The bamboo baskets in the orphanage were all cheap, handmade by local villagers.
They were sturdy enough to hold vegetables and household odds and ends, and could even be used as oversized backpacks when going out. A true bargain for the price.
But as a hiding place… they weren’t very reliable.
The gaps were everywhere. Even if you stacked a few together and let dust clog up the spaces, one glance was all it took to spot the black figure hidden inside.
The man’s eyes swept over the nearly invisible footprints on the floor and the faint layer of dust that had fallen beside the basket.
He sneered. With the same motion he had used to kick over a wooden table earlier, he lashed out with a heavy kick.
The baskets were fragile, and had been sitting here for years. If someone really was hiding inside, one kick would leave them half-dead.
That was exactly what he intended. He even added extra force, determined to knock out the person hiding inside.
Bang!
Rotten, foul-smelling radishes and cabbages exploded across the floor.
Man: ???
Where was the person? Why had they turned into radishes?!
Impossible!
Face twisted with disbelief, he crouched down and grabbed the basket, shaking it violently. Dust poured out, nothing else.
Man: “…”
He turned and searched the rest of the house, cabinet, table, stove, every corner that could hide a body. Not a single trace.
Where the hell did they go?
He’d been sure the person was inside. Where could such a big human possibly vanish to?
He searched again, unwilling to give up, but the result was the same: nothing. Time was slipping away.
Outside, the players he’d knocked unconscious were beginning to stir, faint groans breaking the silence.
With no better option, he dragged someone out with him and left.
Only after the man’s figure finally disappeared did Qi Yu pat his chest and let out a long breath.
“Holy crap, I almost died just now.”
He had been this close to diving into that basket himself. If he had, the radishes and cabbages splattered across the floor would’ve been him.
Xie Shao’s arm tightened around his waist. He leaned in by Qi Yu’s neck, voice low and steady.
“So… you don’t trust me to protect you?”
“How could that be?” Qi Yu hurriedly waved his hand, flustered. “You’re the dungeon BOSS, the strongest existence here. With you around, of course I can rest easy.”
If only they were on the same side. As it was, their relationship was nothing more than temporary allies, built on shaky ground. Who knew when it might collapse?
Qi Yu thought of the playboys back at school, born with good looks and some money, swaggering around, swapping girlfriends faster than girls changed phone wallpapers.
Compared to them, this BOSS was practically a saint. Not a flirt, good-looking, a little stubborn, yes…. with questionable logic sometimes, but still decent.
If only he didn’t keep insisting he was pregnant with Qi Yu’s child.
And, right on cue, there it was again.
Xie Shao sighed. “There’s nothing I can do. I could let go of anyone else, but you… you’re the father of my future child. For the child’s sake, I have to protect you.”
Qi Yu: “…”
Wait, wasn’t the last conversation still stuck on “what if I get pregnant”?
It’s been what, an hour? And the baby’s already confirmed?
That’s some record-breaking growth speed. Did the kid get pumped full of growth hormones?!
Qi Yu thought it, but didn’t dare say it aloud. Unless he had a death wish.
So instead, he forced a smile, glanced at the messy floor, and said carefully, “So, big bro… can we get down now? I’m getting dizzy up here.”
“Xie Shao,” he corrected calmly.
“Mm mm mm, Xie. Shao. ” Qi Yu deliberately drew out each syllable, enunciating like a child learning to talk, making it sound anything but serious.
Xie Shao didn’t get angry. He just tightened his hold, tucked Qi Yu against him, and with a swift motion leapt down from the roof beam.
A thick wooden beam ran across the kitchen. Just before Qi Yu could dive into the basket, Xie Shao had suddenly appeared, hauled him up, and settled them both out of sight.
His movements were light and soundless, his leap effortless. From that vantage point, hidden in the natural blind spot, no wonder the man hadn’t spotted them.
But now what?
Qi Yu felt at a loss. All the other players had been taken down, leaving only him. The useless leftover clinging to a thigh for survival.
No combat ability, no strategy. When the dungeon timer ran out, wouldn’t they both be finished together?
Just then, his pocket stirred. A spark of light fluttered out and transformed before him into the shape of a little girl.
Her clothes were gray and torn, hems ragged with holes, her arms and legs covered in bruises. Only her small face remained somewhat intact.
She glanced briefly at Xie Shao, then looked timidly up at Qi Yu and smiled.
“Hello, big brother.”
“Eh?” Qi Yu answered automatically, his hand reflexively patting his pocket only to remember he’d thrown on this pair of pants in a rush, with nothing in them at all.
Flustered, he could only smile back awkwardly.
He crouched down and beckoned.
“Little sister, do you need something from me?”
Her appearance made it clear she was a ghost. But she looked so pitiful, so harmless, like she had no interest in taking his head.
Besides, he had a BOSS behind him.
Qi Yu stayed calm and pulled out the item he’d picked up earlier in the cellar. To his surprise, it was a little notebook with a blue cover plastered with Pleasant Goat stickers.
“Is this yours?”
“Mm,” the little girl nodded softly. “My name is Wang Yueyue.”
“You picked up her diary,” Xie Shao explained. “That triggered her help. You can ask her anything you want to know. No more running around piecing clues together like in the attic.”
He crooked a finger. “Come, call him properly.”
Same gesture, two results. When Qi Yu beckoned, Wang Yueyue only smiled at him. When Xie Shao beckoned, she obediently trotted over and then turned to Qi Yu with a sweet smile:
“Hello, sister-in-law.”
Qi Yu: ?????
“Wait, no,” Qi Yu protested. “If you’re not the one having the child, and I’m supposed to be the father, then she should call you sister-in-law and call me big brother!”
“Oh.” Xie Shao accepted without hesitation. “Alright then child’s mother.”
Qi Yu: “………………”
If he had a choice, he would absolutely, shut the hell up.
Why couldn’t he just enjoy the advantage while it lasted? Why did he have to argue? And now look! He’d been promoted straight to the child’s mother!
Desperate to change the subject, Qi Yu quickly asked Wang Yueyue, “Do you know who it was that just captured my teammates?”
Wang Yueyue nodded. “Of course. Isn’t that the person you all came here to find?”
Her clear, innocent eyes brimmed with confusion. Weren’t they here to find him? Why was it that when he stood right in front of them, not a single one recognized him?
And instead, they got beaten up and dragged away.
Out of kindness, she decided not to rub it in.
Qi Yu: “………………”
Wait. The players came into this dungeon to find someone. Who?
The living child.
So the “living child” = that terrifying man.
Game, are you kidding me?
How can you call that full-grown man a child?!
If the game had a physical body, Qi Yu would definitely team up with a whole bunch of players to beat it senseless.
Smash its face into a pig’s head and make sure it spent the rest of its life in a wheelchair.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to the game.
So frustrating.
And speak of the devil,
Just as he was grumbling, that familiar “ding” sounded again. A light screen floated into view.
【Triggered Quest: Wang Yueyue’s Gratitude.】
【Player Qi Yu has obtained a key quest item and has gained further understanding of the living child’s identity. With the help of ghost Wang Yueyue, please quickly rescue your companions and send Song Qing to the hospital.】
【Reminder: 24 hours of game time remaining!】
Other than giving a time limit, this so-called quest offered nothing useful at all. It was just a repeat of what Xie Shao had already told him.
Proof enough of how easy life got when you had a big boss covering your back.
Selling himself cross that out, pledging allegiance to the boss really had been the right choice.
Little Wang Yueyue was clearly a major story trigger point. Her diary recorded all kinds of useful information.
He skipped past the first few pages and turned to the very beginning of her days in the orphanage.
——–Diary 📖
Day Three after being taken away by strangers.
Mom and Dad still haven’t found me. We were locked up in a place we don’t recognize.
It’s pitch black here, with only a small lamp. Writing a diary is really hard, but luckily I brought a pen and a little notebook.
It’s cold and dark here. The food is awful.
I miss my mom.
Day Four.
Two older boys were taken away.
The older sister sleeping next to me told me they were sold.
We’re kidnapped children, and they’ll sell us far, far away, to call other people Mom and Dad.
But I like my Mom and Dad. I don’t want to change.
Day Five.
A really good-looking big brother arrived. He said I was cute.
I liked him a lot.
Big brother told me not to be afraid, to be good, that someone would definitely come to save us. That we’d be able to go home to Mom and Dad, and they would buy me cake and candy.
I believe him. But I don’t want cake or candy.
I want my Mom and Dad.
Day Six.
Big brother was taken away by fierce people.
They said his family had money, so someone was chasing after him.
Does that mean we can go home soon?
At night, an older sister hugged me and cried. She cried really sadly.
I cried too.
Because I missed Mom and Dad. I missed them so, so much.
Day Seven.
A lot of people were taken away.
We few who couldn’t be sold stayed behind in the dark room.
I ate the gross food. My stomach hurt so bad.
The big brother who always brought us food told us he had poisoned all the meals.
Everyone would die.
The diary cut off abruptly there.
On the following blank page, in childish handwriting, the same four characters were written over and over, carefully practiced:
“Papa Mama.”
Flipping back to the very first page, on the blue notebook’s inside cover, there was a neat, flowing line of handwriting:
“To celebrate Wang Yueyue entering first grade, we gift her this blue notebook and Pleasant Goat stickers as encouragement.”
Signed — Love, Mom and Dad.
Beneath it were three crooked smiley faces. Two big, one small.
If she had never been kidnapped, she would have grown up in a warm family, cherished like a little princess.
But there were no “ifs.”
Instead, she had become the ghost Wang Yueyue standing before him now, wearing ragged, filthy clothes, her body covered in wounds.
Qi Yu suddenly wished this really was just a game. At least then, there wouldn’t have truly been a little girl named Wang Yueyue who slipped silently from the world here.
Qi Yu crouched down and pulled the little girl into his arms.
He really wanted to hug her.
Unexpectedly, Wang Yueyue patted his shoulder instead, as if to comfort him.
“It’s okay. It’s all over now.”
“I may not have grown any taller, but I’m actually already a twenty-year-old grown-up. Just because I call you big brother, you can’t take advantage of me, you know.”
Qi Yu: “…”
All that sadness evaporated in an instant.
Xie Shao shot him a sidelong glance. “Exactly. Daring to take advantage of my little sister right in front of me, looks like you’ve got quite the guts.”
Qi Yu: “………………”
Wait, what?
You two???
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator sees your coffee button usage. 👀
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Enter the GameChapter 2 · Pick a roomChapter 3 · DeadChapter 4 · AtticChapter 5 · ResponsibleChapter 6 · A bamboo BasketChapter 7 · DiaryChapter 8 · Song QingChapter 9 · Sent to HospitalChapter 10 · Second CopyChapter 11 · Leaking InformationChapter 12 · Special Prop!Chapter 13 · Doctor GhostChapter 14 · Store RoomChapter 15 · Psychiatry HospitalChapter 16 · Things of PastChapter 17 · Second FloorChapter 18 · He’s adorableChapter 19 · You Like Him?Chapter 20 · Kiss meChapter 21 · Group women’s clothing PlayChapter 22 · Where’s my Skirt?Chapter 23 · Wife of Murder Doctor….Chapter 24 · Go to Third floorChapter 25 · You must find me!Chapter 26 · See you in the next dungeonChapter 27 · VideoChapter 28 · Player ForumChapter 29 · Two women vying for one manChapter 30 · The Giant WolfChapter 31 · A Kind and Benevolent FatherChapter 32 · Preparing the change clothesChapter 33 · Red Heart FruitChapter 34 · In what ways do I fall short of him?Chapter 35 · KissChapter 36 · Bald performanceChapter 37 · The Prince Has ArrivedChapter 38 · Prince Song QingChapter 39 · Should we…Chapter 40 · A Kiss of True LoveChapter 41 · BanquetChapter 42 · Snow White KingChapter 43 · KingChapter 44 · I miss you so much!Chapter 45 · LeavingChapter 46 · Wanting to See HimChapter 47 · Resource Type InstanceChapter 48 · The Banquet BeginsChapter 49 · KissChapter 50 · Full-Dive Virtual RealityChapter 51 · Everyone Is a LiarChapter 52 · MegaphoneChapter 53 · Dragon???Chapter 54 · Fire DragonChapter 55 · A powerful Fire DragonChapter 56 · Want Some Barbecue?Chapter 57 · The Characteristics of the GameChapter 58 · A little DragonChapter 59 · Searching for her sonChapter 60 · We’re Going to Tear Up the HostageChapter 61 · Mountain CollapseChapter 62 · DiscussionChapter 63 · Digging for Crystals?Chapter 64 · Making Money Selling LiquorChapter 65 · A KissChapter 66 · I’m the Best LookingChapter 67 · Ghost Ship 101Chapter 68 · Has the Competition Begun Yet?Chapter 69 · LotteryChapter 70 · First PlaceChapter 71 · The Sea Monster ArrivesChapter 72 · CooperationChapter 73 · The Man in the MaskChapter 74 · WarChapter 75 · The Players’ RevengeChapter 76 · ReturningChapter 77 · The End