On the game forums, Gu Rong had become the focus. Everyone was discussing this NPC cub.

[Seriously, Little Rong Zaizai is almost at the point of unlocking his personal livestream, and the players still haven’t realized he’s an NPC and not a player?]

[I’m so disappointed in this batch of players. Utterly useless!]

[Yang Chunsheng discovered he’s a little ghost.]

[He discovered jack squat. That was Little Rong Zaizai deliberately running to his bedpost to hang himself and scare him. He thought Zaizai was a hanged little ghost; he has no idea Zaizai was an NPC from the very beginning!]

[This wave, the other players are on the negative first floor, Yang Chunsheng is on the negative second floor. He’s even more wrong!]

[I’m telling you guys, enough already. Those in the game are confused. If you were in the instance, could you have figured out that this cub was an NPC? Besides, the color of his wristband is the pale purple of a player. How could the players suspect? Plus, his young, soft, and cute appearance is extremely deceptive. It’s really hard to detect, okay!]

[So many people ah .jpg] (T/N: .jpg at end of sentence = expression of emotion, in this instance, awe, wonder, etc.)

[Tsk tsk, it’s so much better to put yourself in Little Rong Zaizai’s shoes. It’s just pure enjoyment. Putting yourself in the shoes of a bunch of useless players would just be frustrating!]

[Heh, after this instance, the NPC cub is already famous on the forums. No one doesn’t know he’s an NPC. Who will be careless in the next instance? He can only deceive players in this one instance.]

[Oh ho, this Zaizai actually has his own traffic? Next instance, a Zaizai-killing livestream. You can follow my livestream in advance. I’ll do something big for everyone, hehe.]

[…Damn, are you sick?!]

[Hahaha, it’s Mu-shen, isn’t it? Come, come, come, let me explain to the new players. Mu-shen^[1]TN: shen (神) means “god,” often used as a suffix to indicate mastery or skill., Mu Xingye, a top 100 ranked player in the entire server, famous for his creative ways of torturing and killing NPCs. No NPC targeted by him has ever escaped. He slaughters them all.]

[This NPC cub is screwed. He hasn’t even cleared his first instance, and he’s already been targeted by Mu-shen. Even if he luckily clears this instance, he’ll just be delivering himself to Mu-shen’s door in the next instance. And a livestream of torturing and killing, tsk, wouldn’t that be too bloody and cruel!]

[This is a horror game, do you really think it’s a parenting channel? I’m following in advance!]

[It’s over, this cub is doomed. Once targeted by Mu-shen, there’s absolutely no possibility of escape. He might as well die directly in the “Mental Hospital” instance; at least it would be more dignified.]

The aunties who had become Gu Rong’s fans couldn’t help but worry, afraid that the little cub would be targeted by some psychopathic player in the next instance.

The key was that Gu Rong was completely unaware of this, and he couldn’t even prepare in advance.

There were quite a few players who enjoyed watching the chaos, and they had already started to follow in advance.

–

The players quickly arrived at the library.

Gu Rong had already let go of the nurse and was obediently letting Big Brother hold his hand, with Shen Hanxiao walking beside them.

The baby-sitting trio was very harmonious.

The library was next to the chapel, tall and grand, with intricately carved patterns on the stone pillars and several sculptures placed at the entrance.

Sister Ishmael had already arrived, with Lin Xuezhu and Jessie standing beside her.

It was unclear if it was an illusion, but Chief Morrison hadn’t been seen for a long time.

No one paid it any mind. After all, one less gun-wielding NPC was arguably a good thing.

All the patients had arrived. At a glance, everyone was sporting a slicked-back hairdo, giving one the urge to develop “slicked-back hair phobia.”

Sister Ishmael had a fierce expression, her face serious and stern. When she saw the little dumpling being held in Zhuang Yu’s arms, her expression softened a few degrees.

Lin Xuezhu and Jessie also looked at Gu Rong.

Gu Rong sweetly called out in his babyish voice, “Sister Auntie, Doctor Uncle.”

Jessie, who was once again ignored: “…”

Lin Xuezhu, in his white coat, with gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, had a faint smile on his handsome face. He seemed to find it a bit amusing and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

This was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire. Jessie, a two-meter-tall, five-hundred-jin man, was about to shatter.

The scene was strangely comical. Several NPCs were actually vying for the affection of a little player.

Everyone wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.

“Crack,” Jessie crushed a stone pillar with his bare hands, as easily as crushing potato chips.

Everyone: “…”

Terrifying!

Sister Ishmael coldly glanced at Jessie, not bothering with his tantrum, and turned to enter the library first.

Just as Lin Xuezhu was about to step forward, Jessie’s large body bumped into him. He was clearly still bothered by Lin Xuezhu’s mocking laugh earlier, glaring at him fiercely and shoving him behind himself.

Jessie’s bump was not light. Another “crack” sound was heard, and Lin Xuezhu’s left shoulder seemed to be dislocated.

Lin Xuezhu rubbed his bumped left shoulder, set it back in place himself, and didn’t even frown.

Everyone: “…”

Damn, these NPCs were simply inhuman, terrifyingly strong!

The library was very large, divided into upper, middle, and lower levels, connected by spiral staircases.

On the left-hand side was a row of bookshelves, neatly arranged with various books, categorized and placed in a very organized manner.

On the right-hand side was the reading area, with hundreds of tables and chairs.

However, what surprised everyone was that the library was filled with lifelike human sculptures.

It wasn’t unusual to place sculptures. Many art galleries and libraries would display sculptures, arguably for aesthetic purposes.

But the problem was… there were too many.

One or two would be fine, but there were at least a hundred sculptures here, and they were all in different poses, lifelike, with very realistic details in their expressions and clothing.

The players couldn’t help but marvel at the craftsmanship, but they still felt a little uneasy.

It wasn’t just that the number of sculptures exceeded a certain limit; it was that the sculptures were a little too realistic.

So realistic that they created a kind of “uncanny valley” effect. ^[2]T/N: Uncanny Valley – the unsettling feeling caused by something that looks almost, but not quite, human.

The players couldn’t help but get goosebumps, rubbing their arms, silently moving away from the sculptures, trying not to touch them.

Gu Rong was full of curiosity, looking left and right, his little hands eager to try, wanting to poke them. A child’s curiosity was no joke.

Zhuang Yu’s eyelids twitched, and he quickly caught the cub’s little hand.

Zhuang Yu frowned: “Why do I feel like these sculptures are kind of creepy?”

Shen Hanxiao smiled: “I have a bold idea.”

Zhuang Yu: “No, you don’t.”

Just then, “da, da, da.”

The quiet library echoed with heavy footsteps.

Everyone looked towards the source of the sound and couldn’t help but be stunned, their eyes widening.

They saw an old man with a straight back and a spirited demeanor walking over. He had a head full of white hair and a face full of wrinkles like the bark of a dead tree. He looked very old, probably at the end of his life.

However, what was terrifying was that the old man’s face only had a nose and a mouth, no eyes.

The position of the eyes was sunken skin, wrinkled and bunched together, without even a slit, as if normal eye sockets were covered with a layer of human skin.

Everyone couldn’t help but gasp.

Gu Rong had seen Faceless Ghost. Faceless Ghost didn’t have eyes, let alone his whole face.

Now, seeing the old man who only lacked eyes, he wasn’t afraid at all. His big eyes blinked, and he tilted his little head, observing.

The old man walked over with his hands behind his back and stopped.

He clearly had no eyes, but he “looked” at everyone one by one, making people’s hair stand on end and their scalps tingle.

When his gaze reached the little milk doll with the slicked-back hair who was being held in someone’s arms, the old man paused and looked Gu Rong up and down.

What was this?

Gu Rong’s glass-like eyes were big and bright, fearless as he looked back at the old man. He even innocently raised his little hand, touched his own eyes, and then looked at the old man’s eyes.

The old man: “…”

Where did this little doll come from?

Everyone was terrified.

Truly, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. If it had been an adult, this behavior would have been considered blatant provocation.

This little radish head, with one strange action after another, was a real handful.

Zhuang Yu was startled and quickly pulled Gu Rong’s little hand away from his eyes, pressing his little head against his shoulder, not letting him look around.

The old man seemed to feel offended and snorted coldly, but fortunately, he didn’t stoop to the level of a two-year-old cub.

Sister Ishmael nodded in greeting to the old man: “Prometheus.”

–

“Prometheus, the library administrator, the most intelligent person in the mental hospital, omniscient and omniscient, almost all-knowing, in charge of the Key of Wisdom.”

Shen Hanxiao opened a copy of the Annals of the Mental Hospital, pointed to a page, and said, “Prometheus is arrogant by nature and hates ignorance and stupidity. His greatest hobby in life is to forcibly instill knowledge in others. All living beings are ants, and only he is close to God.”

Gu Rong was sitting on a chair, his little feet dangling, his little arms resting on the table. A book was also open in front of him, a children’s book with illustrations and pinyin.

The cub couldn’t read; he could only understand the pictures, not the words or pinyin.

Zhuang Yu was reading him the story, and he was currently reading the story of The Little Mermaid.

“The Annals of the Mental Hospital? There’s such a book? Who’s the editor?”

Shen Hanxiao flipped through it: “Prometheus.”

Zhuang Yu: “…Indeed, arrogant.”

Shen Hanxiao continued flipping: “Look here! Sister Ishmael, manages everything, in charge of the Key of Power. Jessie, administrator of the Black Forest in the back mountains, is in charge of the Key of Life. Father Noah, administrator of the chapel, is in charge of the Key of Light. The Hypnotist, manages nothing, in charge of the Key of Hope… Huh? Manages nothing? Hilarious.”

The locations of all five keys were recorded.

There were also drawings next to them, showing that the keys were identical in style, only differing in color.

• Key of Power (Nun) – Gold
• Key of Life (Jessie) – Red
• Key of Light (Priest) – Silver
• Key of Wisdom (Prometheus) – Blue
• Key of Hope (Hypnotist) – Green

Currently, except for the Hypnotist, who managed nothing, all the other administrators had appeared.

Shen Hanxiao touched his chin and thought, “I feel like something’s not quite right?”

At this moment, “thud,” the children’s book in front of Gu Rong accidentally fell to the ground.

He stretched out his short little arms to reach for it, but he couldn’t reach it. Just as he was about to slide down to pick it up, a withered, old hand like tree bark picked it up for him.

It was Prometheus.

He placed the children’s book back in front of Gu Rong. Although he had no eyes, it was clear that he was “looking” at Gu Rong.

Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao looked up and met a face with no eyes. They couldn’t help but be startled, their expressions changing slightly.

This sudden appearance was, to say the least, bizarre and creepy, maximizing the horror effect.

Gu Rong, however, wasn’t afraid. Faceless Brother had nothing on his entire face, and he wasn’t afraid, let alone an old man who only lacked eyes.

The cub politely thanked him: “Thank you, Blind Grandpa.”

Prometheus: “…?!”

Everyone: “…………”

[Hahahahahahaha, damn! You might as well not have thanked him!]

[Blind Grandpa? I’m laughing so hard, it’s not polite, but it’s really funny hahahahaha]

[Blind Grandpa: Was it necessary to thank me?]

[Blind Grandpa: How is this polite and impolite at the same time?]

[I’m dying of laughter. Zaizai is really unexpected, with a unique way of thinking, always hitting my funny bone [Gifts points]]

–

“Crack,” Jessie crushed another stone pillar and randomly grabbed an unlucky player to comb his hair, brushing until sparks flew.

Even a blind old man could be called Grandpa, didn’t he deserve to be called Uncle?

Everyone: “?”

What kind of fit was this guy throwing now?

The livestream chat was about to die of laughter.

[Blind Grandpa’s level of hilarity: 100%. Jessie breaking down and crushing pillars’ level of hilarity: 10000000%]

[On Jessie’s life of being ignored, Zaizai-men!] (T/N: Zaizai-men – A playful combination of “Zaizai” and “Amen,” indicating a prayer/wish for Zaizai.)

[Zaizai-men!]

[Zaizai-men forever!]