3. Wet Nurse

Soon, a piercing pain erupted in her abdomen, as if someone were churning a drill inside her.

Fresh blood gushed from her lower body, showing no signs of stopping. It was no wonder they warned of life-threatening danger; the risk of dying from excessive blood loss was constant. Chi You’s vision blurred repeatedly, but she reminded herself that if she died here, she would never see her idol again.

For the sake of her idol and for the chance to become beautiful, she would endure it!

An hour passed, and the abdominal pain subsided. Chi You exhaled in relief.

By nightfall, the building seemed to come alive. A mother’s gentle voice drifted from outside, accompanied by the sounds of a baby crying and laughing. It was incredibly noisy.

At eight o’clock, there was a knock at the door. Chi You opened it to find An He and Ji Chao standing there.

"Let’s go," An He said. She noticed that Chi You’s face was deathly pale, and her lips were completely devoid of color.

"Alright," Chi You nodded.

The other three members of the instance also emerged; their bellies were visibly distended, a clear sign they had been trapped in this nightmare for a long time.

As they reached the sixth floor and prepared to head up, the residents of that floor stepped out. They wore white nightgowns and cradled children in their arms, their eyes hollow as they stared at the group. They didn't say a word, but their steady, rhythmic approach exerted immense pressure.

"Run!" An He shouted, and they all scrambled toward the seventh floor.

Ji Chao grabbed Chi You by the wrist, dragging her along. He held on tightly, terrified she wouldn't make it up.

Once they reached the seventh floor, the scene was entirely different from what it had been during the day. Chi You felt a soft, strange texture beneath her feet; looking down, she realized they were stepping on raw flesh. The air was thick with mucus, overflowing blood, and an overpowering stench of gore.

"Let’s go." Ji Chao, still gripping her wrist, pulled her forward.

They stopped in front of one of the doors. An He took a deep breath, grabbed the handle, and twisted it with force. The door swung open.

The sudden intrusion startled the "Mother" inside. She wore a long white gown stained with blood at the hem. Her long hair flowed behind her, and her face wore a look of maternal radiance. She held a baby bottle, presumably having been feeding her child.

Chi You stood at the threshold and peered inside, noticing embryos encased in amniotic fluid hanging from the ceiling. In the darkness, one particular spot within the fluid glowed faintly.

The Mother was the same one who had sat in the hallway that morning, but her expression had shifted. The gentleness was gone, replaced by a predatory hunger that suggested she could tear anyone to shreds at any moment.

Upon seeing the entity, An He smiled immediately and said, "Mother, I have brought you this month's sacrifice."

As she spoke, the others shoved Chi You into the room.

Stepping inside, Chi You felt a change in the atmosphere. It was warm—so warm that she felt as if she were bathed in gentle sunshine and a spring breeze, as if she had returned to the very beginning of her existence.

The five people outside watched in terror, waiting for the Mother to devour Chi You so that their monthly offering would be fulfilled. The woman in the white dress circled Chi You with her baby bottle, and everyone grew tense.

Suddenly, the Mother’s long hair rose into the air, and she lunged out of the room, dragging another woman back inside.

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone. They reached out to pull the woman back, but found it impossible.

"Help me!"
"I don't want to die here!"
"I'm supposed to get married to my boyfriend!"
"Help—"

Before the word "me" could escape, the woman’s neck was bitten clean through.

Blood sprayed everywhere. Chi You stood to the side, watching the woman’s expression shift from terror to despair. The Mother gnawed ravenously, her mouth torn wide. The embryos in the room pulsed violently, and the glowing red spot became even more vivid.

Then, a piercing, distorted wail erupted from the infants, spreading across the seventh floor and through the entire building. The others collapsed, clutching their stomachs and writhing on the ground in agony. The cry was eerie, layered with a multitude of conflicting, inhuman sounds.

Chi You stood still, watching them howl in pain with cold, detached eyes. An He, enduring her own agony, looked at Chi You and realized she was completely unaffected. Nearby, the Mother continued to gorge herself on the floor.

"Why... why are you... not affected?" Ji Chao managed to gasp, clutching his distended belly.

Chi You sneered at them. She might be ugly, but that didn't mean she was brainless.

Chi You ignored them and wandered around the house. The monster she had been carrying earlier lay in a crib. It wasn't crying, yet the wailing continued unabated.

She entered the living room and looked up at the dozen or so embryos encased in amniotic fluid hanging from the ceiling. They had grown larger than before.

Chi You turned her gaze toward the Mother, who had finished her meal. So, the nutrients from the sacrifice were channeled directly into the infants?

After her observation, Chi You left the room, ignoring their pleas as she headed downstairs. She bypassed the residents wandering the sixth-floor hallway and returned to her own room.

Her phone, sitting in her pocket, chimed. She took it out to check the message from the app.

[Player Song Xiaoxiao has died in the Crying Infant instance. Reality erasure will now commence.]
[The instance now has fewer than six players. New participants will arrive tomorrow.]
[The Plastic Surgery App wishes you a pleasant life. Try to survive.]

The next day, before Chi You was even fully awake, her door was pounded upon. The knocking was frantic, as if they wouldn't stop until she opened.

Chi You climbed out of bed and sauntered to the door. Upon opening it, she found four people standing there, their eyes bloodshot and rimmed with heavy, dark circles. Seeing her open the door, they pushed their way inside.

"Why weren't you affected by the crying last night? And why didn't the Mother eat you?" An He asked, her voice trembling with agitation.

Chi You sat on the sofa, crossing her legs and folding her arms as she scanned them with a cold gaze.

"Do I have any reason to tell you?" she replied. "After all, you are the ones who wanted me dead."

The group froze. They had indeed hoped Chi You would be the one the Mother consumed.

One of them muttered, "You didn't die, did you? Why are you being so petty?"