WTNL Chapter 26.2

Fukang Hospital
Chapter 26.2: Unsolved dead end

Instantly, all the ghost babies turned their heads and looked in this direction. Pairs of pure black eyeballs looked exceptionally terrifying on their massive, livid-black heads. They stared unblinkingly at the young man before them, locking onto his figure completely.

Wen Jianyan used his powerful psychological fortitude to control his expression, his face remaining almost completely unchanged.

He leaned down, bent over, and picked up the deformed ghost baby, letting it lie at a comfortable angle in his embrace: “Baby, don’t you want to spend a little more time with Mommy?”

The entirely livid-black ghost baby was noticeably startled. Then, it snapped back to reality and hurriedly raised its voice:

“Of course!”

It once again possessively clung tightly to Wen Jianyan’s arm, staring at its “mommy” with those pure black eyeballs that took up a huge proportion of its head. Its voice was full of pleasant surprise and adoration:

“I love Mommy the most!”

“See, I told you all, my mommy is the gentlest, prettiest mommy in the world, and he loves me the most.”

The ghost baby turned its head, its expression suddenly turning ferocious. It bared a mouthful of sharp teeth at the other infant spirits stealthily closing in:

“This is my mommy; none of you are allowed to snatch him!”

Cradling the ghost baby, Wen Jianyan gave it an intimate smile:

“Mommy isn’t going anywhere.”

“Mommy, I love you so much.”

The ghost baby pressed its forehead against the young man’s chest, gazing at him with the pure, adoring, and reliant look of an infant. Although this gaze was rendered terrifying and spine-chilling due to its appearance, making one’s hair stand on end, the young man acted as if he didn’t notice at all.

Wen Jianyan carried the ghost baby and strolled around the nursery.

While stroking the ghost baby’s increasingly solid, uneven, deformed head, he slowly turned the pages of an illustrated book found in the nursery, his eyes gentle and smiling, reading to it in a low voice.

Like performing a magic trick, he pulled novel toys, brightly colored candies, and small snacks out of his pocket, unconditionally spoiling his “child.”

Even when the other party ate the candy and started yawning sleepily, he continued to hold the ghost baby tightly. While gently rocking it, he softly hummed a lullaby, waiting for it to fall asleep.

There could be no mother in this world more competent and gentle than him.

Holding the infant spirit that had fallen asleep after eating the [Sleeping Candy], Wen Jianyan lightened his footsteps and walked towards one of the cradles. He leaned down, carefully placed it into the cradle, and then gently stroked its head.

The young man’s handsome features were filled with tenderness, carrying an almost sacred maternal warmth:

“Good baby, go to sleep.”

Not far away, the mohawk guy was dumbfounded. He stared at the scene before him, which exceeded all common sense and was completely beyond his comprehension, with an expression as if he had seen a ghost. His brain crashed, rendering him almost unable to think.

This… this is fucking… too bizarre!

He had imagined a hundred ways this big shot would single-handedly take on a horde of infant spirits, but none of the scenarios in his head looked anything like this!

The viewers in both live broadcast rooms were full of question marks.

[I really don’t get it, what exactly is the streamer trying to do?]

[Does he want the ghost infants to develop feelings for him so they won’t bear to kill him? But hasn’t the streamer forgotten? The more he does this, the more attached the ghost infants will be to him, the more they will want to be with him forever, and the more they will want him to give birth to them… The streamer doing this is simply courting death…]

[And there’s another strange thing. The infant spirits have all finished eating their candy and fallen asleep, so why is he still acting so hard? Who is he putting on a show for?]

[I’m sorry… although everyone is trying very hard to discuss the instance… why is it that looking at the streamer right now, I feel like my kink has been violently awakened?]

[Ahhhhhhh long live the male mother!]

—The reason Wen Jianyan was acting so hard was, of course, because he wasn’t putting on a show for the infant spirit clinging to him from the very beginning.

After placing the sleeping infant spirit into the crib, he straightened up and turned to look behind him.

At some unknown point, the entire nursery had fallen into a dead silence.

All the infant spirits were completely motionless and silent, staring fixedly in his direction. Their bodies were livid and deformed, some on the floor, some on the walls, some on the beds. However, the only thing they had in common was—

Deep within their pure black eyes, an extreme yearning and envy flickered.

Mommy.

Mommy.

They had seen screaming, terrified, and agonizing mommies. Those mommies struggled madly, yearning to escape from their own children, using every means possible to kill them, get away from them, and torture them.

But they had no complaints or regrets.

Because… this was mommy.

What they loved and desired the most was mommy.

The livid infant spirits nestled affectionately beside the humans. Whether the other party’s face was twisted in fear or not, they clung tightly, never letting go.

They watched the humans’ bellies swell up like balloons, a sick happiness and satisfaction in the depths of their pure black eyes.

Whether it was resentment or fear, what did it matter?

Children are naturally meant to be with their mothers. No matter how bad a mother’s attitude is, a child’s love for their mother will never waver.

They will always love mommy.

Mommy, it will be soon.

An infant spirit revealed a smile full of sharp teeth. Its face bulged on the human’s belly, carrying a fanatical and paranoid attachment, yearning to tear through the other party’s abdomen and be born.

—We will soon be inseparable forever.

Together for a lifetime.

In the dimly lit nursery, pairs of pure black eyes stared intently at the young man not far away. The yearning in their eyes seemed tangible, practically oozing down their ugly, livid faces.

…Since they could remember, they had never seen a mommy like this.

A smiling, beautiful, gentle mother, stretching out her arms to embrace her child, spoiling it with love and affection, reading to it, singing to it, giving it candy…

It was exactly like the kind of mommy that only appeared in fairy tales.

So envious.

So envious.

So jealous, so jealous, so jealous, so jealous…

Wen Jianyan turned his head, his gaze landing on one of the infant spirits.

The body of that infant spirit was much more solid than the others. A long, squirming umbilical cord extended from its body all the way to the play area, tightly bound to the mohawk guy.

“Oh… you poor little thing.”

Wen Jianyan revealed a look of pity: “Your mother’s attitude towards you must be very bad; otherwise, she wouldn’t have left you alone in such a faraway place.”

“That kind of person doesn’t deserve to be your mother. All children have the right to find happiness.”

The young man smiled and reached out to it: “Want to come be my child?”

The infant spirit stared at him blankly, staring at the perfect mommy of its dreams.

The next second, the mohawk guy suddenly realized that his swollen belly was deflating bit by bit like a punctured balloon. The umbilical cord that had been wrapped tightly around his body loosened, and then slithered in the direction of the young man.

Soon, a second umbilical cord wrapped around the young man’s waist.

His face instantly turned deathly pale, and a fleeting look of pain crossed his brow.

“?!”

The mohawk guy suddenly realized what the other party was doing.

No… no way, right?

Is this streamer crazy?!

This, this is practically a suicide mission!

Although he was saved now, but, but… this streamer was definitely dead! And he would die faster and more painfully than if he only had one attached to him!

Because he was using the blood and qi of his own body to nourish two infant spirits!

Before the mohawk guy could recover from his overly complex emotions, he saw the young man reach out to a second infant spirit: “What about you, do you want to be my child?”

The mohawk guy: “…………”

???

Three?

Three?!

Does this guy have a death wish?!

Wen Jianyan seemed completely oblivious to the other streamer’s near-breakdown state. Although his face had already turned livid, he still maintained that gentle and loving expression.

His proper and handsome features revealed a different kind of holiness and fragility amidst the light and shadow, carrying an almost demonic, bizarre power.

He extended invitations to the fourth, the fifth, the sixth infant spirit…

Every single one eagerly rushed into the young man’s embrace, like moths drawn to a flame, attracted by an irresistible gravitational pull, fanatically and longingly rushing towards the most perfect mommy of their dreams.

“Mommy.”

“Mommy.”

“Mommy”…

The obsessive voices echoed in the nursery, like some ancient and fanatical incantation, repeated over and over again by the mouths of evil spirits.

A total of… one hundred and ten.

Wen Jianyan’s body was wrapped so densely that his original appearance was almost indiscernible.

Countless livid infant spirits nestled happily beside him, just like babies throwing themselves into their mother’s embrace, unbelievably peaceful.

The scene before him was truly too bizarre.

The mohawk guy’s face was deathly pale, his teeth chattering. He felt his back covered in cold sweat. That hair-raising tremor made him entirely afraid to step forward.

Even having experienced four instances, he had never seen a scene that chilled him to the bone like this.

The other party… must be dead.

No one could survive while simultaneously nourishing one hundred and ten infant spirits.

The mohawk guy took a fearful step forward.

“Ugh…”

A low groan sounded from deep within the infant spirits.

The mohawk guy: “!!!!!”

He abruptly halted his steps, scrambling backwards in terror.

However, contrary to his expectations, those livid infant spirits began to slowly fade, losing their color bit by bit.

Even the scalp-tingling umbilical cords began to turn transparent, gradually assimilating into the color of the air.

Soon, all the terrifying sights vanished completely.

In the darkness, the young man sat peacefully on the floor, his back leaning against the wall, his head slightly lowered. His mid-length black hair hung down, heavy shadows obscuring his face.

From The mohawk guy’s direction, he could only vaguely see the other’s beautifully contoured chin and lips.

Although the young man before him was still in human form, The mohawk guy couldn’t help but shudder. His body was dominated by a strong, instinctive fear, wishing he could flee as far away as possible.

What’s going on?

What happened?

The bullet comments in both live broadcast rooms plunged into a dead silence. Not a single viewer spoke; they just stared dumbfounded at the absurd, bizarrely inexplicable, impossibly improbable scene unfolding before their eyes.

What… what exactly is going on?!

“Ugh.”

The young man let out another soft groan. His shoulders moved, and he slowly raised his head.

His mid-length black hair parted from his face with his movement, revealing an extremely pale face, like that of a dead person.

His long eyelashes fluttered, and then he slowly opened his eyes.

There was not a sliver of white in his pure black eyes. A deep ghostly aura lingered at the bottom of his pupils, where livid patterns appeared and then vanished.

Wen Jianyan shook his head, closing and opening his eyes again.

The chilling livid color faded, and his eyes returned to having distinct black and white. However, his originally amber irises had now turned a very deep, pure black, like an abyss that no light could penetrate, drawing all existence to sink deep within it like a whirlpool.

“You… you…”

The mohawk guy’s voice trembled with nervousness, like a chicken being choked by the neck: “Are you still human?”

“…Not really.”

Wen Jianyan’s voice was hoarse, his breathing somewhat unsteady.

—Compared to a human, he was actually closer to a ghost right now. He was practically hanging on the line between life and death; just one more step forward and he would die completely.

He leaned against the wall and let out a long sigh, feeling like a survivor of a catastrophe.

After Wen Jianyan was tied up in the nursery, the [Flower of Breaking Illusions], which had finished developing in his backpack at some unknown point, automatically took effect when the streamer’s life was threatened. While he was talking to the mohawk guy, it popped up an introduction to the ghost monster known as the [Infant Spirit].

After reading it, Wen Jianyan immediately realized he had made a misjudgment.

He should have found a way to get rid of the infant spirit the moment it latched onto him, instead of waiting until now to be brought here, deep into the infant spirits’ stronghold.

Even if he had a way to deal with one infant spirit, he still wouldn’t be able to escape the fate of being parasitized as a mother host.

Should he make them kill each other?

No.

Wen Jianyan quickly vetoed this idea.

There would always be a victorious infant spirit, and he would still die in the end.

Wen Jianyan forced himself to calm down and carefully reread the information deciphered by the item.

Once, and then again.

Look for it; the path to survival must be hidden between the lines.

Calm down. It’s not like I haven’t encountered this type of desperate situation before.

Suddenly, Wen Jianyan discovered something.

Unlike the plaster statue from before, this time, the introduction to the [Infant Spirit] monster did not mention any weaknesses. Instead, it went into great lengths to describe their characteristics and methods of killing, including how they use Yin energy to transform the mother host, allowing the human body to give birth to them.

Then… could it be that their weakness was hidden right there?

Wen Jianyan had learned a long time ago how to look at problems outside the box. Only by stepping outside the rules could one break them and maximize their gains.

He stared at the lengthy, detailed introduction, and a bizarre, risky idea slowly formed in his mind—If I fail, at most I die. But if I succeed…

The gains from this move will be unimaginable.

Since there was no way back, he might as well fight with his back to the river.

The mohawk guy swallowed hard and slowly. Although his heart was still filled with fear, curiosity gained the upper hand. He asked cautiously, “Just now, what exactly happened just now?”

Wen Jianyan leaned one hand against the wall and laboriously propped himself up, his body swaying weakly.

“Infant spirits are formed from the resentment of unborn babies. They have an unparalleled desire for a mother’s existence. After parasitizing a mother host, they will assimilate the host with their own Yin energy, turning her into a hotbed for their birth.”

The young man raised his eyes. The dim, pale light from outside the window fell on his face, dividing light and shadow, making his skin look even more livid and his eyes pitch black, almost carrying a hint of a sinister ghostly aura.

His gaze landed on the mohawk guy’s belly, which had been bulging high just a moment ago. Combining the conclusion he drew from the [Flower of Breaking Illusions] with the hypothetical deduction based on it, he explained in an extremely calm tone:

“If the Yin energy on an infant spirit is 10, in order to hatch from the mother host, it must make the mother host’s Yin energy also reach 10—you should have experienced this process personally just now. Your body was being transformed bit by bit into a perfect vessel for a fetus.”

The mohawk guy felt his hair stand on end under the other’s gaze, uncontrollably taking a half-step back.

Under the young man’s gaze, his no longer swollen abdomen seemed to start throbbing with a dull ache again, giving him the illusion that he was still tightly bound by the umbilical cord.

“Of course, if you want to hatch two ghost infants, you need 20 Yin energy, and so on…”

Wen Jianyan explained in a calm tone.

In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:

[…………Holy fuck.]

[Holy fuck!!!]

[I get it ahhhhhhh!!!]

[This is way too terrifying!]

[Is this… is this fucking exploiting a bug??]

[Is the live broadcast room not going to intervene… if he does this, won’t the entire instance crash?]

Unlike the viewers, the mohawk guy had an even more bewildered expression on his face. He felt that the content of what the other party was saying was beyond his comprehension. His brain felt frozen, unable to turn, completely unable to figure out the hidden meaning behind those words.

Wen Jianyan said patiently, “If there are one hundred infant spirits that choose the same human as their mother host, then this human’s body will definitely need 1000 Yin energy to give birth to all the infant spirits.”

The mohawk guy opened his mouth, his face full of confusion: “But, but, ultimately, won’t you still have to give birth to all the infant spirits in the end? Isn’t it still a certain-death ending?”

Wen Jianyan smiled faintly: “Do you think a human carrying 1000 Yin energy can still be considered human?”

The mohawk guy: “This…”

The young man had now stood up straight, his voice still peaceful:

“Most importantly, I have now become 1000, but a single infant spirit remains at 10.”

He curled his bloodless, pale lips. His smile was gentle, but on that pale face, it inexplicably gave off an extremely strong sense of danger and terror:

“Take a guess, when the power disparity between the mother host and the infant spirit reaches such an extreme level, what will happen?”

The screen of the phone in the young man’s pocket lit up.

[ID Card has been tampered with.]

On the phone screen, a smear of thick, crimson blood spread out.

[Streamer’s identity has changed to: Mother of Ghost Infants]
[Remaining Survival Time: ???]
[Plot Deviation: 63%. Reward Points: 50,000]
[Ding! Detecting that Plot Deviation has reached the threshold, the instance is undergoing uncontrollable changes!]
[New plotlines unlocking…]
[New instance forms unlocking…]

Wen Jianyan spread his arms amidst the light and shadow. Behind his slender and tall figure, a boundless, massive shadow squirmed, like an invisible, endless abyss.

The smile on his face widened:

“Now, I am their mother, and they must obey me.”

__

Author’s Note:

Instance (gritting its teeth): It’s you again!!!!

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