Chapter 77
Chapter 77
Jiang Li shot a sharp glance at Aunt Xiaoyu.
This fake Caregiver’s schemes were so obvious they might as well have been written on its face.
It was trying to lure Jiang Li onto the balcony!
If Jiang Li hadn’t seen the gruesome sight of the real Aunt Xiaoyu being devoured through the Toilet window while she was bathing, she might have actually fallen for it.
However, she had to save the child suffering from the asthma attack!
If Jiang Li stood by and did nothing, then one of the only three humans in the dormitory would die, leaving only two-Jiang Li and one other human child.
According to the usual tactics of an Aberration, it would surely find a way to kill the remaining child as well.
Eventually, Jiang Li would be the only one left in a room full of Aberrations.
At that point, it would be incredibly easy for her to accidentally violate the rule stating one “cannot go out alone.”
Therefore, to be safe, Jiang Li had to save this child!
After thinking for two seconds, Jiang Li walked over and grabbed Little Fatty Girl and Little Shota, intending to take them both to the balcony to collect the clothes and find the medicine.
Unexpectedly, Aunt Xiaoyu suddenly swept her large hand out, hooking it around Little Fatty Girl’s neck.
“Niuniu has a disability in her right foot; she can’t go to the balcony with you.”
Aunt Xiaoyu curled her lips, her eyes gleaming with triumph.
Jiang Li’s brow furrowed.
This Little Fatty Girl was indeed disabled, having had her right leg amputated.
Now, the only one who could accompany Jiang Li to the balcony was Little Shota.
But if Little Shota was the “second ghost in the dormitory,” then taking him to the balcony would still violate the rule of “not going out alone.”
Jiang Li would still die.
Right now, the Black Kid’s condition was getting worse and worse.
If she delayed any longer, he would certainly die!
Forget it.
There was no other way.
Jiang Li strode over, rolled up her sleeves, and picked the Black Kid up in a horizontal carry.
Jiang Li didn’t have much physical strength, especially now that she was in the body of a six-year-old girl.
But she hadn’t forgotten that after her perfect clear of the second Instance, she had received a “100% Stamina Increase” buff!
Lifting the Black Kid was much easier than she had imagined.
With the Black Kid in her arms and Little Shota by her side, Jiang Li headed out.
This way, it didn’t count as “going out alone”!
Furthermore, even if Little Shota deserted her at the last moment, the Black Kid she was carrying was at least a human.
She wouldn’t die from a rule violation.
Jiang Li’s maneuver was something Aunt Xiaoyu hadn’t anticipated.
When Aunt Xiaoyu saw the three of them go out together and return safe and sound a short while later, she gritted her teeth so hard they nearly shattered!
As Jiang Li led the two children back into the room, Aunt Xiaoyu was so furious that she yanked the covers over her head and went to sleep.
“Lili, thank you for saving me!”
The Black Kid scratched the back of his head, looking at Jiang Li with gratitude.
After speaking, he walked over to his bed and fished out a small iron box from under his pillow.
The Black Kid opened the box, took out two candies, and pressed them into Jiang Li’s hand.
“I’ve been saving these candies for a long time. Here, you eat them,” the Black Kid said, his face shy.
Jiang Li waved her hand, intending to refuse.
However, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a card inside the iron box.
On the cartoon design, three large characters were printed: “Candy House.”
Jiang Li’s pupils constricted.
She quickly wrote on a piece of white paper: “You’ve been to the Candy House?”
Rule 4 of the Cabin Rules stated:
[The Orphanage does not have a “Candy House.” If someone wants to take you to the Candy House, please refuse them.]
Seeing Jiang Li’s confusion, the Black Kid explained with a bewildered look:
“The Candy House… hasn’t everyone been there? Lili, you’ve been there too. Did you forget?”
Jiang Li obviously wouldn’t remember such a thing.
She knew nothing about what the six-year-old girl named Lili had done.
Jiang Li intended to ask more questions, but the candle in the dormitory suddenly went out.
“Alright children, stop the noise! Lights out, go to sleep. Get back to your beds!”
Aunt Xiaoyu had taken the candle and blown it out.
The dormitory was plunged into darkness.
Seeing the candle extinguished, the Black Kid and Little Shota immediately jumped into their blankets and hid.
Jiang Li had a flashlight, but it wasn’t convenient for her to call the Black Kid back up.
She could only ask another day.
Jiang Li also returned to her covers and lay down.
This Aunt Xiaoyu next to her was clearly doing this on purpose!
It was constantly setting traps, trying to hinder Jiang Li’s every move.
After Jiang Li lay down and opened her eyes, she could see Aunt Xiaoyu’s bright, glittering eyes right beside her.
Was she planning to stare at her all night instead of sleeping?
Jiang Li simply rolled over, turning her back to the Caregiver and facing the Little Fatty Girl.
She closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Outside, the cold wind howled and the rain pattered incessantly-perfect conditions for falling asleep.
Not long after Jiang Li drifted off, she felt Aunt Xiaoyu get up behind her.
She heard the rustle of clothes as the woman got out of bed, walked to the door, and gently pulled it open.
Then came the sound of three sets of footsteps.
Jiang Li could sense things entering from outside.
One was a cripple with an uneven, limping gait.
Another made a wet, squelching sound as it stepped across the wooden floor.
Those two things first stopped in front of Jiang Li’s bed.
Their burning gazes remained fixed on her for a full thirty seconds.
Jiang Li kept her eyes tightly shut and did not open them.
A moment later, they moved on to the adjacent beds.
Soon, the sound of chewing echoed through the dark room.
It sounded like someone crunching on gristle-crunch, crunch.
It sounded like they were enjoying a delicious meal.
Aunt Xiaoyu’s voice rang out in Jiang Li’s ear:
“Oh dear! What should we do? If you don’t go save them now, you’ll be the only one left in this room!”
Her words were accompanied by a gleeful, snickering laugh.
That high-pitched, eerie cackle felt like nails scratching a blackboard, making one’s skin crawl.
Jiang Li continued to feign sleep, ignoring her.
In the pitch-black dormitory, the Black Kid was the first to feel pain.
He scrambled up in a panic, let out a terrified scream, and pushed the monstrous thing away, retreating into the corner.
“Don’t come over here! Don’t eat me… Go away!!”
The Black Kid clutched his pillow and hurled it at the dark shadow.
The commotion woke the Little Fatty Girl, who was already being gnawed on.
She burst into tears of terror and began to shriek from her corner.
“Ah!! A ghost! A ghost! Waaaah, Sister Lili, wake up! I’m scared…”
The Little Fatty Girl patted Jiang Li’s blanket, but Jiang Li remained unmoved.
Aunt Xiaoyu’s low voice whispered in her ear again:
“If you don’t get up and help them, they’re all going to die…”
The room was a cacophony of horrific sounds.
Jiang Li found it impossible to sleep through the noise.
However, she did not get up, nor did she open her eyes.
The two children screaming in the dormitory struggled for a while before eventually falling silent, having been eaten clean.
The stench of blood was so thick that Jiang Li felt like she was suffocating.
This agonizing sensation lasted until the latter half of the night.
Jiang Li was eventually woken by the sound of sobbing.
Frowning, she opened her bleary eyes.
A flash of lightning illuminated the dark room.
Jiang Li saw two bloody children standing at the foot of her bed.
A boy and a girl.
The Little Fatty Girl sobbed convulsively. “Sister Lili, why didn’t you save me? I was eaten alive by them… How could you be so heartless? Waaaah…”
The Black Kid stood beside her, staring at Jiang Li with blood-red eyes full of resentment.
He reached out a hand mournfully. “Give me back my candy! You don’t deserve to eat my candy! I hate you!”
The two children refused to leave, crying and making a scene at the foot of her bed.
Jiang Li felt a massive headache coming on from the noise.
She pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation and lay back down.
Then, she pulled a flashlight out of her Space and clicked it on.
The dormitory brightened instantly.
In the quiet room, there were no monsters to be seen.
On the long shared bed, the Black Kid and the Little Fatty Girl were both fast asleep, even drooling a little.
As expected, as long as the room was lit, nothing would happen.
Rule 7 of the Cabin Rules:
[Do not believe any sounds heard in the darkness.]
Darkness would induce hallucinations!
Jiang Li had already realized this while showering in the Toilet.
Furthermore, the Black Kid and the Little Fatty Girl hadn’t violated any rules. Even if Aunt Xiaoyu let Aberrations inside, they had no reason to eat those two children.
To avoid suffering from nervous exhaustion due to lack of sleep, Jiang Li decided she would sleep with the light on tonight.