Realizing that Monstrosities had infiltrated the live comments, the number of active participants instantly dwindled.
Yin Xiu silently tucked the Little Girl's blanket around her. "She's still alive, definitely still alive. That's why I'm still searching."
"When I find her, I'll introduce you to her. So for now, go to sleep early."
"Mmm..." The Little Girl nodded hesitantly, obediently closing her eyes. "Goodnight, brother."
Yin Xiu gave an absentminded nod before rising and leaving the room.
The live comments immediately erupted again.
"Alright, now I understand why Yin Xiu is so kind to this Little Girl—wiping her face, washing her hands, even taking her to bathe. He must see her as his sister."
"Treating an instance monster like his sister? Yin Xiu must've stayed in this town too long—his mind's not right anymore."
"Yeah... That Little Girl isn't his sister. Why be so nice to her? He's usually so harsh with us."
"Next time, maybe we should disguise ourselves as a little girl to lure him out of the house?"
"Brilliant idea. You probably wouldn't even realize how you got sliced in half. Dancing on landmines, huh?"
"Exactly."
Yin Xiu opened the Little Girl's door. Unbeknownst to him, night had already fallen. The living room was now nearly pitch-black, with only the faintest sliver of light from outside outlining the furniture.
He closed the Little Girl's door and turned toward his own room.
Just as he reached the center of the living room, a cold wind howled outside, rattling the windowpanes. A sudden chill surged through the room, swallowing Yin Xiu in the darkness.
Sensing something in the living room, Yin Xiu stood motionless, one hand gripping his knife hilt. He let his eyes adjust to the dark, scanning the
space.
The pale walls stood out starkly in the night, while the furniture's silhouettes blended into the shadows, their shapes unchanged from daytime.
Yet Yin Xiu saw nothing out of place—only an eerie, pervasive coldness that stabbed into his lungs with every breath.
Instance Rule Six: Stay in your room at night. Do not enter the living room. Do not let it find you.
Clearly, "it" had already appeared in the living room, but it hadn't attacked Yin Xiu directly. Instead, it lingered, circling around him.
Was it because it hadn't found him yet?
Yin Xiu pondered—what unconscious action of his had kept him unnoticed? Staying silent? Not moving?
As he deliberated, a bloodcurdling scream tore through the night. Another Player in a different room had fallen victim.
On the live stream, viewers could clearly see that while Yin Xiu remained unharmed in the living room, another Player standing in their own living room was instantly devoured by something in the dark. Their body was torn apart, vanishing into the blackness in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only the sounds of chewing and swallowing.
They couldn't even see what it was—an almost formless entity that had killed the Player in an instant.
The excessively powerful killing ability sent chills down the Players' spines, and their gazes involuntarily shifted to Yin Xiu in the living room. It was over—even Yin Xiu was done for this time. No matter how sharp his reflexes were, instant death was unavoidable. Even Yin Xiu wouldn't survive this.
Yin Xiu stood motionless in the darkness, quietly sensing his surroundings. He truly couldn't see any figure, but he could feel something slithering around him, even a sticky sensation brushing past his skin.
This intangible pressure instinctively kept Yin Xiu frozen for nearly a minute, rooted in the darkness, almost blending into the living room furniture.
"What's going on? All the Players still in the living room are completely motionless... and none of them have been killed?"
Those watching from outside the screen couldn't perceive the oppressive presence. They simply stared blankly at the frozen scene in the living room, where no one moved.
"Newbie alert! If the rules say not to be found, then obviously there's a way to hide yourself."
"This rule is actually pretty considerate—it specifies the time, place, and method of evasion. It's one of the easier dangers to avoid, which is probably why the Little Girl has events to stall the Players."
"Right? I noticed this Instance's rules love creating contradictions. On one hand, Players can't refuse the Little Girl, but on the other, she demands actions that break the rules. So sneaky."
"And when Players encounter 'it' in the living room as per the rules, their first instinct is probably to rush back to their rooms. But the moment they move, it'll notice them."
"Noted, another strategy. But this is a beginner Instance—I've already cleared it. Not sure if I'll ever need this."
"Better safe than sorry."
Since they were all Players aiming to clear the Instance, they naturally analyzed it while watching. Even in the dead of night, many were engrossed in the livestream.
Inside the Instance, the chilling presence, having failed to detect anything, gradually retreated from the living room until its aura vanished entirely.
Yin Xiu glanced around the living room, confirming nothing was there, before cautiously relaxing and taking a tentative step forward.
No attack came from the living room—only silence answered him.
He continued toward his room, completely unaware that with every step, a shadow followed beneath his feet, slowly entering the room with him.
"Those still in the living room who avoided danger are gradually returning to their rooms. Shouldn't anything else happen tonight, right?"
"If they're resting, I should too. Staying up late to watch Yin Xiu's Instance is exhausting."
"Same, I'm off to sleep. Watching them sleep is worse than sleeping myself. Tonight should be over now."
"Given this Instance's rules, tonight might not end so easily. Don't forget the last rule about nighttime."
"Ah... Rule Seven, right? But the trigger condition is so vague—no one knows what causes it."
"From my experience, rules this ambiguous usually have triggers tied to other rules."
"So you're saying the two nighttime rules are actually linked?"
"Very likely."
"Only you veterans can analyze the rules so thoroughly. As a newbie, I can only watch and learn."
"You'll start studying the rules once you can clear an Instance on your own... Just survive a year first."
The live comments quieted down, and so did Yin Xiu's room.
After returning to his room, he tidied up a bit before lying down in the dark to sleep.
In this Instance, the nights were pitch-black indoors, making it inconvenient to do anything. But he could see lights outside the window—a hazy, sprawling glow in the distance, as if there was another densely populated area somewhere far away.
Yin Xiu touched the knife hanging at his waist and decided to rest briefly before climbing out the window to investigate. He was simply too exhausted.
As drowsiness settled over him, Yin Xiu fell into a deep sleep. The room was so dark that he hadn't noticed the pair of black footprints left beside his bed when he returned.