Chapter 47: The Black Coffin's Curse, Long Yuan's Talent

Chapter 47: The Black Coffin's Curse, Long Yuan's Talent

Guided by the imprisoned Eccentric Residents, they ventured into the deepest part of the hidden chamber.

There were no clay pots here, only an eerie, foul stench permeating the air.

At the far end stood an ancient towering tree—or rather, what appeared to be a tree. It was a grotesque shrub-like structure formed from countless masses of crimson flesh. The ceiling and floor of the basement were covered in tangled veins and blood vessels, while countless twisted human faces clung to its surface like leaves.

Those faces wailed in unison, their voices filled with agony!

Even more horrifying was the sight beside the "Face Tree"—a viscous black liquid, like bone-devouring maggots, had gnawed through most of the faces, leaving them riddled with holes.

The scene before them was straight out of a Lovecraftian nightmare—disgusting and bizarre.

Both Ji Yan and Long Yuan's eyeballs were assaulted by the grotesque sight.

An elderly woman, her face gaunt and twisted, trembled as she pointed at the flesh tree. "This is the foundation of the apartment instance!"

"Those faces covering the foundation are the true forms of the apartment's original residents. The Landlord comes down periodically to inspect and feed them. Only by growing and allowing their flesh to seep into the walls can the apartment be reinforced."

"But now, as you can see, the foundation is full of holes, and the apartment is on the verge of collapse!"

"Those black parasitic worms feed on the foundation, and their spread has now spiraled out of control!"

Upon closer inspection, the black substance was actually a squirming mass of densely packed black maggots.

Long Yuan felt his scalp crawl.

If there were any germaphobic Players present, they’d probably drop dead on the spot.

"And you just stood by, doing nothing?" Ji Yan glanced at them.

A bald old man spoke hoarsely, "We had no choice."

"Those parasitic worms have fused completely with the foundation. Removing them recklessly would only hasten its death!"

A short old man added, "The only way to save this apartment is to eliminate the source of these parasites!"

He pointed behind the apartment’s foundation.

There lay a decaying coffin.

The parasitic worms were continuously crawling out from its open lid...

"That coffin is the root of all this!"

"We don’t know where it came from or how its lid was opened."

"But if that coffin is resealed, it should stop the parasites from spreading further!"

An Eccentric Old Woman raised her bloodied hands. "But we can’t touch those Coffin Nails—they burn like hot iron."

"So, we can only rely on you to seal the coffin!"

As they explained the source of the corruption, both Ji Yan and Long Yuan received notifications from their game panels.

The game panel had popped up.

That meant they were on the right track.

All they had to do was cover and seal that Black Coffin, and this infuriating Main Storyline Task would be over!

Long Yuan’s eyes gleamed with fervor.

But Ji Yan remained cautious. The more critical the moment, the less he dared to celebrate prematurely.

Guided by the imprisoned Eccentric Residents, Ji Yan and Long Yuan stepped over the writhing veins and blood vessels, approaching the coffin.

They could clearly see several Coffin Nails pried loose and scattered on the ground.

Four in total.

In Long Yuan's eyes, these four Coffin Nails were nothing less than a blatantly divided cake!

He turned to Ji Yan and said, "Two nails each—let’s split the reward evenly?"

Ji Yan shook his head. "It won’t be that simple."

"That coffin is so sinister—why would it just let us seal it obediently?"

Long Yuan replied, "How would we know if we don’t try?"

"If you’re too scared, then I’ll be the one to step into this Danger Zone first."

With that, he strode forward, picked up two Coffin Nails from the ground, and approached the coffin.

As the lid of the Black Coffin slowly closed, Long Yuan gripped one of the nails, but before he could even drive it in, blood suddenly gushed from all seven of his orifices.

The next second, he collapsed to the ground, his death horrifyingly gruesome!

Ji Yan’s eyelids twitched.

Did this guy just die like that, fresh and lively?!

Why did he suddenly bleed from all orifices and drop dead? Could this Black Coffin have some kind of lethal radiation?

But the next moment, something even more startling happened.

Long Yuan, who had just died a violent death, suddenly opened his eyes and "revived," climbing back to his feet.

He wiped the blood from his nose and mouth and quickly retreated.

Cursing under his breath, he said, "Both the coffin and the nails are cursed—touch them, and you die!"

Ji Yan’s eyes flickered as he guessed, "Is this your Talent?"

"My Talent is an A-level Talent called [Phoenix Rebirth]. I can trigger it once per Mission."

"In other words, I have two lives in every Mission."

"And after reviving, I also get the reason for my previous death." Long Yuan unexpectedly answered Ji Yan’s doubts with surprising seriousness.

Wiping the blood from his hands, Long Yuan turned to Ji Yan.

Ji Yan eyed him skeptically. "A Talent is a Player’s most important trump card—you’re just telling me like this?"

Long Yuan shrugged. "We’re on the same rope now—no point hiding things."

"I’ve already stepped on one mine. Now it’s your turn to show what you’ve got."

Long Yuan stared at Ji Yan.

The problem before them was simple:

They had to seal the coffin.

But both the coffin and the nails carried a deadly curse.

It was like a box containing life-saving medicine, but the outside was rigged with tripwires—touch it, and you die!

How were they supposed to complete this Mission?

After a moment of contemplation, Ji Yan turned to the Eccentric Residents watching helplessly from behind. "When you’re stuck in a game, interact with the NPCs."

"There’s always some kind of clue."

Ji Yan stepped back, tossing the problem to these imprisoned Eccentric Residents.

The bald old man among them trembled as he peeled off a completely necrotic face from one of the Original Residents and smeared the thick black blood onto Ji Yan’s hands.

"Use this blood... it can block the curse!"

When the Eccentric Residents touched him, Ji Yan’s expression shifted. After a few flickers of thought, he looked surprised. "It’s that simple?"

Long Yuan stepped closer, equally disbelieving. "The problem was solved with just a couple of interactions?"

"We won’t harm you. We also want to save this apartment. One of you can try first."

The Eccentric Old Woman spoke as she tore off a piece of flesh from a dead Original Resident and smeared the black blood onto Long Yuan’s hands.

Looking at his blood-covered hands, Long Yuan volunteered again, picking up the cursed Coffin Nail.

After a moment, his face lit up with delight.

"I'm fine, the curse has truly been blocked!"

He walked over, grabbed Ji Yan's hand, and placed the Coffin Nail in his palm. "Try it?"

The moment their hands touched, Ji Yan's expression flickered slightly. After a pause, he nodded calmly. "It really does block the curse."

"Then let’s hurry and seal the coffin!"

Picking up the remaining three Coffin Nails from the ground, Ji Yan and Long Yuan began nailing the Black Coffin shut...

Behind them, the gathered Eccentric Residents watched nervously, but beneath that tension, something else seemed hidden...

Ji Yan pulled out the Hammer and struck the rusted Coffin Nail.

But after just two strikes, he felt a wave of discomfort.

When he regained his focus, he realized blood was gushing from his nose and mouth...

His pupils constricted.

What’s going on? Wasn’t the curse blocked?!