Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Hou Yuanyuan was pushed forward unexpectedly, stumbling into everyone’s line of sight.

The four streamers, who had been discussing something in the small shop, instantly fell silent and looked over in confusion.

“Who are you calling sneaky!” Hou Yuanyuan, a child with a sinister air about her, had a face full of resentment.

It was truly a case of ‘Little Sunflower Mother’s Class’-what do you do when a child won’t listen? A good beating usually fixes it.

“Daddy, where did you go?”

Man-Eating Crocodile rushed forward as usual, looking even more enthusiastic to see Qiao Yu than he would his own biological father.

Qiao Yu was already mentally prepared; he shifted his footing and sidestepped the other man’s hug.

What was he doing just now?

Forget it, don’t think about it.

Qiao Yu shook the bottle of rubbing alcohol in his hand. “My wrist hurts,” he said dismissively. “What were you guys talking about?”

Pozhan glanced at the medical alcohol in Qiao Yu’s hand and didn’t think much of it. He leaned in and whispered, “Li Xiaoqin is the medium for the Eternal Life Curse-the Yin-Time Woman.”

“Yin-Time Woman?” Qiao Yu exclaimed. Wasn’t that a coincidence? He had just been wondering what that meant, and here came the explanation.

Perhaps his voice was a bit too loud, as Pozhan quickly glanced at Hou Yuanyuan standing behind him. He stepped forward and pulled Qiao Yu into a corner. “Lower your voice.”

Qiao Yu nodded obediently and whispered, “Got it. Li Xiaoqin is the Yin-Time Woman. And then?”

“The Eternal Life Curse requires the Yin-Time Woman, Li Xiaoqin, as a medium to be implemented. She has to kill seven people. If we can’t stop her, we’ll all die.”

The Instance requirement was for them to survive here for seven days. However, based on Li Xiaoqin’s pattern of killing one person a day, they would all be wiped out; there was simply no way out.

If they wanted to clear the Instance, the difficulty was as high as the heavens. Going out to find clues was already fraught with danger, not to mention that the storyline of this Instance was so confusing that they had no lead at all.

Everyone’s emotions were incredibly tense, filled with urgency and panic. Various complex feelings piled up, causing everyone to lose their usual composure.

“If Li Xiaoqin is hunting based on the house numbers, then if we hide the House Number Plate, can we avoid the death flags?” Pozhan continued to share his deductions with Qiao Yu.

At the same time, what was with that look of dependency! Hey!

Qiao Yu avoided the other man’s burning gaze and asked in confusion, “Why hide the number plates? Wouldn’t it be easier to just hide the Landlord Uncle?”

Why take the long way around!

-What the hell??

-That… I can’t help but follow his logic. It’s not like it’s impossible.

-Once and for all, 666666~

Pozhan had an expression like he’d just swallowed a fly. “A big guy like the Landlord can just be hidden? Besides, he has legs. Won’t he just run away on his own?”

Wouldn’t it be fine to just tie him up?

“It’s better not to use violence. What if the Instance mutates again? Just now, Canyue Wushuang seems to have activated a Hidden NPC in the Instance. Who knows what will happen? It’s worrying me to death. That troll disappeared after causing trouble, and I have no idea where he ran off to.”

Qiao Yu looked away guiltily and echoed, “That troll really is a handful~”

-If you had even a shred of shame, you wouldn’t be able to say that.

-Shame is a luxury for streamers.

“Sigh, I was being hasty. So, should we go steal the House Number Plate now?” Qiao Yu hurriedly diverted the other man’s focus away from Canyue Wushuang, fearing he would discover the guilty deed he had done.

Pozhan pursed his lips and said with difficulty, “But entering the Basement will accelerate the Instance Time, and there are so many Ghosts locked inside. It’ll be very hard to escape once we go in.”
Qiao Yu blinked as if a lightbulb had just gone off. Right… what was it that he had forgotten? It was right on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn’t recall it. What could it be?

“So, do you have a suggestion?”

His train of thought interrupted, Qiao Yu looked up and gave it some serious thought before slowly saying, “Then let’s just not go in. Wouldn’t it be fine if we let someone else go in for us?”

Pozhan: “???”

Qiao Yu looked pointedly at Hou Yuanyuan, who was wandering in front of the shelves packed with a dizzying array of goods. “Can’t we just let this kid go into the Basement and bring out the House Number Plate?”

-Does this streamer have no morals? He won’t even spare a child.

-I’ve never seen someone so utterly shameless.

-The stream looks great, huff huff~

-Get out of here, you guys upstairs! Is there no end to this world of judging by faces?!

“Hey kid, are there any snacks you want to eat? How about Uncle buys some for you?”

It seemed Pozhan only had this one trick: using food as a bribe.

Hou Yuanyuan turned a deaf ear, still not even sparing him a glance.

Left with no choice, Pozhan turned and cast a pleading look toward Qiao Yu.

“Uh…”

As luck would have it, Qiao Yu wasn’t paying attention to him. He was staring blankly at the ground, lost in thought.

Pozhan felt helpless. How was he supposed to address this guy?

I’m Your Dad? Is Your Dad? Your Dad? Or just call him Dad??

None of them seemed quite right.

“Uh… hey, you!”

While Qiao Yu was struggling to remember what important thing he had forgotten, someone suddenly tapped his shoulder. He saw Brother Crocodile smiling with an innocent face, pointing at Pozhan not far away. “Dad, he’s calling you.”

Pozhan: “…”

Did he really just call him Dad that naturally and fluently?

Sorry, but he couldn’t do it!

Qiao Yu looked at Pozhan. Receiving his gaze, Pozhan shifted his eyes back to Hou Yuanyuan, who seemed to be living in her own world, looking troubled.

Qiao Yu scratched his head. Without showing any impatience, he walked straight up and flicked the back of Hou Yuanyuan’s head. “Hey, do me a favor?”

Hou Yuanyuan was annoyed, especially by the person in front of her who was the source of her irritation. She asked back in an unfriendly tone, “What favor?”

“Help us go into the Basement and fetch something.”

“Okay.”

Everyone: “???”

She agreed!

Just like that?

“But…”

Hou Yuanyuan’s “but” made the streamers’ hearts leap into their throats again. This child was so eerie; who knew what kind of difficult demand she would make.

“You have to buy me jelly!”

Phew~ That was a false alarm.

Qiao Yu frowned and looked in the direction Hou Yuanyuan was pointing.

Good grief, a bag of jelly was sixteen yuan!

He hadn’t seen it for a few years, but had prices really become this ridiculous? When he was a kid, the most expensive jelly he ate was only three and a half yuan!

“How about I buy you a lollipop instead?” Qiao Yu turned to grab a candy from the second shelf. “What flavor do you like? Apple, strawberry, or pineapple?”

“No, I want the jelly!”

Hou Yuanyuan was indeed a brat. Qiao Yu put the candy back on the shelf, crouched down, and asked earnestly, “Does it have to be the jelly?”

Hou Yuanyuan nodded. “Yes, it has to be the jelly.”