"Is there anything else you need me to do?" the little monster asked with concern, circling around him.
Its body was filled with curiosity about Yin Xiu, and it would intentionally or unintentionally move closer to sniff, look, and secretly observe him.
"That's all, let's go back." Yin Xiu turned around calmly, grabbed the tentacle that was secretly circling around him, and held it in his hand. "Take me back to where you usually stay."
The little monster was shocked. "Are you going to stay here? Aren't you going to run away?"
"Didn't you want me to stay by your side?" He held onto the tentacle tightly, moving with the monster in the darkness. "I have no other family, and you have no family either, so we can become family."
He finally remembered what the monster had told him: the first person to want to be part of his family.
When Yin Xiu brought it up, the little monster was a bit confused. "But I don't know what family is!"
"Go and study," Yin Xiufeng said casually. "Read the books slowly, and then you'll understand the meaning of family."
His initiative caught the little monster off guard. No human had ever approached him so proactively before. What a... special person!
"Where's my coffin? You let me stay here, surely there's somewhere for me to sleep?" Yin Xiu asked the little monster as soon as he arrived at the location.
The little monster quickly dug out a double coffin and placed it on the ground. "Here! You can sleep here!"
"Okay." Yin Xiu grabbed its antennae and kissed it as a reward.
Before the little monster could even feel happy, the person affectionately touched it twice and then said indifferently, "I'm going to sleep now. You can continue reading. Remember to keep an eye on me and don't leave."
"Oh... okay!" the monster hurriedly replied, watching as Yin Xiu's agile and upright figure smoothly and skillfully lay down in the coffin.
It crouched beside the coffin, hurriedly opening a book and flipping through it, eager to find out what family really meant!
In the dungeon, Yin Xiu slowly woke up. He blinked in confusion, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling in front of him. He seemed to have had a dream in which he took his sister to a place full of blooming flowers and slept there forever.
But when he woke up, he found himself lying on a clean white hospital bed, and the little humanoid monster was gone.
It was quite unexpected that he could sleep so soundly in the dungeon, since he used to be unable to fall asleep alone.
Yin Xiu hurriedly got up, looked around, and got out of bed.
Just as he was about to explore his surroundings, he felt something moving in his pocket. When he pulled it out, he found a butterfly flapping its wings.
"What is this?" Yin Xiu looked down and took the butterfly, examining it while also looking at himself.
He noticed the change in his height and perspective, as well as the change in his physical strength; it seemed that his body had changed.
"Brother Xiu! Are you alright, Brother Xiu? Have you seen Ya Ya over there?!" A strange man's voice came from the butterfly, leaving Yin Xiu somewhat bewildered.
Brother Xiu... they must be calling him, right? Yin Xiu is his name, but he's being called Brother Xiu?? This seems to be a respectful form of address.
"Who...who are you?" Yin Xiu stared at the butterfly in front of him, somewhat confused.
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Zhong Mu was speechless. "Brother Xiu... are you so affected by the dungeon that you don't even remember me?"
"I don't know you at all. I don't know anyone in this instance." Yin Xiu looked at the butterfly, then at his surroundings and himself, and became increasingly aware that something was wrong.
Zhong Mu was silent for a moment, then tentatively asked as if to confirm, "Brother Xiu, how long has it been since you cleared all the dungeons?"
"It's been about three years..." Yin Xiu vaguely remembered it being like that.
"How long has it been since you last entered a dungeon?"
"About a year..."
"So, are you familiar with Boss Ye... uh, Ye Tianxuan?"
"The man who often bothers me is not someone I'm very close to."
Upon hearing his answer, Zhong Mu instantly understood. The Xiu-ge who said he didn't know anyone in the dungeon was definitely not the current Xiu-ge. Considering the time, he was basically certain that the Xiu-ge he was talking to now had regained his memories, but they were confused, and he thought he was the Xiu-ge from several years ago.
"Well... Brother Xiu, I know you're not in a very good mental state right now, and you don't really trust me, but you can consider what I say before deciding whether to believe it or not."
Zhong Mu first briefly explained his situation in the town and the instance, then explained Ye Tianxuan's matter, then explained Ya Ya's encounter with him, and the current situation of this instance.
Throughout the hurried narration, Yin Xiu listened quietly.
The information that came out of Zhong Mu's mouth was like a dream to Yin Xiu.
He said that he is now very popular with the players in the town, and they all like him very much. He said that Ye Tianxuan has become a good friend of his, and he and the players in the town did their best to save Ye Tianxuan's soul and even went to find items to revive him.
He also mentioned that he had a good relationship with a strange little girl in the dungeon, and that he also brought along Zhong Mu, a newcomer, and a monster boyfriend named Li Mo.
All the news piled up, leaving Yin Xiu dizzy and disoriented.
It seems as if the protagonist of this wonderful future is not myself, but a stranger.
This is completely different from his previous life. He was a god of death that everyone avoided and monsters hated. How could he be popular with the players in the town? How could he have a good relationship with the little monster girl? And... how could he become boyfriend and girlfriend with Li Mo, who was supposed to be family?
"I'll take a deep breath..." Yin Xiu took a deep breath. He probably learned from Zhong Mu that his memory seemed to be confused. In fact, he was already in his twenties and had been in the town for a long time. He had returned to the instance.
Memories of my teenage years suddenly flooded this place, and I was overwhelmed by the beauty around me.
"Anyway, Xiu-ge, you have to trust your boyfriend. If you need my help, just call me. Remember the floor plan in your pocket, and remember to find a courtyard that leads out!" Zhong Muqian repeatedly reminded him, as he really wanted to clear the dungeon.
Yin Xiu obediently rummaged in his pocket and actually found some things.
A withered red flower, a withered blue flower, a floor plan of the mental hospital, a crumpled set of mental illness classification rules, and a pair of red butterfly communication devices.
He held the two withered flowers, somewhat puzzled.
Do you, in your twenties, have the habit of carrying plant tags with you? Why didn't you throw them away even after they withered?
He unfolded the rules of the mental illness hierarchy and roughly understood which instance he was in. He had cleared it before and had an impression of this instance in his memory.
With the map unfolded, Yin Xiu had a clearer understanding of his next move.
Although this instance is a mental instance, as long as one's mental state is extreme enough, it is also possible to break out of the instance; that's how he has done it before.
If your vision is distorted and you see some strange figures, then kill them all.
The crazy zone is full of crazy players and dangerous security guards, so let's kill them all.
When the entire mental hospital is silent and unobstructed, he can slowly look for a way to leave. This is how Yin Xiu used to complete dungeons.
Perhaps it was because he was in his twenties and had responsibilities to bear, that he seemed to no longer choose such a crude way to get through the game.
There are countless illusions in the dungeon, and many players. Yin Xiu used to not care because no one would enter the dungeon with him, but now Yin Xiu seems to care. He is afraid that he might accidentally kill the person next to him in the illusion.
He was no longer alone, and he became much more composed as a result.
Yin Xiu touched the knife at his waist, not wanting to destroy something his future self had worked so hard to obtain.
Just as he was pondering this, a head suddenly peeked out from the doorway of the ward, and a girl in a little red dress quickly darted into the room and went to Yin Xiu's side.
"Brother, you're awake! Are you feeling unwell?" The innocent little girl tilted her head and asked him with concern.
Hearing the familiar address, Yin Xiu was still somewhat dazed.
He stared blankly at the little girl in front of him. "Are you...a monster?"