Chapter 34

Luoxi—undoubtedly experienced and battle-hardened, someone who had clawed his way up from the lowest rank of junior streamer to where he was now—likely no longer held even the slightest illusions about human nature.

—At least, that was what Xiyu had always believed. His reason for teaming up with Luoxi was purely due to their complementary abilities. He had never expected Luoxi to repeatedly act so... warm. Whether it was giving up the gem fragments last night or handing over the doll tonight, none of it matched the persona Luoxi was supposed to have. So, why?

With that lingering confusion, Xiyu once again entered the warm and cozy safehouse.

Compared to his previous fairy-tale-themed little house, the room that originally belonged to Luoxi was much more tech-themed. Small electric cars and airplanes were scattered everywhere, and the pretty wallpaper was decorated with galaxies and outer space.

Just as Xiyu was coming to his senses, he heard a broadcast announcement:

[Little Xiyu, your current score is 12 points. Keep it up!]

Xiyu blinked and turned to look for the doll.

That cute little lion was perched on a continuously spinning spaceship, looking extremely dizzy. It toppled over in a very ungraceful heap before awkwardly getting back up and saying, “Oh-ho! We’ve got an adorable little guest!”

Xiyu bent down, skeptical. “What kind of safehouse lets outsiders in? Don’t you need to find Luoxi?”

The lion hopped up onto a chair and sat in front of him. “You two have a team token. Sharing benefits is a teammate privilege.”

Xiyu asked, “So that means if I had someone else’s doll, I wouldn’t be able to get in?”

“Of course not!” the lion laughed heartily. “Xiyu baby, you must be hungry. Eat up and get a good night’s sleep!”

Xiyu glanced at the delicious-looking food on the table, quickly grabbed a piece of bread and devoured it, then stuffed another into his coat and turned to make a break for it.

The lion swiftly blocked his path. “No leaving! The ghosts will get you!”

Xiyu fully understood Luoxi’s concerns. Now that someone had clearly set a trap for him, staying put was the safest option.

But leaving danger to others wasn’t in Xiyu’s nature. Without hesitation, he tossed the lion behind him, said nothing, and flung open the door to dash into the darkness!

The corridors of the orphanage reeked more strongly of corpses than the night before, the stench so heavy it weighed down the mood.

Xiyu looked around and realized he was on the top floor. Just as he was about to find Luoxi and bring him some food, the bread he had hidden in his coat turned to ashes and vanished.

...So, items from the safehouse couldn’t be taken outside?

If the person who destroyed his doll knew that, then even if they couldn’t kill him directly, they could simply sit back and watch him starve and collapse.Xiyu, still shaken, didn’t linger in place. He quickly moved forward relying on memory, trying to reunite with Luoxi as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Luoxi, who had lost his doll, entered the orphanage through the main gate and immediately ran into the ghostly nun.

But with his wealth of escape experience, he wasn’t the least bit afraid. In just a few minutes, he shook off that troublesome enemy and began casually wandering the dim corridors.

Luoxi had never been one for playing dumb mind games like "raising gu." His philosophy was that if you know there's danger, you must eliminate it at the root.

So seeing Xiyu being mindlessly targeted, Luoxi naturally decided to seek out the prime suspect, Duli, and kick her out of the game.

And sure enough, persistence paid off. Pinocchio’s strange silhouette appeared on the second floor.

That was Duli’s doll, which meant she had already left her safehouse and entered the game, and she was nearby.

Luoxi loosened up his wrists, picked up a wooden stick along the way, and prepared to strike.

Unfortunately, Duli wasn’t acting recklessly tonight. She was accompanied by last night’s Wujunhong and another thin, sycophantic male streamer.

Wujunhong had already taken on the role of leader. In a lowered voice, he said, “There must be ways to pass the mini-games without casualties. So when we encounter one, let’s look out for each other. As long as our score region is higher than others, we won’t be eliminated.”

The other male streamer grinned, “Of course, I’ll follow your lead.”

Duli hushed them, “Keep it down, do you want to attract a ghost?”

Luoxi listened as they drew closer. Considering it would be hard to take on three people in a child’s body, he shelved his plan for now and quietly climbed atop a cabinet.

The trio passed by completely unaware.

Wujunhong reassured them, “Everyone already shared their info during the day. There’s only one nun. Though she can teleport around, as long as we split up and run, it won’t be too dangerous.”

Luoxi silently pursed his lips, remembering the poor streamer this guy had abandoned last night.

Wujunhong continued, “Up ahead is the dorm area. Yesterday I saw two little girls hiding there playing cat’s cradle. I didn’t approach them rashly, but with more people tonight, let’s try our luck!”

Duli, clearly most interested in gem fragments, happily agreed, “Let’s go!”

Just then, a distant scream from a girl suddenly rang out.

The three timid ones froze and looked at each other in alarm.Duli said with a quiver in her voice, “The ghost is on this floor. I’ll come back later.”

With that, she left Wujunhong and the other streamer behind and turned down another hallway on her own.

Xiyu, who had just reached the second floor, also heard the commotion—but his reaction was far braver. He immediately grabbed a broom as a weapon and strode off to investigate.

Turns out, the scream came from that little girl Lanyu, whose name slightly resembled his.

Running for their lives alongside Lanyu was none other than Zhao Zhusheng.

Xiyu ran right into them and hid at a corner to observe. Seeing the ghost nun closing in fast on the girl streamer, he finally made up his mind—he dashed out, hurled the broom straight at the nun, and pulled Lanyu toward him. “Hurry!”

Lanyu was clearly running out of stamina—her round little face was soaked in sweat.

But the strength passed through Xiyu’s grasp gave her renewed support. She clenched her teeth and managed to widen the gap between herself and the ghost nun by several meters!

A child’s body is fragile, but ghosts don’t tire.

If they kept being pursued like this, something would definitely go wrong.

Though Xiyu looked like he was playing the hero saving the damsel, he actually had a different plan. As he ran, he subtly glanced back at Zhao Zhusheng—then suddenly knocked over a nearby garbage bin with his arm, tripping the already exhausted Zhao Zhusheng!

Unexpectedly, just as his scheme succeeded, a small figure suddenly leapt down from above!

The figure slammed an iron bucket squarely onto the nun’s head—who else could it be but Luoxi?!

Xiyu was stunned: “……”

Luoxi: “……”

The flustered Zhao Zhusheng scrambled to his feet, too panicked to even curse, and bolted past them all.

Lanyu’s shout snapped everyone back to their senses: “Run!”

Failing to coordinate, Xiyu and Luoxi grabbed her at the same time and charged forward!

At that moment, something even stranger happened.

All four of them suddenly lost their footing and fell, plunging straight into a dimension shrouded in black mist!What the hell...

Xiyu was the first to get up, panting as he looked around, and only then realized they were in an activated game room.

Wujunhong and his skinny lackey were standing not far off, looking rather stunned.

Zhao Zhusheng lay exhausted on the floor, gasping, “W-what just happened?”

Wujunhong adjusted his thick bottle-bottom glasses. “Wang Qi and I activated the game room. There weren’t enough participants, so the NPC pulled in those of you nearby. The game room is essentially a separate instance—it’s not in the same space as the welfare home.”

“As long as there are no ghosts, I don’t care,” Lanyu said, finally catching her breath. She tidied her chin-length bob and gave Xiyu a serious nod. “Thanks for earlier.”

“No need. I had some strength to spare,” Xiyu replied. He had a bit of an impression of this girl—she’d previously mocked the goddess Feiling for relying too much on donations to upgrade chip slots. A bold and outspoken type.

Zhao Zhusheng, having recovered some strength, sneered. “Help? Looked to me like you were trying to get me killed.”

Xiyu didn’t believe the guy could keep targeting him for no reason. He returned the sneer but didn’t bother to respond further.

Luoxi, who hadn’t said a word the whole time, glanced at everyone and suddenly steered the conversation back to the matter at hand. “What’s the game about?”

As if in response, a childish voice echoed from the center of the black mist: “Big sis, they’re so noisy.”

Another little girl giggled. “Of course, little sis. Not everyone can be as well-behaved as you.”

Xiyu vaguely made out two tiny figures and couldn’t help glancing at Luoxi.

But Luoxi ignored him completely and turned away in a huff.

Xiyu pressed his lips together and simply pretended he didn’t exist.

The two little voices came closer and closer until they finally emerged from the mist and appeared before the six of them—twin girls who looked almost identical.

They were adorably delicate, like porcelain dolls, but their clothing was so tattered and discolored it emitted a faint scent of blood.

Xiyu asked, “Hello—do you have any gemstone fragments?”

One of the girls stretched out her hand. “Of course we do.”

The other did the same. “We have lots.”Three sparkling crystalline shards lay calmly in the palms of their hands.

Wujunhong coughed twice, pushed past everyone, and stood at the front: “Could you tell us how we can obtain those fragments?”

One of the little girls blinked. “Only sisters with deep affection for each other can get the fragments. Are you?”

Luoxi was speechless. “We are... I guess…”

The other girl smiled sweetly. “Really? Sis, let’s test them.”

The twin sister nodded. “Being sisters means caring for each other!”

As she spoke, she clapped her hands.

Instantly, six circular platforms appeared out of nowhere on the previously empty floor, lifting each of them into the air. Then, three wooden pedestals floated up in succession, each bearing a bright red button.

The younger sister approached the group, her face full of innocent joy. “Let’s play a five-round game!”

The older sister joined her side. “In each round, you’ll be randomly paired as three sets of sisters.”

The younger nodded. “In the five rounds, each of you will have 5 drops of blood.”

The older sister grinned, showing her teeth. “Older sisters have to let the younger ones go first—so only the younger sisters can press the button in each round!”

The younger looked pitiful. “If the younger sister presses the button, the older sister will lose 2 drops of blood, but the younger sister gains 2 points.”

The older sister gently grabbed her sister’s arm. “If the younger sister doesn’t press it, she only loses 1 drop of blood, and the older sister only gets 1 point.”

The younger nodded hard. “After five rounds, the top three scorers can take the gemstone fragments!”

The older sister softly shook her head. “But if your blood drops to 0 or below... you’ll die!”

The streamers: “………………”

Just as all six stood silently, each harboring their own schemes, three highly decayed, hulking corpses suddenly sprang up beside the wooden button pedestals. They were dressed in clothes resembling missionaries from that era—and each corpse held a nearly one-meter-long chainsaw in hand. Clearly, they were the enforcers.

Lanyu’s breath quickened. “Do we have to take turns being the older and younger sister?”

The older sister smiled. “Each round is completely random—depending on our mood!”The younger sister also laughed: “Being the older or younger sister is fate—how could we possibly let you choose?”

At that, the players' expressions grew even darker.

Xiyu silently thought: If you disregard relationships, then of course, as the younger sister, you should press the button to deal two drops of blood damage to the other person. But what if the other person is Luoxi? Then, as the younger sister, I can’t press it—it’s better to take one drop of damage myself. The awkward part of this game is… you can’t predict who your partner will be, or what role you’ll get—there’s no pattern at all…

Luoxi finally spoke up and called out to Lanyu: “Hey, girl, how about the three of us form an alliance? Not asking to all win gemstones, but let’s try to make sure all three of us get out alive.”

Here, Lanyu was the most isolated. Thinking back to how Xiyu had saved her in the hallway earlier, she immediately nodded.

Nearby, Zhao Zhusheng also rolled his eyes, then looked toward Wujunhong.

Wujunhong adjusted his ugly glasses and smiled, revealing thin, sharp teeth: “Then let’s form an alliance too. If we get the chance, we’ll wipe them out.”

Luoxi immediately let out a smug, provoking laugh.

The two NPC sisters, like little psychopaths, clapped their hands together: “Alright, if everyone understands the rules, then let’s start right away!”

Xiyu took a deep breath. “Wait a minute!”

The younger sister looked puzzled.

Luoxi asked directly for him: “What if someone dies before the five rounds are over—does the game still continue?”

The older sister nodded. “Of course it continues! If there aren’t enough people, my sister and I can fill in. No more wasting time!”

In an instant, all six of them vanished from their spots and were immediately relocated in pairs next to the three pedestals.

Xiyu was paired with Lanyu, Wang Qi with Zhao Zhusheng, and Wujunhong with Luoxi.

The younger twin sister skipped around in circles beside them: “Let me see now—who’s the younger sister?”

In a flash, the discs beneath Xiyu, Wang Qi, and Wujunhong lit up with pink light, while a glowing indicator of five red blood droplets appeared above everyone’s head.

Wujunhong narrowed his eyes at Luoxi and, without hesitation, slammed his hand down on the red button!

The missionary corpse waiting nearby immediately raised its chainsaw and slashed hard across Luoxi’s back!

Luoxi nearly fell to his knees, his breathing suddenly ragged, and two of the red droplets above his head disappeared instantly.The younger twin sister cried as she threw herself into her older sister’s arms: “So scary, so scary! He’s bleeding!”

Luoxi gripped the platform to steady himself, muttering a silent curse.

The older twin sister consoled her: “Older sisters are supposed to sacrifice for their younger sisters—that’s how it should be.”

Seeing Luoxi already injured, Zhao Zhusheng, who was also in the “older sister” role, quickly tried to persuade Wang Qi, forcing a bitter smile: “If the younger sister gets hurt, it’s only one drop. Take the hit for me—if we save our strength, we’ll last longer in the game.”

Wang Qi, thin as a stick and already scared out of his wits, stammered, “I—I only cooperate with Brother Wu. Stop adding drama to yourself!”

With that, he closed his eyes and pressed the button.

Zhao Zhusheng had no time to resist before the missionary corpse slashed down hard, costing him two drops of blood—his wound deep enough to expose bone.

As the only girl in the group, Lanyu was so frightened she nearly fainted. She looked blankly at Xiyu, who seemed even more delicate and adorable than she was: “A-Are we really allied?”

Xiyu stayed silent, then looked toward the already-injured Luoxi.

Luoxi turned his head away arrogantly again: “You’ve got good judgment. Even though I suggested the alliance, I’ll let you decide.”

Xiyu looked into Lanyu’s frightened eyes: “Can you keep your word? In every round, will you act based on minimizing harm to the three of us, so we can all get out alive?”

Lanyu nodded frantically.

Xiyu lowered his hand. “Alright. Then I won’t press it!”

As soon as he said that, the missionary raised the chainsaw and drove it into his stomach.

As blood gushed out, one of the glowing blood droplets above Xiyu’s head vanished instantly.

Lanyu’s hands trembled as she clasped them tightly.

The younger twin sister sniffled and said, “End of round one. Wang Qi and Wu Junhong each have 2 points. Lanyu has 1 point. Two younger sisters pressed the button.”

“Not bad. Older sisters really do have to endure more,” the older sister nodded. “Let’s start the next round quickly.”