Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
"…"
The youth known as "Abin" did not respond.
"Acting like a stranger in your own home, no wonder you're so thin."
Chronicle remarked while discreetly observing the boy's reactions.
He noticed that no matter what he said, the guy would just stare with wide eyes, never uttering a word.
Realizing this, he couldn't help but chuckle.
Since his arrival, only female characters had spoken in this space.
The other male characters, whether it was Abin or the middle-aged man "joyfully" reading the newspaper with Zongzi Brother, remained silent.
As is well known, most low-tier card spirits lack the ability to speak.
And the few that can are influenced by traits like 【Echo】, 【Mimicry】, 【Opera】, and 【Singing Voice】, merely transmitting sound without the logic to speak.
Even mythical card spirits like Seven Brothers and Eight Brothers are like this, not to mention the "Grandma," "Mom," and "Sister" created by Yu Anran.
Combining this with the fact that only female characters spoke in this space, the conclusion was easy to draw: Yu Anran was hiding in some nook, providing the voiceover.
After all, a semi-finished card space has many imperfections, requiring the card master's personal control.
This provided a focal point for solving task-oriented card spaces: if the problem can't be solved, solve the person who posed the problem.
With this in mind, Chronicle turned and walked to the altar in the corner of the living room.
Under the light of the faded lamp, the old man in the black and white photo smiled eerily.
Upon closer inspection, his eyes seemed to move.
Chronicle stood still for a while, nodding thoughtfully, then summoned the Golden Silkworm Gu, which turned into white smoke and swept through the entire building.
He then punctured the old man's eyes in the photo with a "Twin Dragons Play with Pearls" move, and a faint wail immediately wafted through the air: "Damn!"
Chronicle chuckled at the sound, picked up a large bowl with a strange pattern and filled with blood-red chunks of meat, and turned back.
After emptying it, he handed it to Abin.
"You'll use this for your meal later."
Chronicle said, picking up several dishes and scraping them into Abin's bowl with his chopsticks.
"You two seem to have a good relationship."
The beautiful woman brought over another dish, which looked like some kind of worm.
"Auntie's specialty, eat more later."
She smiled meaningfully, then loudly called out to the old lady and the irritable middle-aged man: "Mom, Cheng, dinner's ready."
The old lady put down her knitting needles and yarn, giving her a sinister glare.
Then her eyeballs fell out, revealing two dark, hollow sockets.
Unperturbed, she set down the half-knitted sweater, slowly stood up, and let her eyeballs roll onto the floor.
The skinny black cat seemed curious about these "marbles," batting them back and forth with its paws, making a "Clattering" sound.
The middle-aged man reading the newspaper seemed annoyed by the noise, ready to lose his temper.
But with Zongzi Brother firmly embracing his shoulders, even if he turned into a werewolf the next second, he'd struggle to break free.
Under Chronicle's direction, Zongzi Brother, like a traveler during the Spring Festival rush, packed the middle-aged man like luggage and tossed him next to Abin's seat.
Then he pressed down on the man's shoulders with two large hands, thick-knuckled and tipped with black claws, as immovable as mountains.
The little girl known as Lulu then sat down next to Chronicle, holding a patched-up teddy bear by the leg and a mouthless toy cat by the ear.
She then turned and bared her teeth in a smile, sweetly calling out, "Chronicle Brother."
Her pure black eyes, difficult to read, glanced past Chronicle, discreetly sizing up Zongzi Brother, who was holding down the middle-aged man.
"Happy birthday."
Chronicle suddenly smiled, his voice "tenderly" saying.
"Eat more to grow taller, you have some too!"
After speaking, he gouged out half a piece of cake and placed it on the little girl's plate in front of her.
Then he quickly divided the remaining cake into three portions, placing them in the bowls of the beautiful woman, the irritable middle-aged man, and the eyeless old lady.
"Chronicle, you're always so considerate of others."
The woman smiled, resting her chin in her hand, looking at Chronicle: "You need to eat more, otherwise if you can't push the door open later, you'll have to stay here…"
"Enough!"
The old lady slammed the table, her face turning blue and purple, and two streams of black blood slowly flowed down from her eyes:
"Flirting with men in front of me and Cheng, and he's this little bastard's classmate, you have no shame! killing Cheng's dad wasn't enough, you want to take me with you?!"
As her words fell, Chronicle, who had been distracted by controlling the Golden Silkworm Gu to explore the space, was somewhat bewildered.
What kind of strange script is this? 'A Friend's Mother'?
Before he could react, the middle-aged woman explained with some grievance: "Mom, I just wanted the child to eat more…"
"Why be so nice to that little bastard's classmate? I think you're trying to hook up with him!"
The old lady rudely interrupted, pushing the woman who was about to serve her food, causing her to stagger.
"I don't need you to serve me food, who knows if it's poisoned!" the old lady persisted.
Lulu stood up at this moment, her lifeless eyes looking like buttons sewn onto a doll's face: "Don't push my mom!"
"Little thing, you deserve to die too!"
The old lady stood up abruptly, her hollow eye sockets flashing with a dark green light.
Her movements were so vigorous that if Eight Brothers hadn't lent a hand, she would have flipped the table.
The next moment, a cold wind suddenly swept through the room, the flames on the slender candles flickered wildly, and the large television next to them crackled more frequently.
On the screen, a cat walking upright suddenly turned around, revealing an exaggerated, creepy smile, then extended a "finger" to its lips, making a "shush" gesture.
Then it tiptoed out of the TV, approaching Chronicle, who had his back to it.
It also made various terrifying and exaggerated expressions and poses, such as covering its mouth with one hand and pointing at Chronicle with an outstretched thumb, gleefully looking at the half-wall mirror as if showing off to the audience in front of the TV.
After about half a minute of tiptoeing, it finally reached Chronicle, who was enjoying his melon, arms raised high as if about to plunge its claws into his neck.
"Surprise!"
Unexpectedly, Chronicle suddenly turned his head, revealing a smile far more exaggerated and evil than the cat's.
The upright cat jumped on the spot, mouth agape, heart seemingly about to burst through its chest, and lunged forward.
Eight Brothers, arms crossed and face cold, looked down at the strange cat, grabbed it by the scruff of its neck with a broad hand, and tossed it into the trash can.
The family's quarrel did not change because of this little interlude:
The extremely sinister old lady cursed loudly, occasionally trying to flip the dining table, but Eight Brothers always stopped her;
The little girl with white worms crawling on the back of her head clumsily reached for others' bowls with her chopsticks while standing on a stool, nearly toppling the dish several times;
Abin, who had refused to eat anything just moments ago, now devoured his food like a starving ghost reincarnated, resting his elbows on the table corner and shoveling food into his mouth as if his life depended on it, nearly flipping the table;
The middle-aged man continued to read his newspaper, trembling with rage, but controlled by Zongzi Brother, he was powerless.
The woman just cried with her face in her hands, then sneakily cast her eyes toward Chronicle as if seeking help.
Seeing Chronicle's indifference, her gaze filled with resentment and malice, lowering the pressure in the entire room.
"Don't think I don't know about your affair with that old man surnamed Qin and the high school principal, tell me, who is this little bastard's real father?"
"…"
"Now you invite this little bastard's classmate to come over for the kid's birthday, I see you're up to no good!"
"…"
"Why are you silent now, got nothing to say?"
"…"
Faced with the abuse, the woman remained silent, only reaching into her apron pocket to pull out a sharp knife with dried crimson bloodstains, but instead of stabbing the old lady, she swung it at Chronicle, who was eating his melon.
Seven Brothers, towering in stature, grabbed her wrist and took the knife, placing it in Chronicle's bag.
The action was smooth.
The middle-aged woman paused for a moment, then reverted to her gentle, aggrieved demeanor.
"I say, can we eat first?" Chronicle, having had his fill of melon, finally spoke up.
Hearing this, the girl named "Lulu," with her prematurely white hair, turned her head in surprise: "Look, Chronicle Brother, I'll give you all my cake!"
The youth known as "Abin" also pushed his large bowl towards Chronicle, still full.
—It turned out that the previous binge eating was just for show; Abin hadn't swallowed a single bite from start to finish, merely using Yin energy to process the food in the bowl, making it even more difficult to swallow.
"Little Chronicle, Cheng has high cholesterol, so let's give his cake to you."
After speaking, the woman passed the dark green cake from the middle-aged man's front to Chronicle.
"My mom has high blood sugar, so let's give hers to you too."
As she spoke, she took away a dark red piece of cake under the old lady's glaring "eye sockets."
"Mine too…"
Before the woman could finish, Chronicle interrupted: "Are you sure you won't have a bite?"
Chronicle crossed his legs: "Don't blame me for not warning you, if you don't eat these cakes and meals, someone else will have to."
"Then, Little Chronicle, you eat for us," the middle-aged woman said with a smile.
Chronicle shook his head: "I have high blood sugar and cholesterol too, better let someone else eat for me."
"What do you mean?"
Chronicle didn't answer, just turned to look at Eight Brothers.
The naturally stoic Black Osiris gave a slight nod, and the next moment, vanished from the room.
He burst into the hallway, rushing straight to the fifth floor, speeding towards Yu Anran's location as pinpointed by the Golden Silkworm Gu.
"Grandma," "Mom," and "Sister" prepared to reveal their true forms, but the next second, they all cried out in the same voice, "Ouch."
Not long after, Eight Brothers kicked open the security door and dragged Yu Anran in, holding him like a cat.
"Anran, I had a health check recently and found my blood sugar and cholesterol a bit high, so you'll have to eat these for me."
Chronicle said with a smile.