Chapter 115

The second floor was quiet.

Jiang Liu’s footsteps were silent as she ascended the stairs. In the children’s room, Xiao Liang was fast asleep. The pallor on his face had gradually faded, replaced by a rosy flush on his cheeks, and his breathing was very even.

Jiang He had helped him change out of his soaked clothes. Now, the fresh, dry clothes hung loosely on his body. The red marks on his wrists and ankles had slowly disappeared, leaving only faint traces.

She didn’t make a sound, just leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, watching the figure on the bed, a thoughtful look spreading across her eyes.

The System had repeatedly instructed them to keep the child happy. At first, she hadn’t paid much attention, but thinking back now, it seemed that every time Xiao Liang’s emotions fluctuated, the Girl in the Crevice would suddenly appear, and her range was by no means limited to this house.

Jiang Liu couldn’t figure out the principle behind it, but she speculated that it was also during these times that it was easiest to get close to him.

So the question was, while the scratch marks on Xiao Liang’s back last time were understandable, this time he was alone by the lake. This was a perfect opportunity, so why did he only end up with seemingly serious injuries while Xiao Liang himself was fine?

If the Qiao couple’s illness was due to their daughter’s haunting, they should have been well aware of the situation here. How could they have been comfortable leaving Xiao Liang at home alone?

Jiang Liu’s eyes shifted, and she immediately recalled Xiao Liang’s reaction when he saw the Black Cat Doll.

In addition to fear and unease, his eyes also held a distinct aversion and hatred.

He was clearly afraid, yet he ran to the place where his sister had drowned on his own. Such behavior was extremely irrational for a child.

Unless—Xiao Liang knew in his heart that the monster in the house couldn’t truly harm him.

He might get hurt, but he would absolutely not die.

Jiang Liu’s tightly furrowed brow relaxed. She squatted down and continued to observe the sleeping child on the bed.

He was still hugging that pitch-black teddy bear, which took up most of the space. It was clear that Xiao Liang valued it greatly; even in his sleep, he held onto the bear’s ear tightly, as if afraid the toy would run away.

Could Tang Rui be in here?

Jiang Liu carefully reached out, attempting to free the bear from Xiao Liang’s grasp. But before her fingers could even touch the doll’s plush fur, a cold voice suddenly sounded by her ear.

“What are you doing?”

Xiao Liang had woken up at some point.

His expression was nothing like his usual self. Instead, his face was tense as he watched Jiang Liu intently. His pitch-black eyes seemed bottomless, and his whole being exuded an indescribable eeriness.

Especially his voice. Although it still had a childish quality, it was laced with a chilling coldness that could repel anyone, instantly plunging one into an icy landscape. Even Jiang Liu couldn’t help but shiver.

Xiao Liang, or rather, Qiao Ke, hugged the bear even tighter, his gaze never leaving Jiang Liu. “What are you trying to do?”

Jiang Liu’s hand paused in mid-air. She quickly reacted and, without changing her expression, smoothly redirected her hand to touch his wrist. “How did you get this?”

Xiao Liang snorted coldly and didn’t answer, just stared at her sullenly.

Being ignored like this, Jiang Liu didn’t feel awkward. She nonchalantly withdrew her hand. “It’s getting late. Get up and let Jiang He take you to play ball.”

The gaze fixed on her seemed to change, and then the voice instantly became innocent. “I’m not going! I want to sleep more!”

Xiao Liang lay on the bed, refusing to get up, looking at Jiang Liu like a spoiled brat.

Jiang Liu looked down and thought for a moment, then tentatively said, “You can sleep if you want, but you have to answer a few of my questions.”

“What?”

She sat on the edge of the bed and pointed at the teddy bear. “Do you like this toy a lot? Where did you buy it?”

Xiao Liang’s eyes darted around, and he spoke cautiously, “Mommy gave it to me.”

Jiang Liu hummed in acknowledgment and asked again, “Can you lend it to me to play with for a bit?”

Xiao Liang immediately shook his head like a rattle drum. “No!”

“Alright then.” Jiang Liu didn’t insist, just calmly stood up and left.

***

In the dead of night, her figure appeared once again in the children’s room. Unlike at noon, this time she was followed by a string of tails.

Xu Meng spoke almost in a whisper. “Sis, are you sure Xiao Rui is in here?”

Jiang Liu nodded, already walking towards the bed as she spoke.

At noon, as soon as she had made a move, Xiao Liang had woken up and shown an extremely strong possessiveness towards the toy. That’s why she suspected there was something fishy about this bear.

So, she waited until the middle of the night, when the NPC was fast asleep, and immediately brought people over.

Due to the mandatory rules of The System, this was the time for deep sleep. If Tang Rui was concerned about being discovered by Xiao Liang, he would definitely interact with them secretly.

As she speculated, she had already reached out and pulled the teddy bear from Xiao Liang’s grasp. Before she could see anything clearly, she heard a short gasp from behind her.

Turning around, she saw Jiang He with his mouth wide open. Zhao Ziming had slapped a hand over it, preventing him from waking the person up.

His eyes were wide as saucers. He let out a few muffled sounds, shook off Zhao Ziming’s hand, and stammered as he pointed at the bear, “Sis! It-it-it blinked! It’s alive!!!!!”

Isn’t this a classic horror movie trope?

Jiang He broke out in a cold sweat and took two small steps back, not daring to move.

Hearing him, the others also looked down and saw that the bear’s plastic eyes had moved at some point. The eyeballs inside were blinking, as if its eyes were twitching.

Jiang Liu cursed him under her breath for making a fuss, dragged the bear to the floor, and asked softly, “Tang Rui?”

The bear blinked, as if answering her question.

Xu Meng was stunned for a moment, then a flash of inspiration hit her. She squatted down and stared at the teddy bear. “Are you Xiao Rui? If you are, blink three times.”

The cheap plastic eyeballs quickly moved three times, then returned to their calm state.

“Where’s your sister?” Xu Meng’s expression became excited, and she grabbed his soft, limp arm and asked in a hushed voice.

Tang Rui blinked again, his eyes darting towards the wall, as if trying to convey something with his gaze.

His eyes were indeed very expressive. If it were a real person in front of her, Xu Meng would have understood at a glance.

But it was the middle of the night, and its pitch-black teddy bear eyes were constantly darting around. Combined with the movement of the threads, its whole face was distorted, looking extremely eerie.

Xu Meng was so anxious her hands were trembling. Jiang Liu signaled for her to calm down, sat down opposite Tang Rui, and said calmly, “I’ll ask, you answer. Blink once for yes, don’t move for no.”

Tang Rui blinked, indicating he understood.

Jiang Liu took a deep breath and glanced at the unconscious Xiao Liang on the bed. Although it was a question, her tone was filled with absolute certainty.

“Lin Jiao and the others can’t really hurt Xiao Liang, can they?”

Tang Rui blinked in agreement.

With that one sentence, everyone’s jaw dropped.

Even Xu Meng, who had been feeling sentimental just a moment ago, couldn’t help but look up at the two of them.

Having received a positive answer, Jiang Liu finally felt she had a grasp on the situation.

This was very interesting. Since Xiao Liang wouldn’t die, their mission would be a hundred percent successful. Qiao Ke couldn’t possibly be so benevolent, so there must be some hidden setting they hadn’t noticed.

It had been two days since they arrived. All three of them, except for Jiang He, had seen the Girl in the Crevice, and Zhao Ziming had even been taken away once.

In other words, when Xiao Liang was happy or emotionally stable, they would appear to look for other prey. This was a system setting.

But there was another point. “If Xu Meng and I are captured and taken in, we won’t be able to come back like Zhao Ziming, right?”

Jiang Liu’s tone was light, with no hint of fear, but she stared intently at Tang Rui’s reaction.

The bear opposite her blinked its eyes eerily again.

She snapped her fingers, a smile finally appearing on her lips.

All the clues were connected.

“This instance is essentially a contest between Qiao Ke and Xiao Si, but Qiao Ke has the upper hand. He’s using the settings to prevent Xiao Si from exchanging information with me. And if we follow the system’s mission, Xiao Si can’t harm him and can only target us. So even if we ultimately clear the level, there will definitely be casualties among us, right?”

Jiang Liu said this very quickly, and before Tang Rui could react, she continued.

“But your supervisor noticed this, so she took you away and intervened, making the instance’s settings more complicated. That’s why she chose Zhao Ziming to come out and deliver the message, to make us notice Qiao Ke’s main objective.”

At this point, the three people beside her were stunned, while Jiang Liu herself had a hint of confusion on her face. “But why would she help me? Why did she place you here? What is it for?”

Tang Rui blinked drily, with a bellyful of words he wanted to say, but frustrated that he couldn’t speak. He could only look at Jiang Liu wistfully, occasionally winking and twitching his eyes, who knew what he was trying to convey.

After waiting a long time for an answer, Jiang Liu couldn’t help but feel a little tired.

To clear the level, Xiao Liang had to stay alive and well. But in the current situation, she and Xu Meng would probably be captured before the five-day mission ended, and they would most likely die in the instance, unable to return.

Lin Jiao clearly understood this, so she had specially arranged for Tang Rui to be here.

“So what if we get rid of the monster?” Jiang He had been listening for a while and finally understood. He thought for a moment and made a throat-slitting gesture. “Then both Xiao Liang and our safety will be guaranteed.”

Zhao Ziming immediately shook his head. “No, no, the second you see that thing, you get dragged away instantly. There’s no room to resist.”

Jiang He immediately became distressed. “Then isn’t this a deadlock?”

Jiang Liu tossed the bear back onto the bed and clapped her hands as she stood up.

“Alright, let’s go back and rest for now. Jiang He, be prepared. You might be the one taken tonight,” she patted Jiang He’s shoulder, her tone still relatively relaxed.

Xiao Si and the others would definitely stall for time, so it was very likely that Jiang He would go in tonight, and they would still have one more day tomorrow.

Jiang Liu put her hands in her pockets and took one last look at Tang Rui on the bed before quietly closing the door.

Lin Jiao wouldn’t make any unnecessary moves. It was clear that before they even entered the instance, she had already decided what to do. So this character, Tang Rui… must be crucial.

What did this teddy bear represent to Xiao Liang? Could it be the protective talisman that made him unafraid of his sister’s revenge?

At the same time, a strange idea suddenly popped into Jiang Liu’s mind—

Since Tang Rui could transform into a toy, what about Xiao Liang?

Could she, while completing the mission, also set the Girls in the Crevice free?