Chapter 91 Unique game (9)
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Lin Zhaohe had been living alone for a long time, so he wasn’t really afraid of the dark.
The living room, shrouded in darkness, stood in stark contrast to the bright bedroom. He stood in the bedroom and looked towards the pitch-black living room.
In the darkness, everything was silent, as if the sudden breakage of the large lamp was just a coincidence.
The world had turned into this kind of state. Why were there so many coincidences? Lin Zhaohe felt something had entered the room. His previously exhausted mind instantly became alert because of this sudden event. He sat up straight and took out the weapon he always carried.
“Who’s there?” He stood up and walked to the bedroom door, observing outside.
The bedroom’s bright light made the living room appear even darker. This level of darkness didn’t seem normal. Although it was midnight, the moon was in the sky, and there were streetlights outside. In theory, it shouldn’t be so dark that he couldn’t see anything in the living room. However, Lin Zhaohe could only see blurry black shapes.
Intuition warned Lin Zhaohe of danger, so he didn’t approach the living room. He picked up the flashlight from the table, where it was placed prominently, and twisted the button. He aimed the beam towards the living room.
The flashlight emitted a bright light, illuminating everything from end to end. However, Lin Zhaohe couldn’t find the intruder he had imagined. He looked confused and found it strange. He wondered why there was nothing in the living room.
At that moment, he suddenly noticed a thin black shadow on the wall, silently stretching from the living room towards the bedroom, directly towards the bedroom’s lit switch.
Lin Zhaohe reacted quickly and fired a shot at the black shadow.
The thing initially appeared like a shadow, but to his surprise, it had a solid form. Lin Zhaohe approached it with his gun, shattering its body into several pieces. These fragments resembled shadows, twisting and convulsing on the ground. Lin Zhaohe bent down, wanting to pick them up, but he saw his fingers pass through their bodies—it was all just shadow.
Lin Zhaohe had an ominous premonition. He suddenly remembered Xiao Xu’s terrified expression. Clearly, Xiao Xu was afraid of these things.
“Xiao Xu, Xiao Xu.” Snapping back to reality at the bedside, Lin Zhaohe gently tapped Xiao Xu, trying to awaken him from his sleep.
Xiao Xu was deeply asleep.
Lin Zhaohe clenched his teeth and made a tough decision. He lightly slapped Xiao Xu’s shoulder twice. He didn’t dare to use too much force. Xiao Xu was a thin and fragile child. He feared causing any harm.
Fortunately, Xiao Xu was finally stirred awake by Lin Zhaohe’s tapping. With a groggy look, he opened his eyes and asked, “Uncle Lin, what’s wrong?”
Lin Zhaohe: “I’m only in my twenties, so don’t call me ‘Uncle Lin.'”
Xiao Xu: “Uncle Lin…”
Lin Zhaohe thought to himself, “Are you intentionally trying to annoy me?”
“What I mean is, you can call me Brother Lin,” Lin Zhaohe conceded to Xiao Xu’s persistent teasing. “The light in the living room was smashed. Now, be honest and tell me, what are you afraid of?”
As soon as Xiao Xu heard that the light in the living room was broken, he instantly perked up. His eyes widened, and he exclaimed, “The light in the living room was smashed?”
Lin Zhaohe: “Yes.”
Xiao Xu: “Brother Lin, you weren’t asleep just now, were you?”
Lin Zhaohe: “Of course, I wasn’t asleep. I’ve been playing games the whole time.” He pointed at the computer screen, where a little character was working.
Xiao Xu exclaimed, his face filled with fear, “Oh no, it’s bad, it’s bad!”
Lin Zhaohe: “What’s the matter exactly?”
Xiao Xu hesitated for a moment, then whispered, “Actually, there have always been monsters in my house.”
Lin Zhaohe: “……”
“I had told my parents about this before,” Xiao Xu said, “but they always thought I was going crazy from playing too many games. They never believed what I said. There are no monsters in the game at all. How could I confuse reality with a game?”
“Do the monsters only appear in the darkness?” Lin Zhaohe asked.
“Yes,” Xiao Xu replied, his body trembling suddenly as if he remembered something. “Well, not only that. They also appear in my dreams.” That was why he repeatedly urged Lin Zhaohe not to fall asleep.
Lin Zhaohe reassured him, “It’s okay. Fortunately, there is light in the bedroom, so they can’t come in.”
That was indeed the case, but Xiao Xu still appeared uneasy. He sat restlessly in the bedroom, not even interested in playing games. He was already tired, and being woken up by Lin Zhaohe made him feel even more burdened.
Lin Zhaohe: “How long have you been encountering these things?”
Xiao Xu: “Quite a while…”
Lin Zhaohe: “Your parents have never encountered them even once?” Logically, it didn’t make sense. He had only been in this house for a day and already encountered these strange things. It seemed unlikely that Xiao Xu’s parents had never experienced any unusual situations.
Xiao Xu shook his head sadly and said, “My parents don’t care at all.”
Lin Zhaohe recalled Mrs. Li’s assertive and busy demeanor. Indeed, from her behavior, it seemed like she was a person with her own strong opinions. It wasn’t surprising that she didn’t believe Xiao Xu’s words.
However, in this fused world, encountering bizarre things had become common. It was puzzling how they stubbornly refused to believe their child’s words.
“We mustn’t fall asleep. If we do, they will definitely turn off the lights while we’re sleeping,” Xiao Xu said. “It would be terrible if they did.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Have you been awake all this time?”
Xiao Xu: “In the past, these things weren’t so extreme. But in the past few days, it has gotten worse. Just the day before yesterday, I couldn’t hold on anymore and fell asleep. Luckily, I woke up when the lights went out and used a flashlight to get through the night.”
Lin Zhaohe: “…That’s not a sustainable solution. Wait a minute.” Suddenly, he remembered something. “Is your circuit breaker inside or outside the house?”
Xiao Xu said, “It’s inside.” After he answered, his expression became blank for a couple of seconds. “No way…” Could these things be that clever?
The electrical panel in their house was located at the entrance of the living room. Xiao Xu hadn’t considered this before, but now, hearing Lin Zhaohe suddenly ask about it, he felt dumbfounded. “It shouldn’t be possible. Previously, they never had such intentions.”
After their conversation, they fell into silence, looking at each other with expressions of horror.
However, right after their gaze broke, Lin Zhaohe heard a rustling sound coming from the living room, heading towards the entrance.
With a soft click, the sound of the circuit breaker being switched off reached their ears.
In the next moment, the bright lights in the bedroom instantly went out.
“Waaahhh!!!” Both of them let out a piercing scream of despair at the same time.
Lin Zhaohe shouted, “Yellow Banana Girl Transformation—”
Blinding light illuminated the room—not from Lin Zhaohe, but from the giant flashlight in Xiao Xu’s hand.
Lin Zhaohe didn’t don the cute skirt of Yellow Banana Girl, but remained in his own T-shirt and jeans. However, under the beam of Xiao Xu’s flashlight, he struck a pose as if transforming.
The atmosphere froze for three seconds until it was broken by Xiao Xu’s laughed, “Pfft!”
Lin Zhaohe’s transformation failed, leaving him standing still. His initial thought was that maybe he had lost his magical abilities because he had fallen in love. But wait, Strawberry Girl wasn’t a virg¡n either, so how could she still transform?
“So, you also watch Fruit Magical Team,” Xiao Xu whispered. “I quite like it.”
Lin Zhaohe didn’t speak. Silently, he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
Amidst the swirling smoke, his weathered expression was evident. He looked at Xiao Xu and asked, “Which magical girl is your favorite?”
Xiao Xu: “Definitely not Yellow Banana Girl.”
Lin Zhaohe: “……” You kids, you really have no taste.
Xiao Xu defended himself, “I didn’t mean to say Yellow Banana is bad. I just genuinely don’t like eating bananas.”
Lin Zhaohe also didn’t like eating bananas. For a moment, he couldn’t find a way to argue back.
Lin Zhaohe, after his failed transformation, was filled with images of shame in his mind. He hesitated several times, wanting to say something, but in the end, he decided to remain silent until he finished smoking. He thought that it was long overdue to put the plan of living on another planet on the agenda. Before leaving, he must bid farewell to Zhuang Lao.
“Brother Lin?” Xiao Xu timidly spoke up. “Are you done smoking?”
Lin Zhaohe reluctantly snapped back to reality and said, “The last drag.” He took a deep puff and continued, “What do you want to say?”
Xiao Xu said, “Um, there’s something terrifying above your head…”
Lin Zhaohe’s expression remained blank as he wondered what could be terrifying, especially after his failed transformation. He raised his eyes and saw, in the area where the flashlight didn’t illuminate, a face hanging there. No, it wasn’t a human face. It was a monster with human features.
The eyes and mouth formed a horrifying curve, and the pupils in the small eyes shrunk. From top to bottom, they stared intensely at Lin Zhaohe standing below. Lin Zhaohe raised his head, and his eyes met with the creature’s eyes. They locked gazes, and suddenly, a sharp pain struck Lin Zhaohe’s chest. He covered his chest in agony and bent over.
Startled, Xiao Xu exclaimed, “Brother Lin, are you okay? Is it because you shouldn’t make eye contact with the monster—”
Trembling, Lin Zhaohe said, “I’m… fine.”
Xiao Xu asked, “Fine? What do you mean?”
In a half-dead voice, Lin Zhaohe replied, “Nothing, I think I was just scared.”
Xiao Xu: “……” Are you here at my house to enhance the atmosphere for the monster?
Lin Zhaohe clutched his chest in silence for a while. By the time he regained his composure, the monster had already disappeared. The bedroom was devoid of light, with an ominous atmosphere filling the surroundings. The dark corners emitted rustling sounds, as if they were closing in on them.
In the darkness, Lin Zhaohe caught glimpses of the monsters, their bodies seemingly composed of darkness itself. Countless eyes faintly appeared in the darkness, accompanied by pallid whites and teeth. Lin Zhaohe even noticed some bony fingers protruding densely from the unlit corners, reaching towards Xiao Xu. Just as they were about to touch him, the flashlight’s beam drove them away.
Xiao Xu didn’t possess Lin Zhaohe’s resilience and was on the verge of collapsing as the multitude of monsters surrounded them. He cowered in a corner, trembling uncontrollably.
Finally recovering from the pain of his failed transformation, Lin Zhaohe said to Xiao Xu, “Stop trembling. Let’s go to the living room together and see if we can restore the power.”
Xiao Xu whispered, “But there are many monsters in the living room.”
Lin Zhaohe reassured him, “It’s okay. Although they’re surrounding us, they haven’t attacked us!”
Xiao Xu: “Do you feel any pain in your shoulder?”
Lin Zhaohe: “I have a shoulder injury, but it’s just muscle strain… Why are you asking about this?”
Xiao Xu: “Take a look at your shoulder.”
Lin Zhaohe lowered his head and saw a row of gleaming white teeth sinking into his shoulder. Apparently, it had bitten him while he was fully absorbed in his failed transformation. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel any pain. His expression contorted momentarily, but he quickly regained his composure and said, “It’s nothing, just a bite. If this is the extent of its attack, it won’t become a significant threat.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Xiao Xu’s piercing scream, a sound as if he had encountered a ghost.
Lin Zhaohe was utterly confused.
“Brother Lin, Brother Lin—behind you!” Xiao Xu screamed.
Lin Zhaohe turned his head and saw a tall woman standing behind him. She was unnaturally tall, her head tilting towards the ceiling, dressed in a black nightgown. Her terrifying gaze fixed on Lin Zhaohe as she spoke with a shrill, piercing voice, “It’s time to sleep, Xiao Xu.” With that, her withered arm reached out towards the already weakened Xiao Xu.
Startled, Lin Zhaohe shot at the woman directly, but the bullets seemed to vanish into thin air upon hitting her. They were completely ineffective.
Physical attacks failed, and his transformation was futile. The situation became incredibly perilous in an instant. Lin Zhaohe couldn’t bear to see his employer getting hurt. Clenching his teeth, he bravely threw himself in front of the woman, blocking her attack. “Xiao Xu—run—”
Xiao Xu sobbed loudly, his legs as weak as noodles. He managed to stand for a moment before stumbling and falling to the ground again. Lin Zhaohe’s eyes were filled with frustration and urgency, almost emitting sparks of anger. Unable to control himself, he shouted, “Can’t you do it?!”
Xiao Xu cried, “I—I can’t do it!”
Lin Zhaohe: “……” You’re driving me crazy, kid.
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