Chapter 172
Chapter 172
Azim stepped out of the crowd. His ill-intentioned gaze swept across the streamers who dared not meet his eyes. Following the scores displayed in the system, he selected ten relatively low-scoring people while perfectly avoiding Qiao Yu’s entire group.
The selected streamers stood uneasily in place, waiting for the broadcast’s next instruction.
But the only possible substitutes were Qiao Yu’s group of five, and all five possessed Review Cards. Choosing them would be pointless. If they used their cards to swap back, the original ten would still have to play.
It seemed Azim had done this deliberately to exhaust the Review Cards held by those streamers.
Damn him.
What should they do? Should they choose replacements?
“The children in the game may now choose someone with a lower score to take their place. Time limit: ten seconds. This opportunity will not be offered again.”
Should they choose?
Of course they should. Since things had reached this point, they might as well force those people to consume their Review Cards. No one would have an easy time!
Qiao Yu was unsurprised by their selections. He narrowed his eyes at Kong Xianya and the others. “Don’t use your Review Cards yet.”
Lucia overheard him and quietly slipped her Review Card back into her pocket, then waited for the order to begin.
Azim frowned and instinctively looked toward Qiao Beibei and Qiao Xiaowen.
Both children had their brows furrowed and appeared equally helpless. Azim obediently closed his mouth.
“Hide in corners, hide behind doors. Make no sound and do not move. Let’s see if she can find you… Ding, ding, ding! Time until the game ends: three hours and ten minutes. You have ten minutes to hide. Go! Be careful not to get caught.”
Were they really playing hide-and-seek?
Anyone caught would probably die!
At that thought, the ten participating streamers bolted without caring about anything else.
Qiao Yu dragged Shang Yan along for a while, then turned helplessly toward the four burdens following behind him. “Why do you keep following me?”
Luo Yunmeng smiled. “Safety.”
Kong Xianya nodded. “Same.”
“And you two, stop following me!”
Lucia and Chinnawat pretended not to understand. “Our Chinese isn’t very good. We don’t understand.”
Qiao Yu was speechless.
Fuck!
Had they fed the Language Comprehension Pill to a dog?
“Hiding time is over. The game begins!”
The broadcast penetrated every corner and entered the streamers’ ears.
Sob, sob…
A nearly inaudible cry accompanied the wind.
A male streamer in a vest panted as he ran from the backyard and crawled beneath a foam mat beside the reservoir.
He had only just hidden when water suddenly splashed from the reservoir. A huge spray rained down and struck the foam mat.
Icy water soaked through the foam and wet his back.
Through a raised gap along the edge, he saw a figure with light-brown hair climb step by step from the water.
Her back was shapely and curved. Water dripped from her long hair into the reservoir, sending ripples across its surface.
No matter how beautiful she looked, he knew… normal people did not casually walk out of water. This figure had to be a ghost.
Was this the “Big Sister Maria” from the broadcast?
As the female ghost reached the bank, she casually brushed aside the brown hair clinging to her face like coiled water snakes.
Her swollen, waterlogged face was exposed to his view. Beneath her pallid skin, blood vessels twisted grotesquely, making her hideous.
The male streamer hurriedly covered his mouth and did not dare take a deep breath.
-Hahaha! This idiot streamer is done for.
-What rotten luck. He hid inside Maria’s lair!
-How do you think Maria will deal with him? Strangle him or… drown him?
-Maybe she’ll strangle him first, eat him, then sink the bones with flesh still clinging to them into the pond.
-Impressive. The person upstairs is a real psychopath.
Watching the malicious comments flood his Live Stream Room, the male streamer dared not imagine the scene. He clenched his teeth, terrified of revealing even the slightest trace of himself.
The female ghost suddenly glanced toward his hiding place.
The streamer stopped breathing and watched her nervously.
The next second, Maria looked away and slowly walked off, trailing damp mist.
He immediately sighed in relief. Before he could celebrate, a familiar childish voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Qiao Xiaowen’s face appeared in the gap between the mat and the ground, blocking his view of the outside world.
“Big Sister Maria, don’t cry anymore. Your baby is here.”
What was she saying?
What baby?
The male streamer’s face turned white with fear.
Qiao Xiaowen retreated. A bloodshot eye appeared before the gap, fitting it so perfectly that it looked as though an eye had grown from empty air!
The female ghost lay flat on the ground, her body twisted into a grotesque pose. Contrary to her previous behavior, she began chuckling.
“Baby, Mommy found you.”
Her rough, sinister voice contained no emotion, as though announcing his death sentence. The male streamer’s limbs stiffened as if frozen.
The foam mat covering him was ripped away. An icy hand landed on his shoulder, lifted him effortlessly, and dragged him toward the reservoir.
After the initial shock, he tried to save himself, only to discover that he could not move. He could not even raise an arm.
How could this be?
His eyes bulged as he stared at the little ghosts laughing beside him. After stopping for a moment, his heart began pounding wildly.
Everything happened too quickly. Before he could react, the female ghost pressed his head down and threw him into the water.
Her weeping continued beside his ears. “My baby, my baby…”
Cold water poured into his ears, eyes, and mouth, invading every opening in his body. He wanted to struggle, but invisible hands seemed to restrain his unresponsive limbs and drag him downward. It was as though he had become the foam mat itself, sinking toward the deepest point…
Bubbles rose continuously through the smooth surface. They became fewer and fewer until the water fell calm once more…
“Announcement: Qiao Zhangsan has been caught. ID: Zhangsan.”
The broadcast even announced captured streamers. Wasn’t that meant to increase the psychological pressure on everyone else?
The watching streamers shuddered and tried to leave the dangerous area. Before they could escape, Qiao Beibei stepped forward with an evil smile. “Don’t leave so quickly. There’s no need to be afraid. You aren’t participants in the game. Besides… every child caught adds points automatically. The first is worth 2 points, the second 4 points… and so on.”
Moonlight washed over Qiao Beibei’s flour-white face. Shaking tree shadows fell across it, making him look even more sinister than Maria slowly wandering through the courtyard.
Many streamers still hesitated, but the temptation of points was too great. Without Review Cards to save their lives, it was difficult not to be moved.
Qiao Xiaowen’s gaze swept across each streamer’s head. The black mist invisible to human eyes gradually deepened, becoming dense and heavy.
All the orphanage’s little ghosts curled their lips, madness filling their eyes.
Soon. Very soon… we’ll all be the same.