All Realms and Worlds: The Lost Home

The night was as thick as ink.

The dilapidated residential building was completely silent, with the cold wind howling and crashing against the broken window frames.

Woo-woo-woo

A mournful howl swirled around the corridor, like countless vengeful spirits wandering and weeping along the walls.

The hallway floor was covered with dark red bloodstains, and the dried blood scabs stuck hard to the cement. The air was filled with a lingering sweet, rotten smell, and every breath made one's throat tighten and stomach churn.

Of the eight survivors, five were wiped out overnight.

The cold corpses were piled up haphazardly on the floor, and residual blood dripped slowly from the cracks in the floorboards.

Tick-tock... tick-tock... tick-tock...

The monotonous, cold, and repetitive sound of dripping blood became the only background noise in the entire haunted building, relentlessly hammering at people's nerves and driving them to the brink of collapse.

Now, in the vast, enclosed building, only Ning Ye, Su Qing, and Nancy remain, huddled together, desperately guarding the last inch of safe space.

The three men stood back to back, forming a stable triangular formation, and none of them dared to relax even slightly.

The little girl in the floral dress, completely possessed by the eerie aura of the smiley-face balloon, stood quietly in the shadows of the stairwell ten meters away.

She kept her head down, her long hair covering her face, and remained silent and motionless.

Deathly silence, utter deathly silence.

But this silence is not tranquility; rather, it is the lurking hunt that evil spirits excel at.

The pink balloon floating beside her was filled with wisps of black vapor, and her gaping, ferocious mouth maintained a silent, maniacal laugh, its sharp teeth gleaming coldly in the dim light.

After slaughtering the last survivor, Wang Qiang, late at night, the strange child never made another move.

They didn't launch surprise attacks, approach, or roar; they simply followed, confronted, and spied on the enemy from a distance.

It's just like a patient predator, quietly waiting for its prey to break down, reveal its weaknesses, and collapse when it's alone.

"Huff... huff..."

Rapid, shallow breathing echoed softly between the three of them, a physiological tremor caused by prolonged tension.

Su Qing's back was already completely soaked with cold sweat. Her yoga clothes clung tightly to her skin, feeling cold and sticky, making her extremely uncomfortable.

She lowered her voice, pressed her lips to Ning Ye's ear, and whispered in an extremely soft, breathy voice, the words trembling uncontrollably:

"Ning Ye... no, something's wrong... it's not moving at all... this is so strange..."

"It used to kill without hesitation... but now it's been staring at the three of us for so long... why isn't it attacking at all?"

Ning Ye's eyes were sharp as ice, his pupils locked on the thin figure in the shadows, his muscles tense to the extreme, yet he remained absolutely calm.

He could clearly sense that this smiling face was eerie; it possessed terrifying combat power that could instantly kill ordinary people, yet it was firmly bound by some invisible shackles.

It wanted to kill, but couldn't.

"It's the rule."

Ning Ye uttered two low, slow, and clear words: "It's locked down by the rules."

"The three of us stayed together the whole time, were of one mind, showed no signs of fear or were isolated, so it couldn't trigger the hunting authorization."

Nancy's small body pressed tightly between the two, her two little hands gripping Ning Ye and Su Qing's clothes tightly, her fingertips turning white from the force.

Her big eyes were wet, filled with tears she was trying to hold back, but she bit her lip tightly, not crying or making a sound.

"Then... then are we just going to stay like this forever?" Nancy's voice was barely audible, filled with the extreme timidity of a child. "Will things be better when it gets light...?"

"No." Ning Ye shook his head decisively, his tone devoid of any wishful thinking. "The rules of the Ghost City at night will not automatically be lifted when it gets light; they are only temporarily countered by our formation."

"We can afford to wait, and so can they, but we can't afford to wait in terms of physical strength, mental fortitude, and willpower."

Su Qing's heart sank, and she instantly understood the deadly crisis involved.

They are human beings; they need rest, they need to catch their breath, they need to relax.

If anyone becomes mentally lax, physically exhausted, or subconsciously breaks formation, even for just a second, they will be instantly slaughtered!

"Are we... just supposed to wait to die?" Su Qing's throat tightened, her voice hoarse. "Is there really no way to break this deadlock?"

Ning Ye did not answer immediately.

He closed his eyes, forcing himself to cast aside his fear and panic, his mind racing to review every detail, every rule, and every eerie feature from the moment he entered the haunted city until now.

Rule 1, Rule 2, Rule 3...

The most deadly, the most bizarre, and the rule that runs throughout the entire process—Rule Three: Beware of the laughing balloons.

All the killing, all the death, all the fear, all originated from this pink smiley face balloon.

The little girl is merely a possessed puppet; the true entity is this eerie balloon that can laugh, disguise itself, and bewitch people.

"Strange...there's a solution for everything."

Ning Ye suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp glint in them, and his tone became firm: "There are no unsolvable mysteries, only undiscovered loopholes in the rules."

"The eggplant-faced monster relies on brute force to fight, and the solution is to fight back desperately; while the smiley-faced balloon is a rule-based monster, it does not rely on brute force, but on human nature, on strategy, and on traps."

"A rule-based anomaly must have a corresponding rule-based solution!"

Su Qing looked up instantly, a glimmer of hope for survival flashing in her eyes. She quickly lowered her voice and asked, "What solution?! What have you thought of?!"

"It's been playing around." Ning Ye said in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on the balloon shrouded in black mist. "Have you noticed?"

"It never kills by brute force; it manipulates its prey, plays with people's hearts, and plays the entire game of life and death."

"It watches people become suspicious, watches people break down, watches people become isolated, watches people kill each other. It enjoys this process, like playing a long game."

Su Qing was shocked and suddenly realized!

Yes!

This weirdo was playing tricks on them from beginning to end!

Instead of a direct assault and slaughter, they patiently planned and lured people step by step, treating everyone as toys and torturing them to death little by little!

"It's a rule-based anomaly, with a penchant for fun, where life and death are determined by games." Ning Ye's speech quickened, his thoughts becoming crystal clear. "Since it's playing us, then the reverse—we can play along."

"By winning its game, we can break free from the constraints of the rules and completely eradicate it!"

These words were like a thunderclap, cleaving through the gloom of despair that had enveloped everyone!

"Playing...playing games?" Su Qing's breath hitched, her eyes filled with suspicion and uncertainty. "Playing games with the supernatural at a life-or-death moment? Is this...is this reliable? What if...it's an even deeper trap?"

"There is no way out." Ning Ye's tone was calm and resolute. "To hold out is to wait for death, to break through is to actively send oneself to one's death. Only by playing a game of strategy can we survive."

Just as the three of them were whispering and finalizing their plan!

Hehe... Hehehe...

The smiling balloons, which had been silent all along, suddenly burst into a series of strange, overlapping laughs!

The soft, cheerful laughter of children intertwined with the hoarse, low moans of demons, creating a jarring, eerie, and unsettling sound that precisely penetrated everyone's eardrums.

The eerie wind in the corridor suddenly stopped, and the entire space became instantly deathly silent; even the sound of dripping blood seemed to disappear for half a second.

The little girl in the shadows finally moved.

She slowly raised her head, and the black hair that covered her face slipped down slightly, revealing her hideous, stiff, grinning face.

His dark, empty eyes, devoid of pupils and spirit, held only pure, cold malice, fixedly on Ning Ye.

She remained silent, but everyone could clearly sense that she understood!

She understood Ning Ye's idea of ​​playing games with it!

The next second, the little girl stiffly raised her slender right hand and gently lifted it.

hum-

The balloon trembled slightly, and amidst the surging black mist, four round and plump golden oranges appeared out of thin air.

Four oranges floated in mid-air, their bright colors and translucent peels exuding a fresh fruity aroma, creating an eerie contrast with the dilapidated and blood-stained stairwell.

Exactly four, no more, no less.

"Orange...orange?" Nancy murmured softly, her small body trembling slightly.

Su Qing's pupils contracted sharply, her heart clenched, and her entire body tensed instantly: "It...it started the game on its own!"

A childish yet cold, mechanical voice echoed in the air, devoid of emotion or inflection, slowly reverberating throughout the entire building corridor:

"Game: Eating Oranges"

"Rules announcement (false): There are four oranges on the field. Players take turns eating oranges, with a maximum of two oranges per turn. The number of oranges eaten cannot be the same as the previous turn. The player who eats the most oranges at the end wins."

The false rules were clearly uttered, word by word, reaching the ears of the three people.

Su Qing frowned instantly, quickly reviewing the rules: "You can only eat a maximum of two at a time, and the number can't be the same as the previous round. The winner is determined by the number of wins... Sounds simple, right?"

"Simplicity is the most terrifying." Ning Ye's eyes were extremely serious as he stared intently at the four floating oranges. "Rule-based anomalies love to mislead their prey with simple, false rules."

"What they reveal is definitely a trap! The true logic of victory or defeat is absolutely hidden in the shadows!"

At this moment, the little girl's empty eyes were fixed on Ning Ye, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned in a sinister smile, full of extreme mockery and toyiness.

She remained calm, patient, and patient, quietly waiting for her prey to enter the trap and fall into their doom.

"Who wants to eat first?"

The cold, mechanical child's voice rang out again, urging everyone to make a choice.

Su Qing lowered her voice and whispered hurriedly and frantically, "Ning Ye, I'll do it! I'll test the waters first!"

"The fake rule is who can eat the most. There are four oranges in total, and the maximum number you can eat at one time is two. I ate two first, so I have a huge advantage!"

"No!" Ning Ye immediately raised his hand to stop her, his tone resolute. "We absolutely cannot follow its fake rules!"

"Think about it, all the previous hunts were counterintuitive traps, contrary to common sense and common sense! If it says it's about quantity, then it definitely isn't about quantity!"

Su Qing froze, cold sweat instantly soaking her back. She said, still shaken, "Yes, yes! You're right! I almost got fooled!"

"All the stated rules are bait! They're deliberately designed to lead us to compete on quantity and calculate wins and losses!"

Nancy gripped their clothes tightly, her voice trembling as she whispered, "Then... what are the real rules...? How do you win with four oranges...?"

Ning Ye's gaze was fixed on the four floating oranges, his brain rapidly analyzing all the possibilities, his heartbeat steady yet heavy.

Four oranges, extremely simple numbers, there's no way there could be any complex algorithms.

Fake rules: Eat oranges in turns, limited to two per person, no duplicates, the person who eats the most wins.

The real rule must be a completely subversive, extremely simple, and unconventional answer!

The most complex schemes often conceal the simplest truths.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

The deadly standoff lasted for three seconds, when a sudden flash of enlightenment appeared in Ning Ye's eyes!

"I understand."