Chapter 37: Main Storyline Mission – The Apartment Thief

Chapter 37: Main Storyline Mission – The Apartment Thief

When the box opened, Ji Yan's expression froze for a moment before he turned it toward Xu Xin. Inside was a set of exquisite cosmetics, vibrant as blood.

"You look so tense. Anyone would think there’s a bomb in there," Xu Xin teased, picking up a lipstick and applying it to her chapped lips.

Ji Yan remained silent, staring at the cosmetics, catching a faint but familiar scent of blood in the air. Of course, whether it was what he suspected didn’t matter—he just wanted to complete the mission as quickly as possible.

"Since the delivery is done, I won’t disturb you any further, Miss Xu," Ji Yan said, preparing to leave.

"Why the hurry? Afraid I’ll eat you?" Xu Xin closed the box and gestured to the teapot. "I’ve brewed some tea. At least wet your throat before you go."

"No, thank you. Mother has other tasks for me. Maybe next time." With the mission complete, Ji Yan had no intention of lingering. The longer he stayed, the more complications might arise.

But as he tried to leave, he found the door wouldn’t budge. Sighing, he turned back to see Xu Xin smiling at him from the tea table.

"About that favor you owe me… I’ve decided what I want," she said.

"These past few days, my room has been burgled repeatedly. Something very important was stolen. I want you to help me catch the thief."

Ji Yan forced a wry smile. "I’m no detective, Miss Xu. If even you can’t handle it, how could I?"

A supernatural entity capable of stealing from Room 801—the most sinister room in the Crimson Apartment—was no ordinary foe.

"Oddly enough, I think you’re the one who can do it. No one else in this apartment strikes me as reliable."

"And let’s be honest—not many would have the nerve to stay so calm during last night’s rooftop incident."

Ji Yan dropped the act. "To be frank, that was just a front. I changed my pants as soon as I got back."

Xu Xin didn’t respond, merely sipping her tea while watching him.

Finally, Ji Yan relented. "Fine. I’ll do my best."

……

The bedroom door swung open.

Ji Yan scanned the room—everything seemed normal. "What was stolen?"

"Don’t you see the two holes dug into the wall?" Xu Xin leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.

Only then did Ji Yan notice two gaping holes in the wall above the nightstand. Worse, blood was steadily seeping out of them.

"The thief… stole chunks of cement?" he feigned shock.

But inwardly, he knew the truth. The walls of the Crimson Apartment were built from countless layers of bloody flesh. Damaging them violated the first and most sacred of the Apartment Rules.

How had the thief managed to dig into the walls without facing the Rules’ punishment?

"Take a closer look. See if you can find any clues," Xu Xin said, nodding toward the holes.

Ji Yan stepped forward and reached out to touch the bleeding gaps.

The moment his fingers made contact, his expression twisted in alarm.

His [Omniscient Understanding] talent activated like a car radar hitting a wall, flooding his vision with lines of hidden information written in blood:

[A great fire once consumed this room, claiming the lives of twelve children. Their charred flesh was sealed within these walls, turning Room 801—home to twelve "original residents"—into the most haunted space in the Crimson Apartment.]

【Because no resident dared to live there, the room remained sealed until one day, a woman in a black dress carrying a black umbrella moved into Room 801, and the 12 children gained their "teacher."】

【A week ago, a thief sneaked into Room 801 and "stole" two children, leaving behind cracks in the walls.】

【This was no ordinary thief—it could evade the Landlord’s surveillance and escape punishment under the Apartment Rules.】

【Warning! This side mission is heavily tied to the main storyline. Accepting it will result in an 80% chance of binding to the main plot. Please choose carefully whether to proceed.】

Seeing the hidden information in the final warning, Ji Yan’s vision darkened.

What’s meant to be will come, what’s meant to pass will pass.

There was no escaping this Main Storyline Task.

Ji Yan was also astonished—what kind of thief was this powerful, one that even the Landlord and Apartment Rules couldn’t restrain, boldly breaking through the bleeding walls right under their noses?

He reached out to touch it again.

Soon, another piece of hidden information popped up.

【One of the children inside the wall had glimpsed the culprit’s general features—tall in stature, covered in human faces, with a red-bellied rope and bell tied at its waist, emitting a piercing chime as it moved.】

【It tore the elder brother and sister out from the wall and devoured them. Then, when the Teacher returned, the culprit fled through the window.】

"Covered in human faces?"

Ji Yan raised an eyebrow.

"Found a clue?" Xu Xin noticed and asked.

Ji Yan repeated the thief’s description.

Xu Xin: "There’s no resident in the apartment that disgusting."

Then she added, "But nighttime is a different story."

At night, the apartment teemed with all sorts of bizarre residents.

But one that could barge into Room 801, defy the Apartment Rules, evade the Landlord’s watch, and dig out the original inhabitants to feast on their flesh? That was a level of audacity unheard of even among supernatural entities!

"Come here at midnight tonight."

"For what?" Ji Yan asked.

"To help me catch the thief." Xu Xin’s eyes gleamed coldly.

"...Sis, I’ve been pulling all-nighters for days. I’m mentally drained. Please spare me."

Xu Xin stared at him. Ji Yan’s lips twitched, and he could only nod in agreement.

Ding! Congratulations, Player, for successfully triggering an A+ Level Task—help the resident of Room 801 retrieve the stolen items.

Ji Yan rubbed his temples.

The last favor he owed had now turned into an A+ Level Task.

Thinking about how he’d been frantically accepting missions these past few days, like an overworked beast unable to stop, he couldn’t help but sigh. This was completely contrary to his initial laid-back survival strategy.

And the gap was only widening...

Exiting Room 801, Ji Yan ran into the Landlord again on his way downstairs.

The old man was carrying a stack of announcement posters, posting them at every floor’s intersection.

Another Announcement Task?

Learning from last time, Ji Yan didn’t even entertain the thought of checking it out.

Weaving past the players drawn by the announcement, he turned to descend the stairs.

But unexpectedly, the announcement task managed to infiltrate his game panel anyway.

Still on his way down, a notification popped into his vision.

"Urgent Announcement! Due to numerous complaints, a large number of residents have reported stolen property recently. The Landlord calls upon all residents to collectively participate in catching the thief. Generous rewards await participants."

[Ding! The S-level Mission in the player's current instance has been activated. All players may choose to participate voluntarily.]

[Mission Type: Main Storyline.]

[Standard Completion: Capture the Thief.]

[Perfect Completion: Capture the Thief and help the residents recover their stolen belongings.]

[Mission Reward: Mark the current instance as a Base and obtain the key to the apartment's exit door.]

(Warning: Failure in the Main Storyline Task carries no punishment, but the Thief poses extreme danger.)

"Main Storyline Task?"

Ji Yan's expression shifted—that Thief was actually the boss of the latest main storyline?

Now he understood why the side mission in Room 801 was triggered and why it was so deeply connected to the main storyline.

The objectives of these two tasks were fundamentally the same.

"That Thief is really something."

Ji Yan took a deep breath.

Eating flesh from the walls, designated as the latest main storyline boss—what kind of monster was this?

[Ding! Player "Long Yuan" has accepted the Main Storyline Task. Current participating players: 1/1.]

[Ding! Player "Yuan Qiu" has accepted the Main Storyline Task. Current participating players: 2/2.]

[Ding! Player…]

After the Main Storyline Task was announced, players began joining continuously.

As the only S-level task, the Main Storyline carried the highest risk. Logically, many players could barely survive and wouldn't even glance at it.

Yet now, seeing players scrambling to participate surprised Ji Yan.

Anyone unaware might think this was some kind of free reward.

Among the participants, Ji Yan even spotted the name of his "Elder Sister," Liu Yitong.

"This is getting more and more interesting." Ji Yan closed the pop-up panel and returned to Room 404.

In the living room, Liu Yitong—who usually left immediately after receiving tasks from their supernatural family—was still there.

"What, was Grandma's task today unusually difficult?" Ji Yan noticed her grim expression.

Liu Yitong clutched her disheveled hair, her face unusually troubled. "Grandma is in a terrible mood."

"Three of her hand-knitted sweaters were stolen—two months of her hard work."

"She wants me to retrieve them."

"The task is rated A+!"

"This is so strange. I’ve already raised her favorability to nearly 70%. How could I still get an A+ task?"

Liu Yitong looked on the verge of a breakdown.

Ji Yan couldn’t help but rub his forehead.

First, targeting Miss Xu, then stealing Grandma’s sweaters—and according to the announcement, many other residents had suffered too.

At this rate, that Thief was planning to rob the entire apartment!

Ji Yan: "I saw you joined the Main Storyline too."

"Grandma’s task is heavily tied to it."

"Participating means you’re working with those players. If they catch the Thief together, you’ll recover the sweaters and even get a share of the Main Storyline rewards."

Liu Yitong’s understanding matched what many players had realized.

No wonder they were rushing to join after the announcement.

Of course, another reason was that Long Yuan was leading the charge.

After all, this guy had already cleared the previous apartment instance’s Main Storyline.

Having him on the team was like swallowing a calming pill.

But Ji Yan knew this guy all too well—since when would he let others freeload off his achievements?

"Others are forced by circumstances, but I suspect Long Yuan is after the mission rewards."

Having survived in the instance for a while, Liu Yitong was naturally familiar with Long Yuan: "His last main storyline task was to obtain the apartment's main door key."

"Unfortunately, in the end, the task was only judged as 'standard' completion, the rewards were drastically reduced, and the key was lost."

"This time, he’s definitely aiming for another shot."

Liu Yitong rested her chin on her hands as she spoke to Ji Yan.

Ji Yan, puzzled, asked, "Getting the key means moving to the next instance."

"But the next instance is an unknown danger. Right now, he’s thriving in the Crimson Apartment instance—why suffer in a new, unfamiliar one?"

Liu Yitong shook her head. "Marking this instance changes everything."

"It’s like saving in a game. If you die in a new level, you can jump back to the save point, keeping your progress without restarting from the beginning."

"Marking works similarly."

"If Long Yuan secures the mark, even if he dies in another instance, he can trigger a 'Death Save' and return to the Crimson Apartment instance."

"Plus, he retains all his progress and continues enjoying the benefits of the residents' goodwill!"

"The only question is, how many times can the mark be used?"

One mark equals one Death Save.

Long Yuan must be planning to challenge new instances, expanding his Instance Territory.

If successful, he could even hop between multiple instances in the future.

New instances mean new challenges and broader horizons.

No matter how patient a player is, no one wants to stay in the beginner’s village forever.

In this vast map of the Eerie World, no one truly wishes to remain a frog at the bottom of a well. Some want to lift the fog and see the world’s true scale, while others cling to their original goal—finding a way back to Blue Star...

Hearing this, Ji Yan’s eyes lit up.

So, the main storyline task wasn’t entirely bad.

In terms of rewards, it offered the ultimate privilege!

Without hesitation, Ji Yan opened his Information Panel and chose to join the main storyline.

"Wasn’t your task to deliver something for Mother upstairs? There’s no need—"

Ji Yan cut her off. "It’s a long story. Either way, we’re teammates on this mission now."

Liu Yitong sighed. "But we’re completely clueless about the main storyline."

"With so many residents in the apartment, catching the thief is like finding a needle in a haystack."

"Let’s hope the other players can push the storyline forward."

Seeing Liu Yitong’s half-hearted attitude, Ji Yan pulled out a piece of compressed biscuit, munching as he said, "Why leave hope to others?"

"We can advance the main storyline too."

Liu Yitong studied him, sensing no jest. "I get the feeling you’re after those main storyline rewards."

Ji Yan: "The rewards are secondary. I just don’t like leaving my fate in others’ hands."

"Then what clues do you have?"

"None for now, but I have a direction to act on."

"I'll go out again tonight to take a look."

He felt that continuing his interaction with Miss Xu from Room 801 tonight would surely yield some results.

"Speaking of action, the players participating in the main plot in the chat are already organizing a meeting—probably to exchange clues, discuss strategies, and figure out how to catch that thief."

Ji Yan: "The more people there are, the more likely things will spiral out of control."

"We—"

Before Ji Yan could finish, Liu Yitong interrupted, "I think I should still go and join them, see if I can help in any way."

"As for you, go ahead and act on your own for now."

"If there’s any progress, I’ll let you know right away. Good luck."

Liu Yitong clearly had no intention of working alone with Ji Yan.

She always leaned toward Long Yuan’s larger group.

It was the normal choice, and Ji Yan understood, nodding in response.

After Liu Yitong left, Ji Yan turned his gaze toward the Grandmother’s room. After a brief hesitation, he tossed the last bit of coarse grain into his mouth and knocked on her door.

Hearing the Grandmother’s response, he gently pushed the door open.

The Grandmother had also fallen victim to that thief.

Perhaps, through interaction, he could still obtain some useful clues…

With the [Omniscient Understanding] talent, what Ji Yan lacked least was hidden information others didn’t have.

This was also why he had the confidence to work alone on the main plot.