There’s a Pervert in the Instance

Yin Xiu suspected that, in the little girl’s eyes, he probably looked like a monster—and she really could turn into one.

To keep the little girl from losing control of her emotions, Mom’s note forbade her from looking in a mirror and told her to stay calm when faced with the destruction she found after waking.

The rules about not opening the door and not letting anyone outside discover the little girl were both meant to keep her safe.

In such a small space, Mom’s instructions covered everything: keep herself safe, stay clearheaded, and avoid turning into a monster. Having her eat every day was also a reminder to live like a normal human being.

For now, three days shouldn’t be a problem. The problem was that the story clearly said the little girl had to live for three days and wait for Mom to come home, but Mom’s note said to pick up the package she’d left outside the door after three days. Clearly, Mom didn’t think she’d be back by then.

“Want me to make you something to eat?” Yin Xiu patted the crying little girl in his arms, gently soothing her.

The little girl nodded and mumbled as she pulled away from Yin Xiu’s arms. In a soft, childish voice, she said, “I’m hungry. I want a big bowl.”

“Okay.” Yin Xiu patted her hair, then got up and went out to make food.

The players watched the little girl act cute and ask Yin Xiu for a big bowl, while in other rooms she tore into players’ bodies. They silently took a gulp of water.

She was hungry, but the sight of her had killed the players’ appetites. That two-faced little thing really was doing her best to act perfectly obedient in front of Yin Xiu.

Over the course of the previous day, from entering the instance in the morning to the monstrosities appearing at night, more than half of the players who’d entered the instance had already died. During the day, they’d been careless as newcomers; at night, they couldn’t pass along the strategies in time. Even with a powerhouse like Yin Xiu to learn from, there were still unavoidable causes of death—like the fake monstrosity.

By the second night, the survivors were players who’d studied the rules more carefully. They’d realized they needed to take care of the little girl’s feelings. They weren’t as composed as Yin Xiu, but they diligently followed the guides and came up with their own ways to appease her.

That night, thanks to the previous night’s strategies and their efforts to please her during the day, the little girl didn’t give them any trouble. Every player made it back to their room before dark.

Don’t tempt fate at night. Sleep quietly, and all will be well.

Almost every player was safe that night, except Yin Xiu.

In the middle of the night, that eerie presence appeared in his room again, on his bed once more, and still kept him from calling his roommate.

Yin Xiu couldn’t figure out what he’d done to trigger the seventh rule. He hadn’t even gone into the living room that night, so why had this monstrosity—which was supposed to wander around only in the living room—come into his room? Was it really random?

The players watching Yin Xiu on-screen felt conflicted. There was no way to tell him, “Everyone else is fine. You’re the only one in trouble. This thing has its sights set on you.”

All they could do was watch the big shot curl up miserably under the covers as the invisible presence explored him.

The monstrosity was in high spirits tonight. It wrapped around Yin Xiu even more tightly than it had the night before, squeezing his taut muscles as it slowly wound its way up his chest and stomach. His clothes pulled against him, outlining his body beneath them.

“Tsk... Xiu Ge’s legs are so long.”

“Is that something you can say?”

“I’m not just saying it—I want to look! I’ll take a few more looks while Xiu Ge’s still alive.”

“He usually seems kind of dull, like he couldn’t do much damage, but his chest muscles look pretty good.”

“I want to possess the monstrosity!”

“Um... I kind of want to wrap myself around Yin Xiu’s waist too...”

“Perverts! You’re all perverts!”

After the comment drifted by, the invisible presence suddenly swept up the blanket and wrapped Yin Xiu completely inside it, then continued rolling around underneath.

All the viewers could see was the blanket rising now and then as something invisible pushed it up into a silhouette, then let it sink again.

In the darkness, Yin Xiu struggled feebly for a while before gradually going still. Once he realized the thing didn’t seem intent on killing him, he simply closed his eyes and went to sleep.

After squirming around for a while, the thing wrapped around him gave up playing when Yin Xiu showed no reaction. It stayed curled around him and gradually quieted down.

For a while, the entire instance was peaceful and harmonious, leaving the players watching from outside utterly confused.

“If you’re not going to let us watch, fine, but did it have to end so quickly?”

“Wait, that thing really was just playing around? It’s not going to kill Yin Xiu?”

“Don’t ask. It’s definitely tormenting him and will kill him eventually, just not yet.”

“You sound like you know a lot about this.”

“So its idea of fun is just wrapping itself around Yin Xiu?”

“You don’t get it, do you? Didn’t you see how much tighter it held him tonight than last night? Tomorrow night, and the nights after that, it’ll keep tightening little by little until it strangles Yin Xiu to death. He’ll end up in pieces for sure!”

“You seem to know more about it than the monstrosity does.”

“Um... could it turn things up in a different way? Or somewhere else?”

“Perverts! Mom, there’s a pervert here!!”

On the morning of the third day, Yin Xiu woke up able to move again.

But he could still feel the clammy chill sliding over his skin, and it made him deeply uncomfortable. When he lifted his shirt, he could even see red marks left by the tight constriction.

“Looks like it kills by gradually tightening its grip.” Yin Xiu was convinced that he’d accidentally triggered the seventh rule, causing the monstrosity to come to his room every night and torment him. It probably wouldn’t take long for it to strangle him to death.

“Looks like I need to speed things up.” He climbed out of bed and went to take a shower.

It was the third day of the instance. Many players got up at the crack of dawn, hurriedly prepared the little girl’s food for the last day, and got ready for the next stage.

Rule Six on Mom’s note: After three days, pick up the package Mom left outside the door.

So after feeding the little girl, many players immediately opened their doors, ready to retrieve the package outside. But when they opened them, the doorways were empty. There was nothing there.

The players watching their own towns quickly switched over to Yin Xiu’s livestream, afraid their players might have missed something and caused the package not to appear. But, to their surprise, there was no package outside Yin Xiu’s door either.

The ground outside was bare. There wasn’t a package—or even a speck of dust.

Yin Xiu lowered his eyes in thought.

Mom’s note was written for the little girl, telling her what rules to follow. It didn’t apply to the players. One of the players’ goals was to help the little girl fulfill every rule on Mom’s note, acting as her assistants.

Since there was no package outside the door, that meant the players had to go get Mom’s package and put it outside so the little girl could retrieve it according to the rules on the note.

“You’re going out?” Yin Xiu narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance. After dark, he’d seen plenty of lights come on in the distance. There were undoubtedly a lot of people there.

The little girl, who wasn’t allowed to leave, would have to stay home. But to make sure the woman from the first day didn’t show up again, he couldn’t leave the little girl home alone.

Yin Xiu glanced at Li Mo. “Stay here and keep an eye on her. I’m going out for a while.”

At that, the little girl grew wary. She glanced at Li Mo, seeming nervous around him.

“All right,” Li Mo replied with a smile.

“Don’t hurt her.” Yin Xiu added another condition, and only then did the little girl relax.

“All right.” Li Mo answered calmly again.

“I’ll head out, then.” Yin Xiu glanced at the two of them, slung his knife diagonally across his body, and opened the door.

The little girl hurried to the window and watched Yin Xiu’s distant figure. “I wonder if Big Brother will be in danger.”

“He won’t,” Li Mo said with certainty from inside the house.

The little girl watched Yin Xiu’s figure recede into the distance for a long while. Then she suddenly turned around, looking confused. “You left so much of your scent on Big Brother. Why?”

“I had to. There’s a pervert in this instance.”

“...Are you talking about yourself?”