Chapter 45: Favor Exchange, the So-Called Key

Chapter 45: Favor Exchange, the So-Called Key

"How did you know this apartment has a basement?"

Hearing Ji Yan's words, Miss Xu's beautiful eyes flickered, her smile calm.

"I noticed when I went from the first-floor lobby up to the eighth floor."

"The damage on the first floor is the most severe, looking like it could collapse at any moment. The higher the floor, the fewer the cracks."

"So it’s not hard to guess that the real thief, the one responsible for destroying the apartment, is in the basement—or perhaps beneath the apartment itself."

"The source of the apartment's collapse is likely due to the foundation being gnawed away and damaged."

"It’s just that the multi-faced supernatural entity is unlucky. Its behavior and unknown identity perfectly match the culprit, so it’s been mistaken as the thief everyone wants to hunt down!"

Ji Yan’s words were speculative, but his tone was firm.

If not for the hidden information obtained through his Talent, Ji Yan would have also been misled, trying to kill the multi-faced supernatural entity and inadvertently hastening the apartment instance’s destruction!

From the hidden information he acquired, it’s possible to deduce that the supernatural faces on the multi-faced entity were also once part of the original residents.

Perhaps due to "material aging" or other reasons, they were discarded.

The Black Insect Figure is responsible for collecting these discarded supernatural faces of the original residents and, when the apartment faces a crisis of destruction, emerges to save the apartment building to the best of its ability.

But their help only treats the symptoms, not the root cause.

To truly save the apartment, it still depends on the Players!

"There is indeed a basement, but the key..."

Miss Xu picked up a cup of hot coffee from the table and dropped two sugar cubes into it.

"Is the key with the Landlord?"

"It is indeed with the Landlord, but he won’t intervene in this crisis."

"He’s been asleep lately."

Miss Xu took a sip of coffee, answering nonchalantly.

Ji Yan frowned. "The apartment is on the verge of collapse, and as the Landlord, he’s just sleeping?"

He found it absurd. By all appearances, the Landlord should be the final boss of the apartment instance, yet in the main plot, he has no role at all?

Miss Xu stirred the dark brown coffee with a spoon. "That old man doesn’t involve himself in many things."

"His thinking is very rigid."

"If the apartment truly collapses, he’ll consider it fate and willingly perish along with it in this world."

Miss Xu’s words enlightened Ji Yan.

The Landlord may seem like the ultimate boss of the Crimson Apartment instance, but in reality, he’s just a dull NPC controlled by the instance’s rules.

Ji Yan shook his head. "There must be a way."

"If I could figure out that the real culprit is hiding beneath the apartment, then this definitely isn’t a dead end!"

Miss Xu’s eyes held a hint of approval. "Not bad. Your brain works sometimes."

"As for how to get to the apartment’s basement, aside from the Landlord, the original residents also have a way."

"But the original residents are very hostile to us outsider tenants. Communicating with them is difficult, let alone getting them to help you reach the basement."

Yet Miss Xu’s words suddenly sparked an idea in Ji Yan.

His eyes gleamed. "I just thought of a particular original resident."

"She might be able to help me."

As he spoke, Ji Yan bid farewell to Miss Xu and prepared to leave.

"Wait."

"Here's another gift for you. I've placed my bets on you—don't let me down."

Miss Xu called out to Ji Yan, her slender fingers flicking lightly. Three paper-cut figures landed on him. The paper figures pulsed with life, like tiny characters from an Andersen fairy tale, lining up and hopping along his shoulders before finally vanishing into the roots of his hair.

Ding! Congratulations, Player, for discovering the true hiding place of the [Mastermind] in the Main Storyline Task. You have received the blessing reward from Resident 801.

Special Supernatural Artifact: Paper-Cut Figures

Grade: Legendary

Artifact Description: In ancient legends, paper-cut figures could house wandering souls. The older generation liked to hang them by windows—when spirits inhabited the figures, they could guide their master in seeking blessings and avoiding calamities.

Hidden Information: The three paper figures possess three distinct abilities: Curse, Blessing, and Disaster Avoidance.

"Another Legendary-grade artifact!"

Ji Yan's expression shifted slightly. He hadn’t expected Miss Xu—who wasn’t even part of his supernatural family—to interact with him and drop a Legendary-grade item.

No wonder the drop rate for this Main Storyline Task is so high!

"Don’t celebrate too soon," Miss Xu said offhandedly. "These three paper figures have quite the temper. Even if I give them to you, that doesn’t mean you can use them."

Ji Yan nodded, exchanged a few polite words, and then left Room 801.

Time was tight. Ji Yan hurried back to the first floor and knocked on the door of Room 102—the same room where he had once helped the Kanjing Gui. If he remembered correctly, the Kanjing Gui had mentioned that if he ever needed help, he could turn to its daughter.

Favors were like currency. As long as they remained unused, their value persisted, waiting for the right moment.

The Dyed-Hair Girl opened the door again, her expression souring the moment she saw him. "You again? What filthy thing have you brought with you this time? Just looking at you gives me a bad feeling."

Since she didn’t need to leave for Daily Tasks, the Dyed-Hair Girl lived in isolation, convinced she could remain safe in her little Room 102. Unbeknownst to her, the entire apartment was on the brink of annihilation.

"I need to see your master."

Pushing past her, Ji Yan strode inside, heading straight for the master bedroom at the end of the hallway.

"Hey! At least take off your shoes! Where have you been? The soles are covered in red paint!" The Dyed-Hair Girl’s good mood evaporated as she stared at the dirty footprints staining the floor.

Inside the master bedroom, the Bleeding Wall continued to seep crimson liquid, forming twisted words:

"...I knew you would come..."

"No time for pleasantries," Ji Yan cut straight to the point. "I need to know how to get to the apartment’s basement. Do you know the way?"

The bloody words shifted: "I do..."

"But the basement was once a forbidden place where the apartment imprisoned severely unruly residents..."

"It’s extremely dangerous... You are the benefactor of me and my father. I don’t want to lead you to harm."

"If I don’t go, the apartment will collapse anyway. The outcome is the same."

Ji Yan’s voice carried a bleak resolve, as if he were the only one who could shoulder this burden.

"Everyone else has been misled. Only I know where the real problem lies. This dangerous place—it has to be me."

In truth, though, he was just afraid another player might steal the credit.

He wasn't the only one who realized he'd been misled.

So he had to act fast and seize the initiative!

The Bleeding Wall calmed for a moment before its bloody words shifted again: "Tear open the floor. I'll send you down."

"The Apartment Rules don't apply below. Be careful."

Ji Yan's eyes gleamed at these words.

He then took out the Grandmother's Embroidery Needle and lightly traced it across the floor.

The floor split apart like thin fabric, blood gushing out in torrents.

The flesh beneath the floor writhed, tearing open to forcibly reveal a dark staircase leading to the Basement!

Ji Yan's eyes widened slightly.

Now he finally understood why Miss Xu had said that aside from the Landlord, only the original residents possessed the "key" to the Basement—and why it was so difficult to get them to willingly hand it over.

Turns out, the original residents had to tear open their own flesh to open the Basement Door.

The so-called "key" was nothing more than an act of self-harm by the original residents!