In the room filled with mysterious patterns, a grim-faced girl waved a knife. This was the first scene Lin De’an saw after regaining consciousness. He was startled, and even though his mind was still a bit foggy, he saw the girl’s unsteady steps, seemingly about to harm herself. His reflexes kicked in, and he rushed to restrain her and took the knife from her hand.
“Don’t move!” Lin De’an sternly exclaimed, his head filled with a hazy recollection. He paused for a moment, then softened his tone, asking, “What’s your name?”
“Zhou… hic, Zhou Qian…” She failed a sanity check, losing a lot of her composure. Zhou Qian was crying so hard that she couldn’t even clearly say her own name. She muttered phrases like “I want to go home” and “Save me.” If it were in a different setting, Lin De’an would have thought she was on drugs.
But looking at the environment around him and the system panel still displaying messages, he realized that those who could remain calm in such a situation were truly rare.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Lin De’an reassured Zhou Qian, gently patting her back. “Let’s not cry anymore, okay? You won’t look pretty if you keep crying.”
He wiped away the tears and dirt from Zhou Qian’s face with his sleeve. “Don’t be afraid, I’m a police officer.”
He emphasized the words “I’m a police officer” with confidence. The term “police officer” itself had a certain reassuring magic. Zhou Qian sniffled and looked at Lin De’an with watery eyes, seeming to regain some composure from her previously dazed and frantic state.
“What’s your name?” she asked, taking a step back from Lin De’an to create some distance.
“Lin De’an. You can call me Lin, Big Lin, or Brother Lin—whatever you like.” Lin De’an wore a practiced and comforting smile.
“Thanks for your help earlier; otherwise, I might have been in big trouble.”
Zhou Qian shook her head. “I read the walkthrough… My name is Zhou Qian, but you can call me Qi Qi; that’s what my friends call me.” She tried to force a smile after her emotional outburst, as if she had washed away unnecessary fears and hesitation with her tears and now knew what to do.
Zhou Qian took out an electronic watch and checked the time. It had been over twenty minutes since she entered the third floor. The regular patrols on the third floor occurred every half an hour. They needed to escape from the third floor quickly.
As Zhou Qian explained the current situation and the route to clear the stage to Lin De’an, she also tried to ease the tension before their escape. “In short, we need to survive. Survive until dawn, and we win.”
The reason “Night of the Birth of the Gods” had only an E-level difficulty was because there were no unavoidable combat encounters in this instance. Even if a fight broke out, the combat abilities of the cultists were generally within the range of normal humans. Zhou Qian was skilled at stealthy ambushes, and with the right preparation, they could save their teammates from near-death situations.
Once surviving players regrouped, they had to avoid the cultists throughout the night and find a way to infiltrate the first-floor hall to destroy the altar. Then, they had to endure the escalating alarm difficulty throughout the final ritual and keep running. Surviving until dawn meant success.
Compared to some of the insane E-level instances where players were relentlessly pursued by monsters or had to directly face god-like entities, “Night of the Divine Birth” was relatively merciful in the world of the game.
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.
In her first instance, she experienced cliff diving and wilderness survival, battling giant snakes and pythons, she had even lost limbs and suffered from dehydration and poisoning, and she still frequently had illusions that her legs were gone.
“Gjkc lr ja 5:00 j.w. jcv cbk la’r 1:17. Qf pera cffv ab tbiv bc obg jcbatfg atgff tbegr,” Itbe Hljc abbx j vffq ygfjat jcv qlmxfv eq j abbi atja ibbxfv ilxf j rajqifg. “Qtlif atf wfvlmjalbc lr ralii foofmalnf, P’ii afcv ab sbeg kbecvr. Ktfgf kbc’a yf alwf obg la ijafg.”
Lin De’an recognized the tool in Zhou Qian’s hand; it was a disposable skin stapler. She also took out disinfectant alcohol and medical gauze. He couldn’t help but glance at the black robe she was wearing. Aside from everything else, where did she get that giant box of alcohol swabs?
Zhou Qian noticed his gaze and explained, “It’s a system backpack; you get it after clearing your first instance.”
The wound on Lin De’an’s abdomen was still bleeding. Zhou Qian mumbled to herself as she pressed on the wound, perhaps talking to herself, “I can do this, trust me.”
In order to catch up in the instance and compensate for her shortcomings in acting, persuasion, and combat, she immediately enrolled in a first-aid and bandaging course after clearing the previous instance. She had hundreds of skin staplers stockpiled at home, and whenever she had spare time, she practiced on pigskin.
So she could definitely do it this time. She would definitely save her teammates.
Zhou Qian grabbed a few alcohol swabs and wiped the area around the wound before using the stapler. She remembered the key points from the tutorial.
Just treat it like pigskin, just like pigskin.
She silently recited to herself. At times when her sanity was about to slip, self-hypnosis came in handy. In Zhou Qian’s eyes, Lin De’an’s abdomen and the practice pigskin gradually became indistinguishable. She aimed the stapler at the skin, pressed it from top to bottom in one go, ensuring that even if the skin wasn’t perfectly aligned, at least there was no risk of intestines spilling out.
After stapling the wound, she used an alcohol swab for disinfection and then wrapped it tightly with medical gauze. The whole process was fast, accurate, and efficient. Lin De’an gave Zhou Qian a thumbs-up. “Impressive!”
Successfully bandaging the wound helped ease Zhou Qian’s emotions. She bent down to pack everything and stood up with effort. “We need to hurry; the next patrol round starts in two minutes. Can you run?”
“I have to.” Lin De’an got up, stretched his body, and pulled Zhou Qian to her feet. “I can carry you if needed.”
If it weren’t a life-and-death situation with limited time, Lin De’an would have loved to regale Zhou Qian with stories of his heroic pursuits, like chasing a suspect through three streets after being hit with a bottle.
The third-floor corridor was still shrouded in a crimson mist. Before leaving, Zhou Qian and Lin De’an confirmed the escape route after descending the stairs. There were several storage rooms on the second floor, which were seldom patrolled. Among them, one contained a [Rusty Ritual Knife] and [Decaying Pigment], two useful and easily applicable items. There were even players who specialized in acquiring these items.
As Zhou Qian talked, Lin De’an listened attentively, nodding in agreement. She couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you scared?”
The first time she entered an instance, she was so frightened that she acted like a fool. If it weren’t for her teammates helping her out, she wouldn’t even know how she died.
Lin De’an winked at her. “I’m professionally trained.”
He had civilians to protect, and he couldn’t afford to be scared, no matter what.
They were lucky as they slipped down from the third floor without encountering the patrolling cultists. They could hear the voices of a few cultists chatting from a distance, discussing things like “Jim” and “a blissful encounter.” It was clear they were discussing rather intimate matters.
Lin De’an protected Zhou Qian, hiding in the narrow shadows of the staircase. They used Zhou Qian’s black robe as cover as much as possible. In the eyes of the cultists, the corridors they had patrolled countless times seemed much less appealing than the juicy gossip happening right before them. They only cast a casual glance and assumed that they had completed their patrol, eagerly chatting about Jim’s progressing relationship. They marveled at how shy little Jim had finally started having good luck.
To some extent, if Jim knew what they were thinking, he would probably agree with this interpretation.
Even though his fate was sealed, like a male spider who, after a brief moment of ecstasy, would be eaten alive, the wonderful touch of those hands on his body was nearly euphoric.
His soul, detached from his body, watched the massive, terrifying shadow engulf him. Fear and ecstasy alternately washed over his consciousness, causing him to float in a sea of sensations at one moment and plummet into a hellish abyss the next.
But even in the deepest pits of hell, there were demons that beguiled the soul. Jim remained frozen in that moment when those hands lifted him to the highest point. His wide-open eyes turned into a muddy, yellowed, dirty color. The waxy, pallid luster permeated from the depths of his body to the outer layer of his skin. In the shadow cast by the red crescent, he transformed into a blurry wax figure.
The sudden strike caused Second Treasure to scream in disbelief. This was the second time today that his food had been taken away, and for a child, there was nothing more cruel and terrifying than this.
Feeling wronged, angry, and hungry, a range of emotions overwhelmed its instinctual fear of the massive shadow. The sharp cries of the cub couldn’t be heard by human ears, but it seemed like the whole world had been torn apart by its screams, leaving everything in chaos for Xu Yintang.
Xu Yintang furrowed his brow and coughed twice, spitting out the blood that had welled up in his throat. He covered his eyes, refusing to open them, and fumbled to hold onto Little Darling, who was on the verge of crying and making a fuss. He forced a somewhat awkward smile and said, “I’m sorry, this child is just a little hungry. He’s usually very well-behaved…”
He couldn’t see, but the shadow that enveloped him seemed to have a tangible presence. Countless small tendrils moved and licked his skin’s surface. The sensation was vivid, impossible to ignore, and seeped into his brain through the cracks of his consciousness, emitting a wet, slippery, and eerie feeling. Xu Yintang knew with absolute clarity that the overwhelming ecstasy he was experiencing was born out of the unbearable fear of the creature.
He wanted to open his eyes so badly, to see and witness the appearance of the being…
But he couldn’t look… Absolutely couldn’t look…
[Suffering a mental impact, stat check in progress…]
[Player Sanity -3, Mystery +5]
[Sanity: 39 / Mystery: 62]
“You…” Xu Yintang gradually found it difficult to produce a sound. His words got stuck in his throat, drowned out by a multitude of declarations of affection.
His mouth’s corners unconsciously turned upwards. The stretched arc had already ceased to resemble a smile; it looked more like the distorted grimace of a madman. Xu Yintang prepared himself to resist the urge to gouge his eyes out if he couldn’t control the impulse to open them.
He forced himself to focus on Little Darling, who was trembling, and Second Treasure, who was still crying, and to shift the “love” that was driving him insane to the “children.”
He couldn’t look. If he did, he would be unable to distinguish whether the affection was sourced from fear and repulsion or from that dreadful deity. He’d go mad beyond recovery.
Think about his children… His children were scared and crying, and his head ached to the point where he wanted to scream…
[Identity Alteration Recognition, stat check in progress…]
[Player Sanity -2, Mystery +3]
[Sanity: 37 / Mystery: 65]
“Give him a hug.” Xu Yintang mumbled, “Give him a hug, and he won’t cry anymore…”
Author’s Note –
Zhou Qianqian looks at her calm teammate who is a novice, then at herself, and feels so sad that she cries.
Mother Xu Yintang says that he rejects such a father, he prefers something soft and fluffy over one with tentacles.
A certain Mr. Shi, who was waiting in the background said that he was the father of the child, and that he was not only fluffy but also had a big tail [thrust out his chest].
I wonder what the deity is feeling about this situation. No doubt it’s never seen something like this before haha. I’m also pretty curious about what Xu Yintang’s life was like before this.
Thanks for the chapter!
His poor babies aren’t getting any food 🙁
Oh, ML was appeared!!!!
Thank you for your translation ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Hello Mr. ML!!
Wait is the ML a bunny man? Or half animal man?
Meow…
Haha a kitty I see🤭
Whoo a curious sudden father appeared and snatch the baby food hahahaha! Reaally wants to know Yintang’s backstory with his reverse emotional cognition 🧐✨.
Thanks for the update.
Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🤣
Is the one surnamed Lin the ML? I checked the raw, it said that the other supporting chara’s surname is Shi. He should be the ML right?
Lin is a cop that has just entered the game, the ML is the one surnamed Shi and he is a veteran player, they are two different people.
Who’s Mr is??? I guess well find out? Unless I missed something QAQ