Playing a Game

The taste of the soup was quite ordinary, no different from what one might find at any common street vendor's stall. Yet, strangely enough, for some reason, it evoked a sense of inexplicable nostalgia. Zhou You started by taking small sips with his spoon, but soon he couldn't help but wolf it down, and in the blink of an eye, the entire bowl was finished.

At the same time, that mechanical female voice rang in his ears.

"Congratulations to the player for completing the side quest: Drink the Soup."

"Player has received a special reward: Warmth."

"Effect: The player's stamina recovery speed is increased for the duration of this scenario, and the player will remain in a satiated state without needing to consume any other food."

"The player's relationship with the Ghostly Stall Owner is now: Friendly. You may ask him for subsequent intelligence."

"Player has received a green-tier consumable: Storefront Sign."

"Effect: After use, you can temporarily summon the 'Ghostly Stall Owner'. You cannot communicate with this entity; it can only be used to block enemies for you. This item can only be used once per scenario, and death will not reset the usage count."

"Please note: Due to the special restrictions of this scenario, the number of questions the player may ask the shop owner is limited to: 3 times."

...Wait a minute, if the relationship is already friendly, why am I still limited to only three questions?

However, before he could ponder it further, the stall owner suddenly spoke up again.

"This is a recipe my mother taught me. While it's not exactly a gourmet delicacy, it's quite suited to the local palate. It's a pity I don't make it often anymore. I'll give you a bigger portion when you come back next time."

--Seeing how quickly Zhou You had eaten, the man seemed very happy at this moment, and even the deep wrinkles on his face smoothed out quite a bit.

"Then I will certainly patronize your stall again when I have the chance," Zhou You replied with a smile, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "By the way, I'm terribly sorry, but may I ask you a few questions?"

It was a very ordinary sentence, yet who would have thought that upon hearing it, the stall owner's expression would slowly sink.

Then, he suddenly closed his eyes and thought for a long time, as if making a difficult decision, before finally speaking.

"You've helped me so much that I can't possibly refuse you. But please, remember this clearly: once you finish asking, if I show any signs of abnormality, run immediately, and absolutely do not come back. Do you understand?"

--Why.

The question hadn't even left his lips before it was forcibly swallowed back.

Because the look in the other man's eyes had already provided the answer.

--Ask anything but that; if you ask, both you and I will die.

So Zhou You stopped speaking. He sat on that greasy wooden stool, tapping his knees, and pondered carefully for a long time.

The other man didn't urge him either, just waited quietly.

After a while, he slowly asked his first question.

"Regarding the difficulties I will face later, do you have any solutions?"

He didn't ask what kind of danger he would encounter, nor did he ask how many ghosts he would face; instead, he condensed most possibilities into a single question to save his limited quota.

The Ghostly Stall Owner understood this and nodded in agreement before answering, "I don't know much about what's further ahead, but in the alley up ahead, there are some children. You can play games with them, but you must remember two things: first, no matter what game you play, you must follow the nursery rhymes they sing; second, you must absolutely not barge in, nor run away, and certainly do not make any move to harm them—otherwise, you will die a death far more miserable than theirs."

The moment the words left his mouth, the owner's face began to rot rapidly, and half of his skin flopped onto the cutting board with a wet splat.

Zhou You frowned, just about to say something, but the owner waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine. At most, I won't be able to run the stall for a while—which might actually be a good thing—so don't waste time, keep asking."

"...Alright, second question."

"What do you know about the world I am patrolling?"

"...I don't know much either. I only know that this world has been forcibly divided into two lines. Those in the night cannot go to the day, and those in the day cannot go to the night, unless you are a... special existence like yourself, or have received permission from 'Him'."

Day and night cannot intercommunicate?

A certain face suddenly flashed before Zhou You's eyes, but he immediately shook it from his thoughts—the stall owner's body was rotting more and more severely, and an ominous, deep crimson blood color began to well up in his eyes; it looked like he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

"Last question. I have frequently seen a wealthy man mentioned in the local newspaper. Is he the key to this world?"

Upon hearing this, a look of madness suddenly appeared in the stall owner's eyes. He looked as if he were about to go completely berserk, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and said, word by word.

"He is the culprit behind all of this. You cannot see him now, but never go looking for him either. For your own safety... remember, stay as far away from him as possible!"

He was practically roaring by the last few words, but just then, a pair of hands suddenly reached out from the large pot where the human heads were boiling and grabbed the stall owner in a death grip.

The brother's head floated up from the pot, and as it dragged its out-of-control sibling, its mouth moved, silently warning Zhou You.

--The questions you can ask have been exhausted. Now... run!

..

After walking a long distance, Zhou You looked back and found that the incandescent light on the stall had quietly extinguished, and that spot had completely plunged into the night.

Although the system didn't give a notification, Zhou You could roughly guess that even if he used the resurrection coin reset method later, he probably wouldn't be able to see that light shine again.

With a silent sigh, Zhou You could only turn on his flashlight and continue walking toward the unknown ahead.

After leaving the small stall, not far away was the Shan Huai Hutong. This place itself wasn't particularly unusual; it looked just like any other alley in any province, city, or county in the country. The only difference was that the walls of the entire alley were covered in deep black ash, looking as if they had been scorched by high heat, and there was a notice posted at the entrance of the alley.

The content stated that a fire had occurred here several years ago, the cause of which had yet to be determined. Although Mr. Liu, the local wealthiest man, had carried out repairs, the overall structure of the buildings had been damaged, so if one wished to proceed further, they were requested to detour through other blocks.

Although the text was brief, Zhou You still discovered a very strange point.

"This richest man... his surname is Liu? I remember the person in charge of that sanitation company is also named Liu Shang. What is their relationship? Or could it be... that they are actually the same person?"

Silently noting this down, Zhou You headed toward the alleyway, yet just as he took his first step, he felt his arm suddenly being grabbed.

Turning his head, he discovered that amidst the ashes, a charred, small face had suddenly emerged.

This was not a figure of speech, but a literal fact.

All the flesh on that face had been completely burned away, leaving only a layer of pitch-black carbonized tissue clinging to the bone. The lips and eyelids had also been destroyed, leaving behind only two bloodshot eyeballs that kept rolling incessantly.

Then, he saw the other party open its mouth, revealing a completely blackened oral cavity and throat, before it spoke in a voice that was innocent yet extremely cruel.

"Uncle, want to play a game?"