"Good morning."
Standing at the door was the man exuding an eerie aura. He was still dressed in his damp black suit, smiling faintly as he greeted Yin Xiu without a trace of emotion.
Yin Xiu wasn't surprised. According to the town's rules, this man was indeed his roommate. The fact that he had entered the beginner Instance was clearly because this "newcomer" was here.
Yin Xiu remained composed, but the Little Girl sitting beside him immediately tensed up. The moment she noticed the man, she clutched her doll tightly and hid behind Yin Xiu, whispering nervously, "Brother, is that person also sent by Mommy to take care of me?"
Yin Xiu nodded. "Yes."
The Little Girl frowned, hesitating for a few seconds before reluctantly peeking out from behind him. "Okay..."
She eyed the man warily, while he simply smiled back at her.
After a few seconds of silence, the Little Girl was the first to look away. She tugged nervously at Yin Xiu's sleeve, awkwardly changing the subject. "Brother, have you finished reading? Can I see Mommy's note now?"
"Not yet." Yin Xiu patted her head. Worried she might accidentally glance at the contents, he stood up and began pacing around the room.
"What are you reading?" The man smiled as he struck up a conversation.
Yin Xiu handed him the Instance rules, testing the waters. "Can you see this rule?"
The man lowered his gaze, staring at the paper Yin Xiu held out, then shook his head. "No."
"Hmm." Yin Xiu was certain now—this man wasn't a Monstrosity from the town, nor was he one from the Instance. But for him to follow him all the way here was quite something.
"By the way, do you want to know my name now?"
The man smiled, his gaze lingering on Yin Xiu as usual.
"If you go change into dry clothes first, I might consider asking." Yin Xiu turned away, ignoring him.
The man pondered for two seconds before obediently turning and heading back to his own room.
Only after he left did the Little Girl, who had been tense the entire time, finally relax slightly. She resumed fiddling with her doll, though her attention was clearly scattered.
So even Monstrosities inside the Instance could be afraid of unknown entities.
Yin Xiu mused to himself as he leisurely paced around the room, examining Mommy's note.
[Mommy's Note Rules:]
My dear, Mommy has to leave home for three days. During this time, you must follow the instructions I've left for you.
1. Do not go outside under any circumstances.
2. Do not look in the mirror.
3. Do not open the door for anyone. Do not let them find you.
4. Eat every day.
5. At night, always sleep in your own room. No matter what happens in the room when you wake up, it's normal.
6. After three days, retrieve the package Mommy left outside the door.
The constraints in the note were fewer than Yin Xiu had expected.
The Player's rules included the requirement to help the Little Girl follow Mommy's instructions.
The survival rules applied to the Players, but Mommy's note was for the Little Girl—it didn't affect the Players. However, since there was a condition to assist the Little Girl in surviving, did that mean it was related to the Clearance Rule?
Yin Xiu flipped the two notes over and discovered another rule written on the back of the survival rules.
[Instance Clearance Rule:]
1. Leave the Monster's corpse on the town's Altar.
2. Have the Little Girl complete all the rules on Mommy's notes.
Then it was crossed out with a purple line.
Yin Xiu stared at the third rule for a long time, contemplating whether to include it in the rules. Since it was crossed out, it probably meant it wasn't part of the rules, right?
"So that means I can kill the Monstrosity?" he muttered under his breath.
The Little Girl on the sofa stiffened and warily raised her head.
The door beside them creaked open again. This time, the man emerged no longer drenched. The moisture on him had completely vanished, but his clothes remained unchanged—still the same black suit.
Yin Xiu doubted he could find an identical suit in this room filled only with items belonging to women and children, nor did he understand how the man had dried himself so quickly. He decided to let the question slide.
"What's your name?"
The man smiled. "Li Mo."
Yin Xiu nodded. "Hello, Li Mo. I'm Yin Xiu. Could you open your mouth for me now?"
Li Mo hesitated, then cautiously parted his lips, revealing rows of sharp teeth. In the next second, Yin Xiu crumpled the two rule notes into balls and stuffed them into Li Mo's mouth, considerately closing it for him.
A series of dense chewing sounds erupted from Li Mo's mouth, followed by a loud gulp as he swallowed the paper whole.
After being ground by the countless layers of teeth deep in his mouth, even if the Little Girl tried to pry Li Mo's jaws open to retrieve them, the rules would be irreparably shredded.
Yin Xiu's sudden move left Li Mo stunned, the Little Girl stunned, and the Players outside the screen equally stunned.
A flood of live comments whizzed past.
"I know destroying the notes is the best way to prevent the Little Girl from seeing the rules and causing his death, but why did he have to shove them into his roommate's mouth?!"
"How should I know? He moved so fast I barely saw it."
"Wait, did he even memorize the rules? Destroying them like this is asking for trouble! Remembering the rules is the top survival strategy in an Instance!"
"But keeping the rules in this Instance is just as dangerous... especially since the Little Girl has already spoken."
"So how is he going to respond to the Little Girl's demands now...?"
The bewildered gazes of the crowd refocused on Yin Xiu.
Realizing the notes had been eaten, the Little Girl burst into tears, scrambling over in a panic.
She wanted to tug at Li Mo, who had swallowed the notes, but didn't dare. Instead, she grabbed Yin Xiu, crying and growing increasingly grotesque. "I hadn't read them yet! Bad brother! Give me back Mommy's notes!"
Tears streamed down her face, her once-innocent features twisting with each sob. Her mouth stretched unnaturally wide, teeth sharpening into fangs, and the sounds emerging from her throat were less like cries and more like the snarls of a Monster.
She dug her sharp nails into Yin Xiu's hand, wailing, "Give me back Mommy's notes! Or I'll eat you! Eat you!!"
In the blink of an eye, she transformed from a harmless little girl into a horrifying monstrosity, snarling and glaring. Even through the screen, Players instinctively recoiled, fearing a repeat of the scene from the neighboring room.
But Yin Xiu remained unfazed.
He stared at the gradually distorting Little Girl, firmly gripping her sharp hand and pulling her toward the table, lazily placating her, "Stop crying. It's my fault for accidentally losing the note, but I remember what was written on it. How about I rewrite it for you?"
The Little Girl's sobs hitched, her twisted face now filled with confusion.
Rewrite...?
Was... was that allowed?
The rules of the Instance had already been devoured by Li Mo, and the rules Yin Xiu was about to write clearly didn't belong to the Instance—but this didn't violate her wish to see her mother's note.
Thanks to Yin Xiu's chaotic methods, she wasn't even sure if she should keep crying anymore.
Seeing her hesitation, Yin Xiu pointed at Li Mo, who was smiling as he watched the scene unfold. "If you don't want that, you can dig through his stomach to find the note yourself."
The moment those words left his mouth, live comments exploded in shock:
"Holy shit, Yin Xiu is ruthless! Trying to get his roommate killed, huh?! The Little Girl will definitely tear open his stomach to look for the note!"
"I always knew he was cold-blooded, but I didn't expect him to be this cruel! No wonder the town never lets anyone become his roommate—whoever does is doomed!"
"Better stay far away from him in the future."
Contrary to the outrage in the live comments, the atmosphere in the room grew tense.
The Little Girl froze, then turned to look at Li Mo.
Li Mo grinned slightly, revealing teeth far more sinister and terrifying than hers. Maybe the live comments couldn't hear it, but she could—the ravenous hunger rumbling from deep within his throat sent shivers down her spine.
A chill ran down the Little Girl's back, and she instantly let go of Yin Xiu.
This handsome brother was truly vicious! Telling her to dig through that man's stomach for the note? Trying to trick her, huh?! She wasn't falling for it!