With a soft “creak,” the old children’s room door was opened from the inside.
Xu Dengming tiptoed out of the room, her small leather shoes making no sound as they touched the floor.
She felt that this body had some muscle memory, and when moving, there was a natural caution that perfectly matched the persona of a little girl lacking combat ability and burdened with an unpredictable illness debuff.
Xu Dengming thought that, constrained by her current hardware limitations, she probably couldn’t repeat the act of hiding in a corner and jumping out to swing a surprise blow at a passing monster.
-She sincerely hoped that this game wasn’t testing the player’s combat skills.
This house was quite different from the apartment Xu Dengming was used to, with an obvious asymmetry in its internal structure.
Judging by the height, the house was on the first floor.
The furniture and decor inside were very old, with some wallpaper and plaster already showing signs of peeling, and yellow stains from water seepage on the ceiling.
In contrast to the decor, the cleanliness of the house was impeccable, with both the windowsills and the floor almost dust-free.
A clock hung on the wall in the living room, its hands pointing to 7:20.
Xu Dengming’s gaze swept across the house, confirming that Guo Jiajia’s home had a layout of three bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom.
Compared to other areas, the kitchen was unusually large, even more spacious than the living room and children’s room combined.
The bathroom was quite ordinary, and through the half-open door, she could vaguely see some cleaning tools inside.
Among the three bedrooms, the children’s room was located in the southwest corner, the middle one was a storage room, and the master bedroom was in the southeast corner.
Xu Dengming first took a look at the storage room adjacent to the children’s room.
There weren’t many items inside, but the dust was thick, indicating that no one usually came here.
Considering that Guo Jiajia probably hadn’t visited the storage room before, Xu Dengming suspected that this area was actually a distraction in the game, so she lowered its exploration priority.
Xu Dengming then walked to the master bedroom door, which was very close to the kitchen and not tightly shut.
Through the gap, she saw that it only contained a bed and a wardrobe, appearing even more monotonous than Guo Jiajia’s children’s room, serving only the basic functions of sleeping and changing clothes.
After understanding the layout of the master bedroom, Xu Dengming wandered around the kitchen.
The kitchen had a U-shaped counter against the east wall, with the refrigerator embedded in the southeast corner of the counter.
On the west side of the U-shaped counter, near the south wall, there was a separate counter with fruits, a teapot, and an empty vase.
The separate counter wasn’t far from the master bedroom door, and if one rushed too quickly in the morning, they could easily bump their foot against it.
The fruits on the counter were just a bowl of apples and pears with black spots.
Given Xu Dengming’s living standards, she probably wouldn’t mind eating them, which gave her a clearer sense of the family’s financial situation.
About three meters to the north of the counter, there was a window on the wall.
Through the window, Xu Dengming could see scattered bungalows outside.
These bungalows were at varying distances, with a modern architectural style, but not all of them had signs of life.
Many of the houses had twisted weeds growing at their entrances.
This was a human settlement on the brink of desolation.
According to what Xu Dengming had read in the school library, such settlements weren’t too bad right after the Great Catastrophe.
At the very least, they retained the essential facilities needed for daily life-electricity and running water were still available.
Some settlements, however, were too dangerous and desolate, leaving only one or two people who couldn’t afford to flee behind.
Xu Dengming turned and gazed at the kitchen.
Even someone as unparticular about living conditions as her felt that the distance between the kitchen and the master bedroom was uncomfortably close.
She had once read in a book that after the Great Catastrophe, many areas began reconstruction.
Due to the chaos at the time, the competence of those in charge varied greatly, leading to the emergence of many uniquely designed buildings that persistently challenged the aesthetics and living habits of the general public.
Perhaps Guo Jiajia’s home was also the work of an unreliable designer.
The advantage of these houses was their low cost, but the downside was the lack of any after-sales service.
Many people would move to safer places after living there for a while, leaving the vacant houses for the next owner who took a liking to them.
Xu Dengming left the kitchen and walked toward the living room.
She had already spotted the grandmother mentioned in the diary.
The grandmother’s appearance was extremely aged and emaciated, making it difficult to determine her exact age.
She lay silently on a recliner near the edge of the living room, close to the balcony.
Beside her was a wooden cabinet with a ceramic water jug placed on top.
The wooden recliner remained motionless, and so did the grandmother.
With only two people left, the house had become eerily quiet.
Xu Dengming walked softly to the grandmother’s side.
Perhaps her position blocked the sunlight, making the air feel a bit colder.
After a while, the grandmother, who had been quietly sleeping, stirred slightly.
Her lips, dry as withered grass, parted, and a hoarse sound emerged from her throat:
Her voice was as faint as a wisp of ash carried by a warm breeze.
Xu Dengming responded softly, “Grandmother.”
The grandmother didn’t continue the conversation with the young girl.
She opened her eyes, but they were clouded, as if veiled by a layer of haze.
Her gaze was unfocused, seemingly unable to see her surroundings.
Xu Dengming waved her hand in front of the grandmother’s eyes, but there was still no reaction.
The old woman’s face shifted with difficulty toward the area where the sunlight had been blocked.
At the same time, her right hand trembled as she groped in the air for a moment before gently landing on Xu Dengming’s head.
She patted it twice, then her hand fell weakly back down.
She murmured again.
The grandmother had been covered with a thin blanket, but due to her earlier movement, a corner of it had slipped off.
Xu Dengming bent down to pick it up and draped it back over the grandmother, then placed the old woman’s fallen hand back under the blanket.
When she held the grandmother’s wrist, Xu Dengming’s movements paused for a moment.
The grandmother was extremely thin-so thin that she didn’t resemble a living person but rather a skeleton draped in a layer of human skin.
When the grandmother’s hand was lifted, her wrinkled, age-spotted skin hung like candle wax, swaying gently in the air.
After Xu Dengming placed her hand back down, the old woman’s skin slowly spread out like heated lard, settling naturally.
The contours of the bones beneath were faintly outlined.
Age and frailty were etched into every inch of the old woman’s body.
The grandmother’s arm was cold.
When Xu Dengming let go of her hand, the lingering sensation of that oily, icy touch still clung to her fingertips.
Xu Dengming pursed her lips, her heartbeat suddenly quickening.
At the same time, a rather bizarre thought surfaced in her mind.
Then, she reached out and touched the side of the old woman’s neck.
The skin and flesh of the neck were as loose, greasy, and cold as the rest of her body.
Xu Dengming couldn’t find a pulse.
When she realized she was interacting with an anomaly within the game, Xu Dengming’s expression gradually calmed.
She reached out again to press against the grandmother’s chest-if the other person were alive, they should at least have a beating heart.
Xu Dengming’s fingers rested on the fabric over the old woman’s chest.
She gradually increased the pressure, and the clothing began to sink inward.
She felt nothing.
The grandmother’s chest seemed hollow, withered, and sunken.
The heart that should theoretically exist here, along with the surrounding flesh and blood, had vanished without a trace.
The scene before her reminded Xu Dengming of the book “The Origin of Life”, which contained rather abnormal content.
The old woman seemed to be nothing more than a dried-up husk-able to speak and move, but without a heartbeat or pulse.
Could such a person still be considered alive?
Xu Dengming was curious.
If [Observer’s Eye] were still functional, could she find the threads of fate on this person?
The old woman on the recliner moved again, her stiff neck turning unnaturally slowly.
Her wrinkled, decaying face turned toward Xu Dengming, revealing a stiff smile, as if a skull had cracked open its jaw.
The old woman couldn’t see her, but she could sense someone nearby.
Xu Dengming knew that many games would present a normal, even warm facade to players when the level of decryption hadn’t been met.
However, once players glimpsed the truth, all the illusory pretenses would be torn apart, revealing the horrifying reality hidden beneath.
In less than three minutes, the old woman who had patted Xu Dengming’s head and called her “Jiajia” seemed to have disappeared.
What remained on the recliner was nothing more than a moving skin and skeleton.
The skin-and-bone figure raised its hand and swiftly grabbed Xu Dengming’s wrist.
Its yellowed, sharp nails dug forcefully into the artery on her wrist.
The dirt-covered nails sank deeper, cutting into the little girl’s skin.
Bright red liquid began to flow from the wound.
The old woman clung tightly to the child’s arm, trying to bring the wound to her mouth.
The skeleton on the recliner had finally revealed its craving for flesh and blood.
After being grabbed, Xu Dengming’s first instinct was to break free.
Unfortunately, this body’s strength and agility were far too lacking, leaving her with little room to maneuver.
Xu Dengming habitually reached for her backpack to retrieve an item, but-
[System: Conditions not met. Backpack usage failed.]
[Playing House] not only disabled the user’s [Observer’s Eye] and [Box of Fate], but it also restricted access to the user’s backpack.
Xu Dengming nearly let out a cold laughāeven in the wild dungeons outside, she had never faced such restrictions.
The Unhatched Flame always managed to surprise her in new ways.
With her right hand restrained, Xu Dengming had no choice but to temporarily release the medicine bottle she was clutching in her left hand.
She then grabbed the nearest ceramic kettle and, without hesitation, smashed it forcefully against the old woman’s arm.
“Bang!”
The ceramic kettle shattered, and fragments of the kettle along with the liquid inside splattered everywhere.
Some of it landed on Xu Dengming, and she realized that the kettle didn’t contain water, tea, or medicine, but rather an unknown pink liquid.
The pink liquid emitted a fruity aroma, which should have been sweet and pleasant.
However, Xu Dengming detected a faint, yet distinct, metallic scent of rust.
After being struck by the force, the old woman finally released Xu Dengming’s wrist.
She flailed his arms aimlessly and chaotically in the air, her withered mouth opening and closing as a hissing sound escaped from her throat.
Once she managed to break free, Xu Dengming staggered backward, bending down to pick up the medicine bottle she had dropped.
The blood on her wrist continued to flow.
The body of a child was far too fragile, and after just one round of struggle, Xu Dengming once again felt dizzy and weak.