4. The Infant's Corpse

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Yuichi Chi looked toward the woman standing not far away. She stood with her arms crossed, her face full of displeasure. She harbored strong resentment toward Yuichi Chi.

“Everyone, please leave,” Yuichi stood up and began to dismiss them directly. One by one, they were ushered out of the room.

Outside the closed door, the group wore expressions of fury.

“What’s so great about her just because she’s new?” the girl who had been mumbling earlier glared at the shut door, seething with anger.

An He glanced at her coolly and retorted, “You’re practically dying, what’s there to be arrogant about?”

If not for her, Yuichi might have already explained to them how to break free from the control of that crying sound.

After sending them away, Yuichi leisurely began to freshen up. Today, she would continue her search for the source of that eerie crying.

She sat on the sofa, eating breakfast, with a medical kit placed beside the coffee table.

Inside the kit were various medicines; among them, she noticed two or three boxes of pregnancy tests.

Yuichi’s gaze lingered on them. Drawing on her years of experience solving problems, she knew that finding so many pregnancy tests in a horror scenario was definitely suspicious.

After finishing the last bite of her breakfast, Yuichi took one of the pregnancy test boxes and went to the bathroom.

When she came out, her face had turned quite pale.

No wonder there were so many pregnancy tests—the creature was eliminated one day but would return the next.

Thinking back to the pain she endured after taking the abortion pill yesterday, Yuichi’s normally fair face grew even paler.

Could it be that she might die from excessive blood loss in this scenario?

If she aborted every day, her blood pressure wouldn’t be able to sustain.

Yuichi pondered and decided not to abort today.

She would wait to see what happens to the creature inside her after the crying sound appears tonight.

Taking a walk, she arrived on the first floor and noticed a young girl sitting in the lounge area, pushing a baby stroller.

The girl hummed a lullaby softly.

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are…”

Initially, Yuichi didn’t pay her much attention, as the entire building was filled with women holding monsters, trying to soothe them to sleep.

But hearing the lullaby—one she knew well—Yuichi’s gaze lingered on the girl.

She noticed the girl sitting there with a faint, strange smile on her lips.

Yet, her eyes were brimming with tears. Those dark pupils fixed on Yuichi, and tears suddenly streamed down her cheeks.

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The girl’s appearance held Yuichi’s attention, causing her to stop in her tracks.

Standing before the girl, Yuichi began to observe her closely.

Though smiling and singing a lullaby, the girl’s delicate face was etched with fear and terror.

What was it that frightened her so?

What was she afraid of?

At that moment, An He’s voice sounded behind her, “She was part of the previous group who entered this scenario.”

“Because she failed to complete the mission and clear it, she remained here permanently, assimilated.”

Yuichi turned to look at An He, who had her hands in her pockets, eyes fixed on Yuichi.

“Why aren’t you affected by that crying sound?” An He asked, continuing.

The baby in her womb had been there for over two months, and every night she was tormented by that cry.

Seeing someone unaffected, An He was eager to know why.

She could no longer bear the pain.

Yuichi withdrew her gaze, focusing again on the girl. She reached out and poked the girl’s hand; there was no reaction. Then she looked at the child in the stroller.

Another monster.

Yet, Yuichi was unafraid and reached out to play with it.

The monster responded with a giggle, as innocent as that of a normal infant.

Seeing Yuichi ignore her, An He took a deep breath and continued, “If you tell me, I’ll share something with you.”

“A secret you definitely wouldn’t know.”

Upon hearing this, Yuichi looked at her again, examining her carefully before nodding, “Alright.”

Thus, Yuichi followed her to where she lived.

Stepping inside, Yuichi immediately sensed a faint metallic scent.

Though subtle, she could still detect the odor.

The room was pitch dark, with no sunlight entering. It felt mysterious, as if hiding something shameful.

“Sit.”

Yuichi didn’t hesitate and sat down on the sofa.

An He turned on the living room light and explained, “I don’t like sunlight, so I keep the curtains drawn.”

Yuichi nodded and fixed her gaze on An He. “Tell me what you know first.”

“No one who enters this scenario ever leaves alive.”

“They either die inside the mother creature’s mouth, at the hands of the monsters, or during the birthing of the monsters.”

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An He sat across from her, reaching for a cup of water on the table and taking a sip.

“But to clear the stage, you must find the baby crying at night.”

Yuichi listened quietly, feeling a bit irritated.

Why say such nonsense as if she didn’t already know?

Growing impatient, Yuichi was about to respond when An He’s tone shifted to seriousness.

“I know where that baby is.”

Hearing this, Yuichi’s interest piqued. “Where?”

“There are three rooms on the top floor; the baby is in one of them,” An He said earnestly, setting down the cup and folding her hands.

“This secret, only I know it for now—you’re the second.”

Having shared this, it was Yuichi’s turn.

She got straight to the point. “Just take abortion pills.”

“Flush out the child inside your womb, and it’ll be over.”

After saying this, she stood and left the room. Before opening the door, Yuichi glanced at An He with the corner of her eye.

She saw the other woman sitting there, her pitch-black eyes staring intensely, as if ready to devour her.

Yuichi closed the door and headed straight to the seventh floor.

She hadn’t explored the other two rooms there yet; now was the time.

The corridor on the seventh floor was empty; the mother creature was nowhere to be seen.

Yuichi approached the nearest door and twisted the handle open.

She froze for a moment upon seeing what was inside, then frowned sharply. “Tsk.”

She entered to search around, expecting to find nothing, but in a drawer she discovered a large box of medicine to prevent miscarriage.

Yuichi thought: …Again with abortion pills and now medicines to stabilize pregnancy, along with those pregnancy tests—what exactly does this scenario want?

Having seen enough, Yuichi left.

As the door closed behind her, the baby inside, who had been lying with closed eyes, suddenly opened them wide.

Those pitch-black eyes stared fixedly at the closed door.

The babies began to stir, crawling toward the door, reaching out to touch it.

But as soon as they made contact, they recoiled, burned and repelled by an unseen force.

The pain made them emit sharp cries, but those sounds were completely muffled.

No one outside could hear a thing.