Chapter 114: Aberrant 4

The room was dimly lit, with only two red lights shining. These were electronic candles used for offerings, flickering and swaying, casting a blood-red glow that illuminated the narrow room.

The porcelain statue of Avalokitesvara, pure and white, was also bathed in the red light, her compassionate eyes lowered.

At her feet, there were over a dozen porcelain dolls in various shapes. Unlike the golden boy and jade maiden usually depicted in Avalokitesvara’s imagery, these dolls were all in the form of babies wearing belly bands, their heads or limbs bound with thread, tied next to the statue, offered together.

Qian’s gaze swept across everything in the room, and she nervously clutched Aberrant’s neck.

The field Boss Monster, feared by players, was like the gentlest and most ordinary mother, holding Qian and soothing her bewilderment and subtle fear.

Wrapped in Aberrant’s soft arms, Qian felt her hands slowly caressing her back, and she couldn’t help but close her eyes in comfort.

For the first time, she felt an unprecedented sense of security from Aberrant.

As she closed her eyes, Aberrant carried her through the shelves of boxes and porcelain jars, and Qian blinked, finding herself in a soft, serene space.

The ground and walls here were soft, bathed in a warm orange glow, peaceful and calm.

Aberrant’s body, mostly fused with the walls, leaned forward, gently setting Qian down on the soft ground.

Her hands stroked Qian’s face and head, her long hair, fragrant and flowing like a stream, brushed against Qian.

The comforting touch withdrew, and Aberrant’s body retreated, slowly vanishing into the wall.

Qian, who had almost fallen asleep from the soothing caress, suddenly felt awake when Aberrant disappeared.

She reached out, but grabbed nothing—only soft walls.

“Hmm?” Qian took a few steps, then suddenly heard a sound behind her.

A small hand tapped her ankle.

Looking down, she saw a tiny baby with a large head and small body. The baby was crawling on the ground, holding her ankle and staring at her, excitedly slapping its hands and feet on the floor.

As Qian locked eyes with the baby, another crawled up and grabbed her other foot.

Trying to free herself, Qian lifted her foot but couldn’t shake them off. Instead, she slipped and fell to the ground with a thud.

As she sat on the floor, the baby became even more excited. More crawled from the corners toward her.

Some reached for her hands, others grabbed her hair, and a few pounced on her.

There were at least a dozen of these babies. But they weren’t like ordinary babies. They had an underdeveloped appearance, with pitch-black eyes, thin limbs and bodies that seemed unable to support their oversized heads, yet they crawled swiftly on the ground.

They resembled a pack of enthusiastic puppies, one by one climbing on top of Qian, pinning her down.

“Go away!” Qian, uncomfortable from being pressed, frowned and pushed them away. “Don’t come near me.”

But as she pushed one away, another crawled closer.

“Don’t grab my hair!” Qian snatched her hair back from one of the babies.

The baby, whose hand was pulled away, let out a high-pitched laugh.

The eerie baby laughter made Qian’s face wrinkle even more. Especially as one baby, lying beside her, opened its mouth and bit down on her wrist.

At this size, the baby should have no teeth, but when it bit her, Qian felt a sharp pain in her wrist.

She’d been bitten—could she just tolerate that? Back when Dog Father bit her, she bit back.

So, Qian grabbed the baby trying to bite her wrist, and bit down hard on its only fleshy cheek, leaving a distinct tooth mark.

The baby that had been bitten suddenly let out a loud cry, much sharper than its previous laughter.

Qian didn’t care. Anytime a baby tried to bite her, she’d slap it hard on the bottom.

The baby that had been slapped cried even louder than the one that had been bitten, rolling away from her, scrambling as it went.

In the chaos, only two babies remained by Qian’s side. Perhaps seeing the fate of the others, these two hesitated, too scared to act or make a sound. They just listened to the cries of the other babies, then started to whimper as well.

The crying filled the room, echoing like a demonic sound.

That day, these baby ghosts learned a lesson: Mommy might not scold them, but Big Sister will.

And when Big Sister strikes, she does it without mercy.

After sending the lost children back to a safe place, Aberrant appeared in the corridor of Tianzi Building, following the traces of human presence.

By this time, three members of the association’s five-person squad had gathered, with only Black Cat and Nurse still unaccounted for.

Black Cat was chasing a Pyramid member. The Pyramid youth, clutching his chest where he had been wounded, hurried down the hallway, his mask having fallen off, revealing a face full of hostility.

The hallway seemed endless, with shadowy figures lurking behind, and as he passed by, doors to various rooms swung open, revealing either tidy or cluttered interiors, silently beckoning him to step inside.

Many rooms in Tianzi Building were dangerous and would actively capture prey, like a carnivorous plant trapping insects.

If one’s willpower wasn’t strong enough, just seeing these rooms would induce hallucinations—visions of the safest home, making one unable to resist entering. But once inside, it was nearly impossible to leave.

As the Pyramid youth lost too much blood, his mind grew clouded. Drops of blood fell to the ground, and the scent of blood awakened more nearby rooms. The doors to these rooms opened, and sounds filled the air—noises of everyday life.

Someone was watching television, the news broadcast was on, and a fan was blowing loudly.

A family was arguing, their voices raised over trivial matters, accompanied by the clattering of pots and pans.

From another house, the smell of food wafted through the air. The Pyramid youth staggered to a stop in front of a door marked “206.”

He stared at the small kitchen just across the door and the small living room beyond the plastic bead curtain. It seemed like he could see someone bustling about, wearing an apron, shouting loudly.

But the smell of the braised pork was what truly caught his attention… yes, that aroma.

“Mom, you’re back.”

The youth’s eyes brightened slightly, and he could no longer move.

Black Cat appeared in the shadow beneath his feet, coldly pushing him into room 206 as he stood there in a daze.

The door slammed shut with a loud bang. The youth screamed from inside, his blurred reflection in the frosted glass window stained with blood.

The blood, slowly dripping down, was quickly licked away by something, vanishing completely.

Black Cat, ever cautious, moved away from the area, taking out her communicator to meet with the team.

“I’m on the third floor,” Nurse said, panting into the communicator.

“Head to the first floor immediately,” came Teacher Wen’s serious voice from the other end.

“But the Pyramid people took that kid, they might be upstairs…”

“Nurse! Forget about that now, go downstairs immediately!” Teacher Wen interrupted him.

Nurse closed his eyes briefly, glancing reluctantly down the empty corridor ahead, then gritted his teeth and responded, “…Okay.”

He turned and headed downstairs.

When he reached the second floor, he suddenly felt a chill at his back. His instinct screamed danger, and he quickly rolled forward, narrowly avoiding a soft, pale hand that reached for him.

As Nurse hit the ground, he didn’t have time to figure out what attacked him, quickly pulling out two vials from his medical kit and throwing them in both directions.

The small explosions echoed, and only then did Nurse see the figure standing not far from him.

His pupils shrank in shock—it was Aberrant!

According to the association’s earlier data, if their five-person squad faced Aberrant together, using Teacher Wen’s shield and Big Bear’s Buddha Seal knife, with careful coordination and health calculations, they might stand a chance of wearing her down. But facing her alone would undoubtedly lead to death!

Run! That was the only thought in Nurse’s mind. The vials he threw caused no damage to Aberrant.

She waved her arm, deflecting the explosions, and the flammable substance splashed on her, running down her arm in a stream. Flames scorched her arm, yet it remained as white as snow, even more stunning and mysterious in the firelight.

As a healer, Nurse didn’t have many offensive skills. He threw a few more splash vials, but even the corrosive liquid that could harm zombies had no effect on Aberrant. It only slightly slowed her down.

Nurse had used almost all of his weaponry and had barely managed to distance himself by a few meters. Despair flooded him as he thought, I’m going to die here.

But he didn’t want to die. He wanted to live.

He struggled to keep running, only to notice that Aberrant wasn’t chasing him anymore.

She stood still, her head slightly tilted back as she gazed upward.

Looking back, Nurse thought he saw some hesitation in her.

But the hesitation didn’t last long. Aberrant didn’t follow Nurse, but instead vanished.

All the babies were crying, loud and chaotic. Qian tightly covered her ears.

Suddenly, the wall in front of her rippled, and Aberrant’s body slid through.

The screaming babies saw her appear and crawled toward her. Aberrant expertly lifted and comforted each of the ugly babies, and her arms, spilling out from her back, had a purpose, soothing every child.

The babies still couldn’t speak, and all they could manage to say was something resembling “Mom.”

Qian, watching them surround Aberrant and continuously call out for “Mom,” grew anxious. She ran over, grabbing Aberrant’s hand and calling out for “Mom” as well.

Her voice was loud and forceful as she grasped Aberrant’s two most normal-looking arms.

The other babies couldn’t speak, but Qian could. She sobbed, “I was bitten, they bit me!”

Aberrant, shaken by Qian pulling at her arms, indeed lifted Qian up.

Qian sensed her response and immediately became more assertive in her complaint.

She stretched out her arm, revealing the marks from where the babies had bitten her earlier, but then worried Aberrant might not see clearly. She reached up to push Aberrant’s hair away from her face, extending her arm in front of her.

Aberrant’s eyes were closed, but as the hair was moved aside, her eyelids trembled and slowly opened. A stream of blood tears immediately flowed from her long, beautiful eyes.

Instinctively, Qian reached up and wiped the blood tears from Aberrant’s cheek, saying softly, “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”

Aberrant looked at her, then glanced at the red marks on her arm, before lowering her head to gently lick the marks. A cool sensation spread across Qian’s arm, and the red marks vanished instantly.

Aberrant carried Qian and the other babies into the soft space.

Her arms continued to soothe the babies and place them around the space.

However, Qian refused to let go of her neck, clutching tightly. So Aberrant was left with no choice but to keep holding her alone, letting her rest her head on her chest.

As Aberrant arrived, the soft space began to pulse rhythmically, like the beat of a heart.

In this slow, heartbeat-like rhythm, the other babies quickly fell asleep, and Qian, unable to resist, yawned and slowly closed her eyes, drifting into sleep.

The children were all asleep. Aberrant lay on her side, her body slowly merging into the ground.

As she too closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep, the towering Tianzi Building in the night suddenly shrank in segments, returning to its original six-story height.