Hopscotch

"No need. Uncle's already playing a game—one called Gui Dan. It's a particularly shitty, particularly nasty game."

Zhou You had to summon all his strength to swallow those words. Then he racked his brains, trying to remember how his various aunts and uncles coaxed children, before imitating them as best he could. "Little guy, what game would you like Uncle to play?"

Unfortunately, the other party didn't pay his performance the slightest bit of attention—or rather, didn't care about his answer at all. Instead, he shouted cheerfully into the alley.

"Someone else has come to play a game! Everyone, let's see what game they'll play this time!"

And so—

On the charred walls, countless heads began to appear. At first, they were all children's faces, but soon they became a motley assortment: young and old, men and women. In the blink of an eye, they covered the entire alley, and every face cried out the same word in the same voice.

"Play a game!"

"Play a game!"

Their cries rang in Zhou You's ears. Though they were all shouting about playing a game, to him they seemed to be expressing something else.

That was—

"—Join us."

"Player has triggered a side quest: Escape."

"Objective: Pass through 'Huaishu Alley' by any means."

"Reward: Based on your performance in this scenario, you will receive a corresponding green talent."

Hearing the system's prompt, Zhou You muttered to himself, "What's this supposed to be? One of those special minigames that always come with RPGs?"

"—Uncle, what are you talking about?"

The boy pursed his lips.

"Uncle wasn't saying anything. He was just complimenting you on how kind, adorable, and handsome you are."

"Is that so?" The child tilted his head as though he didn't understand. But soon, that innocent yet cruel smile returned to his face.

"Then, Uncle... you don't want to play a game with us?"

The instant those words fell, the temperature in the alley suddenly climbed. It felt as if a furnace had just been lit. The heat began to scorch everything around them, and even Zhou You's skin started to burn.

The faces gathered in the ashes all turned toward him in unison, their expressions dripping with eager anticipation.

Clearly, they were looking forward to his answer.

But Zhou You paid them no mind. He glanced at the charred arm gripping him, then put on an even friendlier smile.

"How could that be? Uncle loves playing games more than anything. Really, I love them with all my heart. I just don't know what kind of game you're planning to play."

"Hmm..." The child propped his chin on his hand, looking troubled as he thought for a moment. Then he turned toward the wall covered in countless faces. "I can't decide. What does everyone want to play?"

"Live dissection!"

"Hide-and-seek!"

"Death-defying magic!"

"Chess!"

"Hopscotch..."

"Hopscotch..."

All the voices gradually converged, until at last they became one.

"Hopscotch!"

"All right, looks like everyone's decided." The child smiled. "Uncle, then please play hopscotch with us."

Zhou You smiled back. "No problem. How do you want to play?"

"It's very simple." The child pointed down the alley. "There are lots of squares on the ground here. You just need to jump onto the right ones and keep going until you get out of the alley."

"...That's all?"

"That's all~"

"—Then aren't you going to sing?"

The instant he heard that, the child's innocent smile disappeared.

With his pitch-black mouth hanging open, the boy studied Zhou You with an icy gaze for a long moment before speaking.

"Looks like... Uncle got the information ahead of time. But I should warn you: even if you know the rules, this game won't be so easy to finish. You'd better be prepared."

"Remember, I'll sing, but once I finish, you'll have only five seconds."

As soon as he finished speaking, the alley floor changed.

And Zhou You understood what he meant by "not so easy."

Countless faces surfaced on the floor, too. Unlike the ones on the walls, each of these faces bore a picture, and every one of them had its mouth wide open. Their pale eyeballs were fixed on Zhou You, eagerly waiting for him to jump onto the wrong one...

So they could snap their jaws shut and bite him in half.

The next moment, a song began.

"A man died,"

"A man died,"

"A worthless man,"

"Too lazy to bury him in a grave,"

"His head rolled beneath the bed,"

"His limbs lay scattered around the room."

Was this... Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes? This was practically a giveaway.

Without hesitation, Zhou You leaped forward and landed on a face depicting "a dismembered man."

As expected, that face didn't bite down. It let out a wail and sank back into the ground.

A wave of disappointment rippled through the crowd.

The child didn't seem to mind. After pausing for about five seconds, he continued singing.

"A crooked man,"

"Walked along a crooked road,"

"With a crooked sixpence, climbed a crooked stair,"

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

"And together they lived in a crooked little house."

Still Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes.

This time, Zhou You leaped without hesitation onto a strange, crooked face.

"Very good, Uncle. Now I'll make it harder."

The charred child cleared his throat and began again.

"Laughter and joy filled the orphanage."

"The director and the aunties were kind and caring."

"There was never pain or crying here."

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

Zhou You froze.

This wasn't Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, but it wasn't any children's song he knew, either.

Still, the moment the singing stopped, he quickly found the image of an operating room: a head with a scalpel stuck in its eye. Without hesitation, he jumped onto it.

He landed without a scratch, but the song behind him was getting faster.

"Every day, there was less food and water."

"The aunties scolded them more and more."

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

"Among the countless wounds,"

"The remains of bones were so cold."

Zhou You quickly looked around and finally found a face showing a morgue. He leaped onto it with all his strength.

Luckily, he landed safely.

But the song continued.

"But one day, The Master visited."

"He was dressed in finery, adorned with gold and silver."

"The contrast between him and the poor children was stark."

The Master said to the children,

"I have delicious food and warm rooms."

"Who wants to come away with me?"

The children raised their hands high.

"Me! Me! Me!"

"But nobody knew what a miserable fate awaited them."

Zhou You jumped onto a face depicting a "tragic mask," but before the next children's song began, he looked up in confusion.

Wait.

...This song... seemed to be about more than just making things difficult for him?