The vehicle slowly rolled through the mental hospital’s gates, the rusty iron doors creaking open with a heavy groan.

Driving was a middle-aged police chief in uniform, with a young man in a white coat riding shotgun. A wire mesh separated the cab from the back of the van.

Inside the back, thirteen people sat crammed together, all wearing gray-and-white striped hospital gowns and handcuffs. They looked less like patients and more like “criminals” being transported.

Gu Rong was sitting on the floor of the van, tucked away in the most inconspicuous corner. He was so tiny, and with limited seating, it was clear the adults hadn’t even noticed the little toddler. Nobody had made room for him, so this human child, who looked no more than two years old, had to sit on the floor.

Gu Rong tugged at his tiny hospital gown, fiddled with the handcuffs, and let out a confused little “Huh?”

At that moment, a cold, mechanical voice blasted in everyone’s ears.

[Welcome to the Mental Hospital…]

[Each of the five administrators of the mental hospital is equipped with a key. Collect all five keys to create a master key, which can open the gates of hell and help people escape the mental hospital.]

[Mission: Obtain the master key and escape the mental hospital, or survive for three days.]

[Time Limit: 3 days]

[Number of Players: 13]

[Special Reminder: Please do not forget your player identity, or you will become an NPC and remain permanently in the instance.]

–

This was an infinite live-streaming game. The 13 “patients” in the back of the van were the players for this particular instance. The police chief and the man in the white coat in the cab were NPCs.

Thirteen players: 7 men, 6 women… No, wait, only five female players.

Realizing this, the players frowned.

There were no lights on in the back of the van, and as night fell, it was getting dim. They couldn’t see each other’s faces clearly, but a living person sitting in the van, anyone who wasn’t blind could see them. The numbers were off. It was supposed to be 13 players, but they could only count 12. A whole living person couldn’t just vanish into thin air, could they?

Or was it that the 13th player hadn’t entered the game with them?

They clearly hadn’t considered that there was a tiny ball of a child sitting on the floor.

Despite their confusion, everyone stayed silent, wary of the police chief and the man in the white coat in the front.

The player sitting at the very back of the van was named Zhuang Yu. He had a clean-cut, handsome appearance and looked young, like a college student. While everyone else was looking puzzled, he was staring straight ahead, unmoving, so tense that his hands and feet had gone numb.

From the very beginning, he’d felt something. Right by his feet, a soft, small form was pressed against his leg. At one point, something that felt suspiciously like fur had even rested on his leg, using it as a pillow.

What was that? Or rather, in a horror world, what could it be?

“…”

Zhuang Yu was completely on edge, silently reciting the core socialist values of prosperity, democracy, civility, and harmony.

The van stopped, and the “patients” were ordered to get out.

And just then, Zhuang Yu froze.

He felt the little thing by his feet grab onto his pant leg and use it to pull itself up. The movement wasn’t exactly graceful, but even a corpse would have felt someone so blatantly yanking on their pants for leverage.

Zhuang Yu gritted his teeth, squeezed his eyes shut, and looked down. He found himself staring into the eyes of a beautifully delicate human toddler.

Big and small were both stunned.

Zhuang Yu looked at Gu Rong, looked away, unsure, then looked back again.

Huh? A human toddler? How could there be a human toddler?!

Gu Rong tilted his round little head. His features were exquisite, his skin so pale it was almost translucent, and his big, bright eyes were clear and unwavering as he stared back at this big brother, his little face utterly adorable.

Zhuang Yu: “…”

Yep, definitely a human toddler. White, soft, round, and cuddly, looking only a year or two old.

Right now, one of this little one’s hands, five short fingers splayed out, was pressed firmly on Zhuang Yu’s knee, completely unselfconscious. His other hand was holding the handcuffs, which were too big and had slipped off, and he was swinging them around like a toy.

Zhuang Yu: “…”

Gu Rong blinked his big eyes, quickly pulled back his little hand, and made sure to put the oversized handcuffs back on his chubby little wrist, pretending he hadn’t escaped them at all. Innocent.jpg

Zhuang Yu: “…………”

Holy crap, such a smart kid… uh, no, such a clever toddler.

Meanwhile, his livestream chat was exploding.

[Oh my gosh, what is that?!]

[Wow, such a cute human baby! How old is he? Two?]

[So cute, so cute! He has such a defined face, and he’s so tiny!]

[This little guy doesn’t even have a seat, he has to sit on the floor hahaha, don’t bully the little ones!]

[The handcuffs fell off, and he put them back on himself. What’s the difference between wearing them and not? It’s all about the presentation, right? [doge]]

[Wait, why can’t I enter this kid’s livestream? Or rather, I can’t find the entrance to this little player’s livestream? Could it be… he’s not a player?]

[No livestream, that means he’s an NPC. This little guy is actually an NPC? O.o]

[This is rare, so rare! There’s actually such a tiny NPC. I’m definitely following this instance! [Gifts points]]

[I don’t remember there being a little NPC like this in the “Mental Hospital” instance?]

[He must be a non-fixed NPC. Still, this is the first time I’ve seen this kid.]

[First time seeing him +1]

[An NPC mixed in with the players, and a toddler NPC at that. Interesting, this is very interesting! [Gifts points]]

—Spoilers are only visible to the audience—

Zhuang Yu saw viewers sending him gifts and was completely baffled. The game had just started, he hadn’t done anything yet, and people were already giving him gifts. It was pretty confusing.

But there’s no such thing as a gift for no reason. Could it be…?

It wasn’t that Zhuang Yu was narcissistic, but it had to be his face. There was no other logical explanation other than his good looks. He was, in fact, quite handsome, comparable to a young celebrity, but he had no idea that the viewers were sending gifts not because of his face, but because of the little NPC cub.

That’s right, Gu Rong wasn’t a player, but a little NPC. And NPCs don’t have initial livestreams. Viewers were gifting Zhuang Yu because they saw a cute toddler in his livestream.

Just entering the game, Gu Rong was still completely clueless. He’d been sleeping under a bridge, and then he woke up in this van!

But, Gu Rong’s big eyes were sparkling, looking at all the people in the van with an unusual eagerness and excitement.

Grumble. His stomach growled.

He clutched his empty little tummy.

So hungry!

And here were so many “food” options right in front of him! He looked at this one, then that one, his eyes almost crossing.

No, it should be said, that he was spoiled for choice.

After being hungry for so long, he wanted to grab a straw and just go down the line, drinking from each one.

Personal System 006, about to speak: […]

006 was stalled for a good while before finally speaking: [Hello, little host.]

Gu Rong was startled. He heard the voice inside his head and shook his little head like a rattle drum.

006: […]

006: [Don’t be scared, little host. I’m a system. You can talk to me in your mind.]

Gu Rong stopped shaking his head and asked in his mind: [Who are you?]

006: [I’m System 006.]

Gu Rong’s voice was babyish, but his speech was clear and his logic sound: [Hello, 006. I’m not Little Host. I’m Gu Rong.]

006: […]

006 chuckled: [Little host, we’re already bound together. From now on, you’re my little host. This is an infinite horror game, and you need to play the role of an NPC in the game.]

It briefly explained what “binding” and “NPC” meant.

006: [Little host, you’re playing a little mental patient who’s pretending to be a player. You need to follow the storyline and complete assigned tasks.]

According to 006, Gu Rong could earn points by playing an NPC.

Points could be used to buy anything he wanted. As long as he had enough points, he could fulfill any wish.

Gu Rong was a smart kid. Although he didn’t understand some things, he was good at grasping the key points. When he heard he could fulfill any wish, his eyes sparkled: [Then can Rongrong see Daddy, Mommy, and Grandpa Ming?]

He’d been missing them for a long time.

006, hearing him call himself Rongrong, almost laughed: [Yes, you can! As long as we collect enough points, you can see your Daddy and Mommy. No matter where they are, you’ll definitely see them again!]

Gu Rong clenched his little fists: [And Grandpa Ming!]

006: [That’s right, you can see Grandpa Ming too!]

Gu Rong’s eyes lit up when he heard 006 say that. But he still had absolutely no concept of what it meant to play an NPC.

He was a child at heart, easily pleased. Just hearing 006 say he could see his parents and Grandpa Ming made him instantly happy.

006: [Ding! Congratulations, little host, for receiving a newbie benefit: Initial Identity Card 013: Little Mental Patient.]

[Function: Wearing this identity card allows you to perfectly disguise yourself as a mental patient.]

[Initial Task: The little mental patient must obtain a mental patient number within 1 hour.]

[Success Reward: 10,000 points.]

[Failure Penalty: None]

Gu Rong was understandably confused. He didn’t really get it.

006 said: [Don’t worry, little host. It won’t affect your ability to do the tasks. You’ll gradually learn how to play an NPC.]

Gu Rong’s little face was serious: [Okay!]

Gu Rong was a zombie toddler who had just turned two years old.

He lived with his Grandpa Ming in the slums of the zombie world, under a bridge.

Because he was so small, his short legs couldn’t run fast enough to catch prey, and he was often hungry. Prey would pass right under his nose, and just as he’d try to scramble up to chase them, thud – he’d fall flat on his face. By the time he got back up, the prey would be long gone.

Grandpa Ming was too old, leaning on a small walking stick, and couldn’t run as fast as him, let alone catch any prey.

Then, while sleeping under the bridge, he woke up in this van.

The van was full of “food.” He’d never had human blood before. He usually ate vegetarian, but other zombie uncles and aunties all drank human blood. It was their staple food.

The little cub, who had never had his staple food, didn’t know which kind of human blood was best.

Gu Rong turned his attention back to the food, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, his little face flushed with excitement.

006: […………]

–

“Clang!” The van door was opened from the outside, and bright light flooded in.

“Alright, get out and embrace your new lives, lambs.”

The middle-aged police chief—Chief Morrison—held a flashlight, a baton, and a pistol on his belt, and a rather unsettling smile on his dark face. The smile was full of malice, and he looked at the players as if they were lambs to the slaughter.

The players were blinded by the flashlight and instantly felt annoyed, cursing under their breath, but none of them showed it outwardly. Mostly because they’d just entered the game, everything was still unclear, and they didn’t dare to show any outward reaction.

They looked at the baton and pistol on the chief’s belt; those weren’t for show.

The players filed out of the van.

Standing next to Chief Morrison was the man in the white coat.

He was extremely young and handsome, tall and slender, probably over 180 centimeters tall. He had a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his high nose bridge, sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes, thin red lips, and pale, almost bloodless skin, creating a strong contrast. He had an inscrutable faint smile on his face as he watched the patients disembark.

The players took one look at this NPC and felt a jolt.

Damn, he looked like a major player. With this top-tier configuration, and this undeniably powerful aura, he was clearly a BOSS-level character.

In other words, a powerful character, not someone to be trifled with.

All the players took note of him.

Gu Rong was lined up behind Zhuang Yu. Zhuang Yu was second to last to get out of the van, and he was last.

Zhuang Yu had already seen from the livestream chat that this was just a human toddler. He instantly relaxed, his fear completely gone, replaced by a feeling of pity for Gu Rong.

Such a tiny thing dragged into a horror game. It was pitiful and cruel.

This was clearly a little cannon fodder. He didn’t know how long he’d last, he didn’t dare to think he could clear the game. He just hoped that when he was taken out, it would be quick and painless.

If circumstances allowed, he’d try to look out for the kid, but he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to protect himself. He wasn’t even sure he’d make it out alive.

Zhuang Yu sighed.

He naturally didn’t know that Gu Rong was an NPC since any comments spoiling Gu Rong’s NPC status were automatically filtered out by the system.

Gu Rong was walking behind Zhuang Yu. He saw the man in front of Zhuang Yu get off the van, and the next one would be Zhuang Yu.

Gu Rong, at some point, had produced a silver straw in his little hand.

And then, this little cub, holding the straw, aimed it at the back of Zhuang Yu’s hand, and with a swift, decisive motion, stabbed.

The action, the smoothness, it looked exactly like he was piercing a yogurt container.

006: […]

Livestream Chat: [???]

Zhuang Yu: “?”

What just happened?!