I Fed The Affectionate And Paranoid God - Chapter 26

At this moment, Xia Chenxi’s attention was completely focused on the door outside.

The dimly lit corridor was almost swallowed by darkness, with only the faint outline of boxes still piled on both sides of the hallway. The visibility was very low.

Xia Chenxi furrowed his brows. Why were the motion sensor lights in the corridor getting dimmer every day?

In this eerie, grotesque game, it seemed to signal some sort of ominous sign.

In addition, Xia Chenxi also noticed that the unidentified brown stains on the floor had deepened significantly, and the scratch marks on the door across from his seemed even deeper than they were yesterday.

A growing sense of danger welled up in Xia Chenxi’s heart.

Just then, something flashed past the boxes again.

And then disappeared without a trace.

What exactly was that thing? It seemed to only appear when the little figure was home.

Xia Chenxi quickly zoomed in on his phone screen.

Suddenly, a blurry round object emerged from behind the boxes, with crimson light dots flickering on either side.

Goosebumps rose all over Xia Chenxi’s body—he nearly threw his phone out of fright.

In the next second, the crimson lights blinked once more and then vanished abruptly.

Xia Chenxi’s heart was still racing uncontrollably, and he hadn’t yet recovered from the shock.

When that thing suddenly appeared, at first glance it looked eerily like a human head.

That was what gave him such a fright.

Xia Chenxi took a few deep breaths, quickly moved around the game interface, but saw no sign of that thing anywhere in the corridor.

He had no idea where it had hidden.

By that time, the little figure had already carried its things inside and closed the door behind it.

Xia Chenxi couldn’t continue investigating, so he could only try to recall the scene he had just seen. The more he thought about it, the more bizarre his expression became.

Why did it feel like that thing was… a human head? And those bloody red light spots looked just like eyes.

Xia Chenxi’s scalp tingled, and he couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine at his own guess.

If his speculation was correct…

That would mean that every time the little person came home, this figure had been hiding behind the box, spying on the little one.

Why were there lunatics and perverts everywhere around the little one?

One always liked to hide and secretly watch the little one come home, and the other always knocked on the door in the afternoon.

Of course, it was also possible that these two lunatics were actually the same person.

Xia Chenxi felt an even stronger sense of urgency.

In the game.

The little one was carrying a black bag in its right hand. It seemed to be filled with something unknown, and it looked rather heavy.

After entering the house, it didn’t spare even a glance at the extra dishes on the table.

Even though the smell had left it distracted all day while out, and it constantly thought about it.

At this thought, the little one’s expression grew even gloomier.

It put the thing in its hand into the kitchen sink, then returned to the room to change out of its pajamas.

Of course, the entire process of changing clothes still took place in the bathroom, where Xia Chenxi couldn’t see.

The little one seemed to value its privacy very much.

When it came out of the bathroom, Xia Chenxi thought, It should be about to sit down and start eating the meal I made… right?

Rice paired with stir-fried tomato and eggs was sure to bring the little one a new sense of shock and experience.

However, the little one, without even glancing at the table, went straight back into the kitchen. Soon, the sound of chopping echoed from within — thud thud thud.

Xia Chenxi: “…”

After all the effort he put into making the food, the little one didn’t even spare it a look, let alone eat it.

Xia Chenxi fell into deep thought. Did something go wrong at some point, causing the little one to react this way?

But then he quickly dismissed that idea.

Because this dish was clearly even better than yesterday’s, and the little one had finished every last bite of yesterday’s meal. There was no reason for it not to eat even a single bite today.

Could it be…

That the little one just wasn’t hungry right now?

However, in the very next second, the little one’s actions brutally shattered Xia Chenxi’s self-comforting thoughts.

The little one—was actually cooking?!

It was thud thud thud, the sound of chopping something, and the little one’s slender figure looked like it radiated an inexplicable “don’t approach me” aura.

But when the little one turned around and revealed a particularly beautiful yet somewhat gloomy face, it sparked an unexpected urge to protect.

It was the kind of face that made you think, This person seems like someone anyone could pick on.

At this thought, Xia Chenxi grew even more worried. The little one was so fragile—maybe it was being bullied every day when it went out.

On top of that, its wound had only just begun to heal. Forget about fighting back — facing those two lunatics outside the door, Xia Chenxi even doubted whether the little one could survive at all.

So he had to protect it well.

The little one turned again, staring intently at the chopped-up “food” and placing it into the water to cook. It seemed to recall the scene of the “food” struggling, and licked the corner of its mouth, its eyes filled with bloodlust and madness.

The once-clear water quickly turned a murky gray-black. Bubbles rose with popping sounds, as if something filled with resentment and chaos was wailing from within.

Eventually, everything settled into calm.

The little one scooped out the “food,” stir-fried it a second time, then plated it.

From Xia Chenxi’s side, all he could see was the little one’s busy back — he couldn’t quite make out what exactly it had been chopping.

It wasn’t until the little one came out of the kitchen carrying the plate that he suppressed his chaotic thoughts and zoomed in on the game screen out of curiosity.

He was really curious to know what exactly the little one had cooked — to the point that it didn’t even spare a glance at the dish he had made.

After all, tomato and scrambled eggs had been rated a three-star dish by the game.

As the game screen zoomed in, Xia Chenxi’s expression gradually turned to one of shock.

This was…?

A strange fish with dead-fish eyes staring blankly at the sky — because it had been chopped into several pieces, each chunk of meat looked slightly grayish, and at first glance, it could easily be mistaken for filthy, murky water.

Xia Chenxi: “??”

Why did this feel even more disgusting than that weird fish he saw last time?

It didn’t even look appetizing.

But the little guy still placed the dish on the table, picked up a piece of fish with an expressionless face, put it in his mouth, chewed a few times, then swallowed it after a few seconds of silence.

This time, Xia Chenxi could vaguely see a hint of struggle on the little guy’s seemingly calm face, as if it was having a hard time swallowing.

Xia Chenxi didn’t know why, but he found it both funny and a little exasperating.

So, the little guy actually thought the dish tasted bad too?

Xia Chenxi even suspected that the reason he could always eat without changing expression before was because he had never tasted normal food.

But now that he had something to compare it to—

—the little guy finally understood the true meaning of “bad-tasting.”

But the question was—if the little guy found the weird fish so unappetizing, why was he still eating it?

Xia Chenxi couldn’t quite figure out what the little guy was thinking at that moment.

Then, the little guy took another bite of his own cooking, while the aroma of the delicious dishes nearby wafted over.

He realized that the dish he used to think was “decent enough” now seemed even harder to swallow.

For the first time ever, a trace of confusion appeared in his eyes.

He had eaten who knows how many things in the past that tasted even worse than this dish, but every single time, he managed to swallow them without so much as a twitch—for the sake of survival.

But today, he couldn’t even get down a third bite.

Or rather…

Was this the plan all along of that mysterious person who snuck into the room?

To lure him willingly into a trap—by using such precious food as bait.

His gaze fell on the dishes not far away.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but today’s dish seemed even more fragrant than yesterday’s, looking incredibly tempting.

And beside it, the bowl was filled to the brim with rice.

A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes, followed by deep confusion and bewilderment.

How could there be rice in this world with such perfectly translucent grains, with not a single impurity in sight?

He had never seen rice that looked so beautiful.

Did that mysterious person really go to such great lengths and expense just to make him eat this food?

It didn’t make sense.

If the food were truly poisoned, there would’ve been no reason for the other party to use precious medical tape to treat his wounds.

Perhaps… their goal wasn’t to kill him after all.

After all, during this time, the other party had countless opportunities to kill him.

And yet—he was still alive and well.

An unbelievable thought began to surface in his mind.

Could it be that…

The other person was trying to gain his trust with all this, in order to achieve a far more terrifying goal?

He realized this was the only explanation that made sense of everything in front of him.

No wonder he hadn’t felt the slightest discomfort after eating the food yesterday.

After figuring this out, he was no longer in a hurry to kill the mysterious person and seize all their precious belongings.

Instead, he decided—

He would play an interesting, yet cruel game with this mysterious person.

And see who, in the end, would be the true loser.

He lowered his gaze, eyes falling on the steaming, delicious-looking food.

In order to deceive this mysterious person and lure them into his trap, it seemed he had no choice but to reluctantly—grudgingly—force himself to eat it all.

Who knew, the other person might even make something even tastier to gain his trust.

He probably didn’t even realize that, at that moment, a faint sense of anticipation had quietly crept into his heart.

Then, the little guy stood up and, without hesitation, tossed the disgusting dish he had made into the trash. After that, he calmly sat back down, ready to enjoy the feast before him.

He picked up a few grains of rice and placed them in his mouth. The soft, fragrant rice spread across every part of his taste buds.

For a brief moment, his deep, dark eyes suddenly lit up.

How could it taste so good?!!

He couldn’t wait to grab more and put it in his mouth, still finding it incredibly delicious.

However, there was something… off. It felt like something was missing. The flavor seemed a little… too simple?

A sudden thought flashed through his mind, and as he caught a glimpse of the perfectly colored and fragrant dishes, a moment of enlightenment struck him.

He cautiously took another bite of the fragrant rice, then picked up a piece of golden egg soaked in the sweet taste of tomato, chewing it slowly.

For a rare moment, he froze.

After several seconds, he looked at the dish and rice with an expression of disbelief, his eyes filled with deep shock.

What kind of wondrous flavor was this? How could the combination be so incredible?

Everything he had eaten in the past couldn’t compare to what was in front of him now.

Xia Chenxi watched the little guy devouring his food, unable to suppress a smile; his lips helplessly curled up in amusement.

The little guy’s drastic change in attitude could only be described as a “real fragrance warning.”

The moment the little guy finished eating, the game popped up another message:

[Congratulations, player, for completing today’s side quest—[Food, Clothing, Shelter, and Transportation · Eating] Third Phase. You have earned +3 Love Points.]

[Another day of carefully taking care of the little guy’s physical and mental health.]

Xia Chenxi stared intently at the words “today,” his breath quickening for a few seconds.

Did this mean that if he made food for the little guy every day, he could earn a fixed +3 Love Points?

Or perhaps this was similar to a daily quest in a game.

If he kept completing these tasks every day, he believed he could quickly accumulate quite a bit of Love Points, which could come in handy later.

However, Xia Chenxi was even more curious about whether this daily task could only be completed once, or if it could be repeated.

After thinking for a moment, he decided that tomorrow, he would make breakfast for the little guy and test the results.

After the little guy finished his meal, he stood up, cleaned the dishes, and placed Xia Chenxi’s plates and utensils on the table.

Then, the little guy glanced around the room, his mouth moving as if he were saying something.

Xia Chenxi was confused.

The game immediately provided a thoughtful translation: [The dishes are all cleaned. You can take them now.]

Xia Chenxi was silent in response.

For him, taking the plates away would only require a simple flick of his finger.

But from the little guy’s perspective, in an empty room, the plates suddenly disappearing would be an inexplicable and eerie experience.

Just thinking about it, it was clear that the little guy wouldn’t just be scared—he would likely be terrified of him.

Especially since they had finally made a good start. Xia Chenxi couldn’t afford to let such a small detail ruin everything.

So, Xia Chenxi decided to remain still.

The little guy waited patiently for a while, but when he saw the plates were still on the table, he realized the mysterious person hadn’t appeared.

It wasn’t surprising to him, but it only made his suspicions grow stronger.

The mysterious person seemed to be going to great lengths to avoid being seen by him.

The little guy mentally noted this detail, then walked into the bathroom. Soon, sounds of movement could be heard from inside.

Xia Chenxi, curious, noticed the door wasn’t fully closed, leaving a crack open.

He adjusted his viewpoint several times, and through the gap, he could vaguely see the little guy scrubbing clothes, his face serious and focused.

After watching for a while, Xia Chenxi moved the game’s viewpoint away and took the opportunity to open the shop, hoping to see if any new items had been added.

However, when he saw that there were still only two items available, he couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

The two items available were still the medical tape and the detox pill.

Xia Chenxi didn’t need them at the moment. What he really needed now was something that would allow him to communicate with the little guy.

He closed the shop and began thinking deeply.

There were two possible methods to try.

First, he could focus on accumulating Love Points. If anything were to enter the little guy’s room, he could activate the interaction mode to help the little guy fend off the intruder.

Assuming he could manage that.

The second option was to use the interaction mode to leave a message, making the little guy realize that someone outside had their eyes on him.

However, both of these solutions depended on one thing—there could be no unforeseen changes in the coming days.

When the little guy finished washing his clothes and came out, his gaze landed on the dishes on the table, and his eyes darkened.

The other party hadn’t taken the opportunity to clear the dishes while he was washing his clothes.

Was the mysterious person simply too busy, or did they have to wait until he was asleep or out of the room to appear?

The little guy was deep in thought, then suddenly raised his arm and glanced at the medical tape wrapped around it.

The corner of the tape had started to peel off.

He pinched the edge of the tape and slowly tore it off, revealing a wound that was nearly healed. It was hard to tell that the injury had once been so severe.

He casually tossed the tape into the trash, then lay back down on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.

The game then displayed a prompt: [It is about to sleep.]

Xia Chenxi was a bit surprised.

The little guy had gone to sleep so early today?

Normally, he would stay up much later.

Xia Chenxi couldn’t help but worry—was the little guy feeling unwell, or was he just too tired?

He had no way of knowing, so he could only watch helplessly as the little guy soon closed his eyes, his breathing gradually becoming even and steady.

Xia Chenxi let out a sigh of relief and opened the virtual kitchen, making a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

But he didn’t plate it.

The only empty plate was on the little guy’s table, and he planned to wait until late at night to log in again and take the plate away.

After finishing everything, Xia Chenxi quickly logged out of the game.

In the evening, the nurse arrived on time to change Xia Chenxi’s bandages. She said, “Your wound is healing well. You should be able to leave the hospital in three days at most.”

Xia Chenxi nodded and thanked the nurse.

At seven in the evening, Xia Chenxi suddenly heard a terrified scream from outside the hospital room, followed by the sounds of chaos.

Xia Chenxi didn’t know what was happening outside. His instinct was to find something for self-defense, but he quickly realized the only thing that could be used was the IV stand.

But the IV stand was heavy, and with only one functional hand, Xia Chenxi couldn’t lift it—let alone use it for self-defense.

Just then, the chaos outside seemed to settle down.

Xia Chenxi finally let out a quiet breath of relief and remained seated on the bed, choosing not to go out.

It wasn’t until everything outside had completely calmed that he finally moved, just about to get out of bed to check what had happened—when the security guard stationed outside the ward opened the door and stepped in.

With concern in his voice, he asked, “Did it scare you?”

The reason he asked was because, when the scream rang out, the other survivors from Fengnian Community on the fourth floor had all shown intense stress reactions.

Some even yanked out their IVs and tried to flee the hospital in a panic.

But Xia Chenxi was different. There wasn’t the slightest trace of fear or distress on his face— it was completely calm and composed.

The security guard couldn’t help but silently admire Xia Chenxi’s impressive ability to stay composed under pressure.

Xia Chenxi took the opportunity to ask, “Brother Li, what happened out there?”

The security guard sat down and said, “Do you remember the case I told you about a few days ago—the one where the killer sliced up an entire family and stuffed them in the fridge?”

Xia Chenxi nodded.

He still remembered that the killer’s daughter and younger brother had managed to escape.

As for the killer himself, due to a mental breakdown during the murders, he couldn’t be sentenced and was instead committed directly to a psychiatric hospital.

But the key point was—the killer’s younger brother was being treated at this very hospital.

Could it be…

A chilling suspicion began to form in Xia Chenxi’s mind. And then he heard the officer continue, “That killer somehow managed to escape from the psychiatric hospital.”

Escaped?

Given the maniac’s history—and now tying it to the chaos just moments ago in the hospital—

Xia Chenxi’s blood ran cold. Based on that lunatic’s behavior before, and the panic just now…

Xia Chenxi’s heart skipped a beat and he asked, “Could it be that the murderer has come to the hospital? Does he want to… come in and kill someone?”

The police officer nodded and said, “When we rushed over, we saw the murderer had chopped his brother’s face into pieces. His face was bloody and all we could see were his eyeballs moving around.”

Speaking of this, the police officer on duty still felt a lingering fear. The scene at that time was too tragic and bloody, and the shock was extremely strong.

The most terrifying thing was that the flesh that was cut off from the face had been eaten by the murderer.

“But the scream just now was not a male voice.” Xia Chenxi raised a question.

The police officer briefly explained what had happened.

The murderer escaped from the mental hospital by unknown means, sneaked into the hospital and knocked out a patient, then used a fruit knife to cut off the patient’s flesh bit by bit, and ate most of the meat.

During this time, a nurse happened to be doing her rounds. When she pushed open the door and saw the gruesome scene, she screamed in terror. Her scream alerted the nearby officers, who rushed over in time to subdue the killer.

But it seemed it was still too late.

The victim’s facial injuries were so severe that they couldn’t be repaired, and it was unimaginable how devastated he would be if he woke up to learn what had happened.

As for the killer, he was so completely deranged that he was forcibly escorted back by the police.

Faced with such a highly dangerous psychiatric patient, although he couldn’t be sentenced, the killer could be placed under intense surveillance to prevent him from escaping again and hurting anyone.

After hearing all this, Xia Chenxi pondered for a moment before asking the security guard, “Brother Li, did you feel anything off about him when you were at the scene?”

The security guard gave a wry smile. “I felt that everything about the killer was wrong.” He paused, his expression growing grim. “The image is something I still can’t shake from my mind.”

Xia Chenxi remained silent, lost in thought.

“However…” The security guard suddenly remembered something and added, “When we caught the killer, he kept shouting that this world wasn’t normal and that he just wanted to take his loved ones to an ultimate world.”

Xia Chenxi muttered to himself, “An ultimate world?”

The security guard didn’t find anything particularly strange about this and explained to Xia Chenxi, “He has severe delusions and mania. His worldview is no longer aligned with that of a normal person.”

Although Xia Chenxi didn’t entirely agree with the security guard’s words, he still nodded in understanding. Once the guard left, he was left alone with his thoughts.

Xia Chenxi thought for a while, then took out his phone and sent a message to Professor Tian, mainly asking if there were any new research results regarding the black fog and the monsters.

After waiting for a while, there was still no reply from Professor Tian.

Deciding to pass the time, Xia Chenxi logged into the game again.

In the room, the little guy was curled up, sound asleep.

Xia Chenxi immediately collected all the plates on the table and opened the virtual kitchen. He plated the scrambled eggs with tomatoes he had made earlier and served the rice as well.

He planned to place the rice and dishes on the table tomorrow morning.

After closing the game, Xia Chenxi lay on his side and closed his eyes for a moment.

In his dream, he seemed to find himself back in the corridor, surrounded by complete darkness, with not a single ray of light to be seen.

The corridor was covered with mottled, old brown stains, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

—It felt like a massacre had just occurred.

At the same time, every door was tightly shut.

Only one door was ajar, but the room inside seemed to have been swallowed by the black fog, with no trace of light to be seen.

Xia Chenxi stood frozen, unsure of which direction to take.

Suddenly, a faint, almost imperceptible sound drifted from the open door.

But instead of standing there in fear, he turned and ran without hesitation.

The old, eerie corridor stretched endlessly, as if there were no exit in sight.

As he sprinted at full speed, he couldn’t help but glance back over his shoulder—

From the pitch-black door, a hand slowly emerged, its skin dry and shriveled, with fingers unnaturally long and twisted.

Then, a face, so pale it seemed almost lifeless, slithered out from within the door.

It clung to the door, its enormous eyes fixed unblinkingly on Xia Chenxi, then it broke into a grotesque smile.

In the next instant, it lunged forward with terrifying speed, its hands and feet moving like a spider’s, crawling from the floor to the ceiling, then swiftly leaping toward him.

It was that mysterious monster.

Shocked, Xia Chenxi quickly ran forward.

But this corridor seemed to have no end, and was engulfed by thick black fog.

Xia Chenxi didn’t dare to get closer and could only turn quickly and run to the stairs. The stairs were piled with unknown pieces of meat, some of which were even rotten and emitted a foul smell.

Xia Chenxi didn’t have time to resist, and struggled to avoid the debris and quickly went downstairs. When he reached the first floor, pushed the door and ran out, he inexplicably returned to the fourth floor.

Xia Chenxi froze for a moment.

Wasn’t this dream a bit too realistic?

Just then, the sound of the monster crawling came from behind again.

Without caring whether this was a dream or not, Xia Chenxi instinctively kept running forward, then circled back up the stairs to the fourth floor.

He finally managed to put some distance between himself and the monster.

Taking advantage of the moment, Xia Chenxi desperately pounded on the other tightly shut doors.

“Is anyone in there?!!”

The sound of pounding—thud, thud, thud—echoed through the corridor, while the monster’s footsteps drew closer and closer.

Gritting his teeth, Xia Chenxi decided to enter the only door that was open.

He had no other choice.

Whether this was a dream or not, he wasn’t willing to be caught by that monster.

Perhaps because he had been in the dark for too long, Xia Chenxi could vaguely make out his surroundings after entering.

It looked like no one had lived here for a long time. On the old, worn-out sofa, was a reddish-brown stain in the shape of a human figure.

It was as if, long ago, someone had died here, and their blood had slowly seeped into the fabric, leaving behind this eerie imprint.

Suppressing the chilling images forming in his mind, Xia Chenxi quickly searched the room and found a makeshift weapon.

It gave him a bit of a sense of security. But just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his body suddenly froze.

Slowly, he turned his head.

The monster was standing at the door!!!!

It remained completely still, then it slowly tilted its head as it revealed a creepy smile to Xia Chenxi.

All around was silent.

Xia Chenxi’s eyes widened in horror.

When did it get to the door?!