Chapter 20: The Crossroads

But the child did not continue that story.

Instead, it abruptly began singing something else.

“Ten little black boys set out in search of food.”

“One choked to death beyond all help, ten became nine.”

“Nine little black boys stayed awake deep into the night.”

“One lay down and slept to death, nine became eight.”

Why is it Mother Goose again?

Zhou You frowned, but still followed the instructions hidden in the song, lifting his leg and jumping forward.

After that, the child sang more than a dozen additional rhymes in succession.

Most of them were famous dark nursery rhymes from around the world.

But the pace became faster and faster.

And dealing with them became increasingly difficult for Zhou You.

Fortunately, he managed to hold on.

However, just as he was about to reach the exit, the child’s voice suddenly changed again.

This time, though, it was no longer a solo performance.

The grotesque faces on the walls suddenly broke free of their restraints and began singing alongside it.

As a result, the nursery rhyme instantly became chaotic and horrifying.

All the voices seemed to take physical form and forcefully cram themselves into his ears.

Just listening to a few lines was enough to provoke an overwhelming urge to vomit.

“All the children were taken there.”

“That was the Great Lord’s mansion.”

“The house was dark and lightless, stained with blood wherever one looked.”

“Even the solemn bodhisattva statue had already been draped in a deep crimson robe.”

“The children were terrified by the sight and cried endlessly.”

“Yet at that very moment.”

“They suddenly heard a voice say.”

“Do not be afraid, do not be afraid.”

“Because very soon, we shall become one.”

When the deafening chorus finally ceased, a system notification sounded.

“You have suffered corruption. Sanity reduced. Current sanity: 80/100.”

Holy crap, the difficulty increased? And you didn’t even give a warning?!

Gritting his teeth and enduring the dizziness caused by the loss of sanity, Zhou You finally found an image of a fused body just before the time limit expired and jumped onto it.

“After that.”

“The Great Lord finally received the reward he had long desired.”

“But even that was not enough.”

“It would never be enough.”

“So if more could not be brought in.”

“Then the next one would be himself.”

“You have suffered corruption. Sanity reduced. Current sanity: 75/100.”

The dizziness grew increasingly severe.

Zhou You felt as though he were beginning to hallucinate again.

Layer upon layer of rotten flesh emerged throughout the alley.

The flesh piled upon itself again and again until it formed a bizarre face.

For some reason, he felt that face looked familiar.

But there was no time to think about it.

After quickly looking around, he finally found a suitable “lord”, an image of a plump wealthy gentleman, and hurriedly jumped onto it.

The alley’s exit was already within reach.

But obviously, his opponent had no intention of letting him escape so easily.

Thus the final nursery rhyme began.

“And so the children grew fewer and fewer.”

“Until one day there were no more to be had.”

“The Great Lord could only start a fire.”

“And destroy all the evidence.”

“But things would not end so simply.”

“So who will be next?”

The voice paused.

Then the child, the faces, the walls, and even the floor all began laughing wildly together.

“It’s you, it’s you, it’s you!”

The song had become a tsunami.

Even his brain felt as though it were being stirred into mush.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible for anyone to escape now.

But Zhou You suddenly grinned.

Though it was always overlooked and forgotten, he possessed a skill that ignored sanity damage.

“Selfless Meditation, activate.”

The muddled state of his mind instantly returned to normal.

Zhou You gave the surroundings a quick glance and immediately chose his target.

It was a face depicting himself.

He leaped forward with all his strength.

Then the surroundings instantly fell silent.

Turning around, Zhou You discovered that all the faces had already retreated.

The alley had returned to its dark and gloomy appearance.

The child standing at the other end had also stopped singing.

The cruel smile had vanished from its face, but no other expression replaced it.

It merely looked at Zhou You indifferently for a moment.

Then, when the wind blew, it scattered like ash.

“Congratulations, player, for completing the side quest: Escape.”

“Player has obtained a green temporary talent: Basic Acting.”

“Effect: During interactions with others, you may use acting skills to forcibly conceal your emotional fluctuations, preventing others from becoming suspicious of you.”

[Fooling people is a skill. Fooling ghosts is an even greater skill. Right now, you’ve only learned a tiny fraction of it.]

“Game progress has been automatically saved.”

“The night patrol mission is now halfway complete. Please continue your efforts and strive to complete this scenario as soon as possible.”

Hearing these words did not reassure Zhou You.

Instead, his expression became somewhat strange.

The mission had indeed been completed.

But the questions that came with it had only multiplied.

First, the Great Lord’s identity was basically confirmed. He was the city’s wealthy tycoon surnamed Liu, and also the mastermind behind everything. But how could a mere human create a scenario like this?

Second, what was the voice the children heard inside the mansion? Was it related to the bodhisattva statue? And what exactly did becoming one mean?

Third, the Great Lord appeared to have received some sort of reward through those children. But why did the rhyme later say that if he failed to bring in more children, he himself would become the next sacrifice?

There were now considerably more clues than before.

Unfortunately, just as had been said earlier, there was still no key piece capable of linking them all together.

“It looks like the deeper I go into this scenario, the more things it reveals. Forget it. There’s no point thinking about it right now. I’d better continue this patrol first.”

With that thought, Zhou You looked ahead.

Beyond the alley lay a crossroads.

According to the patrol map, any direction from this intersection would eventually lead to the final destination, Longsong Slope.

It looked very simple and carried no special markings whatsoever.

But...

“This is obviously making me gamble on luck, isn’t it?”

One path forward, one to the left, and one to the right.

Three roads, one choice.

And then he had to gamble on whether he could pick the safe route.

Zhou You had always disliked games that depended entirely on luck.

For some reason, whenever chance was involved, his luck was consistently terrible.

But since the scenario had been designed this way, he had no choice but to follow along.

“Men go left, women go right, monsters take the middle. As for me... I’ll go left first.”

Having made his choice, Zhou You walked straight into the left-hand road.

The night grew increasingly dark.

Within this decaying district, only the faint rustling sounds from the apartment corridors continued drifting into his ears.

Having already completed several patrols, Zhou You had become much more accustomed to the environment.

His pace remained steady, and he quickly covered half the distance.

Unfortunately, how did that saying go?

Things never turn out exactly as one wishes.

Zhou You’s assessment of his own luck had never been wrong.

The moment he passed around a corner, the bell on his wrist suddenly rang.

And then he saw something he absolutely did not want to see.

A woman in a white dress sat in the middle of the road.

She hugged her knees and appeared to be crying.

But beneath the illumination of the streetlamp...

She cast no shadow.