Horror games? Whatever, I'll die.

"I'm so nervous. The results will be released soon. Are you worried?" Huang Fang babbled anxiously on the other end of the phone.

Liang Zaibing spent ages trying to log onto the school's lousy website. When she refreshed the page, the grades hadn't been released yet, but there was less than a minute left before the countdown to the horror game started.

Liang Zaibing calmly glanced at her watch. "I'll worry about failing the course when I come back alive."

-----

Welcome back to horror games!

[Loading the copy]

Welcome to the game instance: Elixir

[Number of players participating: 6]

[Difficulty: A]

[Task: Cure any physical disability or terminal illness within five days. Failure to do so will result in task failure.]

You are unfortunate; you were born with an incurable disability.

But you are also lucky; your parents are willing to do anything to heal you.

When Liang Zaibing opened her eyes, she found herself in a magnificent villa, the kind of villa where domineering CEOs live, just like in TV dramas.

It features European-style decor, is a three-story villa, and includes a yard and swimming pool.

Putting aside everything else, the cost of maintaining the garden and swimming pool alone is a huge sum of money every year.

Liang Zaibing glanced out the window and then looked away, standing in front of the full-length mirror to examine herself.

He is not missing any arms or legs, his facial features are all normal, and he does not have any obvious discomfort. So where is his disability?

A comment drifted across the screen: "Why is the son so quiet today? Has he become mute?"

Liang Zaibing opened her mouth to call him an idiot, but only meaningless syllables of "ah ah" came out.

Damn, did those idiot viewers actually guess right?

He tried to say other sentences and words, but all of them failed.

As expected, the comments section was filled with people mocking him.

"Haha ...

"Great, now I don't have to worry about the streamer talking back when I insult him."

"You unfilial son, you've finally met your match."

"The streamer looks furious. You guys should say less and not make him sick."

"Hey, I love seeing him so angry but unable to retaliate."

"How pitiful, being bullied and unable to speak, only able to whimper."

"What did the person upstairs do to me? Is this still a legitimate website?"

"Mind your own business."

-----

Liang Zaibing was genuinely searching the ground for a stick, wanting to give his dear audience a good whack.

Fortunately, he found his usual text-to-speech app on his phone. He typed in two words, and a stiff, robotic male voice loudly and clearly pronounced, "Idiot—"

The chat was stunned for a moment, and before they could say anything, the door in the game was suddenly flung open.

Liang Zaibing was also startled. Turning her head, she saw a middle-aged woman wearing a Chanel suit standing at the door.

The woman's makeup was exquisite, and she took good care of herself, looking like she was only in her early thirties, but she couldn't hide the deep weariness in her eyes.

She was constantly worried and anxious because of her child who had never called her "mother" since birth.

That's a vocal cord abnormality caused by a genetic defect, making it impossible to speak normally; modern medicine simply cannot cure it.

But she never gave up, searching for all sorts of new technologies and even folk remedies, but to no avail.

She had no other way to make her child's life better except by staying by his side and taking care of him.

The woman rushed anxiously to him, cupping his face in her hands with a worried expression. "Baby, are you alright?"

Liang Zaibing got goosebumps from the cheesy address, but she maintained her composure and shook her head to indicate that she was fine.

The woman became even more worried, lifting his chin and looking him over from head to toe. "I heard the sound, how could you be alright? If you feel unwell, just say so, don't hide it from your mother."

Liang Zaibing had no choice but to type on the text reader.

"I'm fine. I just saw a beetle on the window, but it flew away now."

Ye Shu nervously walked to the window and looked at it several times, observing the condition of the security window and the limit switch.

The window is stuck, so it can only be opened 20 centimeters at most. Forget about jumping out, you can't even stick your head out.

Liang Zaibing silently took a step back; this mother's maternal love was truly suffocating.

He looks about 20 in the game. Why does his mother treat such an adult like a child? It seems like she wants to keep him tied to her waistband.

After confirming that there were no problems, Ye Shu breathed a sigh of relief and walked to Liang Zaibing's side to take his arm. "You've always been so sensible since you were little, but Mom knows that you still want to be like ordinary people."

"Don't worry, Mom won't give up on getting you treated. No matter how much it costs or how many people we have to ask, Mom is willing to do anything as long as you are healthy."

"You must wait for Mom. My friend recommended a very capable person to me. He can definitely cure you." Ye Shu hugged Liang Zaibing for a while before reluctantly leaving.

Only then did Liang Zaibing dare to breathe loudly.

An overly heavy burden of maternal love can be too stressful.

He even suspected that the character might not have cared that much about being mute, since it didn't have a particularly big impact on daily life.

His mother felt like the sky had fallen, and she passed on the pressure to him, making the child think that his illness was very serious.

But who is that incredibly powerful person she just mentioned? Is he related to the main storyline?

At the start, players are scattered in different locations within the instance. Generally, prerequisites must be met before entering the actual mission area. Right now, he can only explore and see how things unfold.

-----

Liang Zaibing unlocked the phone with her fingerprint and searched for useful information.

However, he wasn't very lucky. The character he played didn't have the habit of keeping a diary, and his social media accounts, blog, and QQ space were all blank; he never posted anything on them.

There are two games, both of which are gory and horror.

Liang Zaibing focused on his browsing history and found a lot of strange content in addition to some game plots and walkthroughs.

What should I take with me if I run away from home?

Advances in artificial vocal cord research

How can I get my mom to treat me like an adult?

How to escape surveillance

Basic counter-surveillance skills

Does cutting your hand really feel good?

What is the least painful method of suicide?

How to commit murder without being discovered?

……

As Liang Zaibing watched further, she became horrified. This person's mental state was truly precarious, with a high degree of self-destructive and harmful tendencies.

However, he doesn't seem to have taken any action.

Liang Zaibing hesitated for a moment, then went to the bathroom, locked the door, and only took off her shirt after confirming there were no cameras.

He glanced at himself in the mirror and couldn't help but gasp.

The exposed arms and legs of this body were clean and white, but the chest, ribs, abdomen and back were covered with deep and shallow scars, some of which were still freshly healed and fleshy red.

This is only the upper body; there are probably many more injuries on the legs.