October 12, 2023 by Wyrd
The child in question was Yang Muqing, who was adopted by Zhou Qing and Yang Tianhao. He’s also the third child to receive the little red flower award.
As no one came to pick him up, he stayed at the kindergarten. The tall player recognized him as the third child to receive the little red flower, although he didn’t understand why they had to bring the child along. Nevertheless, he circled around and picked up the child.
The child didn’t struggle or cry, allowing the man to hold him. However, a female teacher who was with the children on the playground screamed, “Help! Someone’s kidnapping a child! Please, someone help!!!”
The three paid no attention to the frantic cries of the female teacher and quickly fled the Xishan Kindergarten.
Despite the numerous people outside, the dark shadows continued to pursue them, though they were more discreet now in doing so.
They couldn’t return to the hotel, as Xia Wuyan must have already figured out that they were a group of out-of-town “tourists.” Going back would be like walking into a trap.
So, the three of them headed to the Xishan Residential Area, hoping to lose the pursuing shadows.
It was still daytime, which was fortunate. Nighttime would be even more dangerous. These shadows could hide in the dark, and the night was their best camouflage. One small mistake and they might be drained of blood.
The Xishan Residential Area was large, with plenty of places to hide. The three of them rushed into one of the residential buildings.
While the shadows were fast, they seemed hesitant to reveal themselves, especially in broad daylight, making the pursuit challenging.
After a few twists and turns within the building, they finally managed to shake off the shadows.
All three of them breathed a sigh of relief. The tall player set down the child, who hadn’t cried or made any noise. He looked at Ruan Qing with confusion and quietly asked, “Why did we bring him along?”
The child was clearly infested with the red gu insects. His death was probably just a matter of time.
“Don’t you think there’s something wrong with him?” Ruan Qing paused and added, “He got the little red flower yesterday.”
The tall player’s eyes widened, and he immediately understood what Ruan Qing meant.
According to the information, due to a person’s self-defense mechanisms, the gu insects were initially weaker, and the blood-sucking was slow. That’s why they targetted children.
The tall player had assumed it would take around three days, but obviously, it was much quicker. They encountered trouble within just an hour of receiving the little red flower.
A single hour might seem short in their eyes, but if it’s an experiment, the researchers were likely to feel it’s dragging.
So those three children only died three days after receiving the red flowers, clearly indicating an issue.
Maybe they could find the weak point of the shadow.
Leaving the Xishan Residential Area was impossible. If the mission wasn’t an escape, then leaving the instance map was not allowed, and once they leave, they would die instantly.
Staying inside the Xishan Residential Area, sooner or later, they would die in the hands of that shadow.
So, if they couldn’t find the shadow’s weak point, tonight might be their deadline.
Ruan Qing thought the same. Leaving aside ordinary people, players must have a better constitution than children.
Players faced problems within an hour, but children had the misfortune of only experiencing issues after three days.
This was only the second day that Yang Muqing encountered the red flower, and there was still one more day for the gu inside him to absorb his blood.
Was it because the Xishan Kindergarten wanted to avoid suspicion? Or was it because the gu was... suppressed by something?
Ruan Qing couldn’t judge for sure why, but taking this child away was definitely the right choice.
The child was right there, trying different possibilities would give answers.
Ruan Qing took out a knife, ready to cut his own palm, but the advanced male player stopped him.
“I’ll do it.”
The advanced male player took the knife from Ruan Qing’s hand and cut his own palm, and the blood instantly dripped to the ground.
But the child showed no change, just a look of confusion as he tilted his head, looking at the three in front of him.
It seemed he didn’t understand what they’re doing.
The red gu insects had a strong attraction to blood. They had seen this in the laboratory.
After the blond player coughed up blood, the gu insects became restless, and even the gu insects inside players who hadn’t faced issues yet began to stir.
Clearly, the child was unquestionably problematic.
Was something suppressing the parasites? The three exchanged glances.
Ruan Qing crouched in front of the child and was about to use a syringe to draw blood when the child smiled brightly at him. “Daddy.”
Ruan Qing was surprised, and his actions froze.
His disguise had been... exposed?
Keep in mind that the NPC he’s playing, Zhou Qing, was indeed Yang Muqing’s dad, so the child didn’t call him wrongly.
Ruan Qing looked at the child in front of him without changing his expression. “Why do you call me Dad?”
“Because you’re my dad,” the child tilted his head, his voice clear, and he had a delicate and cute appearance.
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing didn’t press further and instead reached out to ruffle the child’s head, speaking softly, “Are you afraid of needles?”
The child shook his head. “No, Xiao Xi is very strong, not afraid of needles.”
“But...” The child hesitated and spoke somewhat shyly, fidgeting, “After the injection, Dad, can you kiss Xiao Xi? Other people’s dads usually kiss their babies.”
Ruan Qing chuckled softly. “Alright.”
The child, upon hearing this, extended his small hand, appearing obedient.
Ruan Qing took out a clean syringe he had taken from the lab, drew a small amount of the child’s blood.
The blood appeared normal, nothing unusual.
After drawing the blood, the child looked at Ruan Qing expectantly, and Ruan Qing ruffled the child’s head once more. “Close your eyes.”
The child obediently closed his eyes, still wearing an expression of anticipation, as if waiting for a well-behaved reward.
Ruan Qing didn’t kiss the child, but instead stood up and gave a brief glance to the advanced male player.
The advanced male player’s eyes betrayed a deep disgust, barely suppressing the queasiness rising in his heart, and he bent down to give a quick peck on the child’s forehead.
The advanced male player’s expression was as if he had just kissed something repugnant, as if he was about to vomit at any moment.
The tall player exclaimed, “???” Was it even possible to deceive a child these days?
The child mirrored the adults; he seemed to have noticed that the person who kissed him wasn’t right. Even before opening his eyes, he used his hand to wipe his forehead with an expression of deep disgust.
Not a trace of the earlier obedient demeanor was visible, and his forehead had turned red from the wiping, clearly indicating his intense aversion.
Ruan Qing couldn’t discern any abnormalities in the child’s blood, as there were no sophisticated instruments for analysis at the moment.
He could only let it go.
Finding a way to suppress the dark shadow within the child was evidently not very realistic, as there was no certainty yet.
Perhaps...
***
The tall player was holding the child, and the advanced male player stood in the elevator.
The elevator opened and closed, and the three of them didn’t leave the elevator.
A resident of Building E went down to have lunch and came back up, finding the three of them still inside, looking somewhat surprised.
However, they thought that the three of them might have gone out again this time, so they didn’t say anything.
Not long after, the elevator door opened again, and this time two men who seemed very cold entered.
The advanced male player gave the tall player an imperceptible look, and the tall player nodded slightly.
The tall player directly pinched the child in his hand, making the child cry, and then he awkwardly comforted the child, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, I’m sorry, we couldn’t save your dad, rescuing you alone is already the limit, sigh.”
The child cooperated very well, struggling and crying, “Dad, I want Dad, wuwuwu, Xiao Xi wants Dad, wuwuwu...”
The advanced male player also immediately comforted, “Your dad is fine, that Teacher Xia probably won’t harm your dad, don’t cry.”
Far away, Ruan Qing heard the voice coming through the earpiece and couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief.
It’s too fake.
As players, how could they really have the patience to comfort an NPC child like this? He should have written down the lines for them to memorize.
The shadow was just too powerful, and the three of them were almost impossible to survive in the hands of the shadow.
But someone must be able to.
Either that Su Zhen and Li Shuyang.
Ruan Qing checked the surveillance in the area. These two had been running up and down the building, seemingly dealing with something or looking for someone.
It’s highly likely they’re looking for Zhou Qing.
Ruan Qing wasn’t sure about Li Shuyang, but Su Zhen seemed to be very interested in him.
So if he could tell them about Zhou Qing being in the hands of Xia Wuyan, it’s highly likely that the two of them would start fighting against the other.
They might still have a chance to survive until they clear the game.
However, Ruan Qing really didn’t expect the acting skills of these two to be so bad, except for the child’s acting, which was a bit better.
They were all players, so it’s probably hard to fool them.
Just when Ruan Qing thought the plan had failed, a cold and ruthless voice came through the earpiece, “Ye Qing is in the hands of Xia Wuyan?”
Su Zhen didn’t recognize the child at first, but when these two comforted the child, he remembered that the child was Ye Qing’s ‘child’ in this instance.
So the ‘dad’ in the mouths of the three naturally referred to Ye Qing.
Lu Rufeng also looked at the three of them.
The tall player seemed somewhat puzzled. “Who is Ye Qing?”
Lu Rufeng gave him a cold look and reminded him, “Zhou Qing.”
“...Who is Zhou Qing?” The tall player still looked confused.
The advanced male player also looked puzzled, “Is Zhou Qing the NPC who looks very handsome?”
Both of them nodded in agreement.
“So you guys are talking about the child’s father,” the tall player suddenly realized.
Su Zhen asked eagerly, “Have you seen him?”
Both of them nodded. The tall male player continued, “Xia Wuyan took the child’s father away. We just escaped from Xishan Kindergarten.”
“It seems that Xia Wuyan... really likes the child’s father,” Su Zhen sneered.
Lu Rufeng also sneered in agreement. Although he didn’t speak, it was clear that he shared Su Zhen’s sentiment.
After the elevator reached the first floor, the two of them, oozing hostility, walked towards Xishan Kindergarten.
The entire instance now only had the tall player who was still live streaming. The number of viewers in his live stream had reached a terrifying number, with the barrage of comments scrolling rapidly.
[Wow, this is amazing! When the fat guy suggested it, I thought he was joking, but it’s actually happening!]
[Help! These two big shots actually believed it! They really fell for it, like a couple of naïve fools!]
[Wow, I can’t imagine what will happen if the big shots find out they’ve been fooled. I think it would be better to be killed by the shadow instead. These are top players on the leaderboards; how dare they...!]
Standing on the rooftop of Building F across from Building E, Ruan Qing took off his headset and sighed silently, then ran downstairs without hesitation.
However, he was blocked on the rooftop.
Ruan Qing looked at the two intimidating figures, retreating step by step to the edge of the rooftop.
October 12, 2023 by Wyrd
The child in question was Yang Muqing, who was adopted by Zhou Qing and Yang Tianhao. He’s also the third child to receive the little red flower award.
As no one came to pick him up, he stayed at the kindergarten. The tall player recognized him as the third child to receive the little red flower, although he didn’t understand why they had to bring the child along. Nevertheless, he circled around and picked up the child.
The child didn’t struggle or cry, allowing the man to hold him. However, a female teacher who was with the children on the playground screamed, “Help! Someone’s kidnapping a child! Please, someone help!!!”
The three paid no attention to the frantic cries of the female teacher and quickly fled the Xishan Kindergarten.
Despite the numerous people outside, the dark shadows continued to pursue them, though they were more discreet now in doing so.
They couldn’t return to the hotel, as Xia Wuyan must have already figured out that they were a group of out-of-town “tourists.” Going back would be like walking into a trap.
So, the three of them headed to the Xishan Residential Area, hoping to lose the pursuing shadows.
It was still daytime, which was fortunate. Nighttime would be even more dangerous. These shadows could hide in the dark, and the night was their best camouflage. One small mistake and they might be drained of blood.
The Xishan Residential Area was large, with plenty of places to hide. The three of them rushed into one of the residential buildings.
While the shadows were fast, they seemed hesitant to reveal themselves, especially in broad daylight, making the pursuit challenging.
After a few twists and turns within the building, they finally managed to shake off the shadows.
All three of them breathed a sigh of relief. The tall player set down the child, who hadn’t cried or made any noise. He looked at Ruan Qing with confusion and quietly asked, “Why did we bring him along?”
The child was clearly infested with the red gu insects. His death was probably just a matter of time.
“Don’t you think there’s something wrong with him?” Ruan Qing paused and added, “He got the little red flower yesterday.”
The tall player’s eyes widened, and he immediately understood what Ruan Qing meant.
According to the information, due to a person’s self-defense mechanisms, the gu insects were initially weaker, and the blood-sucking was slow. That’s why they targetted children.
The tall player had assumed it would take around three days, but obviously, it was much quicker. They encountered trouble within just an hour of receiving the little red flower.
A single hour might seem short in their eyes, but if it’s an experiment, the researchers were likely to feel it’s dragging.
So those three children only died three days after receiving the red flowers, clearly indicating an issue.
Maybe they could find the weak point of the shadow.
Leaving the Xishan Residential Area was impossible. If the mission wasn’t an escape, then leaving the instance map was not allowed, and once they leave, they would die instantly.
Staying inside the Xishan Residential Area, sooner or later, they would die in the hands of that shadow.
So, if they couldn’t find the shadow’s weak point, tonight might be their deadline.
Ruan Qing thought the same. Leaving aside ordinary people, players must have a better constitution than children.
Players faced problems within an hour, but children had the misfortune of only experiencing issues after three days.
This was only the second day that Yang Muqing encountered the red flower, and there was still one more day for the gu inside him to absorb his blood.
Was it because the Xishan Kindergarten wanted to avoid suspicion? Or was it because the gu was... suppressed by something?
Ruan Qing couldn’t judge for sure why, but taking this child away was definitely the right choice.
The child was right there, trying different possibilities would give answers.
Ruan Qing took out a knife, ready to cut his own palm, but the advanced male player stopped him.
“I’ll do it.”
The advanced male player took the knife from Ruan Qing’s hand and cut his own palm, and the blood instantly dripped to the ground.
But the child showed no change, just a look of confusion as he tilted his head, looking at the three in front of him.
It seemed he didn’t understand what they’re doing.
The red gu insects had a strong attraction to blood. They had seen this in the laboratory.
After the blond player coughed up blood, the gu insects became restless, and even the gu insects inside players who hadn’t faced issues yet began to stir.
Clearly, the child was unquestionably problematic.
Was something suppressing the parasites? The three exchanged glances.
Ruan Qing crouched in front of the child and was about to use a syringe to draw blood when the child smiled brightly at him. “Daddy.”
Ruan Qing was surprised, and his actions froze.
His disguise had been... exposed?
Keep in mind that the NPC he’s playing, Zhou Qing, was indeed Yang Muqing’s dad, so the child didn’t call him wrongly.
Ruan Qing looked at the child in front of him without changing his expression. “Why do you call me Dad?”
“Because you’re my dad,” the child tilted his head, his voice clear, and he had a delicate and cute appearance.
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing didn’t press further and instead reached out to ruffle the child’s head, speaking softly, “Are you afraid of needles?”
The child shook his head. “No, Xiao Xi is very strong, not afraid of needles.”
“But...” The child hesitated and spoke somewhat shyly, fidgeting, “After the injection, Dad, can you kiss Xiao Xi? Other people’s dads usually kiss their babies.”
Ruan Qing chuckled softly. “Alright.”
The child, upon hearing this, extended his small hand, appearing obedient.
Ruan Qing took out a clean syringe he had taken from the lab, drew a small amount of the child’s blood.
The blood appeared normal, nothing unusual.
After drawing the blood, the child looked at Ruan Qing expectantly, and Ruan Qing ruffled the child’s head once more. “Close your eyes.”
The child obediently closed his eyes, still wearing an expression of anticipation, as if waiting for a well-behaved reward.
Ruan Qing didn’t kiss the child, but instead stood up and gave a brief glance to the advanced male player.
The advanced male player’s eyes betrayed a deep disgust, barely suppressing the queasiness rising in his heart, and he bent down to give a quick peck on the child’s forehead.
The advanced male player’s expression was as if he had just kissed something repugnant, as if he was about to vomit at any moment.
The tall player exclaimed, “???” Was it even possible to deceive a child these days?
The child mirrored the adults; he seemed to have noticed that the person who kissed him wasn’t right. Even before opening his eyes, he used his hand to wipe his forehead with an expression of deep disgust.
Not a trace of the earlier obedient demeanor was visible, and his forehead had turned red from the wiping, clearly indicating his intense aversion.
Ruan Qing couldn’t discern any abnormalities in the child’s blood, as there were no sophisticated instruments for analysis at the moment.
He could only let it go.
Finding a way to suppress the dark shadow within the child was evidently not very realistic, as there was no certainty yet.
Perhaps...
***
The tall player was holding the child, and the advanced male player stood in the elevator.
The elevator opened and closed, and the three of them didn’t leave the elevator.
A resident of Building E went down to have lunch and came back up, finding the three of them still inside, looking somewhat surprised.
However, they thought that the three of them might have gone out again this time, so they didn’t say anything.
Not long after, the elevator door opened again, and this time two men who seemed very cold entered.
The advanced male player gave the tall player an imperceptible look, and the tall player nodded slightly.
The tall player directly pinched the child in his hand, making the child cry, and then he awkwardly comforted the child, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, I’m sorry, we couldn’t save your dad, rescuing you alone is already the limit, sigh.”
The child cooperated very well, struggling and crying, “Dad, I want Dad, wuwuwu, Xiao Xi wants Dad, wuwuwu...”
The advanced male player also immediately comforted, “Your dad is fine, that Teacher Xia probably won’t harm your dad, don’t cry.”
Far away, Ruan Qing heard the voice coming through the earpiece and couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief.
It’s too fake.
As players, how could they really have the patience to comfort an NPC child like this? He should have written down the lines for them to memorize.
The shadow was just too powerful, and the three of them were almost impossible to survive in the hands of the shadow.
But someone must be able to.
Either that Su Zhen and Li Shuyang.
Ruan Qing checked the surveillance in the area. These two had been running up and down the building, seemingly dealing with something or looking for someone.
It’s highly likely they’re looking for Zhou Qing.
Ruan Qing wasn’t sure about Li Shuyang, but Su Zhen seemed to be very interested in him.
So if he could tell them about Zhou Qing being in the hands of Xia Wuyan, it’s highly likely that the two of them would start fighting against the other.
They might still have a chance to survive until they clear the game.
However, Ruan Qing really didn’t expect the acting skills of these two to be so bad, except for the child’s acting, which was a bit better.
They were all players, so it’s probably hard to fool them.
Just when Ruan Qing thought the plan had failed, a cold and ruthless voice came through the earpiece, “Ye Qing is in the hands of Xia Wuyan?”
Su Zhen didn’t recognize the child at first, but when these two comforted the child, he remembered that the child was Ye Qing’s ‘child’ in this instance.
So the ‘dad’ in the mouths of the three naturally referred to Ye Qing.
Lu Rufeng also looked at the three of them.
The tall player seemed somewhat puzzled. “Who is Ye Qing?”
Lu Rufeng gave him a cold look and reminded him, “Zhou Qing.”
“...Who is Zhou Qing?” The tall player still looked confused.
The advanced male player also looked puzzled, “Is Zhou Qing the NPC who looks very handsome?”
Both of them nodded in agreement.
“So you guys are talking about the child’s father,” the tall player suddenly realized.
Su Zhen asked eagerly, “Have you seen him?”
Both of them nodded. The tall male player continued, “Xia Wuyan took the child’s father away. We just escaped from Xishan Kindergarten.”
“It seems that Xia Wuyan... really likes the child’s father,” Su Zhen sneered.
Lu Rufeng also sneered in agreement. Although he didn’t speak, it was clear that he shared Su Zhen’s sentiment.
After the elevator reached the first floor, the two of them, oozing hostility, walked towards Xishan Kindergarten.
The entire instance now only had the tall player who was still live streaming. The number of viewers in his live stream had reached a terrifying number, with the barrage of comments scrolling rapidly.
[Wow, this is amazing! When the fat guy suggested it, I thought he was joking, but it’s actually happening!]
[Help! These two big shots actually believed it! They really fell for it, like a couple of naïve fools!]
[Wow, I can’t imagine what will happen if the big shots find out they’ve been fooled. I think it would be better to be killed by the shadow instead. These are top players on the leaderboards; how dare they...!]
Standing on the rooftop of Building F across from Building E, Ruan Qing took off his headset and sighed silently, then ran downstairs without hesitation.
However, he was blocked on the rooftop.
Ruan Qing looked at the two intimidating figures, retreating step by step to the edge of the rooftop.
