Gu Rong had heard many dying people praying to God in the apocalypse, so he had also learned a few prayer words.

They would always say “Amen,” and Gu Rong had learned that.

This was called learning by doing.

The live stream chat was about to die of laughter. All the players’ live streams were almost uniformly filled with “hahahaha.”

The players: “…”

Okay, okay, the little Zaizai’s live stream isn’t enough for you guys, so you have to come to our live streams and spam, right?

It was really strange. From the very beginning of this instance, the viewership of their live streams had been increasing, but the chat was always discussing that little toddler.

Although the gifts were also increasing, it was just strange, very strange.

Players could turn off their livestreams, but the initial default was on. Could it be that this little Zaizai was too young and had accidentally turned off his livestream?

Very possible.

They had wanted to remind this little Zaizai that turning on the live stream could earn viewers gifts, but looking at the viewers who were giving them gifts because of this little Zaizai, if this little Zaizai turned on his livestream, those gifts would definitely be lost.

For the sake of gifts, no one would be stupid enough to remind Gu Rong.

In horror games, people’s moral standards were generally low. Mere gifts wouldn’t make anyone feel guilty.

And those who wanted to remind him, like Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao, were both entering the game for the first time and hadn’t figured out the game’s rules yet. They had no idea they should remind him.

What the players didn’t know was that it wasn’t just the live stream chat that was full of discussions about this little Zaizai; the game forums were too.

Gu Rong, this little NPC mixed in with the players, had already become a hot topic on all the major game forums, with more popularity than all the players combined.

Hot posts about Gu Rong were plastered all over the forum’s front page.

[Damn, has anyone else noticed that any player who has this little NPC cub appear in their livestream gets gifts from viewers, regardless of what they do?]

[Interesting. Viewers gift players just because this little NPC cub is on screen. So, wouldn’t that mean that by entering the instance, you don’t have to do anything? Just hold onto this little Zaizai tightly, and you’ll win by lying down?]

[You’re thinking too highly of it. I’ve never seen this little NPC cub in the “Mental Hospital” instance before. That means he’s a non-fixed NPC. There are thousands of instances. How could you just casually run into him?]

[Oh, this is even more interesting. Entering an instance is like opening a blind box. With Little Rong Zaizai, you can attract viewers. Whoever gets Zaizai gets the world!]

[Little Rong Zaizai hahahahahahahaha]

[It’s too early to say that. NPC mortality rates are higher than players. Let’s see if this kid can survive and clear the instance first. He’s already been discovered to be a little ghost by that player.]

[This little NPC is just taking advantage of the fact that his identity is hidden. Once his NPC identity is exposed, he’ll be offline in minutes.]

–

Unlike the players in the instance, who were in the dark and couldn’t see the full picture, the players watching the live stream outside the instance could see everything. They had seen all the interactions between the three NPCs and Gu Rong.

The nickname “Little Rong Zaizai” had already spread throughout the entire forum.

But Gu Rong was, after all, young, and whether he could clear the instance was a question. Viewers who were paying attention to the cub were just paying a little more attention. They didn’t dare to get too emotionally invested, lest they be heartbroken later.

–

On the way to the chapel, Gu Rong was being held by Zhuang Yu’s hand, walking in front, with Shen Hanxiao following behind.

Yang Chunsheng had been secretly observing Gu Rong, the ghost doll, and he quietly stepped forward, sneakily poking Shen Hanxiao’s arm.

Shen Hanxiao looked at him: “?”

Yang Chunsheng was in his twenties, an ordinary, average-looking guy, with average looks and average abilities.

He pulled Shen Hanxiao aside, quietly distancing themselves from Zhuang Yu and Gu Rong in front, afraid they would hear.

Shen Hanxiao looked at the big and small pair in front, then at the sneaky Yang Chunsheng, then at his arm, which was being pulled, his expression bewildered.

What was going on?

Yang Chunsheng lowered his voice and recounted what he had seen last night about the mid-air aerobics to Shen Hanxiao: “Could an ordinary person do that? Could you do that? I certainly can’t, but…”

He trembled as he pointed at Gu Rong, “That little Zaizai did it.”

Shen Hanxiao didn’t know whether to believe him or not: “Oh?”

Yang Chunsheng: “Really, I’m not lying to you. I’m trying to help whoever I can. Later, you find a chance to tell him too.” He pointed at Zhuang Yu.

Shen Hanxiao listened blankly: “Oh.”

Yang Chunsheng: “?”

So calm?

Shen Hanxiao didn’t know whether to believe it or not, but he acted very calm, shrugging: “So you’re saying he’s lying, that little zaizai doesn’t even have a neck, how can you hang yourself with no neck?”

Yang Chunsheng: “…”

[Zaizai, don’t look, it’s a bad review!]

[Damn, this angle is pretty unique hahaha]

[Shen Hanxiao, you’re too much of a dog. Zaizai’s neck is just short, it’s not that he doesn’t have one! [Gifts points]]

–

Shen Hanxiao caught up with Zhuang Yu and Gu Rong.

He looked at Gu Rong’s round, chubby little appearance, forcing himself to hold back a laugh. He tilted his head, stuck out his tongue, rolled his eyes back, and then squatted down, presenting himself in front of Gu Rong.

Zhuang Yu quickly pulled Gu Rong back.

Shen Hanxiao made a hanged ghost impression. Zhuang Yu and Gu Rong had no reaction, but he himself burst into laughter.

Zhuang Yu rolled his eyes.

Truly immature.

Shen Hanxiao made another grimace: “Hahaha, am I not cute?”

Gu Rong’s little bun-like face was serious. He looked at the other person, stomped his little foot, and harrumphed.

Shen Hanxiao: “?”

Uh, what’s going on?

Zhuang Yu was struggling very hard to hold back his laughter.

Shen Hanxiao shouldn’t have continued to embarrass himself at this point, but he clearly lacked self-awareness and still wanted to make faces to tease Gu Rong.

Gu Rong stomped his little foot again, glared at him, raised his little palm, and pretended to hit him: “Gonna get you.”

Shen Hanxiao: “…”

Okay, so not only was he not cute, but he’d also made the other person want to beat him to death, right?

The livestream chat was about to die of laughter at Gu Rong raising his little palm to hit someone.

It wasn’t just Gu Rong who wanted to hit Shen Hanxiao; they wanted to hit him too. He was too much of a dog.

–

The chapel was a black castle building at the very back of the mental hospital.

Entering the chapel, candles were burning everywhere, and the walls were painted with murals of Faust.^[1]T/N: Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend, a scholar who makes a pact with the devil.

The priest was wearing a black robe, and holding a Bible, his figure slender and tall, with long silver hair cascading down. His handsome features seemed to glow with a holy light.

He wore a crucifix necklace around his neck, and also a silver vintage-style key.

This key was the same style as the one on Jessie’s saliva-soaked brush, only the color was different.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

The second key had appeared!!

But…

Everyone looked at the priest and couldn’t help but be surprised.

How could this priest be so young and so handsome?

The priest in their impression would never be such a seemingly untainted, handsome man. He should at least be a bit older, with some life experience, to make the believers trust him.

But this priest was not only good-looking, but his temperament was also extremely gentle. He had a kind of compassionate divinity about him.

It could almost be said that anyone who saw this priest for the first time would hopelessly trust him and feel close to him.

Even looking at the silver key on the priest’s neck, they couldn’t muster the slightest desire to snatch it. Even thinking about it felt like a kind of blasphemy, a kind of sin.

Gu Rong, this two-year-old toddler, tilted his little head back and let out a “wow,” unreservedly: “Pretty Brother!”

Everyone: “…”

Gotta hand it to you, little social butterfly!

The priest’s name was Noah. He had a pair of ice-blue eyes, beautiful and deep.

Hearing this, he lowered his eyes and looked at Gu Rong.

He didn’t seem surprised to see such a small patient here. He gave Gu Rong a gentle smile, making him even more dazzlingly handsome.

Gu Rong was very knowledgeable: “Brother’s eyes are blue, and his hair is silver. Pretty!”

He even nodded his little head, as if affirming his own statement.

Everyone: “…”

So young and already knows how to flatter people, already understands the ways of the world.

The priest smiled, opened the Bible, and began to interpret the scriptures for the patients.

“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s…” (This is a quote from the Bible, Matthew 22:21.)

The prayer time lasted for two hours, but none of the players felt the passage of time. They were all immersed in the priest’s melodious voice.

When they walked out of the chapel, they were jolted back to reality.

“Damn, I feel like I was bewitched?” one player said.

The other players felt the same way and couldn’t help but frown.

They weren’t real patients, but when they were in the chapel, they actually felt like they were real patients, full of sin, and only the Lord could forgive their sins.

At this rate, they might forget their identities as players, and the system prompt said that forgetting their player identity would make them permanently become NPCs.

This was the most terrifying part.

The players all fell silent, worried.

They subconsciously looked at the wristbands on their wrists. Seeing that they were still emitting a pale purple light, they breathed a sigh of relief.

A new player said, “Why do we have to find the keys? Can’t we just climb over the wall and escape?”

Another veteran player: “New player?”

“…What, what do you mean?”

“Heh, even if you climb over the wall and escape, no matter how far you run, you’ll eventually return to the mental hospital. Because this instance is the mental hospital. The mental hospital is the only map in this instance. You can’t leave the game without completing the task. It’s like that for every instance, without exception. Is that clear?”

“…”

The baby-sitting squad was walking at the back of the group.

Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao also heard the veteran player’s explanation.

The two of them both sighed.

It was obvious. How could they escape without completing the task? Fortunately, even if they couldn’t get the keys, they could still clear the instance by surviving for three days.

Just as they were thinking this, the new player asked the same question: “But we can just survive for three days to clear the instance, right? That’s better than risking offending the NPCs to get the keys, right?”

The veteran player gave him a sidelong glance: “Oh, then I wish you luck of 100, and that you can survive these three days without incident.”

It had only been less than a day, and two players had already been eliminated. You could be eliminated just by eating a meal. Who knew how many more accidents would happen next.

Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao both sighed again.

Gu Rong copied them, also sighing like a little adult.

Zhuang Yu: “…”

Shen Hanxiao: “…”

Little drama queen!

Zhuang Yu lowered his voice and said, “Did you notice the murals on the wall?”

Shen Hanxiao: “What’s the significance?”

Zhuang Yu pondered: “The theme of the mural is Faust, and Faust tells the story of a man who sold his soul to the devil. The devil fulfilled all his lifelong desires, and after he died, the devil took his soul.”

Shen Hanxiao was also very smart and immediately got his meaning. He was usually frivolous, but at this moment, his expression was serious: “You’re saying that the managers of this mental hospital might have also sold their souls to the devil, like Faust. If it could fulfill all their lifelong desires, what would people want? For example, eternal youth, absolute power, and strength.”

“The priest and Dr. Lin have impeccable beauty, Jessie has a body that is larger and stronger than ordinary people, and the nun might have supreme power. So, you suspect they also made a deal with the devil?”

Zhuang Yu shrugged: “The Black Forest in the back mountains is the devil’s lair. Maybe the forbidden area is just a smokescreen. That’s where they really worship their ‘god’.”

Shen Hanxiao: “Indeed, to say nothing of anything else, the priest and Dr. Lin are really too good-looking. They don’t even look human.”

Of course, this was just speculation. It was also possible that they were just naturally young and handsome, like…

This little Zaizai, exquisitely carved, even cuter than a porcelain doll.

Zhuang Yu picked up Gu Rong: “Rongrong, do you want to go to the Black Forest in the back mountains with Big Brother and Little Brother?”

Gu Rong nodded his little head: “Uh-huh, Zaizai go!”

Shen Hanxiao smiled: “…It’s Hanxiao-gege.”

006: [Little host, a new task has arrived. Please accept the new task.]

[Task: The Hanged Little Ghost must go to the Black Forest in the back mountains and find a way to become the devil’s little lackey.]

[Success Reward: 100,000 points, Copy Card * 1.]

[Failure Penalty: The Hanged Little Ghost’s identity will be exposed to the players. This will make you the target of all the players.]

006: [Little host, keep up the good work! This task has a failure penalty and seems a bit difficult.]

Gu Rong blinked: [What does ‘little lackey’ mean?]

006: […It means little underling.]

Gu Rong looked at his little body and nodded.

He was so small, he could indeed only be someone’s little underling.