That milky white worm body, originally layered and coiled inside Jones’s skull, taking up only a quarter of his head space, had now completely unfurled, revealing it was over a meter long.

Not only long, but also quite plump. Having absorbed Jones’s fat earlier, it was like a deflated tire suddenly becoming inflated, bulging, and swollen.

Gu Rong reacted quickly. Seeing the worm dragging Jones, trying to dart out of the passage, he immediately turned and ran.

There was nowhere to hide in the cave; he could only find other passage openings to crawl away.

Gu Rong reached another passage opening and looked back. The cub was stunned.

Jones had already crawled out of the passage. Sporting half a constantly wriggling worm body and half a skull, he pursued Gu Rong.

Gu Rong pointed with his little finger, his milky voice surprisingly calm: “Big bug!”

“…” Jones stumbled, and even the cheerfully waving worm on his head seemed to twitch.

The livestream chat was torn between laughter and horror. Can you not be funny in such a serious situation!

Gu Rong was genuinely bewildered. How did this bug get so big? But the cub didn’t dwell on it and immediately crawled into the passage.

This passage was relatively wide. Gu Rong used all fours, heixiu heixiu, crawling very smoothly. Ahead, three branching paths appeared again, and in the middle passage, another monster with gaunt limbs was stuck, poised to strike.

A newborn calf fears no tiger – these words perfectly embodied Gu Rong. Monster ahead, head-split Jones behind – Gu Rong showed no fear, his expression unchanged.

Seeing the monster was still some distance from the three forks, Gu Rong crawled forward at N times the speed.

The monster, seeing him actually dare to crawl head-on towards it, had been motionless, but now it also began crawling forward quickly.

At this moment, three points on a line: Gu Rong, Jones, the monster – all three moving incredibly fast. Looking closely, Gu Rong was actually the fastest among the three. Luckily, Gu Rong wore the protective suit; otherwise, his little hands and legs would have been worn down to the bone.

Gu Rong reached the fork one second before the monster, quickly turned, and ducked into another passage.

The monster was caught off guard. It was expecting a cub, but now facing it was a head-split, bizarre hybrid creature.

Jones was even more frustrated. Ahead was clearly a cub, yet it had suddenly transformed into a “black monkey.”

Both the bizarre hybrid creature and the black monkey charged fiercely. They couldn’t even brake, let alone turn, forced into a head-on collision.

Gu Rong wanted to turn back and watch the excitement, but just as the two were about to collide, the passage entrance suddenly closed. It was unknown whether the passage Gu Rong was in had moved, or if Jones’s side had moved, causing them to miss each other directly.

Missing the exciting scene, Gu Rong sighed, looking quite disappointed.

006: […]

Livestream Chat: […]

This makes us look so useless QAQ

–

Until crawling into the next cave, Gu Rong encountered no obstacles.

This cave was slightly smaller than Cave 1. On the rock wall, a conspicuous red “2” was marked. This was Cave 2.

Gu Rong found another rock and sat down, preparing to rest.

There was no concept of time in the cave. It was unknown how long had passed since entering, or where everyone else was.

Gu Rong, after all, had the disposition of a child. Crawling around in the passages was interesting at first, but having crawled until now, he was bored with it.

Gu Rong crossed his little arms and said: [Why Zaizai crawl crawl here all the time? When can walk?]

006 said: [Little host, haven’t received a new task yet. Maybe new tasks are waiting for us. Besides, each instance will have one Devil’s Key. This instance is surely no exception.]

Mentioning the Devil’s Key, Gu Rong thought of Lord Devil and pinched his little chubby leg again.

006: […]

Okay, little host isn’t fat at all! Lord Devil definitely won’t eat the little host!

Just as it said “task,” Gu Rong heard a “Ding!”, and a task arrived.

[Please receive the third task.]

[Task: Lift the curse.]

[Reward: 1,000,000 points, Devil’s Key *1.]

It’s here, it’s here! Sure enough, there’s still a Devil’s Key! Although each instance comes standard with one Devil’s Key, what exactly is it used for?

Both Gu Rong and 006 were baffled.

006 had a bold guess: [Little host, in “The Mental Hospital” instance, we also collected keys, finally synthesizing the master key. Those keys were made from the devil’s bones. Could these Devil’s Keys also be?]

[Could it be that in the “Mental Hospital” instance, Lord Devil was just making a cameo, merely borrowing the setting where keys were made from His bones? Thinking about it, Lord Devil comes and goes without a trace, clearly existing above the game. How could He possibly be just a BOSS in a small instance? And how could He be sealed by NPCs in a small instance? So, the Devil’s Keys, only after collecting them all, can the true seal be broken, releasing the real Lord Devil!]

006 felt its guess was logical and reasonable. There were likely five Devil’s Keys in total. Collecting them all would synthesize a master key, truly releasing Lord Devil. 006 was passionate and thrilled, feeling incredibly intelligent.

Gu Rong blinked his eyes and said crisply: [How Lord Devil, old man? He kid! You should call Him little man.]

006: […]

Okay, “little man.”

Speechless.

–

Having received the new task, Gu Rong ate something in Cave 2, rested for a while, then prepared to continue forward.

He had just picked a passage opening and was about to crawl inside when, suddenly, a person crawled out of the passage, followed by another person.

Seeing the newcomers, Gu Rong’s eyes lit up: “Big Brother! Little Brother!”

Crawling out of the passage were precisely Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao.

Seeing Gu Rong, the two paused, then their faces also showed joy.

“Rongrong!”

“Little ghost!”

The two took turns hugging the little cub. They had been crawling in the same passage, but hadn’t gone far before being separated. This had made them worry about Gu Rong. Now, seeing Gu Rong safe and sound, besides being pleasantly surprised, they both breathed sighs of relief.

“It’s good you’re okay,” Zhuang Yu said. “Rongrong, have you seen anyone else? If you see Jones, run quickly! For some reason, he’s chasing people. His head and worm have separated, looking even more terrifying than the monsters.”

The livestream chat exploded: No one knows what happened better than Zaizai! After all, Zaizai kicked Jones’s head.

Shen Hanxiao said, “That guy is also strange! Fat like that, yet like he has bone-shrinking skills, can squeeze into the smallest holes. Damn, and his speed is ridiculously fast.”

Zhuang Yu said, “Watch your language in front of Rongrong.”

Gu Rong tilted his little head and said: “Zaizai knows!”

Next, his little mouth started chattering babababa, his voice crisp and tender, telling the two what happened after they separated, how he was chased by the monster, how he was chased by Jones, and how he kicked Jones’s head in half.

After hearing this, both fell silent.

As expected of Rongrong!

Gu Rong’s task and the players’ task aligned: Lift the curse. But Gu Rong was mengdong (ignorant/naive), not quite understanding: “What curse?”

Zhuang Yu: “…”

Shen Hanxiao: “…”

Okay, forever clueless, forever number one! Seriously, what’s it like being carried through every instance by a two-year-old cub?

The two explained the Gu Family Village curse to Gu Rong: Legend says finding the god’s heart and obtaining its undried blood can lift the curse.

After hearing this, Gu Rong’s mouth formed a perfect ‘O’: “We are inside the god’s tummy now?”

Shen Hanxiao: “You can understand it that way.”

Gu Rong extended a finger, gently poking the stone wall. The cub was quite considerate: “Then we crawl around in his tummy, and big monsters also crawl around. Does he feel pain?”

The two paused, then chuckled involuntarily.

Truly, a child’s heart is the purest.

A flash of inspiration struck Zhuang Yu’s mind: “Could it be… that people with pure hearts aren’t affected by the curse? Both Xiaoshan and Rongrong are exceptionally pure individuals. That’s their commonality.”

Shen Hanxiao said, “That’s also possible. Generally speaking, gods bring blessings and good fortune; otherwise, why would people believe in gods and pray to them? Bringing curses and calamities, that’s a devil.”

“But this mountain is called Shenzhong Mountain. Since it’s a god, yet brings down a curse, it’s likely a punishment for evil. And those who are kind and pure – like Rongrong and Xiaoshan – are spared.”

The speculation was reasonable, but lacked evidence.

Gu Rong was actually listening intently with his little ears. Hearing Shen Hanxiao mention the devil, he asked: “Is Lord Devil a bad person?”

Shen Hanxiao said: “Can’t say bad, but if he encountered a cub like you, probably one bite, bones and all.”

Hearing this, Gu Rong’s little face showed fear, and he hid behind Zhuang Yu.

Zhuang Yu glared at him: “Stop scaring Rongrong.”

Shen Hanxiao laughed heartily. His laughter echoed in the cave, creating continuous ripples like waves on a lake, sounding even creepier than a ghost’s cry. Shen Hanxiao rubbed his nose, creeped out by his own laughter.

Gu Rong’s little bun-face was solemn, his two small meaty hands clenched into two round little fists.

Sure enough, Lord Devil wants to eat Zaizai!

–

The two adults and one cub didn’t stay long. They continued by choosing a passage, preparing to head to the next cave.

This time it was smoother. After crawling in the passage for about half an hour without encountering monsters or accidents, they arrived smoothly at the next cave.

This was a cave unmarked on the map, meaning it had never been explored before.

This cave was exceptionally large, bigger than Cave 1 and Cave 2 combined, comparable to a library floor. Strange, rugged rocks stood everywhere, and sharp, cone-shaped spikes hung from the cave roof.

But the air here was truly terrible, filled with a thick stench of decay.

Gu Rong lowered his small helmet’s visor, isolating himself from the outside.

The ground was uneven. It was inconvenient for Gu Rong to walk. Zhuang Yu carried him, while Shen Hanxiao led the way.

Gu Rong’s small helmet could perform precise scans. At this moment, he pointed forward with his small hand towards an unknown spot, his milky voice calm, yet sending shivers down their spines: “Someone there.”

Zhuang Yu: “…”

Shen Hanxiao: “…”

Wo cao!!

Instantly, Shen Hanxiao rushed over and hugged Gu Rong tightly. Gu Rong was still in Zhuang Yu’s arms. Shen Hanxiao forcefully hugged Gu Rong’s upper body, while his lower body was still held by Zhuang Yu. Thus, the two adults and one cub squeezed together, sandwiching Gu Rong in the middle.

Gu Rong shook his little head, pushing Shen Hanxiao with his small hands: “Zaizai getting squished flat!”

Shen Hanxiao snatched Gu Rong completely into his arms. For some reason, holding the soft little cub gave him an inexplicable sense of security.

Zhuang Yu rolled his eyes.

The “person” Gu Rong pointed at was a male corpse lying on the ground… one glance showed it was stiff from death, impossible to still be alive.

The two adults and one cub slowly approached the male corpse.

Only upon getting closer did they discover that this male corpse had two tumors on its head. The larger tumor seemed to have grown to a certain size, the skin unable to bear it any longer, and had broken open, revealing what was inside.

Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao both widened their eyes simultaneously. That tumor was actually filled with a dense mass of milky white worm eggs.

The two gagged, almost vomiting on the spot.

Gu Rong’s vision was filled with mosaics. He could only see a person lying in front, but the head was a blur. Seeing Big Brother and Little Brother wanting to vomit, he tilted his head, puzzled.

The two immediately carried Gu Rong away from the male corpse.

Shen Hanxiao said, “Don’t tell me the tumors on everyone in Gu Family Village are filled with worm eggs!”

Zhuang Yu felt nauseous again: “Knowing is enough, no need to say it out loud.”

Forget them wanting to vomit; the livestream audience was also thoroughly disgusted.

Just then, from the darkness of the cave, an urgent cry for help sounded: “Help! Save me! Please, save me…”