That was the missing hostess, but she wasnât missing. She had been there all along, watching them from under the bed.
Since when had this started...
Fattyâs head was spinning.
When had this woman started hiding here? If she had been hidden from the start, then wouldnât she have been under his bed last night? However, this wasnât the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was that his conversation with You Si might have been entirely overheard by this woman. If that were true...
"People from that world are full of love and kindness for the weak. They pour out their boundless enthusiasm onto those they perceive as weak, which gives them a greater sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
"They always keep an eye on you, peeping at you, because your every move could bring them immense satisfaction.
"However..." Yao Zhai paused at this point, as if recalling unpleasant memories. "They only show kindness to the weak. If any of your words or actions donât align with their expectations, it will trigger frantic suspicion and doubt. They will peep from every visible corner and appear in the most unexpected places.
"Once itâs discovered that you are not, in fact, the weak person they imagined, you will be subjected to the harshest punishment." Yao Zhai, who had been intercepted by Xiao Qiao outside the instance, fell silent for a few seconds. "This is... precisely my cause of death."
Those eyes staring intently at him felt like an illusion.
They vanished without a trace in an instant. When he looked under the bed again, only darkness remained.
Just then, Fatty heard footsteps from the living room. He turned his head towards the door and saw the man of the house wearing slippers, making a TAP TAP sound.
The man paid them no attention, heading straight for the sofa. Then, he picked up the remote control and pointed it at the TV, pressing a button.
It was still the show "Metamorphosis." However, the camera was no longer focused on Gu Mian. Instead, a womanâs face was on the screen, her expression somewhat strange, a face Fatty didnât recognize.
Then You Siâs voice said, "Su Xiaocha."
Fatty understood.
So, it was Su Xiaocha, the female player who was with Xie Biâan. She was a member of the disadvantaged group, sent to a good family to experience life...
But before Fatty could repeat the name, You Si, beside him, suddenly let out a terrified cry.
He had barely finished uttering "Su Xiaocha" when his voice abruptly shot up, like a parrot whose neck had been suddenly squeezed.
Fatty immediately turned to look at him and saw You Siâs eyes glued to the TV screen. The sudden rise in his voice was due to something he had seen; Fattyâs gaze also slowly shifted to the TV screen.
By now, the camera had pulled away from her face, allowing Fatty to see the female playerâs miserable situation clearly.
To say she was in a "miserable situation" was no exaggeration.
She was trussed up and laid on a cement platform, like a pig awaiting slaughter or a criminal from centuries ago awaiting beheading in the public square.
Fatty immediately understood.
This female player had undoubtedly, inadvertently exposed the fact that she wasnât as miserable as she appeared to be.
A host stood beside her, speaking excitedly, "In this episode, weâve also discovered a fraudâthis very female guest..."
The camera followed her voice, and Su Xiaochaâs face once again filled the entire screen.
"We discovered that this guest is not as unfortunate as we imagined, yet she tried to exploit our kindness and pity to deceive the audience. What a greedy person! Next, we will carry out the punishment for deception and greed..."
As the host spoke, the camera panned away, pulling Su Xiaochaâs face from the screen and revealing another scene to Fatty and You Si.
It was a filthy, foul-smelling toilet.
More precisely, it should be called an "outhouse."
Fatty swore he hadnât seen such an outhouse in many years. It resembled the dry toilets from over a decade ago: two old cement Stone Tablets laid over a square pit several meters deep, leaving a gap dozens of centimeters wide.
Beside the gap on the Stone Tablet, there were splashes of an unidentifiable yellowish-brown substance; even the filthy walls were stained with it. The stains varied in color; some had dried and solidified, while others were still fresh.
Even through the screen, Fatty felt as though he could smell the foul odor.
He saw HUMMING black bugs flying in and out of the gap, occasionally sticking to those yellowish-brown spots.
The sight reminded him of the small bugs that often flew into his mouth when he used to run. A wave of nausea rose from his stomach.
The camera continued to zoom in, and through the narrow gap, Fatty and You Si could see the contents of the deep pit.
After seeing what was inside, Fatty felt that calling it a "dry toilet" was no longer an appropriate description.
At the very least, the inside was quite damp.
The contents of the deep pit were almost up to the Stone Tablets. It was a soupy mess inside, with several darker-colored chunks floating on the surface, covered by a layer of writhing white maggots. Upon closer inspection, something floated in the thin, yellowish liquid, resembling dead fish.
Even though Fatty had a strong stomach, he was rendered speechless by the scene. You Si, beside him, couldnât bear it any longer; he gagged and quickly covered his mouth.
Fatty heard his horrified voice, "What are they doing? How can this be?"
Apart from Gu Mian and his companions, the others didnât understand this worldâs situation. Naturally, anyone seeing such a scene for the first time would be horrified.
The screen switched back to the host.
She seemed impervious to the stench, her face still wreathed in smiles.