Chapter 1
When a horror game intersected with reality, my foster parents sacrificed me to save themselves and sent me into the game instead.
People who were watching exploded.
[Who sent a three-year-old kid in here? I bet she won't survive the night.]
[I give her thirty minutes.]
On the first night, the security guard, Bill Wardell, who died from heatstroke opened his bloody mouth at me.
I gently blew on him. "Bill, I'll blow on you, so you won't be so hot anymore."
On the second night, the female ghost, Liana Shavers, grabbed my throat, her form soaking wet.
I wiped her face with my sleeve, saying, "Liana, be careful not to catch a cold."
*****
When a horror game intersected with reality, I was sent into it.
A voice announced, "Welcome to the Perfect Home instance. Survive for one week to clear the instance.
"Initial players: 7—" The creepy system voice paused for a second before continuing, "Initial players: 6.5. A kid counts as half a player. Hope you have a quick death."
Players started whispering.
"What's a kid doing here?"
"She won't even last the night."
A middle-aged man's eyes went cold. "Since she's gonna die anyway, she can be our guinea pig and check things out for us."
He grabbed me and hurled me straight into the community.
I tumbled over and over, the rough stones scraping open my barely healed wounds.
I gasped from the pain.
Pushing myself up, I brushed the dust off my clothes.
"Milly's not hurt, not hurt at all," I muttered under my breath.
I sniffled, trying my hardest not to cry.
I told myself that I couldn't cry.
Whenever I started crying, my foster mom would smack me across the face.
She'd scream, "You good-for-nothing brat. All your crying is bringing bad luck on us.
"If that fortune-teller hadn't said adopting a girl would help my son, I wouldn't have wasted a dime on you."
I forced those memories down, wiped at my teary eyes, and hobbled over to the security guard's office.
People who were watching the game started chatting.
[This is the lair of Bill Wardell, an S-class Boss. Nobody walks out of here alive.]
[Man, this kid's so pitiful. I kinda feel bad watching this.]
[You can't really blame the other players. It's an eat-or-be-eaten world. Everyone's just trying to survive.]
I knocked on the security office door.
All of a sudden, the sky went dark.
The door swung open.
An old man, his skin a strange purplish-red, shuffled out.
Sweat poured off him, soaking his clothes. His eyes bulged, like they could pop out any second.
Nine cats trailed after him.
"It's hot... So hot..." he rasped.
His voice was hoarse, like an old tape stuck on repeat.
The chat was blowing up.
[Bill tosses people into a high-temp steam oven and roasts them alive. Man, this kid is unlucky.]
[And those freaky cats of his? They'll rip one apart and gnaw one down to the bone.]
[Forget it. I'm out. Gonna check out another stream.]
The next second, a little kitten nuzzled up to me.
I froze at the soft, fuzzy feeling, my eyes going wide in surprise.
"Bill, this kitty keeps bonking me with its head," I exclaimed.
[Dying of laughing here. She doesn't know what to do when the cat keeps headbutting her.]
[Aww, this kid is just way too adorable.]
[Cat ghost is throwing flirty looks at someone who's totally oblivious.]
[Isn't it supposed to just eat her? Why's it acting all cuddly instead?]
The cat stopped in its tracks when it heard me.
It bared its teeth at me, looking ready to chomp down.
I crouched down, gave it a gentle pat on the head, and scratched under its chin.
The cat started purring happily.
I'd never gotten to pet a kitty before.
My foster parents made me live with a dog. Whenever it saw a cat, it'd always go wild and try to attack.
I tried to stop it a couple times, but I got bitten instead.
Today was the first time a kitty ever bumped me with its head.
The other cats swarmed around me, nuzzling up to my hands.
It seemed they wanted me to pet them too.
I petted all of them, and by the end, my forehead was all sweaty.
The people watching the stream started chatting again.
[Wait, is this right? It's like she's running a cat café in here.]
[So, one can actually pet the cat ghosts? Last time I tried, my hand got bitten off. Now I'm typing with my feet.]
[That's just gross, dude.]
The cats meowed at Bill a few times.
After a long pause, his tone was a bit strange as he said, "Come on in."
With a kitten in my arms, I followed Bill inside the security office.
The cramped office was sealed tight, not a hint of fresh air inside.
The heat was brutal. Bill and I were sweating buckets.
But every kitten had its own personal fan, and they all looked pampered and content.
As soon as Bill stepped inside, sweat poured off him like rain.
I carefully turned the fan toward him, making sure not to bother the kittens.
Bill's eyes flashed crimson, and blood started seeping from his eye sockets.
"Who said you could touch my fan?" he snapped.
People starting chatting, frightened for me.
[She's toast this time. Bill loses it if anyone so much as touches his fan.]
[She better start praying.]