Chapter 39: The Thief's Lifeline, The Extreme Team

Chapter 39: The Thief's Lifeline, The Extreme Team

The room was filled with wandering Nighttime Supernatural Entities.

They drifted through every corner like NPCs in a game, mindlessly repeating their paths.

Ji Yan and Liu Yitong stepped out of the guest corridor, and several entities immediately approached, sniffing at them intently.

Eventually, upon detecting the scent of the Privilege Badge, they reluctantly dispersed—like delicious food suddenly marked as inedible.

After several nights of Nighttime Action, Ji Yan had grown accustomed to it.

But Liu Yitong, standing beside him, was visibly shaken.

This was her first time seeing the apartment past midnight.

The sight of so many entities drained the color from her face.

"Don’t panic. As long as you don’t engage with them, they won’t touch you."

Compared to Liu Yitong, the nighttime apartment felt more like Ji Yan’s domain.

When he first arrived at the Crimson Apartment, she had helped explain the rules to him, so he offered a few extra words of advice, warning her about the Danger Zones to avoid during Nighttime Action.

Liu Yitong nodded, then asked, "Are you coming with me to join the capture team?"

"No, you go ahead with your plans. I need to head to the 8th floor."

Ji Yan declined. Regardless of whether he wanted to, there was a chance Long Yuan was part of that team.

Their relationship was practically hostile at this point, and he had no interest in wasting time dealing with him.

After Liu Yitong left, Ji Yan didn’t linger. He quickly made his way to the 8th floor.

As soon as he stepped out of the stairwell, he saw a bald supernatural entity frantically running toward him, begging for mercy.

The next second, a pair of small hands grabbed its shoulders and effortlessly tore it in half.

Thick blood splattered across the corner of the wall...

The small figure responsible for the brutal act was none other than Xi Xi.

Ever since tearing apart her mother, the girl seemed to have developed a taste for it.

Now, she wore an oversized white nightgown that dragged on the floor, half of her body drenched in blood.

In the dim light, her expressionless pale face was downright chilling.

She stared at Ji Yan and asked, "Brother, are you here to see Sister again?"

Ji Yan raised his flashlight, forcing a dry chuckle. "Yeah, Miss Xu invited me over tonight."

Hearing this, Xi Xi stepped aside and pointed toward the door. "Sister is waiting for you."

The hallway was littered with dismembered corpses, the scene resembling a slaughterhouse.

Ji Yan’s lips twitched.

Damn, ever since her parents’ demise, this girl had become so vicious that it seemed no one in the apartment could stand against her.

He couldn’t help but ask, "Xi Xi, are you just tearing them apart for fun?"

Xi Xi wiped the blood from her lips and smoothed her messy hair. "Miss Xu was in a bad mood."

"She said the things in the hallway were too noisy, so she told me to clean them up."

As she spoke, she crouched down to inspect the torn bodies, making sure they were all dead...

Watching Xi Xi’s absolute obedience to Xu Xin, Ji Yan seriously wondered if the woman had some kind of brainwashing technique for children.

Entering Room 801, he found Miss Xu still lying on her recliner.

Bathed in moonlight, her silhouette was faintly visible.

Miss Xu held a book, flipping through its pages. "It’s quite lively tonight. I heard a lot of footsteps downstairs."

Ji Yan replied, "The thief has targeted almost every resident. The Landlord even posted an Announcement about it."

"Many residents plan to wait for the thief to show up tonight."

Miss Xu smiled and countered, "Do you think the thief would dare to appear with all this commotion?"

"Unless it's brain-dead, probably not."

"On the contrary, it will definitely appear tonight."

Ji Yan was puzzled.

Miss Xu didn’t elaborate, closing her book and saying, "I won’t be joining you to catch the thief tonight."

"Follow those people. If you stick with them, the thief will surely show itself."

"On the table is a gift for you."

"Remember, catching the thief isn’t about numbers or brute force—it requires brains."

Ji Yan looked at the table, where only a large-headed doll lay.

It looked messy, with rough stitching and crude craftsmanship.

As soon as Ji Yan picked it up, he heard the game notification.

"Congratulations, Player, for obtaining the [Screaming Doll], a Collector's Grade artifact."

"Description: A doll that has witnessed bloodshed and slaughter. It will scream to warn of danger and can hinder threats."

Ji Yan tried to store it in his Toolbar, but the doll clung to his shoulder on its own. A sinister glow flickered between them, making it look eerie.

He hadn’t expected to receive a Supernatural Artifact from Miss Xu. Though its effects seemed modest, it was still Collector's Grade.

"Are you busy tonight?"

Ji Yan asked in return.

"I’m worried the thief will return."

"I can’t afford to lose any more of my students."

"So, I’ve stationed Xi Xi at the door. Any Parasitic Rats that come near will be torn apart."

Ji Yan nodded silently and turned to leave.

Miss Xu added one last warning: "That thief must be caught as soon as possible."

"If this drags on, it’ll steal more and more. At this rate, the entire Crimson Apartment will collapse and cease to exist!"

Ji Yan’s expression darkened. "That serious?"

"Haven’t you noticed? The thief either steals Rent or directly harvests the flesh of the Original Residents."

Miss Xu tilted her head, her eyes icy. "The thief’s goal is to destroy this apartment!"

Hearing this, Ji Yan’s face grew grave.

Liu Yitong had once said that only Missions posing a severe threat to the entire Instance could be classified as part of the Main Plot.

He’d wondered why a simple thief’s actions were labeled as an S-level Side Mission.

Now he understood— The thief was targeting the very lifeblood of the Crimson Apartment!

If the apartment collapsed, all its Supernatural Entities would perish.

And the Players would be plunged into an even more terrifying Instance...

Leaving Room 801, Ji Yan felt an unexpected weight of pressure.

As he hurried downstairs, reaching the fifth floor, he suddenly heard loud noises from the hallway.

Approaching, he saw a group of Players surrounding and slaughtering two Parasitic Supernatural Entities.

Leading the team was a blonde man wearing sunglasses, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and a black pistol in hand.

Without hesitation, he blew the heads off the two Supernatural Entities.

Radiating killing intent, the man glanced at Ji Yan, raised his gun briefly, then tilted his head and left with his team.

Slaughtering Supernatural Entities?

This was the first time Ji Yan had encountered such ruthless Players in an Instance.

The nighttime supernatural entities are extremely brutal, yet this team actually treats them as prey to hunt!

Ji Yan turned around and happened to run into Liu Yitong.

She was stunned. "Weren’t you going to the 8th floor?"

Ji Yan replied, "I just came back down."

"Is it really that chaotic downstairs now?"

Liu Yitong nodded. "Many players have joined the main storyline task now."

"To catch the thief, several factions with different methods have formed."

"You saw that team just now. Their leader, that blonde man, is ranked second only to Long Yuan in the apartment’s hierarchy. He’s utterly ruthless. They got a piece of information about the thief."

"They heard the thief—that supernatural entity—has no hair."

"So, they started slaughtering."

"They believe that as long as they kill all the bald parasitic supernatural entities in the apartment, the thief will definitely be gone too."

After listening, Ji Yan couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. "How brilliant."

"That blond guy is clearly a genius. After all, what sane person wears sunglasses at night?"