They searched every classroom, every dormitory, every stall in every men’s and women’s restroom on every floor. They had practically turned the entire welfare home upside down, yet Miao Feichi and the others still hadn’t found even a trace of the blind little girl who could run and jump. No one knew where she was hiding.
Leaning against the wall and gasping for breath, Miao Feichi wiped the sweat from his forehead and cursed.
“Fuck, where the hell is that blind brat hiding?! I’ve burned through every reconnaissance item I had and still can’t find a single clue. If I didn’t know for certain she couldn’t leave the welfare home, I’d think she already escaped!”
If Liu Jiayi had managed to leave the welfare home, the game would have been cleared and the system would have announced it immediately. But until now, neither Miao Feichi nor the others had received any notification, which meant Liu Jiayi was still somewhere inside.
“The church is the only place we haven’t searched.” Miao Gaojiang was breathing hard as well. Unable to use stamina recovery potions, exhaustion was written plainly across his face. “But we’ve been circling the road to the church this whole time. If she went there, there’s no way we wouldn’t have seen her.”
“Bai Liu’s guarding the church side.” Miao Feichi snorted. “Liu Jiayi killed Bai Liu’s child. She’d have to be out of her damn mind to walk right up to him and hand over her head.”
But Liu Jiayi had no choice but to go to the church.
Once midnight on Thursday arrived, Liu Huai would enter the [Critically Ill] state, and his health points would begin dropping continuously. He only had two health points left. If Liu Jiayi failed to heal him in time, he would undoubtedly die tonight.
The Miao father and son, however, had no idea Liu Huai was with Bai Liu. After all, Miao Feichi had cut off both of Liu Huai’s hands. In their eyes, there was no reason for Bai Liu to drag around a crippled burden like him.
Before Liu Huai died, though, Bai Liu would die first.
His health value was only 0.5.
So Miao Gaojiang and Miao Feichi waited patiently as well, biding their time until midnight came to harvest Bai Liu’s life.
“I already told you not to worry so much about Bai Liu.” Miao Gaojiang glanced at Miao Feichi tiredly. “Once Thursday starts, our health and resistance stats will rise. We can drag this out until they all die.”
He was just about to lecture Miao Feichi a little more when his gaze landed squarely on his son’s face.
Miao Gaojiang’s pupils suddenly contracted.
The hand he had been about to place on Miao Feichi’s shoulder froze midair.
Miao Feichi turned around.
The handsome face he once had was gone.
In its place was the face of an elderly woman on the verge of death, bloodless and corpse-pale. She grinned grotesquely at him as boiling water dripped from the corners of her mouth, steaming and bubbling while she spoke.
[System Notification: Player Miao Gaojiang’s mental value is unstable and is undergoing oscillating decline! Please restore mental value immediately!]
Miao Gaojiang’s breathing instantly became ragged. Trembling violently, he lowered his head and hastily drank a mouthful of Mental Bleach, repeatedly telling himself this was only an illusion—a side effect caused by his forcibly depleted mental value.
Nearby, Miao Feichi looked at him in confusion.
“Dad, what’s wrong with you?” he asked. “You’ve been acting weird for a while now. I’m talking to you—why are you so jumpy?”
Miao Gaojiang barely managed to steady himself. He forced a smile.
“...What did you ask me just now?”
“Oh, nothing important.” Miao Feichi waved it off carelessly. “I just can’t understand why Liu Huai and Liu Jiayi are willing to die for each other. It’s idiotic. Makes me wonder if they’ve got some other motive.”
“...They’re siblings, aren’t they?” Miao Gaojiang murmured. “No matter what, there’s still blood between them.”
“Blood relation?” Miao Feichi sneered disdainfully. “I could never do something that stupid. If I were Liu Jiayi, I’d ignore whether Liu Huai lived or died and run by myself.”
Miao Gaojiang’s breathing turned rapid again.
His bloodshot eyes lowered as he inhaled another deep breath of Mental Bleach.
“...Let’s keep searching for Liu Jiayi.”
—
The church, 8:47 PM.
Resting against the wall, Liu Huai glanced at the time. Anxiety he couldn’t hide lingered in his eyes.
“...They won’t find Jiayi, right?”
“I don’t think so.” Xiao Mu Ke shook his head. “Liu Jiayi knows this welfare home too well—better than the teachers do. If she genuinely wants to hide, they won’t find her easily.”
He pressed his lips together, lowered his trembling lashes, and muttered quietly:
“That kid silently took down both Bai Six and Miao Feichi. Don’t underestimate her. She’s ruthless. If they really run into each other... no one knows who’ll end up dead.”
Liu Huai froze for a moment before the anxiety on his face slowly receded.
“...That’s true.”
The infamous Little Witch—the player the Kings Guild had spent an enormous price to recruit—would never lack life-saving items or methods.
Bai Liu agreed with Xiao Mu Ke’s judgment.
“Just wait,” he said calmly. “To Liu Jiayi, this welfare home is probably no different from her own playground. She knows this map better than anyone. And she has healing abilities. Besides, Miao Gaojiang’s condition is clearly unstable. He actually got hit by a newcomer like Bai Six in the underground tunnel. As long as Liu Jiayi stays cautious, she won’t be caught so easily.”
Mu Ke looked at Bai Liu urgently.
“Then are we seriously just going to sit here and wait?” he demanded. “Liu Jiayi doesn’t even know we’re at the church! Once midnight passes, you’ll enter the [Critically Ill] state! Your health value will instantly hit zero!”
Liu Jiayi would definitely heal Liu Huai.
Mu Ke still had Xiao Mu Ke as a safeguard.
Everyone here still had a chance to clear the game alive—
except Bai Liu.
Bai Liu’s health sat at a terrifying 0.5, with no apparent solution.
If Liu Jiayi failed to heal him before twelve o’clock Wednesday night, then this welfare home would become Bai Liu’s final game.
Bai Liu lazily lifted his eyes toward the statue inside the church.
“Isn’t there still 0.5 left?”
Mu Ke froze.
Bai Liu lowered his gaze back to him and smiled unhurriedly.
“Is 0.5 really that little? It’s the difference between life and death. As long as this 0.5 exists, I’m still alive. Since I’m alive, the game isn’t over. So what’s the rush?”
He casually rotated his wrist.
“I still have a damage-substitution item. At the very least, surviving until midnight tonight won’t be a problem.” Bai Liu paused slightly. “But I think if we wait until nine o’clock, Liu Jiayi will contact us herself.”
“Even then, getting Liu Jiayi to heal you willingly will still be difficult.” Mu Ke frowned.
He pushed the slightly dazed Xiao Mu Ke in front of Bai Liu and spoke with complete seriousness.
“The underground passage will reopen at nine. You have Bai Six’s phone. Take Bai Six’s blood and my child back to the hospital. Let Bai Six escort you. Use the blood to nourish the Blood Lingzhi and heal yourself first. Your health value is way too dangerous.”
Liu Huai also straightened up slightly and looked at Bai Liu.
“That really is the safer option for you.”
“And leave behind a group with zero combat ability?” Bai Liu’s gaze swept across Mu Ke’s face before falling on Liu Huai’s severed wrists. “Miao Feichi could kill the two of you with a single backswing.”
Mu Ke opened his mouth to argue again, but Bai Liu interrupted him calmly.
“Besides, if Xiao Mu Ke comes with me...” He paused. “My previous estimate—that 1.6 children’s worth of blood would be enough—was only a theoretical minimum based on investor mortality rates. It means an investor’s Blood Lingzhi requires at least 1.6 children’s blood. It doesn’t mean that amount will definitely save me.”
“What if this game’s mortality rate is seventy-five percent? Then Xiao Mu Ke would have to be completely drained dry just to save me.” Bai Liu looked at Mu Ke evenly. “Would you still agree to it?”
Mu Ke pressed his lips tightly together and lowered his head without answering.
Clearly, he had already considered that possibility.
He simply wanted to gamble.
To gamble that both Xiao Mu Ke and Bai Liu could survive.
Watching Mu Ke’s expression, Bai Liu {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} felt a slight headache coming on. Mu Ke might not have learned much else from him, but he had certainly learned how to gamble.
The pale-faced Xiao Mu Ke stood stiffly where he had been pushed forward. His fingers twisted tightly together as he stole nervous glances at Bai Liu, trembling faintly.
“In this game, Liu Jiayi is the key,” Bai Liu said calmly. “That’s why the system keeps restricting her in every possible way. Her healing skill can stabilize the children’s health while their blood is being drained.”
He lifted his eyes.
“Only if she’s on our side is there any chance all of us clear the game alive.”
Third Floor — Welfare Home Dean’s Office.
Standing beside the window, Liu Jiayi—her eyes covered by black gauze—watched Miao Feichi and Miao Gaojiang searching below with an expressionless face.
Behind her, the office door rippled strangely, blurred and unstable as though it could vanish at any moment.
[System Notification: Player Liu Jiayi has used a Special Grade Item (Magic Space)]
The father and son had already searched the Dean’s Office once before.
They failed to find her because Liu Jiayi had used her item to conceal the room.
Bai Six had informed her that the Dean NPC died last night. That meant no one would enter the Dean’s Office for quite some time. In the entire welfare home, there was no safer hiding place than here.
And she had indeed succeeded in deceiving the Miao father and son.
“The item Queen of Hearts gave me really is useful,” Liu Jiayi murmured emotionlessly. “As expected of a top-grade item from the Kings Guild’s warehouse.”
Her voice softened slightly.
“Gege... why are you so determined to stay with Mu Shicheng instead of joining the guild? No matter how many times I ask Queen of Hearts to recruit you, you refuse.”
“You insist on following someone as dangerous as Mu Shicheng.”
“With him, all you can ever be is an assassin used to block blades and take damage for others.” Liu Jiayi lowered her head slightly. “One day, you’ll get yourself killed.”
[“Jiayi, I made a friend!”]
[“His name is Mu Shicheng. He’s my roommate. He knows about my... awful past. I told him everything. Friends should be honest with each other, right? ...But he doesn’t mind at all! He’s a really good person! He just has a few... unavoidable little habits, but I can accept them! We understand each other really well, haha. Playing games together with him is actually fun!”]
“Stupid gege.” Liu Jiayi lowered her lashes. “There are no good people in this world. We’ve never met one.”
“Mu Shicheng isn’t worth you valuing him this much...” she whispered softly. “What exactly has he ever done for you? Why would betraying him hurt you so badly?”
“The same betrayal—you’ve done it to me thousands of times already, haven’t you?”
“Did it ever hurt when you betrayed me, gege?”
Liu Huai’s tear-streaked face surfaced in her mind.
He had clung tightly to her, crying until he was exhausted, tears flowing uncontrollably.
[“I don’t have any friends left anymore, Jiayi. To protect you... I did something terrible!”]
Liu Jiayi slowly clenched her fists.
But only for a moment.
Very quickly, she suppressed every trace of emotion.
She touched the quartz watch on her wrist—the one with its casing removed—and let her finger rest atop the overlapping hands.
“Nine o’clock.”
Liu Jiayi took out her phone.
The chill in her voice instantly vanished, replaced by syrupy sweetness. Her tone became soft, delicate, and obedient as she idly twined the phone strap around her finger.
“...Gege, are you there?” she asked gently. “We still couldn’t escape today either. Can you come pick me up tomorrow?”
