PTYS Chapter 60

This realization slowly reached Shen Qingqiu’s chaotic mind, which felt as if it had been filled with batter from the impact of Xiao Mei’s sonic attack. Her brain processed and digested this information at a slow pace.

When Shen Qingqiu finally became aware of this sensation, her heart started to accelerate uncontrollably. This feeling, different from the adrenaline rush induced by anger and fear in the game, allowed Shen Qingqiu to experience a long-lost, or rather, a feeling of reunion with joy.

As a result, Shen Qingqiu suddenly didn’t want to move. With her ears still unable to hear and her head still buzzing, she remained motionless for a while.

Xiao Muyu and the others fared slightly better, but their ears were nearly deafened, and they couldn’t hear the surrounding sounds clearly for a moment.

“Is everyone okay?” Zhang Yangfeng shouted, but realizing he couldn’t hear himself, he raised his voice even more, “Is everyone okay?”

Huang Junfeng shook his head vigorously and brought his ear closer, looking confused, “What? What did you say?”

Not only him, but everyone else also looked bewildered and somewhat panicked. Zhang Yangfeng soon realized that no one could hear and stopped shouting.

Xiao Muyu, feeling dizzy from the shouting, quickly regained her composure and immediately released Shen Qingqiu, almost pushing her to the ground in her haste.

Shen Qingqiu pretended not to notice, steadying herself and looking at Xiao Muyu in confusion.

Just as Xiao Muyu was about to speak, her expression changed, and she quickly reached out to pull Shen Qingqiu back.

Shen Qingqiu, being the closest earlier, had been protected by Xiao Muyu, but she still suffered some damage. Xiao Muyu noticed that her right ear was bleeding.

Seeing Xiao Muyu’s worried expression, Shen Qingqiu touched her ear and found a noticeable streak of blood on her fingertips. She paused, not saying anything.

Xiao Muyu shouted, “Can you hear me?”

Shen Qingqiu watched her mouth move but couldn’t hear her, so she shook her head and pointed to her ear, indicating she couldn’t hear.

Xiao Muyu’s expression froze for a moment, and a look of urgency filled her eyes. She tore off a piece of cloth and carefully wiped the blood from Shen Qingqiu’s ear. Fortunately, only her right ear was bleeding.

By now, everyone had somewhat recovered. Although they were all shouting, they could at least hear each other, and those gathered around Shen Qingqiu were chattering away.

Seeing Shen Qingqiu staring blankly at the people talking, her eyes darting over their faces in confusion before she furrowed her brow, Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but speak up, “Everyone, quiet down and look over there.”

Zhang Yangfeng and the others, thinking they were speaking softly, were actually shouting. After Xiao Muyu’s reminder and a few pats, they finally turned to look in the indicated direction.

The eight children who had been gathered around Qu Mu Xi were now helping her stand, all of them looking at the group.

Qu Mu Xi seemed unwell but was no longer as transparent and on the verge of disappearing as before.

Xiao Mei supported her as they walked a few steps closer, causing Zhang Yangfeng and the others to realize with a start and step back in fear—these were real ghosts.

Xiao Muyu did not retreat but instead helped Shen Qingqiu to her feet and positioned herself protectively in front of her.

Shen Qingqiu, who had been looking serious, broke into a smile and tugged at Xiao Muyu’s arm. “It’s okay, I’m just deaf, but I can still fight.”

Hearing this, Qu Mu Xi smiled. “You two don’t need to worry. I mean you no harm.”

Shen Qingqiu’s smile quickly disappeared, replaced by a cold expression. “In our current situation, what kindness can you offer us?”

Qu Mu Xi was momentarily stunned, but Xiao Mei was visibly angry. “I won’t allow you to speak to Sister Qu like that. Keep it up, and I’ll bite you to death.”

Xiao Mei no longer resembled the well-behaved and sensible child from before. Her eyes were filled with palpable resentment, and her words dripped with murderous intent.

Qu Mu Xi glanced at Xiao Mei and softly said, “Xiao Mei, don’t be like that. They’re not bad people; they’re different from those others.”

Her gaze towards Xiao Mei was filled with pity and sorrow but also deep helplessness.

Qu Mu Xi turned back to Xiao Muyu and the others. “I understand how you feel. I apologize for what Xiao Mei and the others did, but they aren’t bad kids. Some things are beyond our control. While we can’t reveal many details, we won’t obstruct or harm you.”

“Beep… beep… Warning, warning, System 003 subsystem crash, warning System 003 subsystem crash, initiating patch download…”

As Qu Mu Xi was about to say more, a sharp alarm interrupted, adding further torment to the group’s already battered ears.

Shen Qingqiu, who couldn’t hear but could see the panel’s alerts, was unaffected and just watched Qu Mu Xi and the others.

Xiao Muyu, frowning, also kept her eyes on Qu Mu Xi. When the system warning appeared, Qu Mu Xi and the eight children seemed to glitch, with mosaic-like blocks appearing on their bodies, making their figures blur.

“Parsing, repair complete!” the system announced. At the same time, the blocks on Qu Mu Xi and the others vanished, as if their connection had been restored, leaving them standing intact before the group.

The seven people, having witnessed this transformation, were speechless, staring at Qu Mu Xi and her group in shock and disbelief.

Qu Mu Xi spoke first, still calm and gentle. “It’s getting late, and the children need some exercise in the afternoon. I’ll take them to rest now. You’re free to stay. It’s raining heavily outside, so don’t wander off.”

Xiao Mei and the others, seemingly oblivious to their exposed identities, left with Qu Mu Xi, some lively and smiling, others silent and obedient.

“What’s going on?” Liu Pei asked in disbelief, unable to comprehend what he had just witnessed.

Zhang Yangfeng, equally bewildered, eventually said, “It means Qu Mu Xi and those kids broke the game’s script. Their actions violated the rules, so the system forcibly corrected it.”

“That makes sense,” Yang Rui sighed. “After all, in that scene, Qu Mu Xi didn’t act like an NPC ghost, and those kids would likely have revealed a lot if questioned further.”

While they discussed, Xiao Muyu raised her voice again. “Shen Qingqiu, can you hear now?”

The group fell silent, looking at Shen Qingqiu. “Still not better?”

Shen Qingqiu ignored them, focusing on Xiao Muyu. She softly said, “A bit better, but I can’t hear clearly. It’s okay, don’t worry.”

The others exchanged exasperated glances, realizing Shen Qingqiu was only talking to Xiao Muyu.

“What do we do now?” Hou Liang asked, feeling lost. “We thought we found a lead, but the system patched it up.”

After the chaotic events, Hou Liang felt uncertain about their next move.

Xiao Muyu glanced at the control panel; two and a half hours had passed since they triggered the multiple-choice question. She looked at Yang Rui. “Any thoughts?”

Caught off guard, Yang Rui swallowed nervously. “I have some ideas, but I’m not sure.”

Xiao Muyu nodded. “We’re still missing crucial information. We can identify suspects, but choosing rashly is risky. Let’s check a few more places.”

“Where to?” Huang Junfeng eagerly asked.

“The bathroom on the second floor is locked,” Xiao Muyu replied.

Huang Junfeng couldn’t help but comment, “Yeah, and I find it strange. The beds on the second floor are neatly made, so why do the eight kids rest on the third floor, leaving the second floor empty?”

“Maybe the second-floor bathroom is broken, so they all stay on the third floor,” Hou Liang suggested but quickly realized the flaw in his reasoning. “But now we know they’re ghosts. Do they still follow human routines like using the bathroom and sleeping?”

Everyone but Shen Qingqiu paused at Hou Liang’s observation. Zhang Yangfeng frowned. “Exactly. Our human thinking trapped us. They don’t need to eat, sleep, or bathe.”

Xiao Muyu realized this too. The previous night, she and Shen Qingqiu had repeatedly looked upstairs, noting that despite the poor soundproofing, the second-floor bathroom had been silent, reinforcing their suspicion that the children were not human.

The realization of this fact dawned on everyone: they had been so focused on the idea that the children were not human that they had overlooked the detail that ghosts don’t need to bathe or sleep.

With this new understanding, Xiao Muyu grabbed Shen Qingqiu’s hand and quickly ran upstairs.

When they reached the second floor, she headed straight to the rooms on the left side of the staircase. They had been staying in the rooms on the right side and had never ventured into the left side.

Since Xiao Muyu knew that Shen Qingqiu couldn’t hear them properly, she simply led her along. When they opened the first door, the room inside was arranged identically to theirs.

Xiao Muyu’s expression froze for a moment before she furrowed her brows and stepped inside. The others who had followed them up were puzzled, and when Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu stepped inside, they were stunned.

The room, which appeared clean and tidy, was suddenly covered in dust. Stepping inside seemed to trigger a time-warping mechanism, instantly bringing everything back from a forgotten world.

The walls were decorated with colorful little flowers, green grass, and trees with hanging red apples. This childlike innocence, covered in dust, emerged from the flow of time and presented itself to them.

“Is this… the children’s room?” Yang Rui murmured.

Upon entering, they found the layout entirely different from their own rooms. There were four bunk beds in total, and the room had iron lockers, each with a name tag.

The lockers bore the names Xiaomei, Xiaojiao, Xiaoyue, and Xiaoqin. This meant Xiaomei and Xiaojiao shared a locker.

The lockers were unlocked. Yang Rui stepped forward and opened Xiaomei and Xiaojiao’s locker. As soon as she opened it, she was startled by a pair of eyes staring back at her. She gasped sharply, almost fainting.

Fortunately, Zhang Yangfeng had been watching her. Realizing something was wrong, he quickly pulled her away. Upon seeing it, he too turned pale.

Inside, a doll was sitting in the locker, its big eyes staring directly at them. Its fair face wore a smile, eerily similar to the doll Xiaojiao had been holding that day.

Even more unsettling was the presence of a piece of clothing covered in old, brownish bloodstains beside the doll, amplifying the eerie atmosphere.

Everyone else was nervously staring at the locker, but Shen Qingqiu showed no fear. She stepped forward and used a knife to lift the piece of clothing.

The clothes were tattered and worn, but it was still identifiable as a man’s coat, simple and plain.

“It belongs to the director,” Xiao Muyu recognized it.

“Is this doll the same one Xiaojiao was holding?” Shen Qingqiu asked, clearly very concerned about this matter.

Xiao Muyu nodded, and the others looked on with some envy.

“Then Miss Xiao has completed all the pairings and doesn’t need to worry about the game anymore.”

Xiao Muyu glanced at the doll. It was so lifelike, and even though its material was evident, its face seemed almost alive. Was it really that simple?

Shen Qingqiu also looked at her. Then she stepped forward again and opened the other three lockers. As she did so, she seemingly casually brushed her hand over the doll’s head, pulling out two strands of hair.

Xiao Muyu saw this clearly, noticing the doll’s eyes shift slightly towards Shen Qingqiu as she did so.

Author’s Note: Xiao Shen: Haven’t hugged enough yet.

Xiao Xiao: It’s not just hugging when we get out of here.