The live comments erupted in chills, both curious about the strictly enforced rules of the town and the enigma that was Yin Xiu himself.
For the town to issue so many warnings about him, he must inherently carry danger.
When the sound of wailing and sobbing came from the neighboring house, Yin Xiu was in the middle of removing the bathroom mirror. He tilted his head slightly in confusion toward the noise before continuing to wrap the mirror in cloth and placing it atop a cabinet in his room—ensuring the Little Girl couldn't reach it.
After inspecting the entire house, he found mirrors only in the bathroom and the room he had woken up in—one for washing up, the other for makeup.
The room he had woken in was likely the "mother's room" mentioned in the notes. The Little Girl had her own room, while the room where the man named Li Mo had awakened was probably a guest room. There were no gender-specific items inside, just basic necessities for visitors. The house bore no trace of a father—even the photos showed only the mother and daughter. It was unlikely he would make an appearance.
Once the mirrors—a rule-violating element—were dealt with, Yin Xiu checked the fridge. It was stocked with plenty of food: vegetables, fruits, enough to last them three days.
At this stage, completing the first phase of the Little Girl's note tasks seemed simple enough. As long as they took precautions and didn't act recklessly, survival for three days was manageable. The next phase, however, was another story.
"What are you doing?" Li Mo appeared silently at the kitchen doorway, watching Yin Xiu chop vegetables.
Rolling up his sleeves and wearing a pink apron, Yin Xiu stood in the kitchen, swiftly and deftly handling the knife as he sliced ingredients on the cutting board with practiced ease.
"Cooking," Yin Xiu replied flatly, gesturing toward the calendar hanging on the wall. "Today is the first day. She hasn't eaten yet."
Li Mo glanced back at the calendar, walked over, and flipped through its pages. Today was the 17th, and the 19th was circled—likely the day the mother would return.
Three days: the 17th, 18th, and 19th.
The mother's note had specified that they must eat every day. Today was the first day, so they had to have a meal.
Li Mo narrowed his eyes as he looked out the window. The current time in the Instance was dusk. If they failed to realize this before nightfall, they might be judged for breaking the rules and die by midnight.
"Holy shit, I didn't even notice that!"
The live comments exploded with shock from Players who had just been reminded. "We were so focused on the Monstrosities that we completely forgot to check the date!"
"That's how the Instance is designed. Players entering for the first thing immediately look for the rules and memorize them. Not long after, a Monstrosity—the Woman-shows up to harass them one by one."
"After being scared, Players barely have time to calm down before they have to eliminate the most immediate death risks from the rules. By the time they recover, it's almost night, so they instinctively focus on nighttime rules and threats—forgetting about the ever-present but inconspicuous rule about eating."
"This Instance is so insidious!"
"Good thing Yin Xiu is here this time... If Players from other towns watching his stream realize what he's doing, they can warn their own town's Players."
"Right now, there must be tons of people watching Yin Xiu's broadcast—he's the beacon of this Instance."
"I'm already taking notes. There's a lot to learn."
"Once the players gather and the live comments are shared, I want to see what the other dimensional towns will say."
"I have a feeling there'll be a wave of people praising Yin Xiu."
"Of course they will. By the way, that pink apron actually looks quite fitting tied around his waist..."
"Guess what you want to say: mommy material."
Amid the cheerful live comments, Yin Xiu had already finished preparing several dishes.
He took out what appeared to be the lunchbox the Little Girl had brought to school from the refrigerator, filled each compartment with food, added rice, then closed the lid before heading to the Little Girl's room.
Before leaving, Yin Xiu glanced back at Li Mo standing by the kitchen door. His gaze had been fixed intently on the food ever since Yin Xiu finished cooking. For someone who spent ninety percent of his time staring at Yin Xiu to suddenly shift his attention to the food, Yin Xiu had a bad feeling.
"Don't steal any. I don't want to cook again. If I come out and find the food gone, I'll tie you up in the living room tonight." Yin Xiu's eyes darkened as he issued the serious threat.
Li Mo smiled faintly and nodded, his previously restless hands now obediently folded in front of him.
Yin Xiu turned and opened the door to the Little Girl's room, stepping inside.
It was a simple child's room—a small bed with pink sheets, the wall above it adorned with various cute stickers. Stuffed animals littered the carpet, and a nearby bookshelf held a few well-worn fairy tales, their pages showing signs of frequent reading.
Seeing Yin Xiu enter, the Little Girl, who had been playing with her toys on the carpet, immediately tensed up. Her hands kneaded the rabbit plushie, leaving bloody handprints all over it.
"Time to eat." Yin Xiu placed the lunchbox on the room's only desk, his peripheral vision noting the bloodstains smeared across the carpet around the Little Girl—and even on her own body.
"Okay." Hearing this, the Little Girl obediently hugged her toy and got up from the carpet, walking to the table.
"Why are you so dirty?" Yin Xiu scrutinized her from head to toe. The blood on her dress had dried, but the stains on her fair skin looked unsettling.
"You mean this blood?" The Little Girl smiled innocently. "It's from other people."
The "other people" were likely players from other rooms. Yin Xiu could easily guess that while all players were in separate spaces, each room had its own version of the Little Girl—who was actually the same entity.
"Wait a moment." Seeing the Little Girl about to sit down and eat, Yin Xiu quickly stopped her and hurried out the door.
Puzzled, the Little Girl stayed where she was. After a short while, Yin Xiu returned with a damp towel.
"Hold out your hands."
"Okay." The Little Girl obediently extended her small hands.
Yin Xiu used the towel to wipe away the blood on her hands, then cleaned her face as well. "You're supposed to wash your hands before eating. Didn't your mother teach you that?"
The Little Girl froze. "She did..."
"Remember next time." After cleaning her up, Yin Xiu folded the blood-soaked towel, his expression indifferent. "I'll find you a new dress later. Take a bath before bed."
"Okay." The little girl nodded groggily and sat down at the table, ready to eat.
She turned her head and noticed Yin Xiu hadn't left yet. He was standing straight beside her, staring intently. Unable to resist, she asked, "Why are you watching me, brother? Do you want to eat too?"
"I don't eat." Yin Xiu replied calmly. "But I have to watch you eat."
The rules stated she must eat, but who could guarantee she wouldn't secretly dump the food and pretend she'd eaten once he stepped out?
Seeing Yin Xiu's distrust, the little girl scrunched up her face and huffed loudly before picking up her chopsticks. As she stuffed rice into her mouth, she muttered, "Mean brother. I've decided to hate you."
But the moment the food touched her tongue, her eyes immediately curved into happy crescents. "Delicious! Mean brother, I've decided to like you after all!"