Free Web NovelLiu Huai’s voice came through the phone, sounding as though he were desperately suppressing some emotion.
“...Jiayi, can I come pick you up now? I want to see you.”
The indifference on Liu Jiayi’s face softened visibly, and her tone became much brighter.
“But Gege, the Welfare Home won’t arrange the pairings until tomorrow, and the doors won’t open until then. Can you wait for me until tomorrow? We’ll see each other tomorrow!”
“...Someone told me about a tunnel leading into the Welfare Home, so I came through it.” Liu Huai closed his eyes. His throat bobbed, and his voice choked despite himself. “...My health points have dropped to 1. I might not last until tomorrow, Jiayi. Before I die, I want to see you one last time.”
Liu Jiayi’s breathing stopped for two seconds.
Her expression froze instantly, layer by layer, like ice sealing over.
She tightened her grip on the phone. Liu Jiayi did not even notice that Liu Huai had used a test term like “health points” directly in front of her. She only asked quickly, “How did they drop that low?! Where are you right now?!”
Shouldn’t Liu Huai have been safely staying in the hospital?!
Even if Liu Huai had given up hunting for her blood and reached a cooperation with Bai Liu to protect the children, with Liu Huai’s personal skill, his health should never have fallen this far, whether against monsters or Miao Feichi. If he could not win, Liu Huai’s skill was perfectly suited for fleeing and hiding.
Given Liu Huai’s personality, he hated being controlled by others. Under her hints, Liu Huai had also understood that Bai Liu relied on items to control people, and that he needed the other party’s consent. Since Liu Huai knew the many limitations of Bai Liu’s skill, he should not—and could not—have been so easily controlled by Bai Liu, let alone used until he had only one health point left.
What exactly had happened last night?!
Why had Liu Huai’s health points fallen to only 1?!
A Liu Huai with only 1 health point was practically bait, deliberately placed by an opponent who understood her temperament extremely well in order to lure her out.
The thought flashed through Liu Jiayi’s mind, but it was quickly interrupted by Liu Huai’s weak voice.
“I’m in the chapel.”
If she did not go treat Liu Huai tonight and prolong his life, Liu Huai would definitely die.
Liu Jiayi realized this at once.
“Okay, Gege, stay in the chapel and don’t move.” Liu Jiayi took a deep breath. She paced anxiously back and forth, forcing herself to calm down, though the hand holding the phone was shaking violently. “Wait for Jiayi to come, okay? Jiayi is coming right now!”
Liu Huai’s voice became even softer.
“Can I really wait until you arrive, Jiayi?”
Liu Jiayi’s eyes reddened. She gritted her teeth.
“You can. Gege, believe in Jiayi. I definitely won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll be there right away!!”
There was a very, very long silence on Liu Huai’s end before he spoke in a voice so faint it was almost inaudible.
“I believe you, Jiayi.”
After the call ended, Mu Ke anxiously leaned over and asked Liu Huai, “How was it? Did Liu Jiayi suspect you? Will she come?”
Liu Huai slowly and stiffly shook his head.
“...She didn’t suspect me.”
He paused, then added, “She seemed... panicked.”
“Panicking means she cares about you. She should come.” Bai Liu touched his chin thoughtfully. “But she won’t come without making preparations. The chapel is a safe zone for her, so choosing this place might lower her guard a little.”
He paused slightly.
“But with Liu Jiayi’s level of caution, I think even if she’s panicked, she may still create new variables once she gets close.”
Liu Jiayi hurried through the night of the Welfare Home, her expression grave.
The black witch’s robe that symbolized her identity and poison was gone. In its place were the ordinary clothes worn by every child in the Welfare Home.
Liu Jiayi opened her system panel and warehouse. The system interface was projected directly onto the conscious layer of her mind, allowing her to “see” it.
After checking her system warehouse and personal panel, her delicate, slender brows knitted tighter and tighter.
[System Warehouse: Player Liu Jiayi, your visualization-type items are about to run out. Your demand for this item is high, and it belongs to the daily necessity category. Please replenish it in time.]
[System Hint: Player Liu Jiayi, because your personal skill is rather special within “Love Welfare Home,” the following restrictions have been imposed on you after entering the game for game balance—]
[...The cooldown time of your personal skill “Antidote” has been extended from 1 hour to 6 hours...]
[...You possess “Universal Blood”...]
This long list of restrictions was something Liu Jiayi often encountered when playing games. Because her personal skill was special, she was always restricted by the dog-shit system in all kinds of dog-shit ways.
The dog-shit system needed to lock in the death rate in order to distinguish difficulty. If the Little Witch’s healing skill existed in the game, the death rate would be very difficult to stabilize, so the system would do everything it could to nerf her.
In order to maximize Liu Jiayi’s skill, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ the Kings Guild had racked its brains for many solutions, including pairing her with various control-type players to share the death rate and reduce the restrictions placed on her skill.
But it was hard to say how effective that had been, because Zhang Kui had died before they could practice much.
Normally, when Liu Jiayi saw these restrictions, she would sweep past them without the slightest change in expression. She was already used to being nerfed like this.
But this time, Liu Jiayi could not look at these restrictions so calmly.
Her “gaze” lingered on the second and third items for several seconds, and she could not help cursing.
“System, I fuck your father!”
[System Hint: Underage players are prohibited from cursing. A filter has been applied for you: System, I * your father.]
Liu Jiayi took a deep breath and stopped looking at the infuriating system panel.
Because of the poisonous mushroom debuff, she had just used Antidote on herself at around 5:30 PM. That was her healing skill. Under normal circumstances, its cooldown was one hour.
But because health points were the core clearing data of this game, the system had extended her Antidote cooldown to six hours.
This meant she could not use it again until after 11:30 PM, frighteningly close to midnight on Thursday—the “Critically Ill Day.”
Liu Jiayi was both irritable and worried. Her footsteps quickened even more.
After nine o’clock, the Deformed Children would begin wandering through the Welfare Home, chasing them. These children were corpses, cold things. Liu Jiayi did not have many visualization items left, so she temporarily refrained from using them.
Although she could not see, her hearing was excellent. After living in this Welfare Home for some time, she was also extremely familiar with the map.
The noises the Deformed Children made as they moved were quite loud. Relying on those sounds to locate them, Liu Jiayi tilted her head or sidestepped, calmly avoiding them. She looked nothing like the bedraggled mess she had been when they chased her before.
When she was only about a hundred meters away from the chapel, Liu Jiayi slipped into a corner to avoid a Deformed Child behind her.
She leaned against the wall, eyes closed, panting softly as she steadied her heartbeat and breathing. During this brief rest before reaching her destination, her mind once again began uncontrollably questioning whether the information Liu Huai had given her was real.
Did Liu Huai really have only 1 health point left?
How had he found a tunnel in the Welfare Home that even she did not know about?
Liu Jiayi had an extremely strong feeling that she was being lured into a trap—the same feeling she had felt when Queen of Hearts had lured her into using an item to join the guild.
She knew something was wrong.
But the bait inside the trap was her Ge.
The person who designed this trap understood her very well.
Even if it was a trap, she would definitely jump into it.
But more than this being a trap, Liu Jiayi was even more afraid of another possibility: that Liu Huai was not the bait in the trap, but one of its participants—and even its leader.
She did not want to doubt Liu Huai.
But she could not help it.
This suspicion, corroded deep into her bones and blood by her cruel upbringing, had saved Liu Jiayi’s life many times in moments of crisis. She was naturally suited to this malicious game where no one could trust anyone.
Liu Jiayi was undoubtedly the person in the world who most wanted Liu Huai to live.
For that goal, she could risk her life to save him. She could trade her death for his survival.
But Liu Huai could not take the initiative to harm her.
In the cold night wind, Liu Jiayi took two deep breaths, her brows tightly furrowed. Such a grave expression carried a heavy sense of incongruity on her young face.
Liu Jiayi hesitated for a long time.
Finally, she reached her thin hand into her coat pocket and took out a droplet-shaped glass bottle containing a surging transparent liquid. On the glass bottle was a line of ornate text:
[Psyche].
[System Hint: Does player Liu Jiayi wish to use the item “Psyche’s Tears”? After use, this item will guide you, hesitant in the darkness, showing you how to choose and leading you toward the ending indicated by the gods.]
[Item Rating: Transcendent category item, possessing divine power comparable to the gods of fate.]
[The system has detected that player Liu Jiayi has already used this item. Continued use can strengthen the item’s effect. Do you wish to continue?]
Liu Jiayi’s hand slowly tightened around the bottle.
She lowered her head and looked at the liquid surging like tears inside it, her breathing rapid.
Her mind recalled the time Liu Huai had been controlled by Zhang Kui and had harmed Mu Shicheng—his devastated, tear-streaked face.
It also recalled what that woman, Queen of Hearts, had said to her when she gave her this item. freewёbnoνel.com
Queen of Hearts had leaned back on the sofa, her limbs languidly stretched out, looking at Liu Jiayi, who had come to find her.
“Ah, you’re saying that after you used this item, the things it guided you to do ended up harming Liu Huai? So you doubt whether this item can help you achieve your goal?”
Queen of Hearts smiled.
“Little Witch, this is a transcendent item given by the system. Its effect cannot be wrong. Also, have you heard the story of Psyche?”
Queen of Hearts propped up her chin and smiled.
“Psyche was a very suspicious and beautiful woman. She was so beautiful that she aroused the jealousy of Venus, the goddess of beauty and love. Because of that jealousy, Venus wanted to torment Psyche. She ordered her son, Cupid, the god of love, to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest beast in the world. Terrible parents, aren’t they? Making their own child do something like that.”
“With parents like that, one can’t help wondering whether Cupid was a bad person too. After all, it seems Cupid often stood by and even helped Venus do bad things.”
Queen of Hearts’ voice softened.
“But Cupid suddenly seemed to change. He was unwilling to do that to innocent Psyche.”
“He suddenly saved Psyche and even hid her away, treating her very, very well. He only blindfolded Psyche, making her blind in front of him so she could not see what kind of person he truly was.”
“That made Psyche intensely doubt whether the person who loved her was an ugly beast or a god who had come to save her. This suspicion tormented her day and night. On one hand, she did not want to remove the cloth over her eyes and harm Cupid, who loved her and had saved her from suffering. On the other hand, she could not help thinking: What if he is a beast pretending to be a normal person in order to deceive me?”
Queen of Hearts rose from her seat, a faint, elegant smile on her face. She reached out and touched Liu Jiayi’s misty eyes with one finger.
“In the end, suspicion defeated Psyche. She removed the cloth covering her eyes and saw Cupid’s true face. Unfortunately, Cupid was also hurt by Psyche’s suspicion and flew back to heaven. Psyche was tormented day and night by pain and guilt, shedding tears.”
“But do you know how this story ends?”
Queen of Hearts chuckled in a low, bewitching voice. She placed the droplet-shaped glass bottle filled with tears into Liu Jiayi’s palm and whispered, “Psyche went through countless hardships and brought Cupid back from heaven. They lived happily ever after.”
Queen of Hearts lowered her eyes. Her snow-white arms wrapped around Liu Jiayi’s neck from behind as she bent down and whispered into her ear.
“Darling, suspicion is not some terrible sin. Psyche ended up with Cupid too.”
“Suspicion is the antidote that reveals the other person’s true purpose. Only then can you be together forever, without any grievances, right?”
“When you waver in doubt, drink these tears and ask Psyche, who gained happiness through suspicion. Psyche, who has already become a goddess, will tell you what to do.”
In the end, Liu Jiayi had accepted the item [Psyche’s Tears] from Queen of Hearts.
But because using it clearly harmed Liu Huai, she became even more cautious with it.
Although the results of that harm did seem to bring her and Liu Huai closer each time—which matched exactly what Queen of Hearts had said.
But Liu Jiayi did not want to see Liu Huai in pain.
She had seen Liu Huai’s expression of utter despair once before—the time he had been forced to attack Mu Shicheng.
When Liu Huai logged out of that game in which he had nearly killed Mu Shicheng, the hollow, sightless look in his eyes had made Liu Jiayi feel an emptiness in her heart.
She felt it very strongly.
A newly sprouted part of Liu Huai’s emotional world had been permanently stripped away because of her suspicion.
Liu Huai would never have friends again.
Liu Jiayi had destroyed the possibility of him having friends.
After that, Liu Jiayi controlled the number of times she used this item, and she restrained her suspicion toward Liu Huai.
She hoped that one day, she would never need to use this item again.
But this time.
This time—
Liu Jiayi pressed her lips tightly together. A visible struggle appeared on her face.
Suspicion and fear tormented her.
She was like the blindfolded Psyche, wanting to know whether the Liu Huai waiting for her in the chapel was a god who had come to save her, or a beast wearing human skin, waiting to tear her apart.
Queen of Hearts’ smiling voice seemed to drift past her ear.
“Suspicion is your antidote, Jiayi. Drink it.”
Her hands trembled around the droplet-shaped glass bottle. The tears inside pressed coldly against her palm, making her want to shiver.
Liu Jiayi had no time to hesitate for long.
She took a deep breath, cupped the droplet-shaped bottle in both hands, lowered her head until her chin rested against her clenched fingers, and said softly, “I want to use the item.”
Her thin back bent forward. Her lips pressed against her thumbs. Her posture was as devout as a young girl praying for a god’s favor.
[System Hint: Player Liu Jiayi has confirmed use of the item “Psyche’s Tears.” Item loading...]
The liquid inside the bottle in Liu Jiayi’s palm began to sink and disappear.
She could not help closing her eyes.
A single tear slid automatically from the corner of her eye.
That was Psyche’s tear.
When she opened her eyes again, Liu Jiayi felt a strange sense of premonition.
She opened her system warehouse and, driven by an extremely strong intuition, used a visualization item she had originally intended to save for her final escape—
[Serpent Night-Vision Pupil].
[System Hint: Player Liu Jiayi has used the item “Serpent Night-Vision Pupil.” You can view surrounding organisms using thermal imaging technology. Duration: 12 hours. Uses: 1.]
A layer like a contact lens appeared over Liu Jiayi’s eyes, with vertical pupils like those of a snake in the dark.
Wearing the item, Liu Jiayi looked toward the chapel dozens of meters away, faintly visible in the night.
She was just about to walk over.
But the moment she raised her head and looked, it was as though a needle had been driven straight into her eyes.
With those cold-blooded animal eyes, Liu Jiayi froze in place.
Psyche removed her blindfold and saw the handsome Cupid.
Liu Jiayi put on her “glasses” and saw the Liu Huai who had deceived her.
She could clearly see the thermal images of four people inside the chapel dozens of meters away.
That meant Liu Huai was not alone in the chapel.
Besides Liu Huai, there were at least three other people there. From the way the four of them moved, there were no obvious signs of coercion. They were leaning on and supporting one another, clearly in a cooperative relationship.
Several players were waiting for her in one place.
And her Gege had not mentioned a single word about it.
The cold night wind blew across Liu Jiayi’s face. She felt her breathing and expression go numb, and her originally feverish mind was cooled by the wind. Only then did Liu Jiayi begin to notice many inconsistencies from earlier.
Liu Jiayi slowly took out her phone.
She blinked her hollow, dark-gray eyes, forcing back the liquid that was about to spill from them. With no emotion on her face, she dialed Liu Huai’s number. Yet her voice trembled with fear, completely unlike her expression.
“Hello, Gege. I’m almost at the chapel, but it’s too dark. I can’t see... Can you come out alone to meet me?”
“Yes. Alone.”
There was a long silence on the other end.
As the call connected, Liu Jiayi saw one figure unsteadily rise to his feet.
That person had no arms.
Someone else was supporting him.
Liu Jiayi’s chest began rising and falling more quickly again. She desperately suppressed the impulse to run toward the chapel, her nails digging deep into her palms.
Liu Huai had no arms!!
Liu Jiayi stared fixedly at the thermal image supporting Liu Huai.
Bai Liu.
That person was definitely Bai Liu.
“Gege, can you come out?” Liu Jiayi asked in a low voice, standing before the chapel with her thoughts in chaos.
The breathing on the other end quickened for an instant, then slowed again.
“I can, Jiayi. Where are you? I’ll come outside and find you.”
Liu Jiayi gave him a location, saying there were children chasing her. She cried for Liu Huai to hurry over, then hung up.
Bai Liu had been the one holding the phone for Liu Huai.
After the phone was put down, Liu Huai turned to look at Bai Liu.
Bai Liu’s expression was thoughtful.
“Liu Jiayi guessed that something is wrong inside the chapel. After calming down, she’s still doubting you, Liu Huai.”
“I know.” Liu Huai lowered his head and glanced left and right at the stumps of his arms. He moved what remained of them slightly and gave a bitter smile. “I don’t know whether she’ll trust me a little more when I go out and she sees I became like this for her.”
Bai Liu did not answer Liu Huai.
Because he thought that was unlikely.
“I’ll go out alone.”
Just as Liu Huai was about to leave, Bai Liu reached out and pulled him back.
Bai Liu looked at Liu Huai.
“We’ll follow you out.”
Liu Huai was stunned. He was just about to object when Bai Liu explained coldly, “It’s already nine o’clock. Soon, monsters like the Pied Piper Child will emerge from the exit beneath the statue. Although those monsters won’t harm children, they will take them away.”
His gaze fell on Xiao Mu Ke, who was peeking at him from behind a pew.
“The chapel is no longer safe for Xiao Mu Ke either. In the tunnel before, there were other investors attracting the children’s attention. But now all our phones can be kept busy. Without ringing phones to lure away the Deformed Children, Xiao Mu Ke will likely become their new target.”
Xiao Mu Ke bit his lower lip and argued, “But Bai Six is one of those Deformed Children now too! If the children come out from the tunnel, then Bai Six will come out from the tunnel too! I can stay with him!”
“But he’s already a little monster.”
Bai Liu lowered his eyes and looked at that small face stubbornly lifted toward him.
“For a normal person, staying with a monster for too long carries the risk of mental value dropping and alienation. Besides, I don’t know what state he’s in right now, so you’d better...”
Stay with us.
The longer alienation continued, the deeper its influence became. Bai Liu was not sure how long his fourteen-year-old self could hold on before turning into a completely mindless monster, so the safer choice was to take Xiao Mu Ke away directly.
Xiao Mu Ke was dragged out of the chapel by Mu Ke.
He wanted to stay, but Bai Liu would not allow it. Since this was a situation where force could be used to suppress him, Bai Liu used force without the slightest hesitation.
Bai Liu and the two Mu Kes, one big and one small, slipped out through the bushes near the chapel’s back door, while Liu Huai went out alone through the front door.
Bai Liu’s group circled from behind to the side of the chapel and hid near the side door. From there, they could see Liu Huai walking out through the front entrance.
Having lost his arms, Liu Huai found it difficult to keep his balance as he walked. He staggered out of the front door and slowly stepped into the night.
Faint, ghostly laughter from children drifted over, accompanied by shuffling footsteps and the sound of something dragging across the ground. The noises crept closer and closer to Liu Huai.
Mu Ke covered the mouth of the still-struggling Xiao Mu Ke and whispered into Bai Liu’s ear with some fear, “Bai Liu, I remember there are wandering Deformed Child monsters in the Welfare Home at night. Liu Huai won’t be killed by them before he gets close to Liu Jiayi, will he?”
“No.”
Bai Liu’s answer was very soft, but certain.
“Liu Jiayi won’t let Liu Huai die.”
Just as a Deformed Child was about to approach Liu Huai from behind, Mu Ke nearly could not stop himself from shouting a warning.
Liu Huai seemed dazed, completely unaware of the abnormality around him. He only kept walking straight ahead.
But someone called out to Liu Huai faster than Mu Ke could.
A weak girl’s voice came from the darkness, carrying a hint of sobbing and fear.
“...Gege? Is that you?”
“Jiayi! It’s me!”
Even though he knew Liu Jiayi had lied to him, the instant he heard that voice, Liu Huai still followed the habit and instinct carved into him over many years. He turned his head quickly, responding to Liu Jiayi with urgency as he searched everywhere for her shadow.
“Gege is here, Jiayi!”
Liu Jiayi was pressed against the wall. She carefully raised her head and looked toward Liu Huai.
The moment Liu Huai turned to answer, the Deformed Child behind him leapt up and pounced at his back.
Mu Ke could not help wanting to warn Liu Huai, but Bai Liu calmly stopped him.
“Watch.”
In the second before the Deformed Child was about to land on Liu Huai, Liu Jiayi cried out as well and stumbled toward him.
The moment she threw herself forward and hugged Liu Huai tightly, the fragile panic on her face vanished completely.
Her chin rested on Liu Huai’s shoulder, rubbing against him as if in attachment. Her voice was soft and obedient as she called him Gege, but there was not the slightest expression on her face.
At some point, a black conical potion bottle had appeared in her hand.
Expressionlessly, Liu Jiayi tilted her wrist and poured the potion over the Deformed Child monster that was about to pounce on Liu Huai.
The little monster opened its mouth wide, but before it could even scream, it melted and rotted into a puddle of black liquid, silently sinking into the soil.
Mu Ke, hiding behind them, was stunned.
“...That child was an A-rank monster, and Liu Jiayi dealt with it that easily. Is her panel S-rank...?”
“No.” Bai Liu’s lips curled faintly. “According to Mu Shicheng, the Little Witch’s attribute panel is only A-rank. Not even A+. Truly worthy of being one of the new stars.”
“With skill potential that enormous, no wonder the major guilds fought over her.”
After killing the child, Liu Jiayi’s eyes moved.
Bai Liu saw her looking at him.
She tilted her head and held Liu Huai’s neck tightly, in a posture full of possessiveness and control. Slowly, she shook the poison bottle that still contained liquid, her gaze fixed on Bai Liu without the slightest emotion.
It was a threatening look, and its meaning was perfectly clear.
The monster I just killed is your fate.
“Can she see us?!” Mu Ke was shocked. “Didn’t Liu Huai say Liu Jiayi is really blind? Usually, she even has trouble moving around.”
“A visualization item, most likely. Bai Six told me about them.” Bai Liu’s tone remained calm. “But to see us so clearly while we’re hidden in the night, it probably isn’t a conventional sight-restoring item.”
“Now I understand why she suddenly called Liu Huai out. She saw that there was more than one person inside the chapel.”
Mu Ke reacted quickly and looked at Bai Liu with worry.
“Then what do we do?! She knows Liu Huai lied to her. How are we supposed to coax her into treating you now?”
Bai Liu narrowed his eyes slightly.
“I’m afraid that will be very difficult.”
“Rather than using an antidote to save me, this Little Witch probably wants to use poison to kill me even more.”
Liu Jiayi held Liu Huai tightly, like she was holding a doll, her posture filled with possessiveness and control. Her gaze swept past the red patches representing the living people in the distance before finally landing on Liu Huai’s empty shoulders.
Her hands could feel Liu Huai’s severed arms.
When she touched them, Liu Huai let out a hiss of pain.
That sound made Liu Jiayi’s expression twist for an instant.
She buried her head against Liu Huai’s shoulder and took a deep breath, doing everything she could to suppress the emotions about to spill from her voice.
“...Gege, how did your arms become like this?”
“Gege did it to save you.”
Liu Huai comforted Liu Jiayi in his usual low, gentle voice.
Liu Jiayi could not see Liu Huai’s hollow expression.
And Liu Huai could not see the struggle on Liu Jiayi’s face.
They embraced each other so closely, their heartbeats quickening from that nearness. Then, at the same time, they moved away from each other and spoke words that tore through the nonexistent veil of tenderness between them.
“Gege, you were planning to ambush me in the chapel just now, weren’t you? You wanted to draw my blood?” Liu Jiayi asked.
“Jiayi, are you the Little Witch?” Liu Huai asked.
Liu Jiayi’s pupils contracted to pinpoints.
Liu Huai fell into an eerie silence.
Liu Jiayi’s breathing became so rapid it was almost like an asthma attack. She quickly backed away several steps as though she had stepped on thorns, looking at Liu Huai in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Liu Huai knelt on the ground, looking at Liu Jiayi with a silent, sorrowful gaze that seemed to have already accepted everything.
“Jiayi, when did you stop being my meimei and become a witch?”
Liu Huai said softly, “I underestimated you, Jiayi.”
Liu Jiayi shook her head frantically, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes. She retreated in terror, staggering backward again and again.
The disappointed, defeated tone of Liu Huai kneeling before her nearly drove Liu Jiayi mad.
At that moment, Liu Huai was like a beast that made her afraid, made her shrink back.
Even though, only moments ago, she had leaned into that beast’s embrace for warmth.
“I’m not, Gege.” Liu Jiayi barely managed to refute him. “I don’t know any Little Witch. Who told you that?!”
“Don’t call me Gege anymore, Jiayi. I’m not worthy of being your Gege.”
Liu Huai stood up unsteadily, shaking his head as he laughed faintly.
“You were smarter than me ever since you were little. Just like everyone said, you were born to be a top student. If you weren’t blind, you would definitely have been outstanding. I always, always thought so.”
“You really are very capable. Very outstanding. You fooled me completely, and I didn’t notice a thing.”
Liu Huai looked at the still-trembling Liu Jiayi, his gaze seeming to pass through her and return to some distant past. His voice was so light it sounded as if he were talking to himself.
“If only you weren’t my meimei.”
“If only you were someone else’s meimei.”
Liu Jiayi froze in place.
The ringing in her ears nearly knocked her off her feet.
The cold night wind blew across Liu Huai’s face.
Liu Huai felt cold.
His eyes and expression carried a cold, silent despair, like someone sinking to the bottom of deep water. But in Liu Jiayi’s dazed vision, he was a surge of red light and heat.
Only, that surge of red was gradually turning blue because of his weakness.
That meant Liu Huai’s body temperature was slowly dropping.
It meant Liu Huai might be dying.
Liu Jiayi forced out a smile.
She reached out to grab Liu Huai’s hem, but halfway there, she suddenly whipped her head around.
“Who’s there?! Come out!”
Two faintly visible large red figures were walking in the distance, dragging along the small red figure of a child.
One of them seemed to be dragging something in his hands, producing the sound of blades scraping across concrete.
Bai Liu followed Liu Jiayi’s line of sight.
His eyes narrowed.
“It’s Miao Feichi and Miao Gaojiang.”
“Why would they come to the chapel?!” Mu Ke’s expression was on the verge of collapsing. “We haven’t even coaxed Liu Jiayi to our side yet! If they come now, we can’t hold them off at all! All our health points are in the single digits!”
“I originally expected that Bai Six’s deterrence would keep them from approaching the chapel easily. After all, there’s a hidden attack force here capable of countering them.” Bai Liu’s gaze watched Miao Feichi and Miao Gaojiang from the shadow at the edge of the side door. “They probably avoided coming to the chapel earlier today for that reason. But for some reason, they changed their minds.”
Bai Liu’s eyes fixed on Miao Gaojiang’s approaching face.
He narrowed his eyes and observed for a moment.
“Miao Gaojiang’s state is wrong. He’s keeping quite a distance from Miao Feichi.”
As they drew closer, it became increasingly clear that Miao Gaojiang was abnormal.
By now, it was already past nine o’clock, and Miao Gaojiang’s stamina bar had recovered. But even though there was no one beside him except Miao Feichi, he was walking with his highest-level defense skill activated.
His eyes were somewhat unfocused and trembling, as if he were afraid of the teammate he had always cooperated with—his only biological son, Miao Feichi.
Bai Liu was very familiar with Miao Gaojiang’s current state.
Because Liu Huai had experienced it not long ago.
“The aftereffects of a sudden mental value drop will submerge a person in subconscious fear,” Bai Liu said with little emotion. “Liu Huai was also controlled by subconscious fear before.”
“Aftereffects like this only lead to two outcomes when subconscious fear takes control: suicide or murder.”
Liu Huai had clearly been the former.
As for Miao Gaojiang—
Bai Liu’s gaze fell on his clenched fists, his eyes shifting faintly.
It seemed Miao Gaojiang was the latter.
A Miao Gaojiang with full defense and an inclination toward frenzied violence...
Bai Liu recalled what Zhang Kui had said to him before dying in the previous round, and for once, his brows furrowed.
[Players whose mental value abnormalities lead them to harm others have a name among us normal players: Borderline Monsters. They are already monster candidates, and because of their frenzied emotions, their attack power can become even more terrifying than that of actual monsters.]
Miao Gaojiang’s eyes were slightly glazed, and a frightening red color spread around the rims of his eyes. He stared straight ahead as he walked.
Miao Feichi had already noticed something wrong with Miao Gaojiang’s condition, but Miao Gaojiang refused to tell him what was happening.
When Miao Gaojiang’s mental value had dropped during the explosion last night, Miao Feichi had already been knocked unconscious. He did not know that his father was already in the dangerous state of a Borderline Monster.
Miao Feichi gritted his teeth and tried to stop Miao Gaojiang.
“Dad, didn’t you say we could wait until after midnight, when Bai Liu and the others die, and then come over to the chapel to clean things up?”
“Why did you come to the chapel right after nine?! What if that brat Bai Six is still here?”
Miao Gaojiang looked at Miao Feichi’s face, which kept flickering between a man and a woman.
His eyes grew even more bloodshot, and his breathing quickened.
“We have to fight even if he is! Feichi, Dad can’t wait that long!”
If he did not clear the game and get out soon, he would not be able to stop himself from attacking Miao Feichi.
The aftereffects of his mental collapse were growing heavier and heavier. His mental value was now fluctuating wildly.
They had searched everywhere else in the Welfare Home, yet that brat Liu Jiayi had been nowhere to be found. In that case, she was most likely here, in the children’s safe zone—the chapel.
He had to find the blood of Miao Feichi that Liu Jiayi was carrying as soon as possible, clear the game, take Miao Feichi out, and then go to the guild warehouse to find items that could alleviate the aftereffects.
Miao Feichi still wanted to speak, still wanted to stop him. He felt this plan was far too impulsive.
But Miao Gaojiang shot him a terrifying look, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
Miao Feichi shut his mouth, his scalp tingling.
Miao Gaojiang usually indulged him.
But once Miao Gaojiang decided to do something, even if Miao Feichi felt it made no sense, he could only follow.
Watching Miao Gaojiang approach mechanically, his pace growing faster and his face flushing red, Bai Liu quickly gave Mu Ke an order.
“Take Xiao Mu Ke back into the chapel. Go through the tunnel and find Bai Six. If his condition is all right, bring him out. If it isn’t, hide in the chapel.”
But Bai Liu still had not received a call from Bai Six.
That little friend was usually very punctual. Now that it was past nine and the passage had been open for so long, Bai Six still had not called. That could only mean Bai Six’s condition...
Bai Liu’s gaze darkened.
But right now, he had no better option.
They needed a core combatant capable of breaking through Miao Gaojiang’s full defense.
They could not handle this Miao Gaojiang at all—not even with Liu Jiayi. Add in Miao Feichi’s top-tier attack power, and they would be completely wiped out.
Mu Ke gritted his teeth, took Xiao Mu Ke’s hand, and headed toward the chapel.
He leaned close to Bai Liu’s shoulder and said in a low voice, “Don’t rush in recklessly. Before you coax Liu Jiayi into treating you, stay hidden. Wait until we find Bai Six.”
Bai Liu gave a noncommittal nod.
But just as Mu Ke circled around from the side door toward the front entrance, Xiao Miao Gaojiang, who had been following Miao Feichi and Miao Gaojiang all this time, seized the moment while Miao Gaojiang was unstable and Miao Feichi was watching their surroundings.
In a panic, he suddenly broke free from Miao Feichi’s control and ran frantically toward the chapel.
Xiao Miao Gaojiang’s explosive running speed gave no one time to react.
After scrambling into the chapel, he immediately panted, red-faced, and bolted the door from the inside, locking it shut and blocking the big and small Mu Kes just as they were about to sneak in.
After doing all this, his hands trembled, and he collapsed to his knees in exhaustion.
That fossilized investor had been too terrifying.
The moment he saw the chapel, the safe zone, so close, Xiao Miao Gaojiang’s survival instinct had driven him to rush inside and lock the door, even though he had no idea how long the lock would hold.
Mu Ke stared at the locked chapel door and hammered it twice, his eyes nearly splitting with rage.
The passage was inside the chapel.
And Xiao Miao Gaojiang had locked it from within!
Miao Feichi chased after the fleeing Xiao Miao Gaojiang.
At first, when he saw the closed door, he wanted to curse and draw his twin blades to break it open by force. But when he reached the doorway, he found Liu Huai, the big and small Mu Kes, and Liu Jiayi all standing in front of the chapel.
He alertly raised his twin blades and scanned the surroundings. Then he lifted an eyebrow in disbelief and said quietly to Miao Gaojiang beside him, “Dad, that little monster isn’t here!”
Mu Ke immediately pulled Xiao Mu Ke behind him.
He stood protectively against Miao Feichi and the others, trying not to let his eyes drift toward Bai Liu’s hiding place. His heart was beating so fast he could hardly breathe.
In a situation without a core combatant, Bai Liu absolutely could not come out.
With his 0.5 health, one scratch would be enough to finish him.
“We were bluffed.” Miao Gaojiang looked at the closed chapel with a dark, twisted expression. “That little monster may not be able to leave the chapel at all.”
“But it looks like we came at just the right time. Everyone is here.”
“Perfect for wiping them all out.”
Miao Gaojiang’s gaze swept over Xiao Mu Ke, who was hidden behind Mu Ke, and then landed on Liu Jiayi, who stood solemnly in front of Liu Huai.
He smiled like an ordinarily honest and kind middle-aged man.
It was a smile that made one’s hair stand on end.
“Everyone is here.”
“Feichi, open S-rank.” Miao Gaojiang ordered, his face devoid of emotion. “Finish this quickly. Catch the children.”
