Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 782 Inspection

is blood.

It was a series of cascading, intertwined, twisted, and connected streams of thick, red blood...

“They…” Yu Shijiu whispered to Thumbelina beside her, “Aren’t they all good children?”

"correct."

Thumbelina said matter-of-factly, "They were killed because they didn't listen to their mother."

"Kill?"

"correct."

Thumbelina said "yes" again.

Her sweet and pretty face was filled with a chilling sense of agreement.

"All our lives were given to us by our mothers..."

"so?"

Yu Shijiu said softly.

"So it's only natural that Mom would take our lives back because we were disobedient."

"..."

Yu Shijiu was momentarily speechless.

This statement seems reasonable at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it makes no sense.

After all, no one asks anyone if they want to be born before they are born.

Realizing that this matter, if taken seriously, would become a point of contention, Yu Shijiu immediately changed the subject.

"So their lives were killed...taken away by their mother?"

"Yes."

Thumbelina just kept nodding and said, "Because they don't listen."

"..."

Disobeying will result in death?

Yu Shijiu recalled his past acts of disobedience, then ignored them and composed himself.

"So they are now—"

"Shhh."

Thumbelina suddenly gripped his sleeve tightly and said very softly:

"We should go to sleep..."

Yu Shijiu's heart skipped a beat.

The next second, Thumbelina's face revealed a strange yet pitying smile.

Do you know why they come out to look for us in the middle of the night?

Thumbelina said in a low, melancholic voice, "They're jealous of us."

"They're jealous that we get Mom's attention and love... They're here, they're trying to find our faults—our disobedience and lack of understanding—to replace us..."

"……replace?"

Yu Shijiu spoke slowly, feeling Thumbelina's hand gently loosen its grip on his clothes, and whispered:

How to replace it?

Thumbelina did not answer his question this time.

She simply gave Yu Shijiu a silent smile, blinked her red eyes slowly, and then quickly and silently turned and ran towards her matchbox bed.

At the same time, Yu Shijiu heard the gnawing sounds from the flowerpot above almost disappear.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Shijiu stepped back, rolled onto the bed, quickly wrapped herself tightly in the flower petal blanket, closed her eyes, and calmed her breathing.

A rustling, wriggling sound came from the edge of the flowerpot, and the long-silent whimpering sound started up again.

Yu Shijiu heard the crying of "Thumbelina" again, getting closer and closer, until the crying was almost right next to his ear.

"Woooooooo..."

Yu Shijiu pretended not to hear the crying. He closed his eyes tightly and forced himself to fall asleep.

Over time, he actually fell asleep amidst the endless sobbing and wailing.

"..."

If Yu Shijiu opened his eyes at this moment, he would see his body surrounded by the heads of those "Thumbelina" figures, from head to toe. The heads faced his body, their open mouths emitting cries.

After confirming that Yu Shijiu was indeed asleep, the "Thumbelina" heads, deprived of their lives, stopped crying with some disappointment and resentment.

"...He really fell asleep..."

One of the heads muttered, "He listens to his mother very much... he can't replace her..."

"...Let's try the next one. Will the next one listen to Mom too?"

"Hehehe...you're right...then let's move on to...the next one..."

"..."

After a brief exchange, the heads of "Thumbelina" moved on to the next "lucky one," dragging their broken heads and limbs behind them.

------

"La la la la~ Mommy's good children..."

The gentle calls of their foster mother slowly roused all the players huddled in their matchbox beds.

As the person closest to Thumbelina and also closest to the flowerpot, Yu Shijiu received a "gentle caress" from his adoptive mother.

"did you sleep well last night?"

The foster mother lowered her head and gently pressed Yu Shijiu's head, who had just opened his eyes, with a little too much force.

Yu Shijiu's neck was a little sore from being pressed, but he still smiled and responded:

"Mom is sleeping very well."

The foster mother was clearly pleased by those words, and happily tapped Yu Shijiu's back gently with her finger, saying softly:

"It seems my child had a wonderful dream last night!"

Yu Shijiu was tapped on the ground and sank deeper into the quilt. He rubbed his head against the floral-scented quilt without much concern before lifting his head up.

After "talking" with him, the foster mother hurriedly went to find Thumbelina—Thumbelina, as the protagonist of this episode, received great "favor" from the foster mother.

Seeing that Thumbelina, who had just regained consciousness, sang for more than ten minutes and danced for about twenty minutes under the doting care of her adoptive mother, Yu Shijiu felt that this doting care from her adoptive mother was still too "grand".

Didn't you see that Thumbelina's face turned deathly pale from dancing?

Indeed, engaging in "exercise" first thing in the morning without eating or drinking anything can lead to low blood sugar and other issues.

Wait a minute... shouldn't dungeon NPCs also have low blood sugar?

Amidst wild guesses, the foster mother finally let go of Thumbelina, who was dancing until her face turned pale and she was covered in cold sweat. She kissed Thumbelina's face with satisfaction and then moved on to her next target.

The person chosen by the foster mother this time is a player from the Eye of All Things.

Players will naturally not receive the same "favor" as Thumbelina.

This favor is so precious that no player wants to touch it.

In those few short minutes, Yu Shijiu and the other four people who had also sat up, An, He, Chen, and Xu, quickly exchanged glances.

Yu Shijiu opened his mouth, smiled, pointed to the flowerpot next to him, and then pointed to Thumbelina, who was kneeling in the matchbox, clutching her chest and panting.

He meant—there are clues.

Anjie realized what he meant, raised an eyebrow, and showed a surprised expression.

Chen Yi and He Lingling were the same.

Xu Han was so surprised that his eyes widened and he gave Yu Shijiu a thumbs up.

Yu Shijiu's lips curled up slightly, but he forced them back down.

In a brief exchange of glances, the foster mother, who seemed to have returned from a patrol as if she had completed a mission, finally chose He Lingling.

He Lingling put on a sweet smile for her adoptive mother, behaving like a well-behaved and sensible girl. Her adoptive mother was satisfied and kissed her forehead, repeating "good child" before turning to the match bed where Chen Yi was.

Then it was Xu Han... and finally An Jie.

The foster mother's smile vanished when she saw that there were no flower petals on Anjie's bed.

She stared at Anjie, who was kneeling obediently with her head bowed in the center of the matchstick bed, and slowly began to speak:

"My child, where is your flower petal quilt?"

Anjie: "..."

The culprit, Chen Yi: "..."

Chen Yi's lips moved slightly, and a hint of guilt flashed across his fat face.

“My child,” the foster mother spoke again after a long silence, staring intently at Anjie, and asked once more, “Where did your flower petal quilt go?”

"..." Ange spoke up this time, subtly glancing at the expectant players of the Eye of All Things beside her, and said:

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Ange said, “I don’t know why the window was left a crack last night, and the wind blew in and took away my flower petal blanket.”

The gradually distorted smile on the foster mother's face froze.

Anjie continued her bluff without changing her expression: "I don't know where it was blown away."

The adoptive mother subconsciously turned to look at the French windows, her gaze pausing.

The French windows were actually a tiny crack open. If a strong wind had blown in last night, something as light as flower petals and a quilt could very well have been blown away, but—

The foster mother turned to look at Anjie again, squinting her eyes, and said, "Why was only your blanket blown away?"

“…” Anjie covered her face helplessly and whispered:

"Mom, how am I supposed to answer that? I don't know either..."

Foster mother: "..."

The adoptive mother really didn't know how to respond to that.

Anjie seized the opportunity of her stunned silence and pressed her advantage, covering her face and weeping bitterly:

"Mom, maybe I'm just unlucky. My younger siblings' flower petal blankets are all fine, but mine got blown away by the wind... Waaah..."

"..."

The other players around looked grave.

We can't really let Anjie fool us into taking it, can we?

That would be far too frivolous.

Xu Han was sweating profusely with anxiety, while He Lingling and Chen Yi turned their heads to look at the gap next to the French window, seemingly lost in thought.

Yu Shijiu glanced at the flowerpot next to her and blinked.

He wasn't worried at all that Anjie wouldn't be able to handle her adoptive mother.

After all, the game's story has only just begun; how could there be no way to survive?

The foster mother remained silent for a very long time, staring at Anjie, who was crying with her head down and face covered, for a very long time, until Anjie's throat was sore from sobbing. Only then did the foster mother slowly look away.

"is it?"

The foster mother's voice softened again, and she sighed gently, saying:

"Oh, my child, you are so unlucky. Was your petal-covered quilt blown away by the wind last night?"

Anjie breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at her and said, "Yes, it was blown away by the wind in the middle of the night, Mom."

"Ugh……"

The foster mother sighed deeply, looking down at Anjie with a sorrowful expression, but her eyes gleamed with a strange excitement.

Anjie felt goosebumps all over her body and her scalp tingle from the surging pleasure and excitement deep in her eyes.

excited?

What is the adoptive mother so excited about?

What exactly is the adoptive mother so excited about?

"Then the most important question comes down."

The foster mother lowered her head affectionately, her red lips opening and closing under Anjie's close gaze, revealing her snow-white teeth.

"my daughter."

Her foster mother's hand had already touched Anjie's small body, and she whispered gently and excitedly:

"Then tell Mom, did you wake up disobeying her last night?"

"..."

Anjie's pupils contracted sharply. She stared intently at her adoptive mother, not missing the growing excitement and agitation that spread across her eyes after she finished speaking—as if she had caught her in a compromising situation.

"..."

Can't admit it.

Can't admit it.

I can't admit that I woke up last night!

In just a few seconds, Anjie broke out in a cold sweat from fear, the sticky sweat flowing down her body as if an invisible, icy hand was caressing her.

She could feel her adoptive mother's hands gradually tightening as she touched her.

“No,” Anjie tried to suppress her physical urge to resist, pretending not to sense her adoptive mother’s malice, and feigned ignorance, saying, “I’m not awake, Mom.”

"Not awake?"

Her foster mother looked at her with a smile, her snow-white teeth parted beneath her lips, faintly carrying the sweet aroma of bread and a... barely perceptible smell of blood.

How did you know she wasn't awake?

"You weren't awake... how did you know the blanket was blown away by the wind?"

"I feel it now."

Anjie replied quickly, as if worried that her adoptive mother might suddenly stuff her into her mouth and eat her: "I felt the wind blow my blanket away."

"But I'm so sleepy, Mom."

Before her adoptive mother could speak, Anjie revealed the reason she hadn't chased after the flower petals and blankets, choking back tears as she said:

"I was too sleepy to wake up—maybe because even when I was asleep, I wanted to be a good girl and listen to my mom. After all, you told us all to be good and not make any noise before you left last night."

"..."

The excitement on the foster mother's face froze completely.

She looked at Anjie, who was staring at her with bright, watery eyes, with a mixture of disappointment and irritation. Her fingers, which were gripping Anjie's neck, trembled silently several times.

Anjie keenly noticed her movements, but still pretended not to have noticed anything and continued to feign crying.

Xu Han, who had been watching her intently from the side, hesitated to speak.

Xu Han hesitated whether to remind An Jie—she had pretended to cry for a long time, but her eyes were still frighteningly bright, without a trace of tears. It was really not a very professional "acting" performance.

Anjie thought she had done a good job of pretending—after all, her adoptive mother's facial expression was very complicated, and she was clearly in a state of extreme confusion about what to say.

In the end, the foster mother, her eyes red with frustration and disappointment, glared fiercely at Anjie, her gaze venomous and eerie.

But she slowly reverted to her "gentle" demeanor: "Okay."

The adoptive mother reluctantly maintained her persona and responded softly, "Since you obediently went to sleep, you are still Mommy's good daughter."

"You two wait here quietly for a while, Mom will go get you some bread."

After saying this, the foster mother left the house with angry and heavy steps.

boom!

The foster mother slammed the door shut—as if she hadn't managed to crush the player's displeasure.

"..."

"call……"

Xu Han plopped back down on the matchlock bed, giving An Jie an awkward, bitter smile:

"Sister An...you scared me to death...I really thought you were going to be pinched—"

"Shut up."

He Lingling coldly interrupted his jinxed remarks, saying calmly:

"My foster mother wouldn't kill someone without reason. As long as I behaved obediently and used that positive reason to justify my 'mistake,' I wouldn't die."

Chen Yi nodded in agreement: "Yes, the foster mother is just an NPC monster at the beginning of the story. How could Sister An possibly be caught red-handed here?"