Xu Yin put on the VR headgear, powered it on, and then opened the “Horror Chain” app, which had already been downloaded onto the device.
The holographic version of the “Horror Chain” app was exclusively for players—specifically, streamers. So, upon logging in, the first thing that popped up was the streamer’s personal information page.
And then, Xu Yin saw the avatar that the original host had created.
…How should he put it? Even though he had the original host’s memories and had mentally prepared himself, seeing this virtual character in person still left him momentarily speechless.
About 1.8 meters tall, with skin so pale it was nearly translucent, a high-bridged nose, cherry-red lips, deep blue eyes, and waist-length, pale golden hair… dressed in an extravagant outfit of an indeterminate style, with an enormous pair of wings on the back.
…This was seriously over-the-top Mary Sue material.
Despite having experienced countless worlds, Xu Yin was already well aware that the mission worlds always infused the “shell” with all sorts of bizarre information streams to construct the original host’s background. But even so, at this moment, he was left utterly speechless.
018: “Isn’t it beautiful?! (doge emoji)”
Xu Yin cast a cool glance at the little system’s speech bubble.
018: “Hehe, you can change the avatar if you want!”
Xu Yin: “Changing the avatar costs money. A thousand credits per change, which is the equivalent of a thousand yuan.”
018: “So expensive…”
Yeah.
Xu Yin sighed. After thinking it over, he decided to just switch pages—while it wasn’t that expensive, there was really no need to waste money on it.
He entered the game’s instance[mfn]TL: In gaming, particularly in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, an “instance” refers to a separate, unique copy of a specific area or dungeon that is generated for a small group of players, allowing them to experience the content without interference from other players, essentially creating a private space within the game world; each group entering the area gets their own “instance” of it. (I’ve just searched this on the net. Lol)[/mfn] selection page and stood there, rubbing his chin in contemplation.
What exactly was it about this app that attracted his Lao gong?
Going through the memories left by the original host, Xu Yin couldn’t find any clues. After all, the original host had barely played any game instances; ever since opening the streamer account, most of the time had been spent chasing after that scumbag, God of Chuuni.
One thing was certain—his Lao gong’s interest was definitely not in the streamers.
018: “Of course! If your husband dared to pay attention to some other random streamer, he’d better not expect to leave this world alive!”
Xu Yin: “…”
Xu Yin scrutinized it carefully. “Why are you suddenly talking so much in this world?”
Ever since Xu Yin became fully capable of completing missions on his own, 018 had noticeably slacked off. Part of it was probably because he no longer had to worry about Xu Yin, and another part was likely due to the addition of a certain Xiao A. But why was 018 suddenly so lively in this world?
Caught off guard by Xu Yin’s question, 018 was silent for a moment before awkwardly replying:
“…Because this is the last world, after all.”
Xu Yin was momentarily stunned.
After processing the words, his gaze softened.
If 018 could materialize in front of him, Xu Yin might have reached out and ruffled the little system’s head.
But at this moment, all he could do was look at the speech bubble, his tone helpless yet gentle. “Even though this is the last world, if you start getting sentimental now, you’ll be feeling this way for many years to come.”
018, still acting awkward, huffed. “Hmph, I’m not that melodramatic!”
018: “Hurry up and investigate! Figure out what your husband is actually paying attention to!”
Xu Yin glanced at the speech bubble with a smile before refocusing on the task at hand.
There were over three hundred game instances in Horror Chain, with new ones added every year. If he really wanted to study them all, it wouldn’t be a quick process.
After some thought, he decided to start by checking out the instances that had been released in the past three months.
The moment he switched to the new instance page, his eyes immediately locked onto a target. His eyebrows lifted in surprise.
At the same time, 018 popped up with a shocked message.
018: “Horror Orphanage??”
That’s right.
All the newly added instances in the past three months were small-scale, and among them, one was called Horror Orphanage.
And the instance’s poster…
It featured Zhou Xiao and the director from that orphanage in the ABO world.
The background was a sinister silhouette of the orphanage at night. Zhou Xiao and the director were clutching their faces in horror, squeezed together in a pose reminiscent of The Scream, creating an intensely eerie atmosphere.
Xu Yin: emmmmm
He was… shocked.
It seemed like he had just figured out why his husband was paying attention to this app.
His expression turned serious. Without hesitation, he began meticulously combing through all 300+ instances in Horror Chain. After an hour, he managed to pick out three more special instances.
One was called Midnight Canal, with a poster depicting the river from the first world—the same one where Xu Yin had jumped in to save someone. In the water, a middle-aged man was struggling to stay afloat.
Another was Hot-Blooded Alley, featuring Long Xiaolong, the little gang member from the second world, striking Bruce Lee’s iconic pose—utterly drenched in secondhand embarrassment.
And the last one was Two of You, with a poster showing… an evolving beast, wildly swinging its massive tentacles.
Xu Yin was shook.
Was this some kind of final-world mission surprise package?!
018 was equally speechless, sending a long string of ellipses.
018: “Your husband definitely noticed these instances, didn’t he?!”
There was no need to overthink it.
Xu Yin narrowed his eyes and nodded.
Even though his husband lost his memories with each world shift, it made perfect sense that he would instinctively feel a sense of familiarity toward these instances.
Case closed.
Xu Yin let out a satisfied breath.
Of course, now came the key part.
If his husband was really following this app because of these game instances, then—
Xu Yin’s lips curled slightly with interest as he clicked directly into the Horror Orphanage.
***
As soon as he entered the game, his virtual avatar automatically switched to the archangel form. His vision darkened, and the words “Loading…” hovered in the air.
One second later, the screen brightened.
Xu Yin found himself staring at the orphanage he knew all too well, shrouded in the darkness of night.
A smile tugged at his lips.
It was a strange feeling.
The orphanage was eerily silent in the deep of night, with only the occasional chirping of insects echoing in his ears.
The building’s lights were on, but the dim, yellowish glow only served to intensify the unsettling atmosphere.
Since entering the game meant instantly starting a live stream, Xu Yin soon noticed a line of floating bullet comments appearing in his vision.
Definitely just a random passerby.
The original host hadn’t logged in for a month, and it seemed that God of Chuuni’s fans had already forgotten about him. No one rushed in to watch the stream, leaving only casual viewers to notice the Livestream.
As a result, the chat was unusually clean.
Unbothered, Xu Yin strode forward with a steady composure.
Since he wasn’t speaking, the random bullet comments also faded away, allowing him to focus entirely on the game.
Small-scale instances were usually straightforward. He had skimmed through the introduction earlier—this was an escape mode instance. The goal was to eliminate all NPCs to clear the level.
Xu Yin approached the orphanage. Just ten meters away from the entrance, a sharp, familiar voice rang out from upstairs:
“Prince Angel, what are you doing here? Do you know what time it is?! Hurry up and get back to your room to sleep!”
Xu Yin’s steps faltered.
At the same time, bullet comments popped back up.
“LMAO, the NPC just called out his full name! That’s hilarious!”
Xu Yin: “…………”
He had nearly forgotten that the original host had given himself that name.
Fortunately, changing names didn’t cost money. Without hesitation, Xu Yin paused the game and silently switched his name to “Yin.”
The game resumed.
The dean, looking fierce and menacing, leaned out of the upstairs window and shouted again, “Yin! What are you doing here? Do you know what time it is?! Hurry up and get back to your room to sleep!”
Xu Yin looked up, parting his lips slightly, but before he could even respond, the dean glared at him and roared, “You’re such a bad child! You deserve to be punished!”
The next second, four or five children in white pajamas staggered out of the orphanage, moving toward Xu Yin in large, deliberate steps.
Xu Yin: “…………”
That was fast.
The closer they got, the more sinister and twisted their expressions became. Slowly, they raised their hands, baring their teeth—then, all at once, they lunged straight at him!
The only viewer in the stream murmured to himself, “This instance seems pretty tough, especially since there are no weapons.”
Since this was a full-dive holographic game, a streamer’s combat ability depended entirely on how strong they were in real life. And, as it turned out, most streamers were absolute weaklings.
So even though this was just a small instance, quite a few players had already failed at the melee combat stage.
The lone viewer figured he was about to witness yet another streamer get crushed by this instance. He just wondered how long this one would last.
From what he recalled, this particular streamer was famous for being especially weak. He probably wouldn’t last even a minute.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw Xu Yin casually lift his leg—
It was a long, well-proportioned leg.
With a smooth, effortless motion, that leg swept out—
—And brutally launched one of the NPCs into the air!!
The sheer force of the kick sent the NPC screaming as they flew like a meteor, crashing into a distant tree with such impact that the entire tree slowly toppled over!
Viewer: “…………????”
Viewer: “Huh????”
Xu Yin remained utterly calm. He sidestepped an incoming NPC, executed a clean roundhouse kick, and sent another one flying straight into a wall, leaving behind a crater as cracks spread across the surface!
Without even turning his head, he reached out and slammed his palm over another NPC’s face, gripping it with an almost absurd amount of force!
The NPC, trapped under his grip, flailed and let out muffled whimpers, slapping at Xu Yin’s arm in sheer helplessness!
Viewer: “AHHHH??????”
At that moment, two more viewers entered the stream—just in time to witness this scene.
They immediately flooded the chat with a barrage of “???”
Viewer 1: “What the hell just happened??”
Viewer 2: “Holy crap, you can play this instance like this??”
Viewer 3: “Damn, I’ve watched so many streamers play this instance, but this is the first time I’ve ever felt sorry for the NPCs?! These are all delicate little omegas!”
Xu Yin read that line of text and raised a brow.
“This instance has an ABO setting?”
As soon as he spoke, he heard the deep, magnetic, dominant alpha-like voice that the original host had created using a voice changer.
Xu Yin: “…”
018: “Fvck, you sound so good as an alpha, you could top your own Lao gong!”
Expressionless, Xu Yin immediately turned off the voice changer, restoring his natural voice.
Focusing back on the game, he had assumed that since this was now a game instance, the ABO setting wouldn’t carry over. But apparently, it did?
He had only skimmed through the instance description earlier and hadn’t noticed the details.
Meanwhile, the viewers weren’t too concerned with the setting.
Viewer: “Yeah! Be gentler with the omegas!!”
The very next second, Xu Yin caught a foul stench and heavy breathing behind him.
Without hesitation, he swung his arm-and flung the NPC he had been holding straight into the air.
That’s right. He threw them.
The omega shrieked as they slammed directly into Zhou Xiao, who had been sneaking up behind Xu Yin for an ambush!
Zhou Xiao: “AUGH!!!”
Both of them crashed to the ground in a spectacularly miserable heap.
Viewer 1: “……….”
Viewer 2: “Wait, weren’t you supposed to be gentler with the omegas??!!”
Viewer 3: “Wait a damn second-isn’t this the Prince Angel who got caught up in a BL scandal with God of Chuuni?? He changed his name?? Wasn’t this streamer supposed to be a total coward?”
Viewer 1: “Right?! Hold up, I almost forgot to mention this! Why is the streamer suddenly so hardcore?!”
Inside the game, the dean on the second floor clutched his face and screamed, “ΧΙΑΟΧΙΑΟ!! MY PRECIOUS XIAOXIAO!! Yin, how dare you do this to my adorable Xiaoxiao?! You’re finished! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!”
As soon as he said that, more omegas began pouring out of the orphanage.
Meanwhile, the NPCs who had been kicked into the tree, smashed into the wall, or thrown onto Zhou Xiao all began staggering back to their feet.
Xu Yin’s brows lifted slightly. “They can revive?”
He had always assumed that in escape-style games, eliminating all NPCs would clear the level. But in this instance, the NPCs could revive?
As he spoke, without the voice changer, his real-life voice carried a calm and gentle undertone.
Not only gentle but also very pleasing to the ear.
The viewers didn’t even have time to complain before Xu Yin’s sudden change in voice completely captivated them.
Fvck, hold up—his voice changed, and it sounds this good??
Uh, wow.
The viewers’ tone instantly softened.
Viewer 1: “Wait, did the streamer not check the forums before entering this instance?”
Viewer 2: “In this game, not only do you have to fight bare-handed, but the NPCs can’t even be killed.”
Viewer 3: “Since this instance was released, no one’s managed to clear it yet.”
This small instance was really new—it came out just a week ago. Its presence was still relatively low-key and hadn’t attracted much attention, so not many streamers had played it yet, and no one had cleared it.
However, those who had played it agreed that it was only a matter of time before this instance blew up—because it was just too strange!
Some had even called for pro players to come and try it out.
Xu Yin was surprised. So that’s how it is?
A group of NPCs rushed at him, leaving Xu Yin no choice but to hold them off for now.
As he fended them off, he pondered—since the NPCs could infinitely revive, brute force clearly wasn’t the solution to clearing this instance. What could be the method to “resolve” all the NPCs?
Meanwhile, he gripped the heads of two NPCs with both hands, used the leverage to kick another NPC under the chin, and then smoothly flipped around to stomp down on Zhou Xiao, who had tried to ambush him from behind!
Zhou Xiao’s face slammed into the ground, letting out a pitiful “Uwu!” Xu Yin then swung the NPCs in his hands around, clearing out all those nearby. Soon, the dungeon was filled with NPCs’ cries and groans!
thanks for the translation. 🥰😍😘