Chapter 8: Midnight Knocking, a Familiar Scent

Chapter 8: Midnight Knocking, a Familiar Scent

Night fell swiftly.

Darkness seeped into Room 404 like ink.

Following Liu Yitong’s advice, Ji Yan obediently lay down and fell asleep before midnight.

Perhaps due to exhaustion, he drifted into a deep slumber the moment his head hit the pillow.

But in the middle of the night, Ji Yan was roused by a faint knocking sound.

Someone was knocking on his door.

"Ji Yan… Ji Yan, are you asleep?"

"If you can hear me, open the door quickly! Don’t stay in bed—those three Supernatural Entities are about to assign Missions again!"

"You need to come out now. If you miss the Mission, something terrible will happen!"

The voice belonged to Liu Yitong, laced with urgency yet hushed, as if afraid of being overheard.

Ji Yan listened, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

He had no idea what was outside his door, but it clearly had the ability to mimic a Player’s voice.

The bait was just too clumsy.

Even if it really were Liu Yitong, he wouldn’t get up to open the door. As long as Players stayed in bed after lights-out, no Supernatural Entity could touch them.

The "Liu Yitong" outside grew increasingly frantic when Ji Yan didn’t respond, the voice turning shrill and grating.

Then came the spine-chilling sound of nails scraping against the door…

After what felt like an eternity, Ji Yan heard the sound of a door opening.

He opened his eyes.

The noise came from next door—Dong Chu’s room.

Why would he open his door? He should know how dangerous the apartment was at night…

Though puzzled, Ji Yan heard nothing else unusual after the door opened.

Soon, he fell back into a deep sleep…

At six the next morning, the pendulum clock in the living room chimed.

Ji Yan woke up on time to find Liu Yitong and Dong Chu already seated in the living room, waiting for the day’s Mission.

Perhaps from hunger, Dong Chu looked haggard—dark circles under his eyes, his hair greasy and disheveled.

Ji Yan glanced at him, and Dong Chu sneered, "What? Do I have words written on my face?"

Liu Yitong, in better spirits, asked Ji Yan, "How was your first night sleeping in the dungeon?"

"Did anything happen last night?"

Ji Yan replied, "Last night, I heard you calling for me outside my door, sounding like the room was on fire."

Liu Yitong’s expression shifted. "That’s just one of the Supernatural Entities’ tricks. They’ll mimic any sound to get you to open the door."

"One night, I even heard my dead sister begging for help."

"I was half-asleep and almost thought it was a dream—I nearly opened the door!"

"You weren’t affected, were you?"

Ji Yan shrugged. "I treated it as a lullaby and went back to sleep."

"..."

"And," Ji Yan added, glancing at Dong Chu, "I also heard a door open next door."

Dong Chu scowled. "You think I’d open the door if I wanted to live?"

Ji Yan didn’t respond, but he caught a faint, strange scent lingering on Dong Chu.

And for some reason, it felt oddly familiar…

Just then, the clock chimed again—the day’s Mission assignments were about to begin.

The three hurried into the corridor, facing the three Supernatural Entity rooms.

The first summons came from the Grandmother Supernatural Entity's room: "Good granddaughter, today I've knitted a sweater for you. You'll love it! Come in and try it on for me!"

The first one called was Liu Yitong.

Hearing it was the Grandmother, she let out a sigh of relief.

In this house, the Grandmother had the highest favorability toward her. Upon hearing the keyword "knitted sweater," she guessed that today's mission would be of little difficulty—instead, it would further boost her favorability.

Next, a voice came from the Mother Supernatural Entity's room: "Little Dong, Mommy’s coughing badly today. Come in and see what’s wrong with me."

Dong Chu’s expression brightened slightly upon hearing this.

Among the rooms, the Mother had the fewest danger zones. As long as he performed steadily without any mishaps, he could usually complete the mission without issue, and food wouldn’t be lacking.

Watching the two enter their respective Supernatural Entities' rooms, leaving Ji Yan alone in the hallway, a bad premonition crept over him.

Don’t tell me it’s…

Sure enough, the next second, the Nightmare Devourer Supernatural Entity's voice rang out, laced with mockery.

"Good son, come in quickly! Today, Daddy’s going to spoil you alone again!"

"...Damn it, why is it still this one?" Ji Yan cursed inwardly. Has this damn thing really latched onto me?

Wasn’t it supposed to be random? Is my luck really this cursed?

No choice. Ji Yan steeled himself and stepped into that filthy room once more.

Perhaps having tasted the sweetness of a full bottle of Blood Pipa yesterday, the Nightmare Devourer Supernatural Entity assigned him the same task as before.

If the mission was the same, then it shouldn’t be too difficult.

But as Ji Yan was about to leave, the entity tossed him a glass bottle. "Use this one—and fill it to the brim!"

Looking at the bottle, noticeably larger than yesterday’s, Ji Yan frowned.

This greedy bastard. Next time, will it demand a whole barrel?

Ji Yan didn’t linger. He acknowledged the order and turned to leave, but as he stepped out, he caught a glint of amusement in the Nightmare Devourer’s eyes…

It gave him an uneasy feeling.

Exiting the room, the mission panel popped up immediately.

Ding! Congratulations, Player, for triggering the daily mission. Please proceed to Room 101 to retrieve the [Blood Pipa] personally brewed by the Charming Specter and fill the given bottle. Mission rank: C-grade.

"If the mission’s the same, then the Nightmare Devourer shouldn’t be playing any tricks."

Ji Yan muttered to himself, inspecting the bottle once more to confirm it was safe.

A short while later, Liu Yitong and Dong Chu also emerged from their rooms.

Both of their missions were rated D-grade. Dong Chu was tasked with finding cough medicine for the Mother, while Liu Yitong’s was even simpler—wear the festive sweater knitted by the Grandmother and have the tailor neighbor downstairs adjust it for a proper fit.

What’s more, the red sweater turned out to be a [Supernatural Artifact], capable of blocking 20 points of damage from Supernatural Entities.

The other two were speechless.

Is this supposed to be a difficult mission or a welfare handout?

Clearly, once favorability was high enough, not only did the difficulty drop, but they’d occasionally receive bonus equipment.

For some reason, the Grandmother Supernatural Entity had a particular fondness for female players—especially fair-skinned ones like Liu Yitong.

Liu Yitong happily stroked the sweater, then remembered Ji Yan’s task. "By the way, what’s your mission today?"

"How unlucky, being assigned to the Father Supernatural Entity's room two days in a row."

"Same as yesterday, but the amount has increased." Ji Yan raised the wine bottle in his hand.

"Then you’ll have to go to Room 101 again?" Liu Yitong paused in surprise.

"Hah, didn’t someone say yesterday that dog luck can strike twice? What’s there to worry about?"

"Who knows, maybe today’s performance will be even better, and even the tough nut like the Father Supernatural Entity will be conquered?"

Dong Chu sneered a few words before brushing past Ji Yan to complete his mission.

But at that moment, Ji Yan’s expression shifted.

As Dong Chu passed by, the scent on him grew stronger—familiar.

Wasn’t this the same smell from the Nightmare Devourer Supernatural Entity’s room?

The Nightmare Devourer Supernatural Entity had specifically called for Ji Yan two days in a row. There was no reason for Dong Chu to interact with it.

Ji Yan suddenly recalled the sound of the door opening last night and the Nightmare Devourer Supernatural Entity’s odd look when it closed the door. His brows furrowed slightly...

"Don’t mind him. That’s just how he talks."

"Good luck again today. Don’t give up."

Seeing Ji Yan’s strange expression, Liu Yitong assumed his morale had been affected and comforted him before leaving to complete her mission.

After the two left, Ji Yan stared at the unremarkable wine bottle in his hand, lost in thought. He carefully ran his hands over every inch of the bottle.

Then, his [Talent] was actually triggered, and a [Hidden Information Panel] popped up.

"Supernatural Artifact: Artist's Wine Bottle."

"Effect: Any liquid poured into the bottle will transform into a 90% effective anesthetic."

"Grade: Common."

"Description: A life-obsessed artist who loved using wine bottles laced with anesthetic to intoxicate his prey. These prey eventually became so-called 'artworks' under his blade. Isn’t life just beautiful…"

Ji Yan’s frown deepened.

This bottle was a [Supernatural Artifact]?

Could it be Dong Chu’s? Why was it in the Nightmare Devourer Supernatural Entity’s possession, only to be handed to him?

The bottle only revealed this much hidden information, but Ji Yan wasn’t satisfied. His gut told him there was likely an unknown secret here.

In a place like the [Eerie World], he couldn’t afford to be careless.

He wanted to enter Dong Chu’s room to uncover more hidden information, but the door was locked tight.

After a moment of thought, Ji Yan suddenly turned his gaze to the Nightmare Devourer Supernatural Entity’s door handle. If Dong Chu had entered that room last night, then…

Ji Yan reached out and gripped the handle. The next second, another [Hidden Information Panel] appeared...