Gu Rong finished his chicken leg, leaned against the coffin, and rested, patting his little tummy.

Outside, the wind howled, dark clouds gathered, and soon, heavy rain began to fall with pattering sounds.

The main gate of the Yi Zhuang had been damaged by the Jiangshi, and rainwater was blown into the room by the wind.

Gu Rong immediately sprang up from the ground, hopping over to the doorway, wanting to find something to block the rain.

006 said: [Little host, let’s get further inside quickly, or we’ll get wet.]

Gu Rong hummed in agreement and hopped back inside the room.

Gu Rong asked in his tender, childish voice: [Then where does Zaizai sleep?]

It was raining outside now. He had eaten and drunk his fill, and besides sleeping, there was nothing else to do.

The tables and chairs were all shattered, and there were no beds in the room. Gu Rong looked left and right, finally fixing his gaze on the coffins filling the room.

Gu Rong’s eyes lit up: [Zaizai sleep in coffin!]

006: […?]

Well, it wasn’t impossible.

006: [Sleeping in a coffin is also good. If someone comes while you’re asleep, they won’t steal the little host away. However, little host should check the coffin first, see if there’s anything else inside.]

If something was already lying in the coffin, going in would be rather impolite.

Gu Rong nodded: [Okay!]

The lid of the coffin he had leaned against earlier had moved, so he chose a different coffin. With a sweep of his little arm, he pushed the coffin lid open a crack.

The coffin was taller than Gu Rong. He couldn’t hop in, so he used the [Hanged Little Ghost] identity card. First, he flew onto the coffin lid, poked his little head in to look inside, saw it was clean and empty, and only then did he jump in and lie down properly.

After lying down, Gu Rong let out a small yawn, swept his little arm again, and pulled the coffin lid tightly shut.

This was an adult-sized coffin, spacious enough for Gu Rong to turn over comfortably.

Gu Rong’s mental fortitude was truly impressive. In less than ten seconds, he drifted off whuush into a deep, sound sleep.

The livestream chat was dumbfounded: …?!

Who wouldn’t praise that as awesome!

Thus, when Huang Daoren had searched several streets without finding the Little Jiangshi cub and returned to the Yi Zhuang, he found the room in chaos, talismans scattered everywhere, and the 20 Jiangshi missing without a trace. He was scared out of his wits.

He no longer cared about finding the Little Jiangshi, nor about being drenched like a drowned rat. He immediately went to find the Town Mayor of Jiangshi Town.

From entering the Yi Zhuang gate to leaving, Huang Daoren spent less than two minutes in total, completely failing to notice the Little Jiangshi cub sleeping soundly inside a coffin.

–

Gu Rong woke up from his sleep. Outside, the sky had cleared, and the rain had stopped.

Gu Rong stretched lazily as he woke up, rubbing his eyes.

Before he could finish his wake-up routine, 006 said urgently: [Little host, quickly resume the Little Jiangshi pose! It’s going to be over 10 seconds!]

Gu Rong reacted very quickly. Halfway through his stretch, he immediately straightened his small body, returning to the stiff posture of a Little Jiangshi.

006 breathed a sigh of relief.

The aunties in the livestream chat had been guarding the cub while he slept. Seeing this, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

The cub is truly a dedicated Zaizai!

It was already evening now. Gu Rong had slept for four hours.

It was even dimmer inside the coffin, but it didn’t affect Gu Rong’s vision. He was groggy for a while before remembering he was currently sleeping in a coffin.

After lying there a bit longer, Gu Rong swept his little arm, pushed the coffin lid open, used the [Hanged Little Ghost] identity card again, flew out of the coffin, and landed steadily on the ground.

Gu Rong: [Tummy hungry!]

006: […]

Livestream Chat: […]

Eat till full, sleep; sleep till full, eat. Isn’t this just a little piglet?

Gu Rong hopped towards the doorway, preparing to forage for food first and fill his stomach.

After just two hops, he saw the scattered talismans on the ground.

Huh?

Gu Rong tilted his head, picked up a yellow talisman from the ground, held it in his small hand, examined it back and forth, and after looking for a bit, picked it up and tried to stick it onto his own little forehead.

006: […?]

Livestream Chat: […?!]

You can’t just randomly stick that!!

Fortunately, the yellow talisman had already lost its effectiveness, like waste paper. It fell off as soon as Gu Rong stuck it on and wouldn’t stay put.

006 and the livestream aunties breathed a sigh of relief.

Every single day, it’s just nerve-wracking. He doesn’t make things easy.

Gu Rong was currently a Little Jiangshi. Luckily, these talismans were useless, otherwise, he would have immobilized himself.

006 said: [Little host, these yellow talismans should be from the heads of those adult Jiangshi. The talismans have all fallen off, and the room is a mess. It’s likely those Jiangshi have run off.]

Gu Rong asked crisply: [Where is Daoist Priest Uncle?]

Finally remembered the Daoist Priest uncle.

Gu Rong didn’t know because he was asleep, but 006 had seen Huang Daoren return earlier.

006 said: [Should we go out and look for him?]

Gu Rong shook his little head: [Finding Daoist Priest Uncle won’t get food. Zaizai wants to find yummy food!]

Gu Rong knew that in this instance, if he wanted to eat, he could only rely on himself.

He took out his Ultraman little backpack from the system store, put it on his back, and prepared to hop out to forage.

Having eaten the last meal with no guarantee of the next, and it being dinnertime now, his little tummy had long been growling with hunger.

Gu Rong wore his Jiangshi clothes, the little hat on his head, and the talisman still stuck to his forehead.

Now, with the Ultraman little backpack on his back, the look was strangely harmonious, yet also cute enough to make heads turn.

As he hopped, the yellow talisman on his forehead swung back and forth.

The livestream chat was almost dying from the cuteness.

[Too cute, too cute, Little Jiangshi baby!!]

[Isn’t this just like a little kid going to kindergarten? Zaizai is so cute! [Gift points]]

[It’s going to be dark soon. Where is Zaizai going? What if he gets snatched by a Jiangshi QAQ]

[From my observation, he’s probably hungry and looking for food!]

[Damn it, this instance actually requires Zaizai to find his own food! My heart aches! [Gift points]]

–

Jiangshi Town lived up to its name; there were many wild Jiangshi, and Gu Rong was one of them. Otherwise, the town wouldn’t have been renamed Jiangshi Town.

This town could be considered half a Jiangshi nest.

Every household in town would prepare some glutinous rice flour, and those who could afford it would also prepare some black dog blood.

These two things were specifically used to ward off Jiangshi.

Moreover, as soon as night fell, no one was outside in Jiangshi Town. Every household closed its doors and windows tightly. The entire town became empty, like a dead town, eerily quiet.

Gu Rong hopped for a long time but didn’t see a single person.

The roast chicken shop he had stolen from during the day was also closed. Besides some empty stalls, there was nothing on the street.

The rain-washed town streets were clean, but the air was foul, faintly filled with the smell of corpses.

Jiangshi hide by day and come out at night. At night, Jiangshi Town became their hunting ground. No one dared to go out at this time.

Gu Rong’s tummy growled loudly. He couldn’t find anything to eat and was too hungry to hop anymore. His little face looked pitiful, incredibly sad, and pathetic.

As he hopped, Gu Rong started to panic, and his little tummy growled even louder.

When panicked, he hopped unsteadily, almost falling several times.

Seeing Gu Rong panicking, 006 quickly said: [Little host, don’t panic, don’t worry! Let’s check another street, maybe we can find something yummy there!]

Gu Rong’s voice carried a sob: [I am panicking! I am anxious!]

His little expression became even more pitiful. He wiped his eyes with his little arm, almost crying from hunger. Clearly, 006’s comfort wasn’t working.

006 also grew anxious. Before, when food wasn’t involved, the little host didn’t need coaxing. Now that food was involved, who knew the little host would have such a meltdown.

006 didn’t know how to coax him: [Little host, don’t panic, let me think of something…]

Gu Rong stomped his little foot: [Just panic!]

Who knew that stomping his foot so hard made his little body stumble, almost falling over.

006: […]

Livestream Chat: […]

006 said: [Okay, okay, don’t panic… No, no, it’s okay to panic first! I’ll figure something out! How about you sit down first while panicking?]

Gu Rong obediently found a stone step and sat down.

Hmm, sit down panic. Hopping is a bit tiring.

After sitting down, Gu Rong actually stopped panicking, becoming very well-behaved. The yellow talisman on his forehead fluttered in the wind.

In the sky, a lone moon hid behind the mist.

–

Two streets away, the players were chasing a Jiangshi.

Huang Daoren was also there, accompanied by a one-eyed young man – precisely the Town Mayor of Jiangshi Town, Wu Sandeng.

Wu Sandeng had commissioned Huang Daoren to herd 20 Jiangshi to Jiangshi Town and hand them over to Mayor Wu.

He was supposed to hand over the Jiangshi tonight, just one final step, and the 20 Jiangshi would be delivered to Town Mayor Wu. Who knew that at the critical moment, such a mishap would occur?

He didn’t dare say he lost 20 Jiangshi because he was getting a bamboo basket custom-made for a Little Jiangshi he picked up on the road. He suspected that if he said that, Town Mayor Wu would have him chopped up and fed to the dogs on the spot.

If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have picked up any Little Jiangshi cub. Sigh, blame it on the Little Jiangshi being too cute. He must have been possessed, to actually carry it back.

The most unlucky part was, the Little Jiangshi cub was also gone now! Damn it, this was truly suffering a double loss!

According to the instance setting, the nine players were invited by Wu Sandeng to help Huang Daoren recapture the Jiangshi.

Whether it was the nine players or the NPC Huang Daoren, failing to retrieve the Jiangshi meant certain death.

In a sense, their goals were aligned.

Twenty meters ahead, a large Jiangshi was fleeing, while the players and Huang Daoren chased behind.

It fled, they chased, and it couldn’t escape even if it grew wings.

This Jiangshi was one of the twenty.

The players were initially worried they wouldn’t be able to recognize the 20 Jiangshi, but Huang Daoren recognized each one accurately, which made things easier.

Wu Sandeng followed behind with three burly men, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, following unhurriedly.

His expression looked very gloomy, his single eye sinister, radiating ruthlessness.

He looked to be in his thirties, strongly built, with distinct features, his skin tanned from daily exposure to the sun.

Judging by appearance alone, the man didn’t look like a town mayor at all, but rather carried a thuggish air, like a bandit leader.

Huang Daoren threw a talisman through the air. Unsurprisingly, it fell to the ground: “Stop! Stop right there!”

The Players: “…”

No wonder this Daoist could lose 20 Jiangshi. Is this it?

Zhao Jiuquan was the calmest one present. He took out a jujube nail from his sleeve and struck the Jiangshi’s right leg with it.

The Jiangshi stumbled, its movements slowing, but it didn’t stop. It let out a hissing roar, switching from hopping to leaping, covering dozens of meters in a single bound.

The other players couldn’t help but glance at Zhao Jiuquan. Even Wu Sandeng paused with his cigarette, turning his head to look at him.

Zhao Jiuquan had an extraordinary aura, his expression calm. No one saw how he attacked, yet he had already hit the Jiangshi’s leg.

Town Mayor Wu glanced at one of the burly men beside him. The man understood immediately, quickly took out two gold bars from his bag, walked over, and handed them to Zhao Jiuquan.

Seeing the gold bars, even in the dead of night, they were blindingly dazzling.

The other players’ eyes widened with envy.

Such generosity? Those are gold bars! Even inside an instance, seeing gold bars made one’s heart race!

Hitting one Jiangshi leg, and it still escaped, yet he gets two gold bars? Then catching 20 Jiangshi, wouldn’t that mean getting mountains of gold and silver?

WTF! I feel like I can do this again!

The players instantly perked up.

Zhao Jiuquan’s expression, however, didn’t change at all. Truly viewing money as dirt. He first nodded at Wu Sandeng, then shook his head, then raised his hand and waved it dismissively.

Everyone: “…”

Wait, could he really be mute?

Zhuang Yu’s eyelid twitched when he saw the hand gestures.

Shen Hanxiao helped explain: “My senior brother means thank you, but he doesn’t need it.”

The Players: “…………”

Your senior brother is awesome! He even comes with his own translator in the instance?

Zhuang Yu secretly poked Shen Hanxiao: “Could your senior brother be… the legendary bk^[1]T/N: Its an internet slang which refers to B King, meaning King of Coolness/Style/Showing Off, well in one word pretentious lol.?”

Shen Hanxiao: “…”

–

Gu Rong sat on another street. Right now, the cub’s mind was filled with thoughts of eating, his little face miserable.

Unable to eat, Gu Rong couldn’t even hop anymore.

Just then, the smell of corpses in the air grew stronger. Not far away came “peng, peng, peng” sounds, like some heavy object hopping rhythmically.

There were also numerous chaotic footsteps following close behind.

Gu Rong’s little ears perked up, and he looked in the direction of the sound source.

Through layers of night fog, a large Jiangshi came hopping towards him, incredibly fast.

This Jiangshi had a green face and long fangs, looking extremely terrifying and fierce. It was heading straight for Gu Rong.

Behind it followed a group of people. Gu Rong’s sharp eyes spotted Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao.

Big Brother! Little Brother!

Gu Rong’s eyes lit up. He immediately wanted to call out, but when he opened his mouth, only babbling sounds yiyiyaya came out.

Hmph, he can’t talk. Not only can he not eat, but now he can’t even talk.

Gu Rong saw the large Jiangshi rushing towards him. The opponent was so big, and he was so small. He immediately got up and hopped away: [No good, big Jiangshi coming! Eat Zaizai! Zaizai run quick!]

006: […]

Who said anything about eating you!

Gu Rong couldn’t hop fast. The large Jiangshi could cover ten meters in a single hop, one step equaling dozens of his.

Gu Rong hopped a few times, looked back, and the large Jiangshi was already right behind him, baring its fangs at him. Its outstretched, sharp claws were just inches away from reaching his little head.

[Ahhh, can’t watch! Zaizai run!!!]

[Heavens, didn’t I say Zaizai would be snatched by a Jiangshi! I call myself a prophet!]

[This Jiangshi is too ugly! Comparison makes Zaizai look even more fair, tender, and cute, like a little milk dumpling that melts in your mouth! [Gift points]]

–

At the critical moment, ding, the system prompt sounded.

[Ding! Roleplaying as Little Jiangshi for over 24 hours. Reward acquired: [Green Jiangshi] Card x1~]

[Green Jiangshi: Body becomes green, jumps extremely fast, possesses immense strength (can move rocks, push trees), can leap ten zhang (approx. 33 meters), and is surrounded by poisonous gas. Fears neither humans nor domestic animals, only fears sunlight.]

[Duration: 30 minutes (stackable).]

[Cooldown: 12 hours.]

The reward arrived just in time! 006 quickly said: [Little host, equip the [Green Jiangshi] card, quickly!]

Gu Rong immediately equipped the [Green Jiangshi] card. His originally fair and tender skin instantly turned emerald green, and even glowed faintly in the night, like a night light.

Gu Rong: “?”

006: […]

Livestream Chat: […?]

Initially, the players hadn’t seen Gu Rong. He was too small, and the night fog was heavy. Now, with Gu Rong glowing, everyone, including Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao, saw him.

Not only the players saw him, but Huang Daoren also saw him, and Wu Sandeng, walking at the back, saw him too.

Seeing this Little Jiangshi cub, who was actually a glowing Green Jiangshi, Wu Sandeng’s pupils contracted, and he declared: “I want this Little Jiangshi cub too!”

The Players: “…”

Huang Daoren: “…”

Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao exchanged a glance, both tacitly pretending not to know Gu Rong.

Zhao Jiuquan looked at Gu Rong, then looked at his junior brother, Shen Hanxiao, with a flash of understanding in his eyes.

Huang Daoren recognized his own Little Jiangshi cub. Seeing him discovered by Wu Sandeng like this, his heart skipped a beat. He pretended not to care: “Finding the 20 Jiangshi is the priority. This Little Jiangshi has a bad temper; catching him would waste too much time…”

Wu Sandeng smiled faintly, puffing out a cloud of smoke: “I want the 20 Jiangshi, and I want the Little Jiangshi too.”

Huang Daoren: “…”

Damn it!

Gu Rong didn’t know he had already been targeted. Equipped with the [Green Jiangshi] card, the cub was now terrifyingly strong.

He swept his little arm, picked up a stone pillar by the roadside, and hurled it straight at the large Jiangshi behind him, smashing it dozens of meters away with one hit.

Gu Rong leaped again, easily covering ten zhang, and disappeared in just a few leaps.

“…”

Everyone behind him was utterly dumbfounded.

Wu Sandeng, however, raised an eyebrow, his eyes burning with the fire of determination.

–

Gu Rong shook off the large Jiangshi and, by chance, arrived at a farm.

The farm housed flocks of chickens, ducks, geese, as well as some pigs, sheep, and other livestock. The stench was overwhelming.

Gu Rong raised his small hand to fan his little nose.

Gu Rong: [I saw Big Brother and Little Brother just now! Zaizai wanted to call them, but Zaizai couldn’t talk!]

006: [It’s okay, there will always be a chance to meet again.]

Gu Rong nodded: [Okay!]

Soon, Gu Rong’s attention was captured by the livestock on the farm.

Eh?

Seeing these farm animals, Gu Rong blinked his big eyes, then his little face lit up with excitement, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

Can’t find cooked food? He could steal two chickens or ducks to fill his tummy! He really was a little smarty-pants!

006 still didn’t know Gu Rong was sharpening his teeth, eyeing the pigs and sheep: [Little host, the residents of Jiangshi Town don’t dare go out at night. Why don’t we stock up on more food during the daytime tomorrow, so we won’t be hungry at night…]

Before it could finish speaking, it saw Gu Rong leap lightly again, jumping into the livestock enclosure.

006: […tummy?]

Gu Rong landed among the farm animals. So tiny, it was truly unclear whether he would eat the animals or the animals would eat him.

As soon as there was movement, the chickens, ducks, and geese started squawking, and the pigs and sheep instantly became alert, looking towards this glowing cub.

The guard dog, a large black dog, heard the commotion and immediately started barking loudly, woof woof woof.

Immediately after, someone came rushing over with a flashlight, cursing: “WTF, someone stole chicken during the day, and now someone dares to come into my house at night to steal ducks? Don’t let me catch you, catch you on the spot and beat you to death…”

Gu Rong, in panic, without thinking about the consequences, grabbed a chicken with his left hand and a duck with his right, picked them up, and ran.

His short legs moved dadada, running incredibly fast, even leaving afterimages.

The chicken clucked ge ge da, the duck quacked ga ga ga, chickens flying, ducks jumping. The scene was chaotic.

The man’s angry curses came from behind, the beam of the flashlight approaching.

“Stop! Little thief! Don’t think wearing a Jiangshi costume means I won’t chase!”

006 and the livestream chat were speechless for a long time.

Good grief! These… are alive!!!