Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 249 The Laughter of Children

The corridor was quiet.

Aside from the increasingly strong smell of blood in his nostrils, Yu Shijiu didn't hear any other sounds, including the woman's crying that had appeared at the beginning.

Because the crying was distorted by the screams, to be honest, Yu Shijiu couldn't tell whose voice it was.

The wool carpet in the corridor was of very good quality, and it felt very soft every time you stepped on it. As Yu Shijiu's feet sank slightly, he seemed to notice something and slowly stopped.

The carpet beneath my feet seems to have something extra...

Yu Shijiu lowered his head slightly and squinted at the wool carpet at his feet.

He hadn't paid attention to the carpet when he arrived, only thinking it was quite valuable. But now, looking at it, the almost perfectly stitched wool carpet looked too dark in color, completely clashing with the cool-toned white walls around it.

The carpet was a strange color, leaning towards a dark reddish-green. It seemed to be woven using some kind of technique, densely outlining dark reddish-black earth and flowers—no, flowers that resembled roses.

The flowers thrived in the dark red soil, their green leaves and thick branches crowding the entire carpet. Large patches of dark red and green intertwined, like bloodsuckers desperately drawing some kind of nourishment.

Yu Shijiu was startled by his own analogy for a moment, and the pressure on his feet instantly increased.

puff-

It's the sound of liquid being stepped on by gravity.

Even Yu Shijiu, who already knew something was wrong, subconsciously took a step back.

As a result, Yu Shijiu keenly noticed that the smell of blood in the air had intensified again.

It's a carpet...

Yu Shijiu lowered her head again, and this time, streaks of scarlet blood flowed from the edge of the strangely colored carpet—

“Hehehehe——”

A sudden burst of sharp, childish laughter echoed down the corridor.

Yu Shijiu: "..."

Under the glaring light, his pupils widened, gradually expanding like a cat seeing something it adores.

what?

Wasn't she a woman just a moment ago? How did she turn into a child now?

"Shi Jiu".

Just as the child's voice drew closer, a fruit knife appeared in Yu Shijiu's hand. He gripped the knife tightly, but was interrupted by a male voice suddenly sounding behind him.

The laughter of the children disappeared.

Yu Shijiu: "..."

His initial excitement quickly dissipated, and he turned back with considerable impatience:

"Lu Chusheng!"

This time, Yu Shijiu didn't even bother to call Lu Chusheng "Captain Lu".

Lu Chusheng: "...?"

He looked at the obvious impatience and anger on the boy's face, glanced around blankly for the first time, and very pragmatically said:

"Did I do something wrong?"

I don't think so, right? Apart from opening the door before Yu Shijiu, I don't seem to have done anything wrong... Could it be wrong to call out to Yu Shijiu?

Yu Shijiu rolled her eyes and sneered:

“You,” he said, twirling the fruit knife in a fancy flourish, then, without Lu Chusheng dodging or avoiding, he forcefully poked Lu Chusheng’s shoulder with the handle of the knife.

You've scared away my happiness!

Yu Shijiu quickly found the right word and said in a very angry tone:

"It just came out! It hadn't even shown its face before you scared it away!"

Lu Chusheng: "..."

Lu Chusheng quickly realized that Yu Shijiu was talking about some strange creature that hadn't yet shown its face. His lips twitched slightly, but then a feeling of amusement welled up inside him.

"I?"

Lu Chusheng raised an eyebrow, rubbed his shoulder which was still sore from being poked, and said with amusement:

"I didn't even see that monster—"

"It's my happiness!"

Yu Shijiu corrected him.

This game instance is so boring. He hasn't seen anything that looks strange and he can touch (or kill) it. When he finally encountered something that was about to appear, Lu Chusheng "scared" it away.

“…Okay, your happiness,” Lu Chusheng paused briefly, then readily followed Yu Shijiu’s lead and continued:

"I want to clarify, I didn't see your 'happiness,' so it wasn't scared away by me."

Yu Shijiu was still sulking. He glared at her and said:

"But it was laughing just now, and it disappeared because you suddenly called out to it."

Lu Chusheng was both amused and exasperated: "How could a monster disappear just because another player appeared? There must be another reason—"

At this point, Lu Chusheng's voice abruptly stopped, his expression suddenly turned serious, and his gaze became solemn:

"Wait, Shi Jiu, are you saying you heard someone laughing just now?"

Yu Shijiu was a little surprised, but he wasn't actually that angry; he just felt a bit bored today.

“Yes,” Yu Shijiu thought for a moment and added, “It’s a child’s voice, very high-pitched, like the laughter of a child whose vocal cords haven’t fully developed yet.”

Lu Chusheng: "..."

Lu Chusheng remained silent for a few seconds, then looked at Yu Shijiu with a more serious expression.

“Shi Jiu,” he said softly, “I have to tell you again, when I came here, I really didn’t hear a sound at all.”

Including what Yu Shijiu just mentioned, such as children's laughter, we didn't hear a single sound.

Yu Shijiu was stunned.

He instinctively looked around.

The corridor remained quiet and luxurious, with clean and smooth walls and one chandelier after another lighting up the ceiling, the crystal pendants hanging from them sparkling with colorful brilliance under the lights.

"I didn't hear that..."

Yu Shijiu repeated Lu Chusheng's words in a low voice, her cat-like amber pupils slightly narrowed under the light.

How could I not hear it... This corridor is so small that you can see the end of it at a glance, so there is almost no blind spot or possibility of not being able to hear it.

But Lu Chusheng said he didn't hear it... then there's only one possibility.

"I'm being watched."

Yu Shijiu smiled and raised the corners of her mouth, her slightly red tongue licking her lower lip in excitement.

"..."

Lu Chusheng frowned and reminded him, "This is not a good thing."

Most players, when they realize they've been marked by a monster, will subconsciously try to figure out why they were marked... But Yu Shijiu's behavior of not being afraid but rather excited is actually not a good sign.

Lu Chusheng suppressed his inexplicable worry. Even though he knew Yu Shijiu had a certain ability to protect herself, he still quickly took out two items from his backpack and handed them to Yu Shijiu, speaking very quickly:

"Take this first, you should be able to use it."

Yu Shijiu's smile faltered slightly. He looked down at the props Lu Chusheng handed him and frowned for the first time.

He didn't answer, but instead looked up slightly at Lu Chusheng, his tone blank.

"Lu Chusheng".

Yu Shijiu tilted her head and said seriously, "You seem to be a little too focused on me, don't you?"