The Black Forest in the back mountains was shrouded in black mist all year round, filled with an ominous atmosphere.

Even though it was daytime, the closer they got to the back mountains, the dimmer the sky became, the light gradually fading, and the fog growing thicker.

Gu Rong was young and didn’t understand what it meant to be the devil’s little lackey. He thought it just meant being someone’s little underling.

After entering the game, Zaizai wasn’t very familiar with playing an NPC and doing tasks, so he could only follow 006’s instructions.

The three NPCs had also never been to the Black Forest in the back mountains. It wasn’t a place they should go.

But the devil was sealed, and as long as they were careful, there shouldn’t be any problems.

At the entrance to the back mountains, there was a small hut hidden in the woods.

Jessie’s massive, bulky body was currently lying in a rocking chair in front of the hut, his head slumped on his chest, eyes closed, sound asleep, his snores deafening.

He was the administrator of the Black Forest.

When Gu Rong saw Jessie, he immediately hid behind Faceless Ghost, only peeking out his little head, pointing with his little finger: “Big monster!”

Zaizai had a lot of courage. He wasn’t afraid of some ghostly things. Plus, after he became a little zombie, he possessed divine strength and even kicked away many zombies with a single kick.

His fears were all those of a human toddler.

For example, he didn’t dare to get off the “too high” van, he hid behind people when he saw Jessie’s massive size, and he was afraid of being eaten when he heard Shen Hanxiao say he ate children.

Faceless Ghost reassuringly patted Gu Rong’s little head, took a step forward, and kicked the rocking chair Jessie was lying on.

The rocking chair creaked and swayed. Jessie woke up with a start, almost falling out of the chair.

He looked around, but there was no one in sight, nothing at all.

It seemed like he had just slept too deeply and lost his balance.

Jessie’s eyelids were heavy with sleep. He relaxed again, closed his eyes, and quickly fell back into a deep sleep.

–

The moment Jessie opened his eyes, Faceless Ghost had already carried Gu Rong and flashed into the Black Forest.

Long-Tongued Ghost and Skeleton Ghost followed closely behind, unnoticed.

The three NPCs were ghosts, after all. Teleportation was a trivial matter.

The wind was a bit strong, and Gu Rong reached out his little hand to smooth his slicked-back hair, which had been blown out of place. His little expression was very calm.

Gu Rong’s legs were short, and he couldn’t walk fast. The mountain path was also uneven and bumpy, making Gu Rong stumble as he walked.

Faceless Ghost didn’t know where he’d gotten a plastic bag, but Gu Rong fit inside perfectly, with only his little slicked-back head sticking out. He directly carried the little Zaizai as he walked.

Gu Rong was also a lazy little one. He obediently stayed in the plastic bag, content to be carried, looking around curiously.

Darkness couldn’t hinder Gu Rong’s vision, nor could the black mist.

The three NPCs looked at Gu Rong more and more approvingly, nodding in satisfaction.

Teleportation was possible, but the Black Forest was the devil’s territory. It was more appropriate for them to walk, to avoid alerting the enemy.

Long-Tongued Ghost said, “Little Rong Zaizai, you want to be the devil’s little lackey, but the devil is very terrifying. He kills ghosts on a whim. Even though he’s sealed, who knows if he’s still strong even while sealed. Uncle Long Tongue will teach you a few phrases, remember them well.”

Gu Rong said obediently, “Okay!”

Skeleton Ghost clicked his finger bones and cackled: “Little Rong Zaizai, listen to your Grandpa Skeleton instead. If you can’t be a lackey, try to be a cute pet.”

Gu Rong was confused: “Huh?”

Faceless Ghost said, “Little Rong Zaizai, don’t listen to their nonsense. Do you want to hear a story? Brother will tell you one.”

Gu Rong nodded and said, slurring his words slightly, “Uh-huh, Rongrong wants to hear the story of The Little Mermaid.”

Hearing that Gu Rong’s voice was different, the three NPCs all looked down at him and were stunned.

Gu Rong was being carried in the bag, only his little head exposed. In his little hand, he was holding a lollipop, which he was currently eating.

The three NPCs: “…”

Seriously, when did he start eating?

What exactly was he here for?!

Gu Rong blinked his big eyes, his little expression innocent.

The three NPCs: “…………”

Calm down, he’s still a child, he’s still a child.

Hearing that Gu Rong wanted to hear the story of The Little Mermaid before Faceless Ghost could speak, Long-Tongued Ghost made one up on the spot, improvising: “Once upon a time, there was a little mermaid, about your size, chubby and plump, very delicious. It’s just that her tail was just for show, it could only wiggle around uselessly and couldn’t move…”

Suddenly, his voice stopped abruptly.

The three NCPs stopped in their tracks.

Gu Rong looked at the scene in front of him and tilted his head, letting out a little “Huh?”

Without realizing it, they had already reached the deepest part of the Black Forest.

Under the shroud of black mist, a circular stone tomb, over two meters high, appeared in front of them. Around the stone tomb stood a circle of giant crucifixes, twice as tall as the tomb.

The black mist here was denser than anywhere else. It wasn’t that the black mist was shrouding the stone tomb, but rather that the black mist itself was emanating from the stone tomb.

The black mist of the entire Black Forest had spread from here. This was the source of the black mist.

The devil’s lair!

The three NPCs all had serious expressions, their bodies tense.

Gu Rong peeked out, his eyes wide.

The shadows of the trees were like evil spirits and demons.

Countless vengeful spirits floated above the stone tomb, making sharp, piercing cries. They bit each other, roared, and intertwined as if they wanted to tear anything that dared to intrude into pieces and devour it completely.

“Eat them!”

“Bite them to death!”

“Bold intruders, you will all become part of us!”

–

The three NPCs’ bodies had become considerably more transparent.

“No, no, no, Lord Devil, please calm your anger!” Long-Tongued Ghost snatched Gu Rong from Faceless Ghost’s hands. “We came here unintentionally, with no intention of offending you. We’re actually…”

“Delivering takeout.”

Faceless Ghost: … speechless

Skeleton Ghost: … You’re such a 6.

Long-Tongued Ghost held the plastic bag-encased, innocent, and bewildered little Zaizai out in front of him.

“Your Zaizai takeout order, please sign for it.”

“…”

After Long-Tongued Ghost said this, it wasn’t just Faceless Ghost and Skeleton Ghost who were speechless; even the vengeful spirits above the stone tomb froze for a moment.

Gu Rong was in the plastic bag, held up in mid-air, his movements restricted. He was tiny, his big eyes blinking, very soft and cute.

And, to be honest, he did look like a “Zaizai takeout” order that had been packaged and delivered.

The mental hospital had no little patients, and there were no cute little NPCs like this among the NPCs either. Countless vengeful spirits instantly focused their attention on Gu Rong.

After a moment of silence, the vengeful spirits erupted into even sharper, more piercing screams, as if they were even more excited.

“Devour this Zaizai!”

“Make him a part of us!”

“Zaizai! Zaizai!!”

“Devour! Devour!!”

The vengeful spirits swirled and screamed, intertwined like tree roots, inseparable, forming a huge black vortex.

The black mist became even denser.

The next second, a blade formed from black mist struck, fast as lightning, reaching the three NPCs.

Before the three NPCs could even react, their bodies were turned to dust, disappearing on the spot without a trace.

The plastic bag fell to the ground, along with Gu Rong, who was inside.

Gu Rong let out a little “Aiya!”

All was silent, and the vengeful spirits above the stone tomb also vanished without a trace, not a single one remaining.

006: [Little host, little…]

006’s voice stopped abruptly.

Gu Rong rubbed his little head, changing from lying on the ground to sitting up. He was still holding his lollipop in his little hand.

The lollipop was covered in dirt and grass clippings, now completely dirty.

Gu Rong’s little face darkened. He swung his little arm and with little effort tossed it away.

Gu Rong looked around: “Faceless Brother, Uncle Long Tongue, Grandpa Skeleton?”

But there was no response.

Gu Rong’s little face was bewildered. He put his hands on the ground, got up, took two steps forward, and called out in a soft voice, “Uncle Long Tongue, Grandpa Skeleton, Faceless Brother?”

Still no response.

Things had happened too quickly, in an instant. Gu Rong had fallen to the ground and hadn’t seen the three NPCs turning into dust.

Gu Rong’s little legs dadada-ed as he ran a circle around the stone tomb, but naturally, he couldn’t find anything.

“Huh?”

Gu Rong touched his little head, his little face confused. He asked 006 in his mind: [Where did Faceless Brother, Uncle Long Tongue, and Grandpa Skeleton go?]

The scary part was, even 006 didn’t respond. 006 seemed to have disappeared as well.

Gu Rong was stunned, and only then did he panic.

He had still heard 006 calling him just now, but now even 006 was gone.

Gu Rong’s little face paled. He sat down in front of the stone tomb, his two short legs stretched out straight, raised his little hand, and wiped his eyes.

“Grandpa Ming, Rongrong is lost again, wuwuwu…”

Gu Rong’s little voice was choked with sobs, his little expression aggrieved, looking so sad and pitiful.

He wasn’t looking for Faceless Ghost and the others anymore, nor was he looking for 006. Faced with a dangerous situation beyond his understanding, he instinctively called out for the person he was closest to and relied on the most.

Daddy and Mommy were also people Gu Rong was closest to, but after the apocalypse, he had been living with Grandpa Ming. Grandpa Ming was the last person he had been separated from, so he habitually looked for Grandpa Ming first.

When he went out to look for food and accidentally got lost, Grandpa Ming would walk around with his little cane, calling out for him.

After becoming a little zombie, his hearing had improved. As soon as he heard Grandpa Ming calling him, he would immediately run towards him.

But now, when he called for Grandpa Ming, Grandpa Ming wouldn’t come to find him.

He didn’t know where to find Grandpa Ming.

Thinking about finding Grandpa Ming and finding Daddy and Mommy, Gu Rong sniffled and wiped away the tears that had welled up in the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand.

006 had said that he could go back if he completed the task!

Gu Rong clenched his little fists and decided to find the devil first and become his little lackey.

The little Zaizai was clearly very smart, and very good at grasping the key points. Just as he was about to get up from the ground, a crisp, childish voice, tinged with mockery, rang out:

“Heh, are you holding a funeral?”

Gu Rong’s little body froze. He turned his little head, looking left and right, but he couldn’t find the source of the voice for a moment.

Gu Rong tilted his head, puzzled: “Who are you?”

The other party let out another “heh,” full of mockery and disdain, sneering: “You come to my place and ask who I am?”

Gu Rong heard that the other party’s voice was crisp and childish, like a little boy’s voice. He thought about how he was a hanged little ghost and said to the empty air, “Are you a dead kid too?”

The other party: “…”

Mind your words, don’t curse.

The other party fell silent, possibly speechless, and only spoke after a long while, his voice full of disdain, but not out of place with his crisp, childish voice: “Weren’t you the Zaizai takeout delivered to me?”

He paused, then chuckled softly, “Hmm? Little lackey?”