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

His appearance instantly brought all data streams to a standstill.

The light from all the orbs seemed to freeze slightly, and an invisible "gaze" focused on this uninvited guest.

"Identification: Native entity 'Maintenancer - Chen'. Access permissions: Temporarily granted (system level), access allowed."

The sound of the light sphere numbered 742 remained steady.

The other orbs of light remained silent, their invisible gazes focused on Old Chen, waiting for the system to convey further instructions through this unexpected messenger.

Old Chen pushed up his thick glasses, seemingly unconcerned about the enormous spheres of light around him, and chuckled, "Excuse me, esteemed administrators, for interrupting your meeting. I'm just a messenger, and by the way... um, I'd like to offer a small suggestion."

The light from orb number 742 stabilized, and it uttered a peaceful question: "Primal Chen, what is the 'idea' you mentioned?"

Old Chen showed no fear, even leisurely picking his ear and flicking off non-existent earwax before slowly saying, "Well... let me explain beforehand, to be honest, I'm not really sure how I got here. Although I have system privileges, I actually only have a vague understanding of the situation."

Old Chen's expression turned slightly wistful as he spoke.

He never expected things to develop to this extent.

In his opinion, even if Lin Yu successfully "reported" the shelter, the system would probably only give him a minor punishment, not something that would escalate to this point.

But he had clearly miscalculated. The shelter was gone, and the forces he considered his "great enemy" were nothing but child's play in the face of the game system.

The system even granted him permission to fulfill one of his greatest wishes in life—to leave that closed little world and see the outside world.

He originally thought this was an extremely difficult task, one he might never be able to accomplish in his lifetime.

He only saw a sliver of hope in Lin Yu.

But this world is always unreasonable. What is extremely difficult for him is just a matter of a thought for the system.

He relied on the system's ideas to leave Nightmare Building and enter the outside world.

This is quite a "surprise".

Old Chen was deeply moved, but he didn't dwell on it for long before continuing, "As for my thoughts..."

He paused, his playful smile fading slightly, and his gaze swept over the massive orbs of light around him. He said, "I see you're all arguing about nothing more than being afraid that the newly hired thugs will become disobedient again, turning this into a second containment facility, right?"

The administrators did not respond, but waited silently for him to say something next.

"Give me some response, this is so boring."

Old Chen felt a bit bored, but he could only continue, saying directly, "So, don't you guys get tired of always picking candidates from the 'players' pool?"

The administrators then responded.

"The player base, due to its 'external' nature and 'growth potential,' is currently the most suitable pool of candidates for executors."

The light sphere numbered 109 responded coldly and rigidly.

"Suitable? Suitable my ass!" Old Chen interrupted rudely. "Don't you know what kind of people players are? They crave power, are keen on confrontation, and have their own factional stances! Let them enforce the law? It's no wonder they go astray. The power you've given them is the strongest catalyst!"

He abruptly changed the subject, throwing out a startling idea: "If you ask me, this time, why don't you try something different? Don't just focus on the players, try... us, what do you think?"

"You?" The light from the number 66 orb flickered.

"That's right! Us! The original beings of the game world! We're the NPCs!" Old Chen spread his arms and smiled. "Think about our strengths!"

First, we are of impeccable lineage; we were born into a world created by the system, and our understanding and compatibility with that world far surpasses that of the players.

Second, we maintain a stable stance. Our existence is based on the game system, and maintaining the stability of the game world is maintaining our own.

Thirdly, and this is the issue you're most worried about...

He chuckled and pointed to himself: "There aren't many NPCs like Old Chen who have finally seen the light and woken up from their dreams, but they do exist."

There are so many worlds in the apartment game, this number is definitely not small, so there's no need to worry.

We understand the players, but we don't completely belong to their camp. Wouldn't it be more appropriate for us to join or even lead this new organization to monitor those players who are causing trouble and deal with those hot potatoes?

At least we weren't so easily blinded by power, because we ourselves... are part of the rules of the game!

silence.

A deathly silence.

Old Chen's "idea" was completely beyond the scope of all the managers' previous calculations and deductions.

Introduce native entities (NPCs) into system-level proxy organizations?

This...this is a truly revolutionary idea!

"Absurd!" Orb number 109 flashed briefly before objecting, "The intelligence baseline of the proto-corpses is limited by the rules of the world, lacking the necessary flexibility and potential to cope with super-rule events, and..."

However, it stopped speaking halfway through its rebuttal, and its words did not resonate with the other managers.

The venue remained silent, but the data streams inside all the light spheres were running and analyzing at an unprecedented speed.

The reason for their silence is simple: Old Chen's suggestion itself is not important and is irrelevant to them. The key issue is the system's tacit approval or even guidance.

Introducing NPCs into the system's proxy organization? This completely breaks with past practices.

However, the remnants of the system's will left in Lao Chen clearly indicate that this is a direction that is allowed, and even encouraged, to explore.

The core instruction from managers is to follow the will of the system and optimize the operation of the world.

The light from orb number 742 gradually stabilized. Representing the calculation tendencies of most managers, it issued a summarizing question: "Primitive 'Chen,' your proposal involves fundamental change."

Has the system already shown any initial signs of development? In the new organizational structure, how are the responsibilities and rights of the original entities and players defined? What are the selection criteria?

Old Chen shrugged, looking like he knew nothing: "The specific rules are, of course, for you gentlemen to decide."

"How you handle it is your job as professionals. I've delivered the message and shared my thoughts; the rest..."

He grinned, and his figure began to slowly fade in the white light: "I'll have to rely on you administrators to take care of things; my access period won't last long."

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Chen's figure, along with the white beam of light, disappeared.

The lingering sense of the system's will also quietly faded away.

However, the atmosphere in the management meeting space was completely different.

The previous debates and stalemates were broken, and all the light orbs devoted themselves to massive calculations and deductions on the new proposition of "introducing native entities into third-party management organizations".

The 124th discussion of the proposal is destined to take an unprecedented turn.

The future "Regulators" organization may no longer be a purely player-driven organization, but a completely new entity that integrates players and awakened NPCs, truly rooted in the rules of the game world.

……

Inside the Nightmare Mansion game world.

Lin Yu was sitting in the apartment, frowning as he examined the protective bracelet on his wrist.

"What's going on? Can game items even have bugs?"

Lin Yu was completely baffled.

Just now, he was planning to visit Nightmare Tower again, but an unexpected incident occurred: the guardian bracelet malfunctioned, and no matter how much he shouted, he couldn't open the portal.

Meanwhile, what's even stranger is that the players' chat channels and friend channels seem to be locked and completely inaccessible.

"What's going on? Is there something wrong with the game?"

Lin Yu returned to the Taoist study and sat cross-legged on the futon, deep in thought.

It was at this moment that...

[System Notification: Dear players, we apologize for the interruption to your game, but due to special circumstances, Nightmare Mansion World No. 31 will be completely closed today.]

Your game will be interrupted as a result, and the system apologizes again for this incident.

To compensate all players for their losses, those who participated in this game will receive the highest possible reward at the end of the game, and the system will also provide each player with a one-time forced exit card.

Please exit the game within one minute of receiving this system notification.

I apologize again.

"?"

Upon hearing the system notification, a big question mark appeared above Lin Yu's head.

Things really did develop in a way that completely exceeded his expectations.

dong dong...

Just as Lin Yu was in a daze, there was a knock on his door.

Lin Yu frowned as he arrived at the apartment entrance.

He'd already tried to open the apartment door, and besides, what kind of monster would come knocking in this situation?

He asked in a deep voice, "Who?"

A slightly weak yet familiar voice came from outside the door, tinged with urgency: "It's me, open the door quickly, time is running out!"

Old Chen?

Lin Yu was startled.

Why is this guy here again? What is he up to? But the current unusual situation is clearly related to him.

After thinking for a moment, he went to the door and tried to open it.

Perhaps it was the chaos before the system shut down, or perhaps Old Chen used some special method, but this time, the door lock clicked open.

The door had barely opened a crack when a figure appeared before Lin Yu—it was Old Chen.

However, his appearance at this moment surprised Lin Yu slightly.

He was still wearing his oil-stained work clothes, but his face was as pale as paper, his breathing was disordered, and he looked as if he had just gone through a life-or-death battle.

"What's wrong with you?" Lin Yu asked, frowning.

"Make it quick!" Old Chen interrupted Lin Yu, speaking rapidly, but his eyes gleamed with barely suppressed excitement and emotion: "Kid, I gambled right this time! The shelter is completely finished..."

Old Chen quickly explained what had happened.

This included the system finding him, the disbanding of the shelter, and his discussions with the administrators about a new organization, without any concealment.

Lin Yu, despite having some suspicions, was still somewhat moved when he heard Old Chen confirm it in person.

How could a seemingly enormous organization collapse in such a short period of time?

The reason was simply a system message: "Disband..."

Old Chen didn't have time to pay attention to Lin Yu's sentiments; he quickly spoke up.

"Did you hear the system announcement? This world is about to be destroyed as part of the 'cleanup' of this event."

Old Chen's tone carried a hint of bitterness, but more than anything, it conveyed a sense of relief and relief.

"Erase?" Lin Yu frowned.

"That's right." Old Chen nodded, then a familiar, slightly smug smile appeared on his face: "But... I've had incredibly good luck this time!"

Because of my contributions, and perhaps because the system also felt that we awakened NPCs were worth studying, they gave me a special opportunity to become a full-fledged member!

I'm not an ordinary NPC anymore, I'm more like... well, half a system employee? Anyway, I don't have to go through the same thing as this world anymore!

"Brother, I made the right bet this time! I've fucking hit the jackpot!"

Lin Yu wasn't particularly surprised by this news.

"Well, congratulations!"

Lin Yu spoke up.

"This is all thanks to you. But never mind, now is not the time to talk about these things." Old Chen waved his hand, his face turning serious again: "Time is really running out. This world will completely collapse and disappear in less than a minute."

However, I still retain access to this world. Using this last bit of access, I've prepared a gift for you as payment for your help.

As he spoke, Old Chen did something that made Lin Yu's pupils shrink—he suddenly raised his right hand, his five fingers pressed together like a knife, and plunged it fiercely into his left chest.

puff!

There was no blood splattering as expected. Instead, Old Chen's palm seemed to be inserted into a viscous mass of dark energy, disappearing completely into his chest cavity.

His face instantly contorted in extreme pain, and his body trembled violently.

"Ugh...get the hell out here!"

Old Chen let out a low growl and suddenly pulled his hand away!

In his palm, he held a sphere the size of a billiard ball, composed entirely of deep darkness.

This sphere seemed to be the concentrated essence of the entire Nightmare Tower world, radiating terrifying energy fluctuations that sent chills down one's spine, yet strangely maintaining an extreme stability.

The moment this black sphere appeared, the entire Nightmare Tower world trembled violently.

The simulated scene outside the window shattered instantly, revealing the distorted and collapsing void outside.

Countless dense, almost impenetrable nightmare energies surged forth from every corner like rivers flowing into the sea, vying to pour into the black sphere in Old Chen's hand.

The sphere expanded rapidly at a visible speed, from the size of a table tennis ball to the size of a fist, then to the size of a volleyball... and finally stabilized at the size of a basketball. It was completely black, as if it could even devour light, and its surface flowed with an eerie dark purple luster.

Old Chen's face was already pale to the point of being transparent, and his body was swaying precariously, but he still managed to forcefully hand the black sphere the size of a basketball to Lin Yu.

"Take it...take it! This is what I created for you using the very essence of the Nightmare Mansion world...plus all my accumulated knowledge and authority...make good use of it!"

Lin Yu took the heavy sphere.

It feels cool to the touch, yet you can feel the immense power it contains.

Heart of the Nightmare World

Category: Apartment Facilities

Grade: Obsidian

Durability: Shared Apartment Durability

effect:

① Nightmare Energy Source: Provides the apartment with highly pure nightmare energy, which can be converted into any ordinary energy (including electricity, mana, magic, air, etc.) (Note: Cannot be converted into complex high-level energy systems)

② Domain Deployment - Nightmare Reincarnation: A nightmare domain is deployed within a certain range around the apartment. Creatures that enter the domain without the owner's permission will be distorted by the power of nightmares and transformed into controlled nightmare-distorted creatures.

③ Nightmare World: After placing the Heart of the World, a "small world" will be generated in the apartment. (Note ①: The small world is semi-connected to the apartment game, but can only be entered and exited from the player's apartment. Day, night, and weather are the same in the small world as in the real world, but there are spatial barriers.)

The small world contains a large amount of nightmare energy, which ordinary creatures cannot survive in. The space of the small world is limited, but it can grow by devouring space fragments.

The small world can automatically grow by absorbing surrounding spatial fragments, or it can grow by players actively investing materials and items containing spatial power.

④ Nightmare Trait: Creatures that grow in the Nightmare World (protected by the owner's authority) will be tainted by the power of nightmares, gradually gaining nightmare traits and becoming special nightmare creatures.

The material will become a special nightmare material.

⑤ Lord of Nightmares: Players who possess the Heart of the Nightmare World will gain the talent [Lord of Nightmares], and their bodies will be fully adapted to the power of nightmares, allowing them to store and manipulate nightmare power at will.

⑥ Nightmare Guardian: Players who possess the Heart of the Nightmare World will be blessed by the power of nightmares, with their mental resistance, distortion resistance, and soul resistance greatly increased. When attacked by soul-related attacks, nightmares will resist for you, and the enemies who launch the attack will be devoured by the power of nightmares.

⑦ Nightmare Spiritual World: You will be blessed by nightmares. After falling asleep, you will enter the Nightmare Spiritual World. In this world, when you engage in cultivation, learning, and training, the results will be reflected in your real body.

Description: The final gift of a world in death.

After reading the item description, even Lin Yu, who was very knowledgeable, was surprised by this extravagant "gift".

"Old Chen, this..."

Lin Yu looked at the dying Old Chen, his feelings complicated.

Old Chen forced a smile and weakly waved his hand: "Stop...stop talking nonsense...I've really made a fortune this time...I really didn't expect...the return on this investment...to be so fast, you deserve it."

He took a breath, his eyes becoming extremely serious as he stared intently at Lin Yu: "By the way, you must remember this! The containment facility is gone... but those former containment facility members who became players are still around... especially the higher-ups... their hatred for you... is absolutely irreconcilable."

They lost their power, status, privileges... all of this will definitely be blamed on you, since they dare not resent the system, so you will definitely be the one to take their anger out on them.

So... from now on... we must be careful, they... are more dangerous than the previous shelters...

Because they're players now... they'll do whatever they want as long as the rules allow it!

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire apartment shook violently, and the void outside the window began to shatter inch by inch, peeling away like a mirror.

The system's final countdown seemed to echo in my ears.

Old Chen's figure began to blur and become transparent.

"I'm leaving... kid... take care..." Old Chen took one last look at Lin Yu before his figure vanished completely into the air, as if he had never existed.

Almost simultaneously, the [Heart of Nightmare World] in Lin Yu's hand emitted a soft light, automatically flying towards the core area of ​​the apartment, pulsating slowly like a heart, and beginning to deeply merge with the apartment.

A massive surge of energy instantly filled the entire apartment space.

[Notice: Player Lin Yu, the Nightmare Mansion world is about to close. Please return to the residential area immediately.]

Lin Yu no longer hesitated, silently chanting in his heart: "Return!"

A flash of white light, and then a feeling of weightlessness.

……

When he finally stepped back onto solid ground, Lin Yu was already back in his apartment.

Outside the house is the familiar 9527 residential complex.

Inside the Taoist study, the statue of Zhenjun and the portrait of Nezha stood silently. The [World Power Core] slowly rotated on the offering platform, while the newly added [Heart of Nightmare World], like a black sun, hovered in the upper center of the living room, perfectly matching the energy cycle of the entire apartment.

Looking at the black sun, and the statues and images that were rapidly absorbing the subtle, distorted energy from the nightmare energy within the apartment.

Lin Yu felt that the core of world power seemed to be useless now, since even without using it to absorb energy, his apartment was still filled with nightmare energy.

"So, is this thing still useful?"

Lin Yu stepped forward, picked up the World Power Core, and couldn't help but stroke his chin.

Just then, the game settlement notification arrived.

[Congratulations to player Lin Yu for completing the game: Nightmare Mansion.]

[Settlement in progress...]

Based on your performance, you are awarded the following rewards:

[Game Currency: 100000] (Includes partial system compensation)

[Diamond-level Equipment Upgrade Card x1]

[Diamond-grade material: Soul of the Abyss Dragon]

[System Bonus Compensation: One-time Forced Card Deactivation x1]

【Soul of the Abyss Dragon】: A soul containing the primal power of the Abyss Dragon.

The settlement rewards are quite generous, and the diamond-level equipment upgrade cards are really tempting.

The soul of the Abyss Dragon can also be used as a sacrifice to the Dragon Vein.

But Lin Yu's attention was more focused on the newly acquired [Heart of Nightmare World].

He walked up to the black sphere and carefully felt its power.

Unlike the majestic righteousness of the Zhenjun statue and the arrogant and malevolent aura of the Nezha portrait, the power of the [Heart of the Nightmare World] leans more towards chaos, creation, and erosion.

Lin Yu stood in the center of the apartment's living room, sensing the subtle changes brought about by the gradual integration of the [Heart of the Nightmare World] with the entire apartment space.

The pure nightmare energy permeating the air was no longer as violent and chaotic as it was outside. Instead, under the constraints of some higher level of rules, it became docile and easy to guide, like a tamed torrent, continuously flowing into the apartment's energy circulation system.

It coexists quite harmoniously with the dragon energy and spiritual energy that have long existed in the apartment, and there is no rejection phenomenon.

He tried to circulate the "Divine Fire Heart Sutra" and found that the originally extremely yang and strong heart fire, after absorbing a small amount of nightmare energy that had been initially transformed by the "Heart of Nightmare World", was not only not polluted, but also gained a mysterious quality, becoming more agile and corrosive.

"It really is a good product." A hint of satisfaction flashed in Lin Yu's eyes.