Chapter 39: Stolen Lifeline, The Extreme Squad

The room was teeming with nocturnal entities. They wandered through every corner like NPCs in a game restricted to a single, repetitive patrol route. As Ji Yan and Liu Yitong stepped out into the hallway, several of the phantoms approached, sniffing at them intently. However, the moment they detected the privilege badge, they retreated in disappointment—like a delicious meal suddenly slapped with a "do not consume" label.

After several nights of this, Ji Yan had grown accustomed to it. Liu Yitong, however, was terrified. It was her first time seeing the apartment building after midnight. Gazing at the room full of specters, the color drained from her delicate face.

"Don't panic. As long as you don't initiate contact, they won't touch you."

Compared to Liu Yitong, the apartment at night felt more like Ji Yan's home turf. Since she had helped him navigate the rules when he first arrived at Crimson Apartment, he offered a few pointers on the pitfalls to avoid during the night.

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

"No, you guys go ahead with your plans. I’m heading to the eighth floor."

Ji Yan declined. Putting aside his lack of interest, there was a good chance that Long Yuan was in that squad. That guy was practically his sworn enemy now, and he had no desire to waste time entangling with him.

After Liu Yitong left, Ji Yan didn't linger and quickly headed up to the eighth floor. Just as he stepped out of the stairwell, he saw a bald phantom running toward him in a panic, begging for mercy. The next second, it was seized by a pair of small hands and torn in half with a sickening rip. A thick spray of blood splattered against the corner wall.

The small figure who had torn the phantom apart was none other than Xixi. Ever since she had torn her mother to pieces on the rooftop, she seemed to have developed a taste for it. She was currently wearing an oversized, floor-length white nightgown, with half her body stained in blood. In the dim light, paired with her expressionless little face, the sight was deeply unsettling.

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

Ji Yan held up his flashlight and offered a strained, dry laugh. "Yes, Sister Xu invited me over tonight."

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

The corridor was littered with dismembered corpses. The carnage was reminiscent of a slaughterhouse. Ji Yan’s mouth twitched. Good grief, ever since her parents were "sacrificed," this girl had become so vicious she seemed to have no rivals left in the building.

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

Xixi wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and smoothed her fluffy hair. "Sister Xu is in a bad mood."

"She said these things in the corridor were too noisy, so she asked me to come out and clean them up."

As she spoke, she crouched down to inspect the mangled remains, ensuring they were thoroughly dead. Watching Xixi’s absolute obedience to Xu Xin, Ji Yan seriously wondered if that woman possessed some method of brainwashing children.

Walking into Room 801, Miss Xu was still lying on her chaise longue. Under the moonlight, her silhouette appeared ethereal. She held a book, turning the pages. "It’s very lively tonight. I hear a lot of footsteps downstairs."

"The thief has targeted almost every resident," Ji Yan noted. "The old landlord even posted a notice. Many tenants are planning to wait up tonight for the thief to show its face."

Miss Xu smiled and countered, "Do you think the thief would dare show up with such a commotion?"

"Unless it’s brainless, I’d say no."

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

Ji Yan was puzzled. Miss Xu didn't explain further; she closed her book and said, "I won't be going to catch the thief with you tonight. You should follow those people. If you stick with them, the thief will surely emerge. There is a gift for you on the table."

"Remember, catching a thief isn't just about strength in numbers or brute force; you have to use your head."

Ji Yan looked at the table. There was only a big-headed doll sitting there. It looked messy, with chaotic lines and crude craftsmanship. As he picked it up, a game notification chimed.

"Congratulations to the player for obtaining the [Screaming Doll], [Rare] quality."

"Description: A doll that has witnessed blood and slaughter. When danger approaches, it will shriek to provide a warning and offer a degree of obstruction."

Ji Yan intended to put it into his inventory, but the doll climbed onto his shoulder on its own. The two of them flickered with an eerie light, looking quite ominous. Ji Yan hadn't expected to get a supernatural item reward from interacting with Miss Xu. While its utility seemed modest, it was at least of Rare quality.

"Do you have something to do tonight?" Ji Yan asked.

"I’m worried the thief will return tonight. So, I’ve asked Xixi to keep watch at the door. Any of those parasitic rats that get close will be torn apart."

Ji Yan nodded without a word and turned to leave. Miss Xu added one final warning: "This thief must be caught as soon as possible. If this drags on, it will steal more and more. If this continues, the apartment building will soon collapse and cease to exist!"

Ji Yan’s expression changed. "It’s that serious?"

"Haven't you noticed? The thief is either stealing the rent or digging directly into the flesh and blood of the original residents," Miss Xu said, turning her head as her eyes glinted with a cold light. "The thief's goal is to destroy this entire apartment building!"

Hearing this, Ji Yan’s expression grew heavy. Liu Yitong had once said that only missions posing a severe threat to the entire instance could be classified as main quests. He had wondered why a petty thief was categorized as an S-rank side quest. Now he understood: the thief was stealing the very lifeblood of Crimson Apartment! Once the building collapsed, all the spectral residents would perish, and the players would fall into an even more terrifying instance.

After leaving Room 801, Ji Yan felt an immense pressure. As he rushed downstairs to the fifth floor, he suddenly heard a great commotion in the hallway. Upon looking, he saw several players surrounding and slaughtering two parasitic phantoms.

The leader of the squad, a blonde man wearing sunglasses with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, held a black handgun. Without a word, he blew the heads off the two entities. The man radiated a murderous aura. Seeing Ji Yan, he leveled his gun, tilted his head, and walked off with his team.

Slaughtering phantoms? This was the first time Ji Yan had seen such savage players in the instance. The nocturnal entities were incredibly brutal, yet this squad treated them as mere prey.

Ji Yan turned around and happened to run into Liu Yitong. She looked surprised. "Didn't you go to the eighth floor?"

"Just came down," Ji Yan replied. "Is it always this lively downstairs now?"

Liu Yitong nodded. "Many players are participating in the main quest now. To catch the thief, they've split into several squads with different philosophies. You saw that team just now—their blonde leader is second only to Long Yuan in the apartment rankings. He's extremely violent. They obtained a lead on the thief, claiming the thief has no hair. So, they started a massacre. They believe that if they kill every hairless phantom in the building, the thief will inevitably be among them."

Ji Yan couldn't help but laugh after hearing this. "What a bunch of geniuses. That blonde guy is clearly a prodigy; after all, what normal person wears sunglasses in the middle of the night?"