Chapter 165
by Need_More_SleepChapter 165: Social Death 2.0
“Xiaoliu, get out quickly!”
Yiwen pushed Mi Xiaoliu toward the passage entrance, using her 170cm height advantage to block her line of sight.
“Why?” Mi asked, confused.
Yiwen had let her in, only to make her leave now.
Yiwen: “(A mix of coaxing and deception).”
Successfully persuading Mi Xiaoliu to leave, Yiwen sighed in relief.
What kind of bullshit clue was this? Going through all the trouble to build a secret room at home that even Mom didn’t know about, just to indulge his own weird hobbies—how pathetic.
The immense letdown made Father’s image in Yiwen’s mind sink even lower.
She’d originally thought her father was just a casual otaku, at most occasionally spouting some cringey anime phrases while watching shows… but Toby was truly his biological son, perfectly inheriting his tastes.
Though her mood had hit rock bottom, Yiwen still refused to give up. She pulled out a Kamen Rider belt, fiddled with it, and inserted the bottles before twisting the handle.
Aside from the normal sound effects, nothing unusual happened.
Maybe it needed some specific combination? She wasn’t too familiar with these things boys liked… It was possible there had been clues left behind, but the local supernatural police had confiscated them.
Unwilling to admit defeat, she grabbed a life-sized figure with its backside facing her, then unscrewed its head and peeled it apart layer by layer, searching inside for any clues her father might have left.
The result? When she touched a certain part of the figure, the damn thing started making a series of embarrassing, blush-inducing sound effects.
Damn you, Dad! Just die out there already!
…
At the dinner table.
“Where’s Yiwen?” Raven asked, puzzled as she saw Mi Xiaoliu return alone.
“She’s with the naked toy,” Mi Xiaoliu answered honestly.
Seems Yiwen’s attempt at blocking her view hadn’t been very successful.
Raven’s chopsticks clattered onto the table as she hurried off in the direction Mi Xiaoliu had pointed.
Shocked to discover a hidden room in the house, Raven arrived just in time to see her daughter hugging a life-sized, naked figure—one that was making the exact same noises she and Riels had made while conceiving Yiwen.
The two stared at each other in silence for two seconds. Raven opened her mouth, then shook her head at her daughter, sighed, and left the secret room without a word.
…
Yiwen skipped dinner, lying facedown on her pillow, quietly crying.
“I don’t want to live anymore.”
“Pat pat.” Mi Xiaoliu, the culprit, reached out to pat her head.
Yiwen shook her off.
“Eat.” Mi Xiaoliu brought over the dinner she’d saved for Yiwen.
“No. You eat it,” Yiwen turned away.
Then came the sound of rustling. When Yiwen looked up, she saw Mi Xiaoliu had actually started eating her dinner for her.
“Is it good?” Yiwen asked.
“Good,” Mi Xiaoliu replied.
“Get out! I don’t want to see you. From now on, let’s just pretend the other doesn’t exist.” Yiwen was furious.
Couldn’t this boy (girl) even try to comfort her?
“…”
Then Mi Xiaoliu fell silent. Yiwen suddenly realized—Mi Xiaoliu tended to take everything literally.
By the time Yiwen lifted her head, Mi Xiaoliu was already gone.
He’d even taken the food with him.
Crap, maybe I went too far.
But it was his fault! Couldn’t he read the mood? Yiwen was this upset, and she just acted like that. What a little jerk. Ugh!
Yiwen pulled out her phone and opened her chat log with Mi Xiaoliu. She didn’t outright block him—instead, she started spamming.
Yiwen: If I wake up hungry in the middle of the night, I’m gonna eat you.
Yiwen: Poke.
Yiwen: Poke.
…
She didn’t stop until Mi Xiaoliu replied with three dots.
Mostly, Yiwen was afraid Mi Xiaoliu would actually never talk to her again after what she’d said.
Yiwen: Hurry up and comfort me!
6 (Liu): There, there.
Yiwen felt slightly better.
Meanwhile, Sasha was whispering into Mi Xiaoliu’s ear: “That little white-haired brat was so mean. Master, let’s just ignore her from now on. See? Even Heli doesn’t like her.”
Mi Xiaoliu ignored Sasha, putting on her helmet to stock up on antidote herbs and other supplies. It was Sasha’s suggestion—having more items on hand was always useful.
But the beginner village area was small, and the amount of loot per run was limited. Plus, without Amari Yota, her poor sleep quality meant each session could only last about half an hour at most.
Still, these items were practically miracle drugs in the real world, so even a small amount was fine.
Waking from the dream, Mi Xiaoliu stored the helmet back in her system space, then gazed out at the night outside her window.
“Sasha, can I beat the Red Prince?”
“Uh… honestly, I’m not sure.” Sasha hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “His abilities aren’t suited for direct combat. He defeats enemies by creating ‘accidents.’ Even if no accident could actually kill you, he could still engineer one that makes it impossible for you to find him.”
Unless she was insanely lucky, killing him would be near impossible.
Sasha knew the Red Prince was dangerous, but she also understood that if he wasn’t dealt with, he’d remain a thorn in Mi Xiaoliu’s mind—just like Easter. Except the Red Prince and Easter were not on the same level of threat.
“Actually, keeping tabs on him is easy. Just watch for news about child victims in the city. If you plan to go out, check the white-haired girl’s room first. Wait until she’s asleep, or she might notice.”
“Mmm.”
But even as drowsiness set in, Yiwen’s light remained on.
It’s summer break—what kind of student goes to bed early anyway?
Mi Xiaoliu decided to use the system’s gacha feature for one last pull before bed.
She’d earned a decent amount from missions, and before leaving, Heli had even given her 1,000 spending money to splurge.
Unfortunately, the system had no mercy—most of her pulls were blank fragments or duplicates. It wasn’t until the fourth attempt that she got a new memory.
She kept pulling because she’d already spent all her money. If she didn’t get anything, she wouldn’t be able to sleep.
[Memory Fragment: ]
[Memory Fragment: ]
A long, empty hallway, brightly lit. The setting was familiar to Mi Xiaoliu—it was Easter’s laboratory, though with some differences.
The doors on either side were prison-like, each with a small square window in the middle blocked by three horizontal bars, preventing anyone from sticking their head out. There was a keyhole in the center, used to retract the bars so food could be passed to the “prisoners” inside.
Mi Xiaoliu staggered forward, leaning against the wall for support, pausing to rest every few steps. Her body was frail, and her abdomen felt hollow, completely numb.
Unlike previous memories, this was the first time she could walk alone, and her eye level was nearly the same as her current height.
Then, as she passed one of the doors, a slender hand suddenly shot out, grabbing her long hair and yanking her toward the bars. A sharp pain tore through her scalp, followed by dizziness as the back of her head slammed into the metal.
“Stop!” A hoarse woman’s voice rang out, followed by a violent crash from inside the cell.
The hand gripping Mi Xiaoliu’s hair loosened in pain, and she quickly scrambled away from the door.
Inside the cell, chaotic whispers and scuffles erupted.
“Are you insane?” A shrill female voice spat.
“You’re the insane one! What the hell are you doing? She’s just an innocent little girl!”
“Gwen, have you lost your mind? Innocent?” Other voices chimed in—men and women alike. It seemed each cell held multiple prisoners.
A teenage boy’s voice, cracking with puberty: “Have you forgotten how this ends for us? Either we die on the operating table or by this ‘innocent’ little girl’s hands. We finally get a chance, and you ruin it!”
The shrill woman snarled, “We’ve been starved for two damn days—one measly bun per person. You know what that means. They’re about to move on us… Get out of my way! Let me drag that little b*tch in here, and we’ll split her up. You can pick which part you want first.”
Gwen shot back, “Shut up. Have you all lost even the most basic shred of humanity? She’s being forced into this too.”
“Oh, screw your morality! I’m about to die—you think I care about humanity right now? Move! That girl’s a regenerator, right? A few bites, and she’ll heal right up—”
The sound of a struggle erupted inside—bodies slamming against each other, the steel door shuddering from the impacts. The shrill-voiced woman clearly wasn’t much of a fighter, her screams dominated the scuffle while the others stayed out of it.
A timid male voice interjected, “Gwen… don’t forget your sister was executed by this girl just yesterday. She’s the Sixth Fractal—one of Easter’s people. She could kill us all by herself!”
Silence.
Then Gwen’s voice, quiet and broken: “My sister… wasn’t even human anymore by the end. Last week, she begged me to kill her. I couldn’t do it. I don’t blame this girl. If it’s my turn next… I hope the Sixth Fractal makes it quick.”
Another hand slipped through the door’s gap, and Mi Xiaoliu flinched back.
This hand held half a steamed bun. A voice—Oscar’s—spoke from inside: “Eat. I know they haven’t been feeding you.”
Mi Xiaoliu didn’t take it. She continued down the hallway at a snail’s pace, refusing to touch the walls even when she stumbled.
[Memory Ends.]
Another unpleasant recollection.
After a brief hesitation, Mi Xiaoliu decided to splurge again.
[Memory Fragment: ]
This time, she was still in that same hallway, her back against the wall as she nibbled on half a bun. Behind the door, a woman’s voice was telling a story.
“…And so, the Little Match Girl lived happily ever after, with plenty of food and warm clothes.”
The originally dark and tragic fairy tale had been rewritten into something hopeful. Even though the girl outside the door couldn’t understand a word.
“Oh God, Gwen has completely lost it.”
“Tch. Here, take my bun too. Just make it quick when it’s my turn, alright?” Another half-bun was pushed through the bars.
“You’re insane too now?”
“What choice do we have? Would you rather live like this or die clean?”
“Little Mi…” Gwen’s voice softened, ignoring her cellmates. “If you ever escape… where would you go?”
Mi Xiaoliu didn’t answer. Freshly reset, she lacked even basic memories, her consciousness as blank as an infant’s.
Gwen continued anyway, “If I ever get out… I’d burn Easter’s whole operation to the ground. Then I’d go live in the forest as a hunter. Did I ever tell you? My family used to hunt. The forest is beautiful—full of towering trees, air so much fresher than the city’s. Especially the woods outside the Federation borders. Out there, no one taxes you for the land you live on…”
She struggled to describe the beauty of forest life, her limited vocabulary failing her.
In the midst of Gwen’s stumbling, heartfelt words, the memory faded.
“Forest?” Mi Xiaoliu murmured, puzzled.
She knew what a forest was. There were two talking bears there—ones who told others not to cut trees, while chopping them down themselves, and one who warned chickens about humans while eating roasted chicken…
She wanted to go play with those bears.
“Forests are actually pretty dangerous, Master. Let’s not think about that yet—it’s too far away.”
“Mmm.”
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
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