Xu Jiawei had been gathering her things to get out of the car. Following Shao Lan's gaze, she jumped in fright too. "Holy shit, what is that..."
The little girl with no eyes raised her hand, slapped the car window hard, and opened her mouth.
Through the glass, Shao Lan and Xu Jiawei couldn't quite hear what she was saying, but they could read her lips.
She was saying:
"Hungry."
"Hungry."
"So hungry."
Xu Jiawei looked around, her gaze settling on the half-empty bag of barbecue-flavored chips on the center console. She had bought them at the rest stop, and they were giving off a savory smell.
After a moment's hesitation, she rolled down the window and handed the chips out.
What happened next sent goosebumps crawling over her entire body-
Countless children came running from every direction, crowding around the first little girl and fighting over the chips in her hands.
There were a dozen or so children, and every one of them had no eyes, only two black holes.
Some of the children who hadn't managed to get any ran over and pounded on the car doors even harder, letting out piercing screams.
Xu Jiawei honked the horn, but the children weren't afraid at all. In fact, the sound attracted even more children, who came running over.
Dozens of children surrounded the car, leaving no way out. Looking out from inside, they could see young faces in every direction, each with a pair of horrifying black holes.
Shao Lan considered for a moment, then dug a vacuum-packed roast duck out of the pile of food in the back seat.
Ripping open the packaging, Shao Lan opened the sunroof, stuck his upper body out, and hurled the roast duck into the distance like a baseball pitcher-
Zhang Fang was talking to Xu Nan when he suddenly heard something rushing through the air behind his head.
He spun around nimbly and caught the heavy object that had nearly struck his back-a roast duck.
The packaging had split, and fragrant juices seeped out, spilling all over his hand.
Before Zhang Fang could figure out what was happening, he saw a dense swarm of children charging toward him.
"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Zhang Fang screamed. "Ghosts!"
He tried to throw the roast duck to Xu Nan, but Xu Nan immediately dodged.
A dozen or so children surrounded Zhang Fang. Some fought over the roast duck, while others went straight for his hand and began gnawing on it-after all, his hand was covered in duck grease and smelled like roast duck too.
"Tsk, tsk." Xu Jiawei looked at Shao Lan. "Honey, I never knew you were so devious. Diverting the enemy to save us-that's a little underhanded."
"He wasn't exactly fair when he came at me with a knife in the building over a few scraps of food," Shao Lan said coldly. "Now I'm giving him food of my own accord. He should be thanking me."
So there was bad blood between them. Xu Jiawei understood.
Robbery over survival supplies was extremely common in the building. She had been robbed as a newcomer too, though fortunately she had earned back her losses in later Instances.
Just as Zhang Fang's hand was being bitten bloody, a middle-aged man in his forties came running over.
"What are you doing! What are you doing!" the man shouted sternly. "You little troublemakers, stop right now!"
He seemed to command considerable respect, and the children all stopped.
"Oh dear, oh dear, I'm terribly sorry."
The middle-aged man strode over to Zhang Fang, full of apologies.
"I'm the village chief of Xu Family Village. This is your first visit as one of our village's sons-in-law, and not only was I late to welcome you, I even let these unruly children bite you. I'm so very sorry!"
"The village Health Station is right nearby. Jiaojiao, take your man over to get that bandaged first."
Beside Zhang Fang stood a fair-skinned, slightly chubby young woman in a cute pale-yellow hoodie.
She looked quite young and was visibly nervous and stiff. Even when the village chief called her name, she barely reacted.
"Jiaojiao, what are you standing there for? Hurry up."
The village chief urged her on.
"Oh, oh, okay." Jiaojiao approached Zhang Fang cautiously. "Let's go."
Zhang Fang was pale with pain. He shot Shao Lan a venomous look-by now, of course, he knew who had thrown him that roast duck.
"Just you wait," Zhang Fang said viciously.
He then headed toward the Health Station with Jiaojiao.
The wind carried their conversation back from a distance.
"What did you say your name was again? Something Jiao?" Zhang Fang asked impatiently.
"Xu... Xu Jiaojiao."
"What a lousy name. This Instance gives every guy a wife, so how come that Shao brat gets a beauty while I get a fatty?" In a foul mood, Zhang Fang complained with a stream of curses.
Xu Jiaojiao was on the verge of tears from his abuse, but Zhang Fang looked so vicious and intimidating that she could only force them back.
Listening, Shao Lan calmly asked the last male player beside him, "May I ask your name?"
The male player said, "I'm Xu Zijian."
Shao Lan understood.
Four of the eight of them had the surname Xu. According to the setup, Xu Family Village was those four players' hometown, while the other four were the "partners" they had brought home.
That was also why Xu Nan had been forced into this game by the Property Manager. This Instance required four people with the surname Xu before it could begin.
Xu Jiaojiao and Zhang Fang went to the Health Station and returned shortly afterward, with Zhang Fang's hand wrapped in gauze.
He seemed a little quieter and was no longer cursing nonstop.
Xu Nan, however, kept glaring fiercely at Shao Lan from the side. Shao Lan looked straight ahead, pretending not to notice.
There were many buildings in the village, most of them single-story houses. Only one was three stories tall, with an imposing exterior and a sign by the entrance that read "Xu Family Village Guesthouse."
The village chief led the eight of them into the guesthouse's ground floor and instructed a server to pour them tea.
Beaming, he introduced the village to them:
"Xu Family Village is a small fishing village, nestled between the mountains and the sea. For generations, we've made our living farming and fishing. There aren't many of us, but we're all descended from the same ancestor. We're all relatives, so the whole village is like one big family, sharing everything."
"Some of the village's promising youngsters no longer have to work from dawn till dusk at the mercy of the weather like we do. They've gone to the big cities to study and work. But whenever they find a partner and want to settle down, they bring their partner home to pay respects to our ancestors and share the news with the neighbors."
"We're all especially happy that Jiawei, Zijian, Jiaojiao, and Nan have brought you back this time, and we'll do everything we can to make you feel welcome! Our village may be small, but the scenery is beautiful, and there are plenty of pleasures you won't find in a big city. Over these three days, we'll make sure you get to experience them all."
Three days.
Shao Lan keenly picked up on that key phrase.
That was probably how long they would spend in this Instance.
Their task, then, was to survive these three days and make it out.
The tea was ready. A server in a red cheongsam brought over the teapot and poured tea for everyone.
The tea looked rather hot, so most of them didn't drink it right away.
Someone impatient took a sip, only to spit it straight back out. "Oh my god, why does it taste so fishy?"
Before you continue