Fu Changxun recognized Xu Xiao.
The little girl had been brought to the hospital by Xu Zhengyi a year ago due to signs of mild depression.
Back then, Fu Changxun had still been an intern—he hadn’t opened his own clinic yet. But for some reason, the girl had taken a strong liking to him. Every time she came in, she’d cling to him and beg to play.
So, after he left the hospital and opened his practice, Xu Zhengyi specifically sought him out again to continue treating her.
It had been a full year now.
But Xiaoxiao hadn’t been with them at the café, so how had she ended up in this instance too? And if the game was really twisted enough to drag kids into this… what about infants, the elderly, pregnant women, or people with disabilities? Were they all at risk of getting pulled in too?
Those vulnerable groups would have next to no chance of survival.
He looked up to see Dong Zi wearing the same bewildered expression—it was clear he’d thought of the same thing.
Their confusion must have been too intense, because the Customer Service panel popped up with an answer of its own:
[Low-Dimensional Selection does not extract humans under age 10, over age 80, or pregnant individuals. Disabled players or those aged 10–15 who trigger an instance will be transported to the same instance as their closest family member, and receive one random item.]
Xiaoxiao had just turned ten—so naturally, she’d been transported into Xu Zhengyi’s instance.
Now that the game mechanics were clear, the three adults felt an overwhelming weight settle in their chests.
Even so, Fu Changxun forced a smile at the little girl and pulled a funny face to lighten the mood.
“Xiaoxiao, is it fun playing this game with big brother?”
“……” She replied in a solemn tone, “Doctor gege, I know how dangerous this game is. Don’t try to baby me. I’m not a little kid anymore. I understand everything you guys are saying—and my panel says my Intelligence is 78.”
Fu Changxun was genuinely surprised.
“Whoa, that high? You’re almost catching up to me.”
Xu Zhengyi had calmed down from his earlier anger. He knew that no matter how furious he was, it wouldn’t change reality. All he could do now was accept it—and do everything in his power to protect his daughter.
Hearing her speak in such a world-weary tone, he felt a lump rise in his throat. He quickly said, “Don’t worry, Xiaoxiao. Daddy will protect you.”
Xiaoxiao patted his back.
“Don’t worry, Daddy. I won’t drag you guys down.”
The way she said it, like a little grown-up, only made Xu Zhengyi want to cry even more.
It wasn’t convenient to keep standing around talking on the street, so Dong Zi exchanged a few copper coins and found a nearby tea stand for them to sit and talk.
Xu Xiao took out her items.
She wasn’t a Stealth Walker and hadn’t awakened any ability yet, but she already had two items.
“This is my building block.” She placed a wooden block on the table. “It shakes along with any house it’s linked to—if it falls, the house can collapse too.”
The little girl’s speech was still slightly unpolished, so Fu Changxun asked gently, “Is that so? So if you wanted the house to collapse, you’d just need to topple the block?”
Xu Xiao nodded.
“That’s pretty impressive.” Fu Changxun smiled, clearly pleased. “In the right situation, that could be incredibly useful.”
Xu Xiao immediately lit up with joy and brought out her second item. “And this one, Doctor gege—I couldn’t understand the description. Let me read it to you. Multifunction Pencil Sharpener. Junk item. Cannot sharpen anything that exists in reality. Gege, what’s the use of a sharpener that can’t sharpen anything?” she asked, utterly baffled.
Fu Changxun patted her head. “I’m sure it’ll come in handy somehow. Keep it safe.”
As they were all examining the strange sharpener, a loud “grrrrrrr” suddenly echoed across the table.
Xu Xiao looked over at her dad.
Xu Zhengyi scratched his head awkwardly. “I didn’t eat much this morning. Got caught up in the moment… guess I digested it all a bit too fast…” Then, realization struck him. “Crap—we don’t have any of this world’s money!”
Dong Zi shook his head.
“We were just talking about that. Xu-ge, look—there’s a point-to-currency exchange system in the Game Shop, but the rate’s terrible. Sleeping on the streets for a few days is one thing, but we can’t go without food or water. And with that ripoff exchange rate, what are we supposed to do—rob someone?”
Right as he said that, a commotion broke out in the street.
“Thief! Stop that thief!”
“Don’t let him get away!”
“Catch him! He stole my coin pouch—and that young lady’s silk purse!”
That alone wouldn’t have been worth a second glance—except the thief at the front of the pack blurted out a very modern-sounding, “Shit, shit!”
“……”
Well, speak of the devil. Someone actually did go robbing.
Before they could react, another figure burst from the crowd and took off after the thief.
He moved with incredible speed—far beyond human limits. It could only be an ability.
Fu Changxun had already stood up, but seeing this, he sat right back down. That player clearly had a teammate—no need to interfere.
The crowd chased the two out of sight, and the tea stand gradually quieted again.
But within ten minutes, someone plopped down confidently in the seat next to them.
It was the “thief’s” accomplice from earlier.
Dong Zi looked up.
“You a player?”
“Yep,” the man replied. “You guys are the last three, right?” He lowered his voice. “Wait—thirteen total… still one missing…”
Xu Xiao, being a late bloomer, looked only seven or eight—like any average ancient-era child. The man clearly thought she was just someone they’d picked up and didn’t consider her a player.
“What do you mean, ‘three’?” Xu Zhengyi was about to clarify that his daughter was also a player when Fu Changxun kicked him lightly under the table.
Fu Changxun smoothly followed up, “So you’ve already gathered nine players on your side?”
The man didn’t sense anything amiss and nodded.
“Yeah. Just one more to find. We just grabbed some cash, or we wouldn’t even be able to eat. You guys need some? We can split it with you.”
So they were testing the waters for the other group. Normally, anyone would accept the offer. But Fu Changxun gave him a warm smile.
“Thanks, but no need. We’ll figure something out ourselves.”
As the “higher-dimensional beings” had pointed out, he was very good-looking. When he smiled, it was like a spring breeze brushing past—so much so that the other guy froze, completely forgetting his next line.
After stammering awkwardly for a bit, the man finally flushed bright red and hurried off.
Dong Zi had been glaring at him the whole time, radiating murderous intent. Only after the guy disappeared from sight did he retract the killing intent and look gently at Fu Changxun.
“Why not work with them?” Xu Zhengyi asked, clearly puzzled.
Fu Changxun raised an eyebrow.
“They were testing us—trying to see if we’d exchanged points for money.”
“So what if we did? And what if we didn’t?”
“If we did, it means we have a lot of points—no big deal to spend a few. If we didn’t, then they’d be watching to see how we get by. And if we had no options, they’d expect us to borrow money from them.” Fu Changxun took a sip of tea. “And if we borrow their money, we’d owe them a favor. That means working for them later.”
Xu Zhengyi’s expression shifted with sudden understanding.
“I get it—there’s probably a leader among those nine. Once you owe them, you’ll be expected to follow orders.”
Dong Zi nodded. “Exactly.”
Neither he nor Fu Changxun wanted to be ordered around—or rather, Ah Xun didn’t want to follow anyone’s lead, and Dong Zi only followed Ah Xun.
