Chapter 9
Faced with the woman’s question, Yin Xiu replied calmly, “It’s a dog.”
The little girl in the inner room clamped down hard on the rabbit. “You’re the dog!!”
“A dog?” The woman narrowed her eyes. “Really?”
“A vicious dog, so I can’t let it out.” Yin Xiu turned around unconcernedly and knocked on the inner room’s door. “Bark twice.”
Little Girl: ???
“If you don’t bark, you’re dead.”
“Woof, woof...” A faint bark came from the inner room. It was quiet, but it did sound like a dog.
The woman outside the window looked conflicted. “That doesn’t sound like a vicious dog.”
“It’s a little dog. It bites hard.” Yin Xiu returned to the window and reached out to draw the curtains. “Anything else? If not, I’m going to rest.”
The woman thought for a few seconds. “Let me see the dog?”
Yin Xiu swept the curtains shut with a swish, utterly merciless.
He’d spun enough nonsense for now. Earlier, the woman could have gone back in a huff, claimed she’d found the little girl, and brought a crowd to bang on his door. But she couldn’t go back now and bring a bunch of people to make a scene just to see a dog, could she?
Yin Xiu’s quick thinking and deadpan lies stunned the crowd watching on the other side of the screen.
“You can do that? I’ve learned something...”
“As expected of Yin Xiu. He’s so calm... When that woman’s face appeared at the window, my heart stopped for a second.”
“Same here! I thought I was about to have a heart attack. Is this the strength of someone who’s cleared every instance? I can’t even compare.”
“He’s always like that, isn’t he? I’ve never seen him react much to anything.”
“This is what happens when a big shot comes back to bully the newbies. This instance is nothing like the beginner instance I played before—it’s way harder!”
“Yeah, when I played, someone just knocked on the door. You only had to keep it shut. What was that just now?”
“Feels like the difficulty went up because Yin Xiu’s here. The newbies this time are going to have a rough time.”
“If you ask me, just lie low at the start, then cling to Yin Xiu’s leg for dear life later. You’re guaranteed to clear it.”
“You’ve got to survive long enough to do that, though. Look at those players from the other towns across the planes. Some of them are already acting like hotshots this early.”
This instance didn’t restrict the players’ freedom. The rules forbade the little girl from going outside, not the players.
During the commotion just now, some people had already tentatively stepped outside to see what was going on.
As it happened, right after the first player died, the player next door to Yin Xiu had quietly opened his door to peek outside. He’d overheard Yin Xiu’s entire conversation with the woman, so he had a pretty good idea what to expect.
“Close the door! That woman’s coming over!” His companion, a first-time player, was already trembling in panic.
“Quiet.” The man waved him off, his face showing impatience. “If you want to survive this instance, just listen to me. I’ve cleared two instances before. How could I fail to carry you through some beginner instance?”
His companion nodded shakily and obediently shrank back behind him.
Only after confirming Yin Xiu had finished talking did the man retreat into his own room. He followed Yin Xiu’s example and hid the little girl in the inner room.
When he first realized the difficulty of this beginner instance had increased, he’d been a little panicked. But after hearing what had happened outside Yin Xiu’s door, he felt reassured.
The monstrosities in this instance might be a lot cleverer, but there was nothing to fear. A few lies were enough to leave them speechless. And that little girl had even barked like a dog. It was hilarious.
Now it was his turn. Even though he’d cleared two instances, he’d always had a miserable, humiliating time. In this beginner instance, he wanted to enjoy himself for once—have some fun bullying the monstrosities.
As the man watched in anticipation, the pale-faced woman came to his window. She didn’t look to be in a very good mood.
Just as she had at Yin Xiu’s place, the woman spotted the little girl’s belongings in the house at a glance. An excited grin instantly spread across her face. “She’s in your house! She must be in your house!”
The man put on an act at the window. “What are you talking about? Who’s in my house?”
The woman’s expression turned sinister. “That little girl, that monster. You hid her in your house, didn’t you?”
“Look around. Do you see any little girl in my house?” The man deliberately moved aside to let her see the whole living room. There was no sign of the little girl, but in his haste to hide her, he’d left her rabbit doll on the sofa.
The woman’s gaze fixed on the rabbit doll, turning meaningful. “That’s hers. Why is it in your room?”
The man glanced back and felt a sudden stab of panic. He immediately forced himself to stay calm. “It’s my little sister’s toy. Toys for kids all look alike.”
“Your little sister...” The woman chuckled. “Don’t tell me she’s studying out of town too, and isn’t home right now?”
“That’s right! Is there a problem?!” the man retorted indignantly.
After hearing her conversation with Yin Xiu, the man was sure that if he came up with a plausible excuse and refused to let the woman inside to check, she could do nothing about whoever was in the house. As long as he denied the little girl was there, the monstrosities outside couldn’t do a thing to him, no matter how outrageous his lies were.
The woman had no interest in arguing over the same sort of excuse. She turned to walk toward the neighboring door, but the man suddenly called out to her, emboldened.
“Hey! Don’t go, ugly woman!” Maybe it was because this was his first chance to push his luck in front of a monstrosity, but the man was particularly excited.
Whenever players from the towns across the planes entered an instance, their runs were broadcast on screens in their respective towns. That meant every player in his town could see everything he did.
He’d finally gotten a chance to show off in front of everyone, so he was determined to put on a show and toy with the monstrosity in the instance.
“What did you call me?” The woman shot back to the window. Her pale face pressed against the glass, and her wide eyes were bloodshot. She looked utterly horrifying.
The man was startled, but remembering that his companion was inside and players in his town were watching, he forced himself to act calm and kept shouting. “So what if I called you ugly? Take a look at yourself! You’re out here scaring people in broad daylight. You scared me just now, so hurry up and apologize!”
Players usually went out of their way to avoid monstrosities in instances. Aside from a few big shots who were confident they could handle them, almost no one dared to provoke them.
Today, he was going to be one of those big shots.
“Apologize?” The woman let out a sinister laugh. Her fingernails began scraping at the glass, and as the shrill sound rang out, the anger in her eyes grew more and more intense. “How would you like me to apologize?”
The woman’s oddly accommodating response made the man think she was willing to back down. Excitement made him feel lightheaded. “Hurry up and say, ‘I was wrong, sir!’ Then I might consider forgiving you.”
The woman’s lips curled into a sinister smile. “If you open the window and let me see that there really isn’t a little girl inside, I’ll apologize to you.”
The man raised his chin slightly and began to think.
The little girl was already hidden in the inner room. Even if he opened the window, it was too small for her to climb through. At most, the woman could stick her head in and look at the living room. And even if she could attack him, he’d be safe as long as he stepped back beyond her reach.
Just thinking about making an instance monstrosity—the kind that usually chased him—bow down to him made him feel great. Even if she didn’t actually admit she was wrong, teasing her like this was a real thrill.
He’d let the players in his town see just how easily a big shot like him could steamroll a beginner instance!
“Fine. I’ll open the window.” Summoning his nerve, the man swiftly unlocked it, then backed several paces away.
The moment he opened the window, the comments were already mourning him.
“He’s dead.”
“Yeah. Dead.”
“He’s already a dead man walking.”