Chapter 638: Escape
Escape?
Hearing this, Wei Cheng and the others were startled.
In an entire loop, this was the first time they had heard of such a thing!
“…”
The few of them looked at each other, exchanging glances.
With their experience as veteran anchors, they easily sniffed out the special meaning behind such an event.
“We?” Orange Candy blinked, keenly catching the keyword in his words. “So, you’re planning to take other orphans with you?”
“All of them?” Zhao Ran sucked in a cold breath.
“Of course not.”
Little Wen Jianyan rested his chin on his hand, raising his eyes to glance at him as if he had heard something stupid.
“I’m not stupid.”
Taking that many orphans to escape together would be discovered in less than a minute.
“Besides, not everyone is worth saving.”
When saying this, the child’s expression was calm, his eyes clear, indifferent and cold like a rippleless lake.
Even though he wasn’t old, in that instant, Orange Candy and Wei Cheng seemed to see the shadow of the future Pinocchio in him.
Indeed, he was rarely soft-hearted among Nightmare anchors.
But he never wasted time on unworthy people, nor would he indiscriminately lend a helping hand to everyone—rational without excessive sympathy, powerful yet maintaining a bottom line.
Because of this, he attracted so many followers and gained so much unconditional trust.
After all, in the darkness, people always subconsciously chased the light source.
“So, are you joining?” Little Wen Jianyan’s voice woke everyone from their daze.
“Of course!” Orange Candy snapped out of it and agreed without thinking.
“What about them?” Little Wen Jianyan raised his chin, his gaze falling on Wei Cheng and Zhao Ran.
“Same.”
Orange Candy shrugged and added.
“They are trustworthy; I can vouch for them.”
Little Wen Jianyan stared fixedly at Orange Candy for a moment, then jumped off the box.
The moment he landed seemed to aggravate his injury, causing his expression to twist.
“We rarely trust outsiders, but I’m willing to make an exception… I hope you won’t disappoint my expectations.”
“…However, believe me, if any of you really snitch, I can find a way to escape, but you won’t be so lucky.” Little Wen Jianyan stared at them intently and said softly—he was serious.
Orange Candy looked at him thoughtfully, then nodded:
“I don’t doubt it.”
Based on her understanding of Wen Jianyan—whether the big one or this small one—he had such capability.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tricked them in so many different ways over these dozen loops.
“Alright, let’s talk about your plan,” Orange Candy said. “How do you plan to escape?”
“I know some small paths.”
Little Wen Jianyan shrugged. “Don’t worry about that.”
When he saved Orange Candy and Wei Cheng from the Momma’s pursuit, he had already proven how well he knew this building… Those narrow passages, ventilation ducts—who knows how much time and effort they spent to find so many winding, interconnected paths under the Mommas’ constant surveillance.
“What about the time?”
“Someone will come to visit this afternoon—aside from the Mommas, no one knows about this.”
Little Wen Jianyan raised his eyes and said.
A bright light flashed in the depths of his eyes.
“They take this very seriously and have made many preparations… So, during that time, there will be an unprecedented gap in the guard.”
“We move five minutes before five o’clock; this is the safest time point.”
“…”
Hearing this time, everyone’s breath hitched, their hearts skipping half a beat subconsciously.
Every time, their loop ended at 5 PM on this day.
Once 5 PM arrived, the loop ended, and the process restarted without exception.
Thinking of this, their hearts beat violently.
“Can the time be slightly earlier?” Orange Candy thought for a moment and asked, “Like… four-thirty.”
“…What?”
Little Wen Jianyan was stunned, seemingly not expecting such a suggestion.
“Why?”
“Why, can’t we?” Orange Candy asked.
“Uh, it’s not impossible,” Little Wen Jianyan frowned, showing a confused expression: “It’s just… four-thirty is still too early. Mommas at several positions won’t have gone far yet. If we act at five, it would be safer…”
“Which positions?” Orange Candy beckoned with her finger. “Draw them, tell me.”
“What are you going to do?”
Little Wen Jianyan looked even more confused.
“Help you lure them away, of course.”
Zhao Ran blinked and chuckled softly, his words carrying an unquestionable, powerful confidence.
“Don’t worry, there won’t be any problems.”
Wei Cheng adjusted the crooked glasses on his nose and added: “Consider it our pledge of allegiance to prove we are trustworthy.”
Soon, Orange Candy’s group reached an agreement with Little Wen Jianyan.
As long as they could lure the Mommas at those positions away around four o’clock, he agreed to advance the plan by half an hour.
No. 198 led them back to their work area, then slipped away as silently as he came.
The cleaning tools they hid remained untouched in their original spots. Clearly, no one had come to check during this time. However, just as they picked up the brooms and mops, the Momma’s heavy footsteps sounded from the end of the corridor.
It had to be said, Wen Jianyan’s understanding of the Mommas’ duty cycles was deep, astonishingly deep.
“Hey, what do you think?”
Zhao Ran asked in a low voice while slowly sweeping the floor.
“Same as you,” Wei Cheng replied in an equally quiet voice. “Our loop ends at 5 PM this afternoon every time, probably because Pinocchio and the others chose this time to escape.”
Advancing the time by half an hour was a precaution.
If the loop ending was unrelated to Pinocchio’s escape plan, they could participate earlier and gain more information.
If it was related…
Then, they very likely found the real breakthrough to extend time and complete the main mission [Survive for Seven Days].
“But… there’s a problem now.”
Wei Cheng leaned on a broom almost as tall as himself, his expression rarely solemn.
“Since what happened in this instance has already happened once in the past, then… what happened next? Did Pinocchio escape?”
“That must be a success,” Zhao Ran said directly without thinking. “Come on, this is Pinocchio. If he didn’t escape, wouldn’t he have turned into firewood long ago?”
The core rule of this orphanage was a roaring incinerator; no child could grow up alive here.
But Pinocchio was still alive and well.
“But if that’s really the case,” Wei Cheng said slowly, “then why would his childhood self remain in this instance?”
NPCs in instances were basically people who died here when the instance formed—whether perpetrators or victims, they could never leave this place.
But Pinocchio didn’t fit this rule no matter how you looked at it.
“…”
The group looked at each other, momentarily speechless.
Both possibilities were almost equal.
Logically, both seemed plausible.
“…”
Orange Candy touched her completely silent phone and couldn’t help cursing twice:
“Damn, why are they so quiet right when we need them most? Not to mention calls, not even a single text message!”
Behind them, the Momma’s heavy footsteps were approaching.
The group immediately fell silent.
After the footsteps moved away, Wei Cheng said:
“Can’t be helped, the time flow is different. Although a day has passed for us, maybe not even five minutes have passed there.”
And before “seeing” any possibility of a death threat, Bai Xue wouldn’t actively contact them.
The answer was clearly on the other end of the phone line, but they couldn’t reach it no matter how anxious they were.
“Forget it. Whatever happens, we’ll know if we follow the timeline.”
Orange Candy scratched her head irritably and turned to look at Zhao Ran:
“Where are the sentry positions Pinocchio gave?”
“Let me see…” Zhao Ran took out the map drawn by Little Wen Jianyan from his pocket, carefully identifying the crooked stick figures on the paper, showing a thoughtful expression. “Hmm, if I remember correctly, this position should be a blind spot, right?”
“Oh?” Orange Candy narrowed her eyes, meaning profound. “Is it?”
The two behind her exchanged a glance and followed knowingly.
“Great,” Zhao Ran rolled his shoulders, complaining, “After behaving for so many loops, I’m really getting rusty.”
“Can’t be helped. Before finding a way to end the loop, starting a war does us no good,” Wei Cheng followed behind him, shaking his head. “The personnel in the orphanage are too dense. One wrong move means hostility from the whole institute.”
“What about this time? Why aren’t you objecting?” Zhao Ran looked at him sideways.
Wei Cheng sighed: “Because even a moderate like me is sick of cleaning every day.”
After all, anchors who could follow Orange Candy into instances.
Could they be peace-loving, benevolent types?
The little girl skipped ahead, humming an off-key tune, a smile on her face, her eyes unable to hide the cruelty within.
For them…
Compared to trying to lure them away, it was safer to just kill them directly.
What’s more, she really hated this loop intensely.
It was time to vent.
Time reached 4:20.
Orange Candy and her two teammates skillfully slipped out of the Momma’s surveillance range and arrived at the meeting point agreed upon with Little Wen Jianyan.
Little Wen Jianyan was already waiting for them there.
Besides him, there were several other orphans.
Orange Candy recognized No. 157 and No. 198 whom they had met before. The others also looked somewhat familiar—in previous loops, it was always these few who acted with Little Wen Jianyan… or rather, having been scammed often, they naturally left a deep impression.
“Just now, No. 198 told us the Momma over there isn’t at her original post anymore,” Little Wen Jianyan blinked, showing a somewhat surprised expression. “Unexpectedly, you guys really did it…”
Orange Candy hid her hands, which still had uncleansed blood on the back, behind her back and showed a big smile:
“Of course, we told you you could rest assured!”
“In that case, we can indeed advance the time a bit,” Little Wen Jianyan nodded, speaking with full confidence. “Leaving earlier will also increase the success rate—I knew bringing you guys along wouldn’t be wrong!”
Rumble!
Without warning, a deep and intense vibration sounded from beneath the ground.
Dust fell from overhead, but apart from Orange Candy’s trio, the other children seemed not to notice this anomaly at all, their expressions unchanging.
“Let’s go.” Little Wen Jianyan whispered.
His injuries hadn’t healed yet, and he walked with a limp, but this didn’t affect his lightness and speed. His small figure blended into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
Just as he said before, on the path he chose, there were almost no traces of Mommas—this path was clear and safe. Even for an anchor of Orange Candy’s level, she couldn’t find a single fault.
Although several doors blocked the way, this wasn’t a problem for Little Wen Jianyan.
Just like that, they advanced through the orphanage’s maze, like small mice hiding in dark pipes, rustling through corners where no one watched.
Soon, they arrived at the main entrance hall.
This was a forbidden area where no orphans were allowed to enter. Even Orange Candy and her team had only come here during the time they cleared the instance.
At this moment, the hall was empty. The floor was extremely clean, reflecting light like a mirror. The huge spiral staircase extended quietly upward.
Dirty, skinny children walking here looked as out of place as if they were in another world.
Seeing the strange scene before them, the orphans looked somewhat shrinking.
“Don’t worry, the Mommas guarding here all went to welcome the visitors. I overheard them when they were chatting.” Little Wen Jianyan whispered. “So don’t worry, no one will come.”
An orphan asked: “Visitors? Like Christmas?”
“I think so.”
Little Wen Jianyan thought for a moment and nodded, pretending to be mature.
“However, if I had to guess, the people coming this time might have higher status. After all, they weren’t this nervous before.”
The children lowered their heads, appearing somewhat dejected. “Then, then won’t there be candy given out this time…”
“So what!” Little Wen Jianyan looked serious and said sternly, “We just won’t eat it this time. When we escape, won’t we have as much as we want!?”
“Right! We believe Boss!” Children’s emotions were like that; they could go from downcast to happy in a moment.
An orphan bit his finger, looking at Little Wen Jianyan longingly:
“So Boss, is candy really delicious?”
“Of course,” Little Wen Jianyan sneaked close to the main gate and whispered, “When we get out, not just candy, there’s also… also…”
He paused, seeming stuck—after all, a child living here since childhood knew a very limited number of foods.
Little Wen Jianyan took out a wire and said decisively:
“Anyway, there will be lots of delicious food, and we can fill our stomachs. Believe me!”
While the children whispered to each other, Orange Candy and her two teammates were on alert.
As adults, and adults with rich instance experience, their ability to perceive and respond to danger far exceeded the others in the team—even if one of them was the childhood Pinocchio.
Wei Cheng withdrew his gaze, shook his head, indicating no danger.
But just then, Zhao Ran seemed to see something. He tugged at Orange Candy’s sleeve and whispered: “Captain, look!”
Following the direction Zhao Ran pointed, Orange Candy looked over.
On the wall, there was a huge, pitch-black crack.
“…!”
Orange Candy’s breath hitched.
Of course she remembered this crack—because she was the one who created it.
This was left from the time they blood-washed the orphanage.
However, all other traces they left inside the orphanage disappeared with the loop refresh, but this crack… why was it still there?
“Good news,” Wei Cheng whispered. “This means the loop refresh is limited to within these walls.”
In that case, as long as they left this building, time would flow naturally.
Rumble!!
The ground trembled again. The magnitude of this earthquake was greater than any previous one, as if the sky collapsed and the earth cracked. The whole world was being squeezed by some inexplicable force. Orange Candy and the others were caught off guard and almost fell.
Just as they steadied themselves, a child’s hushed voice came from not far away:
“Hey, what are you waiting for? The door is open!”
Little Wen Jianyan stood by the door, waving at them. Behind him, the main gate was already open a crack.
While they were observing their surroundings, he had already pried the gate open and let the others leave first.
Without time to think much, Orange Candy and the others ran quickly toward Wen Jianyan.
The gate opened a narrow slit. The thin, small orphans slipped out like ghosts, and it closed firmly behind Orange Candy.
Outside, the sky was a pitch-black color that allowed no light to penetrate. Looking out, it was an endless desolate scene.
The orphans ran outward desperately, with Orange Candy and her team following closely behind.
They looked around, constantly alert for possible pursuers—but none appeared.
Just like that, like a flock of birds escaping a cage, the children successfully left the terrible building that sucked their marrow and exploited them to the last drop.
The orphan running at the front slowed down, panting from exhaustion:
“We, we escaped…”
“Yes…! We really escaped!”
A skinny monkey-like child looked up, his eyes shining brightly as he looked to the left: “Wow, look, what is that?”
“I don’t know, but it’s so tall!”
The children chattered, appearing very excited seeing unfamiliar things.
“…”
Orange Candy and her team exchanged silent glances, saying nothing.
In the eyes of these children, perhaps they saw a strange city, but…
In their eyes, the place the child pointed to was nothing but dark void.
Here, there was nothing in all directions; only the orphanage behind them truly existed.
The cruel fact was laid bare before them.
They were NPCs who only existed in this instance.
They could never leave this orphanage.
Orange Candy took a slow, deep breath and turned to look in Little Wen Jianyan’s direction.
Strangely, he didn’t look excited like the others. Instead, he appeared… blank?
His small body stood in the darkness, eyes staring dully into the void, as if…
Like them, he could only see infinite darkness.
Orange Candy couldn’t help but freeze.
She stepped forward, ready to ask clearly.
But before she could act, the next second, the surrounding darkness churned like a pot of boiling porridge.
The next second, blank faces emerged from the darkness, like white masks. Under the masks, massive bodies gradually surfaced.
Bad news!!
It’s Momma!!!
The three were startled.
They didn’t chase out from the orphanage but appeared directly in the darkness!!
This time, all the orphans saw them.
Expressions of fear appeared on their small faces: “Mo… Momma…”
“Little sluts!”
White faces without features approached, uttering vicious curses.
“Daring to run away!”
Black massive bodies gradually solidified, approaching bit by bit. Cursing voices echoed all around.
“You’re dead!!”
“Dead!!”
The children huddled together trembling, faces pale, pupils dilated.
Suddenly, the encirclement stopped without warning.
“So,” a strange voice suddenly came from behind, one that had never sounded since Orange Candy entered this instance, “which one led the escape?”
“Oh my, Sir! Why did you come out!”
The faceless Mommas made fawning sounds.
Orange Candy turned her head to look in the direction of the voice.
The moment she saw the speaker, her pupils contracted sharply.
A shadow, barely recognizable as human-shaped, walked in this direction.
Unlike those featureless Mommas, he was black all over. From his body to his face, he was covered in messy black lines, like a dark hole gouged out of the air.
“!!”
Orange Candy felt all the hairs on her body stand on end.
That was a strong premonition originating from instinct—this thing wasn’t human.
But another kind of existence, more terrifying and indescribable.
Not far away, the Mommas’ fawning voices still echoed.
“To encounter such a thing just as you arrived, it’s truly our mismanagement. You don’t need to intervene in this matter, just let us handle it—”
“Yes, yes, please go back, Mr. Yun!”
