This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 577: The Gospel from Hell

Chapter 577: Chapter 577: The Gospel from Hell

In a corner of Old Master Zhao’s manor, right next to the servants’ quarters, there sat a chicly decorated five-story Western-style house.

Its structure was shaped like the Chinese character "回," surrounded by a stretch of verdant lawn, with a very spacious courtyard at its center, where many people lived.

Although this place, the Work, wasn’t as grand as the main building, it was still one of the few luxurious places in the entire settlement.

The people in the manor called this place the "guesthouse."

Those who lived here were all esteemed guests of the master’s household, whether they were his confidants or their family members, or servants specially attending to them, no one else could get close.

That was why, even though the guesthouse was situated in a secluded corner far from the main building, there were still many servants running back and forth to serve.

Yang Xiaoyang was born here.

The people here were very kind to her, especially after the death of her grandparents and mother due to illness, their warmth had escalated to attentive enthusiasm.

Especially the Old Master, who treated her as if she were his own. Apart from the meticulous concern, he also allowed her to study and play with his daughter and wear dresses just as pretty as hers.

Moreover, he had even granted her a "special privilege" that other kids didn’t have—allowing her to freely leave the guesthouse.

As long as it was within the manor, she could go anywhere she wanted.

But for other kids, even just walking to the garden outside the guesthouse would get them escorted back by the servants who saw them.

Of course, the price of freedom was always having one or two uncles who never spoke following her wherever she went.

They would even stand guard at the door when she went to the bathroom.

Her good friend Yinyin—the Old Master’s youngest daughter—once threw a tantrum with her father, hoping to get rid of that pesky "stalker."

However, the Old Master, who was usually so indulgent with his youngest daughter, would not yield on this matter and even locked her in a dark room in a thunderous rage.

Little Lamb had never seen the Old Master so angry, and she quickly tried to persuade Yinyin that she really didn’t mind being followed.

Because she noticed that during the days her good friend was locked away, the eyes following her had increased by two pairs, and the feeling of being watched had grown even stronger.

The Old Master was probably suspicious.

Suspicious that she was instigating his daughter, helping herself to escape from here.

Anyway, she was very careful those days, and deliberately acted clumsy and incapable of self-care, as if she couldn’t survive without someone to look after her, sticking to her aunt’s side and feigning for a while until the Old Master’s guard was finally lowered.

Although only six years old, because she had lived alone and dependent on others from a young age, she was much more mature than her peers.

Even though no one had ever explained those complex issues to her, she could still glean something from the eyes of others, those carefully hidden intentions.

The uncles following her were not for her safety but merely because they were worried she would run away from the manor.

The Old Master’s affection for her was not out of pity or because she was adorable, nor for the reasons he claimed, but simply because of her father.

And the relationship between the Old Master and her father was not like the intimate friendship she had with Yinyin but just a pure utilitarian use between adults.

Adults always like to find a deceiving reason for what they are doing, to cover up those original ugly motives.

She didn’t quite understand what a merchant did, but had overheard that her father helped the Old Master sell some farm products outside, making quite a bit of money.

Her father placed her, along with her mother and grandparents, here in exchange for the Old Master’s peace of mind and ongoing assistance, while the Old Master used her—the only relative her father had left in this world—to tie him down to this place.

It was also for this reason that the Old Master had his daughter’s teacher teach her reading and writing.

It wasn’t to enable her to acquire any knowledge or for Yinyin to have a playmate of similar age and level of education, but merely to keep her in touch with her father through letters.

Perhaps the letters her father wrote to her were only meant to put Old Master Zhao at ease? After all, if she were that important to him, why wouldn’t he even want to come back to see her?

He hadn’t come back for a very long time, not even when her mother passed away. Sometimes she couldn’t help but think that perhaps he already had another family outside, and that the only reason he maintained this father-daughter relationship was to earn Old Master Zhao’s trust, not out of concern for her.

That wasn’t impossible.

She had heard that before her father, there was a peddler who worked for Old Master Zhao, who one day suddenly lost all contact, with no one knowing whether he died or just disappeared spontaneously.

In any case, the peddler’s family left in the mansion, she never saw them again in the manor.

Perhaps one day, she would end up like that family too.

However, she didn’t hate her father.

Even after coming to terms with all of this, she had let go of much of it.

After all, there wasn’t much good in Wasteland, so why not stay here?

At least the life here was good, at least for now, and she had her best friend. As for the future, she would leave it for the future to worry about since she couldn’t do anything about it now.

Undoubtedly, the most important person in her life was Yinyin.

That girl was the real young miss of this manor, two years older than her, and unlike everyone else here, the young miss truly treated her as a good friend. She genuinely cared for her, got angry over the injustices she suffered, and would even stand up for her... Although that overly naive sister often messed things up with her good intentions, sometimes even causing her to get in trouble, Little Lamb didn’t blame her.

After finishing their daily lessons, they would always play together cheerfully.

Sometimes it was catching crickets, other times playing house with dolls, or even pulling in other kids from the guesthouse to play hide and seek.

Hide and seek was their favorite game because it allowed them to disappear from the adults’ sight for a short while, and once Little Lamb was missing, everyone would get really anxious.

Their anxious expressions would always be a delight to watch, over and over again.

That’s why sometimes, their hide and seek’s objective would change from finding each other to helping Little Lamb hide, then watching the servants turn the manor upside down.

But Little Lamb was very clear that this joke could only be played occasionally, not too excessively. When she felt everyone was about to genuinely panic, she would intentionally give herself away, letting the servants find her.

Because of this, Yinyin often scolded her for being clumsy.

However, the young miss didn’t know that it was all intentional.

If she didn’t do it that way, it would be hard to end things...

"Damn it... I was so close to making that guy cry!"

Sitting by the fountain in the guesthouse’s front garden, swinging her legs, Yinyin sighed in frustration, her elbow propped on her knee, her cheek heavily resting in her palm.

As usual, they had made a commotion throughout the afternoon in the manor, giving the servants quite the scare.

But unlike usual, today her father wasn’t involved, he didn’t even show his face; he simply ordered the butler to send Little Lamb back to the guesthouse.

The old butler didn’t stay long at the guesthouse either.

It seemed that the manor had a distinguished guest, and he was in such a hurry that he didn’t even scold them before leaving, leaving Yinyin feeling somewhat bored.

So, her father wasn’t really anxious this time?

Doesn’t that mean they were busy for nothing all afternoon?

"That was such a good hiding spot, a place they could never think of even if they racked their brains... Little Lamb too, if only she could be a bit more clever!"

Listening to the young miss’s complaints, Little Lamb sitting nearby laughed innocently, squeaking out a response.

"I’m so sorry, Yinyin sis... Little Lamb is just too dumb."

"Don’t apologize! It’s those ill-mannered pests who should be the ones apologizing! Really, don’t these people have anything better to do? Following a lady around all day, how ridiculous..."

Yinyin said with all seriousness as she looked at Little Lamb.

"Also, we were playing hide and seek in the first place so that you could have some freedom and enjoy yourself. If that’s making you even more upset, then that defeats the whole purpose, doesn’t it?"

"Yinyin..." Little Lamb looked at her, eyes brimming with tears, touched by her words.

She hadn’t told her best friend.

She actually wasn’t that eager for freedom and never really minded being followed; having been born there, she was used to it.

She didn’t believe that escaping or hiding would change her situation one bit.

Perhaps even if she ran away, her rarely seen father would just send her back, just as he originally sent her mother, grandparents, and the rest into this place.

But...

The feeling of being cared for was just so wonderful.

"Stop looking at me like that; you’re making me feel embarrassed."

Yinyin suddenly felt shy under the gaze of those watery big eyes and shifted her gaze away, scratching the itchy cheek tinged by the setting sun.

Just then, her eyes caught sight of the mansion nearby, and they lit up.

She remembered a long-forgotten rumor—

The old mansion was actually the main building of the estate, where her family had first lived, until they moved out after building a new house, and the old main building then became the mansion.

Deep within the basement of that mansion, there lay a hidden door to the Underground World, a door that had existed since the time of her great-grandfather.

She didn’t know what that place was like.

But she knew for sure that no one would expect it!

"Right!"

She grabbed Little Lamb’s hands, looking at her excitedly.

"I’ve thought of an amazing place! No one will ever find you there! Come with me!"

Seeing her assertiveness, Little Lamb felt a faint unease. After all, they had already played a joke on the adults of the estate once today, and the same joke wouldn’t be funny twice in one day.

As Yinyin pulled her down from the fountain, Little Lamb looked at her uneasily and said,

"Hold on, Yinyin... let’s go tomorrow instead. There’s definitely someone following us now. If we go there right now, won’t we expose that amazing spot?"

"Don’t worry, it won’t," Yinyin whispered secretively into her ear, lowering her voice, "it’s in the mansion... inside the mansion, nobody follows you, right?"

Little Lamb hesitated and then slowly nodded her head.

If it was inside the mansion...

Maybe Old Master Zhao wouldn’t be angry.

Seeing her timid friend finally muster some courage, Yinyin couldn’t help but smile happily.

"Come on!"

With that, she rushed toward the mansion, pulling Little Lamb along.

Following hesitantly behind the young lady, Little Lamb was led to the north wing of the mansion, through a dark staircase, and down to the lower level of the mansion.

Little Lamb had heard about this place; it was the mansion’s storeroom, but it was rarely used since moving things in and out wasn’t easy, and there wasn’t much to store in the mansion anyway.

If anything needed to be placed temporarily, they simply left it on the empty ground in the courtyard.

Having lived here for so long, this was her first time coming down here.

The basement was pitch black, void of electric lights; the only light came from a flashlight that Yinyin had casually brought with her. The eerie chill melting into the darkness made Little Lamb’s legs tremble.

Yinyin, standing beside her, was the same.

She held the flashlight, frozen in place. Clearly, she too hadn’t expected the mansion’s basement to be so spacious.

It was like a maze!

"Which way should we go?" Little Lamb looked at Yinyin timidly, hoping she would reconsider and give up on exploring the basement.

However, she had underestimated her best friend’s determination to grant her freedom.

Yinyin, who had been hesitant, lost all trace of it when she met that uncertain and timid gaze.

She had promised her freedom. Even if just for a second, she wanted her to live without the scrutiny of prying eyes.

There was no better place than this, dark as it might be but from another viewpoint, possibly the perfect camouflage.

In this deserted maze, even if not for hide and seek, she too could hide out for a bit, to enjoy moments free from prying eyes.

Of course, she could come here when she was unhappy too.

A smile crept over Yinyin’s lips.

Thinking of it that way, it was like their own secret castle.

Perhaps her prayers were answered, as she heard a faint sound in the distance.

What was that sound calling out?

She immediately pointed the flashlight in its direction.

"This way!"

Watching Yinyin begin to move forward decisively, Little Lamb hurried after her.

"Yinyin... maybe we should go back after all."

"Just a moment! It’s just ahead; we’ll be there in no time!"

Following the source of the sound, Yinyin walked eagerly forward.

She had gradually forgotten whether she was helping her friend find an incredible hiding spot, or if she was just motivated to make out what that sound was saying.

Maybe it was a bit of both.

Little Lamb watched her friend’s back nervously, feeling as though things were slowly veering off the original track without being able to pinpoint exactly what was wrong.

Did Yinyin seem familiar with this place?

Had she been here before?

I hadn’t even been down here before.

It would be best to return early...

It’s fine if it’s just me, but if both of us go missing, Old Master Zhao would definitely go mad.

The two wandered in the pitch-dark basement for a while and came upon a room filled with assorted junk.

Behind a pile of discarded wooden boxes, indeed, stood an iron door marred by streaks of rust.

Without looking carefully, one might not even notice it.

At first glance, she mistook it for scrap metal leaning against the wall.

"This is..."

Yinyin stared at the door with bright, piercing eyes.

"I don’t know, but it should be here."

Little Lamb couldn’t help but voice the confusion in her heart.

"Yinyin... how did you find this place?"

Yinyin gave Little Lamb a strange look.

"Didn’t you hear it?"

Little Lamb was momentarily stunned.

"...Hear?"

Wasn’t it just the two of them here?

Could there be a third person...

Her little face gradually paled.

"Yes!" Yinyin nodded vigorously, speaking excitedly, "When I was silently praying in my heart that it would be great if I could find that door, that’s when I heard that voice! Although I couldn’t make out what it was saying, I could feel it, it said so much, it’s like it was inviting us over!"

"I heard..."

So, exactly what did she hear?

Little Lamb looked at Yinyin in bewilderment, about to ask, but saw her already excitedly stepping forward, her hands grasping the rusted door handle, pulling back with all her strength.

"...Little Lamb! Help me!"

Seeing the unmoving iron door, Little Lamb said with a wry smile,

"Wait a minute, Yinyin, we don’t have the key, if we just pull like this..."

"What are you talking about! There’s no keyhole for this door, it should just slide open... Ah! I feel it moved! Come, help me—"

Before she could finish speaking, her movements suddenly halted sharply, and her eyes lost their sparkle.

Little Lamb hadn’t recovered from her shock before she saw Yinyin release the door handle she was clutching and collapse to the ground.

"Yinyin—!"

Electrocuted?

Or... poison gas?

Little Lamb turned pale, but ultimately she didn’t run away. Gritting her teeth, she rushed over and propped up the limp Yinyin, dragging her away from the door.

However, even after leaving the door, Yinyin showed no signs of regaining consciousness, resembling death if not for her breathing.

"What on earth... happened?"

Staring at the steadfast iron door, fear filled Little Lamb’s eyes. She dared not stay there a moment longer, pulling the unconscious Yinyin back to the entrance of the basement and then rushing toward the staircase, intending to go up and seek help.

Outside was pitch black.

Although it felt like not much time had passed, it was already dark outside.

Standing at the entrance of the north building, Little Lamb glanced around, finding it vacant, devoid of a single soul.

So strange...

Even though they were in the guest villa, they had disappeared for nearly half an hour, yet no one had come looking for them, as if they had been completely forgotten.

The series of abnormal situations inevitably brought a hint of unease to her eyes, but out of concern for Yinyin, she still mustered the courage to shout.

"Miss has fainted! Is anyone here... come quickly—"

Her voice had hardly faded when a dull and coarse growl interrupted her.

"Ugh..."

A woman with her head and shoulders drooping was standing on the corridor near the stairwell, her neck slanted, staring straight at her with a pair of empty, lifeless eyes.

The sight was indescribably eerie.

Those eyes penetrated to the marrow with a bone-chilling cold.

Seeing the woman hobbling toward her, Little Lamb swallowed hard and took a frightened step back.

"Don’t... don’t come any closer."

She didn’t know why she felt the need to run, but her legs instinctively moved, dragging her stiff body desperately toward the direction of the stairwell.

Her intuition told her that if she were caught, it would be the end.

Just as she darted into the stairwell, the woman quickened her staggering pace, growling as she lunged toward her.

Not daring to look back, Little Lamb, upon reaching the basement, used all her strength to slam the basement door shut, while grabbing the steel bar dropped on the ground, she wedged it onto the door handle.

Almost simultaneously, a thunderous bang came from outside the door, followed by violent shaking of the door panel; something was hitting against it.

"Yah—!"

Little Lamb cried out, stepping back in fright, her eyes filled with terror as she stared at the trembling door panel.

She didn’t know what was wrong with that woman.

Nor did she have any idea what was happening outside.

Everyone was always such a good person, always treating her kindly, so why did they suddenly turn into that?!

The pounding suddenly stopped.

The person outside seemed to have given up.

Crouched in the darkness, Little Lamb held her breath, her eyes fixed intently on the tightly shut door panel, daring not to make the slightest sound.

She was certain that person hadn’t left.

That heavy breathing seemed to even press against the door!

She could even be sure that the person was waiting outside the door for her to crack it open a bit to check the situation outside, ready to charge in and tear her to pieces the moment she did.

But why?

What on earth was happening to everyone?!

Sitting trembling in the darkness, she didn’t know how much time had passed when suddenly, a faint sound came from the darkness behind her.

At first, the noise scared her so much that her body hair stood on end, until she heard her name.

"Little Lamb..."

That voice was like a candlelight lighting up in the darkness.

Hearing that weak call, Little Lamb immediately rushed over and knelt beside Yinyin, her eyes brimming with tears, holding her soft, powerless hand.

"Yinyin!"

"I’m sorry..."

"It’s okay, you’re awake now!"

"No, it’s not that..."

Yinyin shook her head in agony, held her head with both hands, and muttered to herself, "It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have tried to be clever and look for it... It’s angry, it must be because of me..."

"...Angry?" Confusion filled Little Lamb’s eyes.

Intuition told her that what Yinyin was talking about had something to do with what was happening outside.

Could it be...

That voice?!

However, Yinyin didn’t seem to have any intention of explaining, just kept holding her head and repeating that phrase to herself.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry..."

"Yinyin! Calm down—"

Little Lamb grabbed her shoulders, intending to soothe her, but Yinyin, who was holding her head in self-pity, suddenly grabbed her hand.

"Little Lamb... help me..."

Little Lamb looked at her earnestly.

"What do you need me to do? I’ll definitely help you!"

A relieved smile appeared on Yinyin’s agonized face.

"Tie me up."

"Tie, tie you up?!"

"Yes!" Yinyin’s face squeezed out a trace of pain, sweat the size of beans burst from her forehead, urgently urging, "Hurry...hurry up!"

Seeing her struggling to endure something, Little Lamb suddenly thought of that woman outside, and then she felt a chilling numbness in her limbs.

Could she also...

"...It’s too late."

Endurance seemed to have reached its limit, and Yinyin’s face was filled with despair, her faltering consciousness becoming vague along with those gradually empty eyes.

"It’s okay..."

For some reason, Little Lamb suddenly felt less scared.

She gripped Yinyin’s hand tightly and whispered.

"I will stay with you..."

The sheep in the pen will one day be eaten, no matter how good their relationship with the Shepherd and his family. If you ask why, it’s because it’s something that’s been decided the moment they were born.

She never thought about what the future would hold because she always knew her own end.

Rather than worry about something that’s already been decided, it’s better to seriously enjoy every day of happiness, and at least not let down the joy and happiness of this moment.

Her relationship with the Shepherd and his family was good, especially liking their little daughter. She could feel that in this estate, only Yinyin genuinely cared for her without expecting anything in return.

In the end, she’ll be eaten anyway.

If it’s by Yinyin, it wouldn’t be so bad...

Just then, a few short gunshots suddenly came from outside the door, followed by low growls, frantic running, and the dull sound of metal hacking at bones.

"Damn—when will this end!"

Vaguely, Little Lamb heard someone talking, but she couldn’t understand what they were saying.

A short collision, something splattered on the door.

The person pulled out something while continuing to mutter.

"Damn it, this dogshit mission only pays a hundred thousand, totally a loss! No, wait, I seem to be out of money... shit!"

As the voice trailed off, there was a loud "bang," and the rickety door panel was kicked open and fell noisily to the ground,

Little Lamb stared blankly at the doorway.

A black suit of Armor stood there.

The helmet covered the person’s entire face, making it impossible to see their expression.

An automatic rifle was tucked under his right arm, and he held a short knife in his left hand, his body covered in blood and seemingly adorned with shreds of flesh, looking incredibly ferocious.

"What’s your name?"

She understood this sentence.

Although she didn’t recognize the person in front of her, she still answered tremblingly.

"Little... Lamb."

The man seemed relieved and threw an enigmatic sentence at her.

"The mission is complete..."

"Remember to leave a good review."

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