Terror Brushing Past

Ever since he deduced the truth about the Orphanage, Bai Zhi had been very curious about one thing.

Based on his judgment, the situation where everyone reloads their save file usually occurs after the number of people in the team has decreased to a certain limit, which he estimates to be when more than half of the team has died.

That is, out of the seven people, more than four died.

But this raises a question: theoretically, the mission should be easiest before the first save/load, so how did they manage to reduce the number of casualties to more than four out of seven?

That I’m Arrogant, So What? Player might be the first to die, and that Doloth girl who I don't remember will probably die early too, but the others shouldn't die so quickly.

Because everyone else except him had reloaded their saves, the previous Player groupings should have been the groupings of all Player before the first save reload.

Although Temperance Gentleheart may seem a bit silly and cute, she has quite good luck. Combined with her Skill and having me by her side, she should be able to survive to the end.

The Traveler is a smart person with a high Level, so it's unlikely that he would die so early. Iron Blood, the Player who seems to be Soldier, is even more so, not to mention VerdantRipple, a skilled swordsman. Logically speaking, considering the difficulty before the first save, it's impossible for the three of them to have died before the first save.

Bai Zhi's previous deduction was that the reason for the first save-load was due to the Fallen Species One lurking in the team, but now he vaguely understands the real reason for the first save-load.

Just as the clouds obscured the sun in the Tian Kong, the Orphanage, which had been bathed in bright sunlight, suddenly became unusually gloomy, and an inexplicable chill enveloped almost everyone inside.

To put it more vividly, the Orphanage, which was originally dormant under the sun... has come to life.

The Children's Crying came densely from the ceiling above.

The Children's Crying unveiled an absurd scene in the Orphanage. The once quiet corridor was suddenly filled with hurried footsteps, interspersed with the sound of a ball bouncing. The thud of the ball hitting the ground grew louder as it approached, quickly passing in front of the tightly closed doors.

"..."

Silently watching the blood slowly seeping into the ground through the crack in the door, Bai Zhi frowned slightly.

If what that thing that ran past the door earlier wasn't carrying a ball, then what could that round thing, oozing blood, making a thumping sound as it hit the ground... be?

At that moment, a suppressed scream came from the bedside. When Bai Zhi turned his head, he saw Temperance Gentleheart covering her mouth and desperately pointing towards the window.

At the closed window in front of the desk, a bright Blood Handprint appeared outside the window, followed by another bright red handprint that slowly emerged... It was as if an unseen figure was slowly climbing up the window.

"!!!"

Almost immediately, VerdantRipple, who was lying on the bed, made the right decision. She rolled off the bed, grabbed Temperance Gentleheart in her arms, and then rolled under the bed with her.

The Traveler reacted quickly; upon noticing the anomaly at the window, he immediately crouched down and hid under the desk. As for Bai Zhi, who was guarding the door, he had already disappeared into the Shadow.

Although his perspective from the Shadow was unusually strange, he was the Unique one of the four who could clearly see what was crawling past the window.

As its Thin Figure completely climbed onto the Outer Glass, its full appearance quietly came into view.

What words can be used to describe it?

This ugly, deformed creature, like a Monster drawn on paper by a Madman in a frenzy, emerged from Nightmare, had no skin on its body; its bloody muscles were exposed, and the exposed muscles were covered with countless large and small tumors.

As the Monster stopped outside the window, the tumors pressing against its flesh burst open, one after another, releasing pustules Pale Yellow Liquid gushed down the windowpane, and a Pale White Eyeball opened in the center, scanning the entire room from top to bottom.

After about ten seconds, the Monster's eyes closed again, its body slowly disappeared into the air, and then it slowly climbed upwards again.

During the dozen or so seconds that the Monster scanned the room, everyone felt an extreme sense of danger.

What kind of danger was this? It was filled with unimaginable malice, utterly repulsive, like saliva—like being naked and surrounded by a pack of wild beasts!

Only after Bai Zhi rushed over and drew the Curtain did the Traveler finally emerge from their Hiding Spot with a sigh of relief.

"What was that thing that just crawled past the window...?"

Heaving heavy breaths, VerdantRipple, whose wounds had been aggravated by her earlier movements, asked Bai Zhi a question.

"I don't know, who knows?"

With a slight smirk, Bai Zhi took out his own Evil-Breaking Small Knife and casually tossed it to the other person.

"However, it's foreseeable that this Orphanage will become increasingly dangerous until the sun rises again. You should take this knife for self-defense."

"..."

After staring silently at the Small Knife in front of her—more suited for peeling fruit and pencils than for self-defense—for a moment, VerdantRipple reached out and took it in her hand.

"Oh, by the way, is 10 Game Coins enough for the rent?"

Bai Zhi's leisurely voice only came over after VerdantRipple had obtained the Small Knife.

VerdantRipple: "..."

The people in the room didn't get to relax for long; soon, another strange event occurred.

From the corridor outside the closed door, came the sound of a ball hitting the ground. When this strange sound rang out again, everyone unconsciously held their breath and turned their gaze to the closed door.