The Whole Family Are Villains, I’m the Group Pet 190

Chapter 190

Xing Nuo and 067 spent their winter break sneaking into dungeons and siphoning energy.

Like two little mice, nibbling here and there, by the end of the break, the entire dungeon bore traces of their activities.

Xing Nuo, wearing pajamas under a thick winter coat, hid in a corner, peering cautiously.

“This is the Carousel dungeon. Low-level. Mostly for torturing players.”

Lu Qi shared the information, then asked, “Why only take half the energy? Why not all?”

Xing Nuo, watching the people on the carousel, the couples who had started out all lovey-dovey now bickering and slapping each other, replied:

“We can’t take it all. The dungeon will close. The Clown will notice.”

He pulled his hat down, crouching lower.

“This is best. Dungeon stays open, but weaker. Easier for players and ordinary people to escape.”

Lu Qi: “You’re so smart, Xing Nuo!”

Xing Nuo could feel Lu Qi’s excitement in his mind and smiled.

“It’s okay.”

As the carousel started, Xing Nuo, using the flowerbed as cover, moved closer to the dungeon’s edge.

“Close enough?” he asked.

Lu Qi was about to answer when a couple, running, bumped into Xing Nuo.

Xing Nuo stumbled forward.

And that was enough for the carousel dungeon to activate.

“Player Xing Nuo, please board the carousel. Prepare to begin.”

The cold, mechanical voice repeated the warning, and Xing Nuo, sighing, climbed onto a horse.

Another announcement:

“Two-player cooperative dungeon. Solo players will fail.”

Xing Nuo’s heart sank. He looked around for a partner.

Just as he was thinking of a way out, Lu Qi said:

“I can team up with you.”

A stream of icy blue data materialized before Xing Nuo’s eyes, forming a teenage boy.

Lu Qi stood there, his face pale, his blue eyes glowing but emotionless.

Then, his eyes flickered, and he said, his voice stiff:

“I’ll be your partner.”

Xing Nuo nodded, looking at Lu Qi’s mechanical body, noticing his stiff movements.

“That’s your body?”

Lu Qi, sitting on the horse next to him, nodded.

“Yes. When we first bound…I only had a chip. All systems…want a body.”

“But not enough energy. Never had one.”

Xing Nuo, puzzled, asked, “But you have one now.”

Lu Qi smiled, a small, stiff movement of his lips, and tilted his head.

“Yes. But then…you were gone.”

After Xing Nuo’s death, Lu Qi had gathered energy, creating a body for himself.

But it had almost cost him his existence, his new body weak and small, mistaken for a zombie.

Xing Nuo smiled, nodded, and was about to ask more questions when the carousel started moving.

“First question—”

“Do you truly understand your partner?”

Xing Nuo and Lu Qi answered without hesitation: “Yes/No.”

Lu Qi answered “yes,” while Xing Nuo, feeling he didn’t know Lu Qi well enough anymore, answered “no.”

The couple in front, having both answered “yes,” were hit by the toy balls. Dishonest.

Xing Nuo and Lu Qi weren’t punished.

Lu Qi whispered, “I was offline too long. You don’t know me anymore.”

He felt a pang of sadness.

The carousel, also known as the “Trust Fall,” its questions intrusive.

“Have you ever betrayed your partner?”

Xing Nuo/Lu Qi: “No.”

The toy balls didn’t fall, and they exchanged smiles.

The couple, however, remained silent, letting the balls hit them. Two other players, teammates, also answered “no” and were hit.

The questions continued:

“The carousel monster will attack. Choose one person. If your answers match, the attack is canceled.”

The consequences of mismatched answers weren’t stated,

but the players knew it was a life-or-death situation.

The couple’s hands trembled as they wrote their answers.

This question tested their trust and loyalty.

The boy, without hesitation, wrote the girl’s name and looked at her pleadingly.

But the girl, seeing his betrayal, her heart turning cold,

wrote his name, a bitter smile on her face, then laughed.

The announcement declared their answer incorrect.

“Incorrect! Random attack!”

The boy screamed, falling off his horse, writhing in pain.

The girl also jumped down and started attacking him.

Xing Nuo, holding his pen, thought, Lu Qi will choose himself.

And he was right. Lu Qi, having written his answer, leaned against the pole, his blue eyes flickering expectantly.

Seeing Xing Nuo hesitate, he fidgeted, his mouth opening and closing silently.

Xing Nuo, looking at Lu Qi’s anxious expression, the faint flush on his pale face, the emotion in his usually cold eyes, smiled.

“Lu Qi, you look…like a real person.”

Lu Qi froze, his eyes wide, the blue light flickering, his face blank with surprise.

“Me? Human?”

When they had first bound, Xing Nuo had often yelled:

“067, you’ll never be human!”

067, unfazed, would just administer an electric shock.

“What’s so great about being human? Weak and pathetic?”

But later, because of Xing Nuo, he had wanted to become human.

And now, Xing Nuo had called him human.

He smiled, his expression stiff.

“That’s…good.”

Xing Nuo smiled and wrote down Lu Qi’s name.

Lu Qi, seeing his name, stared at it.

“You wrote my name! First time!”

He was overjoyed.

As if it wasn’t a death sentence, but a prize.

His smile wouldn’t fade.

Xing Nuo reached out and gently touched the corner of his mouth.

Lu Qi felt the warmth of his hand, a soft, gentle touch.

He froze, his smile turning into a strange grimace.

Xing Nuo giggled, withdrawing his hand, his own heart fluttering.

Lu Qi, embarrassed by his reaction, overwhelmed,

dissolved into data and retreated into Xing Nuo’s mind.

Xing Nuo chuckled, his laughter a bit louder, and asked mentally:

“Lu Qi, are you shy?”

Lu Qi didn’t answer, his consciousness a small, flickering blue orb.

Xing Nuo, not wanting to tease him, looked at the other pairs.

The couple were fighting, and the teammates had also turned on each other, walking away.

This must be the point of this dungeon, he thought.

He jumped off the carousel.

“Steal energy quick! Then we go home!”

Lu Qi, naturally, agreed, diligently siphoning energy, then taking Xing Nuo back to the real world.