chapter 4

When Cheng Miao went outside, she saw Er Gou holding an old-fashioned radio he had somehow dug up from somewhere.

She had no idea how long it had been, but the radio could still play music.

Cheng Miao took the radio and switched through several stations; all the others were just static noise.

This station kept playing a mournful song hummed by a woman, and aside from the eerie feeling, it offered no other information.

For peace of mind, Cheng Miao simply removed the batteries.

She couldn’t afford to waste any more time. Cheng Miao originally planned to take the NPCs upstairs with her. Whether or not they were trigger points, having more people made her feel braver.

Unexpectedly, the kids had been thoroughly frightened by the skeleton earlier, and the song from the radio had startled them again.

Any ambitions of punishing evil or searching for clues about missing children had vanished into thin air. Seeing Cheng Miao about to go upstairs, they shook their heads vigorously, insisting on going home.

Before Cheng Miao could stop them, the group dashed outside with a “whoosh.”

Cheng Miao chased after them into the courtyard, only to find that the previously wide-open gate had somehow been tightly shut…

The iron gate looked as if it had been closed by an invisible hand. It wasn’t locked, but the three children’s faces turned red from pushing, yet they couldn’t budge it.

Cheng Miao stepped forward to try, but it didn’t move at all. It seemed the Game wasn’t over yet; not even the NPCs could leave.

Seeing the kids about to cry again, Cheng Miao, headache mounting, coaxed and scared them into calming down.

After promising she would definitely get them out, the children clustered around Cheng Miao like chicks around a mother hen.

Cheng Miao: …That’s a bit much.

While Cheng Miao was comforting the children, the courtyard-which had been as silent as a still photograph-suddenly came alive with sound.

“Swish… swish… swish…”

With her back to the courtyard, Cheng Miao’s hair stood on end. The sound behind her was…

A child jumping rope!

The whoosh of the Rope slicing through the air, the “thud… thud…” of a child landing, and even faint giggles from a Little Girl.

Cold sweat soaked Cheng Miao’s back. She cursed inwardly-this really was a supernatural Instance. Keeping a straight face, she turned her head to look behind her.

There was nothing there…

As soon as she turned, even the sudden sounds vanished, leaving only a few marks on the ground where rotting leaves had been dragged.

Cheng Miao’s heart sank. Those were the marks left by a Rope scraping against the ground while someone was jumping.

“Sister Miaomiao… what’s wrong?” Hu Zi looked at Cheng Miao’s tense posture, glancing curiously behind her.

“You didn’t hear anything?” Cheng Miao raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Hear what…? Wuwuwu, don’t scare us!” Seeing Er Gou about to cry again, Cheng Miao helplessly claimed she’d misheard, finally calming him down.

It seemed either the dangers in the Instance only targeted the Player, or things weren’t serious enough for the NPCs to notice yet. Either way, it wasn’t good news for Cheng Miao.

Now, with no way out, the kids-no matter how unwilling-could only stay here.

But no matter how Cheng Miao coaxed them, they refused to go upstairs, saying they’d rather wait in the Clinic Room.

…Don’t you think the Clinic Room is even scarier?

After exhausting her words to no avail, Cheng Miao realized this was probably required by the plot; from here on, only the Player could proceed.

Walking through the dark Corridor, Cheng Miao pondered that the Little Girl named Liu Xue was definitely a breakthrough point. She was the only one holding a Jump Rope in the photo, so Room 402 deserved special attention.

The security doors on both sides of the third floor were tightly locked, and the floors above the fourth were sealed by iron gates. The clues should only be on the second and fourth floors.

It truly was Novice Village difficulty, basically laying out all the clue locations for the Player to find.
Because of Liu Xue’s importance, Cheng Miao first pushed open the door to 402.

It was a room tidied up with warmth and care. Although the furniture was old, each piece was carefully covered. On the coffee table sat a vase with several decaying flowers whose species could no longer be identified.

The walls were covered with children’s crafts, most of which were family portraits. A man and a woman, with a Little Girl in the middle, her hair in twin ponytails, wearing a red dress and holding a Jump Rope.

Next to the long-withered flowers on the dining table was a photo: Liu Xue’s parents happily holding her.

Cheng Miao finally saw Liu Xue’s face clearly-she was indeed a pretty Little Girl, making bunny ears with her hands, grinning at the camera.

In Liu Xue’s Bedroom, Cheng Miao found the most useful clue so far-a Diary.

After making sure nothing else was missed, Cheng Miao sat on the sofa and began to read the Diary.

“April 8th: Brother Qiqi from downstairs went missing. His parents are very worried and cried for a long time. I hope Brother Qiqi can come back soon.”

“June 14th: Brother Qiqi’s parents called Aunt Li a Human Trafficker. Aunt Li was very sad, so I gave her a piece of candy.”

“July 2nd: Aunt Li was taken away by several uncles. I don’t know when she’ll come back.”

“July 30th: Aunt Li came back.”

“August 15th: Sister Wenwen also went missing.”

“September 4th: Mom and Dad said Aunt Li is an old spinster, and spinsters are bad people. They won’t let me play with Aunt Li anymore. I’m not happy.”

“October 23rd: My stomach hurt today. Dad took me to Brother Xu’s house to see a doctor. Brother Xu gave me medicine and said I’m pretty.”

“January 22nd: Brother Xu gave me candy again. I like him.”

“March 9th: Today is my birthday. Mom bought me a red dress. I really like it. Mom and Dad went to work. Aunt Li asked me to come play with her, but I promised to visit Brother Xu first.”

The Diary ended here. Looking at the crooked handwriting, Cheng Miao fell into deep thought. It seemed there was another key figure: Aunt Li, who lived in 401.

Back then, people in Minsheng Lane already suspected Aunt Li was connected to the children’s disappearances. On July 2nd, Liu Xue saw Aunt Li being taken away, presumably by the police. Since Aunt Li returned, it meant she was either not the perpetrator or there was insufficient evidence.

Cheng Miao took the Diary, planning to check 401, when suddenly, the previously empty Bedroom was filled with rustling sounds.

“Wuuu… Xue’er, where are you?”

A woman’s heartbroken sobs, a Man’s heavy sighs and pacing, all echoed in the somewhat empty room.

Clutching the Diary, Cheng Miao tiptoed to the doorway of Liu Xue’s Bedroom and peeked inside.

The once dusty room now seemed to have returned to the days when people still lived there.

A woman, looking haggard and worn, clung to a stuffed doll by the bed, crying her heart out. A Man, his temples graying, sat beside her, gently comforting her.

After a while, the woman, still crying, grabbed a stack of missing person flyers and tried to leave, but the Man stopped her. They argued fiercely, ending with the woman slamming the Bedroom door.

Watching the Man cover his face and weep, Cheng Miao’s sympathy outweighed her fear. “Hello…”

Seeing no response from the Man, Cheng Miao stepped closer and asked again, “Excuse me, did any strangers appear nearby before Liu Xue went missing?”

Strangely, the Man seemed not to hear her, sobbing to himself.

Cheng Miao narrowed her eyes and reached out toward the Man.