Hopscotch

"No need, Uncle is already playing a game, and it's a particularly shitty, particularly trashy game called 'Gui Dan'."

Zhou You had to exert a great deal of effort to swallow those words back, then racked his brains to recall how his various aunts and uncles used to coax children, before imitating them with a practiced air: "Little brother, what game do you want Uncle to play?"

Unfortunately, the other party didn't pay the slightest attention to his performance—or rather, didn't care about his answer at all—but instead smiled and shouted toward the alley.

"Someone else has come to play a game, everyone look and see what we should play this time!"

And so.

On the charred walls, numerous heads began to emerge. At first, they were just children's faces, but soon those visages became a motley assortment; there were old and young, men and women, and in the blink of an eye, they covered the entire alley. Moreover, all the faces were using the same voice, shouting a single phrase in unison.

"Play a game!"

"Play a game!"

The shouts reached his ears, and although they were all calling to play a game, in Zhou You's perception, they were conveying an entirely different meaning.

That was.

"--Join us."

Player has triggered a side quest: Escape.
Requirement: Pass through this "Huaishu Alley" by any means.
Reward: Depending on performance prior to this scenario, the player will receive a corresponding green-tier talent.

Hearing the system prompt, Zhou You muttered to himself: "What is this? Is this the special mini-game that's supposedly mandatory in every RPG..."

"--Uncle, what are you saying?"

Seeing this, the person in question simply curled his lip.

"Uncle didn't say anything, Uncle was just praising you for being kind, cute, and handsome."

"Is that so?" The child tilted his head as if he didn't understand, but soon revealed that same innocent yet cruel smile again.

"Then Uncle... do you not want to play a game with us?"

The next moment, as those words fell, the temperature in the alley rose sharply. It felt as if a furnace had suddenly been ignited; the intense heat began to scorch the surroundings, and even his skin began to feel a burning pain. Those faces condensed within the ashes all turned toward Zhou You in unison, each revealing a salivating expression.

Clearly, they were eagerly waiting for Zhou You to give his answer.

But Zhou You ignored them entirely. He glanced at the charred, arm-like appendage gripping him, then put on an even kinder smile.

"How could that be? Uncle here loves playing games the most. Really, from the bottom of my heart. I just don't know how you intend to play?"

"Hmm..." The child rested his chin on his hand, looking as if he were in deep distress for a moment, then turned his head toward the wall covered in countless faces. "I'm having a hard time choosing. What do you all want to play?"

"Vivisection!"

"Hide and seek!"

"Fatal magic!"

"Chess!"

"Hopscotch..."

"Hopscotch..."

All the voices gradually converged, finally becoming a single phrase.

"Hopscotch!"

"Alright, it seems everyone has decided." The child said with a smile. "Uncle, then please play hopscotch with us?"

Zhou You smiled back and replied: "No problem at all, I just don't know how you want to play?"

"It's very simple." The child pointed to the alley in front of them. "There are many squares on the ground of this alley. Uncle, you just need to jump onto the correct ones and keep going until you walk out of the alley."

"...That's all?"

"That's all~"

"--Then, aren't you going to sing?"

The moment those words were heard, the innocent smile instantly turned cold.

The child opened his pitch-black mouth, scanned Zhou You with an incomparably icy gaze for a long while, and then spoke.

"It seems... Uncle, you have already received the news in advance. But I must also tell you beforehand: even if you understand the rules, this game is not so simple to complete. I hope Uncle is prepared."

"Remember, I will sing, but after I finish, Uncle, you will only have five seconds."

As he finished speaking, the floor of the alley changed abruptly.

And Zhou You understood what it meant by "not so simple."

Numerous faces had also emerged on the floor, and unlike those on the walls, every one of these faces had a pattern painted on it. They had all opened their mouths wide, and their pale eyeballs were staring fixedly at Zhou You, waiting with intense anticipation for him to jump on the wrong one...

And then be bitten in two with a "snap."

The next moment, the singing began.

"A man has died,"

"A man has died,"

"A man with no ambition,"

"Too lazy to bury him in a grave,"

"His head rolled under the bed."

"His limbs scattered about the room."

This is... Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes? Isn't this question a bit too much of a giveaway?

Zhou You leaped forward without hesitation, stepping onto a face painted with a "dismembered man."

--That face didn't bite him, but instead let out a miserable wail and retracted back into the ground.

A chorus of sighs echoed from the surroundings.

The child didn't seem to mind; after a pause of about five seconds, he continued to sing.

"A crooked man,"

"Walked a crooked mile,"

"Found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile,"

"Bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse."

"They all lived together in a little crooked house."

Still Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes.

This time, Zhou You jumped onto a crooked and bizarre face without a second thought.

"--That's really good, Uncle. Now, I'm going to increase the difficulty."

The charred child cleared his throat and began to sing again.

"Laughter fills the orphanage."

"The director and the nannies are kind and gentle."

"There is never any pain or crying here."

"All disobedient children will be sent to the operating room."

Zhou You was stunned.

--This one isn't a Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme, nor is it any nursery rhyme he knows.

But the moment the singing stopped, he quickly located the reference to the operating room—a head with a scalpel stabbed into its eye—and jumped onto it without hesitation.

He remained unscathed, but the singing behind him grew faster and faster.

"Every day, the food and water grow less."

"The nannies' scolding grows more frequent."

"There are no more sweet dreams in the orphanage."

"Amidst the scars and wounds."

"The remaining bones are so cold."

Zhou You scanned his surroundings rapidly, finally finding a face painted with a morgue, and jumped onto it with force.

Fortunately, he landed safely.

However, the singing continued.

"But one day, a Great Master visited this place."

"He was dressed in finery, wearing gold and silver."

"A stark contrast to the poor children."

"The Great Master said to the children."

"I have delicious food here, and warm rooms."

"Who wants to come away with me?"

"The children raised their hands high."

"Me, me, me!"

"But no one knew what kind of miserable ending awaited them."

Zhou You jumped onto a face painted with a "tragic mask," but before the next nursery rhyme could begin, he looked up in confusion.

Wait a minute.

...This nursery rhyme... it doesn't seem like it's just trying to make things difficult for him?