Chapter 75: The Children's Home

Bai Liu looked to Lu Yizhan: "Tell me the details of last night first."

Lu Yizhan's eyes closed, he took a deep breath of smoke and exhaled through his lungs, "Around 3am last night, all 37 children brought in were uncharacteristically vomiting badly ......"

"These children vomited up one whole mushroom after another, but all of these children had been induced to vomit and had their stomachs lavaged when they were admitted to the hospital in an emergency the day before, and had been fasted on fluids all day yesterday, and none of them had eaten anything, and there could have been nothing in their stomachs at all."

Lu Yizhan paused here, shaking the ashes from his cigarette on the bin in the hallway: "It scared the nurses and doctors, immediately called the police, and then prepared to draw emergency blood on all the children ......"

Lu Yizhan slowly exhaled a white breath of smoke: "But except for the child who was alive, the nurses could only draw a light green translucent fluid from the children who kept vomiting, and no blood could be drawn at all.

Bai Liu was not shocked, these things were like the antique mirror that could hide a giant bomb from security, a [horror game] that was loaded into this [reality public test mode], in a horror game, anything out of the ordinary was possible, the extraction of mushroom juice was a common game direction that Bai Liu found normal and expected.

Bai Liu pondered for a while and asked, "What about the living child? Her blood is normal, right? Have the results of her blood tests come back yet?"

"It came out a bit mildly anaemic, but generally normal." Lu Yizhan said.

Bai Liu pondered for a moment and then asked, "And did you get any key information out of the waking child to solve the case?"

"No." Lu Yizhan let out a long, bitter laugh, "This little girl is blind, she doesn't recognise our voices, refuses to communicate with us in any way, only nods and shakes her head occasionally in response to us, and as she can't see, she most likely doesn't know anything either, because of her eyes she doesn't even know what she ate that day was mushrooms. "

"This little girl is Liu Jiayi and has a half-brother called Liu Huai, she won't talk until her brother arrives." Lu Yizhan sighed and said, "It's mainly because the little girl is reluctant to talk, otherwise I would have taken you in and talked to her, you're quite good at tricking children."

Bai Liu's expression gave a faint, unnoticeable pause as he slowly looked up at Lu Yizhan: "What did you say her brother's name was?"

Lu Yizhan was stunned: "Liu Huai, a university student, had been working to support this little girl, but almost six months ago, he suddenly placed her in the orphanage where this incident took place, and would come to see Liu Jiayi almost once a week, but he really had no obligation to support his half-sister. know her brother?"

"I've met him once." Bai Liu smiled, "I've networked and played games with him, he would remember me, maybe he could let me talk to his sister."

------

Liu Huai sits stiffly in his hospital room, and on his bed is a skinny little girl, Liu Jiayi, curled up in a ball holding her knees.

But that is not the main reason for Liu Huai's stiffness, it is Bai Liu who sits opposite him and smiles kindly at him.

Liu Huai doesn't understand why he is so unlucky to meet Bai Liu, the demon king, who even comes up and hooks his shoulders in a very familiar way, bending his eyes to get close to him and saying he wants to talk to his sister Liu Jiayi.

Liu Huai bemoaned his bad luck in his mind, but he brought Bai Liu in anyway.

However, as Liu Jiayi could not accept too many people, she could not help but scream. Liu Huai refused to let more people into the ward, so the police stayed outside the door and let Liu Huai work on Liu Jiayi before Liu Huai brought Bai Liu in on behalf of his friend.

The ward is currently occupied by Liu Huai, Bai Liu and Liu Jiayi.

Bai Liu and Liu Huai sit on the left and right sides of Liu Jiayi's ward. Liu Jiayi sits in the middle of the bed, clutching her knees, her face buried between the space created by her hands and knees, wearing a hospital gown that is a little too big for her and hangs empty on her thin, frail skeleton.

The little girl is, as Lu Yizhan says, a little deformed and thin, like an underdeveloped skeleton, several sizes away from the over-nourished contemporary children Bai Liu remembers from the fast food restaurants.

Liu Huai couldn't bear the heavy atmosphere first, so he blocked Bai Liu's view of Liu Jiayi with the quilt and stepped in front of her.

Liu Huai stared at Bai Liu warily like a beast protecting its cubs: " Bai Liu, what do you want from me?"

Bai Liu always gets straight to the point: "I'm not here to see you, I'm here to see your sister."

"My sister?!" Liu Huai fiercely wrapped Liu Jiayi in a blanket and hugged her in her arms, looking at Bai Liu with hostility, "What do you want with her?"

" Liu Huai, how old is the youngest player you've seen in the game?" Bai Liu suddenly changed the subject.

Although the ward was under surveillance being watched by the police, due to the presence of the system's [gag] mechanism, there was a high probability that what Bai Liu said would be harmonised and he asked the question without fear.

"Why are you asking this?" Liu Huai wondered.

Bai Liu looked straight at Liu Jiayi, who was trembling in Liu Huai's arms: "I was wondering if your sister, the youngest player in the game, would turn out to be the youngest."

Liu Jiayi, the only child to survive the mushroom poisoning at the orphanage, is similar to Bai Liu who survived the Mirror City bombing and Muke who survived the haunted dormitory at the Japanese school.

There are currently two conditions that need to be met for a player to be known to Bai Liu, the first [the presence of players around the player].

The game spreads in a virus-like fashion, from one person to another, such as Muke influencing Bai Liu, Li Gou influencing Xiang Chunhua and Liu Fu.

Liu Jiayi is surrounded by Liu Huai, who fits the profile.

The second condition that Bai Liu feels players should meet is to have survived at least one copy of the [Horror Game Official].

Liu Jiayi clearly meets both of these criteria.

Bai Liu guesses that the young girl who survived death is likely to be the chosen reserve player for the game.

Liu Huai froze completely, he slowly looked towards Bai Liu, with an unbelievable gaze at Liu Jiayi who was still trembling slightly in his arms, and finally trembled uncontrollably himself, he looked at the changing stream in shock and uncertainty: "...... but she is only eight years old, how can she be a player ...... and I specifically controlled myself to only seek her out once a week, this frequency with which I affect her cannot directly affect her access to the game ......"

"Why not?" Bai Liu asked calmly in return, "Does the system ban minors from playing games as much as parents do?"

Liu Huai, the parent, choked on his words and subconsciously tightened his arms around Liu Jiayi, his face taking on a panicked expression: "But she can't even see! She entered the game, she couldn't survive in that harsh environment! There's no reason for the system to pick her!"

"So how did she survive this nasty poisonous mushroom incident?" Bai Liu had a subdued manner.

The only child to survive a copy of a real-world horror game, even if invisible, Bai Liu doesn't think Liu Jiayi is an easy child.

Liu Huai was left speechless by Bai Liu, and could only retort to Bai Liu: "Jiajia survived the mushroom incident only because she was lucky! But she's not like Du Sanying, who can always gamble on luck!"

But then Liu Jiayi spoke in a whisper, her voice very faint: "Brother, it's not true."

Her thin little hand gently tugged at Liu Huai's jacket, and from Liu Huai's outer set poked out a very fidgety little head, her eyes were a greyish white like a haze clouding them, but her voice was soft and clear, "Brother, I wasn't poisoned not because I was lucky, but because I secretly poured out the rice the teacher served me. "

Liu Huai was stunned: "Why did you pour out the rice your teacher served you?"

Liu Jiayi's pale, dry lips pursed as she said in a small voice, "Brother, don't blame me for pouring the food, I didn't think the teacher was right that day, she had to feed me on her own initiative, she had always thrown me the bowl before and let me eat it myself, then I poured it out and pretended to eat it while she was serving it to the other children."

Bai Liu spread his hands and smiled, "Looks like your sister is a lot smarter than you."

"I won't let her into the game even if she's smart!!!" Liu Huai was completely furious, his eyes glowing red as he glared at Bai Liu, " Bai Liu, whatever you want to do, my sister will not!"

Liu Jiayi, who was being held tightly by Liu Huai, wrapped her arms around Liu Huai's neck in some confusion: "What are you talking about, brother? What am I going into?"

Liu Jiayi is obviously [blocked] from Bai Liu and Liu Huai's chat conversations, and Liu Jiayi, who has not yet entered the game, cannot hear the specific conversation between Bai Liu and Liu Huai about [the game].

" Liu Huai, I just want to work with you." Bai Liu said lightly, "If Liu Jiayi is really chosen by the game, there is nothing you can do to stop Liu Jiayi from entering the game."

"And there is a way I can help you, help Liu Jiayi." Bai Liu raised his eyes to Liu Huai and said softly.

Liu Huai laughed coldly, "What you mean by helping is controlling us, right? Bai Liu, you are essentially the same as Zhang Gui, I appreciate your help, but I won't let my sister fall into your hands!"

"I don't know what use she is to you now that you've come to the door, but get out!" Liu Huai growled as he stared down Bai Liu like a fierce beast of burden, his back arched as if he was going to choke Bai Liu to death in the next second.

Bai Liu was quiet for a couple of seconds and then stood up. He didn't argue much, he did want to save Liu Jiayi, but only because Bai Liu could see that Lu Yizhan was tempted to adopt the little girl.

And if Lu Yizhan wanted to choose this little girl as his adopted daughter, Bai Liu would try to keep her alive.

Lu Yizhan was keen to help Liu Jiayi, and Bai Liu could see that Lu Yizhan had always been a nosy person.

It's like when Lu Yizhan would sneak food to Bai Liu who didn't feel he had enough to eat, even though Bai Liu didn't feel he was starving.

Bai Liu never understood Lu Yizhan's logic that he had to help people, but as a former beneficiary of Lu Yizhan's logic, Bai Liu mostly chose to indulge the guy's self-righteous choices, because after all, Lu Yizhan would pay him, Bai Liu didn't work for nothing, and Lu Yizhan understood his logic well.

This is why Bai Liu will remain friends with Lu Yizhan.

Bai Liu tore up a piece of paper and wrote his phone number on it, placing it on Liu Jiayi's bedside: "I can help Liu Jiayi survive her first game, but only if all her souls are sold to me so that I can get her through the first game."

Only when he has Liu Jiayi's soul can Bai Liu help Liu Jiayi manipulate the panel.

Liu Huai roared and tore off the piece of paper ready to throw it in Bai Liu's face: "I won't allow it! "

"I think you gave up custody of her when you put her in the children's home, you are not her legal guardian in name only." Bai Liu looked down at Liu Huai without a ripple, "So I don't think you have the right to decide for Liu Jiayi herself."

Liu Huai's eyes glowed red with rage, but he laughed instead of being angry: "Bai Liu, do you know what desire I have to enter the game?"

"I am here to let her see the light." Liu Huai took a deep breath and turned her head to stop looking at Bai Liu, "Go away, I won't trust her in the hands of someone like you, then her future must be very dark."

Liu Huai's eyes were a little red as she looked away, "I've had enough of being controlled, so her life can never be controlled by you."

"I was controlled by Zhang Gui betrayed the fourth brother ...... when, that instant lost the best friend and the most tacit teammate of the people, not only the fourth brother, Mu Sicheng a." Liu Huai side lowered his head, can not see the look on his face, his voice is dry, "forced to take the blade to become hurt that party, your heart will not feel better ...... so I do not want her to also fall to my point."

Bai Liu was quiet for a moment, "Controlling a little girl of a few years old doesn't give me any value, my best friend trying to save your sister is the only value I have in doing so."

Liu Huai turned his head in astonishment to Bai Liu.

Liu Jiayi turns her head a little confusedly, her misty eyes appearing strangely fragile on her thin, pointy face as she is held by Liu Huai, like a pale grey, tentacled butterfly, rubbing the top of her head against Liu Huai's chin as if to soothe Liu Huai's violent mood swings.

Bai Liu, under Liu Huai's suspicious gaze, says no more, calmly turns and opens the door to the ward and leaves.

Lu Yizhan is standing at the corner of the stairs waiting for Bai Liu, who is still smoking, a pile of cigarette butts on the bin next to him, I don't know how many he has smoked.

When Bai Liu came over, Lu Yizhan's eyes lit up: "Well, do you have an idea?"

But when Lu Yizhan saw the look on Bai Liu's face, he froze for a moment.

Bai Liu is a man who always wears a smile when he is in a normal or happy mood, and does not move very much. When his emotions are up and down, he does not have any open expression on his face, but a very heavy and depressed look floating in his eyes and face.

To put it simply, Bai Liu is not in a good mood at this time.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yizhan couldn't help but soften his voice, "Did someone scold you? I heard Liu Huai yelling at you in the ward. But you didn't say anything on the CCTV, but some victims' families do get very emotional, so don't take it personally."

"I sometimes, still can't understand the logic of human emotions." Bai Liu's gaze is a little scattered, one of the signs that he is still thinking.

"It's strange." Bai Liu mutters to himself, "I can't understand some of Liu Huai's logic, he's supposed to be a very selfish person by nature, but Liu Huai can go to this extent for his sister when the law doesn't even require him to have a maintenance obligation."

Bai Liu does not suspect that Liu Huai is lying to him, his subconscious reactions are not deceptive.

But he soon recovered from this state.

Bai Liu swept Lu Yizhan: "But it's not the first time I've encountered this kind of self-devotion that baffles me, let's grab the orphanage."

------

Bai Liu was admitted to the children's home with Muke.

Muke came to Bai Liu's house early to keep watch, but Bai Liu was called away earlier by Lu Yizhan, who called him to the hospital in the early hours of the morning, and only after Bai Liu returned home once to get his things did he see a young Muke crouching in front of his house, clutching his legs.

The young master didn't open the door, so he probably thought Bai Liu was sleeping and didn't even dare to call him.

Muke's father waited at Bai Liu's door with Muke, and even the Papa Mu was respectful enough to wait at the door with his own son, knowing that Bai Liu was probably still asleep. He was so respectful of Bai Liu that he chose to wait at the door with his son, knowing that Bai Liu was probably still asleep.

When Bai Liu came home, he saw Muke and his father waiting at his doorstep, not even daring to speak loudly, lowering their voices and whispering for fear of disturbing Bai Liu's sleep.

He seemed to think that Bai Liu had taken Muke away for two months to cure him, but Bai Liu didn't ask Muke how the young master had fooled his father. He thanked Bai Liu profusely for saving his little boy.

After learning that Bai Liu was going to a children's home to care for the children, the rich and famous boss was moved to say that he would also do something good for his son's upcoming medical journey by donating to the home and personally drove him and Muke there in a high-profile Maybach costing more than $10 million each.

When he arrived at the orphanage, Muke didn't follow his own father, but followed Bai Liu obediently, with his eyes peeking out at him, and with his eyes snuffling, like a cat that wants to cling to its owner but hasn't been given permission yet.

Bai Liu could sense Muke's intense restlessness, which was not good for getting into the game, and it was his duty to calm the over-stressed young master, so he acquiesced to Muke's clinging to him.

Bai Liu said hello to Lu Yizhan and said he was going to the orphanage with his friend, Muke, to see what was going on inside.

Lu Yizhan went in with his colleagues to investigate.

Bai Liu and Muke were respectfully shown the way by the director of the children's home because Muke's father had offered a generous donation.

The director of the children's home is an over-aged grandmother, with a number of spots on the tip of her nose and cheeks that remind Bai Liu of corpse spots, her eyes are cloudy, her body is hunched, and she smells, if anything, of putrid mushrooms.

Muke's father had gone with the director to discuss donations and the old director had asked one of the teachers to show them around the orphanage.

It is a decrepit children's home, built in the style of a decade ago, with three small buildings in a triangular circle, the outer and inner walls of the short building are rotting and peeling, revealing moss-covered walls inside.

But the equipment is old, swaying forlornly in the muddy wasteland. With the sound of the wind, the seesaw moves, the empty right seat goes down and up again, and the swing swings around regularly with increasing amplitude, making a creaking sound as if something is sitting and playing on it.

The teacher who led the way was a bit pale, she didn't dare to look at the park, cowering and leading the way with her head down, heading for the outermost of the three buildings.

Bai Liu glanced at the date of the award underneath the medal, which was more than ten years ago, not long after the establishment of the orphanage.

The teacher in front of them began to whisper to them, "Our orphanage is an old one, covering an area of 25 acres at first, with a building area of nearly 10,000 square meters, professional classrooms for the education of disabled children, classrooms for teaching musical instruments, an in-house school nurse's room, etc., with more than 300 beds for 300 children and more than 200 caregivers... ..."

Bai Liu looks around the week and asks rhetorically with a raised eyebrow, "250,000, nearly 10,000 square feet of floor space? 200 carers?"

Bai Liu has not seen any so-called carers since she came in, and it is likely that there are not many carers in the home at all.

The teacher paused and the words began to break: "That was when it was just built, then it was ...... let out part of it, then later our orphanage was downsized to a certain size because of funding problems and the caregivers sacked most of them."

"Originally we had 46 children left in the orphanage and rehearsed a show for this year's June 1 Children's Day to show the investors behind this children's home, but they have been sponsoring this children's home for ten years and said it was just too much money to spend, so ...... they did decide not to sponsor it this year. We can't find a new sponsor for now either ......"

Bai Liu inquired in an unhurried tone, "You had 46 children here, 37 at the hospital, 9 more, and I haven't seen any of them? Can the remaining nine children come out and meet us?"

The teacher's face went white again, and she wrung her fingers without speaking, not seeming to want the child to come out.

Something is wrong, Bai Liu's eyes narrow.

Muke and Bai Liu looked at each other and understood each other. The young master coughed in a pretentious manner, took two steps forward, raised his chin and said: "We are initially planning to donate 10 million to your children's home, and we would like to meet the children who are still in this home, is that too much to ask? "

After a long time she seemed to have made up her mind and turned to Bai Liu and Muke: "Do you really want to donate? 10 million?"

Muke really seemed to think that 10 million was chump change, and the punk kid nodded without hesitation.

This teacher took a deep breath and said very low and fast, "There are not nine children who can come to see you, only five."

"What about the other four?" Bai Liu frowned.

A kind of hidden panic appeared in this teacher's eyes and he lowered his head and whispered, "Four other children disappeared last night, they stole out at night to play on the swings and seesaw, but while they were playing, they disappeared, but the swings and seesaw swung all night ...... "

The wind blew violently in a flash, the various pieces of equipment in the children's playground behind Bai Liu were blown by the wind, the temperature in the courtyard plummeted, the chilly wind made the seesaw rise and fall faster and faster, and the swings swung higher and higher.

The swing and the seesaw came to a halt at the same time, the swing rippling in the wind and the seesaw hovering even more bizarrely, as if a scale had stopped.

It was as if something that had been playing on it suddenly jumped down and stood staring at the group of adults with its hand pulling on the toy equipment.

A short while later, the scales hovering like a seesaw suddenly fall to the left at an unnaturally slow pace, and something rolls down the teeter-totter, which is tilted to one side, and Bai Liu looks over the falling teeter-totter to find a doll with its head twisted off.

The thing that rolled down was the head of this doll.

And the doll that rolled down with its head was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, its limbs and head were all twisted off, and the doll had a creepy smile on its face and a poor quality necklace that looked like a coin hanging from its chest.

This is a doll exactly as Bai Liu is now dressed.