Chapter 11 Who Am I 10

There should be rules in this house, right?

Regardless of whether there are or not, it's better to be safe than sorry!

With the stealthy momentum of a Japanese soldier entering a village, Lin Xiangjun surreptitiously searched the living room, shining her flashlight into every nook and cranny. Finally, she found a piece of paper under the sofa.

Rules.

She had guessed right. Besides a sense of "as expected," a strange feeling welled up in Lin Xiangjun's heart.

Community rules, staircase rules, family rules... perhaps there were other undiscovered rules in places she didn't know about. Of course, even if these three sets were all of them, it was still very strange.

A two-star newbie instance... would there really be this many rules?

With a heavy heart, she began to read the rules on the paper.

[This is your home. The home is a relatively safe place, provided you follow the rules below.]

[1. Electricity is expensive. Remember to save power. The lights in the house can only be turned on from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM the next morning. It is bright during the day, so there is no need to turn on the lights.]

[2. Mom and Dad need to go to work during the day. You don't know how to cook for yourself. There is prepared food in the refrigerator. If you are hungry, you may eat it.]

[3. When you eat, remember to prepare a portion for the friend living in your home. You only need to put his food in a bowl, light two sticks of incense, and place the bowl at the door. He has a small appetite and doesn't eat much.]

[4. It is best not to stay home during the day. You can go for a stroll in the small park downstairs. There is a teeter-totter and a seesaw.]

[5. Please do not eat too much sugar, or you will get cavities. The same goes for your friend.]

There were only five short rules, and they didn't seem hard to follow.

But Lin Xiangjun's brow was furrowed so tightly it could have crushed a fly.

She took out a notebook.

This was a c-rank prop.

[Top Student's Notebook (Unbound): A top student records all knowledge they deem important in a notebook and reviews it from time to time. Any knowledge written on the paper or on notes tucked inside the book will not be lost. The pages have an infinite usage property, and this notebook has a non-loss attribute.]

The notebook was a very ordinary black plastic-covered one, accompanied by a three-color ballpoint pen with black, blue, and red options. The top of the pen cap had a black rubber piece that looked a bit like an eraser.

There were colorful small paperclips included in the black plastic pocket at the back of the notebook, which could be used to clip the family rules to a page. Lin Xiangjun tried it out and confirmed the page held very firmly; nothing would fall out.

No wonder this notebook was rated C-rank, Lin Xiangjun marveled. It could conveniently store all instance clues, the pages were infinite, and finding things was much easier.

Lin Xiangjun first bound the notebook, then transcribed the community rules and staircase rules onto it. She didn't feel safe just taking photos with her phone; after all, stories often featured phone content being altered. If the rules were secretly changed, she'd have nowhere to cry.

She put the three sets of rules together to compare them.

Both the staircase and family rules had only five entries, while the community rules had seven. Could the number of rules be related to the scope of the area? However, with too small a sample size, she had no way to verify this yet.

Comparing the three sets of rules, there didn't seem to be any issues.

No, that's not right.

Frowning, Lin Xiangjun used the pen to underline the second family rule.

[2. Mom and Dad need to go to work during the day. You don't know how to cook for yourself. There is prepared food in the refrigerator. If you are hungry, you may eat it.]

Frowning, Lin Xiangjun glanced toward the bathroom, then toward the bedroom.

Although the rules and home layout currently suggested she was part of a three-person family in this instance—herself as a child and two supernatural entities as parents—they were likely not home yet because it wasn't time to get off work.

But the problem wasn't there; it was in the third rule.

[When you eat, remember to prepare a portion for the friend living in your home.]

The rules explicitly stated this "friend" lived in her home, but she had checked earlier and was certain there were only three sets of toiletries, belonging to her parents and herself.

Why was the "friend" living at home, yet there were no toiletries for them? This was illogical.

Furthermore, the friend's meal was specifically emphasized; she had to prepare a portion for the friend whenever she ate. This felt strange, as if the friend were someone unable to take care of themselves.

Lin Xiangjun's eyebrows knitted into a knot.

The rules hinted that the parents would be out working during the day and should return at night.

But as for this "friend," the instance didn't say it would leave.

In other words, in a place she hadn't noticed, a ghost had been hiding in this house all along?

The hair on Lin Xiangjun's arms stood on end.

And the most important thing wasn't that a ghost was hiding in the house, but where was this ghost sleeping?

This house was a two-bedroom apartment. Her parents definitely slept together. Since this ghost hiding in the house was her friend, their age should be similar to her age in the instance—a child.

If a child's friend stayed over, it would be reasonable for them to sleep with the child at night, right?

Lin Xiangjun took a deep breath. She couldn't sit still anymore. She immediately closed the notebook, put it away, and took out the stack of paper figurine cards from her pocket.

A paper figurine card was a long, thin strip of pure white paper, somewhat like a movie ticket but softer and thinner, with a perforated line in the middle.

Lin Xiangjun picked one and tore it along the perforated line.

The paper figurine card turned into specks of white light, which gathered and merged again in front of Lin Xiangjun, taking the shape of a person.

Under Lin Xiangjun's expectant and encouraging gaze, a paper figure slowly appeared.

Lin Xiangjun's smile froze on her lips.

...This was her... paper figure?

No, that's not right. She had checked them one by one when she burned them. They were standard images of young men and women, with hands, feet, noses, and eyes—each one looking quite proper and delicate!

She didn't expect a paper figure to be breathtakingly beautiful, but it should at least look like the ones she burned!

What on earth was this starfish-looking thing wrapped in bandages like a mummy?!

You have arms and legs, but you can't only have arms and legs! Where are your hands and feet? Where are your nose and eyes?

Complaint! She wanted to file a complaint!

She refused to have a Patrick Star wrapped in bandages working for her! This guy's head was so pointy it looked like it had been honed to perfection; the next step would be Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin—she didn't want this kind of guy!

However, breaking down was useless. It wouldn't help her get through the instance safely, nor would it get her a more normal paper figure. Lin Xiangjun pinched her philtrum and rolled her eyes, finally resigning herself to fate.

"You, open the doors to the two bedrooms... yes, those two doors behind you."

Patrick Star slowly nodded its honed head, slowly turned its bloated and massive body, stepped out with long legs that only accounted for a third of its body height, and slowly walked to the bedroom door.

Lin Xiangjun: ...

The force with which Lin Xiangjun pinched her philtrum increased.

Why was a paper figure so fat?! Did it eat ten Krabby Patties every day?!