When the situation changed, Xiao Qing immediately called his teammates to gather, “It’s okay, I don’t smell anything, it’s still safe for now.”
He pointed to his nose, and when he fully activated his ability, his nose turned black. In this state, he could even clearly smell the scent of his teammates’ adrenaline surge, and no hint of danger could escape his nose.
“Let’s try to stay together, don’t split up,” Xiao Qing observed the surroundings. Their appearance didn’t draw any attention, and people were completely immersed in joy, enjoying the music and delicious food.
“Do you or your little ones notice anything?” He asked Xu Yingtang. Xu Yingtang frowned, “These people are very strange. Second Treasure says they are empty.”
No soul, no emotion, a mouthful of air when they eat, it’s like they’ve eaten loneliness.
Xiao Qing raised an eyebrow listening to his description, gestured to a teammate, and reached out to touch the nearest guest, “Sorry to disturb you.”
The moment the man he grabbed turned his head, a huge, air-rending scream burst from the air. Panic spread like a virus in the crowd, and suddenly, everyone’s bodies rusted, frozen, and motionless. Fear twisted every face in this space, and the beastly howling seemed to gush from the depths of their bodies. In an instant, well-dressed guests rotted and decomposed, turning into foul-smelling, solid, and shattered corpses.
The last trembling note of the piano still echoed, but the musician’s head had already rolled to the ground. The violinist held his violin, and maggots wriggled and crawled on the strings.
The crystal chandelier still shone brightly, and the food on the table looked just as appetizing as when it was served, but the revelry had turned into a ground full of corpses, with only the sound of maggots and flies buzzing among the bones and rotting flesh.
Tiantian was scared enough to stand in the worst position, face to face with one corpse when looking up and face to face with another when looking down. The dark eye sockets of the corpse stared straight at her, and maggots crawled under the skin, and the rotten flesh twitched as if the corpse was giving her a strange smile.
Tiantian’s scalp tingled, tears were about to burst out, and she held onto Huahua like a lifesaving straw. Huahua comforted Tiantian on this side, saying not to be afraid, while comforting Old Wang on the other side, saying he was fine. Huahua wasn’t so afraid of the corpses; she was just startled by the sudden and unexpected howling, and if she hadn’t been tied up with one in each hand, she would have wanted to go help Xiao Qing.
Xiao Qing silently sent her a look that said, “I’m counting on you,” and busied himself searching for clues, regardless of the strong stench from the corpses.
For his nose, the simple smell of the corpses was tolerable, but what he couldn’t stand was the scent of the tentacles that Xu Yingtang had taken out of his pocket. It was a pungent scent mixed with disaster that made his head spin and his survival instinct scream.
But in reality, Little Darling wasn’t interested in those corpses that had been rotten for too long and had no nutritional value. It’s just that there was still a faint aroma of food on these corpses, which hooked it from one corpse to another until it crawled under the table and lifted the white tablecloth.
“Monster ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!”
The woman’s scream suddenly rang out, causing Tiantian, who was already terrified, to scream as well. Xu Yingtang was quick to grab Little Darling, who was about to open his mouth and eat, and also reached into his pocket to pull out one, two, three, four thicker and longer tentacles than before, rolling and wriggling so that people didn’t dare to look.
Only Old Wang – tall and strong Old Wang, who was trembling just like them, chose to protect his teammates with his solid arm, shivering and huddling with them for warmth.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Can’t move, can’t move QAQ.
Cikjsr offi atja lo atbrf mbgqrfr wbnf, atfgf klii yf j hbwylf rlfuf jcv j vfrqfgjaf mtjrf.
Olaaif Gjgilcu’r afcajmifr delmxis obiibkfv, fjufgis rklgilcu jgbecv atf kbwjc klat j rjilnjalcu vfrlgf. Ycf bo atf rwjiifg afcajmifr fnfc tbbxfv bcab We Tlcajcu’r ifu, geyylcu jujlcra la ilxf j tecugs, joofmalbcjaf qeqqs.
“I’m a good cub, so can you give me a little to eat, please, ovo?”
“Wait,” Xu Yintang commanded heartlessly, issuing a waiting order and emphasizing to Second Treasure that he should remember not to eat. Little Darling’s tentacles drooped to the ground, portraying a petulant demeanor. Little Darling understood and crouched down, grabbing the woman’s face, saying, “Be patient, my dear. I’ll feed you once I finish my inquiries.”
His tone was gentle, his words cruel.
The woman cried and sobbed, unable to muster the strength to call for help. To anyone unaware of the situation, it might seem like a group of bullies tormenting an innocent woman.
“They’re all bullying me… You’re all bullying me. Why is my life so bitter? They won’t even let me die in peace…” The woman wept bitterly, her cries heartbreaking. If it weren’t for the restraining talisman placed by Huang, she would be rolling on the ground in distress. Xiao Qing pulled her away from the tentacles, still speaking gently, “Please don’t misunderstand us. We’re not bad people; we don’t want this either.”
As he wiped away the woman’s tears, he continued, “If you cooperate with us, we won’t harm you. There should be plenty of bad guys around here, and their scent will surely be more appealing. Now, I’ll remove the talisman for you. Please stay put, can you?”
Compared to Xu Yintang’s effective persuasion techniques, Little Darling was genuinely skilled at comforting. He managed to coax the woman into agreeing to help with their investigation. After the talisman was removed, she didn’t run away but instead used the tablecloth nearby to wipe her face, letting out a loud sob.
“I… *hic* My name is Laura. When I was alive, I used to sing at the Fair Hotel,” Laura sniffled, and then blew her nose, “A talent agent told me he wanted to make a record with me and said I’d surely become famous, but *hic*…”
Xu Yintang felt that her choked sobs sounded familiar. “How did you die?”
The question brought a mixture of resentment and fear to Laura’s face. “It was Gerald! That scoundrel Gerald! He killed me!”
“He cut my throat! He locked the door!”
“He left me alone in the room to die!!!”
The name Gerald acted like a forbidden switch, causing Laura’s face to change instantly. Her face contorted, and she screamed while desperately scratching her own neck. Fresh blood gushed from her throat in torrents. Her eyes rolled back, and she made hoarse, raspy sounds like “huh huh” and lunged violently towards the one who appeared the most vulnerable, Tiantian.
“I’ll kill you! I’m going to kill you!!!”
“Ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhh!!!!”
Helpless, they watched as the vengeful spirit charged headlong, breaking the last nerve in Tiantian’s mind. She closed her eyes, screaming and wildly striking out at anything in front of her, regardless of the horrifying, twisted face of the female ghost. The screams escalated in pitch.
“Help!!! Help, ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhh!!!!”
“Thud!”
“Mom, save me, ahhh-ahhh-ahhh, Mom, Mom, ahhh-ahhh-ahhh, sob-sob-sob-sob-sob!!!!”
“Thud!” “Thud!” “Thud!”
The screams and heavy thuds reverberated in the space—only screams and the repeated heavy thuds.
A petite girl swung a solid wooden round table for ten people down onto Laura’s face, her eyes closed, yet she managed to hit her target precisely, driving her into the floor with unrelenting force!
One hit! Another hit! And yet another!
Now, everyone understood why Tiantian, with her sweet personality and appearance, managed to survive in the dungeon.
“Amazing strength, awesome Loli!”
Xu Yintang was the only one not too surprised by the scene. He watched Tiantian’s fierce attack and couldn’t help but move his wrist, feeling the pain of having his bones nearly crushed when she had grabbed him before.
But Huahua, who had also been grabbed by Tiantian, had not been hurt by her. He marveled at how this girl was both soft and delicate, making her all the more adorable.
The issue of this dual standard would have to be explained by Tiantian herself. After her outburst, she seemed dazed and sat on the floor as if frightened. Huahua quickly pulled her close, and she snuggled against her, no longer scared. She prevented her from looking at the other side where Laura’s skull had been shattered and bloodied.
Laura writhed on the ground, groaning and twitching, her body resembling a pool of congealed, black, foul-smelling blood mixing with flesh. Everyone observed as Little Darling’s tentacles covertly licked the blood on the floor, but neither Xu Yintang nor anyone else commented on it.
It was likely this child wouldn’t suffer from an upset stomach even if he ate indiscriminately. After squatting for a while, he didn’t hesitate to take a bite.
Laura glared at everyone with a face full of resentment, her nails leaving deep marks on the floor. Her eyes were cloudy and wild, and her mouth emitted an incomprehensible, screeching howl.
With that screech, the motionless zombies suddenly awakened, dozens, even hundreds of decayed and broken bodies turned their heads, “looking” at the intruders in the room. Then, they all let out a harrowing, frenzied roar.
They could no longer be called “them”; they were a group of grotesque, filthy, inhuman monsters.
Their bodies were twisted, initially moving extremely slowly and stiffly, with bones clashing together, producing a clattering sound. However, soon their movements became fluid and rapid, as if they were alive, and they lunged forward.
“She’s no use now,” Xiao Qing decisively pressed the talisman against Laura’s face and pushed it in Xu Yintang’s direction. “Eat it, and let’s run.”
As he spoke, he scooped up the now-revived Tiantian and moved swiftly in the direction of the exit. He held a steel rod, which he swung vigorously, smashing into the zombies like hitting a pile of rotten meat.
Meanwhile, Xu Yintang, without needing to be told, released the two cubs. Dozens of tentacles rolled and squirmed like a large meat grinder, they instantly crushed Laura, along with the surrounding zombies who had come too close, into a mess of broken bones and flesh all over the floor. Xu Yintang grabbed a chair, broke it, and then grabbed the ankle of Huahua, who had been grabbed by the zombies, and pushed her toward the exit.
“I’ll cover the rear,” he said.
Little Darling’s tentacles had an attack range of only about one and a half meters in radius, making it difficult to suppress the entire restaurant full of zombies, but it was more than enough for covering the rear.
In this emergency, there was no time for many words. Old Wang quickly said, “Be careful,” and kicked away the zombie that had pounced on him. Xu Yintang watched the movements of his teammates and, while fighting off the zombies, retreated towards the exit.
Xiao Qing who was standing by the door, quickly closed it when everyone exited, causing the zombies to crash into it and claw and scream. It was as if he had closed the gates to hell.
“Quick, let’s go!” Xiao Qing urged, sprinting straight ahead. They raced down the stairs to the deserted ground floor and stopped only when they reached the empty lobby. He grabbed a flower vase from the coffee table and smashed it hard against the wall blocking their path.
The vase shattered against the wall, but the wall remained firm and unscathed, not a single mark left behind.
— This wall was supposed to be the hotel’s entrance.
Author’s Note –
Little Darling’s search is a big success!
Mother Xu Yintang’s persuasion fails miserably!
The Dice Goddess still doesn’t seem to like Mother Xu Yintang, alas [T_T].
I hope to never see a picture of Little Darling 😭
Don’t worry, I’ll look for you!💚💚pics please
Should I draw it? Sounds fun xD
You did it? If yes, could you share it please? 🥺
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
Thank you for the chapter! <3
I was hoping there wouldn’t be any zombies in this arc. Alas, there are😔
I too was hoping for ghosts or other monsters, I don’t want zombies unless I’m reading an actual zombie apocalypse novel!
Thanks for the update :)
I hope Little Darling and Second Treasure can gain less traumatizing appearances later on. It’s actually really unique for them to have eldritch appearances but omg Xu Yintang’s poor teammates!
I wonder if ML will find his stepchildren as cute as our Yintang does?
Cute kids
Thank you for your translation 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
The title of this chapter might be from the American phrase “Dine and Dash”😂