Chapter 6

After Brother Zhang and the others finished cleaning the kitchen, the little boy pointed to a closed door on the side and said to Gu Yi’an, "Sister Gu, that’s my room. You can take a nap first. When you wake up, we’ll be back."
The expressions on Brother Zhang and the others’ faces immediately soured.
They were all players, yet they had to follow the little boy to trigger the plot, while Gu Yi’an got to sleep in the room!
The difference in treatment was just too stark!
Ignoring their stares, Gu Yi’an smiled and thanked the little boy for his kindness.
The little boy led Brother Zhang and the others across the courtyard to the house opposite, which had only a door.
The boy walked in front, followed closely by Brother Zhang, with the three newbie players sticking close to him, none willing to fall behind.
Gu Yi’an didn’t follow. Watching from a distance, she noticed the room was pitch-black, as if it could swallow people whole, making it impossible to see anyone inside.
In the blink of an eye, the door that had been open a moment before suddenly closed.
Gu Yi’an stared at the door for a while.
Then she turned and headed toward the room the little boy had pointed out to her.
She decided to trust the boy, it was better to follow her instincts.
The little boy’s room was fully furnished. Near the window stood a desk, old and worn but clean and tidy.
Gu Yi’an wanted to search the room for clues, but for some reason, as soon as she entered, she was overwhelmed by an irresistible drowsiness.
Remembering the boy’s mention of a nap, she didn’t hesitate. She sat down in the chair by the desk, rested her arms on the desktop, laid her head on her hands, and closed her eyes.
Gu Yi’an fell asleep.
A gust of wind from nowhere swirled around Gu Yi'an.
The room's lights flickered on and off.
A faint sound emerged, and upon closer listening, it resembled footsteps.
The footsteps grew nearer, lingering around Gu Yi'an.
Soon, another set of footsteps joined in, this one heavier and more pronounced.
The noises continued for a while, but Gu Yi'an slept soundly, hearing nothing.
The room fell silent.
Two sets of footsteps came to a halt around Gu Yi'an.
After a while, the desk lamp suddenly crashed to the floor.
"Crash!" A piercing shatter echoed as the light bulb shattered into pieces.
This time, Gu Yi'an, being closest to the source of the sound, reacted slightly, her eyelashes fluttered.
The wind in the room immediately began to swirl, as if hinting at the agitated mood of the unseen presence in the room.
A few seconds passed.
Gu Yi'an did not open her eyes.
A few more minutes went by.
Gu Yi'an remained completely still.
Several more minutes elapsed.
The two sets of footsteps, one light, one heavy, resumed, this time heading toward the door.
Once the footsteps faded, the room fell into complete silence.
By the time Gu Yi'an woke up, the little boy and the four players had already returned.
She was roused by the little boy's voice.
"Sister Gu, wake up quickly! Something terrible has happened!"
Something had happened!
Gu Yi'an jolted awake.
She saw the little boy and, behind him, Brother Zhang and the others.
Brother Zhang, an experienced player, remained calm even in the face of disaster, but the three novice players were pale, sweating profusely, and the two female players were on the verge of tears.
Seeing that Gu Yi'an was awake, the little boy immediately explained, "Grandma Zhao has come back to life. She's targeting my brother and the others."
Perhaps because the little boy was present, Brother Zhang took the initiative to elaborate.
"When we reached Grandma Zhao's house, we saw a hearse waiting outside. We asked the neighbors and found out that Grandma Zhao had died suddenly after returning home."
"We waited for a while when suddenly we heard shouts from inside her house that she had come back to life. We peeked inside and saw the old woman standing there, staring at us. She said she remembers all of us who didn't help her up and that she would come for us tonight."
Gu Yi'an straightened up, her fingers unconsciously tapping on the table as she looked at Brother Zhang and the others. "Why exactly you three?"
The three novice players trembled, their fear palpable. Hearing Gu Yi'an's question, their psychological defenses crumbled.
The female player sobbed, "We don't know why it had to be us. There were so many people watching. But she only looked at us."
Upon hearing the female player's cries, the little boy silently lowered his head. He waited until her sobbing subsided a little before speaking.
"It might be because of me," he said. "Even though I didn't go out, she knew I was there. The older siblings got dragged into this because of me."
His voice was filled with sorrow as he continued, "My parents were killed by her. After they died, some neighbors stopped letting Granny Zhao take advantage. Every time she sees me, she curses at me and asks why I didn't die with my parents."
Hearing this, the two female players stared at the little boy's figure, their eyes filled with intense hatred and fear.
They resented the boy for bringing this trouble upon them, yet they were also afraid of him.
The other novice male player was slightly better off; he averted his gaze, refusing to look at the boy.
Even though Gu Yi'an knew the little boy was mysterious and that his words might not be entirely true, she couldn't help but reach out and pat his head upon hearing his story and seeing his dejected, wronged expression.
"Granny Zhao got what she deserved," Gu Yi'an said.
The little boy remained silent.
It seemed Brother Zhang had anticipated the boy's explanation, as his expression showed little surprise.
Stepping forward to comfort the boy, Brother Zhang said, "It's not your fault. We were the ones who went to see her. Even without you, she would have come after us. That Granny Zhao is the type to hold a grudge over the smallest things."
When the boy looked up, his eyes were misty.
"If I hadn't wanted to go see her, you wouldn't have followed me," he sniffled. "It's because you kindly helped me that you accidentally provoked her."
Brother Zhang and the others said nothing.
They hadn't willingly helped the boy out of kindness, they had no choice! If they hadn't helped him, who knew what even more terrifying things might have happened?
The little boy glanced out the window, composing himself. "Let's have dinner first. We'll see if Granny Zhao really comes tonight." He said it so casually, but Granny Zhao was a corpse that had faked death that very day."
The players' moods were heavy.
The little boy ran to the kitchen, refusing any help from the players, as if intentionally leaving them time to talk.
The five players sat around the square table again, a near-repeat of the noon gathering.
This time, Brother Zhang took the initiative to speak. "After we entered that room, we only took a couple of steps before reaching the main door. That room and the middle room were probably built later, originally part of the courtyard."
Gu Yi'an nodded; she had guessed the same. The room they were in now had windows and connected to the kitchen, living area, and other spaces.
The other two rooms on either side only had doors and no windows. One held the coffin, and the other led to the main entrance.
Brother Zhang stared at Gu Yi'an and said, "When we came back, we saw two memorial tablets placed on the wall directly opposite the main door."
Gu Yi'an asked, "His parents'?"
Brother Zhang replied, "Most likely."
He spread his hands. "That's all I have to say."
Gu Yi’an knew it was her turn to speak. Without holding back, she voiced her speculation directly, "His parents' ghosts might still be here."
The "he" referred to by both Gu Yi’an and Brother Zhang was the little boy.
Upon hearing this, the three novice players couldn't help but startle. The male player managed to stay somewhat composed, but the two female players grew visibly flustered.
Brother Zhang, upon hearing this, wasn't overly surprised. He asked, "Did you see them?"
Gu Yi’an didn't deny it. "I was too tired at the time and only vaguely noticed some unusual movements around me, but I was pulled back into sleep. When you returned and saw me, did you notice the lamp on the floor? It was probably them."
Gu Yi’an's words further dampened the players' spirits. The three novice players, in particular, barely touched their dinner. They were about to encounter the dead, and there might even be life-threatening dangers. At a time like this, who had the appetite to eat?
Gu Yi’an didn't eat a single bite because she felt she had overeaten the mushrooms at lunch.
Dinner consisted only of rice, with the little boy bringing them a jar of chili sauce to go with it.
When Brother Zhang saw the trademark and barcode on the sauce bottle, his appetite surged, and he ended up eating two bowls of rice with the sauce.
That night, since Granny Zhao could appear at any moment and a life-or-death crisis loomed, none of the six wanted to sleep. They closed the doors and windows and gathered around a square table.
The little boy, feeling bored, clung to Gu Yi’an and asked her about all the places she had visited during her budget travels.
Gu Yi’an had casually fabricated her identity as a budget traveler and hadn't expected the little boy to take it seriously.
She had no choice but to dig into her memory for interesting places, embellishing them slightly and omitting specific locations as she recounted them to the little boy.
Under the dim, yellowish light, shadows swayed on the floor.
Suddenly, a faint breeze drifted through the tightly shut room.
Among the novice players, the female player who had been absent-minded suddenly felt a draft blowing against her neck.
Her body stiffened involuntarily.
She glanced around and saw the other female player beside her, as well as Brother Zhang and the male player on the side. They all seemed normal, and when they occasionally glanced in her direction, they showed no signs of noticing anything unusual.
The female player began to think she was being overly suspicious.
Just as she thought this, she suddenly heard a woman's voice apologetically say, "Miss, my son accidentally spilled tea on your clothes. Let me change them for you."
At such a critical moment, the female player's mind worked unusually fast. She remembered, the little boy's parents were already dead, weren't they?
The female player's eyes widened in shock.
"Thud!"
Gu Yi’an and the others heard the noise and looked up toward the source of the sound.
By the square table, the female player who had been sitting there moments before now had her head missing.
The other female player turned and saw the bloody scene beside her. Being the closest, the impact was overwhelming, she couldn’t even let out a scream.
Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.
The novice male player covered his face, exuding an aura of utter collapse.
Now, the only ones still conscious were Gu Yi'an, Brother Zhang, and the little boy.
Gu Yi'an was the only female still awake.
Truth be told, even Gu Yi'an was startled by the sight of the headless corpse.
She was just an ordinary person, how could she have ever witnessed such a scene before?
But in this game world, she knew clearly that she had to stay awake and remain calm. The only one she could rely on was herself.
Gu Yi'an lowered her gaze, forcing herself to calm down.
Suddenly, she felt warmth on her left hand.
Gu Yi'an turned her head and saw the little boy covering her slightly trembling left hand.
The little boy noticed Gu Yi'an looking at him.
He looked up and gave her a sweet smile. "Don’t be afraid, Sister Gu. I’ll protect you."