[If that mysterious entity happens to be home, you might be torn to shreds instantly.]
The Inner World System's warning didn't dampen Yan Jing's good mood in the slightest.
He knew it was possible for the "mysterious entity" to be home, but the chances were incredibly slim.
Slipping the key into his pocket, he quietly left Mantou's "home."
He headed straight for the Cameraman's house.
After wandering around for so long yesterday, he had familiarized himself with most of Rotten Vegetable Village. He easily found his way back to the familiar old security door.
He slid the key into the lock and gently turned it to the right. With a crisp click, the door opened.
[You used the key to open the door of a mysterious entity, unlocking an unknown area ahead of time.]
[Opportunities may hide behind this door, or perhaps danger. Please proceed with caution.]
Looking at the prompts before him, Yan Jing realized the Inner World System shared some similarities with his Ghoulish Life Role-playing Game.It was just that the Inner World System's prompts felt a bit more simplistic.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside, greeted by the exact same room he had visited yesterday.
Nothing had changed; everything remained exactly as he had left it.
Including the red fruit hidden among the withered branches.
Closing the door behind him, he walked straight to the small tree at the foot of the bed.
Only when his fingers wrapped around the Worm Apple did the lingering tension in his chest finally ease.
Even with careful planning, too many variables had been out of his control. Fortunately, he had succeeded in the end.
[Lucky you. You have discovered the treasure within the mysterious entity's room. This is his destiny meal.]
[But is this destiny meal truly safe?]
[Item Name: Strange Apple
Quality: Unknown
Tier Requirement: None
Effect: Unknown
Description: This is the destiny meal of a mysterious entity. Growing it seems to require extreme conditions.]
Yan Jing held the apple upside down. At its base, the pitch-black worm writhed ceaselessly.
Sensing impending danger, its sharp mouthparts snapped open and shut as if trying to delay its inevitable death.
Anyone else might have hesitated at the sight.
But a second later, its mouthparts and body were bitten clean in half.
Black fluid splattered from the severed worm. Yan Jing's expression remained indifferent as he took bite after bite, devouring the apple and the worm entirely.
Black juice trickled down the corner of his mouth. With his cold, detached demeanor, he looked like a completely different person from the man who casually chatted with others.
Perhaps this was his truest self—the orphan who had fought to survive alone for decades in his previous life. To stay alive, he was willing to try anything.
Surprisingly, the Worm Apple didn't taste too bad.
The worm's fluids weren't bitter. Their sharp acidity perfectly neutralized the apple's sweetness, creating a balanced flavor.
As he finished the apple, Yan Jing suddenly looked down at his abdomen in surprise. A slow, scorching current of heat was gathering in his stomach.
The searing sensation flowed upward, settling in his heart before vanishing completely like a river emptying into the sea.
[You have consumed a destiny meal: Worm Apple.]
[Task "Destiny Meal" completed.]
[The Worm Apple contained a hint of Fear, but sadly, much of it has dissipated. It is not enough to set you on a brand-new Pathway.]
[The Worm Apple harbored a trace of "Sloth." You have been enhanced. Experience +10%.]
[You have gained minor sleep resistance. You will not be easily forced into slumber.]
[You have met the requirements to touch the Inner World power Pathway: the Path of Sin. Do you wish to assimilate it?]
[Please note: Once you assimilate it and step onto an Inner World power Pathway, you can no longer initiate a Ritual.]
Yan Jing stared at the prompt in astonishment.
He had read on the player forums that alongside standard clear rewards, there were various other ways to gain transcendent power in an Inner World Dungeon. The destiny meal in this run was one such method.
A high-quality destiny meal not only helped players complete their tasks but also granted additional benefits.
He just hadn't expected the Cameraman's destiny meal to be of such exceptional quality.
Beyond giving him experience and boosting his sleep resistance, it had actually touched upon some Inner World power Pathway. What exactly was that?
Facing the choice hovering before him, Yan Jing didn't immediately decide.
His intuition warned him that this was a crucial crossroads. One wrong choice could alter his entire future path.
And the fastest way to figure out what this really meant was to find a certain someone—
Xu Weizhou.
He hadn't wanted to get involved with the original owner's social circle, but now he was sinking deeper and deeper into it.
Yan Jing offered a helpless smile, shoved the key into his pocket, and left the Cameraman's house.
He would return with the key at dusk to complete the "overnight" task.
Glancing up at the high sun, he realized he still had plenty of time. Instead of heading straight to the front of the market, he took a small detour toward the back entrance.
He wanted to check on Mantou first.
Even though his primary goal in asking Mantou to watch his stall was to keep her away from home so he could steal the key, it was still her first day on the job. He couldn't help but worry a little.
He hadn't gone far when a faint stench drifted into his nose.
Glancing around, he quickly pinpointed the source of the smell.
It was a dilapidated little house with a pile of dust-covered junk scattered out front.
Checking the house number on the door, he paused in surprise.
If he remembered correctly, this was the home of the old woman who ran the stall to his right.
Seeing no one around, he slowly stepped closer to peer inside.
The curtains weren't drawn tight. He could easily see the interior layout through the gap.
The lights were off, leaving the room shrouded in gloom. Yan Jing narrowed his eyes...
"What are you doing?"
A sinister voice suddenly echoed right beside him. Yan Jing jolted in shock, losing a point from his Mental Immunity Value in the process.
He turned his head and looked at the old woman who had appeared out of nowhere, offering a casual smile.
"Nothing much. Just looking around. Is this your house, Granny?"
Disheveled white hair fell around the old woman's face, and unfiltered malice flashed in her eyes. Like an ancient cat demon locked away in the deep mountains, she snarled, "Get out of here! Damned human! Or else I'll make you suffer!"
Yan Jing didn't reply.
He felt something was off about her, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. For now, all he could do was walk away.
He walked a long way before glancing back. The old woman was still standing by her door, glaring daggers at him. That only confirmed his suspicion—she was definitely hiding something.
But today clearly wasn't the time to go digging for secrets. He planned to come back and investigate tomorrow.
Even so, he could feel the wonders of the Ghoulish Life Role-playing Game.
It was the same old woman, yet facing her under different identities yielded entirely different reactions and vibes.
"Interesting."
Before long, he reached the back entrance and spotted his "friends" from the Inner World.
Business in this section was noticeably worse than everywhere else.
If they weren't completely strapped for cash, no player would risk their lives here.
As long as they had a few thousand Eerie Coins in their pockets, they could take a gamble at a stall with a 40% chance of selling safe goods.
Yan Jing saw the sickly Chen Nian already dozing off in a recliner behind his stall, while Old Liu was happily engrossed in a novel.
Only Mantou sat perfectly straight behind the small wooden table, her expression tense and earnest.
Three steamed buns were lined up neatly on the table.
Yan Jing remembered telling her to sell exactly three. Clearly, she hadn't made a single sale yet.
It wasn't that she had zero potential customers; quite a few players were lingering around the table, watching.
Most of them only had a few hundred coins to their names. They had read the guides and knew who the girl behind the table was.
What they couldn't figure out was why this Cerebral Palsy Girl wasn't guarding the trash cans today, but had come out to run a stall instead.
It wasn't unheard of for Mantou to be away from the bins—she couldn't be scavenging twenty-four seven.
But setting up a stall was a first, leaving the players utterly baffled.
"S-selling... steamed buns..."
Mantou suddenly mustered her courage and called out.
Though it was a shout, her voice wasn't very loud. It was her first time running a stall, so being timid was only natural.
Even so, the surrounding players remained hesitant. This was a matter of life and death, and no one wanted to act recklessly.
After a while longer, a portion of the crowd chose to leave.
Even though they knew this Cerebral Palsy Girl was the kind-hearted type, they preferred trusting the forums over risking an unknown variable. They decided to take their chances at other stalls instead.
"Selling... steamed buns..."
Seeing the crowd thinning out, Mantou called out again. This time, her voice was noticeably louder and more confident.
"These... steamed buns... are good... and cheap... Passersby... take a look..."
She shouted as best she could, following exactly what Yi Ji had taught her yesterday.
"Selling... steamed buns..."
Her continuous peddling soon became the only sound in this Domain.
Mantou wore a solemn expression, sweat gradually forming beneath the hair pressed down by her Electric Vehicle Helmet.
Yi Ji had trusted her enough to leave this stall in her care. She absolutely had to make a sale.
The Old Man next to her watched as the Cerebral Palsy Girl strained her voice while trying desperately to keep her limbs still so she wouldn't scare away the customers. He finally couldn't take it anymore.
He put down his novel, ready to tell the kid to rest for a bit.
But before he could speak, a figure suddenly stopped in front of Mantou's stall.
"Hello. How much for a steamed bun?"
Mantou looked up in pleasant surprise at the smiling man. Trying her hardest to stop her hands from trembling, she replied word by word, "Steamed... bun... 400... each..."
"Four hundred each? Excellent, I'll take one."
Mantou's eyes instantly lit up with joy.
"Okay... okay..."
She reached out to hand a bun to the man.
But right at that moment, she couldn't contain her excitement. Crack-like veins surfaced on her trembling right hand, and a massive, hideous black tentacle violently burst from within.
The observing players gasped and hastily backed away. Many of them instantly lost several points from their Mental Immunity Value.
Mantou stared at her hand in a panic, then at her customer. She was certain he wouldn't buy the bun anymore.
For a brief moment, her nose stung with the urge to cry.
To her surprise, the man simply picked up a bun from the table himself, set down four 100-denomination Eerie Coins, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness. It's done."
Done with what?
The onlookers stared in confusion, having no idea what the man was talking about.
Meeting Mantou's puzzled gaze, the man chuckled and explained, "Earlier in the residential area, I ran into an Inner World Resident with a camera for a head. It triggered a quest—he told me to buy a steamed bun from you, and in exchange, he promised to let me stay overnight at his place. I didn't expect it to be this easy."
As his words fell, the surrounding murmurs instantly vanished into dead silence.
Only the man heard the sound ringing in his ears:
[Favorability +5]