Lu Mi was suddenly drawn into a terrifying escape show that relied on tips from its audience.
At first, everyone thought Lu Mi was just an ordinary person who had stumbled into the show.
Only later did they realize what a terrifying being he was...
"Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality"
(Trapped in a landslide, unable to escape reality's cage)
No one spoke in the dim, run-down house. Only an ethereal singing voice drifted around the dozen or so players.
They sat pressed tightly together, unable to make out one another's expressions, their bodies rigid with fear.
Lu Mi sat among them, still looking a little bewildered after only just waking up.
The lilting song unwittingly drew Lu Mi into a trance. He stood, only to collide sharply with something soft.
He snapped awake. The rain became clear in his ears again, and the damp stench of rot still lingered in his nose.
Lu Mi blinked and saw a girl directly in front of him. Even after being bumped, she seemed completely oblivious, swaying as she continued forward.
Several others around him had also risen without realizing it and were walking forward with entranced expressions.
Lu Mi looked ahead. The door, which had been tightly shut, had opened wide at some point.
Outside was pitch-black. All he could hear was the increasingly fierce rain, as though it could hardly wait to lure them out.
"Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth"
(I will leave you all behind to face reality's judgment)
Lu Mi quickly recognized the sinister nature of the song. Whatever lay beyond that door was probably nothing good.
"Don't go over there!"
He covered his left ear with one hand and strode forward to grab the person ahead of him.
The girl jolted and stopped. Lu Mi noticed a white wristband on one of her wrists.
He looked back at the others. Some had covered their ears early on, while others were gasping after his shout, as though waking from a deep dream.
Something's wrong.
Lu Mi swept his gaze around, frowning.
The singing cut off abruptly, replaced by a piercing scream that reverberated through everyone's hearts.
They looked toward the sound. A figure had somehow appeared at the doorway and stood there silently.
Thunder boomed, and a flash of pallid light illuminated her sunken eye sockets and cheeks.
The woman at the door had long hair that trailed along the floor. The screaming behind her continued for more than ten seconds before stopping.
The woman stepped forward on emaciated feet and limped into the house, leaving a trail of wet footprints across the floor.
Those footprints were a mixture of rainwater and red liquid. At the same time, a grotesquely contorted body came into view.
Blood mingled with rainwater, revealing the horrifying truth. The missing player had fallen victim to the song.
Everyone was trapped in this cramped space, with nowhere to run.
Wearing an eerie green jade Buddha pendant, she slowly approached, each step landing in the wet blood.
"Children, the lullaby is over. It's time for bed." Her words were icy, carrying an authority that brooked no resistance.
Lu Mi could make no sense of this, but fortunately, a young man wearing glasses seemed to know something. He answered calmly, "Yes, Mom."
"Mom" slowly shifted her unsettling gaze onto the young man:
"Remember, don't sleep in the wrong room, and don't lock your doors. Mom will come tuck you in tonight."
The young man met her gaze without a change in expression and agreed on everyone's behalf.
Lu Mi looked closely and noticed that he wore a white wristband too.
Looking at the rest of the group, he saw that half of them had one.
"Mom" nodded in satisfaction and looked away, seemingly about to leave. Then she suddenly narrowed her eyes, as though she had noticed something.
Everyone followed her gaze to a pile of broken vase shards in front of the fireplace, and their expressions changed dramatically.
The man who had broken the vase was just as clueless about the situation as Lu Mi. Tall and burly as he was, he could not hide the panic on his face.
Would this so-called mother punish a child for breaking a vase?
Yet "Mom" said nothing. She merely left with a dark expression and went into another room.
Dong-dong-
The old-fashioned clock hanging on the wall began to chime eerily.
Lu Mi politely asked the young man who had the air of a leader, "Would you please tell me what's going on?"
"An extremely dangerous game. That woman is an NPC." The young man gave these two curt answers, then turned away.
As the final chime ended, the burly man seemed unable to hold back any longer and roared:
"Liar!"
His eyes were frighteningly red. He grabbed someone by the collar and hoisted her up like a chick-
"Didn't you say a staff member would come take me out of here? Why do I still have to sleep here and play house?"
The person he was threatening was the girl Lu Mi had just saved.
The girl looked no older than sixteen or seventeen and had a slender frame. She kept frowning as his spit splashed onto her, and with her feet dangling off the floor, she was deeply uncomfortable.
Most of the others either turned away indifferently or hugged themselves in fear.
The young man folded his arms and said, "You understand the situation perfectly well. You just refuse to face reality and want someone to take it out on."
Those words seemed to strike at the man's most deeply hidden feelings. He grew even more agitated and tightened his grip around the girl's neck.
"I know you people with wristbands are all in this together. Open the door right now, or don't blame me for what happens!"
Just then, something cold and sharp pressed against his temple. "Just try hurting her."
The burly man glanced at the person beside him and sneered. "Kid, with that pretty, pale face, you look like you live off women. Do you know what kind of business I'm in?"
"If you're really so tough, go kill that NPC." Expressionless, Lu Mi pressed the shard a little harder, and blood began to seep from the man's temple.
The burly man tilted his head and set the girl down, his massive body casting most of Lu Mi into shadow.
He casually picked up a glass of water and poured it over Lu Mi's head.
"Come on. Hit me."
Water dripped from the strands of hair over Lu Mi's forehead. He stared at the man's fleshy face, his fingers instinctively twitching twice.
The man spotted it and scoffed. "Your hands are shaking with fear, and you're still trying to act tough?"
The girl grabbed Lu Mi and shook her head at him. "Don't be reckless. You can't beat him."
Just then, the chilling voice rang out again. "One more thing."
Lu Mi blinked, his fingers twitching twice again. Everyone turned toward the voice in the center of the living room.
No one noticed a tongue of flame quietly retreating from beside the burly man's leg into the fireplace.
The woman stood in the middle of the living room. This time, she held a pair of scissors.
"Children, tell me," she said gently, approaching step by step, "who broke Mom's vase?"
Beside the fireplace, the shards still lay scattered where they had fallen, reflecting the firelight and the burly man's terrified expression.
No one had expected her to return.
Watching "Mom" draw closer and closer, the burly man hastily pointed at Lu Mi. "It was him! He broke it!"
"Mom" turned her scrutinizing gaze toward him. Lu Mi looked down, inwardly alarmed. This is bad! He was still holding the vase shard!
She spread her lips, revealing eerily white teeth, and raised the scissors, radiating an overwhelming sense of menace.
"Who's the naughty child?"
At that moment, the girl stepped forward and said firmly, "Mom, it wasn't him. I can vouch for him."
But "Mom" continued approaching step by step, as though she had not heard...
Before you continue