After dinner, Ye Shu glanced at her stamina value—and to her horror, it had dropped by another two points. It seemed even the seemingly innocuous rice had a corrosive effect on the players’ psyche.
A drop in stamina signaled contamination… Eating food from the scenario shortened her remaining time in the game.
If it reached zero, she would likely fail this round.
Suddenly, as if recalling something crucial, Ye Shu retrieved a Bobochi Set from her inventory and took out one skewer. Both children at the table instantly grimaced in disgust, while the nanny standing behind them exaggerated her reaction, gagging as if at the very sight.
Lin Yue's little face twisted in distaste, but her wide, innocent eyes betrayed no cunning. "Mommy, what is that? It smells so bad—Yueyue hates this smell. It's awful."
Peering through her sunglasses, Ye Shu gazed down at the bright red, oily Bobochi aromatically dripping in her hand and ate it without hesitation. Sure enough, her stamina value on the light screen climbed up by two points. She couldn't help but smile and, fishing out a 100-yuan bill of spirit money, coaxed her daughter: "This is delicious! Yueyue, do we have this kind of healthy food at home? I'll trade you money for it!"
The disgust on Lin Yue’s face twisted into delight the moment she saw the spirit money. Before she could speak, the nanny grew restless, her hands violently trembling, the skin on her face ballooning grotesquely to expose cracks like black porcelain as she lurched forward: “Healthy food... krrk, I know... krrk, East Lake Market has it... very expensive... krrk.”
The nanny seized the bill, jamming it into her mouth, her warped face slowly knitting back into shape.
Ye Shu, realizing the efficacy of spirit money, drew out two more bills. “Help me buy more healthy food. It’s all yours!”
The nanny nodded, a sycophantic sliver contorting her otherwise expressionless face. He had never seen a more generous employer—previously, the largest denomination he’d handled was a mere 10 spirit bills.
“Master, I’ll fetch you healthy food right away.”
“Only healthy food... krrk, is safe!”
The nanny dashed away, terrified Ye Shu would change her mind and snatch the bills back. When she threw open the front door, the world beyond was shrouded in a heavy darkness, the hallway swallowed in swirling mist.
From what the nanny let slip, all the food in this house was unhealthy!
Players couldn’t waste food, or else they’d break the rules.
Eat too much and risk contamination, become assimilated... a surefire deathtrap. Without spirit money, this game would have been almost insurmountable.
The two children ate their food sullenly, hollow eyes boring into Ye Shu; she pretended not to notice at all.
Half an hour later, the nanny returned bearing healthy food.
So-called “healthy food” was rice with a few slivers of green vegetables and tofu, only a few strands of bean sprouts and tofu dabbed with soy sauce—the rice itself cold. For a single serving, the price was thirty spirit bills.
“Master… do you want these sweet canned goods?”
From under the bag, the nanny produced several cans. Catching Lin Yue and Lin Xiaobao’s covetous gazes, Ye Shu immediately knew that the canned goods weren’t what they seemed.
Sure enough, the nanny fished a human foot from one of the cans of syrup, mumbling, “East Lake Market... krrk, Old Wang sells these cheap... krrk, five spirit bills for each can, Xiao Ye, want to try… krrk.”
Ye Shu politely declined, claiming she was dieting and couldn’t eat meat.
Empty eye sockets directed at her, and on the stiff mask of the nanny’s face, a fleeting look of regret could be discerned: “What a pity! The syrup cans… so tasty, who needs to diet, krrk…”
Both cans cost a meager ten spirit bills.
Before leaving, Ye Shu handed five 100-value spirit bills to the nanny, who returned ten portions; the rest served as his reward.
She brought the healthy food to the bedroom and stashed it away in her inventory.
Ten portions—enough to last her the three days of this scenario.
Her gaze accidentally drifted to the bathroom. At some point, the light there had gone out. Earlier, both her daughter, son, and the nanny had been eating at the table; Ye Shu was certain no one was inside. Unless... it was something else.
The suffocating darkness made her skin crawl.
Ye Shu stroked the little black cat perched on her shoulder, her look edged with inquiry.
Da Piaoliang got the hint instantly and replied, “There’s nothing inside. For now.”
Reassured, Ye Shu opened the bathroom door. Cold bedroom light spilled in to reveal a chillingly grim room—the faucet dripped two beads of blood, every detail steeped in unease.
She steadied herself on the wall and, almost habitually, reached to turn on the bathroom light... Tapping her cane on the tile, under the dim glow she caught a glimpse in the mirror: not just her reflection, but a shadowed figure looming behind the glass, mouth agape as though whispering.
One of the rules stated: Never let anyone know you've regained your sight.
Ye Shu feigned blindness and groped her way toward the toilet, ignoring the specter within the glass.
She waited, listening for Da Piaoliang to say the shadow was gone before flushing the toilet.
The gushing water thundered unnaturally loud in the cramped space.
Suddenly, a thought struck Ye Shu. She pried open the tank behind the toilet, digging until she uncovered a red cloth pouch. Inside was the rest of the house’s rules.
[Rule Nine: Do not linger in the study for more than 15 minutes. Terrible things will happen.]
[Rule Ten: Your husband truly loves you. Sharing a room with him will raise his favorability.]
[Rule Eleven: Your husband values cleanliness above all; do not let the house become dirty.]
[Rule Twelve: Never unlock the door at midnight. If you hear a knocking, ignore it—no matter what, ignore it until whoever it is leaves!!]
[Rule Thirteen: Healthy food is uncontaminated; only eat healthy food!]
Ye Shu placed the two sets of rules side by side.
Rule Six insisted the study didn’t exist, while Rule Nine implied one mustn’t stay there too long. Moreover, Da Piaoliang could discern which rules were corrupted—meaning entering the study was actually the right move.
Ye Shu cuddled the black cat close and asked, “Which rule here is false?”
"Awoo… none of these are corrupted, Master. If you boost your husband’s favorability, it might help unlock the way to clear this stage."
Ye Shu studied the rules in silence.
She committed every word to memory before storing the rules in her inventory.
By evening, the man of the house returned.
Ye Shu was still debating whether to follow Da Piaoliang’s suggestion—and grind favorability with her so-called husband—when the front door swung open to reveal a very familiar face.
The idea vanished instantly.
So... her husband was… Lin Qingyue???
Her expression darkened immediately.
That handsome face twisted into an expression of resentment as Lin Qingyue caught sight of Ye Shu.
Her senses sharpened, Ye Shu detected the barely-concealed malice in his stance. She decided to strike first.
"Strike while the iron is hot!"
Before Lin Qingyue could react, she slapped a Submissive Talisman onto his back.
Lin Qingyue’s face turned ghastly, as if he’d swallowed something vile. “Ye Xiaoshu, is this all you’ve got? Always hiding behind your props—what kind of hero are you? Take off that damned talisman or I’ll kill you.”