Chapter 38: Is It Me? Not Satisfied?

The Coroner watched Yue Yiyue bouncing around in surprise. She found it somewhat amusing. Just a moment ago, she had thought that the Wife had such poor taste that she would like this boring child.

She handed her the medicine and noticed Yue Yiyue’s face looked familiar.

Stunned for a moment, her sharp memory recalled this interesting Little Lunatic.

She was also one of the only two human survivors in that Game.

Back then, Yue Yiyue had looked a bit older, her face more mature.

There was a wild glint in her eyes as she protected the Little Monster behind her.

Thinking of this, the Coroner felt a bit nostalgic. After all, back then she could dissect those things without restraint.

Smiling unexpectedly, she asked Yue Yiyue pleasantly, “What are you worried about?”

“Are you worried about Gu Nanqiu?” She’d once treated the Little Monster like treasure, always hiding it during the slaughter.

Even after seeing that massive True Form with her own eyes, with her sanity value nearly dropping to zero, she still rushed forward to protect the other.

She’d heard she lost her memory, but somehow she’d circled back and hooked up with that Little Monster again.

The Coroner retracted her previous evaluation of Yue Yiyue. After all, in a certain sense, they were the same kind.

“She will come find you and take you back. Right now, all you need to do is wait. You might need to stay here a while?”

The Coroner looked at Yue Yiyue, who was still dazed on the bed.

She looked like her brain was damaged, but that had nothing to do with her.

At this hour, she should be researching how to cook with her dear Wife, not staring blankly here with this apparently demented person.

Yue Yiyue still hadn’t snapped out of it after the Coroner left.

So where was she now?

She had just forgotten to ask.

Moreover, that Coroner seemed very familiar.

Just seeing her gave Yue Yiyue a strange heart palpitation.

It was as if something had happened between them before.

But Yue Yiyue was certain it was nothing good.

She sat on the bed, tempted to explore for clues or a way out.

But she was concerned about certain things, like that Coroner just now, who didn’t seem easy to deal with.

And the Boss—when she’d fainted, she’d seen what looked like diced human tissue in a basin beside her…

On someone else’s turf, she had to be careful.

She was only marginally familiar with the Boss, having seen her a few extra times.

Moreover, she had just been chased by a monster, and she vaguely remembered the Restaurant…

The Restaurant…

What about the Restaurant?

Yue Yiyue clutched her aching head again and buried herself in the covers.

Damn it.

She seemed to have forgotten something again.

What the hell was messing with her head?

What exactly had she forgotten?

When the Boss entered, she found Yue Yiyue banging her head against the wall out of control. The medicine on the nearby table remained untouched.

Tsk, she knew it was unreliable to leave it to the Coroner. Yue Yiyue had offended that crazy woman before.

She grabbed the bleeding, wall-bumped Yue Yiyue, shoved two pills into her mouth, and washed them down with water.

If she had been a step later, she might have seen something even more interesting.

But then Gu Nanqiu would kill her, and it would be chaos again.

Bored, she watched the unlucky girl, tucked her into the covers, and healed her wound.

After doing all this, she took a bite of the fried chicken placed nearby.

“Tsk, you sure took your time coming.”

————

Her head throbbed terribly. Opening her eyes, Yue Yiyue saw only a scarlet blur.

She clutched her head and sat up.

A tantalizing aroma wafted through the door, stirring Yue Yiyue’s dulled sense of taste.

She got out of bed and followed the scent out of the room. She looked at the spiral staircase ahead, winding and twisting to different places.

Wind-dried cured meats hung from the walls.

There were also dried chilies, corn, bananas, and such.

The nearby counter held various breads, steaming fragrantly and looking soft and delicious.

“I’m very delicious—take a bite out of me~” Noticing her, the bread hopped excitedly, trying to entice Yue Yiyue.

?

Yue Yiyue rubbed her eyes. Did this bread really just talk?

Oh no, she must be going insane.

She took a deep breath and calmly walked downstairs.

Next, the sugar jar tried to sell itself, begging Yue Yiyue for just one piece…

The potato chips poked out, hoping she’d tear open its packaging and hear its broken heart.

Only the bottled Soda happily bounced over. “Hey, human, you’re going the wrong way. They’re in that room, but I suggest you don’t go now. The wives are getting very heated~.”

Hearing this, Yue Yiyue stopped. She looked puzzled at this thing, thought for a moment, and resolutely returned to the previous room.

She definitely wasn’t awake yet.

The Soda glanced at her and bounced after her. “Human, I used to be one of your kind too, so let me give you a tip. Listen, I’m really satisfied with my current body. Truly, back then I always had to agree to others’ requests, had to do them perfectly without a single mistake. I was so tired of human life. Luckily, the master gave me new life.”

It chattered on. “Are you going to stay here too? Do you have any favorite foods? That bread regrets it—it wants to be eaten and assimilate people that way, to gain power and return to the human world. But it’s very weak now.”

“Human, I’m at least one of the oldest employees here. First tip: don’t eat things here randomly.”

“This place has few Rules. You haven’t gone mad since arriving—oh, right, you must be a distinguished guest… Hmm, then you can’t choose a new body. What a pity.”

“Thanks for telling me these things.” Yue Yiyue listened while walking. Though absurd, she strangely accepted it.

After all, she had transmigrated into a book.

She decided to believe a tiny bit of what the Soda said—just a tiny bit.

“Then I’ll stay in the room. Can I leave later?”

“Leave?” The Soda paused. “Why leave? It’s so happy here.”

Then it realized. “I get it. You want to go clean up those trash, right? Of course! Just accept assimilation, get a new body, and you can clean up the trash and get rewarded by the master!”

“You can drink me. After all, as I said at the start, I’m the oldest, oldest, oldest employee here. Drink me, and you’ll gain even more—”

It revealed its true intentions. Yue Yiyue slammed the door shut, blocking out the Soda’s nagging.

She couldn’t figure out the current situation, and her phone had no signal.

She curled up in a safe-feeling spot.

She could leave, right?

As long as she didn’t touch anything, they would let her out, right?

Would Gu Nanqiu notice she was missing?

Would she worry?

At that time, she really was… wasn’t it just Nanqiu biting her?

Such a small thing, and she jumped around in surprise. Yue Yiyue harshly scolded herself.

————

“Yue Yiyue, are you awake? Yiyue, hurry—someone’s here to pick you up.” Hearing the noisy voice, Yue Yiyue stood, her legs numb.

Pick her up?

The word felt unfamiliar.

She didn’t remember being picked up from kindergarten.

After elementary school, she always returned to the Orphanage alone, and it had been that way ever since.

Who would come pick her up?

Gu… Nanqiu?

No, this place was eerie. If she came, she would run into trouble. Protagonists were like that.

But if… it really was?

She limped to the door, nervously gripping the handle.

This time, the door opened to a living room, not the spiral staircase. Yes, a living room.

A fireplace, sofa, and thick blanket made the room warm and cozy.

Fog shrouded the windows, hiding the outside. It looked very warm.

In short sleeves, Yue Yiyue didn’t quite fit the room.

“Drink this ginger milk.” The Boss handed her the cup. “Come here. You can’t stay here too long.”

“She’s here to pick you up.” The Boss handed Yue Yiyue something wrapped in black cloth. “Something I owe you, returned. About before, sorry.”

Though I killed you and planned to kill you again, one thing at a time. At least now I saved you. A hint of regret flashed in the Boss’s eyes.

“You must have had a pretty good stay here, right?” Yue Yiyue, say yes, or my place won’t hold up and that lunatic will slaughter me again. Revival is so tiring! The Boss looked eagerly at the dazed human, hoping something good would come out of this dog’s mouth.

Yue Yiyue nodded dazedly. ‘Thanks, Boss.’

She sipped the milk. “You don’t seem to owe me anything.” Hadn’t the Boss given her this thing before?

Recalling how she’d been stuffed into that God Shrine, the Boss silently cursed the lunatic but said eagerly, “Oh, giving a little extra is the same. Hurry and go. She’s waiting at the door. Don’t keep her waiting.”

With that, she draped a thick coat over Yue Yiyue’s shoulders. “It’s a bit cold walking back this way. Take it off when you feel hot and just leave it anywhere. Remember, you absolutely, absolutely cannot wear it through—”

————

Pushing open the door, Yue Yiyue saw a somewhat familiar figure at the entrance. Her heart skipped a beat—

But when she walked up to the other, Yue Yiyue hid the disappointment in her eyes. “Ye Qiu?”

The woman in the woolen coat had a lollipop in her mouth. The wind blew her hair wildly, making her look unrestrained.

“If it’s not Gu Nanqiu and you’re disappointed, it’s fine to say so directly.” She offered a perfectly warm hand, carefully straightening Yue Yiyue’s collar and wiping the unnoticed milk stain from her mouth. “But if she could come to this place, that would be the strange thing, wouldn’t it?”

“Hold my hand tight. You sure can run,” Ye Qiu complained, but her laughter-laced voice didn’t sound annoyed at all.

It was more like… flirting?

The cold wind howled, and snow fell heavily.

It was winter here.

Wearing the Boss’s boots, Yue Yiyue stepped into the soft ground—one foot deep, the next shallow.

All the chill dissipated the moment she took Ye Qiu’s hand.

“Why’d you come pick me up?” What mattered to Yue Yiyue was that they weren’t relatives—and the place had seemed very dangerous.

“You’ll know later.” Ye Qiu had anticipated she would ask. “Did you only drink milk inside?”

“If you ate something else, you’d never be able to leave forever.”

Teasing like to a child, she lowered her voice for a mildly scary effect.

In this atmosphere, Yue Yiyue suddenly remembered that in elementary school, there was one time—just once—when she had been picked up.