LOL, your house got robbed.

Zhu Yan observed the position and shape of the copper lock, swiftly pushed open the wooden door, and slipped into the room.

Instantly, the stench of rot mixed with the heavy smell of dust rushed into his nose, making Zhu Yan gag slightly in disgust.

He quickly covered his nose and mouth, rapidly taking in the cramped attic.

The lighting in the attic was actually quite bright, with over a dozen tallow candles burning on the candlesticks.

A chair, so worn that its original color was indistinguishable, lay by the window, directly facing a small wooden desk with a drawer and a large locked wardrobe.

There was a high probability he couldn't open the wardrobe.

Zhu Yan decisively walked over to the small wooden desk and gently pulled open the drawer.

Downstairs.

Guan En watched the landlord turn and enter the kitchen, then brought out the plastic cup from behind his back, examining it closely.

The other party had already arrived but was not in the living room.

How far had he gotten?

What exactly was going on here?

Upstairs.

Zhu Yan focused his attention, skimming rapidly through a few yellowed pages in the drawer.

The paper was of the same material as "Coexisting with Taboo Objects", and the writing on it was twisted and bizarre, yet Zhu Yan surprisingly found that he could understand it.

"[Man-Eating House Lease Contract] —

Lessor: [Carnival Paradise] Supreme Power Committee

Lessee: [Plague Ghost] Walter (Low Level)"

A [Lease Contract]—he had actually found something this important!

The landlord was the [Plague Ghost] Walter.

Walter.

Zhu Yan memorized this name.

"The Lessor leases one [Man-Eating House], numbered A066, to the Lessee. The said property is located in the rift between reality and the abyss, and its specific location can be determined by the will of either the Lessee or the Lessor."

"This house can connect with any thriller creature, serving as an extension of their flesh and blood. Any thriller creature trading for shelter via this contract must acknowledge that the house is me, and I am the house."

"If the [Man-Eating House] is damaged or destroyed during the lease period, this contract shall be voided, but the thriller creature connected to the [Man-Eating House] will also suffer severe repercussions."

Zhu Yan's heart began to race uncontrollably.

In other words, as long as he tricked out its weakness and killed the level-four house, the level-five landlord would also...

Would it drop at least one level?

He continued reading.

"Upon the contract taking effect, the Lessee shall know all the secrets of the house, including the location of the house's weakness."

"However, considering the safety of the Lessee and the [Man-Eating House], once the contract is established, the Lessee shall be unable to disclose the house's weakness to any other entity."

Fine, Zhu Yan silently complained as he kept reading.

Being unable to disclose probably meant that [Carnival Paradise] had some means to prevent the landlord from speaking of it.

Damn it, happy for nothing.

"The Lessee must feed fresh human flesh or uncontaminated livestock meat to the [Man-Eating House] numbered A066 every fifty days..."

Alright, this was an unimportant detail, but Zhu Yan noticed it anyway.

What did that mean? In the future, even livestock would be contaminated?

"The monthly rent for the [Man-Eating House] numbered A066 is 1 Bone Gold Coin, payable in the middle of each month."

"The Lessee must not be in arrears for more than 3 months (amounting to 3 Bone Gold Coins). Currently, the Lessee has not paid rent for [3] months."

Zhu Yan looked closely at the number in the square brackets.

It was originally a 2. As Zhu Yan looked at it, the 2 jumped to a 3 and stopped moving.

He recalled for a moment; today happened to be the middle of August in the Gregorian calendar.

That matched up perfectly.

No wonder the landlord was in such a panic.

No wonder it asked for exactly 3 Bone Gold Coins right off the bat!

But the landlord couldn't speak of the [Man-Eating House]'s weakness...

"If the Lessee is in arrears for more than 3 months, the Lessor reserves the right to confiscate all of the Lessee's property."

"If the Lessee is unable to afford the rent for the [Man-Eating House], they may transfer the leasing rights of the [Man-Eating House]."

"All prior debts will be assumed by the new Lessee."

The contract ended there.

At the bottom, in the signature section for both parties, there was a complex scarlet crest and a terrifying mark Zhu Yan had never seen before, resembling a festering corpse.

Beneath the contract were two blank sheets of paper: a [Man-Eating House Transfer Contract] in duplicate.

Zhu Yan skimmed through them roughly. After confirming that the key points were similar to the [Lease Contract], he restored the papers and gently placed them back in their original position.

He quietly pulled open the door, restored the lock to how he remembered it, and quickly climbed down the stairs, returning to his original room.

...

Downstairs.

Guan En hid the milk tea cup away and took the tea handed to him by the landlord. He caught a nauseating, fishy stench coming from the murky liquid.

He didn't drink the beverage. Instead, he looked up and asked the landlord for confirmation, "Uncle, am I the only player here tonight?"

The tall monster with a deathly pale face and a partially rotting body shot him a sideways glance.

This time, it answered in a different way.

"There are two players," it said hoarsely. "However, the other one will arrive a bit later."

Guan En smiled and thanked it politely.

"Thanks a lot, Uncle."

"Are you the only one in this house?"

This confirmed it.

That kid had already arrived, and he had repeated his old trick, hiding the mark on his left hand and disguising himself as a non-player to get in.

Guan En shifted his body to ensure the landlord couldn't see the milk tea cup hidden behind him.

This opponent of his was always cautious and rarely made mistakes.

What identity had he used to get in this time?

Guan En held the teacup, not daring to put it down. He subconsciously wanted to touch the police badge in his casual clothes pocket and the sidearm tucked into his lower back.

The [Man-Eating House], as its name suggested, ate people.

If that mysterious player was merely pretending to be an ordinary person, given the massive power gap between him and this thriller creature, and the fact that the creature wanted to eat people, he wouldn't survive for long.

Therefore, there was only one answer—

That player had disguised himself as a thriller creature once again!

Guan En's player level was only level 1; naturally, he couldn't buy "Coexisting with Taboo Objects" like Zhu Yan, which was available to level 2 players.

The living room lights flickered and swayed. Guan En stared at the dirty, dim stairwell, not daring to relax his mind for a single moment.

The landlord gave Guan En a highly malicious smile.

"Sit here nicely and don't move, kid," it threatened coldly. "You should know what happens to players who leave without permission."

The landlord's head snapped to the side with a crack, its broken neck bone poking out a jagged shape against the loose skin of its neck.

"...Like this." The head stared at Guan En and spoke chillingly.

It watched with satisfaction as a hint of disgust and fear appeared on Guan En's face, then turned and walked upstairs.

Players were the easiest to scare.

They feared death the most and were bound by the dungeon.

Once it ensured the player wouldn't leave, it could go upstairs and safely report the situation to Madam!

At this very moment.

"Madam" — Zhu Yan, was already standing securely in the room.

After reading the [Lease Contract], an outrageous plan gradually took shape in his mind.

At least, based on the current clues, this plan wasn't likely to have any flaws.

Outside the door, the landlord's sluggish footsteps were slowly approaching.