"I wholeheartedly agree with you, Grandmother."

So far, the Grandmother Supernatural Entity did seem far easier to interact with compared to that hyper-aggressive Father…

"Here, help thread this for me. My eyes aren’t what they used to be."

The Grandmother handed him a needle and thread.

Ji Yan took it—his eyesight was decent, and he managed to thread it on the first try.

"I won’t ask how you dealt with your father. If I could leave this room, I’d have crushed that ungrateful wretch’s skull myself."

"Back then, several of my dear granddaughters were taken by that beast and traded to that fox spirit in Room 101 as payment for liquor!"

"You’ve done me a great kindness."

Her voice was hoarse as she spoke.

From this, it was clear that the supernatural beings in Apartment 404 harbored deep grudges against one another. Like the players, they were merely playing their assigned roles.

No wonder, after killing the Nightmare Devourer, he’d gained an instant 20% favorability boost from both the Grandmother and the Mother.

"Would you like me to dote on you even more? I have two heart knots. Untie even one, and in this apartment—aside from the landlord—no one who steps into 404 will be able to lay a finger on you."

Heart knots!

At the keyword, Ji Yan’s eyebrows twitched.

A small portion of supernatural entities carried heart knots. Resolving one guaranteed at least a 50% favorability increase!

"What heart knots do you have, Grandmother?" Ji Yan ventured to ask.

The Grandmother Supernatural Entity asked, "Have you met your mother yet?"

"Once."

"Kill her. As long as she disappears from Room 404, Grandma will dote on you alone from now on."

The grandmother set down her knitting, her eyes narrowing as she smiled kindly.

Ji Yan: "..."

He should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy.

"Fine, I won’t make it hard for you."

The grandmother casually tossed over a sachet and continued knitting. "Take this sachet to Room 605."

"Whether they accept it or not doesn’t matter—just deliver it."

"When you come back, Grandma will personally knit you a sweater."

"You’re the first boy I’ve ever knitted for."

She raised her kindly face. "This benefit isn’t something just any grandmother would give. It’s only because you did a great deed last night."

Ji Yan froze slightly.

He looked at the sachet handed to him.

Embroidered on it were the words Suisui Ping’an.

This simple?

Ji Yan couldn’t suppress the twitch of his lips. Wasn’t this just a freebie mission?

Liu Yitong also had a sweater knitted by the grandmother.

From the information Ji Yan had gathered, it was guaranteed to be at least Rare-grade.

Wearing it granted 30% immunity to supernatural damage—a literal bulletproof vest.

"Don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll definitely deliver it."

Ji Yan took it. Only an idiot would refuse such an easy errand.

The grandmother chuckled and resumed her knitting.

Only after Ji Yan left the room did the sachet trigger his Talent, revealing a hidden information panel:

"The sachet is one of the foundational materials for 'Building the Apartment.' To sew it, the grandmother spent half a month’s effort, even ruining three sets of needles and thread. Guess why this dilapidated apartment still stands unshaken in the Eerie World?"

Ji Yan glanced at the panel, puzzled.

Building the Apartment.

So this sachet is construction material for the apartment?

The hidden information was cryptic and vague.

Ji Yan shook his head, dismissing it.

In the end, all that mattered was delivering it. What the sachet was for or where it came from had nothing to do with him.

Just as he closed the information panel, Liu Yitong emerged from the opposite room, holding an empty soy sauce bottle.

"Seriously? Another soy sauce mission? Does this Mother Supernatural Entity just chug soy sauce?"

The moment he saw the bottle, Ji Yan couldn’t help but complain.

This was the perk of high favorability!

For the same mission reward, others had to risk their lives circling the gates of hell, barely scraping by to complete it—while Liu Yitong just went downstairs to buy soy sauce and called it a day.

Who wouldn’t be jealous seeing that?

Liu Yitong scratched her head, a little embarrassed.

The Mother Supernatural Entity’s favoritism was indeed too obvious.

She deflected by asking, "What’s your mission today?"

"The mission panel didn’t even pop up. The grandmother just gave me this sachet."

Ji Yan held up the Suisui Ping’an sachet.

Yet the moment Liu Yitong saw it, her pretty face paled slightly...