Chapter 311: Haunted Building (47)

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Bonus chapter! Thank you to Fray for the donation! ^^

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The room was pitch black, so dark that even the live stream struggled to capture the scene clearly. Occasionally, eerie and distorted shadows flickered across the screen.

It was terrifying, sinister, and utterly chilling.

Even through the screen, the live stream audience felt their scalps tingle and their spines go cold, let alone Ruan Qing, who was sitting on the bed.

Ruan Qing felt his body growing so cold that he was on the verge of losing sensation. His slender, pale fingers trembled slightly as he pulled the blanket over himself, wrapping it tightly around his body.

But it was no use. The chilling aura seemed to penetrate everything, seeping deep into his bones.

Lan Xu’s night vision was excellent. Even in the complete darkness of the room, he could see everything clearly.

Including the figure curled up on the bed.

The young man’s appearance was so exquisite that he seemed almost unreal. Even the darkness couldn’t diminish his beauty in the slightest. He looked out of place in this room, as if he didn’t belong in the Infinite Horror Game at all.

He seemed more like someone who should be cherished and protected, someone who could effortlessly get whatever he wanted with just a smile or a glance.

Now, however, the young man seemed unbearably cold, huddled in the corner of the bed. His hands trembled as he hugged himself tightly, his lips pressed together as he stared into the darkness.

He looked utterly pitiful and helpless, evoking an irresistible urge to protect him.

And an equally irresistible desire to possess him, to claim him entirely for oneself.

Just like now.

Despite being fellow ghosts in the same dungeon, they now only wanted to kill each other.

In the Infinite Horror Game, it had never happened before that several key NPCs would turn on each other for the sake of a single player.

In the past, Lan Xu would have assumed that the NPCs had some ulterior motive or scheme, trying to mislead the players with false information.

But when it came to this young man, everything seemed to make sense.

It made sense, and yet it didn’t.

Lan Xu had initially thought this person might be the dungeon’s final boss, but clearly, he had been wrong—terribly wrong.

These ghosts wanted to possess him. The intense love and desire to claim him couldn’t be faked. Clearly, the young man was the obsession that had turned them into vengeful spirits.

And Lan Xu’s own softness and attraction toward him weren’t influenced by some external force. They were genuine, stemming purely from the young man himself.

All of this indicated that this person couldn’t possibly be the final boss of the dungeon, nor even an important NPC.

The important NPCs in this Infinite Horror Game were all entities corrupted and assimilated by 'His' power, essentially serving as 'His' avatars. They would never develop feelings for anyone, whether NPCs or players.

Unless… this person was the very one 'He' had been searching for.

In the darkness, Lan Xu’s lips curled into a faint smile, his eyes unfathomably deep.

Lucky.

***

It was too cold. Ruan Qing was so cold that he felt as though his body no longer belonged to him.

If things continued like this, he would truly die here.

Just as he was trying to calm himself and analyze a way out, he suddenly sensed someone approaching him.

But before Ruan Qing could react, he was abruptly and forcefully silenced, a hand tightly covering his mouth, preventing him from making even the slightest sound.

At first, Ruan Qing thought it was Lan Xu, but the hand covering his mouth was icy and rigid—far from the warmth and softness of a living person.

The entity silencing him wasn’t Lan Xu. It wasn’t even human.

There was another ghost in the room!

"Mmmph—!" Ruan Qing’s eyes widened in realization as he struggled desperately, trying to call for help and draw the attention of the others.

But Ruan Qing’s strength was too feeble to break free. With red-rimmed eyes and tears welling up, he was dragged off the bed and eventually lost consciousness, pulled completely into the unknown darkness by the unseen presence.

No one in the room noticed this—not even Lan Xu in the corner.

Lan Xu had originally planned to take advantage of the chaos as the ghosts fought each other to find an opportunity to take Ruan Qing away. But when he finally managed to approach the bed, it was already empty, leaving only a faint trace of orchid fragrance in the air.

Ruan Qing was gone.

***

Ruan Qing woke up because he couldn’t breathe. Something was blocking his airway.

"Mmm…" Ruan Qing’s delicate brows furrowed as he unconsciously opened his eyes, still groggy. His beautiful eyes, glistening with drowsiness, were filled with a layer of moisture.

He looked utterly pitiful.

The man had already taken a step back by the time Ruan Qing opened his eyes. He looked at the pitiful figure before him and let out a soft chuckle, his low, husky voice filled with magnetism and affection. "Time to get up."

After speaking, the man gently wiped the corner of Ruan Qing’s mouth, brushing away a trace of moisture. "You’ve been sleeping all day. How are you still tired?"

Though not fully awake, Ruan Qing instinctively swatted the man’s hand away and shrank back slightly.

It was only after he did this that he realized what he had done. He pursed his lips and glanced at the man, unsure of what to do.

"Dad, I… I didn’t mean to."

The moment Ruan Qing called him "Dad," the man’s heart felt as if it had been struck by something. His pupils involuntarily dilated, and the gentle smile on his face froze.

Just as he had imagined…

A surge of excitement coursed through the man’s entire body, nearly causing him to lose control.

The man was Ren Yanqing—the same Ren Yanqing who had gone to save Ruan Qing only to be killed in the explosion at the construction site.

Ren Yanqing had never imagined that he would fall in love with "himself."

Everyone thought Ren Qing was his son, but that wasn’t the case. Ren Qing wasn’t his son; he was another "self."

A "self" that should have been buried and sealed in a "coffin."

He had allowed Ren Qing to be kidnapped and "die" so that this part of himself could be permanently sealed away, ensuring that he wouldn’t lose control due to the overwhelming power within him.

Ren Qing’s so-called moyamoya disease was also a lie. The excruciating headaches were simply the result of a part of his soul and that terrifying power residing within his body, which his physical form couldn’t withstand.

The medication he took was merely to suppress that power.

He couldn’t give up that immense power. From the moment he realized he couldn’t fully control it, he had split himself into three parts, planning to bury one of them so that he could both survive and maintain control over the power.

The plan had gone smoothly, but the moment he heard Ren Qing’s voice, he felt emotions and reactions he shouldn’t have.

It seemed that in that moment… he had fallen in love with himself.

It was absurd, but it was the truth.

Just hearing another version of himself call him "Dad" was enough to excite him to the point of losing control.

"His" other self was inherently a part of him, and it was only natural that it belonged to him.

Ren Yanqing suppressed the emotions in his eyes and gently ruffled Ruan Qing’s hair. "It’s fine. Qingqing doesn’t need to apologize to Dad."

After speaking, he kissed Ruan Qing’s lips in a completely natural manner, his actions filled with intimacy.

"Alright, it’s getting late. Let Dad carry you out of bed."

Ruan Qing instinctively avoided the hand reaching toward him. His slender, pale fingers tightened slightly, and he spoke in a soft voice, "…I can do it myself."

Hearing this, Ren Yanqing retracted his hand with a look of disappointment, his voice tinged with sadness. "You’ve grown up. You don’t need Dad anymore."

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