Chapter 8 — Becoming One with the Devil

The leather jacket guy sneered, "Go out and ask him if he still remembers that he's a player? He can't say it yet, how the hell can he remember? He only knows that here there is a mother, a father, a brother, someone to hug, feed, and comfort him. This is his home." The girl was silent. The checkered guy pushed his glasses: "So what should we do?" "Just follow the plan." The leather jacket guy narrowed his eyes, "We'll have to kidnap it today no matter what. As long as it's in our hands, those monsters won't dare to act rashly." "What if they don't care?" "So I have to accept my fate." He replied, "But I have to try it anyway." Ten o'clock in the morning. The opportunity has come. Only the teenager and the baby remained in the house. The teenager was holding the baby and sitting on the sofa, seemingly in a daze. The seven people glanced at each other and signaled each other. The leather jacket guy stood up and took the lead, moving towards the sofa. The rest quietly followed behind. The teenager raised his head, his gray eyes scanned the crowd, finally stopping on his face. "What's the matter?" He squeezed out a forced smile: "It's nothing big. It's just... this baby is so adorable, can we hold it for a while?" The teenager was silent for two seconds. " Impossible." The smile on his face stiffened: "What's wrong?" "She's afraid of strangers." "But he's very attached to you, right? Let us be a little closer to him, we also like children." The teenager stared at him, not saying a word. The guy took a step forward. The teenager holding the baby stood up and took a step back. The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Lam Niem was snuggling in the teenager's arms, seemingly realizing something was wrong, raising her head to look at his face. The teenager's expression remained unchanged, but she felt the arms around her tightening a little. The girl reached out her tiny hand, patted his cheek, and cooed a few times. The teenager lowered his head and glanced at the girl, his eyes shining with gentleness for a moment. But that tenderness only lasts for a moment. When he raised his head, his eyes were as cold as two pieces of eternal ice. "Speak for the last time." He said, "Stay away." The leather jacket man's expression changed continuously, and in the end he gritted his teeth and took a few steps back. "Okay, okay, if you don't carry it, don't carry it." He turned around and glanced at the others. The group retreated to the corner. "What now?" The short, fat guy asked softly. The leather jacket guy thought for a few seconds, then said: "Wait until dark." ” Evening?” "The other two big monsters came back last night, crowded with people, making it easier for them to get into trouble." The carboy frowned: "But that brat doesn't seem easy to tease." "No matter how tough he is, he's still just a kid." He chuckled, "Seven of us adults can't deal with one brat?" No one responded. But deep down, everyone knows clearly that that "little boy" is not inherently human. Not human, but human in appearance. Then there are definitely weaknesses. The afternoon passed very slowly. Lam Niem fell asleep in the teenager's arms, woke up and started crawling everywhere. The teenager ignored the girl and kept following her. Wherever the girl crawled, he followed. Lam Niem crawled to the kitchen door, stuck his head in and looked around. There was something stewing on the stove, boiling and emitting smoke. The teenager carried the girl back. Lam Niem crawled over The door to the man's room was ajar, it was dark inside. The teenager carried the girl back again. Lam Niem crawled to the end of the hallway, where there was a closed door. The girl tried pushing her hand, but the door didn't budge. The teenager stepped forward and stood behind the girl. Lam Niem turned her head to look at him, pointed at the door, her mouth let out an "ah ah" sound. The teenager was silent for a few seconds. "That's my sister's room." he said. Lam Niem didn't understand what a "sister" was, but she could hear that his tone was a bit strange. The girl pointed to the door again. The teenager bent down and picked the girl up. "Before, she was about the same age as me." He said, his voice very quiet, "After that... she was nowhere to be seen." Lam Niem didn't understand, but she felt the teenager's sadness. The girl reached out her small hand and gently patted his cheek. The teenager lowered his head to look, something glinted in his gray eyes. "I'm not like her." He said, "You can see us." Lam Niem blinked. "We don't know why either." The teenager carried the girl and turned away, "But you can see, so..." He didn't finish his sentence. But Lam Niem felt like his arms seemed a little warmer. Dusk. The woman and man both went home. The whole family gathers around the dining table. Lam Niem as usual sat on the woman's lap, holding a bottle of milk. The other seven players also crouched in the corner as usual, the food in front of them not touching their chopsticks at all. Today's bowl of soup is light red in color, with a few thin pieces floating, looking like... a tongue. The woman took a sip and frowned: "Today's soup is a bit salty." The man nodded: "Next time just add a little salt." The teenager didn't say anything, just kept his head down and ate. Lam Niem finished drinking the milk and began to fall asleep. The woman carried the little girl and placed her in the crib, carefully covering her with a blanket. "Let's go to bed early tonight." She spoke softly, "Tomorrow is..." She stopped talking. Lam Niem fell asleep. Late at night, quiet. The living room was engulfed in darkness. The seven players still haven't slept. They huddled together in the corner of the room, whispering in low voices to discuss the final plan. "The two older children sleep in the main bedroom, the younger child sleeps in the secondary bedroom." The leather jacket guy said softly, "The baby is in the crib outside the living room. While they are sleeping, we sneak out and pick up the baby, then hide in the basement." ” Basement?” The short, fat guy widened his eyes in surprise, "Is there a basement here?" "Yes. This afternoon I found the entrance, it's behind the kitchen." The cartel guy frowned: "What happened to you hiding there?" "Waiting for dawn." The leather jacket guy said, "It's been 48 hours since dawn, the game is over, we'll be teleported straight." "What about the baby?" The guy was silent for a moment. "It's time to figure it out." " What does that mean?" The guy didn't answer. But his hand had already found the knife hanging at his waist.