Chapter 8 “Little Fish Orphanage”

Chapter 8: "Xiaoyu Orphanage"

A group of players were still in a daze.

They hadn't slept all night, some were hung upside down in a dry well, others had grown leg bones that didn't belong to them, and still others...

In short, the "game" started by Xiaoyu the previous night had, by the first half of the night, nearly wiped out all the players who had just entered the instance. They had been through other instances before, but this was the first time they experienced such utter despair with no room to resist.

They thought they would die that first night in the instance, but trembling with fear and staying awake all night, what awaited them was not even more torture from the BOSS or death, but... dawn.

Yet precisely because that BOSS Xiaoyu didn't follow the rules, even though the warm sunshine now fell equally on everyone, they felt no hope at all.

Instead, when locking eyes with the naive, dazed gaze not far away, they felt a chill run through them and shuddered.

Xiaoyu didn't understand the fear and dread in those adults' eyes.

She was still a little sleepy. She rubbed her eyes and obediently let Luo Luo take her hand. The two children headed toward the small dining hall.

The Xiaoyu Orphanage at dawn was exactly the same as the orphanage in Xiaoyu's own memory. She didn't actually need Luo Luo to guide her; she could find the dining hall with her eyes closed.

But children's minds don't dwell on complicated things. For instance, Xiaoyu wouldn't even think about why this Xiaoyu Orphanage was exactly the same as her own orphanage.

She trusted Sister Octopus, so when Sister said this was a different orphanage, Xiaoyu never connected it with her own orphanage.

Despite how similar everything was.

"Xiaoyu, come quickly!" A little girl in a beautiful princess dress ran out of the dining hall, waving and bouncing toward her from afar.

It was Tongtong.

Not only had the orphanage changed completely from last night, but the children in the orphanage were also a world apart from their nighttime selves.

They seemed to come alive again after dawn.

The players, following cautiously behind, warily took in all the changes around them.

But Xiaoyu, walking in front, ran toward the dining hall.

"I'm a little hungry!" The little one, who hadn't gotten to eat her sweet little cake last night, rubbed her empty tummy and instinctively cast a pleading look at Panpan, who was serving food.

Seven-year-old Panpan struggled with the ladle, scooping a full spoonful of vegetable porridge for her new little sister Xiaoyu.

"Thank you, big sister~" Xiaoyu was as sweet‑tongued as ever.

Luo Luo also got her own breakfast and led Xiaoyu to sit down at a nearby table to eat.

The players, who had been hanging back and trailing them, smelled the porridge and felt their tense nerves from a night of sleepless fear loosen a bit. Their stomachs also growled with hunger on cue.

They were hungry too.

But what awaited them was not a steaming bowl of fragrant vegetable porridge.

Instead, the moment they stepped into the dining hall, a system prompt rang out in their ears:

"Ding—Congratulations, players, for surviving the night. The main game has now officially started."

The players' footsteps halted abruptly.

They exchanged glances, seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.

They had gone through a night of near-death experiences, and now they were just now officially entering the main game??

That meant all their frantic struggles and heart-stopping escapades from last night had been nothing but a prelude before the game even started?

Then what was the point of all their desperate fleeing?

"Damn, isn't this supposed to be a beginner instance? Why is it so hard?!" someone cursed in a low, angry voice.

He wasn't alone; the others didn't look happy either.

But the game had officially begun, and even though they all stopped at the entrance of the dining hall, the main storyline wouldn't stop for them.

Xiaoyu looked up from her fragrant bowl of porridge and was the first to see Qi Jing at the front of the group.

She glanced at Qi Jing, then at her own bowl of porridge; unwilling to put it down, she continued eating with her head down.

She didn't speak, but Sang Ye, the oldest among the children, was very familiar with the routine.

Sang Ye stood up and walked toward the "outsiders." The eight-year-old didn't seem childish; even though she had to look up at the adults, her tone was calm.

"Are you the adoptive parents who came to visit and experience our Xiaoyu Orphanage?" she asked the same question she always asked.

The group exchanged glances. Qi Jing stepped forward, put on a smiling, friendly face, and replied, "Yes, we'd like to visit and experience the Xiaoyu Orphanage for a few days. Is the director here?"

In the orphanage, the top person would surely be the director. Compared to dealing with these children, he wanted to locate the director, the key NPC.

Hearing this, Sang Ye looked disappointed and shook her head. "Our Mother Director has been asleep for a long time. Uncle, could you please take care of us for a few days? Everyone will be very obedient. When our Mother Director wakes up, she will surely reward you properly. Is that okay?"

As she spoke, not only she but all the little ones eating breakfast in the dining hall turned to look at the "adoptive parents" in unison, genuine hope shining in their eyes.

Seeing them like this, Qi Jing and the others felt their hearts pound with unease.

These children seemed nothing like the little ghosts from last night.

Could it be that these children changed so drastically between day and night and didn't share memories?

After all, they didn't seem at all like the malicious ones who had driven the players to the brink of death last night.

Most importantly, the daytime children... had shadows.

Qi Jing's gaze fell on the faint shadow under Sang Ye's feet. He subconsciously judged that these children were alive.

This discovery quietly put him at ease, and his smile became more genuine.

He was about to nod in agreement to Sang Ye's request when suddenly a familiar childish voice asked from behind her:

"Adoptive parents?"

Startled, he instinctively wanted to step back, but Xiaoyu held her spoon and asked innocently, "But Uncle, last night you told me you came to our orphanage as a volunteer. Were you lying to me?"

The little one's innocent, naive question fell lightly on his ears but also struck his heart, which had been relaxed moments ago.

His mind a mess, he mustered what little reason he had left and blurted out a denial.

"No..."

The words died on his lips.

Because he could sense the obvious trap hidden in Xiaoyu's question.

"Are you deceiving me?" and "Are you lying to me?" might mean the same thing, but the severity behind these two questions is vastly different.

If he admitted to lying to Xiaoyu, that would mean making an enemy of the boss right from the get-go.

But if he denied it, then the target of his lie would immediately shift to the older child in front of him, and he still hadn't figured out the situation in the orphanage—he couldn't afford to offend anyone now, or one wrong step could get him blacklisted quick.

In the chaos of his mind, he desperately scraped together his last shred of rationality. Under the gaze of those clear, unnerving eyes, Qi Jing's back was already drenched in cold sweat.

He froze for a moment, barely forcing a smile, and pretended to be calm and friendly as he explained, "Of course not. Before we’re officially adoptive parents, aren’t we just temporary volunteers looking after you guys? That ain’t a lie, kiddo."

The more he spoke, the more natural his tone became, but only he knew that his heart was pounding so hard it ached, and his palms were drenched with sweat.

His eyes were locked on Xiaoyu, not daring to miss a single subtle expression on her face.

Xiaoyu nodded like she bought that explanation.

But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, she tilted her head and flashed him a sweet smile, asking softly, "Volunteer uncle, did you help find Tongtong's eyes last night?"

The moment she said that, Qi Jing finally noticed another child sitting beside Xiaoyu.

A little girl with light gray eyes.

Even though he hadn't seen Tongtong's face clearly in the pitch-black night, now, upon seeing those distinctive eyes, he immediately put a name to the face.

He pointed at Tongtong and said hoarsely, "Eyes... aren't they right on her face?"

Xiaoyu turned to look.

Tongtong looked back innocently.

Xiaoyu sighed slightly with regret. "Well, okay. But Tongtong’s always losing her eyeballs, so, uncle volunteer, if you ever find ’em, make sure you bring ’em back and pop ’em in for her, okay?"

Qi Jing was dripping with cold sweat, his smile frozen as he nodded.

He really didn’t wanna know what Xiaoyu was so sorry about!

Unlike him, Tongtong was absolutely delighted.

She touched her eyes, tilted her little bowl, and leaned over to whisper in Xiaoyu's ear, "Xiaoyu, do you like my eyes? I can dig one out and give it to you!"

If Xiaoyu liked them, she wouldn't mind using just one eye!

Xiaoyu didn't say anything.

Tongtong pressed close to her, going quiet too.

Sang Ye, feeling the fear rolling off Qi Jing, smiled and said, "Come on, let's have breakfast. After breakfast, you’ll tour the orphanage and get to know the place."

"Author's Note"

I feel like I could still tweak the title and summary. Does anyone have any good ideas? My brain is fried...

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