Playing with the dog
by M1zushiThe hall, which was less than thirty square meters, was packed tight with ten people. Sitting around a square coffee table with varying expressions, everyone kept their eyes glued to the grandfather clock in the corner of the staircase.
In the silence, the minute and hour hands simultaneously pointed to twelve. The sound of dense, frantic footsteps echoed from the ceiling above, as if a crowd was walking in circles directly above their heads, gradually moving down the corridor and approaching along the stairs.
Yet, no one saw a single person. Only a large bundle of lace fabric leaped down from the stairs, and the surrounding commotion instantly vanished.
Someone summoned the courage to draw closer to inspect the situation. However, as soon as he approached, a porcelain-white hand swiftly burst out from the fabric, grabbing the man by his ankle. The fabric then began to quiver all over, emitting a series of giggles.
The man turned pale with fright and cried out, but before he could scream for long, another person covered his mouth and pulled him free from the strange hand on the ground.
The ghastly white hand, devoid of any blood color, seemed dissatisfied. It fumbled around, wanting to drag the person back, but someone nearby happened to pass a wooden stick and shoved it into “its” palm. A faint black mist manifested at the tip of the stick upon contact.
“It” paused for a moment. Realizing it wasn’t its target, it immediately let go. However, the stick stubbornly continued to block “it” from going elsewhere. The length of the stick tapped the back of the hand from time to time or lifted the skirt to cover the hand.
Irritated beyond endurance, the hand ignored whoever it had originally grabbed and began to claw fiercely at the stick. Yet, the stick that had been teasing it seemed as though it was slathered in lubricant; it slipped away from “its” fingertips several times, brushing away the faint black mist.
At this point, “it” was thoroughly enraged. Its movements grew faster and faster, causing the inside of the skirt to swell and squirm as if something was taking shape. The underside of the skirt gradually puffed up into a large mass, and the position of the hand slowly crept upward, getting closer and closer to the stick.
Right at that moment, the stick was tossed into the distance. The severed hand, with its fury fully ignited by the stick, leaped in that direction as well.
At the very last second before the stick smashed against the wall, it was caught by the hand. Black mist spilled from beneath the skirt, surging entirely into the stick. In no time, its original form became unrecognizable, while the hand on the skirt remained raised. A little girl stood up from within the massive skirt.
At this moment, the little girl with braided pigtails was staring at the stick in her hand, frowning angrily, as if realizing she had just been teased like a dog.
The players who witnessed the entire spectacle looked at the perpetrator who had just “teased the dog.” The other party looked entirely calm and composed, seemingly not in the least concerned about drawing resentment from the NPC.
The other players, who had felt somewhat proud of themselves, began to speculate about which ranking list this formidable stranger belonged to.
Some wanted to step forward to curry favor with him, yet they feared the action might attract collateral hatred from the NPC.
Amidst this heavy silence, Jiang Qi was the first to speak: “If you like sticks like that, I can go to the yard and pick a few more up for you.”
The girl’s blood-red eyes locked onto Jiang Qi’s, and her mouth split open to reveal a row of sharp, shark-like teeth: “No need. Rather than sticks, Mary prefers eating things, especially unidentified outsiders.”
Jiang Qi ignored the latter half of her sentence: “Your name is Mary? What a cute name.”
The moment the name was repeated, a cheerful nursery rhyme rang out from all directions in the room.
[Mary is a greedy glutton, who hates school and only loves to eat.
Every day she runs home to the kitchen, tugging at mom without stopping.
Mommy, Mommy, I’m so hungry.
What’s for dinner today? Mommy frowns and pushes her away.
Check the menu at your own door.]
[Congratulations to the players for triggering the quest—Mary’s Dinner.]
[Mary’s mother has gone out. To satisfy the greedy and picky Mary, she has invited all the chefs to fill Mary’s stomach. I wonder if the master chefs can satisfy Mary?]
[Player Assigned Role: Chef]
The broadcast was very loud, and every player’s face turned pale upon hearing the quest. Only Mary’s expression remained as usual: “So you are the chefs invited by Mommy. Why doesn’t someone go make something delicious for me right now?”
Everyone remained silent. After all, as a chef, if the food turned out unpalatable, the outcome was easy to imagine.
“In that case… you make me a late-night snack.” Mary pointed to a person, precisely the young man whose ankle had been grabbed earlier.
“W-What do you want to eat?” the young man asked in a quiet voice.
Mary said with a smile, “Anything is fine, I’m not a picky eater.”
The young man’s face instantly went paper-white. After all, the nursery rhyme broadcast earlier had clearly stated that Mary was a picky child. Her saying “anything is fine” meant only one possibility: what she wanted to eat was not regular food at all.
“Liar,” Jiang Qi shook his head. “Lying children have to swallow a thousand needles.”
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“Impossible,” Mary smiled. “You won’t find Mommy’s menu.”
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“I’m sleeping! I’m going to sleep right now!” The previously arrogant Mary suddenly went quiet. Dropping the stick, she pulled up her skirt and quickly headed upstairs.
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The young man who had been caught earlier approached Jiang Qi: “My name is Gu Siyu. Thank you just now, I would have lost my life if it weren’t for you.”
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Gu Siyu looked at him with an expression full of admiration: “So amazing. Your Acuity attribute must be very high, right? How much Acuity do you have to stack to reach your level?”
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Gu Siyu: “It’s a physical attribute value. After clearing the first instance and unlocking the status panel, it appears alongside your skills. This is also written in the beginner’s manual, though because it’s so basic, there’s only a short section about it… You didn’t know?”
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Jiang Qi looked at the unfamiliar face and raised an eyebrow slightly. The others eyed him with scrutiny because of that remark. What was the purpose of pretending to be a newcomer in an instance like this? Was it to avoid revealing his own status panel?
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“……”
“Madman.” Combining his actions from earlier, everyone inwardly slapped this label on him.
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Once inside, there was no returning. Because no one had ever come back, nobody knew whether those sent there were merely imprisoned or truly dead.
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Whether this person was deliberately disguising his identity or was genuinely a newcomer, his words were enough for everyone to label him a “madman.”
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“I just filed an appeal,” another player chimed in. “The AI system doesn’t have a solution for novices accidentally entering multiplayer instances. To resolve it, we have to queue for human customer support, and it says they’ll respond within seven working days.”
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“Are you crazy? This instance is already dangerous enough. If a supervisor comes, the instance difficulty will double, and then none of us will survive!”
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The name above his head suddenly flashed with a brilliant red light, as if warning everyone else to stay away from him. Scared by the two butcher knives at his waist and his red name, Gu Siyu hid behind his brother.
Gu Ming’en comforted him in a low voice, “Xu Badao is currently in a red-named monitoring period. He wouldn’t dare act recklessly.” However, if clearing the game required killing players, that would be a different story.
Looking at the stalled crowd, Jiang Qi couldn’t help but let out a yawn, his voice sounding particularly jarring in the quiet room.
The awkward atmosphere was broken. Since the argument yielded no resolution, everyone decided to return to their rooms to rest and look for the menu at daybreak.
Each player had a assigned room, and everyone headed toward their respective quarters according to the number on the key in their pocket.
Watching the languid expression on Jiang Qi’s face as he spun his key around his fingertip, Zhu Gan issued a warning before leaving: “Newbie, you’d better behave yourself during the upcoming tasks, or else I’ll…”
The spinning key came to a stop. Jiang Qi raised his eyes to look at him. The living room, now left with only the two of them, felt somewhat empty. Jiang Qi, who usually wore a smile, now had a cold face, and his honey-colored eyes surprisingly reflected a greenish glint in the dark. “Or else what?”
Intimidated by the overwhelming pressure emanating from him, Zhu Gan swallowed the rest of his harsh words.
After waiting a few seconds without receiving a response, Jiang Qi spun his key once more and turned to leave.
Only after the sound of footsteps faded did Zhu Gan break free from that suffocating sensation, gasping heavily for air.
Something was wrong. A real newcomer couldn’t possibly possess such a powerful aura. It was… practically like an instance boss.
Zhu Gan didn’t dare think deeper. As the time approached one in the morning, he gripped his key and fled the scene as fast as he could.
Gu Ming’en and his brother were assigned to different floors. After parting at the staircase, Gu Siyu went to the second floor alone. His room was at the end of the hallway.
Aside from the room number and name, there was a rabbit on his doorplate. Gu Siyu was puzzled. “What does this mean?”
“It means you might be a rabbit.” Jiang Qi suddenly appeared to his right, their room doors separated by just a meter.
Because the corridor was dim, Gu Siyu, who hadn’t seen who was coming, almost jumped in fright. However, he quickly realized who was speaking: “Benefactor! You live right next to me!”
“Mm, what a coincidence.”
“That’s great! That way I can protect you.” Gu Siyu glanced to the side and whispered after confirming no one else was around, “Be careful of Xu Badao. He loves killing players the most, especially newcomers. Stay far away from him when doing tasks. Also, that guy Xin Wen who accused you of lying… I don’t know why he said that, but just be careful.”
“Thanks.” Jiang Qi unlocked his door. “Well then, go to sleep early. Good night.”
“G-Good night.” Sensing the other party’s somewhat cool attitude, which differed from what he had imagined, Gu Siyu responded stumblingly. He only snapped back to his senses long after the other party had closed the door.
Looking at the tabby cat on Jiang Qi’s doorplate, Gu Siyu thought: Could the doorplate really represent personality? Then Benefactor must just be a tsundere cat, right?
A chilly gust of wind blew past. Gu Siyu didn’t dare overthink any further, quickly closing the door and stepping inside.
Afterward, a faint layer of black mist scattered across the carpet, and a weak voice began to sing that nursery rhyme once more.
[Mommy, Mommy, I’m so hungry.]
[What’s for dinner tonight?]
The wind howled through the empty corridor, making a loud noise.
It was as if something in the dark of night was starving, waiting for food to be delivered right to its door.
[Mini-Theater]
Jiang Qi: Gu Siyu, aren’t you a bit too cowardly? You’re actually afraid of a hen?
Gu Siyu: Who said that?! I’m not afraid of hens!
Jiang Qi: Then why did you scream along whenever she clucked?
Mary: … (I feel offended.)
===== Today’s Drop: 【Jiang Qi’s Travel Journal】 =====
Day 1 of the trip: Played fetch with a puppy, listened to a rabbit and an eagle perform a comic crosstalk about family ethics. Fun 🙂
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