Infinite: Dawn Game

Gong Nian was still spitting out earthworm larvae by the river. She looked extremely weak, with empty and lifeless eyes. Only the faintly visible earthworm larvae floated and struggled under her eye sockets, as if trying to break through a hole and crawl out.

Uncle Gong looked at his daughter, who looked neither human nor ghost, and his heart trembled so much that his body, which had finally calmed down, began to tremble again.

“If I hadn’t been so blinded by greed and directly contradicted Niannian, she wouldn’t have insisted on coming to this godforsaken place, Changsheng Village, and ended up like this. She used to be so energetic.”

Uncle Gong knelt on the ground, choking with sobs. This middle-aged man, who had been quite energetic on the bus, now looked like a frail old man, his head full of white hair and deep furrows.

"I'm not worthy of being a good father, not worthy of being Nian Nian's father—"

"No?"

Gong Shu's incessant self-deprecation was interrupted by Yu Shijiu.

The latter squatted down with a serious expression, her thin face turning slightly pale in the sunlight.

"Uncle Gong, you did a great job, but you really should have told Sister Gong about your concerns directly back then. But I don't think it would have made a difference even if you had."

Yu Shijiu watched as Feifei kept jumping up and down on Gong Nian's stomach, "She's the kind of person who always does what she says."

“I taught her that,” Uncle Gong said, bowing his head. “I told her since she was little, ‘Niannian, we can’t just say things carelessly. We must do what we say. If we can’t do something, then we’re lying…’”

This statement indirectly led to Gong Nian's "death," but that doesn't seem entirely accurate.

Yu Shijiu looked at Gong Nian, who seemed to still have some "qi" in her body. Even he couldn't bring himself to say that the other party was still alive.

Uncle Gong's hands trembled as he gave a silent, bitter laugh: "If I had taught her to be a little more selfish, even a little more selfish, she wouldn't have brought up the idea of ​​coming to teach in the rural area, and... and she wouldn't have..."

...and then they wouldn't have died.

Yu Shijiu remained silent for a few seconds, then rested his chin on his knees and looked at Uncle Gong. He felt a dull ache in his heart, but couldn't quite put his finger on why.

Finally, shaking off the dull feeling, he raised his initial question:

"But why did Sister Gong decide to come to Changsheng Village? Was it really because of tourism?"

Yu Shijiu still remembered that Uncle Gong had mentioned this at the beginning.

“Yes and no,” Uncle Gong said. “She once told me about Changsheng Village, saying that she saw it online and that there were many children in Changsheng Village who had never received any education, so she came to Changsheng Village specifically for that purpose.”

As a result, the person came, but could never go back.

“But there are no children in Changsheng Village,” Yu Shijiu said earnestly.

"For at least half a day, there wasn't a single child here."

"That's why I say we've all been fooled," Uncle Gong said with a wry smile.

"Whether it's me or Niannian, we've all been deceived..."

As he spoke his last words, Uncle Gong's tone grew softer and softer. He looked at Gong Nian, who was constantly spitting out earthworm larvae, with a look of utter despair in his eyes.

"This is a curse, a curse passed down through generations in Changsheng Village! That's why they can't reproduce! That's why all the villagers of Changsheng Village died in the backlash from the God! Hahaha, die! All of you die! All of you go and be buried with my Nian Nian! Buried with her!!!"

Uncle Gong's mental state went mad once again. He knelt on the ground and frantically waved his hands at the empty air around him, as if trying to drive away some strange creatures that coveted him and Gong Nian.

Yu Shijiu watched Gong Shu's erratic behavior and felt dizzy after piecing together all of Gong Shu's words.

Dead? Curse? Backlash from the Immortal Village...

What do you mean?

Is the "god" worshipped in Changsheng Village starting to devour its residents? That makes sense; currently, it seems that apart from Liu Laosan, all the elderly people in Changsheng Village are "outsiders"...

Yu Shijiu felt he could probably connect all the clues. He dusted himself off and called out to Feifei, who was still trying to "save" Gong Nian.

"Fatty".

Feifei was panting heavily from exhaustion when she heard this and reflexively turned to look at Yu Shijiu.

“Let’s go,” Yu Shijiu said, “We’re not needed here for now.”

As for that giant earthworm that hasn't appeared yet...

Yu Shijiu's gaze flashed over Gong Nian, who was constantly spitting out earthworm larvae.

Although he didn't know why, he really didn't want to confront that powerful giant earthworm for the time being.

As for now... Yu Shijiu felt that, out of respect for the few green oranges that Uncle Gong had given him, he should let him and Gong Nian spend some time together.

Feifei looked somewhat bewildered. It glanced down at Gong Nian under its paws, hesitated for only a few seconds, then jumped down and ran towards Yu Shijiu's direction.

"Meow meow meow meow!"

What's going on, meow? There are other clues, meow?!

"Good boy," Yu Shijiu bent down slightly and ruffled the chubby head, then casually took the small bundle hanging around the other's neck.

Gong Nian, who was still spitting out earthworm larvae on the shore, turned his head with his empty eyes. His turbid and painful pupils were filled with dense restraint and a desire to snatch.

But she still refrained from reaching out.

I don't know if it's because I couldn't compete with them or for some other reason.

Yu Shijiu seemed completely oblivious to Gong Nian's gaze. He lowered his head and carefully untied the knot in the bundle, revealing a slightly large, purplish-red earthworm tail tip. He hesitated for a few seconds.

Fatty curiously turned his head to look at his back.

Meow, I feel like licking my fur again.

After a moment, Yu Shijiu finally understood. He held the earthworm by its tail through his clothes, walked towards the still erratic Uncle Gong, bent down, and said with a serious expression:

"Uncle Gong, this is a gift for you."

Uncle Gong: "..."

His dazed gaze then fixed on the tip of the purplish-red tail, and his pupils began to shrink at a visible speed.

Yu Shijiu continued, "I know you like it very much, but I hope you will take it after I leave."

As Yu Shijiu spoke, he placed the tip of the earthworm's tail on the ground in front of Uncle Gong and sighed with some regret.

"This is my beloved trophy."

However, since I also ate Uncle Gong's green tangerines and pork jerky, it wasn't impossible for me to "reluctantly give them up."

That said, this is the first time someone has been willing to accept a gift from me.

Thinking about the brains he hadn't given away in the last game... Yu Shijiu was still quite regretful.

Thinking of this, Yu Shijiu felt much better. She waved goodbye to Feifei and Uncle Gong, who completely ignored her, and went back to Yang Wan's house.

Only after the figures of the man and the cat had disappeared from sight did Uncle Gong bend down and pick up the tip of the earthworm's tail.