Chapter Twenty-One: Are They Trying to Push Me to the Brink Again?

Seeing Shang Yi looking a bit dazed, Director Ni assumed he still had questions about his mother and hurried to explain, “Your mother didn’t say anything besides wanting to hand over the management rights of the haunted house to you and leaving you with that message. Nothing else.”

“I thought it was a little sudden, but over the phone, it wasn’t appropriate to ask for details. That’s all I know.”

“Although your parents have left, they left you this thought-provoking message. I suspect it’s related to the operation of the haunted house.”

“Perhaps your mother hopes you can grasp the essence of her words and manage the haunted house even better. Don’t overthink it.”

“I’ve approved your request to lease the underground parking lot. The fee is entirely waived. If you run the haunted house well, I’ll be happy.”

“I’ll draft a contract tonight and have Uncle Li deliver it to you tomorrow.”

“Just sign it, keep one copy, and let Uncle Li bring the other back to me. The haunted house is in your hands now. If you face any difficulties, come find me.”

Shang Yi bowed deeply to Director Ni. “Thank you, Director Ni. I’ll make sure to run the haunted house well. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way.”

As he walked out of the office building, he still couldn’t quite believe it—he’d managed to rent the underground parking lot so easily, and didn’t have to spend a penny!

Thinking carefully about the message his mother had left with Director Ni, its meaning was profound and for the moment, he had no clue.

But the fact that his mother had arranged everything with the park’s leader well ahead of time meant she and his father were definitely planning something.

As long as he followed the system’s requirements and kept running the haunted house, he was certain he’d uncover the truth behind his parents’ disappearance or death.

Back at the haunted house, Su Xiaoxue had already gone home after work. He went up to the third floor and immediately saw Tang Bohu rummaging through the room, making a mess everywhere.

The little creature had opened the refrigerator door and dragged out all the meat, honey jars, and other food, scattering them all over the floor.

“You little rascal, you’re pretty smart, aren’t you? You know how to open doors and find food yourself. Trying to rebel when I’m not home?”

He patted Tang Bohu’s head and quickly tidied up the room.

Looking at Tang Bohu’s round belly, he suddenly remembered that the system had rewarded him with a pet inventory today.

He opened the portable space interface and saw that it was indeed different from before. Now there were two slots: an item inventory and a pet inventory.

He picked up Tang Bohu and tried to place him in the pet inventory. A line of text floated before his eyes: “Current pet is not supplied with food. Can be stored for up to ten hours. After ten hours, it will exit automatically. Do you wish to proceed?”

“The system is quite thoughtful. Pets aren’t like other items; they get hungry, and if they’re starving, they’ll jump out.”

“If you’re outside and your pet suddenly jumps out, not only will it startle others, but if it runs off, that’s a big problem.”

He took out plenty of Tang Bohu’s favorite foods from the refrigerator and, with Tang Bohu in tow, tried again to place him in the pet inventory. This time the message read: “Pet food supplied. Maximum storage: twenty-four hours. Do you wish to proceed?”

This time, Shang Yi chose yes. Tang Bohu and the food disappeared from view.

He checked the pet inventory in his mind and found it surprisingly spacious.

Tang Bohu wasn’t restrained inside; instead, he was bouncing around, frolicking happily.

At that moment, he unexpectedly noticed a percentage on the pet inventory’s doorplate: 0.001%.

Suddenly, it dawned on him—only by placing Tang Bohu in the pet inventory would Tang Ya’s awakening progress begin!

Although the progress was extremely low, at least there was hope!

The system chimed, and as he entered the system interface, he saw that aside from the Nine Yin Mountain Prison scenario, there were now eighty-six visitors today and a total visitor count, and a new main quest had popped up.

[Rune Apartment Scenario]

Main Quest: Uncover the Secret

Task Description: In an apartment far from the city lives a group of mysterious beings. Are they people? Ghosts? Monsters? You must go and find out.

Location: 976 Jiangbei Road, West District, Donghai City.

Completion Criteria: Arrive at the location before 23:59 today, unravel the scene’s secrets, and survive until dawn.

Restrictions: Pets and any tools may be brought, but haunted house employees or companions are not allowed. You must go alone.

Task Hint: If the mission is not completed by sunrise, this scenario will never be unlocked.

“From the task description, it’s impossible to tell if the residents are people, ghosts, or monsters—and I can’t bring haunted house employees.”

“Forget crocodile dinosaurs—even an ordinary prison guard monster would be tough to handle before Tang Ya wakes up.”

“This isn’t like the prison. Back then, I had access to an armory with all sorts of powerful weapons.”

“Now I’ve got nothing—just a regular guy. If I run into a thug with a knife or a gun, my chances aren’t good.”

“The situation is so dire, the time so tight, and if I fail, the scenario is locked forever. I’ve barely escaped the terrifying prison, and now I’m being thrown into another deadly situation?”

“Now I finally understand why, when I chose Tang Ya, the survival difficulty was labeled as ‘Nightmare.’”

“It wasn’t referring to the difficulty inside the prison—it was about the world outside!”

“No matter how powerful Tang Ya is, if she sleeps for years, I’ll have to face monsters and ghosts alone before she wakes up.”

“Before she even wakes, I might have died dozens of times—what else is a nightmare?”

Shang Yi checked Tang Ya’s awakening progress again. Still 0.001%. Clearly, there’s no hope for today.

Even if she woke up right now, according to the task description, as a core employee of the haunted house, she couldn’t accompany him—so it wouldn’t meet the mission requirements anyway!

He began to ponder his mother’s message: “Those who sleep eternally are not necessarily dead; cross the black and white abyss, and waiting for you will be wonder and glory everlasting.”

He felt the first line, “Those who sleep eternally are not necessarily dead,” seemed to refer to his parents themselves—meaning they may be sleeping, but not dead? Alive in another form?

“Cross the black and white abyss”—that sounded ominous.

Black and white—what does that mean? Outside the Sky Continent is all white mist; if that’s the white abyss, what is the black abyss?

Is the abyss the danger I’ll face in my missions, or does it mean something else?

The last line uses the word “everlasting,” which is absolute. His mother rarely spoke so definitively—what did she mean?

After pondering the message, Shang Yi felt he hadn’t gained much. There was no time to dwell; he needed to focus on completing the mission.

He quickly searched “Rune Apartment” on his phone, but found nothing.

He changed the keywords to “976 Jiangbei Road, West District, Donghai City,” and after scrolling through several pages, he found a bit of information in a small forum.

It was an anonymous post: the residents at that address had suddenly died—several at once. One woman was assaulted, her death was horrific.

Police had investigated but failed to find the culprit, and the case remained unsolved.

Shang Yi checked the date—it was two years ago.

“This is a murder house. Who lives there now is unknown, but since several people died gruesomely, there may be ghosts lingering, and possibly monsters as well.”

“Spending one night in a place like this, uncovering its secrets, all by myself without haunted house employees—it’s extremely dangerous.”

“Without guns, stun batons, grenades, or other military-grade weapons, surviving may be as hard as Nine Yin Mountain Prison.”

“I’m heading alone to such a sinister place—what should I bring to increase my chances of survival?”

He rummaged through the house and the storage room on the third floor for a while, but found nothing useful.

“No, I can’t just go and die empty-handed. It’s only just past five in the afternoon—many stores are still open—I need to hurry and shop."

He used his phone’s map app to locate nearby military supply shops and outdoor gear stores.

Then, he jogged out of the amusement park, hopped onto a shared bike, and rode quickly toward his targets.

While cycling, he considered what tools he’d need, and soon made a list.

Essential items included: phone, ID card, power bank, multi-tool army knife, multi-tool hammer, multi-tool shovel, high-intensity flashlight, nylon rope, etc.

For escaping dangerous situations, he added: handheld chainsaw, handheld drill, wire cutter, military climbing hook, military binoculars, and more.

After over two hours of shopping and bargaining, luck was on his side—he managed to buy everything on his list.

As an unexpected bonus, he also picked up a pinhole camera that could be hidden in hi