Chapter 73

Chapter 73

“Ma’am, your injury is quite serious. Why don’t I take you to register for an appointment?” Xia Xiaoqiang felt guilty.

Dai Chunli shook out her clothes, absolutely livid.

However, she was currently desperate for money and in a hurry to get back to transfer the title of the house slated for demolition.

Her mind was entirely filled with the massive compensation-millions, perhaps tens of millions. She didn’t even care about a small burn settlement right now.

“Forget it, forget it! Get out of my way!!” Dai Chunli irritably pushed Xia Xiaoqiang aside and rushed off in a panic.

Xia Xiaoqiang stared blankly at Dai Chunli’s retreating back, completely stunned.

Xia Guofeng, who had been watching from a distance, walked over and asked with concern, “Xia Xia, did you get burned? Let Daddy see.”

Xia Xiaoqiang’s hands were as fair as usual.

She shook her head. “I’m fine, Dad. But that lady… she had such a large blister on her hand from the burn and didn’t even care. I feel like she’s a bit crazy.”

Recalling Dai Chunli’s behavior, Xia Guofeng let out a cold snort.

He warned his daughter, “That madwoman is Jiang Li’s stepmother. She’s incredibly malicious! Be careful in the future. If you see that woman, stay as far away as possible.”

Xia Xiaoqiang’s eyes widened in surprise. “Huh? So she’s the stepmother who forced Sister Jiang into the mental hospital? If I’d known it was her, I would have splashed that boiling water right in her face.”

Xia Xiaoqiang spoke out of spite.

Meanwhile, the distant Dai Chunli was gripping the handrail, hurrying down the stairs.

She had only taken a few steps when her face suddenly turned pale.

Immediately after, a violent surge of pain erupted from her abdominal cavity!

It felt as if she were being pinned to the ground and kicked repeatedly with lethal force.

A moment later, the burning pain gradually faded.

But what followed was a long, drawn-out sensation of suffocation.

It was as if a living person was being buried alive in the dirt.

Dai Chunli collapsed backward onto the stairs in agony, letting out a sharp scream.

As if she had gone insane, her hands clawed incessantly at the “invisible sand” on her face.

At that moment, a passerby walked past the stairs.

The phone in the passerby’s hand happened to be displaying Jiang Li’s livestream.

A System notification sounded from the device.

[Jiang Weisen has been unlinked. The currently linked family member is: Dai Chunli.]

[Now officially entering the next Instance.]

[Instance Name]: Sunshine Orphanage.

[Instance Introduction]: Sunshine Orphanage is a shelter for orphans on the outskirts of the city. Strangely, all the orphans here are “children with defects.” Here, you will play the role of Lili, a six-year-old mute girl. It is said that no child here lives past the age of seven. Your seventh birthday is fast approaching…

[Clearance Conditions]:

1. SSS Rank: Investigate the truth behind the Orphanage Aberration Incident and eliminate the Pollution Source.

2. S Rank: Secure a suitable family for adoption and escape the Orphanage.

3. A Rank: Survive through your seventh birthday.

As the System read out the Instance details…

Jiang Li’s consciousness possessed the body of the little mute girl, Lili.

Before she could even get a clear look at her surroundings, she felt a heavy kick to her stomach.

The next second, she fell into a pit, and countless grains of sand and dirt pelted her face.

It was pitch black before Jiang Li’s eyes.

She realized that her eyes had been covered with a black silk ribbon.

She couldn’t even see who was attacking her.

However, Jiang Li could feel that her hands were tied behind her back with a rope.

She wanted to cry out for help, but the “mute” attribute prevented her from making any sound.

If she remained lying in the mud pit and allowed herself to be buried, she would surely die!

In her desperation, Jiang Li used all her core strength to perform a sit-up, forcing herself upright within the pit.
The moment she stood up, all the sand and dirt flying toward her froze in mid-air before falling to the ground.

Jiang Li broke free from the hemp rope binding her hands and pulled off her blindfold.

Out in the wilderness, the area around the mud pit was completely deserted.

It was as if everything that had just happened was merely Jiang Li’s hallucination.

As she stood there dazed, the gloomy sky suddenly flickered twice with white light.

*Rumble-*

A clap of thunder crashed down.

Immediately after, heavy droplets of rain began to pelt down, quickly soaking Jiang Li to the bone.

A six-year-old little mute stood blankly in the rain, her body covered in black mud and rainwater.

“…Xiao Li?”

Nearby, the back door of a courtyard was pushed open.

An old woman carrying an umbrella stepped over the threshold and walked out from the courtyard.

She wore thick, floral-patterned cloth clothes, and her hair was streaked with grey.

Jiang Li glanced over, but the sky was too dark to see the woman’s face clearly.

However, judging by the old woman’s silhouette, she walked with a slight limp, as if she had suffered an injury.

Granny Liu held a small padded coat in her arms.

She hobbled over to Jiang Li and draped the coat over the girl’s shoulders.

“Why did you run out here all by yourself? You didn’t even say a word to Granny Liu.”

Granny Liu held the umbrella over Jiang Li’s head.

Then, she took the little girl’s hand and led her through a small wooden gate nearby.

The wooden gate shut with a *clatter*.

The sign hanging on it shook twice.

On the decaying wooden board, the large characters for “Sunshine Orphanage” caught the eye.

Rain lashed against the sign, washing away some of the freshly applied red paint.

The rainwater dripping down from the board was as crimson as fresh blood.

***

The sky had grown dark, and the rain continued to fall incessantly.

The buildings of the Orphanage were dilapidated, exuding a thick, damp, and cold atmosphere.

Led by Granny Liu, Jiang Li walked into the backyard of the Orphanage.

Her gaze fell upon a corner of the yard.

Another bolt of lightning flashed.

In that plot of land, which was less than eight square meters, Jiang Li saw a large tombstone standing tall alongside many small tombstones.

On the large tombstone, the inscription had already become blurred and illegible.

However, a memorial portrait of the deceased was embedded on the front.

As for the small tombstones, they were simply engraved with names and ages, with nothing else added.

None of them were for children over the age of seven.

“Don’t worry, Xiao Li. You’re a good child; you’ll be fine.”

Granny Liu patted Jiang Li’s head twice, offering words of comfort.

Jiang Li looked away indifferently and gave a small nod in response.

She followed Granny Liu into the wooden building of the Orphanage.

The third floor of the wooden building was where the children lived.

Granny Liu led the way while Jiang Li followed closely behind.

*Dong- Dong- Dong-*

The wall clock in the wooden hall struck six times.

The sound was dull, yet carried a hint of the ethereal.

Accompanied by the creaking of the wooden stairs, the two reached a room at the end of the hallway on the third floor.

“Good child, hurry inside to take a bath and change your clothes.”

Granny Liu hunched her back and shook the rain off her umbrella, giving Jiang Li a kind smile.

Right then-

A flash of lightning crackled outside the window.

The bright light pierced through the wet glass panes, illuminating the room.

For a brief second, Jiang Li saw Granny Liu’s face clearly.

Granny Liu’s face was exactly the same as the old woman in the memorial portrait on the tombstone in the backyard.