Chapter 38: Family Portrait-Fadiga Eterna(Viver sozinho por dez anos)

"Wait a minute... are you saying we should charge in?" Chen Tianyu stumbled, nearly losing his balance.

"Is there a problem with that?" Zhang Deshuai rubbed his neck. "There is only one nightmare demon in the entire dreamscape. Do you really think the system would be so kind as to let us pass through smoothly?"

"Wu Que is responsible for the underground path, and I am responsible for the surface."

Chen Tianyu adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his expression turning resolute as he spoke slowly.

"I’ve been thinking. Our rules regarding the children are the same. If we stick together, many variables won't be tested."

"Huh?"

"The business-minded brain sure moves fast."

"So, Wu Que and I will take the underground path to verify the children's claims. If we arrive first, we will wait for you at 'Kangkang's' house."

Zhang Deshuai shrugged indifferently. "Fine. Regardless of who arrives first, we wait until 12:00 today. If the other team hasn't arrived by then, we proceed to the next location."

"Time is short; let's get moving."

With that, Zhang Deshuai didn't care if the boy in his hand was willing or not; he grabbed his hand and headed toward the village.

Wu Que looked at Chen Tianyu and snapped, "Are you coming or not? If not, I'm closing the door!"

Chen Tianyu gritted his teeth and pulled the child into the tunnel.

The tunnel was clean, spacious, and well-ventilated, carrying a faint scent of medicine. The two children held hands, skipping ahead to lead the way, while Wu Que and Chen Tianyu followed nervously, one clutching a blade and the other a crossbow.

Having experienced so much horror along the way, the sudden silence left them feeling uneasy.

"Little Wu, the two of us made a wise choice. At this rate, we should reach Kangkang's house soon," Chen Tianyu said, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere with a smile.

"Why have I suddenly become 'Little Wu'..."

Three black lines appeared on Wu Que's forehead. Though Chen Tianyu’s way of trying to get close was a bit slick, it did help ease some of the tension in his heart.

"Brother Chen, what are your thoughts on these four children?" Wu Que asked.

"To be honest, I have no clue," Chen Tianyu replied with a smile. "This dream world is truly too bizarre. But if they are meant to be guides, one should suffice. Why assign one to each of us?"

Listening to him, Wu Que recalled their conversation before entering the dream.

"Dreams are always influenced by reality and can reflect it, so clues related to nightmares can often be found in the real world."

"The theme of this dream is—plague."

"It’s medicine for the respiratory system; they must have asthma."

He looked at the two little boys bouncing along ahead of him, and a bold thought exploded in his mind.

"Could it be..."

"We're home!"

The boys' cheers interrupted his train of thought. They stood on a step, puffing out their cheeks as they pushed hard against the wooden board overhead.

Seeing their naive appearance, Wu Que found it somewhat amusing and walked over.

But just as he placed his hand on the wooden board, the cold, mechanical voice of the system suddenly rang out.

"Congratulations to the Dream Repairer for unlocking a key location: Sick Village. The rules for Sick Village are now announced:
1. The children are reliable; trust the children.
2. Do not attempt to persuade the people in Sick Village; it is ineffective.
3. There is no nightmare demon in Sick Village."

Wu Que and Chen Tianyu were caught off guard by the sudden system prompt and stood frozen in place.

"Are the brothers playing 'Statues'? Hahaha!"

"One, two, three, Statues! I want to play too!"

The two men exchanged a glance. Chen Tianyu smiled and patted the children on the heads. "That's right, we were just playing 'Statues.' Do you want to play?"

Wu Que calmly helped the children push open the wooden board and lifted them into the loft above, then looked up and called out.

"Kangkang, the game of 'Statues' continues! Whoever moves first loses!"

After doing this, he immediately went to Chen Tianyu's side, and the two whispered to exchange the rules they had heard.

The first rule Chen Tianyu had heard was: "Children are always innocent, but they occasionally tell white lies."

"White... lies?"

Pondering the rules, the two climbed into the loft, pushed the board back into place, and surveyed the room before them.

This must have been the bedroom of "Kangkang's" parents—neat and clean, with no excess furniture.

The two children were playing "Statues," standing motionless in the bedroom.

Chen Tianyu walked behind them, patted their backs, and said with a smile, "Game over! You win!"

"Yay!"

The two children were finally home, jumping around happily. Their parents must have been out working, as there was no one else in the house.

Chen Tianyu, worried about potential mishaps, followed the children outside. Wu Que intended to go out to look for clues as well, but his gaze inadvertently caught a family portrait on the bedside table.

In the photo, there was a family of four. The father stood on the right, the mother on the left, and the boys were smiling brightly in their parents' arms. It looked like a very warm family.

Just as he looked away, he noticed the father's hand in the photo seem to move.

He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked at the photo again. Sure enough, the hand the father had originally placed on the boy's shoulder had shifted to his neck, slowly tightening.

The mother's eyeballs were rolling in their sockets like marbles, and her hand on the boy's shoulder had changed from a gentle touch to a clawing grip, long fingernails digging into the small boy's shoulder.

As the image in the album froze on the right-hand boy turning purple from lack of oxygen and the left-hand boy covered in tears, the sound of arrows being fired, chaotic noise, and the wailing of a boy reached them from outside.

Wu Que was horrified. He hurriedly drew his black blade from his back and dashed out the door.

Outside, there was a wall pierced by arrows of light. Chen Tianyu was being pinned down by the "father," while the "mother" was reprimanding the children.

Wu Que stood with his black blade, staring nervously at the couple. The father suddenly let go of Chen Tianyu and raised both hands.

"Alright, outsider. I have no hostility toward you, but your methods are useless."

As soon as he spoke, both Wu Que and Chen Tianyu stood frozen in place.

Wu Que was deeply conflicted; he had just seen the scene in the photo frame and did not trust the man before him.

He pointed the tip of his blade at the man and asked coldly, "Then why are you colluding with the village to drive your own children away?"

"I'm sorry, we cannot say." The "mother" also stopped reprimanding the children. Her eyes were filled with tears, but her tone remained stubborn. "Everything we do is for the children. We have no regrets about this."

She lowered her head and bit her lip. "Although things have not started to move in a good direction yet, you cannot defeat 'It,' outsider."