Chapter 66: Yue Yiyue: I Will Join the Qiuqiu God Cult

As the letters on the opposite building shifted, Yue Yiyue seemed to hear strange screams in her ears.

She instinctively glanced at Gu Nanqiu beside her but saw strange snowflakes covering her face.

Just like the snowflake static on the old orphanage TV.

They flickered densely across Gu Nanqiu’s face.

Noticing Yue Yiyue’s gaze, Gu Nanqiu instinctively said, “I won’t do this anymore.”

Realizing she’d said the wrong thing, Gu Nanqiu coughed awkwardly. “This is really so strange…”

But Yue Yiyue didn’t respond.

Yue Yiyue’s attention had returned to the letters. As she focused, the noise in her ears grew louder.

She saw those people smiling, looking blissfully happy as they waved their hands in the air, as if they were accomplishing something most glorious.

Heaven knew how Yue Yiyue could see so clearly.

She stared at them, instinctively reaching for the window.

The watch beeped in warning.

Gu Nanqiu silenced it with a press, then held Yue Yiyue back and covered her eyes with her cool hand.

A magnetic voice rang in Yue Yiyue’s ears: “Yiyue, don’t look.”

As her vision vanished, the noise in her ears grew clearer and clearer instead.

“Hate you”

“Go die”

“Seriously, why are you standing next to Qiuqiu God——”

“Ant, you should obediently wait for death”

“Don’t let me catch you”

“You’d better not——”

“Let me catch you——Hee, hee hee hee….. hee…..”

The voices faded, replaced by Gu Nanqiu humming a strange tune. It sounded like an ancient folk song, yet strangely familiar.

Half an hour later, Yue Yiyue finally recovered from the mental assault.

Red blood vessels threaded her eyes prominently, and veins throbbed on her forehead.

“What just happened?” Yue Yiyue glanced around in confusion, sensing the room felt different. She checked her watch; her SAN Value had nearly hit the low twenties.

Yue Yiyue tensed up. She turned to see Gu Nanqiu watching her worriedly. Nanqiu seemed fine, so Yue Yiyue sighed in relief.

“What a mess…” Yue Yiyue muttered, scrambling to her feet in a panic.

But she rose too fast; her vision blackened, and she toppled into Gu Nanqiu’s arms, landing astride her waist.

Looking down, Yue Yiyue saw astonishment flash across Gu Nanqiu’s face before it returned to normal. Gu Nanqiu propped herself up with one hand while supporting Yue Yiyue’s lower back with the other to prevent her from falling backward: “Did you skip breakfast and get dizzy from hunger?”

“I mean right now,” Yue Yiyue clarified. Gu Nanqiu added, “Someone over there just triggered a Rule, affecting the whole area.”

Gu Nanqiu stared at Yue Yiyue’s lips, swallowing as she leaned in, her chest pressing against Yue Yiyue’s. “Don’t move. Let me check your heartbeat.”

————

A steaming golden-broth hotpot was wheeled in by the waitress.

The cart’s top held the hotpot, fresh beef and lamb, and shrimp paste from freshly caught shrimp.

The next layer contained fresh vegetables still dripping with water.

The waitress opened another door, revealing a small dining room complete with a fridge—and vibrant roses beneath it.

It was Yue Yiyue’s first time seeing such a scene. She followed behind Gu Nanqiu and sat down at the table.

She watched the waitress methodically take out two portions of carefully prepared dipping sauces and start cooking the ingredients in the pot.

Yue Yiyue felt unaccustomed to such service, but Gu Nanqiu sat composed across from her.

Yue Yiyue took a sip of the orange juice beside her.

“Yiyue, there’s wine over there. Want some more?” Gu Nanqiu’s voice rang out.

Her tone and words sounded normal, but Yue Yiyue sensed a teasing smile behind them.

Like teasing a child—or one’s beloved pet.

Thinking of this, Yue Yiyue shook her head: “I really couldn’t appreciate the taste of that wine from yesterday. Freshly squeezed juice is nice.”

The waitress smiled and refilled her glass. “Thank you. On behalf of the staff, we apologize for the recent regional fluctuations. This juice has a special nutrient agent from our Boss to aid recovery. We hope your stay is more pleasant.”

Special nutrient agent?

Yue Yiyue blinked in stunned confusion over why an ordinary-looking waitress would say such things.

Noticing Ms. Yue’s puzzled look, the waitress explained, “Two years ago, Weird Tale Rules started hitting our city often. Nightly deaths became routine. Our Boss got experts to reinforce the hotel and add Mental Value-stabilizing agents to the food. They’ve been tested and will roll out citywide soon.”

This matched the content Yue Yiyue remembered from the Original Work.

Humanity had advanced in its fight against the Weird Tales too. Some, like Gu Nanqiu, gained supernatural abilities; others used scientific gear.

But none could prevent triggering the Rules; they only provided some means of resistance.

Yue Yiyue recalled the Coroner’s words: Rule-makers were bound by Rules too.

She glanced at her watch. Her Mental Value, which had just been in the low thirties, had already recovered to 57.

“Your Boss is truly a great person.” Yue Yiyue sighed: “But why is there no news leaking about what happened in A City?”

“Because you’re in A City, we can talk about it,” the waitress said, portioning perfectly cooked beef into Yue Yiyue’s instinctively slid-forward bowl. “Outside A City, Rules turn it into gibberish.”

“And we can’t escape from here.”

“Without the Boss’s protection, my family would’ve been monster fodder long ago. The Boss is a great person.”

“Any more might spoil Ms. Yue’s appetite,” the waitress said perfectly timed, serving beef tripe to stunning Ms. Gu. At her glance, she fell silent and focused on cooking veggies as directed.

Seeing the waitress reluctant to elaborate, Yue Yiyue let her doubts go.

She lowered her head and took a bite of the fatty beef. It tasted good.

She’d been too busy asking questions to enjoy the food properly.

“Nanqiu, this shrimp paste tastes great. I’ll research it when we get back.” Yue Yiyue lowered her head again and continued devouring the food.

This five-star hotel food was indeed superior.

“Um, if you like it, later you can have them make some lemon shrimp paste.”

“That sounds good. We can eat it when we come back.”

“Come back?” As their chat paused, the waitress suggested, “Ms. Yue, if convenient, visit the hotel’s Ecological Mall today. Something strange happened next door again—please avoid the streets for now.”

“Oh, like that?” Yue Yiyue thought about her plans for the first day, which had been the specialty street beside the hotel with many photo spots. Skipping it was fine.

She had come across the Ecological Mall before while browsing, but seeing it was not open to the public, she dropped the idea. She hadn’t expected access through the hotel.

No, other ways probably existed, but Yue Yiyue in C City hadn’t qualified to know them then.

“Thanks for the suggestion. So does that mean we can go out normally tomorrow?”

“Yes. Games usually bring a half-month calm afterward—harvest Leeks too fast, and they run out.”

The waitress made an innocuous metaphor: “What else would you like to eat?”

————

Hotel staff drew a screen across the living room. Shadows bustled beyond, cleaning the dining room.

Yue Yiyue sat on the living room sofa, browsing local news.

Gu Nanqiu sat at the desk beside her, typing something on the computer.

“Nanqiu, what monster lurks in A City? It seems especially powerful.”

Recent A City reports on her phone showed locals divided into three tiers.

There were also people announcing online that they were winners of the Game and had gained certain benefits.

Below were many envious replies, some asking if they had seen anyone of a certain appearance or if survivors existed.

Some bloggers ventured into that building under the banner of exploration.

She also saw the hotel’s job ad—few likes, mostly queries about unpaid work.

“I’ve seen some things here too.” Gu Nanqiu pushed the computer forward a bit: “This Weird Tale descended on A City after the President of that building died suddenly from overtime work.”

Gu Nanqiu paused, rubbing her brow. “Sorry. I just wanted a relaxing vacation here, but now many spots are off-limits.”

Yue Yiyue walked over. She leaned down to look at the dense text on the computer screen: “It’s fine. Maybe we’d encounter something like this elsewhere too.”

After all, Nanqiu was the “protagonist.”

“But another question,” Yue Yiyue said, recalling her dizziness. “If the Rule ties to that President, did he twist those eerie people into a love-confession message?”

“Could it be that the President’s loved one is in this building?” Yue Yiyue swallowed. Her gaze fell on Gu Nanqiu beside her, who seemed not to understand what had happened and looked somewhat dazed.

Connecting it to the “Qiuqiu God” she had heard in her head, she formed a bold guess.

She was used to life with Gu Nanqiu; fans calling her a goddess was routine.

“If that monster is confessing love to you…… Do you think that’s possible?”

As soon as she said this, the room fell silent.