Nightmare Rising Star Hall — Central Screen of the Game Lobby
It was absolute chaos in front of Bai Liu's small TV.
Ordinary players crowded beneath the massive central screen, all staring up at the broadcast ranked first on the Nightmare Rising Stars board.
"Bai Liu's climbing way too fast! What the hell is he eating to rise like that?!"
"He's eating Little Witch! That kid's completely stunned right now. Wait—who did he just say Little Witch was?"
"Liu Jiayi."
"What Jiayi?"
"What Liu?"
"What Liu Jia—?"
"...You Little Witch fans need to stop coping. Liu Jiayi. Liu Huai's little sister. Bai Liu just exposed her. I'd say he's 80–90% right."
"I won't listen! I refuse to believe it! The Taboo Witch is cold, elegant, and mature. There has to be a 28-year-old beauty under that black veil!"
"Wake up. The Taboo Witch is tiny. She's about the height of an eight-year-old."
"...Wait, didn't the King's Guild character book describe the Taboo Witch as 'undeveloped'? I always thought that meant she was flat-chested or something! It turns out they meant literally undeveloped!"
"I'm heading to the forums to grab popcorn. The threads have exploded. Countless Little Witch's boyfriends are mourning right now. Their 'wife' just turned into a daughter overnight. They're not ready to become fathers."
"Hearts is probably handling the public opinion side, but the real trouble is inside the game. Liu Huai's situation doesn't look good. Tsk. The league hype season really is wild—such a massive scandal among top rookies."
"I don't think this ends well for Bai Liu either. Little Witch has always been ruthless toward non-teammates. I have a feeling Bai Liu's about to get wiped."
"This is the first true clash between the old and new Nightmare stars. So who ends up becoming the real nightmare?"
"The forums have already opened betting pools…"
The crowd buzzed louder and louder, the atmosphere thick with excitement and anticipation.
—————————————————
Liu Huai collapsed to his knees in front of Bai Liu. His mouth opened and closed several times, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, no words came out.
A hazy sheen of tears blurred his vision. His eyes were dark and hollow, like a lightless sky before a storm.
He knelt there with his head lowered, like a puppet stripped of its soul—its limbs carelessly torn off by a mischievous child, leaving only a broken torso that could no longer stand upright. Once the strings were cut, it could only curl up where it had fallen.
The tears eventually stopped. Liu Huai's eyes remained wide open, his face streaked with drying tear tracks.
Everything felt distant.
The damp hospital ward and the dark mountain village gradually overlapped before his eyes. The only thing that remained clear was Liu Jiayi's dirty yet clever smiling face.
She ran barefoot through the mountains, bending down to sniff the wildflowers by the pond. When Liu Huai nervously scolded her, she would turn and grin at him.
Her blind eyes curved like crescent moons as she lifted her small face and called out loudly, "Brother!" Then she would fling herself toward him with open arms—like a bird, like a butterfly, like a little sun that didn't know it was shining.
Reckless. Innocent.
Later, that same little girl would collapse into his arms, her body covered in bruises after being beaten. Liu Huai had choked back tears as he stroked her hair and promised that once the exams were over, he would take her away. She just had to hold on a little longer.
Jiayi had leaned timidly against his chest and whispered that she would endure it—for her brother's sake.
On a rainy night, Liu Huai had carried her out of the mountains on his back. From that day on, he swore that she would never see the darkness of the world again. He would give her the brightest future. He would be worthy of everything she had endured for him.
They both carried the blood of the man they hated. Bound by that tainted blood, they had relied on each other to survive—stumbling forward, daring to grow up.
He had told Jiayi that they were siblings who had survived hell together.
So they would never let go of each other's hands.
Jiayi was the most important person in his life. Liu Huai was willing to risk everything in this brutal game to secure her a bright future. He was willing to become someone else's puppet for her, to pick up a dagger and betray his best friend for her. He was even willing to die for her.
And yet—
She had deceived him.
Just as he had once lied to her, she had lied to him.
Liu Huai fell into a daze as he remembered Jiayi's dirty little face hidden beneath the bed.
Was this retribution?
Because of what he had done to Jiayi—because of his cowardice—was she punishing him?
"Do you know why I followed Puppet Zhang and betrayed Brother Si?" Liu Huai's head nearly touched the ground as he spoke in a faint voice. "Back then, Puppet Zhang threatened me with Jiayi's real-life information. He forced me to join the King's Guild, to become his puppet, to approach Brother Si…"
His eyes were lifeless.
"He promised me the best treatment and guaranteed my safety. And it's true—I was treated better than any of his other puppets. But something always felt strange. I never told anyone in the game about Jiayi. So how did Puppet Zhang know she was my sister? How did he know so many details about us—things only I should have known?"
Bai Liu listened quietly.
Liu Huai gave a tearful smile. "So that's how it was. He and Jiayi were working together. She must have told him everything. But why? Bai Liu, you said Jiayi is smart. Then was she… was she…"
His voice finally broke.
"Did she do it on purpose? Did she understand everything from beginning to end? Was she punishing me—for what I did, for failing to be a good brother…"
"If you're asking me," Bai Liu replied calmly, "I think she believed that becoming Puppet Zhang's subordinate in the King's Guild was the safest option for you. With your ability, following Mu Sicheng would have been far more dangerous."
"If her goal was to keep you alive, then her actions were entirely logical. She arranged for a high-level player to guide you. She helped train your skills. She chose the strongest guild—one she could influence. She gave you protection. She could even accompany you into high-risk games to ensure your survival."
"Everything she did was to protect you."
When Liu Huai first entered the game and became afraid of dying, he had no choice but to send Jiayi to the welfare home.
That day, the little girl had clung to his neck and asked in a trembling voice, "Brother… am I a burden to you? Are you sending me away?"
He had smiled and shaken his head.
"No. Jiayi is my future. I'm just leaving you here for a while. If I survive, I'll come back for you. I'll give you the brightest future."
Liu Huai lowered his head for a long time.
Then he looked up blankly.
"From that moment on, I wanted to live. Was I… such a burden to her?"
"You weren't a burden," Bai Liu said evenly. "But she doesn't need you to save her. In fact, she might even harm other children to save you. She's an experienced player. Liu Jiayi understands the mechanics of this Level 2 game."
Bai Liu's gaze shifted gently to Liu Huai.
"Her own blood isn't enough. She needs at least one other child's blood to save you."
A pause.
"So the question is—whose blood will she take?"
"Liu Huai, I controlled you in the last game. From her perspective, I'm a threat to you—perhaps an even greater threat than Mu Sicheng. If she wants to eliminate the most dangerous variable…"
"She'll likely target my child. Little Bai Liu (6)."
"I suspect she'll draw blood from him."
"Fortunately, my child is currently in the church," Bai Liu said calmly. "Unfortunately, Bai Liu (6) will soon discover where they're being held and attempt to lead them out today. I only deduced this just now."
He shook his phone, frowning slightly—rare for him.
"This phone only works one way. I can't call him. I have to wait until he contacts me at six in the morning."
Bai Liu paused for two seconds.
"But I seriously doubt he'll survive that long."
Mu Ke looked at Bai Liu and Liu Huai and forced a smile that looked worse than crying.
"So soon we'll be facing league players Miao Feichi and Miao Gaojiang… while our children over there have no idea that your sister, the Little Witch, is the number one rising star."
"That's about right," Bai Liu replied coolly. "There's a very high chance we're going to die, Mu Ke."
—————————————————
5:37 a.m. — Handicrafts Classroom Behind the Welfare Home
The chaos caused by the explosion at the private hospital didn't subside until three in the morning.
After confirming that no teachers were patrolling near the church, Bai Liu (6) ran through the small forest surrounding the welfare home, searching for the place where Mu Ke was being held. Normally, the teachers confined children in one of two locations: the cafeteria storage room or one of the two handicrafts classrooms, each of which had a window facing the corridor near the restroom.
Bai Liu (6) checked the cafeteria first. There were no children inside, so it was highly likely that Mu Ke had been locked in one of the handicrafts classrooms.
He remained extremely cautious. Entering through the window of the women's restroom, he quietly waited behind the door.
He waited for a teacher to come in.
The moment he heard the faint clinking of keys at someone's waist, Bai Liu (6) stepped out without hesitation and attacked.
He knocked the teacher unconscious with a candlestick taken from the church and seized the keys. Then he retreated to the restroom doorway, forcing himself to steady his heavy breathing. After confirming that no teachers or caretakers were in the corridor, he moved lightly across the hall toward the two handicrafts classrooms.
Standing before one of the doors, he glanced left and right to make sure no one was coming.
His hands moved swiftly. The lock clicked open.
The moment the door swung inward, Mu Ke froze. When he saw Bai Liu (6) step inside, he nearly jumped up in relief.
"Bai Liu (6)! Why are you here?"
"I came to take you away," Bai Liu (6) replied succinctly before explaining the situation. "I went out last night and saw a group of flute-playing children carrying IV bags coming from a tunnel behind the children's statue. They were taking the other children out through the church tunnel. I followed them for a while. The tunnel smells strongly of disinfectant."
"Before dawn, the teachers are still asleep. We can escape through that tunnel. Based on the smell, it likely leads to wherever the blood-drawn children are taken—near the private hospital. The investors usually leave their wards after nine o'clock. We have to get out before nine to avoid running into them."
"There should be cars near the hospital. Once we get into one, we'll be safe."
He spoke calmly, as if outlining an ordinary errand.
"This was the backup plan my investor and I discussed. If we couldn't escape on Open Day and the gates were locked, we would follow the flute-playing children and find another exit. I located their route last night and analyzed it. It's feasible. Pack up. We need to move."
The danger and tension of the previous night were completely glossed over in his brief explanation.
His gaze swept the room, then stopped on the silent Miao Gaojiang and Mu Ke.
"Where are the other two? Miao Feichi and Liu Jiayi?"
His eyes sharpened almost instantly.
"What happened? Why were those two locked in a different classroom?"
Mu Ke swallowed and stepped forward to explain. Bai Liu (6)'s expression darkened as he listened.
Miao Feichi did have cannibalistic tendencies—that much Bai Liu had mentioned before. If that fool believed he wouldn't survive the day, it wasn't surprising that he would think about "having one last full meal."
But Liu Jiayi wasn't the type of child who would follow someone without resistance. The fact that she had gone with Miao Feichi, combined with what Bai Liu had previously told him, made Bai Liu (6) suspicious.
Even so, there was no time to dwell on it.
His investor—his future self—was waiting for him to escape with the others. He needed to save Li, regardless of Liu Jiayi's possible motives.
After all, he had already paid.
"I'll go check," Bai Liu (6) said, turning toward the door.
Just before stepping out, he paused and looked back at Mu Ke.
"If I'm not back in ten minutes, go through the women's restroom window, cross the small forest, and head to the church."
"The exit is beneath the thorn-covered inverted cross statue—under the baptismal pool. Once I finish here, I'll bring Liu Jiayi and meet you there."
He glanced at Miao Gaojiang, his eyes narrowing in warning.
"Mu Ke has a heart condition. Miao Gaojiang, you'd better take good care of him. Otherwise… you know what you've mortgaged to me."
"Okay!" Miao Gaojiang nodded eagerly, visibly relieved to hear there was another escape plan.
Mu Ke, however, felt increasingly uneasy.
"It's just another classroom. What could happen? Miao Feichi can't possibly do anything to you! Come back—we'll escape together!"
"I don't know what will happen," Bai Liu (6) replied calmly. "My luck has never been very good. Good things rarely happen to me."
He leaned against the doorway and looked back at Mu Ke. The faint light of dawn streamed in, casting a long, ominous shadow behind him.
His pale, blood-stained face was illuminated by a wash of soft golden sunlight. Even the fine, downy hairs on his youthful cheeks were visible. His light-colored eyes revealed almost no emotion.
Yet there was a faint, inexplicable smile on his lips.
"But I was lucky last night," he added softly. "Maybe it's because I changed my name. It feels like something strange blessed me… and something good finally happened."
With that, he pushed open the door, gave Mu Ke a casual wave, and headed toward the other handicrafts classroom—the one where he had drawn the two paintings for Bai Liu.