Chapter 17: Announcement Mission, The Dungeon Expert
Seeing the sachet accepted, Ji Yan prepared to return triumphantly to claim his mission rewards. But as soon as he turned around, he spotted the Landlord posting an announcement by the stairwell.
Driven by curiosity, Ji Yan, who had been about to head downstairs, couldn’t help but take a closer look.
[Important Announcement: A Parasitic Rat has appeared in the drainage ditch behind the apartment building. To maintain a clean environment and protect the rights of residents, seven tenants are required to assemble for its extermination.]
[Upon completing the cleaning task, all participants will receive a 50% rent reduction for the current month. The team is limited to seven members. Please take note.]
Ji Yan glanced at it and reached out to touch the notice. Instantly, a mission panel popped into view.
"Ding! You’ve triggered an optional mission: Assist the apartment in cleaning the drainage ditch of rats. Upon completion, all Supernatural Entity tenants’ favorability toward you will increase by 5%."
"Additionally, a Collector's Grade Treasure Chest will be randomly awarded—50% chance of containing a Collector's Grade item, with a guaranteed 100% chance of at least one Rare-grade item."
"Note: This mission is optional for Players. Once confirmed, it cannot be changed."
"Such generous rewards?"
Forget the 50% rent reduction—just the 5% favorability boost from all residents and the treasure chest reward alone made this comparable to an A+ rank mission!
Ji Yan was mildly astonished.
As soon as the announcement was posted, it drew the attention of many tenants—though all of them were Players, clearly indicating that this notice didn’t concern the Supernatural Entity residents.
One by one, Players touched the notice, and their eyes widened as the mission panel appeared before them.
High rewards often came with high difficulty and mortality rates.
Many secretly suspected a trap.
Yet, even so, several Players accepted the mission without much hesitation.
"They know the mountain has tigers, yet they march toward it." These Players weren’t ignorant—they simply had no choice. If their survival wasn’t hanging by a thread, who would risk their lives for such bloody rewards?
Ji Yan hadn’t been interested at first.
After eliminating the Nightmare Devourer, his living conditions in Room 404 were more than stable.
There was no need to gamble like this.
But then, a hidden message popped up, stopping him in his tracks.
[Mission Hidden Information: Players are advised that ‘Talent Fragments’ have been detected during this mission. Active participation is recommended.]
"What the hell are Talent Fragments?"
Ji Yan checked and discovered that his [Omniscient Understanding] Talent could actually be upgraded—and the required material was these so-called Talent Fragments.
"This bug-like Talent can be upgraded further?"
A look of surprise flickered across Ji Yan’s face.
He weighed his options carefully.
By now, six people had already signed up for the mission, leaving only one slot remaining.
Whether it was curiosity or instinct, he gritted his teeth and took the last work badge clipped beneath the notice.
Taking the badge meant accepting the mission—no backing out now!
Though [Omniscient Understanding] was overpowered, its activation conditions were still too rigid—it only triggered upon touching relevant objects, which was somewhat restrictive.
Perhaps upgrading it would fix this flaw?
If things get dangerous during the mission, he could always expose Liu Nianqing from Room 702 as his backer—after all, that supernatural entity owed him a favor.
"Seriously, dude? You’re fighting for this kind of life-risking grunt work too?"
The moment Ji Yan confirmed his participation, Middle-Part Man couldn’t help but interject.
He had already reached for the work badge, but he was two seconds too late—Ji Yan had beaten him to it.
"Why can’t I take it?" Ji Yan shot back.
"Don’t joke around. Look at you—rosy cheeks, healthy body, clearly living in great conditions. What kind of masochist takes on a suicide mission like this?"
Middle-Part Man was utterly baffled.
In this instance, a player’s living conditions could generally be deduced from their appearance.
For example, if a player went without food for one to three days, their face would visibly wither. Three to seven days without eating, and not only would their body become emaciated, but corpse spots would also start appearing.
Hunger, sleep deprivation, and the like would cause a player’s stats to drop across the board.
And when players got close enough, they could check each other’s most basic status values.
The moment Middle-Part Man pulled up Ji Yan’s stats, every single one was maxed out.
Damn, living this comfortably and still signing up for a death mission? What kind of lunatic was this?
Ji Yan, however, glanced behind him and said, "Isn’t the guy behind me in even better shape?"
There, a man with a wild afro had also taken a work badge.
He was dressed sharply, tall and burly.
A closer look revealed that his clothes and accessories were all supernatural artifact equipment. The cleaver hanging at his waist radiated such intense resentment that its high level was obvious at a glance.
It was like stumbling upon a max-level player decked out in god-tier gear—complete with a mount—in a beginner’s village.
When Ji Yan opened the man’s publicly available profile, his expression shifted.
"Player: Long Yuan."
"Instance Survival Time: 109 days."
"Instance Progress: Completed one main storyline, interacted with 12 supernatural entity residents, eliminated 4."
"Equipment: Undisclosed."
"Status: All six attributes maxed out." (Hexagon)
The sheer opulence of this profile stunned even Ji Yan, let alone the other players who turned to look.
Eyes widened in shock. "Holy shit, this is the real deal!"
Only a handful of veteran players silently averted their gazes, thinking in astonishment, "This guy’s been holed up for days—and he actually came out today?"
Long Yuan pocketed his work badge, chewed his gum for a moment, then headed downstairs without a care for the stunned stares around him.
Only after Long Yuan’s figure disappeared did Middle-Part Man turn back to Ji Yan and say, "That big shot’s here for the main storyline mission. He’s not like us."
"You must be new here if you don’t even know Dragon God—the player with the longest survival time in Crimson Apartment. This legend conquered the place ages ago. The last main storyline was cleared by him."
"You’re probably wondering, if he’s already beaten the instance, why hasn’t he moved on to the next one? Well, he—"
"I didn’t ask, and I don’t care."
Middle-Part Man was clearly a fanboy, but Ji Yan cut him off with a wave and walked away.
He had little interest in so-called legends. What was the point of knowing? It wasn’t like they’d share a piece of the pie with him.
Instead of returning to his Room 404, Ji Yan headed straight to the first-floor lobby to regroup.
The cleaning squad would depart as soon as it was fully assembled, with the strict rule of returning before nightfall regardless of completion.
At the apartment lobby, the team had already gathered, and Ji Yan was the last to arrive.
The seven-member squad included five who looked sallow and emaciated, just as Middle-Part Man had said—most participants were on the brink of elimination, pinning their hopes on this mission for a lifeline.
Originally, everyone was uneasy.
The thick fog outside the apartment obscured any potential dangers, making the unknown impossible to predict.
But the moment Long Yuan descended, the mood shifted dramatically.
Long Yuan was actually part of this mission!
With him on board, clearing the Drainage Ditch was as good as done.
Though Long Yuan would undoubtedly claim the lion’s share of the rewards, the others were content just to ride his coattails and secure a small portion for themselves.
Ignoring the gazes around him, the tall and imposing Long Yuan remained absorbed in his own world—wearing over-ear headphones, flipping through a book, and chewing gum.
The scene painted a stark contrast.
While the others looked like malnourished refugees from the slums, Long Yuan appeared as though he had strolled in from a wealthy district for a leisurely vacation.
Ji Yan stuffed a piece of wheat bread into his mouth, staring at Long Yuan from a distance before muttering, "Why does he have to act so pretentious?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Long Yuan suddenly removed his headphones and looked straight at him.
Realizing the gaze was directed at him, Ji Yan’s expression flickered with surprise. "No way… He could hear me even with headphones on?"
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