They turned back, forced to carry Mu Ke and Liu Jiayi with them. The three children were obviously slower than an adult, but fortunately, Bai Liu (6) had led them out at 9:30. They still had a slight time advantage. The teachers chasing behind them wouldn't be able to catch up so quickly.
When they saw the gate drawing near, Miao Feichi and Miao Gaojiang's faces lit up with ecstasy. Yet the joy on Miao Feichi's face stiffened almost immediately, like wax solidifying in cold water.
He froze at the edge of the half-open gate, not daring to step outside. Instead, he even took two steps back.
Beyond the gate stood countless Slenderman-like investors, dressed in black suits and tall hats, bandages wrapped tightly around their faces. They chewed on the very bandages binding them, exposing their mouths. Sharp teeth stretched in grotesque grins that seemed to split their faces in half. Their noses tilted upward as they sniffed the air greedily, savoring the scent of fresh prey. Sticky saliva dripped from their lips.
Clad entirely in black, they blended into the night. Only when Miao Feichi reached the gate did he realize that the pale white shapes floating outside weren't moonlight at all—
They were the bandaged faces of these monsters.
They crowded around the welfare home's half-open gate, long, thin hands reaching through the bars toward the children inside. Their jaws clicked as they opened and closed their mouths, mimicking the act of chewing. Saliva dripped steadily onto the ground.
The children froze at the sight. Miao Feichi and Miao Gaojiang collapsed to the ground, still carrying Mu Ke and Liu Jiayi on their backs, their faces drained of color.
Bai Liu (6) also sat down. He adjusted his breathing and calmly looked toward the gate. "We failed," he said evenly. "As expected, it wouldn't be that easy to escape."
These monsters were likely the investors who had grown gravely ill and died after failing to obtain suitable children's blood. Now they wandered outside the welfare home at night. Any child who tried to escape would probably be torn apart by them.
The teachers soon caught up, scolding the children who had dared to flee. A sharp slap landed on Bai Liu (6)'s face, sending him to the ground.
He was beaten viciously with a broom, yet his expression didn't change. It was as if he had anticipated this outcome.
The dean locked the gate before turning back to the children, her face dark and oppressive, as though it might drip with shadow. She looked down at them condescendingly and spoke in a low voice.
"Tell me whose idea it was to escape. Anyone who speaks won't be punished too severely. But if you refuse to tell me…"
Before she could finish her threat, Miao Feichi and Miao Gaojiang, who had stopped scrambling about, glared at Bai Liu (6) with hatred and immediately pointed at him.
"It was him!"
The dean's gaze shifted to Bai Liu (6), who was slowly pushing himself up from the ground. She paused, her tone unreadable. "It seems today's baptism didn't wash away your sins, Bai Liu (6)."
"You need to be cleansed more thoroughly." She smiled gently, though there was no warmth in her eyes. "Tonight, before you are sent to the hospital on Wednesday to be paired with other investors, I will personally ensure your sins are washed away."
"The other children will be locked together for a day of fasting. Bai Liu (6) will come with me to the church for confinement."
The moment Bai Liu (6) stood, the dean seized him by the back of his collar and dragged him roughly toward the church.
He had run all night and had no strength left to resist. He was hauled along helplessly and thrown unceremoniously into the church.
As before, the dean used her usual method of punishment—forcing his head repeatedly into the baptismal pool until he suffocated. It seemed to be the only technique she knew for tormenting children.
But this time, Bai Liu (6)'s attempted escape had clearly enraged her. She pressed his head into the water with unusual force while muttering words he didn't bother listening to. "Disgusting little animal. How dare you do such a thing when you've survived this long only because of the investors' kindness?!"
Bai Liu (6) weakly half-opened his eyes. Water streamed from his lashes as he struggled again and again, only to be forced back under. Water surged into his nose, making him want to cough and choke, but before he could, she shoved him down once more.
"Do you know how much trouble you would've caused by running away?" she shrieked hysterically, yanking his hair and shaking him beneath the surface. "You inhuman little monster. Your parents caused us nothing but trouble by abandoning you. They should've drowned you at birth for the good of society—"
His eyelids gradually drooped. The "mole in water" game had grown tiresome. So had resisting.
The next time he surfaced for air, he failed to draw a full breath before being forced under again. He choked.
The dean held his head beneath the water without expression. Bubbles escaped from his mouth and nose. Strangely, his face showed none of the distorted terror of a drowning person. Even as death approached, he had grown almost accustomed to the agony of suffocation.
His eyes closed completely. His hands slipped from the edge of the pool as his body drifted in the clear water. The coin on his chest floated free from his clothes, glimmering faintly.
"Ah!" The dean snatched the coin fiercely. "How dare you steal from an investor, you sinful devil's child!"
She continued pressing him down. Bai Liu (6) vaguely thought that perhaps he would truly drown in this dull, repetitive manner.
Then—
An earth-shattering explosion erupted outside the church. A bright red system warning flashed before his eyes.
[System warning: Warning! Player Bai Liu's main identity line is experiencing a sharp drop in health. Please leave the dangerous area immediately!]
[…Health has dropped to 2… dropped to 1… Warning! Player Bai Liu's main identity line is about to die!]
The church trembled from the blast. At last, the dean stopped and turned toward the door.
"What's going on? Why is there such a loud explosion?"
Bai Liu (6) struggled upright in the baptismal pool, sitting there weakly, breathing in ragged gasps. His face remained emotionless as he stared up at the statue beside the pool—though his eyes were truly fixed on the flashing red system notifications.
Before long, the dean returned, her face dark.
"There was an explosion at the private hospital. Tomorrow's matching ceremony is canceled. Did you tamper with something after stealing from an investor?!"
As she spoke, she grabbed his throat violently and shoved him back into the water.
This time, he didn't struggle. He truly lacked the strength.
He lay submerged, eyes half-open. His face was pale, his lips tinged purple, pupils slightly contracted from oxygen deprivation. Reflected in the transparent red system panel before his eyes was the image of a strange god bound to a reversed cross by thorns.
The surreal sight made his thoughts drift.
Was there really a God in this world?
Didn't his other self once say that if he changed his name to Bai Liu, God would look after him? He had behaved quite well tonight. Why hadn't God protected him?
The god's eyes suddenly moved.
Pure white and without pupils, they opened and gazed down at Bai Liu (6), who was being forcibly baptized. A faint warmth radiated from the figure. The thorns binding the god writhed as if trying to tighten their hold, yet a holy brilliance still spread outward.
Bai Liu (6) felt a momentary trance, as though something vast and gentle had descended to shield him.
[System warning: Player Bai Liu's health has continued to decline… Health has stopped decreasing. Remaining health: 0.5. Player Bai Liu's main identity line has survived.]
[System warning: NPC Dean attempted to kill a child within the church, triggering God's taboo.]
[God will deliver punishment.]
The dean was suddenly flung away by an invisible force, crashing into a pillar with a scream.
But it did not end there.
The thorns on the cross grew wildly. Countless thorned vines burst from the ground, coiling around the dean. They wrapped her completely, leaving only her eyes visible through the tangled mass.
She stared at Bai Liu (6), who had crawled out of the baptismal pool, and at the god whose eyes were now open behind him. Terror seized her. She fell to her knees, begging.
"No, God, I didn't mean to drown him! I was only disciplining a sinful child! Please—don't punish me like this—ahhhhhh!"
The next second, the thorns tightened.
Blood splattered across the marble floor as she screamed hoarsely. The thorns pierced her mouth and skin, burrowing violently through her body like grinding blades. Soon, her movements ceased. Her head drooped.
Blood dripped from her body, mingling with the water droplets falling from Bai Liu (6).
She was dead.
The thorns gently laid her corpse on the ground. Within seconds, it dissolved into points of light that scattered and vanished.
[System notification: NPC Dean has died. Data recovery in progress…]