I’ll Come Before Bed

Her emotions were written all over her face, clear and unguarded—the little girl had all the traits of an ordinary child.

If she didn’t have a knack for killing people, she really would seem like an ordinary child.

The players watching the live comments glanced at the pampered little girl happily eating in Yin Xiu’s room, then at the fierce little girls in the other rooms waiting for their meals. For a moment, they wondered if these were two different children.

“Bad Big Brother, I’m done eating.” The little girl wolfed down all the food packed into the lunchbox in one go, then pouted at Yin Xiu with a satisfied look. “Wipe my mouth.”

Yin Xiu glanced at the towel in his hand, soaked with blood, then grabbed a tissue from beside him to wipe her mouth before putting away the lunchbox.

The little girl hugged her rabbit and watched Yin Xiu tidy up the lunchbox, looking perfectly innocent. “Bad Big Brother, can you come read me a story before bed?”

The little girl’s request was impossible to refuse, so Yin Xiu nodded. “I’ll come before bed.”

“Then I’ll wait for you.” The little girl smiled innocently, looking pleased.

In the other players’ rooms, the little girls took one bite of the awful food, then scowled and threw down their chopsticks. “It tastes awful! I’m not eating!”

She’d already taken a bite, so that counted as eating and fulfilled the rule. The players hurried over to clear away the dishes without paying her any mind, not daring to get too close to her.

“Hey.” The ignored little girl unhappily grabbed a player’s clothes. “Come sleep in my room with me tonight.”

The player froze, close to tears. “But I have to stay in my own room at night, or I’ll be in danger...”

The rules said to stay in your own room at night and not go into the living room. But getting from the player’s room to the little girl’s room meant crossing the living room, and the warning not to let it find you made it obvious that a monster capable of killing players roamed there at night.

“I don’t care! Dinner was awful, so you have to come sleep in my room!” The little girl stared at the player in displeasure, her bloodstained face utterly cold. “Or are you going to refuse me?”

The player’s heart sank. “...All right.”

They’d have to improvise when night came. What could they do, when this little girl was so hard to please...?

A comment drifted by mournfully: “By comparison, the little girl in Yin Xiu’s room is so well-behaved...”

“She only asked him to tell her a bedtime story. He can leave once he’s put her to sleep.”

“I thought all the little girls were actually the same one. How come they’re so different?”

“It’s because Yin Xiu handled her well. He even remembered to wipe the little girl’s hands and face.”

“True. The other players cooked for her, but didn’t bother taking care of her. Do monstrosities have an affinity system too?”

“Probably not... Even if they did, who’d dare try to raise their affinity?”

“I definitely wouldn’t.”

Yin Xiu stepped out of the room and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already a little past five, but the sun still shone outside. There was some time left before nightfall.

He set down the towel and noticed that the food had been moved from the kitchen to the living room table. Li Mo was sitting properly at the table, smiling as always while waiting for Yin Xiu.

The two sat across from each other in silence. Yin Xiu ate quietly, but Li Mo was rather noisy.

His movements were gentle, but the sounds of him chewing were unmistakable once the food was in his mouth. Judging by his expression, he liked the taste just as much as the little girl did.

Yin Xiu lifted his eyes and watched as Li Mo opened his mouth. The sheer number of teeth inside made his scalp prickle.

Noticing Yin Xiu’s attention, Li Mo smiled with his lips pressed together. “If you don’t like it, I can look normal.”

He pursed his lips, swallowed, then opened his mouth again. Its structure was much closer to a normal person’s, though still a little different—for instance, his tongue was too long, and his teeth were arranged oddly.

“Isn’t it a little late to tone down how inhuman you look?” Yin Xiu casually picked up a bite of food and put it in his mouth.

He could tell Li Mo was imitating a human. Though he had a flawless human appearance, his words and behavior were strange. His standing posture and the way he sat were both impeccable, and even his smile was perfect. He had none of a person’s individuality, only the qualities of a human template.

“There isn’t much to reference when it comes to mouths.” Li Mo smiled faintly. “If it bothers you, I’ll change it.”

“It doesn’t bother me.” Yin Xiu didn’t care. Whether the other party was a player or something else had nothing to do with him. Once this instance was over, they’d all have to get out of his room.

As for whether the other players cared, he was even less concerned. If this monstrosity posed a threat to him, he’d kill it without hesitation. Until then, he wouldn’t lift a finger.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll change back. It’s easier to eat this way.” Li Mo lowered his head and picked up a bite of food. That dense, rapid chewing sound rang out again.

Night was drawing near, and it was growing darker outside. Yin Xiu had tried the lights, but they wouldn’t turn on. Once night fell, they wouldn’t be able to see anything, which meant that the night in the instance would begin as soon as it was completely dark outside.

Before darkness fully set in, Yin Xiu hauled the little girl into the bathroom and made her wash the blood off herself. Then he found her a clean dress to change into.

“Bad Big Brother, tell me a story!” The little girl looked especially excited as she lay in her pink bed. She didn’t seem sleepy at all.

Yin Xiu sat beside the bed with an old storybook in his hands and flipped through it. “Weren’t you asking me to read you a story?”

“I don’t want you to read one! I’m tired of all these stories! I want to hear you tell me a story, Bad Big Brother!” The little girl snuggled under the covers, looking expectant.

Yin Xiu thought about how soon it would be completely dark. If he didn’t put her to sleep and leave soon, he’d probably have to cross the living room at night.

He reached out and patted the little girl’s blanket. His expression softened, and his voice turned gentle, as if he really were her close older brother. “What would you like to hear?”

The little girl thought for a moment, then blinked and stared straight at Yin Xiu. “I don’t have a big brother, so I want to hear your story, Bad Big Brother.”

“My story...” Yin Xiu lowered his eyes in thought, the lines of his profile gentle. “But I don’t remember much about the past. My memories of the last couple of years are getting blurrier and blurrier. I’ve even forgotten how long I’ve lived in the town where I stay.”

An indignant comment shot across the screen.

“Six years! Six years!! You may have forgotten, but we haven’t!”

“Do you know what we’ve been through these past six years?!”

“You’ve been slacking off and treating us like we don’t matter every day! You’ve even forgotten who you killed last night, haven’t you?!”

“Haha, why are those comments so worked up? Could they be from the monstrosities in the town?”

“I’m dying. Did a monstrosity Yin Xiu chopped up come looking for him? Hahahaha.”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Keep laughing, and I’ll come find you right now.”

“Hahaha, come on, then! I don’t believe you’re really a monstrosity.”

“Tell me where you live. Let’s see if I come over.”

“I’m not scared of you! Pretending to be a monstrosity in the middle of the night. D Alley, No. 101. Come if you’ve got the guts.”

“Heh. Remember to open the door in a bit.”

“Buddy, don’t get yourself into trouble. What if that really was a monstrosity from the town?”

“It can’t be. I’ve lived in the town for a year and never heard of anything like that. It’s got to be some guy messing around... Wait, there’s a noise at the door. I’ll go check.”

“Don’t go!”

“Rest in peace, buddy.”

“Buddy, are you still there? Say something!”

“Why did that guy stop talking? I’m scared.”

“I’m scared too...”

In the town square, beneath the screen broadcasting the livestream, a packed crowd of black shadows sat beside the Night Goddess, glaring furiously at the comments and restraining themselves from replying.

“Did Big Brother lose his memory? Like you see on TV all the time?” The little girl had become interested in Yin Xiu’s story.

Yin Xiu shook his head. “It’s not amnesia. I remember why I came here, but the longer I’ve lived in the town, the blurrier a lot of my memories have become.”

The little girl looked confused. She didn’t dare ask too much about the place where Yin Xiu lived, so she changed the subject. “Then why did you come here, Big Brother?”

Yin Xiu hesitated for a few seconds, gazed at the little girl, and said slowly, “I’m looking for someone. I came here while searching for a girl about your age...”

The little girl’s eyes immediately lit up. “Who are you looking for? Your little sister?”

Yin Xiu nodded.

“But six years have passed already. You still haven’t found her?” The little girl tilted her head. She froze after asking, then shrank under the covers.

Another comment drifted across the screen.

“I remember it way too clearly! Sixteen-year-old Yin Xiu used to wander around the town at night with a knife, asking every monstrosity he came across about his little sister. It gave me serious trauma.”

“Hahahaha, really? Now I kind of want to see that.”

“Like hell you do! Try having a knife pointed at you, then you’ll know!”

“...Sorry to bother you.”