Chapter 9 — Becoming One with the Devil

Two o'clock in the morning. Prelude. Seven people crept up from the corner, without making a sound, slowly approaching the crib. The crib was placed right in the middle of the living room, Lam Niem curled up inside, sleeping very soundly. The leather jacket guy took the lead, his hand firmly grasping the handle of the knife. One step. Two steps. Three steps… The crib is right in front of me. He reached out, preparing to lift Lam Niem out of the blanket. At this moment, the light turned on. Bright light instantly filled the entire living room. The seven people were stunned at the same time, instinctively closing their eyes tightly. When they opened their eyes, they saw the woman standing in front of the master bedroom door, wearing a nightgown, a smile still on her lips. The man stood right behind, his cold gray eyes fixed on them. The teenager walked out of the spare bedroom, walked to the crib, and stood in front of the baby. "In the middle of the night," the woman said smilingly, "what are you doing if you don't sleep?" Her voice is still soft and easy to hear as before. But those eyes, those vertical pupils, were slowly turning blood red. The leather jacket man gritted his teeth and opened his mouth: "We... we just couldn't sleep, we wanted to go out and get some air." ”Breathe the air?” The woman tilted her head, "You have to go all the way to my daughter's bed to get some air?" The two words "daughter" were uttered and dropped into the air like a rock thrown into a calm lake. All seven players were stunned. The carboy suddenly shouted: "She's not your daughter! She's a player!" The woman turned her head to look at him. ”Player?” Locked tightly by those red eyes, he was so scared that his legs were weak, but he still tried to force himself to reply: "Yes, yes! It's a player! Just like us, we were all transported here by the game! It's not... Ah!" His words had not yet been finished. Because the man was standing right in front of him. No one had time to clearly see how he moved. One second he was standing in front of the main bedroom door, the next second he was close to the checkered guy, one hand squeezing his neck. ”Player?” His voice was rough and hoarse, like the sound of rusty iron pieces rubbing against each other, "She is my daughter." The checkered man's face was red from suffocation, his feet lifted off the ground, kicking wildly in the air. " Dad." The teenager's voice spoke up. The man looked back. The teenager was standing next to the crib, looking down at the newly awakened newborn. Lam Niem is awake. The little girl was blinded by the light and woken up by the noise. She opened her eyes half-closed and was met with a chaotic scene. The girl didn't know what was going on. I only know that the people I met during the day are all here, everyone's faces look very strange. The girl blinked, looking towards the teenager standing closest. He bent down and lifted the girl out of the crib. " It's OK." He whispered, "Go back to sleep." Lam Niem rubbed his eyes with his hand, yawned cutely, then closed his eyes again. Having my brother here, it should be okay. The girl thought to herself, then quickly fell back asleep. The teenager hugged the girl and turned to look at the seven adults. "Did you guys scare her?" he asked. The leather jacket guy opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word. The teenager's gray eyes were devoid of any emotion. "You guys want to kidnap her." He said, not a question, but an assertion, "Use her to threaten us." The leather jacket guy's face was pale. The young man continued: "Yesterday when you touched that knife, I already knew. When you guys came closer, I also knew. I've been waiting." "You——" His voice trembled, "Did you do that on purpose?" The teenager did not respond. He bowed his head, looking at the baby sleeping soundly in his arms. "He calls me brother." He spoke, his voice very gentle. No one spoke up. The living room was so quiet that only the sound of breathing could be heard. Then the woman spoke up to break the atmosphere. "A Trach, hold her tightly." The teenager nodded, hugging Lam Niem a little closer. The woman turned around and looked at the group of adults, the smile on her lips had disappeared without a trace. “Originally,” she said, “we intended to let you live until morning.” All seven people's faces changed at the same time. "That's the rule," she continued, her tone calm as if she were chatting about family matters, "New guests, as long as they don't stab themselves to death, they will live for 48 hours, that's the rule of the game." "But you guys," She hesitated for a moment, "like to find your own way to death." The leather jacket guy took a step back and shouted: "Run away! Spread out and run!" All seven people immediately scattered in all directions. But they had only run three steps. Because the man was standing tall and blocking the front door. Because the woman had blocked the hallway exit. Because the teenager was holding a newborn baby, guarding it right in the middle of the living room. They were surrounded. "I originally didn't want to kill so many people." The woman sighed, "Disposing of corpses is very troublesome. But you..." She shook her head. "I don't know what to do, who told you to harm my daughter?" Everything happened after that, in the blink of an eye. So fast that the other seven people didn't even have time to scream. So fast that the teenager had to cover Lam Niem's ears with his hand, plunging her deeper into his chest. So fast that Lam Niem in his sleep could only frown, turn over, and then continue to sleep soundly. When the girl woke up again, it was already morning. The living room was as quiet as paper. The sunlight shines through the window, extremely warm. Lam Niem lay in a small cot, covered with a familiar small blanket. The girl turned over, sat up, grabbed the edge of the crib and looked around. The woman was busy in the kitchen, the sound of spoons and ladles clinking and cooking resounded loudly. The man sat reading the newspaper next to the dining table, occasionally picking up a cup of tea and taking a sip. The teenager sat right next to the crib, gray eyes staring intently at the girl. "Are you awake?" Lam Niem reached out towards him. The teenager picked up the girl. Lam Niem hugged his neck, looked sideways for a moment, then pointed towards the kitchen: "Ma——" "Mom is making breakfast." The teenager replied. The little girl pointed at the man again: “A——” “Dad is reading the newspaper.” Lam Niem was satisfied, snuggled deep into his chest, and started pulling out the collar of his hoodie to nibble on it. The teenager just let the girl bite him.