Chapter 186 â 1992-2020
At this moment, there was a creak from behind him and the courtyard door opened. Half of a body protruded from the door, it was a middle-aged woman with a kind face.
âWho are youâŠ?â The middle-aged woman looked between Lian Qiao and Little Apple. Soon, the eyes shifted to the baby in Lian Qiaoâs arms. The middle-aged woman screamed and hurriedly opened the door to make way.
âQuick! Come in! This child is freezing, come in and warm yourself!â
âThank you.â Lian Qiao smiled at her gratefully, hugged the little RenDong and walked quickly into the yard.
âHey youââ Little Apple seemed to want to remind him about something but, when she saw the middle-aged woman following Lian Qiao in nervously, the girl showed a look of surprise on her face. She swallowed the words he wanted to say.
As soon as he entered the small western building, Lian Qiao noticed that there was a row of children on the stairs, lying on the railing, poking their heads to look over. Those children all have different degrees of disabilities, either missing arms or broken legs, or they are mentally retarded at first sight. However, their expressions were all innocent and curious, and it seemed that there was no malicious intent.
Lian Qiaoâs heart skipped a beat and he immediately realized â
No wonder he felt it was so familiar, it turned out that this is an orphanage!
It was the place where RenDong grew up!
Then this middle-aged woman⊠probably is the principal.
Sure enough, the middle-aged woman introduced herself as the director of the orphanage while preparing hot water and food. Lian Qiao took the change of clothes from her with mixed emotions.
In the outside world, RenDong was brought up by the principal alone. At this time, Little RenDong was so cold that his whole body turned purple and his little face was pale. Lian Qiao deeply felt that he had not taken good care of him, so he always felt a little bit ashamed in front of the principal.
But after thinking about it, this is an instance after all. Whether the principal is a human or a ghost is still uncertain, so letâs not think too much about it.
Lian Qiao and Little Apple had trekked in the snow for a long time and so their clothes were soaked in snow. The principal arranged rooms for the two and asked them to go back to their rooms and have an early rest.
Lian Qiao fed little RenDong some hot milk powder and then hugged him close to his chest. Little RenDongâs body finally gradually warmed up. Lian Qiao breathed a sigh of relief.
In the middle of the night, other players arrived at the orphanage one after another. Lian Qiao went out with RenDong in his arms to take a look and got a general impression of everyone.
The snow scene at the beginning of this time is actually not difficult, as long as you run with the halo. The problem is that most people donât necessarily want to turn off the flashlight to chase the halo and there are bloodstains on the road. Some people dare not chase after seeing the bloodstains.
According to later players, there are still some unclean things hidden in the snow. Those who run slowly have been killed by ghosts.
Lian Qiao doesnât care about these things. He only cares about what will happen to RenDong next.
Sure enough, as he expected, the next day, when the first ray of sunlight hit his face in the morning, Little RenDong split open from the middle with a âsnapâ. Like a very ripe bean pod, a slightly larger RenDong emerged from it.
Lian Qiao was so shocked that he could not speak for a long time when he saw such an exciting scene early in the morning. When he regained his composure, he found that Little RenDong had changed from a maroon wrinkled newborn baby into a pink and tender one-year-old baby.
But in this way, other players immediately realized that Xu RenDong was the key player.
Of course, Lian Qiao would not fail to understand what this meant. When everyone gathered downstairs for breakfast, he frankly took out a crowbar and slapped it on the table. He said, this key player is covered by me! I will kill anyone who dares to touch him.
Everyone has different thoughts and of course they wonât reveal anything on the surface. There is only one idiot with a scarred face, who ignites easily like a firecracker. Lian Qiao decided to utilise him to scare away any people who might have random thoughts. Lian Qiao knocked him all over his head and the Scarface man finally ran out crying.
Lian Qiao didnât expect that this vicious-looking big man would cry at the drop of a hat and he felt a little embarrassed for a while.
However, just a minute after Scarface ran out, he suddenly appeared at the gate of the house again.
Everyone: â?â Didnât you go out to be alone? Why are you back again?
Scarface: âDamn it, I donât know either!â
Only then did everyone discover that there was a mystery hidden in the yard. Although the courtyard door is open, once you step out, you will be transported back to the entrance of the western-style building. It seems that the scope of activities this time is only so small.
Everyone was a little frustrated. They all explored the orphanage roughly and found that everything in the orphanage looked normal, and there was nothing that could be called a clue.
And at night, the frustration deepened. Because it was haunted.
âAhhhhhhhâŠ!!â The hungry ghost is shaped like a spider, with slender limbs and a belly as big as a drum. Its mouth is so large that it can bite off the head of an adult.
What was even more irritating was that the principal actually locked the door of the small western building, so everyone could only run around in the yard.
Lian Qiao was holding the little RenDong and it was difficult to move. At first he was worried that the hungry ghosts would come straight for them, so he kept a 120,000-degree vigilance with a crowbar in hand. However, to his surprise, the hungry ghost ignored him and only cared about chasing the other players, showing no interest in them at all.
⊠Was this hungry ghost still a picky eater and wonât eat children?!
Lian Qiao looked down at the pink and jade-carved little RenDong in his arms, suddenly a little unconvinced.
This was unscientific! My kid is pink and tender, so cute and so delicious! He doesnât like to eat it?
The crowd was chased by the hungry ghosts, screaming and fleeing in embarrassment, while here Lian Qiao hugged the little RenDong and stood under the vine trellis for a while, feeling that there was nothing wrong with the two of them, so he sat down and drank tea out of boredom.
Little Apple passing by Lian Qiao panted, âWhy are you so angry?!â
Lian Qiao spread his hands, âI donât know.â
It was extremely humiliating. She saw Lian Qiaoâs crowbar on the table at a glance and stretched out her hand while out of breath, âIf you donât need it, just lend it to me!â
Before Lian Qiao could speak, there was a sudden movement in his arms. Little RenDong climbed onto the table, stretched out his short hands and hugged the crowbar in his arms like he was protecting food.
Lian Qiao was surprised and Little Apple was stunned.
At this moment, the hungry ghost caught up with him, and stretched out his pale, long arms towards Little Apple. Little Apple screamed, turned around and ran away without thinking about anything else.
Lian Qiao subconsciously picked up the little RenDong and wanted to back away. He never thought that the hungry ghost had already rushed in front of them. He only glanced at the little RenDong, as if he was blinded by something, and backed away screaming.
âHuh?!â Lian Qiao felt more and more surprised when he saw the hungry ghost crawl away on all fours and turn to chase after Little Apple.
Little RenDong was held in Lian Qiaoâs arms, holding the crowbar in his fleshy short hands, looking quite strained. Lian Qiao tilted his head and thought for a while and couldnât help asking: âDid youâŠâ
Little RenDong raised his eyes and looked at him with an expression of âyou finally noticed itâ
Lian Qiao: âBring the amulet that Shi JianChuan gave you?â
These words were obviously beyond RenDongâs expectation and he immediately widened his eyes, looking as if he was too shocked to speak.
Lian Qiao scratched his head: âThatâs not right, isnât that amulet in the backpack.â Holding the RenDong in one hand, he fumbled in the backpack with the other hand and took out a small kit.
It was given to them by Shi JianChuan when they came out of the Nine Linked Rings instance. Inside is a wooden signboard with a bunch of ghostly symbols painted crookedly on it, which is extremely ugly. It is said that Shi JianChuan painted it himself.
Although Shi JianChuan was a nine level boss, in reality he is just an ordinary folklorist. To be fair, Shi JianChuanâs own DIY stuff should be useless in this dungeon. But itâs likely that this wicked bastard was playing tricks again. Could he have been fooling them? What if itâs actually a prop?
Lian Qiao couldnât figure it out, so he just hung the wooden sign on Little RenDongâs neck.
At this time, the little RenDong is only one year old, and its neck is fleshy and pink, and it feels very good to the touch. Lian Qiao put an amulet on him, still muttering about Shi JianChuan.
ââŠâ Little RenDong looked at him with bright black eyes, raised his little hand, and grabbed his fingers.
âHuh?â Lian Qiao paused, then said embarrassedly, âDid I hurt you? Iâm sorryâŠâ
Little RenDong grinned. He hadnât teeth yet, and couldnât speak complete words, only babbling and babbling noises that didnât make sense. Lian Qiaoâs communication with him all day was basically based on guesswork. Seeing RenDong laughing at this moment, he couldnât figure out what he was laughing at.
The hungry ghost in the yard chased everyone screaming, and three people had already been disemboweled and their internal organs spilled all over the floor. Lian Qiao at the other end of the yard watched the excitement with his baby in her arms. Not only did he not feel nervous at all, he even yawned.
Why the hungry ghosts avoid them is unclear, but letâs assume itâs the amulet. In this case, it is even more impossible to let others know. So Lian Qiao carefully hid the amulet in the lapel of RenDongâs clothes and wrapped him tightly in swaddling clothes. While running for their lives, everyone caught a glimpse of Lian Qiaoâs actions, thinking that he was obsessed with raising a baby and didnât care about other peopleâs life and death. They were even more annoyed, but there was nothing they could do.
Although Lian Qiao deserves a beating, he is holding the key player in his arms! It is a good thing that the hungry ghost ignored them! Itâs a good thing!
The players kept convincing themselves in their hearts, but wet tears hung down their faces.
In the end, the tragedy came to an end at the cost of the lives of five people. The hungry ghost belched contentedly, dragged the two remaining corpses and walked slowly into the darkness.
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, and all fell to the ground exhausted.
âItâs finally overâŠâ The Long-Haired Auntie cried while covering her face with her messy hair.
âHa, fuckâŠâ Scarface panted heavily, and was also paralyzed on the ground and couldnât get up.
ââŠâ Little Apple was so out of breath that she couldnât speak. She looked around, counting the number of survivors with a sad expression on her face.
Under the vine trellis in the distance, Lian Qiao hugged the drowsy little RenDong and was about to get up. Little RenDong rubbed his eyes, looked into the yard and curled his lips, showing a disappointed expression.
When Lian Qiao saw it by accident, he was taken aback for a moment and suddenly felt that something was wrong.
ââŠRenDong?â He hesitated and called out.
Little RenDong raised his eyes and looked at him questioningly.
Those big black eyes carried the clarity and innocence unique to young children. Lian Qiao looked at him carefully for a while but couldnât find anything unusual. He could only think that he was thinking too much, so he shook his head and said with a smile, âItâs nothing.â
The yard was in a mess, with blood and flesh scattered all over the ground. The dozen or so surviving players sat on the ground, panting. Lian Qiao picked up the little RenDong, carefully avoided the blood on the ground, came to the players and was about to speak, but heard a creaking sound from the side of the foreign building.
The principal leaned out half of her body from the door and said angrily, âIâm sorry, can you please be quiet? The children are all asleep and I have to get up early to work tomorrow!â
Everyone: ââŠâ Is this our fault?! Isnât this haunted orphanage your responsibility?!
When Lian Qiao heard this, his ears perked up, and he walked over and asked, âWhat are you going to do tomorrow?â
The principal smiled and said, âThe honeysuckle (Rendong) flowers in the yard are about to bloom. Tomorrow, I will pick flowers with the children and bring them to the market to sell them.â
As soon as these words came out, not only Lian Qiao but even the little RenDong in his arms was shocked.
ââŠâ Little RenDong opened his eyes wide, staring at the principal in a daze.
The principal smiled and rubbed his hair and said softly, âLittle guy, you havenât slept yet. If you donât go to bed early, you wonât grow taller!â After saying goodbye to everyone, she turned and went back upstairs.
The crowd behind them only thought that the principal was here to issue a mission and discussed in whispers for a while, but since there werenât any conclusions, they supported each other to stand up from the ground.
Lian Qiao frowned and looked down to see RenDong with a dazed expression on his face. So he sighed and said in a low voice: âGo back and talk about it?â
So Lian Qiao ignored the people behind and went back to the house with RenDong in his arms.