The chilly moonlight spilled over the two, Jiang Che quickly opened the suitcase at his side, inside were a few cute stuffed toys.
All this time walking, he had always carried the suitcase in his hand.
The girl stood quietly beside him, the vicious gleam in her eyes had vanished, she watched Jiang Che crouched down there.
The suitcase wasn't big, and the things inside weren't large either.
As soon as it opened, a slightly squashed teddy bear could be seen slowly fluffing up, returning to its shape in the air.
Very soon, the brown coffee-colored teddy bear looked plump and adorable again.
He took out one of the teddy bears, placed it into the girl's arms, "If you don't like this one, I'll bring you other ones next time."
When Jiang Che said this, he didn't dare meet the girl's eyes directly. He still felt a bit guilty, because none of these toy bears were new, and he hadn't brought her any nice clothes.
The girl lowered her head, looking at the doll Jiang Che stuffed into her hands. Her fingers loosened, and the intestines in her hands dropped to the ground with a splat.
That soft, fuzzy, grainy feeling—something she had never experienced before.
The stitches around the bear's mouth curved upward, and its eyes were two black gemstones embedded in its face.
She pinched the bear's face, the round cheeks sank and sprang back out, the smile on its mouth remained upturned.
She reached out again and stroked the teddy bear's head; the sensation in her palm made her unable to stop.
"Do you like it?" Jiang Che asked cautiously.
"I love it!" The girl's voice was a bit excited. "I brought you a gift too, Daddy!"
As if remembering something, she picked up the soft, sticky, blood-and-mud-smeared intestines from the ground, and draped them around Jiang Che's neck.
Before, she always liked to chase the Survivor with those intestines,
As soon as the Survivors saw her swinging that intestine, they couldn't help but scream wildly.
Ah——
A scream pierced the night sky, the girl coldly turned toward the source of the scream.
The moment she saw Ya, her eyes instantly brightened with excitement. Jiang Che's interruption had made her forget what she was going to do, but upon seeing Ya, her mouth split into another hideous grin.
Ya saw Jiang Che rush over, and immediately ran in the opposite direction, hiding herself as fast as she could, somewhere neither Jiang Che could see her, nor she could see him.
The fog in the cemetery was thick, she had no idea what was happening over where Jiang Che was.
She only sensed that the drifting wind in her ears grew weaker, and the weeping of evil spirits hidden in it, and the chilling breeze, also faded.
Even so, she dared not step forward, only dared to hide.
She could only hope that the evil spirit would be satisfied after killing Jiang Che. After waiting about ten minutes, she finally couldn't resist creeping forward, looking for Jiang Che's corpse.
Jiang Che could die, but the items on Jiang Che couldn't be lost!
She pushed aside the fog, and saw the girl with intestines in her hands, wrapping them around Jiang Che's neck.
She screamed because Jiang Che was crouched on the ground, as if bewitched, with a smile on his face, allowing the girl to kill him.
This feeling was so eerie, different from the usual killing and bloodshed. She'd seen too much slaughter and gore, watched Survivors escape from Dungeons in live streams or video replays.
She was long used to blood and death. But seeing someone bewitched, letting themselves be strangled by an evil spirit, she had never seen that.
After her scream, the girl's evil spirit snapped its head in her direction.
Without a word, Ya ran toward the rear.
She could only hope to take advantage of the time it took for the girl to kill Jiang Che—run as far as she could.
If she made it out alive, she'd come back at dawn.
As Ya ran, she resolved: if she lived through the night, she'd return to the cemetery at daybreak and take Jiang Che's belongings.
The girl heard Ya scream, and was utterly thrilled!
Yes—just like this! It's this kind of scream!
The scent of fear quickly spread through the air; humans are just this timid, born to be vessels for fear, the nourishment for evil spirits like herself.
Jiang Che looked behind him, puzzled. He saw nothing, only fog curling around the tombstones, desolation everywhere.
But that voice just now sounded so much like Ya.
The thought of Ya jolted Jiang Che awake. He looked at his daughter beside him, clad in just a thin dress.
Suddenly remembering something, he quickly took off his white coat and wrapped it around her.
Ya was always saying she was cold, so his daughter must be cold too.
"Next time don't wear so little when you go out. It gets chilly at night." Jiang Che wrapped her up.
The adult-sized lab coat bundled up a seven- or eight-year-old girl, just enough to trail on the ground.
The girl's hands couldn't even reach fully out of the sleeves.
Only after he took off his lab coat did the human scent burst forth.
Seeing his action, everyone watching the live stream was completely dumbfounded.
[He's really asking for death. The evil spirit already thinks he's one of them, and now he exposes himself.]
[If Ya saw this, she'd probably cough up blood with rage and die right here.]
[Idiot!]
[So Ya schemed against him for nothing; just ignore him, this idiot will die by himself.]
[Watching this gives me an aneurysm. If Jiang Che dies, this coat will just be tossed into a corner. If Ya doesn't retrieve it, it'll be lost in Dungeon 9 forever.]
[I knew it, nothing in Dungeon 9 is easy to take out.]
...
People were cursing Jiang Che like mad, scolding him for wasting resources, for having no brains, for not knowing how to appreciate things.
The moment Jiang Che took off the coat, the girl was truly stunned.
She'd thought the mixed aura of human and evil spirit she sensed was an illusion, but when Jiang Che removed the coat, she realized Jiang Che was human.
The evil aura came solely from that lab coat.
This man was actually human!
Her hands froze in the gesture of tying a scarf around Jiang Che, gripping the intestine tighter, the intestines pressed steadily tighter against his neck.
"Daddy, do you like the gift I brought you?" She grinned hideously, tightening her grip as she watched his neck constrict.
"I really do!" Jiang Che felt his breathing grow labored, but it was the first time his daughter had wrapped a scarf around him. She didn't know how much force to use, so a little tightness didn't matter.
He bent down and held his daughter in his arms.
"I really do."
Jiang Che hugged her tight.
The evil spirit felt Jiang Che's embrace, her fingers started to squeeze harder.
She thought he was trying to strangle her in return, but realized his strength was only gently drawing her in. Even as she squeezed harder, he didn't resist at all.
"I'm sorry for only finding you now," Jiang Che felt the tightness around his neck.
He immediately realized—the daughter was angry.
Ya had said she'd been kidnapped. Now, his daughter must have escaped against all odds, must have suffered terribly, right?
But even so, she brought him a gift. She must really love him.