Chapter 12: Mission Failed, Eerie Descent into Darkness

“How’s your mission going?”

Seeing Ji Yan’s troubled expression, Liu Yitong, seated across the dining table, asked with a hint of concern.

“Not going well.”

Ji Yan raised the half-filled bottle of Blood Pipa in his hand.

Liu Yitong frowned upon seeing it and comforted him, “It’s alright, at least there’s still half left.”

“With half the mission done, the punishment won’t be too severe.”

“Besides, your father’s eerie form is the toughest. If tomorrow’s random draw is mother or grandmother, just try your best to perform well!”

“Those two are easier to gain favor with. You can’t be stuck with father’s form three days in a row, right?”

She finished with a smile but suddenly covered her mouth.

Maybe it really would happen...

After all, the one before her was already tense to the point of numbness.

She wanted to say more, but Ji Yan glanced behind her and mouthed, “Mother has appeared.”

The kitchen’s sliding glass door opened, revealing the eerie mother—surprisingly, without any terrifying features.

Wearing a pink apron, her hair tied in a simple ponytail, her face still graceful but showing a few weary crow’s feet, she embodied the typical image of a virtuous homemaker.

Yet Ji Yan knew that once she turned dark, this seemingly normal appearance would deliver the most shocking contrast to players.

Liu Yitong quickly straightened up, focusing all her attention on interacting with the mother during dinner.

Currently, the eerie mother had no interaction with Ji Yan, so her favorability was zero, and he deliberately avoided drawing her attention.

These interactions were someone else’s benefit; there was no need for him to seek a scene.

Soon, Dong Chu returned.

Seeing the eerie mother at the dining table, he widened his eyes, then realized it was Liu Yitong’s “gift,” and jealously muttered, “Why have I never gotten such damn luck?”

As an elder player who arrived first at room 404, Liu Yitong was flourishing in this home, while Dong Chu kept losing favor with three eerie family members in a row, his resentment growing stronger...

He knew that if this continued, he would be forced offline sooner or later.

So he took some “actions” on his own...

He saw Ji Yan sitting on the sofa.

He also saw the half-filled bottle of Blood Pipa, and a cold smile curled at his lips: “Looks like someone’s luck ran out today?”

Ji Yan looked at Dong Chu, shrugged, and smiled indifferently, “There’s still half a bottle; it’s not that bad.”

“Half a bottle won’t save you from that father’s eerie form.”

“That one never favors players. If it catches even the slightest fault, it’s a one-way ticket to perdition.”

“Did that woman Liu Yitong feed you some nonsense again, and you actually bought it?”

“Compared to that hypocritical woman, I’m much more straightforward.”

Dong Chu forced a smile at Ji Yan: “Trust me, that half bottle of Blood Pipa won’t keep you alive through tonight!”

Even a full bottle wouldn’t.

How could this fool not realize from the start that this mission was a death trap designed for one player and one eerie form?

Ji Yan listened, neither angry nor arguing.

Instead, he nodded seriously, agreeing with Dong Chu: “On second thought, you’re right.”

“Since the mission’s already failed, why submit it? I might as well hide and drag it out to live longer!”

With that, Ji Yan grabbed the Blood Pipa and returned to his room, locking the door behind him.

Dong Chu crossed his arms.

He snorted coldly, “If the mission time runs out, it’s an automatic failure.”

“Failing the mission means the eerie form turns dark—and the consequences are far worse.”

Inside the room, Ji Yan listened to the taunts outside and looked at the bottle of Blood Pipa.

Because of the bottle, the Blood Pipa had completely deteriorated.

This sealed the mission’s failure from the start.

But Ji Yan was puzzled.

Why did the Nightmare Eerie form choose to collude with Dong Chu to kill him?

Logically, as long as Ji Yan lived, the Nightmare Eerie could keep tasting the Blood Pipa. There was no reason to cut off his source!

What temptation could outweigh an addiction to alcohol?

Without dwelling on it, Ji Yan sat on his bed.

Gazing out at the swirling fog and the darkening eerie world beyond the window.

Propping his chin on his hand, he waited quietly.

He anticipated the coming night and awaited the Nightmare Eerie’s darkened reckoning...

...

“Did you say he didn’t submit the mission?”

Having finished the “gift” event, Liu Yitong approached and was surprised upon learning Ji Yan’s choice.

“Submitting the mission would only hasten his death.”

“But he doesn’t realize that if he doesn’t submit it, once the father form is enraged, it becomes even more ruthless. Thinking he can hide in his room won’t save him. Tonight, he’ll understand despair.”

Dong Chu chewed peanuts, filled with schadenfreude.

“But at least he got half a bottle of Blood Pipa; the punishment will be halved. He definitely won’t die.”

Liu Yitong frowned; she didn’t think Ji Yan would make such a foolish choice.

She looked at Dong Chu: “Did you say something to him?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“As an experienced player, giving him a heads-up is normal, right?” Dong Chu shrugged.

Skipping the topic, Liu Yitong asked, “How was your gift? Did you get anything good?”

“No.”

Liu Yitong replied coldly and returned to her room.

She didn’t understand why, as players, Dong Chu targeted newcomers so harshly, even hoping they’d go offline.

In the eerie world, shouldn’t similar players stick together? Was it just because Ji Yan snapped at him yesterday?

She lost the last shred of goodwill toward Dong Chu.

“That stinky woman is even giving me attitude now. Does she think that just because she’s cozy with the other two eerie forms, she can step on me?”

“Someday, I’ll get rid of you too!”

Dong Chu stared at Liu Yitong’s closed door, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He looked toward Ji Yan’s room, puzzled.

This kid didn’t seem that stupid—did he really plan to hole up and wait to die?

...

At nine o’clock deep into the night, darkness fell.

All the apartment’s lights went out, swallowed by pitch black.

Seemingly a quiet night, but after the clock struck twelve, a door deep in the corridor suddenly corroded rapidly, and a strong stench of decay seeped from the crack.

Then, the father’s room door slowly opened.

The darkened Nightmare Eerie, enveloped in black mist, eyes glowing blood red.

“Where’s my wine? Why wasn’t it delivered?!”

The voice, filled with overwhelming fury, echoed through the suite.

Liu Yitong and Dong Chu, lying on their beds in separate rooms, heard it clearly.

Eyes closed, they pretended not to hear.

They knew Ji Yan was done for!

At the same time, a notification panel popped up before Ji Yan’s eyes.

“Ding! The time allotted for the player’s mission has expired. Due to failure to submit, the system deems the mission failed.”

“Warning! You violated the rules by not completing the mission, causing the father form to turn dark. You will soon face punishment!”

Staring calmly at the red warning, Ji Yan silently closed the panel.

Then, he took a piece of equipment from his toolbar...