It took Zhou Qi’an a moment to fully confirm that they were after his mother, not him.
Red Cloak interpreted his shock as rage and curled her lips. “That’s right. We’re taking your mother.”
Family was always a weak point. She narrowed her eyes in delight, staring at his flawless face, free of even the smallest pore. She was ready to savor his upcoming powerless fury and the moment he would finally yield.
The angrier he got, the happier she would be.
Zhou Qi’an stayed silent for an unusually long time. Red Cloak sensed something subtly off—but quickly brushed it aside.
After a while, Zhou Qi’an exhaled slowly and murmured, “Those who achieve great things… can even kill their own kin.”
Red Cloak’s expression turned cold. “You’d sacrifice your own mother’s life just to keep that item safe?”
“…No. I’m the one who’s actually her closest kin.”
“You may not understand the methods they use.”** Red Cloak’s tone was calm as she described horrors drenched in blood. “They can flay her alive, tear her muscles from her bones—they have ten thousand ways to make life worse than death.”
“Bastards!”
Zhou Qi’an’s gaze flickered across the hot spring’s surface, feeling a bit disgusted by his own acting. He was a natural at playing the harmless, meek type, but pretending to be furious? That was tough.
“If you have the guts, come after me instead! What kind of man goes after a defenseless woman?!”
At the last few words, his expression briefly twisted, but he quickly forced himself back to calmness. “How many people did they send?”
Red Cloak, as if playing a childish game, stretched out ten slender fingers—her cruelty unchanged.
Their leader was an extremely cautious man. He wouldn’t reveal the relic’s existence to more people, but he would definitely bring along a few die-hard loyalists.
As for the Black Magic Society, they were wary of a trap but unwilling to miss the chance to seize the relic—so they’d bring more people. But for the same reason, not too many.
Altogether, about ten or so.
Ten people.
Zhou Qi’an racked his brain, trying to recall any modern legal cases where someone killed ten-plus intruders in excessive self-defense and still got off scot-free.
“Why are there two separate groups?”
Since Red Cloak knew so much, she had clearly notified the other faction as well. Zhou Qi’an couldn’t figure out why she’d bother doing that.
Red Cloak’s smile vanished. “You really don’t care about your mother’s life, do you?”
He still had the leisure to ask pointless questions?
Zhou Qi’an glanced at Red Cloak’s hands—her thumb joint and index finger were calloused. That meant she trained with blades often, even in real life.
So, for now, he decided not to provoke her.
A text notification chimed on Red Cloak’s phone. A status update. “They’ve arrived. You have three minutes left to regret your decision.”
Regret?
Zhou Qi’an lowered his gaze slightly, stepped onto dry land, and sat down in the rest area, his voice quiet.
“Shut up. I’m thinking.”
He was still going through self-defense cases in his head.
·
The time in China was three hours later than in Gongji, and during this season, night fell early.
In certain old, run-down areas of big cities, scenes unfolded that starkly contrasted with modern urban life.
One such area was a residential zone near an old industrial district—a place riddled with historical issues. The surroundings were filthy, poorly maintained, and lawless, with fiercely independent locals. The property management company had recently run off, abandoning their duties.
Discarded construction materials and piles of garbage lay unattended.
A large vehicle, usually covered by a sunshade when not in use, sat unobtrusively among the clutter. It wasn’t particularly eye-catching.
“Drive. Head toward the city outskirts…”
Meanwhile, Mother Zhou hummed a tune as she prepared dinner in the kitchen. From her vantage point, she could see the car parked downstairs, feeling quite content.
While the porridge simmered, she decided to take a break and check if there were any matchmaking shows airing that Saturday—she wanted to sign her son up. However, just as she turned on the TV, the news caught her attention. The anchor smiled as he delivered the latest update:
“A newly discovered ancient tomb has been found in Dun City…”
“An ancient tomb? Will there be mummies?”
She wasn’t much of a cook, unlike a rice cooker, but at least she’d be a quiet and well-tempered daughter-in-law.
Just as the most exciting part aired, the television suddenly went black, and the entire room plunged into darkness.
Missing the key moment in the news, Mother Zhou’s expression darkened.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
“Hello? Did your power go out too?” a voice inquired from outside.
Mother Zhou had zero sense of danger. In their tiny apartment, it only took a few steps to reach the door. Without hesitation, she unlatched the security door.
The visitor, who had just been speaking so kindly, revealed his true colors the moment the door opened—instantly raising the weapon he had hidden behind his back. Without an ounce of hesitation, he swung the metal rod down hard, mercilessly carrying out the guild leader’s orders.
Standing nearby was the guild leader of the Little Red Riding Hood Society—a mixed-race man.
He tilted his head back, watching a spider frantically weaving its web on the ceiling, as if musing to himself:
“Tell me… should I start by cutting off a single finger and mailing it overseas to her beloved son? Or should I be a bit more ruthless and send something… bigger? Settle the matter all at once?”
He grinned maliciously. “The latter, I think. I do love to see blood.”
Before his words even finished, his expression abruptly shifted—as if sensing something. He spun around sharply.
In the cramped stairwell, several unknown presences had appeared without a sound.
The mixed-race man immediately recognized one of them, and his guard shot up.
“Black Magic Society.”
Behind him, the subordinate holding the iron rod spoke in an unsteady voice: “Boss… something’s wrong.”
The mixed-race man snapped coldly, “Quit the nonsense.”
Of course something was wrong. There was no way the Black Magic Society just happened to be passing through.
“I mean… she’s wrong.” His subordinate’s voice carried a noticeable tremor.
Everyone present had enhanced vision, allowing them to see clearly in the narrow, dimly lit corridor.
The woman who had just taken a direct hit from the iron rod was still standing—completely steady. The blow hadn’t affected her at all… except for one thing.
Her hair had become curlier.
When the Black Magic Society members arrived, they had also witnessed the attack. One of them frowned slightly.
A player?
As they assessed Mother Zhou’s identity, the Black Magic Society’s higher-up wasted no time. With cold ruthlessness, he pulled out a custom-made silenced pistol, aiming it directly at her knee.
He pulled the trigger—but the bullet never fired.
He glanced down sharply—a cold, slippery snake had coiled tightly around his trigger finger, constricting it with deadly force.
“Watch out!”
He barely had time to warn his fellow members before another snake—moving as fast as a lightning bolt—lunged straight for his open mouth!
“Retreat!” The mixed-race guild leader reeled in shock. Without hesitation, he turned to flee.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Mother Zhou suddenly appeared before him, blocking his path. Her voice was soft, almost eerie.
A ghost?!
For a brief moment, the mixed-race man wondered if he had somehow been pulled into an instance. But when his summoning ability failed, he realized—this was real.
“You…” His eyes locked onto the woman’s unnaturally pale skin, his voice betraying a hint of unease. “Are you… human or ghost?”
The iron rod that had struck her earlier suddenly appeared in her hands.
She lifted it high above her head—her slender frame somehow making her seem even taller than him.
“What do you think?”
The next second, Mother Zhou grinned—and brought the rod crashing down.
…
Knock, knock, knock.
That night, the sound of knocking echoed for the second time.
This time, it was Mother Zhou knocking on her downstairs neighbor’s door.
“Hello.” The woman greeted with a warm smile. “Could I borrow a suitcase?”
They were all familiar neighbors, so the young man enthusiastically brought her one.
Mother Zhou: “Just one?”
The young man: “?”
A cough came from inside the room—it was the young man’s grandfather. “Xiao He, there’s another one under the bed. Bring that one too.”
“Okay.”
Mother Zhou left with two suitcases, smiling as she thanked them. Then, she turned and knocked on the door across the hall.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Hello, could I borrow a suitcase?”
The woman next door was also quite friendly. After handing over one suitcase, she noticed the others Mother Zhou was carrying and froze in confusion.
Going door to door, Mother Zhou borrowed as many suitcases as she could, making several trips upstairs.
By the time she came down again, she was easily carrying a suitcase in each hand.
Then she went back up. Came down.
Again.
Some residents peered through their peepholes, watching her repeatedly move suitcases upstairs. They nodded in reassurance—if this were a case of dismembering a corpse, she wouldn’t need that many suitcases. She couldn’t have possibly killed a dozen people at once.
Now they could be at ease.
The young man, who had been secretly watching through a crack in the door, cautiously shut it. As he brought medicine to his grandfather, he whispered: “Grandpa, I think I heard… whimpering inside one of the suitcases.”
The old man didn’t even lift his eyelids. “Must’ve been a rat. Suitcases that sit around too long tend to attract them.”
“Oh.”
Under the dark sky, Mother Zhou loaded the suitcases onto a bus, one by one.
Each suitcase had a slight gap, just enough for a desperate, wide eye to peek through. Their hands and feet were bound by sea snakes, forcing them to coexist with the terrifying creatures inside the cramped space. The psychological torment far outweighed any physical pain.
The Rabbit Bus cruised through the night, eventually veering into a thick fog.
At that moment, the sea snakes slithered up to cover the kidnappers’ eyes.
The bus drove for a long time. Then, like tossing out garbage, Mother Zhou dumped them into a mysterious tunnel, silently retrieving her sea snakes before driving off with the now-empty suitcases.
They hit the ground hard. Their organs felt like they had been shaken apart.
Now that the sea snakes were gone, they could finally see their surroundings—and they were completely stunned.
“How… how did we end up in the mist?”
Ahead, they could faintly make out the tunnel’s outline.
Before they could react, colossal, grotesque creatures surged from the tunnel. Their bloated, deathly pale skin almost blended seamlessly with the fog. A wave of putrid stench rushed forward.
The high-ranking member of the Black Magic Society, still recovering from his snake-bitten tongue, managed to croak: “Work together!”
Though his words were slurred, everyone understood his meaning.
“That damned woman.”
Did she really think dumping them into an instance would be enough to get rid of them? He swore—if he made it out alive, he would tear her apart.
Arrogance had made them careless. No matter how strong she was, she was just one person. She couldn’t possibly stand against an entire guild.
The monstrous creatures twisted their deformed bodies, crawling toward them. Their gaping mouths dripped with saliva, forming puddles on the ground. Their dilated, lifeless pupils seemed to hold a deep, venomous envy—
Envy toward the ones who were still alive.
The group fought while retreating, searching for an exit as they prepared for a direct confrontation.
Now that they were inside the instance passage, they could use their items.
But suddenly, the mixed-race man spoke in a low voice: “Something’s wrong.”
These disgusting, giant creatures—
They were backing away.
The fog ahead thickened.
Something else was moving within the tunnel.
Just as the group reached peak vigilance, a towering rabbit-headed figure rushed through the mist.
As it drew closer, its true identity became undeniable.
A instance staff member.
“MY BUS!” The creature suddenly roared—it had just sensed its vehicle had been here.
Ignoring the stunned captives, Mr. Si grabbed the mixed-race man by the throat with one hand.
“Where’s my bus?!”
Just moments ago, Mr. Si had been ecstatic—thanks to a friend’s data analysis, he had been 99% certain that his next instance would allow him to turn Zhou Qi’an into a puppet and use him to control the sacred artifact.
That joy lasted all of three seconds—before he sensed his bus had been here.
Following the live updates of system-issued tickets, he tracked it down.
The mixed-race man’s mind suddenly flashed back to the bus they had been thrown onto earlier.
He remembered something—there had been two distinctive rabbit ears on it.
He froze. Then, his expression abruptly shifted to delight—
That terrifying woman… she had stolen a staff member’s bus.
“The one who stole your bus is—”
Before he could finish, two unnaturally long fingers suddenly slipped into his pocket.
He stiffened.
Mr. Si pulled out a photograph.
When had that gotten in there?!
As the photo was revealed, its back side faced outward—letting Mr. Si instantly read the words scrawled on it.
White background. Blood-red writing.
Five chilling words:
[Hello, send some oil over.]
P.S.: Give it to him. My son →
The arrow curved and pointed to the other side.
Without any warning, a giant smiling face of Zhou Qi’an appeared before Mr. Si’s eyes.
Mr. Si almost burst a lung in rage.
Seeing an opportunity, the mixed-race man quickly offered his assistance: “That woman is hard to capture in the outside world. We can work together—”
The more he spoke, the faster his words spilled out, completely unaware of the ominous expression spreading across the rabbit-faced man’s face.
The higher-ups of the Black Magic Society, however, sensed something was wrong. They quietly slipped away toward an area where the mist was thinner.
They weren’t sure what was happening, but if that bus had forcibly entered a closed instance entrance, then they were now classified as illegal intruders.
And staff members had the right to enforce the law.
They had barely taken a few steps when a searing pain tore through them.
Looking down—an arm had pierced straight through their internal organs.
“Help!”
The others who were trying to escape frantically used their items, but in the end, none of them escaped the deadly grasp.
Not far away, the mixed-race man who had just been rambling nonstop now lay face-down in a pool of blood.
“W-why…”
Even in death, his gaze was full of confusion.
Their shredded corpses were then discarded like trash, thrown to the colossal creatures.
Blood dripped from Mr. Si’s long, sharp nails. His grin was savage.
“Cooperate?”
Players wouldn’t get involved with that mother and son for no reason—most likely, they were also after the sacred artifact.
If he didn’t kill them, what was he supposed to do—let them live until New Year’s?
—
Gongji.
Having received no news for a long time, Red Cloak briefly considered sending more people to investigate, but quickly dismissed the thought.
There shouldn’t be any problems. At least not on her end. According to the plan, her subordinates were only observing from afar.
Zhou Qi’an was drying his hair with a towel.
Despite the looming threat, he actually looked much more relaxed than before.
“So? Any results?”
His “dutiful son” demeanor made Red Cloak frown slightly.
The explosion at the end of the last instance had shown that the young man had some pity for the ghost woman, yet when it came to his own family’s life or death, he hadn’t even tried to fight for them.
This deepened the uneasy feeling in Red Cloak’s heart.
Buzz.
Suddenly, two messages popped up on the phone forum.
—The Guild Leader and the Black Magic Society members are all missing.
—A Rabbit Bus was spotted. We’re heading back to the Association now.
Both messages left out a lot of details, especially the last one, where the words carried an undeniable sense of fear.
Rabbit Bus?!
Red Cloak’s fingers trembled slightly.
How could that be possible?!
At the same time, Zhou Qi’an also received a message from his mother:
—Baby, I had a chat with the original bus owner. If you run into him, remember to ask for some oil.
Ask for oil?
He understood every individual word, but together, the sentence made no sense at all.
His heart instantly clenched. He stepped aside and made a call.
When the call ended, his entire body was trembling slightly—it felt like his skin was being flayed by knives, his bones frozen by an icy wind.
On the other side, Red Cloak was making a call to her subordinates.
The person on the other end was barely suppressing their terror:
“We didn’t dare get too close… afraid we’d be discovered…”
In a few short sentences, they summarized everything they had seen:
A woman wearing an apron.
Suitcases, one after another.
A bus driving away.
And—
Two missing Association members.
Everything about it was incomprehensibly terrifying.
“The Guild Leader… might be gone,” the person reporting gulped down their fear.
“Does this mean we’ve been completely wiped out?”
Red Cloak’s voice was icy cold:
“From now on, I am the root.”
She hung up, looking calm on the surface, but no one was more shaken than her right now.
A staff member had entered reality!
The horrifying thought surfaced instantly—but she immediately denied it.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
If that were true, the real world would have already fallen into chaos.
Looking up, she happened to see Zhou Qi’an visibly shaken.
Red Cloak asked instinctively, “Why are you shaking?”
Even they, who had just been “wiped out,” weren’t shaking.
—
Author’s Note:
Zhou Qi’an’s Personal Plan:
—Avoid direct conflict with the Black Magic Society for now.
—Wait for them to send stronger people after me, little by little.
—Stay under the radar and survive… until I soar to the top.
Black Magic Society:
—We want to skip levels and fight the final boss NOW!
