Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

She looked at Lin Yu, seemingly assessing something, before answering after a while: "I don't know the specifics, and I have no interest in probing. All I know is that it has ruled the entire northern part of the city for hundreds of years."

Lin Yu thought to himself, "This is troublesome."

Sure enough, good things aren't so easy to get. The Nether Stone Necklace from the Screaming Lady's old house requires a direct confrontation with a Silver-level ghost.

This faceless music box directly offended a dominant old monster—the Black Mist Lady.

The hidden missions in this "Life and Death Delivery" game offer generous rewards, but the costs are equally high.

Lin Yu looked at the catwoman, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Thank you for telling me all this, but I still have to ask, why did you help me? Or rather, why did you tell me all this?"

The catwoman elegantly groomed the fur on her neck with her paw and casually replied, "It wasn't on purpose that I was helping you. I just think you're... quite interesting."

It would be such a pity if such an interesting being died so easily.

These boring times always need a little fresh fun, don't they?

Without waiting for Lin Yu's reply, it gracefully and silently turned and left, the hem of its red robe tracing a mysterious path in the shadows before quickly disappearing from sight.

Watching the other person leave, Lin Yu rubbed his temples in frustration.

With the Ratman Pussy Monster gang blocking the door in front and the mysterious and powerful Lady of the Black Mist threatening from behind, this trip to the theater is full of surprises.

"Forget it, we'll deal with whatever comes our way." Shaking his head slightly, Lin Yu composed himself, stopped thinking about it, and immediately turned and walked towards room 206.

……

Lin Yu quickly found room 206 without any trouble.

He went straight up and knocked on the door.

"Come in." The ethereal yet melancholic female voice immediately came from inside the door, as if she had been waiting for a long time.

Then, the wooden door to the room opened silently inward.

Behind the door was not a normal room, but a dense, impenetrable darkness.

Lin Yu was mentally prepared for this and stepped into the darkness without hesitation.

As soon as I stepped inside, my vision blurred and the surrounding darkness receded like a tide.

Lin Yu looked closely and found himself in a place he was very familiar with—the basement of the Screaming Lady's old house.

However, unlike the dilapidated, dirty, and cluttered basements he had seen before, the basement was now spotless, with all the clutter neatly gathered in the corners, and a faint sandalwood scent permeating the air.

Several classic kerosene lamps were lit, their dim light barely dispelling the darkness and creating an eerie yet somewhat cozy atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the screaming lady, dressed in a classic black lace dress, sat elegantly on a rather old-fashioned velvet sofa, holding an exquisite ceramic teacup in her hand, as if enjoying afternoon tea.

It still has that beautiful yet melancholic look, but now it has an added touch of languor and homeliness.

Lin Yu made no attempt to be polite, casually pulling over a sturdy-looking wooden chair and sitting down. He crossed his legs, seemingly unintentionally playing with the [Azure Rose] with his right hand, while the muzzle of the gun occasionally grazed the direction of the screaming woman.

"Madam," Lin Yu spoke first, his tone carrying a hint of accusation, "You really aren't very kind. You didn't tell me that there's a terrifying ghost 'renting' your old house, and it seems to have a deep-seated grudge against you. I almost wouldn't have made it back."

After listening to Lin Yu's words, the screaming lady slowly raised her fair neck, and her scarlet lips curled into a smile that was not quite a smile: "But in the end, you still came to me unharmed, and even seemed to have gained a lot."

This just goes to show that that stupid and rude guy wasn't as difficult for you to deal with as you thought, was it?

Its meaningful gaze swept over the shimmering Netherworld Stone Necklace around Lin Yu's neck, and it continued, "Besides, I didn't lie to you."

Didn't you find and obtain the "thing" I mentioned in my old house?

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, but did not answer the question directly.

The screaming lady didn't seem to expect his answer. She lowered her head slightly, admiring her slender fingers with black nail polish, and then continued in a casual tone, "And... I smelled that guy's nauseating, lingering stench on you, well, more precisely, on the sword at your waist. You imprisoned it?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" Lin Yu admitted frankly.

The screaming woman put down her teacup, leaned forward slightly, and showed an interested expression: "Give me this, along with the remains of mine that you found. In exchange, I can help you resolve the trouble with 'Lady Black Mist,' how about it? A fair deal, isn't it?"

Lin Yu narrowed his eyes slightly.

He wasn't surprised that the screaming woman could sense the male ghost's condition and knew about the remains.

But he didn't expect that the other party would ask for this as soon as they opened their mouth, and even claimed that they could solve Ms. Black Mist's troubles.

Based on Catwoman's description and the extent of her fear, Lady Black Mist's strength far exceeds that of a Silver-level being, and is very likely at the Gold-level.

As for the Screaming Lady, although she seemed mysterious, her strength was probably similar to that of the Catwoman or the male ghost he encountered in the old house. How could she possibly solve the Black Mist Lady's problem?

The screaming woman glanced at him, seemingly seeing right through his doubts and calculations, and let out a disdainful snort: "Hmph, I admit, I am indeed not as...powerful as the Black Mist Lady."

It deliberately emphasized the word "powerful".

"However, resolving problems does not necessarily mean resorting to violence or fighting to the death."

As someone skilled in intrigue and negotiation, you should understand this better than I do.

Lin Yu nodded; what the other person said was true.

Power has many forms of expression, and force is just the most direct one.

"So," the screaming woman leaned back, resuming her languid posture, her crimson eyes fixed on Lin Yu through the dim light, "what's your answer? To do this deal or not?"

"That's naturally..." Lin Yu suddenly smiled, drawing out his words, and replied, "—That's impossible!"

The screaming woman was clearly not expecting Lin Yu to give this answer.

Its elegant and mysterious expression froze instantly, and it frowned noticeably, a rare occurrence, with a hint of astonishment and disbelief flashing in its scarlet eyes.

It carefully looked Lin Yu up and down again, as if trying to get to know him again.

After a long pause, it spoke in a tone mixed with doubt and sarcasm: "You... don't understand Lady Black Mist's true power? Or are you simply... tired of living?"

Lin Yu's smile faded, his eyes becoming calm and sharp. Meeting the screaming woman's gaze, he replied indifferently, "It doesn't matter. I'm a rather stubborn person; what I have in my hands, is mine."

If you want my things, fine, but you'll have to exchange them for something of real value. Trying to get something for nothing, or trying to fool me with empty promises…”

"Absolutely impossible."

His meaning was clear: if you want the remains and the male ghost, you have to exchange them for tangible benefits.

As for the trouble with Ms. Black Mist, you don't need to worry about it, and don't even think about using it as leverage.

"I don't even know whether to describe you as 'confident' or 'ungrateful.' Greedy and stupid human." The screaming woman's face turned completely cold, and the temperature around her seemed to drop several degrees. The shadows in the basement began to twist unnaturally.

Lin Yu shook his head slightly, his right fingers gently tapping the barrel of the [Azure Rose] gun, producing a soft clicking sound: "You don't need to worry about that. I'll take responsibility for my own life."

The screaming woman abruptly waved her hand, pointing to the door, effectively ordering him to leave: "Since you have no intention of making a deal, then you can get out of my room!"

However, Lin Yu remained seated motionless in his chair, a smile reappearing on his face, carrying a playful air that inexplicably infuriated the screaming woman.

A brief silence fell over the field, broken only by the crackling of the burning kerosene lamp.

The screaming woman frowned, stared at Lin Yu, and said nothing more.

A few seconds later, Lin Yu slowly spoke again, breaking the silence: "Ms. Screaming, I think you've misunderstood something. My main purpose in coming here this time is not to make a deal with you."

He leaned forward, his gaze meeting the other man's cold, bloodshot eyes. "I'm here to get an 'explanation' from you. After all, when you gave me the keys, you didn't 'kindly' tell me there was a formidable 'gatekeeper' waiting for me in that old house. Shouldn't we settle that score first?"

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, the screaming woman's face grew even colder, almost frosty. Her voice sharpened: "Confess? My deal with you is limited to that key and the opportunity it represents!"

As for whether there are any other 'things' in my old house, I've been gone for so many years, how would I know? What obligation do I have to tell you every detail? You're not capable enough yourself, are you going to blame the person who provided the information?"

Hearing its obviously sophistry, Lin Yu's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous glint flashing in them.

The Azure Rose in his hand stopped spinning, and the muzzle rose slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Seeing Lin Yu's posture and the strange firearm in his hand that even she felt somewhat threatened, the screaming woman's eyes twitched almost imperceptibly.

It seemed to weigh its options for a moment, then added, its voice laced with suppressed anger, "If you dare to make a move inside the theater and break the rules... it won't just be offending a lady from the Black Mist! The owner here is someone you shouldn't mess with either!"

It tried to pressure Lin Yu by using the rules of the theater and the owner behind it.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu shook his head slightly, seemingly unconcerned, his tone even carrying a hint of mockery: "Tsk, more debts don't bother you, more lice don't itch."

"Since I've already potentially offended one lady from the Black Mist, what difference does it make if I offend the boss here as well?"

Hearing Lin Yu's incredibly shrewd, even somewhat reckless words, the screaming lady frowned deeply. She stared intently at Lin Yu, as if trying to determine whether his words were just bluffing or if he was truly crazy and reckless.

After a while, it seemed to have completely lost patience, or perhaps it felt that it wouldn't be worth the trouble to clash with this hothead in the theater over such a trivial matter.

It snorted in extreme displeasure, then abruptly flung its hand away!

A dark shadow shot towards Lin Yu's face with a whooshing sound! It was extremely fast.

Lin Yu's eyes narrowed, and his right hand shot out with lightning speed, accurately grabbing the item in his hand.

It was cold to the touch, and seemed to be a bone from some kind of creature.

At the same time, the screaming woman's suppressed rage rang out: "Get out of my room with this piece of junk! You greedy, disgusting human bug!"

Lin Yu looked down at the item in his hand.

[Howling Mouth] (One-time use)

Category: Props

Rank: Bronze

effect:

Hysterical Scream: Crush this item to instantly unleash the full power of the Screaming Lady's scream, dealing massive mental shock and sonic physical damage to all enemies in a cone-shaped area in front (damage intensity is approximately equal to a Silver-level full-power strike), and has a very high probability of inflicting negative statuses such as "Stun", "Fear", and "Deafness".

Description: "Ah ...

A fragment of bone that records someone's extreme emotions. Use with care, lest you hurt yourself.

"Not bad." Lin Yu put the skeleton away with satisfaction.

Although it is only a one-time consumable, its power is absolutely comparable to a full-force attack of a silver-level weapon. If used properly, it can have a miraculous effect, which can be considered an unexpected gain.

After all, he was just there to freeload; he was happy as long as he could get something.

"Then goodbye, ma'am." Lin Yu stood up, patted his clothes, and acted as if he were just a guest.

As he reached the door, he seemed to suddenly remember something, turned back to the shrieking woman with a livid face, and added in a teasing tone, "By the way, if I'm lucky enough not to be killed by the Black Mist Lady after I leave the theater this time... and you still want to exchange your remains or that silver-level ghost, I'll have to raise the price next time. After all, it's venture capital, you know."

"roll!!!"

Accompanied by the screaming woman's furious outburst that could almost shatter glass, Lin Yu laughed, turned around, pushed open the door, and left this hastily created alternate dimension.

Stepping out of the room and back into the corridor on the second floor of the theater, Lin Yu's smile quickly vanished, and he regained his usual composure.

He naturally understood why the screaming lady ultimately chose to abandon the deal and even "compensated" him with a disposable item.

They simply assumed that once he left the theater, he would be immediately targeted and killed by the so-called Black Mist Lady.

At that time, it can wait until Lady Black Mist gets the music box from Lin Yu's "relics" before going to Lady Black Mist to make a deal, and it can still get back the remains and the male ghost.

Since it has the confidence to say it can solve Ms. Black Mist's problem, it probably has leverage to communicate with her.

However, Lin Yu never considered himself a lamb to the slaughter.

If that woman in the black mist really dares to cause him trouble...

Lin Yu glanced at the Master Ball in his backpack, a cold smile curving his lips.

Then don't blame him for being impolite.

Lin Yu is no pushover either.

After meeting with the screaming woman, Lin Yu went straight downstairs, preparing to leave the theater.

However, just as he reached the grand yet eerie entrance to the theater, a figure appeared silently before him like a ghost, blocking his path.

Lin Yu looked closely and saw that the person blocking his way was the same middle-aged vampire butler from before.

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow and asked, "What brings you here?"

The middle-aged vampire butler had no expression on his face, but he gave Lin Yu a standard, ancient aristocratic salute. Then, in his deep and magnetic voice, he said, "Sir, by order of my master, I give you a piece of advice: after leaving the theater, please be sure to break out of the area shrouded in black mist as quickly as possible, at all costs."

Within the black mist, your enemies... are virtually invincible; only by escaping the black mist will you have a glimmer of hope.

His words were calm and even, as if he were simply stating an objective fact, but the information they contained was of paramount importance.

Lin Yu gave the vampire butler a deep look and nodded: "Thank you for informing me."

The middle-aged vampire butler said nothing more, only nodded slightly again, and then his figure disappeared quietly behind the pillars by the gate, as if he had never been there.

Without further hesitation, Lin Yu gripped the Azure Rose in his hand and stepped out of the Ghost Opera House.

Stepping out of the Ghost Opera House, Lin Yu hopped on his electric scooter, left the protective shield, and returned to the black fog.

This time, it felt completely different.

The ever-present sense of being watched was no longer a vague feeling, but had transformed into countless tangible, malicious gazes, fixed on him as if trying to see right through him, inside and out.

Lin Yu even felt as if countless people were watching him.

"Tch." Lin Yu snorted coldly, his sharp gaze sweeping around, but apart from the churning black mist, he could not see any specific figures for the time being.

The group of monsters that were blocking the door didn't appear; they've probably all hidden themselves.

Just as he was about to turn on the switch to speed away, something unexpected happened.

The surrounding fog seemed to have received some kind of command, and it began to condense and compress at an unprecedented speed, instantly reducing visibility to less than five meters, and it was still decreasing rapidly.

The flashlight beam was swallowed up by the thick black fog, illuminating only a small area in front of them.

"They're here..."

Lin Yu felt a chill run down his spine, knowing that the main culprit or his henchmen were about to appear.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he abruptly turned his head to look to his side, where the black mist was violently writhing and churning, quickly condensing into a clear human figure.

A figure draped in a wide black robe, its face obscured, stood there silently, as if it were part of the black mist itself.

The other party stared at Lin Yu for a long time, and then spoke in a hoarse voice, as if it were sandpaper rubbing, but with a strange texture: "Human, I smell the scent of my lost collection on you."

"Excuse me, could you... give it back to me?"

Its tone even sounded somewhat polite.

Lin Yu's mind raced, but his face remained calm, and he even smiled: "I don't remember where I took your things. Maybe you've made a mistake."

"Of course, I do have quite a few good items. If you're willing to offer something of equal value in exchange, I might consider it."

The black-robed figure's head swayed slightly, seemingly surprised by Lin Yu's words. It repeated, "I'm not mistaken. That music box... that was originally mine."

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow: "Oh, you mean that? But what makes you think it's yours? Is your name engraved on it? Will it respond if you call its name?"

"So..." The black-robed man's voice suddenly turned low and dangerous, and the surrounding mist churned and intensified, "You want to... steal my collection?"

The black mist surrounding it began to fluctuate erratically.

Lin Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, but his tone remained unyielding: "Shouldn't I be the one saying that? Your current behavior is practically an attempt to steal from me."

"No one can take my collection away!!!" The man in black robes seemed to be completely enraged by these words, letting out a shrill, inhuman scream.

Its body instantly collapsed, turning back into dense black mist, which twisted and expanded rapidly, forming in the blink of an eye a gigantic, ferocious beast head made entirely of black mist.

The beast's head opened its enormous maw, seemingly capable of devouring everything, and with a mournful howl, it pounced towards Lin Yu!

"Bang!!"

The moment the black mist beast head took shape, Lin Yu's long-prepared [Azure Rose] roared loudly.

Charged Shot 3

A highly compressed bullet, imbued with terrifying demonic power, was fired from the barrel and accurately struck the gaping maw of the beast's head.

boom!

A deafening explosion suddenly rang out, and a violent shockwave mixed with hellfire and demonic energy raged wildly, actually blasting away and evaporating the dense black fog in that area, clearing out a huge, temporary vacuum zone.

The black mist beast that pounced was the first to be hit and blasted into pieces, turning back into dissipating mist.

"die!!"

The attack was blocked, and a sharp, angry howl, as if composed of countless superimposed sounds, rang out from every fog molecule in all directions, making Lin Yu's eardrums ache!

The next moment, the black mist in the entire area seemed to come alive. It frantically condensed into countless thick, twisted black tentacles, which lashed out at Lin Yu and the electric scooter he was riding from every angle, like a storm.

"Tch! This is never going to end!"

Lin Yu cursed under his breath, knowing he couldn't waste any more time fighting this thing in the black mist. He should listen to the vampire and run first.

He instantly shifted the electric scooter into the highest gear and turned the ignition switch all the way to the floor with his right hand.

Om-!

The electric vehicle roared and shot off in one direction like an arrow. The [Heavenly Cloak] fluttered behind it, automatically protecting its owner and swatting away several mist tentacles that tried to entangle it.

"Hehehe..."

Just as Lin Yu had rushed a short distance, a sinister and chilling laugh suddenly came from the thick fog to his side.