[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-player-reboot":3,"chapter-player-reboot-player-reboot-chapter-10":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Player Reboot",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2271975,4438,"Chapter 10: Mom and Dad","player-reboot-chapter-10",10,"\u003Cp>“Uncle,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside a flower shop with its roller shutter closed, a seven- or eight-year-old boy in a backpack politely asked the shopkeeper next door, “Excuse me, has my father come home today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, your father said he went to Yunnan to source goods—it’s very far away, no one knows how many days it’ll take.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper shook his head, “You could ask your mother when you get home.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing that word, the boy’s expression froze. He politely bid the shopkeeper farewell and trudged slowly beneath the dappled shadows of the floral waterfalls hanging over the bird-and-flower market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mother was not human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, his mother had been replaced by something that was not human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About a week ago, his mother began acting strangely. She stopped picking him up from school, stayed home constantly with a green face mask glued to her face, never removing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No meals were cooked at home; he and his four-year-old sister ate only bread, milk, and cereal for all three meals a day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One night, he woke up and saw his mother burying her head inside the refrigerator, from which came the sound of chewing meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only three days ago did his mother finally remove the green mask, revealing a wide, grinning smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his terrified expression, she seemed to realize for the first time that humans do not smile with their lips stretched all the way down to their ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mother returned to normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She began cooking again, going out, asking after him and his sister, even getting up at night to tuck their blankets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she no longer remembered his birthday, no longer remembered he was allergic to shrimp and crab, no longer remembered their pinky promise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy wandered aimlessly, his expression dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the past three days, he tried staying after school, but she came to drag him home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he tried staying overnight at a classmate’s house, she called to demand he return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once, he even ran to the police station with his sister, telling the officers that his mother had problems; she calmly arrived at the station, showed her household registration and ID, explained to the police that her son was under too much academic pressure and didn’t understand, and then took him home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding-ding-ding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Smart Baby watch vibrated in his pocket—her call.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiao’an, when are you coming home? Mom made your favorite braised pork belly today,” came the gentle female voice, “It’s delicious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He used to love braised pork belly, yes—but after spending a month eating it at his grandparents’ house a year ago, he never touched fatty meat again—the real mother knew this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He forced his voice to sound cheerful, “I’m playing at the Youth Palace with friends, I’ll be home later.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gentle voice replied, “Hurry back, the sun’s almost set. Your sister can’t wait to eat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother! Help—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The call cut off abruptly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared blankly at his phone, shivering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, Father will be home soon—she won’t get another chance if she doesn’t act now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He made up his mind, touched the dinner knife hidden at the bottom of his backpack, and walked toward home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let time rush by, I only care for you~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he opened the door, he heard his mother humming cheerfully in the semi-open kitchen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dining table was filled with dishes; his sister sat beside it, terrified, her eyes welling with tears as she saw him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiao’an’s back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mother called out upon hearing the door, “Wait a moment—I still have to finish the braised pork ribs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat down at the table with his backpack, slowly shook his head to signal his sister not to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The scallions I bought today aren’t fresh—I won’t sprinkle them on top when it’s done.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sizzling in the kitchen never stopped; suddenly, his mother’s head popped out from behind the glass door of the living room, smiling warmly at her children, “Is that okay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded instinctively. Only after she pulled her head back did he realize something—every hair on his body stood on end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the open kitchen to the living room was about two meters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet just now, when his mother’s head appeared in the living room, the sizzling in the kitchen had never stopped—no pause, no change in position!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, your father’s coming home tonight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mother’s voice was unusually cheerful, “By now, he should be arriving.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before she finished speaking, the door opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father walked in wearing the same clothes he’d left home in, smiling, carrying two gifts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dad!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He and his sister were about to jump down and run over, but their father was pulled into the kitchen first by his mother, “Husband, look at the ribs I made—how are they? Delicious?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm, delicious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father took a bite, then popped his head out from behind the living room’s glass door, mirroring his wife’s eerie, stiff posture, smiling at the children, “Xiao’an, go serve the rice—you and your sister can eat now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt as if plunged into ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The world’s first fifth-generation nuclear power plant has been completed on Hainan Island, marking China’s leadership in fifth-generation nuclear technology research and application.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【The U.S. claims U.S. troops stationed in Jordan were attacked by drones, resulting in three soldier deaths and at least 34 personnel injured. A New York State senator urges the U.S. government to contract its overseas military bases to Prometheus Laboratory.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Tel Aviv, Israel’s second-largest city, suffered a biochemical weapon attack of unknown origin. Gen-sys Biotechnology Company announced it will provide medical support.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The TV news broadcasted global events. His parents ate dinner, occasionally commenting with smiles on the news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hung his head, staring blankly at his cooling rice, whispering, “Why won’t you let us leave?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front door was locked from the inside; his phone had been taken—he could not contact the outside world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiao’an, what are you talking about? Aren’t we a family?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father smiled, patting his hand—cold, lifeless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, family must stay together forever,” his mother echoed, reaching out to touch the children’s faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly leapt up, smashing the dinner plate into his mother’s head with his left hand, while his right hand yanked the dinner knife from his backpack and plunged it into his father’s hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The table was in chaos; soup seeped into the tablecloth, spreading rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He grabbed his sister’s wrist, pulled her off the chair, and sprinted toward the door at top speed, shouting, “Fire! Help!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He unlocked the door, gripped the handle, and pressed down—just as the door swung open, ready to flee to safety, he was yanked back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mother sat in her original seat, but her neck had stretched impossibly long, coiling around his and his sister’s waists, dragging them violently back to their chairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiao’an, you’re being naughty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father still smiled, pulled the knife from his hand without a drop of blood, “Naughty children must be punished.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mother and father both opened their mouths wide, lips splitting all the way to their ears. Beneath the light, their throats revealed layer upon layer of sharp teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gaping maws surged toward the siblings—just as their jaws closed, two stones flew through the window, piercing the heads of mother and father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The force was so immense that even these non-human beings were thrown backward by inertia, nearly toppling from their chairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black figure leapt through the window from the tenth floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wore a black night suit, sunglasses, a hood, and gloves. Even his shoes were wrapped in multiple layers of black cloth and sealed with tape—his appearance was bizarre.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All eyes turned to him. The black-clad man—or rather, Li Cheng—surveyed the scene, cracked his neck, and rasped, “Have you heard of the Lord of Insects?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1307,"2026-06-19T22:31:22.154Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d5f117251f3f692a50a1756e9217b1f295c599d40dd0664bda6c8fca01225bcc","player-reboot-chapter-11","player-reboot-chapter-9",612,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fplayer-reboot-cover.jpg"]