Chapter 69: Little E’s Strange Journey / I’m in His Belly.

Chapter 69: Little E's Strange Journey / Within Its Belly

In the dimly lit bathroom, water poured noisily from the faucet.

A figure wrapped in silver light stood before the sink, methodically washing its hands. The flickering incandescent bulb overhead cast erratic shadows, yet the glow around It remained steady and soft, like a handful of bright moonlight, exuding a non-human beauty.

Though Its entire form was covered in faint silver light, obscuring Its exact features, the outline of Its slender yet powerful fingers was still discernible.

Beside the sink lay a photograph, its corners stained with dark red blood—a shocking sight.

It was a family portrait.

In the photo, the "mother's" face had been gouged out—where her head should have been, only a terrifying black hole remained, hinting at her fate.

Yi Fengchu lowered Its gaze, watching as the water rinsing Its hands changed from light red to clear. The lingering scent of blood was thoroughly washed down the drain, replaced by the clean scent of hand soap.

Satisfied that all traces of blood had been cleansed, It turned off the faucet.

"...You know," the phone's voice murmured eerily, "right now, you look exactly like the serial killers in human horror movies—the cold-blooded type who calmly cleans up at the crime scene after committing murder."

Yi Fengchu replied nonchalantly, "Killing monsters—can that even be called murder?"

Who could blame It? The way "Mother" had praised the Father of Curses in Its presence had been unbearably grating.

Originally, It could have simply commanded the newly grown serpent on Its body to swallow "Mother" whole. Yet, midway through, It couldn't resist squeezing her tighter... accidentally staining Its hands with the blood that sprayed from her body.

Yi Fengchu pulled out a tissue and patiently wiped the blood off the photograph's surface, then held it up for closer inspection.

So far, this entire dungeon consisted of three main settings, all manifested from Luo Shengle's memories and consciousness.

These three settings were: home, school, and the path between them.

And this photograph appeared to be the core rule governing the "home" setting.

As Yi Fengchu's gaze lingered on the photo, dense, squirming black text instantly materialized before Its eyes.

The words writhed faintly in the air like living earthworms, each character imbued with the power of the Curse Domain, inscribing and dictating every rule pertaining to "home."

Now, these rules lay completely bare before Yi Fengchu, allowing It to perceive every regulation within this setting—both the survival rules Luo Shengle had already discovered and summarized, as well as the hidden ones she remained unaware of.

For example—

Rule 1: This is a warm and harmonious family. As "Mother" and "Father," you must treat your child with kindness.

Rule 2: Whenever possible, kill your oldest daughter. Only then can you become a true family.

Rule 3: Your second child was stillborn. Take care of it, feed it meat and blood, so it may grow quickly.

Rule 4: "Father" may only appear at home between 19:00 and 8:00 the next morning. At all other times, you are at work—even if the company does not exist.

Rule 5: Neither "Mother" nor "Father" may leave the residential area. Violators will die.

Rule 6: All must believe in and praise the great Father of Curses. Violators will die.

...

Yi Fengchu's gaze lingered on these rules for a long time.

Perhaps sensing Its unusual pause, the phone chimed in: "Did you notice something?"

"I've realized these rules don't just restrict the players... they also bind the NPCs."

The Father of Curses' act of listing so many rules was akin to humans carefully designing enclosures and boundaries when building a zoo—both to cage the beasts and to protect themselves, lest the ferocious creatures one day break free.

While precautions against dangerous animals are understandable when dealing with unarmed humans...

For the Father of Curses to maintain such stringent, paranoid control over Its own creations...

Did this reflect Its deeply insecure, distrustful psyche?

Yi Fengchu mused, "Seems It's already seeing enemies everywhere, Its nerves frayed to the point of imagining threats in every shadow."

"To be such a coward, yet still dare to covet what isn't Its..."

Recalling the phone's earlier epithet for the Father of Curses, Yi Fengchu found it fitting: "Truly a rat—a cowering little thief."

With a soft chuckle, Yi Fengchu reached out, Its fingertips brushing over the rules floating above the photograph.

In an instant, silver light spread into the inky black text, attempting to erase and rewrite the rules, writing new ones in their place:

[Rule 1: This is a warm and harmonious family, but the role of "Mother" does not exist.]

"Rule 2: Deleted."

"Rule 3: The second child was stillborn and will never grow. No care is required."

[Rule 4: As the sole parent in the household, "Father's" schedule is unrestricted.]

"Rule 5..."

When It reached the fifth rule, however, no amount of effort could truly alter it. At most, It could remove "Mother," leaving: ["Father" may not leave the residential area. Violators will die.]

"Unchangeable... Is it because both parental roles are monsters born in this scenario, unable to enter other areas?"

"Too bad. I'd hoped to visit the school tonight."

Muttering to Itself, Yi Fengchu pocketed the photograph and stood to leave.

The current dungeon time was 23:07. Xiao Luo, who needed to wake early for school tomorrow, had already fallen asleep. All lights in the house were extinguished, plunging the interior into darkness.

Since this avatar of Yi Fengchu's hardly resembled a human in appearance anyway, It no longer bothered maintaining a human sleep schedule. Instead, It opted for the habits of divine beings—using the night to explore the residential area.

The silver-white figure moved weightlessly through the hallway and living room toward the front door.

Just as Yi Fengchu passed the entryway, a long black umbrella hanging on the coat rack suddenly wobbled and fell to the floor with a sharp noise.

Yi Fengchu paused, glancing thoughtfully at the umbrella.

In Its experience, no coincidence involving It was ever truly coincidental—only fate's guidance.

Without Its intervention, fortune itself would eagerly pave the way for the Arbiter of Fate, leading It toward the best path.

So... was fate reminding It to take the umbrella?

Surely not for something as trivial as avoiding rain?

Despite Its doubts, Yi Fengchu heeded Its intuition, picking up the black umbrella and resting it lightly against the ground like a cane.

As they stepped outside, the pale figure moved like a passing moonbeam, going down from the fourth floor to the first before leisurely strolling out of the building.

Every door they passed was shut tight, quivering slightly like living things—even the door to Grandma Li’s usually open Apartment 102 was now closed. The entire residential building exuded an uncharacteristic quiet compliance.

Yet, Yi Fengchu felt a pang of disappointment.

Honestly, He sometimes welcomed disruptions to spice up His dull routine—but it seemed everyone was too cautious, too intent on self-preservation. Rarely did anyone foolishly throw themselves in His path like cannon fodder in fiction.

The residential area wasn’t large, containing only the three buildings Luo Shengle remembered most vividly from her childhood. Beyond them lay greenery and a community fence, with nothing particularly novel in sight.

Yi Fengchu wanted to venture further but was abruptly halted by an invisible barrier—according to the rules, "Dad" could not leave the residential area.

Resigned, He continued His slow, aimless stroll.

The dangerous dungeon night now had an unexpected calm.

A soft breeze blew, the moonlight soft and serene. All the residents seemed to agree to leave this peaceful night to Yi Fengchu alone, unwilling to disturb Him.

After some time, the phone suddenly announced, "One minute left until midnight."

Yi Fengchu grunted in response, with no intention of returning "home."

"...You deliberately stayed outside. What are you waiting for?"

Yi Fengchu replied, "Actually, ever since I arrived, I’ve been curious about one thing—"

"As Fake Senior Sister said, the scenes and rules in this dungeon change based on memories of outsiders."

"But now that I’ve taken on the role of 'Dad,' am I still fundamentally an outsider? Will my subconscious still influence the dungeon?"

The phone became suspicious. "So, what are you planning?"

It should’ve guessed—Yi Fengchu’s quiet wandering tonight was sure to mean trouble!

"Relax," Yi Fengchu soothed with a smile. "I just want to see what the dungeon will materialize from my memories."

"Since nothing has changed so far, I suspect two possibilities: first, I might not count as an outsider, rendering materialization ineffective; second, the dungeon might change all at once at a specific moment—say, the transition between today and tomorrow..."

"As midnight neared, let’s see if anything new emerges."

"I’ll warn you just once," the phone said after a pause. "If the materialization comes from your memories, most of it won’t be as manageable as the manifestations from Luo Shengle’s memories—your past friends or foes, heh..."

"Well, fate didn’t stop me. It just handed me an umbrella. Worth a shot."

Leaning casually on the long black umbrella, Yi Fengchu answered without concern.

Tick, tick, tick...

Finally, the minute hand completed another revolution, aligning with the hour hand at twelve.

In an instant, Yi Fengchu sensed a new scene overlapping with the residential area, gradually forming and taking shape.

Instead of dismantling it, He waited patiently for it to solidify—

Then, the temperature around Him abruptly surged, a wave of warm, foul-smelling air rushing over Him as the surroundings was swallowed by complete darkness.

Looking back, the path behind Him had vanished, replaced by a thick, fleshy wall.

Small blood vessels webbed its surface, occasionally twitching or spasming like living tissue breathing or moving.

Though engulfed in darkness, Yi Fengchu’s thermal vision—and His own luminescent silver form—let Him easily make out His predicament.

—He seemed to be inside some colossal entity.

As if distant memories were resurfacing, Yi Fengchu paused before concluding:

Yes, inside... To be precise, He was in the belly of an Old God.

Hmm. And He’d probably entered willingly.