Chapter 7 ~ First Game Pt.7 ~
In this moment, hearing those sort of words really made a person feel touched.
Gu Yian forced herself to smile and told the boy seriously, “Big sister is the one who should protect you.”
She withdrew her hand, stroked the little boy’s head, and following this stood up and went over to examine the corpse.
Brother Zhang made the same movements as Gu Yian, leaving the bench.
The two of them came to the headless girl’s body.
Gu Yian saw that the head had fallen to the legs of the square table at a glance before she looked again at the severed section of the body’s neck.
It was abnormally flat.
In the end, Gu Yian didn’t dare to take a longer look. She was afraid that if she kept looking she would lose her calm.
She moved her line of sight, looked at Brother Zhang, and said, “When this happened, I didn’t notice any abnormal movements.”
At the time, she had been talking to the little boy and while she would occasionally look at Brother Zhang and the others’ movements she didn’t see anything unusual.
Brother Zhang’s expression was calm and he looked reliable as he said, “I also didn’t notice any unusual sounds.”
There was nothing to talk about among the players and so they basically listened silently to Gu Yian and the boy’s conversation and looked around their surroundings from time to time.
Combined with Brother Zhang’s words, Gu Yian realized that the unknown thing which killed the female player could shield itself from the other players’ senses.
This was terrible.
The unknown was the most terrifying thing.
None of them knew what they would encounter later.
Gu Yian was contemplating this when she suddenly saw Brother Zhang turn around and walk to the little boy.
The square table wasn’t wide.
It only took a few steps for Brother Zhang to walk around half a circle and reach the boy’s side.
The little boy saw Brother Zhang’s abrupt approach and he immediately lowered his eyes, pursed his lips, and tensed his body. It was evident he was hiding something.
This performance from the boy made it clear that the players could ask him questions.
Brother Zhang opened his mouth and pressed him, “Did you know it’s your parents who killed her?”
The little boy cautiously raised his eyes and then dropped them again.
He didn’t answer Brother Zhang’s questions and only weakly asked, “Does everyone regret helping me?”
Brother Zhang didn’t reply right away and instead turned his gaze to Gu Yian.
This question of the little boy seemed to be a key choice that would trigger the next death in the game.
If a player answered wrong, they would die.
That male new player, who had covered his face first, noticed Brother Zhang and the little boy’s conversation early on and, using one hand to block the sight of the headless girl’s corpse, his eyes were focused on the boy.
He heard the boy’s question clearly and, as he saw a strange smile gradually appear on that face, he didn’t hear Brother Zhang’s voice.
The male new player hurriedly answered, “No. We don’t regret it.”
Brother Zhang and Gu Yian glanced at this male player at the same time.
This response was satisfactory and being able to answer was pretty good.
They looked toward the little boy.
The strange smile that had appeared on the boy’s face disappeared and he spoke to himself.
“No, your friend died. You must have regrets. My dad and mom had regrets too. Before they killed themselves, they told me not to casually help others. Kindness will just draw fire onto yourself.”
“You just need to have a clear conscience,” Gu Yian interrupted the boy’s words.
She said, “This is the choice we made following our hearts. You don’t need to care about other opinions; the premise being that what we do is really the right thing.”
Gu Yian walked back to the boy’s side.
“Kindness is not wrong. Not helping is also not wrong. Each person has their own way of thoughts and there’s no need to force our own thoughts onto other people.”
When Gu Yian approached, the little boy raised his head and his gaze fell on her.
He heard her talk and, at the end, smiled again.
The little boy straightened his body and, out of habit, stepped forward to hold Gu Yian’s arm.
“Big sister, my dad and mom are hungry. Let’s send them food. Maybe, if they’re happy, we won’t have to be scared of Grandma Zhao.”
His voice was still the voice of a little boy, sounding innocent and cheery, but the contents of his words made people extremely terrified to think about it.
The boy’s parents were already dead. What they wanted to eat would definitely not be ordinary food.
Just as Gu Yian was thinking about this, the little boy pointed at the headless body and said to Brother Zhang, “Can these two big brothers help carry the food?”
The food was human corpses.
Gu Yian saw this and suddenly realized why the little boy brought them into his house and even went out of his way to make meals.
It turned out that players were food.
Gu Yian only felt like the arm that was being held by the little boy didn’t belong to her anymore.
When Brother Zhang heard the boy’s words, his calm expression froze for a second before he showed unparalleled enthusiasm, “Sure. Just leave this to me and Little Jiang.”
Little Jiang was that male new player. His complexion was pallid and he didn’t even dare to look at the girl’s corpse.
The boy asked, “This big brother isn’t willing?”
He stared directly at Little Jiang.
“No, no, no, I’m willing.”
In order to prove his willingness, Little Jiang hurried forward to hold the corpse’s shoulders.
“Bring the head too. Dad and mom like whole things.”
The little boy finished his orders and then raised his head to look at Gu Yian.
“Big sister, let’s go.”
“… Mm.”
Gu Yian suddenly didn’t know which leg to move. Fortunately, her body’s unconscious reflexes were still there and, as soon as the boy started walking, she followed.
Gu Yian and the little boy were at the front, Brother Zhang and Little Jiang carried the body behind them, and there was no one else who could spare the effort to care about the remaining female player who had fainted.
Everyone crossed the courtyard, passing the middle building with the two coffins, and headed to the building opposite of the house.
Gu Yian watched the little boy push open the door.
The room’s light suddenly turned on.
She saw that she was facing a gate now and this was probably the exit that the boy took Brother Zhang and the others out of in the afternoon.
Gu Yian turned her head and saw that there was a square-shaped recess in the wall beside her with two memorial tablets placed inside.
The little boy took Gu Yian to make room and then directed Brother Zhang and Little Jiang to carry the corpse to a corner of the room.
There was a manhole cover there and Brother Zhang and Little Jiang lifted that up before throwing the body in. It was a few seconds later before they heard the dull sound of a heavy object hitting the ground.
Hearing this sound, Brother Zhang said to Little Jiang, “Let’s close the lid.”
“Close what?”
The little boy asked in confusion, “Isn’t there one more?”
The air froze immediately.
Gu Yian quickly realized there was still that unconscious female player in the house across from them.
She was about to turn around and check on the situation outside when the little boy’s hand held her firmly like an iron band.
The boy said lightly to Brother Zhang and Little Jiang, “I’ll have to trouble the two big brothers to carry over that one too.”
Little Jiang looked terrified.
Brother Zhang returned to his previous warmth, “Sure. Little Jiang and I’ll go over right now to carry it.”
Brother Zhang wiped the blood from his hands onto his clothes while sending a look at Little Jiang.
It was only when the footsteps of the two men left the room that the little boy let go of Gu Yian’s hand.
“Big sister, let’s grab the memorial tablets. Can you help me take down dad and mom’s tablets?”
Could Gu Yian even refuse?
She raised her hand and took down the two memorial tablets.
“AHHH!”
“BROTHER ZHANG, SAVE ME!”
There was a sudden call for help from outside.
A gust of wind came in and two panicked figures rushed into this small room.
Gu Yian gave these two a glance.
The two people were Brother Zhang and Little Jiang who had just left.
The little boy ignored them and said to Gu Yian, “If we’re holding my parents’ tablets, we don’t have to worry about Grandma Zhao. They’ll definitely protect us.”
Little Jiang was looking outside in a panic.
Brother Zhang heard the little boy’s words clearly though and he moved right away, walking to Gu Yian’s back.
“Little Jiang, quick, come here too.”
Brother Zhang called out to Little Jiang.
Little Jiang startled, realized it was Brother Zhang calling him over, and he immediately threw himself over to Brother Zhang.
At this moment, Gu Yian saw an old woman appear at the door.
It was Mrs. Zhao, who had been lying on the ground, that she met this morning.
Mrs. Zhao was wearing graveclothes and her two eyes stared directly at the people in the room. To be more precise, she was staring at Gu Yian.
Her eyes were nailed on Gu Yian, revealing a fierce light, and she was clutching a freshly dug out heart in her hand. She shoved it angrily into her own mouth.
This sight tested people’s nerves too much. Gu Yian couldn’t help squeezing the tablets in her hands and her breathing almost stopped.
Behind her, Little Jiang shrank his body back, wishing he could become a small child at this time.
Brother Zhang’s eyes flickered, but it landed on the little boy.
The boy glanced at Mrs. Zhao with disgust and then turned around to hug Gu Yian tightly. He buried his head into the hem of Gu Yian’s shirt as if thinking out of sight, out of mind.
The only sound in the air was the sound of Mrs. Zhao biting, ripping, and swallowing the heart, otherwise it was silent to the point of terrifying someone.
Finally, Mrs. Zhao finished eating.
Mrs. Zhao looked at the tablets in Gu Yian’s hands guardedly and her voice was as grating as a saw, “I’ll let you all live another day.”
She disappeared.
The people in the room kept their original positions and stood there for a few more minutes. They had no way of confirming if Mrs. Zhao really left.
The little boy let go, trotted outside, and then immediately ran back.
“Sister Gu, she’s gone.”
It was with the boy’s words that Gu Yian and the others dared to come out.
Gu Yian was holding two memorial tablets in her hands and behind her the male players stuck close to her like her own shadow.
She looked at the wide open door of the building across from them.
The unconscious female player who had been forgotten by them was now just a corpse whose heart had been dug out.
The boy spoke and urged Brother Zhang and Little Jiang to lift the body of that female player and throw her corpse down to be food for his parents.
Brother Zhang didn’t agree immediately and instead said, “Those tablets can save lives. We want to have one too.”
Upon hearing their request, the little boy said easily, “Okay. Sister Gu, give them one.”
He seemed to remember something suddenly, “Did I forget to say that my dad and mom only save whoever’s holding the tablet?”
Little Jiang’s expression suddenly became ugly.
Brother Zhang accepted the memorial tablet Gu Yian handed over.
He told Little Jiang, “Stick close to me. If Mrs. Zhao really comes then we’ll alternate holding this.”
The method Brother Zhang said sounded possible and so Little Jiang reluctantly agreed.
However, Gu Yian had some more thoughts because of what the boy said.
The little boy said his parents only save whoever holds the memorial tablet. So long as they held the tablet, the parents would definitely protect that person.
Did that mean the memorial tablets were their weaknesses and they had no choice but to protect their own tablets?
Didn’t that also mean that, without the memorial tablets, they wouldn’t protect the little boy either?
Gu Yian thought for a moment and then handed the remaining tablet in her hand to the boy.
“I’ll be more at ease if you hold this.”
The little boy saw this and there was a brilliant smile in his eyes. He gently shook his head and didn’t accept it.
Creeeak. There was the sound of a door opening.
A dim light landed on Gu Yian and she turned to look only to notice that she happened to have walked to the door of the middle room. She could see the appearance of the room with a glance.
This time her eyes were caught by the two pictures hanging on the wall.
One picture was of a brilliantly smiling little boy and the other picture was, astonishingly, of herself.
Chapter 7 ~ First Game Pt.7 ~
In this moment, hearing those sort of words really made a person feel touched.
Gu Yian forced herself to smile and told the boy seriously, “Big sister is the one who should protect you.”
She withdrew her hand, stroked the little boy’s head, and following this stood up and went over to examine the corpse.
Brother Zhang made the same movements as Gu Yian, leaving the bench.
The two of them came to the headless girl’s body.
Gu Yian saw that the head had fallen to the legs of the square table at a glance before she looked again at the severed section of the body’s neck.
It was abnormally flat.
In the end, Gu Yian didn’t dare to take a longer look. She was afraid that if she kept looking she would lose her calm.
She moved her line of sight, looked at Brother Zhang, and said, “When this happened, I didn’t notice any abnormal movements.”
At the time, she had been talking to the little boy and while she would occasionally look at Brother Zhang and the others’ movements she didn’t see anything unusual.
Brother Zhang’s expression was calm and he looked reliable as he said, “I also didn’t notice any unusual sounds.”
There was nothing to talk about among the players and so they basically listened silently to Gu Yian and the boy’s conversation and looked around their surroundings from time to time.
Combined with Brother Zhang’s words, Gu Yian realized that the unknown thing which killed the female player could shield itself from the other players’ senses.
This was terrible.
The unknown was the most terrifying thing.
None of them knew what they would encounter later.
Gu Yian was contemplating this when she suddenly saw Brother Zhang turn around and walk to the little boy.
The square table wasn’t wide.
It only took a few steps for Brother Zhang to walk around half a circle and reach the boy’s side.
The little boy saw Brother Zhang’s abrupt approach and he immediately lowered his eyes, pursed his lips, and tensed his body. It was evident he was hiding something.
This performance from the boy made it clear that the players could ask him questions.
Brother Zhang opened his mouth and pressed him, “Did you know it’s your parents who killed her?”
The little boy cautiously raised his eyes and then dropped them again.
He didn’t answer Brother Zhang’s questions and only weakly asked, “Does everyone regret helping me?”
Brother Zhang didn’t reply right away and instead turned his gaze to Gu Yian.
This question of the little boy seemed to be a key choice that would trigger the next death in the game.
If a player answered wrong, they would die.
That male new player, who had covered his face first, noticed Brother Zhang and the little boy’s conversation early on and, using one hand to block the sight of the headless girl’s corpse, his eyes were focused on the boy.
He heard the boy’s question clearly and, as he saw a strange smile gradually appear on that face, he didn’t hear Brother Zhang’s voice.
The male new player hurriedly answered, “No. We don’t regret it.”
Brother Zhang and Gu Yian glanced at this male player at the same time.
This response was satisfactory and being able to answer was pretty good.
They looked toward the little boy.
The strange smile that had appeared on the boy’s face disappeared and he spoke to himself.
“No, your friend died. You must have regrets. My dad and mom had regrets too. Before they killed themselves, they told me not to casually help others. Kindness will just draw fire onto yourself.”
“You just need to have a clear conscience,” Gu Yian interrupted the boy’s words.
She said, “This is the choice we made following our hearts. You don’t need to care about other opinions; the premise being that what we do is really the right thing.”
Gu Yian walked back to the boy’s side.
“Kindness is not wrong. Not helping is also not wrong. Each person has their own way of thoughts and there’s no need to force our own thoughts onto other people.”
When Gu Yian approached, the little boy raised his head and his gaze fell on her.
He heard her talk and, at the end, smiled again.
The little boy straightened his body and, out of habit, stepped forward to hold Gu Yian’s arm.
“Big sister, my dad and mom are hungry. Let’s send them food. Maybe, if they’re happy, we won’t have to be scared of Grandma Zhao.”
His voice was still the voice of a little boy, sounding innocent and cheery, but the contents of his words made people extremely terrified to think about it.
The boy’s parents were already dead. What they wanted to eat would definitely not be ordinary food.
Just as Gu Yian was thinking about this, the little boy pointed at the headless body and said to Brother Zhang, “Can these two big brothers help carry the food?”
The food was human corpses.
Gu Yian saw this and suddenly realized why the little boy brought them into his house and even went out of his way to make meals.
It turned out that players were food.
Gu Yian only felt like the arm that was being held by the little boy didn’t belong to her anymore.
When Brother Zhang heard the boy’s words, his calm expression froze for a second before he showed unparalleled enthusiasm, “Sure. Just leave this to me and Little Jiang.”
Little Jiang was that male new player. His complexion was pallid and he didn’t even dare to look at the girl’s corpse.
The boy asked, “This big brother isn’t willing?”
He stared directly at Little Jiang.
“No, no, no, I’m willing.”
In order to prove his willingness, Little Jiang hurried forward to hold the corpse’s shoulders.
“Bring the head too. Dad and mom like whole things.”
The little boy finished his orders and then raised his head to look at Gu Yian.
“Big sister, let’s go.”
“… Mm.”
Gu Yian suddenly didn’t know which leg to move. Fortunately, her body’s unconscious reflexes were still there and, as soon as the boy started walking, she followed.
Gu Yian and the little boy were at the front, Brother Zhang and Little Jiang carried the body behind them, and there was no one else who could spare the effort to care about the remaining female player who had fainted.
Everyone crossed the courtyard, passing the middle building with the two coffins, and headed to the building opposite of the house.
Gu Yian watched the little boy push open the door.
The room’s light suddenly turned on.
She saw that she was facing a gate now and this was probably the exit that the boy took Brother Zhang and the others out of in the afternoon.
Gu Yian turned her head and saw that there was a square-shaped recess in the wall beside her with two memorial tablets placed inside.
The little boy took Gu Yian to make room and then directed Brother Zhang and Little Jiang to carry the corpse to a corner of the room.
There was a manhole cover there and Brother Zhang and Little Jiang lifted that up before throwing the body in. It was a few seconds later before they heard the dull sound of a heavy object hitting the ground.
Hearing this sound, Brother Zhang said to Little Jiang, “Let’s close the lid.”
“Close what?”
The little boy asked in confusion, “Isn’t there one more?”
The air froze immediately.
Gu Yian quickly realized there was still that unconscious female player in the house across from them.
She was about to turn around and check on the situation outside when the little boy’s hand held her firmly like an iron band.
The boy said lightly to Brother Zhang and Little Jiang, “I’ll have to trouble the two big brothers to carry over that one too.”
Little Jiang looked terrified.
Brother Zhang returned to his previous warmth, “Sure. Little Jiang and I’ll go over right now to carry it.”
Brother Zhang wiped the blood from his hands onto his clothes while sending a look at Little Jiang.
It was only when the footsteps of the two men left the room that the little boy let go of Gu Yian’s hand.
“Big sister, let’s grab the memorial tablets. Can you help me take down dad and mom’s tablets?”
Could Gu Yian even refuse?
She raised her hand and took down the two memorial tablets.
“AHHH!”
“BROTHER ZHANG, SAVE ME!”
There was a sudden call for help from outside.
A gust of wind came in and two panicked figures rushed into this small room.
Gu Yian gave these two a glance.
The two people were Brother Zhang and Little Jiang who had just left.
The little boy ignored them and said to Gu Yian, “If we’re holding my parents’ tablets, we don’t have to worry about Grandma Zhao. They’ll definitely protect us.”
Little Jiang was looking outside in a panic.
Brother Zhang heard the little boy’s words clearly though and he moved right away, walking to Gu Yian’s back.
“Little Jiang, quick, come here too.”
Brother Zhang called out to Little Jiang.
Little Jiang startled, realized it was Brother Zhang calling him over, and he immediately threw himself over to Brother Zhang.
At this moment, Gu Yian saw an old woman appear at the door.
It was Mrs. Zhao, who had been lying on the ground, that she met this morning.
Mrs. Zhao was wearing graveclothes and her two eyes stared directly at the people in the room. To be more precise, she was staring at Gu Yian.
Her eyes were nailed on Gu Yian, revealing a fierce light, and she was clutching a freshly dug out heart in her hand. She shoved it angrily into her own mouth.
This sight tested people’s nerves too much. Gu Yian couldn’t help squeezing the tablets in her hands and her breathing almost stopped.
Behind her, Little Jiang shrank his body back, wishing he could become a small child at this time.
Brother Zhang’s eyes flickered, but it landed on the little boy.
The boy glanced at Mrs. Zhao with disgust and then turned around to hug Gu Yian tightly. He buried his head into the hem of Gu Yian’s shirt as if thinking out of sight, out of mind.
The only sound in the air was the sound of Mrs. Zhao biting, ripping, and swallowing the heart, otherwise it was silent to the point of terrifying someone.
Finally, Mrs. Zhao finished eating.
Mrs. Zhao looked at the tablets in Gu Yian’s hands guardedly and her voice was as grating as a saw, “I’ll let you all live another day.”
She disappeared.
The people in the room kept their original positions and stood there for a few more minutes. They had no way of confirming if Mrs. Zhao really left.
The little boy let go, trotted outside, and then immediately ran back.
“Sister Gu, she’s gone.”
It was with the boy’s words that Gu Yian and the others dared to come out.
Gu Yian was holding two memorial tablets in her hands and behind her the male players stuck close to her like her own shadow.
She looked at the wide open door of the building across from them.
The unconscious female player who had been forgotten by them was now just a corpse whose heart had been dug out.
The boy spoke and urged Brother Zhang and Little Jiang to lift the body of that female player and throw her corpse down to be food for his parents.
Brother Zhang didn’t agree immediately and instead said, “Those tablets can save lives. We want to have one too.”
Upon hearing their request, the little boy said easily, “Okay. Sister Gu, give them one.”
He seemed to remember something suddenly, “Did I forget to say that my dad and mom only save whoever’s holding the tablet?”
Little Jiang’s expression suddenly became ugly.
Brother Zhang accepted the memorial tablet Gu Yian handed over.
He told Little Jiang, “Stick close to me. If Mrs. Zhao really comes then we’ll alternate holding this.”
The method Brother Zhang said sounded possible and so Little Jiang reluctantly agreed.
However, Gu Yian had some more thoughts because of what the boy said.
The little boy said his parents only save whoever holds the memorial tablet. So long as they held the tablet, the parents would definitely protect that person.
Did that mean the memorial tablets were their weaknesses and they had no choice but to protect their own tablets?
Didn’t that also mean that, without the memorial tablets, they wouldn’t protect the little boy either?
Gu Yian thought for a moment and then handed the remaining tablet in her hand to the boy.
“I’ll be more at ease if you hold this.”
The little boy saw this and there was a brilliant smile in his eyes. He gently shook his head and didn’t accept it.
Creeeak. There was the sound of a door opening.
A dim light landed on Gu Yian and she turned to look only to notice that she happened to have walked to the door of the middle room. She could see the appearance of the room with a glance.
This time her eyes were caught by the two pictures hanging on the wall.
One picture was of a brilliantly smiling little boy and the other picture was, astonishingly, of herself.
