The Whole Family Are Villains, I’m the Group Pet 162

Chapter 162

At Guild Zero One headquarters.

Sang Ming, furious, sat in his chair, surrounded by shattered objects he had thrown in his anger.

“What the hell is going on?! Monsters can crawl through the rift, but players die trying?!”

His subordinates, not knowing how to answer, hesitantly offered a theory:

“Maybe it’s because players’ bodies are different from monsters’?”

Sang Ming had suspected the map might be faulty, but it had cost several high-ranking players their lives, the process so brutal that he had quickly dismissed the thought.

His face dark and brooding, he used this excuse to convince himself and waved his subordinates away.

Alone in the room, he suddenly spoke:

“Why are you so obsessed with that kid, Xing Nuo? Why do you keep making me target him?”

A cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind:

“No reason. Just do it. He’s young. Any high-level dungeon can kill him.”

Sang Ming hated the system’s condescending, commanding tone.

He frowned and sighed, then chuckled coldly.

“Didn’t you try pulling him into a dungeon before? And you failed, every single time.”

But he didn’t see the child as a threat. He had bigger plans, and a little kid destined to die in a dungeon wasn’t worth his time.

It was this system, always paranoid and secretive, its motives unclear.

“I sent several players back to the real world through the rift, just to kill him! But it turns out players are different from monsters. They can’t survive outside the rift.”

The system, its energy precious, still in its dormant phase, its only command upon waking being to target Xing Nuo, couldn’t offer any assistance in this matter.

“Find another dungeon! And investigate that kid’s background! I suspect someone is helping him. That’s why he keeps surviving these dungeons!”

Sang Ming, impatient, but still needing the system’s help, reluctantly agreed to find a suitable dungeon.

Not all dungeons could be easily manipulated.

He had to find a loophole, or something related to Xing Nuo, to increase the chances of successfully pulling him in.

And it had cost him a considerable amount of energy!

His face grim, he said:

“One last time! If this doesn’t work, I’m not wasting any more energy on this!”

The system, also displeased, but still needing Sang Ming, said calmly:

“Fine. Listen to me. Choose this dungeon. He won’t survive this one.”

Xing Nuo woke up groggily, then, remembering he was almost late for school, jumped out of bed.

Before he could even put on his slippers, a loud banging on the door startled him.

“You lazy brat! Are you still sleeping?!”

“I told you we shouldn’t have adopted him! Look at him, still in bed, the sun already up!”

Xing Nuo, his mind still foggy, walked towards the door, then paused, looking around the unfamiliar room.

The walls were yellowed and peeling, the window barred with rusty metal, the room small and cramped, filled with piles of junk and cardboard boxes.

It looked more like a storage room than a bedroom.

There was no closet, his clothes folded neatly in a small cardboard box, all faded and worn.

He looked around, a strange sense of familiarity washing over him despite the unfamiliar surroundings.

No…this isn’t right!

This isn’t my home!

He thought of his dad and brothers and, taking a deep breath, opened the door.

The couple outside, having knocked repeatedly, seeing him finally emerge, pushed him, sending him sprawling.

Xing Nuo, landing on his bottom, looked up at them, his face filled with confusion.

“Who you? Why I here?”

He thought of the kidnappings he had seen on TV, his face paling, and, getting up, dusting off his pants, said:

“Uncle, Auntie, buying and selling children is illegal. My daddy and brothers vewy powerful. They’ll find me.”

The couple exchanged glances, then chuckled.

“Look at you, Xing Nuo, so grown up now, not even calling us Mom and Dad.”

Xing Nuo looked at them, the man gentle-looking, wearing glasses, his clothes plain and conservative, like a teacher,

the woman’s face sharp and angular, her chin long, her gaze cold and unfriendly,

and felt a growing sense of unease.

“Whether you’re faking it or not, go clean your room!” the man said coldly, then, seeing Xing Nuo hesitate, pushed him again.

“Don’t just stand there! You don’t have a daddy or brothers! We took you in! Do you really think you have a family waiting for you?”

“Let me tell you the truth. The orphanage director said your parents died in a car accident. Otherwise, why would you be in an orphanage?”

Xing Nuo, his mind reeling, listened to their words, a strange sense of familiarity mixing with his confusion.

He stood there for a long moment, then shook his head, not believing them.

He had a daddy and two brothers.

They were lying!

He ignored the woman’s order to clean his room, grabbed his backpack, his face expressionless, and walked out.

The woman yelled after him, her words cruel and vicious, but then, seeing their neighbors watching, she quickly put on a fake smile.

“Be careful, Xing Nuo.”

Xing Nuo didn’t reply and hurried down the stairs, past the bicycles and laundry hanging in the hallway, and out of the building.

The dilapidated apartment complex, with its tangled antennas and clotheslines crisscrossing the sky like a spiderweb, felt suffocating.

A woman hanging laundry saw him and called out:

“Xing Nuo, up so early? Had breakfast yet?”

Xing Nuo’s stomach rumbled. He shook his head, not knowing the woman’s name, and walked towards the complex gate.

He walked through the narrow alleys, his heart heavy, a sense of oppression weighing him down.

This wasn’t his home, but it felt strangely familiar.

And as he left the complex, he realized he knew exactly which way to go to school.

He stood at the school gate, looking at the children playing in the schoolyard, his mind in a daze, then, as if drawn by some unseen force, he walked inside.

A classmate bumped into him, laughing.

“Xing Nuo, what are you doing, spacing out?”

“You’re going to be late for class!”

Xing Nuo didn’t want to go inside. Everything felt wrong.

But after hesitating for a moment, he entered the school.

He followed his classmate to their classroom and, having forgotten where his desk was, had to be shown.

He sat down and looked at the textbooks on his desk, his own handwriting filling the pages.

The characters were neat and round, his strokes still childish, some larger than others.

My handwwiting, he thought.

He cupped his cheeks, watching the other students and teachers, and felt a strange sense of displacement.

As if this was his real life.

And his memories of his dad and brothers, a distant, fading dream.

The thought startled him, and he realized his memories of his family were weakening, while his memories of this world, this life, were intensifying.

He broke out in a cold sweat, trying to fight it, but it was useless.

Before class even ended, he knew he couldn’t stay here any longer.

This world was too strange!

He pushed his books and pencils aside, stood up, and, ignoring the teacher and his classmates’ surprised gazes, ran out of the classroom.

His curls bouncing, his ill-fitting blue uniform flapping around him, he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him,

past the security guard at the gate, who yelled after him:

“Get back here! You can’t skip school! That’s not how a good boy behaves!”

Xing Nuo ignored him and, finding the lowest part of the school wall, piled up some rocks and climbed over it.

Just as he reached the top, a few teachers caught up to him, their voices filled with anger and concern.

“Xing Nuo?! What are you doing?!”

“You’re usually so well-behaved! Just like your mother said, children from orphanages are always troublemakers!”

“Get down! Or I’ll call your mother!”

Their words stung, and Xing Nuo blinked back tears, yelling:

“You’re wrong! I not owfan!”

“I have daddy and bwothers! They wuv me!”

The teachers looked at him, his delicate face, his watery eyes, his soft curls, his appearance so sweet and innocent.

Some of the teachers, drawn to his cuteness, did like him, but his parents always complained about his rebellious behavior at home, how he often talked back to them.

So, their impression of him had gradually soured.

“Get down! Do you want to be sent back to the orphanage?”

Xing Nuo shuddered, as if being sent back to the orphanage was his worst nightmare.

He sat on the wall, feeling the breeze, and suddenly realized something.

“Send me back then! I hate you!”

The words, like a dam bursting, a release of pent-up emotions, echoed through the air. He jumped down, landing on a pile of cardboard boxes, and scrambled to his feet.

His face covered in dust, he limped away, his appearance disheveled, but his heart light, a smile playing on his lips.

He wanted to clap for himself.

See? Even in this strange world, Zaizai can escape!

Memories from both his lives flooded his mind, making him dizzy, but he remembered his mission and continued walking.