Chapter 19: The Sinister Dwarf Spirit, Devouring the Apartment

They were like relentless, parasitic maggots—tenacious and deadly. To drive them away, one had to tackle the root cause. Once the source vanished, the plague would dissipate.

“The source?” Ji Yan paused, momentarily taken aback.

Sure enough, a single-minded extermination wouldn’t suffice.

But what was the source? Where was it?

Lost in thought, Ji Yan gripped his hatchet firmly and pressed on with the slaughter.

No matter what, if there were questions, his innate talent would provide the answers!

The other players watched Ji Yan stubbornly clearing out the plague-ridden rats and shook their heads.

There were thousands of them. How could one possibly eradicate them all?

And they had to be dealt with before nightfall—no more than four hours remained.

“Simple-minded,” Long Yuan sneered sarcastically, yet his eyes caught the hatchet in Ji Yan’s hand.

“The hatchet from the 702 quest—the one belonging to the vengeful deceased wife?”

“How did this guy get his hands on it?”

Long Yuan raised an eyebrow.

He had completed 70% of the missions in the Crimson Apartments; the remaining 30% were tough nuts to crack, including the 702 quest.

He had spent two days trying to obtain that weapon without success and eventually gave up.

Unexpectedly, another player had snatched this eerie weapon.

Long Yuan opened Ji Yan’s main profile.

It was so sparse it could be described as bare walls.

“Survived five days in the game?”

Long Yuan was stunned for a moment, then relaxed: “Looks like this newbie got lucky.”

“That hatchet’s mine now,” he said with a sly smile.

Taking gear from rookies was routine for him; he had countless tricks up his sleeve.

Meanwhile, Ji Yan was unaware that his hatchet had drawn attention. He kept killing those mutated rats one after another.

Almost every fifth rat triggered a hidden information panel.

“Kid, you’re wasting your effort. It’s impossible.”

“Why don’t you join us in donating 1,000 milliliters of blood? After acquiring the quest food, maybe a few days of rest will help you recover.”

The other players said this, though they didn’t really believe it themselves.

Ji Yan seemed deaf to their words, focusing solely on killing rats and gathering hidden information.

“Kan Jing Gui: a plague-type spirit that carries a rat plague disaster. It dwells restlessly in this eerie world, favoring buildings soaked in deep resentment. By devouring grudging souls, it nourishes and expands the rat plague, enhancing its own power.”

“Got it!”

“This must be the source spirit.”

Ji Yan’s eyes lit up. At that moment, he noticed the mutated rats suddenly swarming toward the rear, as if drawn by something.

In his line of sight, a filthy figure smeared with sewage and garbage slowly crawled out from the dirty drainage ditch.

Though it resembled a person, it was a spirit.

As it emerged, the surrounding mutated rats parted to make way, dragging filthy water as it moved to the corner of the apartment building.

It squatted down and began digging with its hands, then ate ravenously.

Under its eerie feast, the entire Crimson Apartments trembled violently.

The massive building was shrouded in pitch-black resentment, as if endless wronged souls were wailing.

Within minutes, the Kan Jing Gui had gnawed a bowl-sized hole in the corner of the wall!

As the hole appeared, the mutated rats scrambled inside without hesitation.

“Delicious! So delicious!”

“Unstoppable! Too good to finish!”

The apartment swayed precariously.

The rats inside gnawed at everything like termites, seemingly determined to hollow it out completely.

Stomping the rats into pulp, the Charm Spirit living in Room 101 on the first floor was the first to suffer, eyes filled with disgust.

“Damn it! The rent for this place is sky-high, and now we can’t even solve basic sanitation issues!”

“So frustrating!”

Outside, Cheng Fang was wailing in despair.

“Holy crap! Such huge rats! And so many?”

The Charm Spirit coldly messaged Cheng Fang, “Don’t let any rats into my room.”

“If one gets in, you won’t be staying here anymore.”

Cheng Fang grumbled bitterly, “Why do I have to do all the dirty work? I must have sinned in my past life!”

As time passed, more and more residents inside the apartment voiced complaints.

The landlord cleaned the hallway, listening to the cries of anguish, snorted coldly, and broadcast outside the apartment:

“Tell them to hurry up and clear the plague.”

“If they can’t, don’t come back.”

“This apartment never lacks tenants, especially not these pitiful outsiders who can’t even pay rent.”

The Bandaged Spirit received the landlord’s orders and passed them to the cleaning squad.

Already under great pressure, the cleaning squad finally yielded to Long Yuan.

“Brother Long, I’m willing to feed that hatchet. Please act quickly.”

“I’m willing too; a thousand milliliters of blood might keep me alive. If I can’t return to the apartment, I’m surely doomed.”

“I’d rather die from blood loss than be eaten bite by bite by the spirits in the fog.”

Despite their pleas, Long Yuan remained unmoved, his gaze fixed on Ji Yan not far away.

“There’s still one more,” he said.

The other players hurriedly urged Ji Yan.

Ji Yan flicked blood off his hands and glanced coolly at Long Yuan.

“Why rely on him?”

“These plagues are brought by that Kan Jing Gui. Kill that spirit, and the plague will naturally disperse.”

Meanwhile, the Kan Jing Gui gnawing at the apartment, once thin and weak, was gradually swelling with each meal.

Long Yuan smiled in surprise. “You actually know about Kan Jing Gui?”

“Indeed, once Kan Jing Gui dies, the plague will vanish.”

“But it’s like the answer’s right there on the page. Everyone knows it, but how many can actually solve it?”

Long Yuan reclined, hands behind his head.

“To kill Kan Jing Gui, you need at least a [Collector’s] quality spirit weapon and knowledge of its weaknesses.”

“Among you here, who has such equipment? Who dares to take the chance?”

The players fell silent.

A female player spoke softly to Ji Yan, “Brother, for everyone’s sake, just compromise.”

“Yeah, you look fine. Absorbing some blood won’t kill you, and we who’ve been starving for days don’t mind!”

“Agree quickly! If he leaves, we’re all done for. Don’t be the rotten apple that ruins us all!”

Driven by survival instinct, players took turns lecturing Ji Yan—some persuading, others pressuring.

Just as Ji Yan was about to speak, Long Yuan suddenly changed his tone.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

Pointing at Ji Yan, he said, “You, on top of your conditions, add one—the hatchet belongs to me.”

“Why?” Ji Yan retorted.

“No reason. I just don’t like you.”

“Agree, and I’ll save you all.”

“Don’t, and I’m leaving now.”

Long Yuan thrust all contradictions onto Ji Yan, pushing him into the spotlight.

Under such pressure, the other players grew frantic, increasing the strain on Ji Yan.

If Long Yuan left, Ji Yan would be the sole scapegoat.

No matter how outrageous Long Yuan’s demands became, Ji Yan had no choice but to agree.

Long Yuan was a master manipulator.

Ji Yan saw through it.

This guy was targeting him purely because of the hatchet in his hand.

Looking at the hidden information he’d gathered, Ji Yan suddenly had a thought.

“What if you can’t kill that Kan Jing Gui?” he asked.

“I’ve killed no fewer than ten of these disaster spirits in this dungeon.”

“What do you think?”

Ji Yan replied, “There are always exceptions.”

Long Yuan laughed bitterly, “If I can’t kill it, this cleaver is yours!”

“Deal.”

Seeing Ji Yan’s quick agreement, Long Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly in puzzlement.

Where did this guy’s confidence come from? Could it be that he’d discovered something special about that Kan Jing Gui?