A perfectly square name badge.
System notification: The name badge is an item provided by the instance. Keep it safe.
But as far as he could see, there was no name on it. Only a color headshot of him against a blue background was attached to the far left.
Yu Qing rubbed the name badge, identical to the ones on the corpses in the morgue. It was icy, utterly without warmth, as though hinting at his own fate.
His lashes fluttered, and his palm gradually grew cold...
Thud-
Thud, thud-
Suddenly, several incongruous thuds came from beside him, like flesh striking the floor. Every step sounded painfully labored.
But Yu Qing listened carefully and heard no panting.
Someone walking with such difficulty wasn't making even the faintest sound of breath!
Not a living person!
The sound came from the dimly lit third-floor corridor, making the floor tremble slightly.
Yu Qing put away the badge and swept his gaze around the corridor. Blood still mottled the walls and floor, and the overhead lights grew dimmer and dimmer, yet he couldn't see anyone... or anything.
To keep himself from crying out in a moment, he slowly backed away, bracing one hand firmly against the wall behind him.
Thud-
Thud, thud-
The sound grew faster and closer, but Yu Qing couldn't tell which direction it came from, much less where he should run.
The death-knell thuds echoed through the empty corridor, each one hammering at his heart. Before long, snap-
The lights went out!
The entire corridor plunged into darkness. An eerie stillness spread through it. Yu Qing heard a door opening nearby, followed by a sizzling crackle-
The corridor lights flickered again, revealing a horrifying face thrust right up to Yu Qing, only one centimeter away.
It belonged to an old woman. Her face was dark, its wrinkles piled upon one another. She looked as though she had been beaten; barely a patch of skin remained intact.
Her eyes were pitch-black, as was her mouth. The moment she saw Yu Qing, a shrill, cackling laugh rang out, piercing his eardrums.
She slowly opened her mouth, laboriously breathing the words out past her blackened tongue. "Found~ you~"
In an instant, Yu Qing's fingers tightened against the wall. Cold sweat broke out across his back, and his scalp prickled in waves.
But-
His expression barely changed.
His eyes flickered twice, and he asked calmly, "You... you're..."
"You come to the cafeteria to eat, child."
Bam-
The old woman planted her feet again. The yellowish corridor lights came back on, and Yu Qing finally got a clear look at her body.
Apart from her head, the rest of her was perfectly intact: the hands, feet, and body of a young girl.
But every part had been stitched together.
Blood seeped from the needle holes. She moved heavily, making dull thudding sounds, her limbs twisted at bizarre angles.
All the while, she kept murmuring, "Granny hasn't seen such a pretty little girl as you in ages. Come, Granny will make a special dish just for you."
"Come along, come along..."
Wherever the old woman walked, she left scattered drops of blood on the floor.
Her voice echoed endlessly through the empty corridor, and the system displayed:
[Entity name: Cafeteria Granny (lure-type NPC)] [Danger rating: 0.5 (maximum: 10)]
In the livestream chat:
[Tch, only 0.5. Don't fall for it, streamer. Just leave.]
[Right, it's safe here for now. Just keep your distance from her and wait for the others to come running.]
[Same. If it were me, I'd ignore her.]
Comments streamed past one after another. The viewers had actually started offering Yu Qing advice.
Yet the long-haired young man she had called a "little girl" paused briefly, then stepped forward.
As though truly bewitched, he followed closely behind Cafeteria Granny.
"Gran... ny?" Yu Qing spoke, his gentle voice sounding especially sweet. "You're so young, barely in your twenties by the looks of it, and you expect me to call you Granny? Why are you so determined to make yourself my elder?"
Livestream chat: [???]
At those words, Granny Ghost froze too. A moment later, her cackling laughter rang out again.
She slowly laced her bleeding hands together. Her fingers looked stitched on as well. From behind, she seemed a little... bashful?
Yu Qing continued, "Still, you have a lovely figure. Every part of your body fits together perfectly, as though you've been kissed by an angel."
"I haven't seen anyone as beautiful as you in ages. I wonder if I could invite you to dinner?"
Livestream chat: [????????]
"Cackle, cackle, cackle-"
Laughter rang out again. Yu Qing covered his ears briefly and watched the old woman grow flustered by his compliments.
After a moment, she actually smeared the blood on her hands over her nearly cracked lips, then looked back shyly. "You child, you certainly have a way with words."
"Then don't call me Granny. Call me big sister."
"Your big sister will cook you some meat today."
With that, she continued forward, repeating, "Come along, come along. What a lovely face you have..."
Yu Qing followed her all the way to the cafeteria. Seeing the severed arms and limbs piled on the chopping board, he could roughly piece things together.
A beauty-obsessed Granny Ghost had killed a group of girls. Her face had been slashed in the struggle, but she had dismembered the female players and stitched all their most beautiful parts onto herself.
Grease mingled with blood throughout the cafeteria, which reeked of putrefaction. Yu Qing sat down and tried to breathe as lightly as possible.
As he watched Granny Ghost set a plate of meat before him, his gaze gradually darkened.
Meanwhile, seeing Yu Qing pick up his chopsticks and casually take a piece of meat, the livestream viewers could no longer sit still.
[Wait, what is the streamer trying to do? Only people with sanity below 30 get bewitched by Granny Ghost. I checked his, and it's fucking 101! 101!]
[I bet that 101 is fake. Fuck, he'll die if he eats it. How boring.]
[Another newbie streamer doing a live mukbang? Seen enough of those. Can't we get something fresh?]
[Exactly, give us something fresh!]
At the table, Yu Qing glanced at the comments and finally set the meat down again. "Old lady," he said casually, "doesn't stealing things from other people and attaching them to yourself weigh on your conscience?"
Granny Ghost froze. Her friendly smile vanished instantly, and she bared long, slender fangs at Yu Qing.
Yet the young man continued just as mildly, "Or were you so ugly to begin with that you couldn't stand seeing beautiful people?"
Yu Qing finally looked at her, his white locks shifting slightly, his eyes shimmering. "Am I beautiful?"
Three simple questions struck Granny Ghost right where it hurt.
Her teeth ground together. Her pitch-black eyes widened, clear saliva seeping out constantly, as though she couldn't wait to seize something and savor a delicious meal.
Finally, with a crash-
Granny Ghost lunged at Yu Qing!
Almost instantly, Yu Qing rose, clamped a hand onto Granny Ghost's shoulder, and forced her down onto the chair!
Granny Ghost struggled several times, but she couldn't budge. All she could do was roar, writhe, and scream in the chair.
The previously bewildered viewers watched Yu Qing pin down a ghost with both hands, that innocent face unchanged, and somehow grew... excited!
[Holy shit, holy shit! What's the streamer going to do? I'm suddenly looking forward to this!]
[Aaaah! This instance has only opened twice. The previous streamers all avoided Granny Ghost. This is the first time I've seen someone take her head-on! Let's go! Let's go!]
[(Tip: +100 points)]
Holding Granny Ghost down, Yu Qing discovered that this "lure-type NPC" was exactly what he had expected—frightening to look at, but actually far weaker than him.
Because truly capable NPCs wouldn't need to lure their victims.
Now that he had complete control of the situation...
Yu Qing lowered his head, the smile on his face growing lovelier. "Old lady, you must be hungry. Look, you're drooling."
"There seem to be quite a few special ingredients in this meat. Want some? I'll feed you~"
Those two casual remarks made Granny Ghost go rigid.
The meat was loaded with hallucinogens. She used it to poison other people. How could she eat it herself?!
No! That wasn't right!
Granny Ghost soon regained her composure.
As though realizing something, she glanced sideways at Yu Qing and replied smugly, "You have no right to hurt me."
"In this game, no one may use any item to harm any NPC! Cackle, cackle, cackle-"
Her voice was loud. The viewers listened quietly, and after a moment, an inexplicable irritation crept over them.
That was human nature. They liked being in control and hated losing it.
Just as they expected Yu Qing to entertain them with something different in his livestream, they disliked Granny Ghost getting in the way.
[Fuck, I don't know why, but this is kind of pissing me off!]
"Oh?"
Yu Qing keenly picked up on the viewers' mood. Leaning closer to Granny Ghost, he whispered softly enough that only the two of them could hear, "You might not have the final say."
Then he raised his head toward the livestream, his clear, gentle voice ringing out. "Thank you all for helping me along the way. Today, I'll stream something different for you."
Yu Qing's eyes curved, his smile looking ever more friendly and innocent, yet his question was, "My dear... gods, would you like to watch a ghost do a mukbang?"
Before you continue