Chapter 296: Worries from Amber

Tonight is the second night for players entering the instance.

The homeless will lose their second point of Will.

Although the first three deductions of Will can be recovered through slow rest or medicinal treatment without long-term effects,

the prerequisite is that you must have space for slow rest and medicine to restore Will.

Medicine to restore Will is scarce to begin with, and its raw materials are extremely expensive; only the four major organizations' core players, who exploit the organization's resources, commonly carry it, while solo players rarely do.

Moreover, under the curse of this instance, medicinal effects are suppressed—especially Will-restoring medicine, which becomes completely ineffective unless it restores more than ten points; anything less than that restores nothing at all.

This mechanism forces most players inside the instance to rely solely on rest for recovery.

To rest in a safe environment requires money; to obtain money, players who originally avoided trouble now begin taking desperate risks.

Like Parker.

Milan Street, only three hundred meters from Huayuanjie, has an atmosphere utterly unlike Huayuanjie's.

It is one of the few ethnic enclaves in Seigfried City—filthy, chaotic, violent—these are its defining traits.

Parker now sat in a back alley of Milan Street, leaning against a pile of garbage, covered with a dismantled cardboard box; his hand, exposed through a tear in the box, trembled slightly, clutching a paper packet whose folded edges were dusted with faint flour.

This attire was unremarkable on Milan Street; anyone seeing him would assume he was just a junkie high on something.

The only notable detail was how full his paper packet was—he must have just collected his welfare payment and bought a week's supply all at once.

In Milan Street, that made him a prime target; several people had already marked him, waiting for the night to grow darker before striking.

They were watching Parker, but Parker was waiting for them too.

The flour in Parker's hand was real flour—he was using himself as bait to catch a few fish, enough to cover his lodging cost for tomorrow.

No one cared about conflicts among low-level gang members; if no one investigated, it wasn't a crime.

During the wait, his mind swam, and his Will dropped by one point.

An indescribable chill seeped from the darkness of the alley, making him shiver.

He feigned rolling over, turning his face toward the alley's depths—empty, nothing there.

He exhaled in relief; it was just his imagination.

Damn it, lowered Will had brought back those bad memories again.

Before becoming a Deep Abyss Game player, Parker was a journalist, and he had developed his own set of rules for discerning information truth and sourcing intelligence.

Ever since that day he saw Wu Chang's interview, the words "World Instance" had filled his mind.

He believed it was very likely true.

Because long ago, he had been investigating the countdown that appeared on the square.

The countdown appeared one hundred twenty days ago, without warning or any explanation.

Neither in public-area taverns nor on player forums did anyone know what it meant.

After the initial weeks of excitement, players' curiosity about the mysterious countdown faded—they figured if anything went wrong, the four major organizations would handle it, so they'd just wait until the countdown ended.

Parker didn't think so.

His journalist's instinct told him the countdown concealed a major story; from the day it appeared, he scoured for evidence, leaving replies beneath every post discussing the countdown.

His efforts bore fruit: shortly before Wu Chang's interview, he found a living fossil from the Wasteland Realm, nicknamed Old Gou.

Old Gou met Parker in a private space and spoke cryptically, saying that long ago, he had seen a similar countdown—suddenly appearing, then suddenly vanishing.

He didn't know what happened, but he knew that after the countdown, the four major organizations' power surged dramatically.

The meeting lasted only moments; Old Gou came and went in haste, hinting at something but dared not say it outright. Still, when Parker tried to contact Old Gou again days later, he found Old Gou had vanished without a trace.

Old Gou didn't survive this time.

Since then, Parker had always felt watched, as if constantly under someone else's control.

He grew anxious, terrified, nearly shattered his Will—only thanks to finding a fused item that raised his Will cap did he stabilize it.

But now, with his Will weakened, he felt uneasy again, as if something in the alley's darkness was watching him.

Huh, nights are so hard to endure; after tonight, he absolutely wouldn't sleep on the streets again.

He closed his eyes, waiting for his chance.

Time ticked by; pedestrians on Milan Street dwindled, even the homeless and bike gangs went home to sleep—but still no one came for him.

Why?

Was the flour he grabbed from the restaurant's kitchen not convincing enough?

He cracked one eye open to observe his surroundings—and the moment he could see clearly, he spotted a vertical pupil emerging from the alley's depths.

His heart lurched—this time, it wasn't an illusion; it was real.

As the vertical pupil appeared, black mist rose around his body.

No dodging—he had to meet its gaze, face it directly!

Parker rallied himself internally and stared unflinchingly at the vertical pupil.

Dang~

Beside the vertical pupil, another normal horizontal eye appeared; the black mist around him thickened.

Again?

Parker strained to split his gaze—both eyes, left and right, locked onto the two eyes simultaneously.

Dang-dang-dang…

From the darkness, countless eyes emerged, all fixed on Parker, their gazes mocking, like predators watching a dying prey.

The black mist on Parker surged violently, instantly swallowing him whole.

A violent commotion erupted in the alley; five minutes later, silence returned—as if nothing had happened.

Those like Parker, whose Will dropped and triggered attacks; those like the Negotiation Master, hunted by monsters summoned against them; those who took desperate risks clashing with local factions…

Tonight, Seigfried City was exceptionally chaotic—but No. 26 Huayuanjie remained utterly untouched.

With the money he got from Zhenwo, Wu Chang went shopping after work and filled the entire fridge with fresh vegetables and fruits.

It sounds trivial, but in Sigefu City, people could afford a fridge but not food—this was perfectly normal.

In the afternoon, hearing two female teachers discuss fridge decorations, he casually asked and learned that "fridge decorations" meant stuffing it as full as possible to make it look less empty.

In short, Wu Chang, with sufficient ingredients, could fully showcase his cooking skills and successfully won over Amber's stomach.

To win her heart, first win her stomach—this saying worked not just between lovers.

Once Amber was conquered beneath his pink apron, how could she possibly refuse to raise her approval rating?

But reality differed from his expectations: Amber gobbled down her meals at the table, but after wiping her mouth, she acted like a stranger, locking herself away in the attic to sleep—Wu Chang couldn't even enter to check on her.

He shook his head. Approval rating still too low. He'd have to keep practicing.

At night, Wu Chang and Ailin lay side by side on the master bed; the atmosphere felt off.

Unlike last night, Wu Chang, whose attribute suppression had further lifted, was no longer like an ordinary person prone to drowsiness.

Once his mind cleared, thoughts multiplied.

For instance, he was now wondering how to sneakily knock the Light of Resolve off the bed while Ailin wasn't looking. He shaped his right hand into a tiny figure, using his index and middle fingers as its legs, walking it all the way to the Light of Resolve, lifting his index finger to step over it, testing the boundary edge back and forth.

Seeing Ailin's back turned to him with no clear reaction, the right-hand tiny figure stepped across the boundary, moving toward Ailin's shoulder.

He meant no harm—just that it was a bit cold at night; staying close would raise their body temperature.

Just as the right-hand tiny figure was about to touch Ailin, Wu Chang noticed a wisp of black mist forming beside him.

He turned his gaze to the window and saw a pickup truck with failed brakes smash violently into a utility pole.

The utility pole, already cracked in the middle, snapped apart; the flying wires lashed out like a long whip, striking toward the bedroom.

Wu Chang clicked his tongue. "Like Death Comes Calling? Forcing an accidental death, huh?"

Yesterday, he might've had to dodge, but today, such petty tricks were useless against him.

He waved his hand, condensing void into solid form outside the window to build a wall that easily blocked the whipping wires.

Sensing the black mist on his body dissipate, he retracted his Condense Void into Reality ability and sneered.

Is that all?

!

He turned back and saw his right hand had retreated to his own side.

Doesn't matter. One attempt leads to another.

He once again manipulated the right-hand tiny figure toward Ailin, holding his breath—just as the tiny hand was about to wrap around Ailin's shoulder, he suddenly noticed a person standing at the head of the bed.

He turned his head and saw Amber, dressed in a pure white nightgown with her hair loose, standing at the bed's head, staring fixedly at him.

Wu Chang's right-hand tiny figure froze as if under a petrification spell. He whispered:

"Still awake this late? Aren't you going to class tomorrow?"

Amber replied in a cold tone: "Not sleepy."

Wu Chang: "Not sleepy? Good. Then go study. I checked your grades—you're this age and only scored so little? You should be lying awake."

Amber continued staring at Wu Chang with a blank expression: "Can't."

Wu Chang frowned, about to speak—when Ailin, who had been sound asleep, suddenly sat up, grabbed the bewildered Amber, and dragged her toward the study.

"It's fine. I can. I'll tutor you."

Wu Chang remained frozen in place, his right-hand tiny figure still half-extended.

Wait, Teacher Ailin—I need tutoring too.

He sat up with a disgruntled expression and walked toward the study. Through the door crack, he saw Ailin actually pulling out textbooks to teach Amber how to read.

You know what? Ailin really could.

To integrate into Blue Star's civilization, Ailin had studied the entire Chinese high school curriculum—elementary-level material was no challenge for her.

Wu Chang warmed two cups of milk and brought them into the study, placing them on the table.

As he left, behind Ailin's back, he made a face at Amber, smirking silently:

"If you're not sleepy, then don't sleep."

As he exited the study, Wu Chang noticed a light coming from the attic—the attic door was open.

The attic was Amber's "private domain." No one was allowed in; she always locked and sealed it tightly whenever she left.

Yet this time, she'd left the attic door open and rushed straight to his and Ailin's bedroom.

Wu Chang thought of the curse mark that had appeared on him earlier and glanced toward the study.

Did Amber sense something? Was she worried about them?

If so, her cold, hardened demeanor must be hiding her true emotions.

Such a stubborn personality must be corrected properly.

Wu Chang turned his head, his gaze flickering with hesitation.

Amber was now under Ailin's firm control, and the attic door was open—this was the perfect moment to investigate the attic.

But after thinking it over, he gave up.

What was inside the attic didn't matter. What mattered was gaining Amber's approval. Since she'd been so worried about them that she forgot to close the attic door, to secretly snoop into her private space using her concern would be going too far.

He believed that even without such methods, Amber would eventually let him into the attic.

Ailin's tutoring lasted until 2:30 a. m., until Amber could no longer hold her expression, constantly yawning—only then did Ailin let her return to rest.

When Amber returned, she saw the attic door was open and paused visibly.

Only after pushing the door open did her stiff body relax.

The next morning, the family drove to Knox Elementary. Before getting out of the car, Amber—rarely—initiated conversation with Wu Chang.

"Xiao En."

Wu Chang looked in the rearview mirror and asked: "What is it?"

Amber said, "I'll try not to skip class."

"What do you mean by 'try'?" Wu Chang was about to correct Amber's wording, but found she had already gotten out of the car and run far away.

The class bell rang, and the campus fell silent.

Today was Wu Chang's second day on the job; his task today was still to become familiar with the campus.

The history teacher who showed them around was Marivela, a middle-aged woman in her forties with a rigid demeanor.

Although Wu Chang doubted the necessity of Federal History class—its content, if not watered down, wouldn't be thicker than a supermarket promotional pamphlet, and could be read in the time it took to have a bowel movement—it didn't mean he denied Marivela's importance.

He wouldn't deny Marivela's necessity, because she was Amber's homeroom teacher, and other teachers had told him she had helped Amber resolve many troubles.

More accurately, nearly every student had received Marivela's help.

Marivela worked meticulously, carefully guiding the two through every corner.

Knox Elementary was a public school with modest grounds; originally, it had two teaching buildings, but one old building, neglected over the years, had caused multiple student injuries due to safety hazards and was temporarily sealed off, forbidden entry.

The original plan was to demolish the old building and construct a dedicated administrative office and a multipurpose hall.

But just then, a financial crisis struck; the Federal government had no surplus funds, and without the promised funding, the plan was shelved and remained so to this day.

As they passed the old building, Marivela extra warned Wu Chang and Eileen: never, under any circumstances, enter out of curiosity—it was extremely dangerous.

Speaking of danger, a flicker of fear appeared on Marivela's rigid face.

"I went inside once. I encountered something indescribable—I still can't determine whether what I saw was real, or merely a hallucination born of panic."

"Thanks to my firm faith, I found the courage to walk out of that building. Believe me, you absolutely do not want to experience that."

Wu Chang nearly blurted out, "How do you know I don't want to?"

After surviving the Mirror Killer, he had sensed something strange about Knox Elementary; Marivela's words made it clear the old building was part of the anomaly.

He wanted to ask more, but Marivela gave no further answer, clammed up about her experience, and warned them not to be curious.

After finishing the campus tour, as they parted, Marivela told them:

"I know you two have just adopted Amber; your new family is still in the adjustment phase, but I still want to say—once you're comfortable with each other, I hope you'll take time to observe Amber's studies."

"Amber is very smart, but she resists learning deep down—even when she clearly knows the answers, she deliberately gets questions wrong on exams."

"Amber has been at this elementary school my whole time here—I've watched her grow up. She's had several foster families, but this pattern never changed. I hope you can help her."

(End of Chapter)