The Whole Family Are Villains, I’m the Group Pet 127

Chapter 127

Although it was evening, it wasn’t completely dark outside yet.

But inside the apartment, it was pitch black. Yao Sheng’s parents, trapped in the darkness, were being slapped repeatedly, unable to escape.

Yao Sheng, his face smeared with tears and snot, watched in horror.

“Mommy! Daddy! Come out!”

He sat on the floor, wailing, as he watched his parents disappear into the shadowy figure.

When he finally stopped crying, exhausted, he looked up and saw his parents reappear, their faces covered in overlapping handprints, their expressions dazed.

They bowed their heads, their voices trembling.

“We’re sorry! We won’t do it again! Please, spare us!”

Shen Wen’s form flickered within the shadows, seemingly unconcerned about being discovered.

“Remember your words. You won’t be so lucky next time.”

He glanced at the crying Yao Sheng and, leaving a final warning, “Control your son,” vanished.

Yao Sheng, his chubby face pale with fear, continued to cry.

His parents, trembling, not daring to touch their faces, dropped their plan for revenge and hurriedly packed their belongings.

The next day, they moved out of the complex.

Auntie Lin, their upstairs neighbor, came down to bring Xing Nuo some duck soup, her face beaming with excitement.

“You wouldn’t believe it! Their faces were so swollen! Serves them right! I heard they offended someone and got beaten up. So satisfying!”

She clicked her tongue, then added:

“But whoever did it was much more ruthless than you, Xiao Shen!”

Shen Wen accepted the duck soup, smiling politely.

“It seems they offended someone they shouldn’t have. People shouldn’t be so arrogant.”

Auntie Lin, about to continue gossiping, saw Qi Yao, their third-floor neighbor, emerging from the elevator in his usual camouflage outfit.

“Lin-jie,” Qi Yao greeted her. He then turned to Shen Wen.

Auntie Lin quickly excused herself and went upstairs.

Xing Nuo, wearing his mittens and matching hat, ran out and greeted Qi Yao cheerfully.

“Uncle Qi, you not home these days!”

He had even gone to Qi Yao’s apartment a couple of times, wanting to share the banana with the tulip scent that Daddy had brought home.

But Uncle Qi hadn’t been there.

Qi Yao, seeing Xing Nuo, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten, a smile appearing on his face, ruffled the little one’s hair.

“Uncle went far away this time. Brought you some candy.”

Since the time reversal incident at the train station, Qi Yao had been investigating, but without any progress.

But he had finally managed to contact a player from Central City after entering a few more dungeons.

Lin Yan, Lin Tezhu, Shen Yan’s former assistant.

Lin Yan, looking older and wearier, as if having aged years, seeing Qi Yao and confirming his official status, took out a high-level prop—

a Shielding Orb.

Inside the orb’s transparent sphere, he quickly shared some information:

“You were right. The people who disappeared from the real world are in another, much more dangerous, world.”

“I can’t tell you too much about the dungeons, but they’re invading the human world. I don’t know why, and I can’t stop it.”

“We players in Central City believe that, sooner or later, the real world will be completely consumed by the horror world.”

“Most players are either apathetic or violent and don’t care about the ordinary people they encounter in dungeons. But some of us are still trying to find a way to stop this, or to go back.”

Lin Yan paused and chuckled wryly.

“I’m not very powerful. I can only follow my cousin and earn points in dungeons. All I can do is share this information with you.”

Qi Yao, having spent years investigating, finally having confirmation of the horror world’s existence, felt his heart sink.

He patted Lin Yan’s shoulder reassuringly.

“We’ll also try to find a solution. If we work together, we might be able to find a way to bring you back.”

Lin Yan, hearing the word “back,” thought it was a distant, almost impossible, dream.

“There are some special props in the system market that can temporarily send people back, but they have severe side effects and are incredibly expensive. Only the top players can afford them.”

Hearing this, Qi Yao remembered the powerful aura he had sensed in his fourth-floor neighbor’s apartment.

So, there really are powerful players in the real world!

He thought for a moment, then asked:

“You said players have a ranking system. Who are the top players? How strong are they?”

Lin Yan, about to share more details, found his voice muffled, unable to reveal specific information, and could only say vaguely:

“The top players are incredibly powerful, especially Wen, the top-ranked player. He can practically solo SSS+ level monsters!”

Qi Yao gasped, and, seeing that the Shielding Orb’s energy was fading, made a final request:

“If possible, can you try to recruit those top players to our side?”

The conflict between humans and monsters would likely continue for many years.

Without the help of these powerful players, if the horror world ever invaded the real world, humanity wouldn’t stand a chance.

Lin Yan said he would try his best, then, putting away the orb, quickly returned to his team.

Qi Yao and his teammates spent over a month in the dungeon, finally defeating the core monster and returning to the real world, exhausted.

Time flowed differently in the dungeon, and only a week had passed in the real world.

Qi Yao, armed with this crucial information, spent the next three days in meetings with his superiors, then finally returned home to rest.

After sleeping for several hours, he woke up, remembering the energy he had sensed on the fourth floor, and decided to investigate.

He gave Xing Nuo the candy he had brought and casually asked Shen Wen:

“Mr. Shen, we’ve been neighbors for so long, but I’ve never seen Xing Nuo’s mother.”

He and the higher-ups at the SIA still suspected that the powerful energy signature might have been Xing Nuo’s other parent.

Why else would someone spend so many points to appear in the real world?

Shen Wen’s light-colored eyes, like a clear pool of water, his gaze piercing, his voice cold and indifferent, replied:

“Xing Nuo doesn’t have a mother. He’s my child.”

Qi Yao, pretending to be oblivious, scratched his head and chuckled.

“You’re joking, right? How can a child not have a mother? Did you and his mother…split up?”

Shen Wen was about to reply when the air shimmered, and Wen Xingxue’s form appeared, hovering.

Qi Yao, sensing something, looked up sharply.

Wen Xingxue, his appearance disheveled, his face pale from a recent dungeon, blood dripping from a wound on his chest, saw Xing Nuo eating candy and Qi Yao, the ability user, standing beside him, and his hoarse voice rasped:

“Seems I came at a bad time.”

Xing Nuo, hearing the familiar voice, his ears perking up, was about to look up

when Shen Wen ruffled his hair and gently told him to go inside and get Uncle Qi some water.

Xing Nuo nodded obediently and went inside.

Qi Yao, now on high alert, ignoring Xing Nuo’s strange behavior, frowned, his gaze fixed on the spot where he sensed a powerful energy fluctuation.

“We still have family and friends in this world. Only by working together can we overcome this crisis.”

He said this deliberately, for the benefit of the invisible player, trying to gauge his reaction and identity.

But Wen Xingxue, more ruthless than any monster, just chuckled coldly, unfazed.

“You guys go ahead. I’ll visit Xing Nuo later this afternoon.”

He then vanished.

Shen Wen, his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe, his eyes half-closed, his gaze cold as he looked at Qi Yao, who was still searching, said:

“Mr. Qi, what are you looking for? Is there something outside my door?”

Qi Yao, unable to reveal too much about the horror world to an ordinary person, quickly shook his head.

“No, no, I was just…admiring the fresh air! Smells like flowers! Haha!”

Xing Nuo ran over, holding a glass of water, his face beaming.

“Daddy’s flowers! Smell nice!”

He handed the glass to Qi Yao.

“Honey in water! Vewy sweet!”

Qi Yao, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten, warmed by Xing Nuo’s sweetness, drank the water in one gulp and pinched his cheek.

“Thank you, Xing Nuo.”

He then looked up at Shen Wen, still persistent.

“Mr. Shen, Xing Nuo really doesn’t have a mother? Or is she…foreign?”

“Or perhaps…she’s…missing?”

Shen Wen, knowing what Qi Yao was implying, his voice cold, said:

“Your questions are too strange and intrusive, Mr. Qi. I don’t want to answer them.”