Chapter 3: The Ultimate Comeback - A stench of decay suddenly filled the air...

Compared to the psychological harm caused by words, Liang Jun wanted to make the effect even more thorough.

She plans to start with physical damage.

Looking around the entire bedroom, the only thing that could be disassembled and used as a weapon was the desk in front of me.

The desk was an old-fashioned solid wood style, left here by the landlord. It was already in a somewhat dilapidated state, but Liang Yun could still manage to use it for doing her homework.

She crouched down and tentatively shook the table legs; the slightest sway was enough to make the entire table sway.

Liang Jun pulled her pajama sleeves down a little further, trying to cover her hands as much as possible to prevent herself from scratching herself during the next operation.

The right leg of the desk was wobbling particularly badly. After stacking her books to almost the same height, Liang Jun grabbed the wooden stick at the end of the leg with both hands and tried to break it off completely.

During this process, sawdust fell everywhere, and some tiny splinters pierced Liang Xuan's skin.

Worried that her parents would smell the odor again, she put a damp towel on her hands for protection.

With a crisp click at the joint, Liang Jun stood up, gripping the splinter-covered wooden stick.

Because it was torn off by brute force, the cross-section is not as neat as if it had been sawn off, but rather unevenly covered with sharp, long thorns.

This is exactly the result Liang Xuan wanted.

She was also worried that the weapon in her hand was not sharp enough, so Liang Jun rubbed it hard on the iron sheet on the windowsill to sharpen the stick as much as possible.

She had already observed them up close; the two NPCs outside the door were incredibly fragile. What was truly disgusting and terrifying was the unknown green slime beneath their skin, and beyond that slime was just a thin layer of skin.

As long as the stick in your hand is sharp enough to pierce their outermost layer of protection, then everything will be fine.

Based on the rules, the safest approach would probably be to attack their heart.

Liang Jun completely covered the main body of the wooden stick with a wet towel, leaving only the part intended for attack exposed. Then, she carefully placed the stick against her right arm and completely covered it again with her pajama sleeve.

Her pajamas were rather loose, and a wooden stick was hidden in the baggy sleeves, which no outsider would have noticed.

Liang Jun was afraid that one stick wouldn't be enough, so she wanted to break off another one.

But before she could even take any action, there was a loud knocking on the bedroom door.

"Girl, why are you back in your room again?"

The father's voice didn't sound as gentle as before; instead, it carried a hint of anxiety. "Hurry up and get out of here! We need to make the most of this time!"

The operation was halted, and Leung Chun had no choice but to get up from the ground again.

"Okay, Dad." Liang Jun's voice was calm, and the panicked expression from before was gone. "Wait for me for five more minutes, and I'll be right out."

As soon as she finished speaking, Liang Jun ran into the bathroom and checked her outfit in front of the mirror.

After confirming that there was no visible abnormality in her right arm, Liang Jun took several deep breaths and opened the bedroom door.

The sweet smell still lingered in the air.

It was even more intense than before.

Liang Jun felt that the taste was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

When Liang Jun finally came out of the room, her father got up from the dining table and walked towards her.

His stomach was even more swollen than before, and with each step he took, the green, fatty substance jiggled up and down.

Dad reached out and put his arm around Liang Xun's shoulder. "Come on, Mom has already prepared dinner. Let's eat."

There was a dark red stain around his mouth, as if he hadn't cleaned it at all, and a few dried blood clots remained on his chin.

Liang Jun subconsciously turned her head to look at the doorway.

The large bloodstains on the floor were now a mess; the crooked, reddish-brown marks recorded the grotesque state of the monster beside them.

She felt dizzy and nauseous, and managed to hold it in by pinching her thumb and forefinger.

Dad sat down next to Liang Jun at the dining table. Liang Jun looked up at the figure behind the frosted glass in the kitchen; the green monster was busily moving around.

That strange, sweet smell came from under her hands.

Before Liang Jun could think for long, her mother pushed the kitchen door open from the inside.

She was like a truly competent housewife, her hands laden with plates of food. The freshly cooked delicacies were still steaming hot, and the aroma of the meat filled the air even more intensely.

Liang Jun frowned involuntarily.

The smell was getting stronger and stronger.

"The meat is quite fresh today," Mom said with a satisfied smile, the red bits of meat still between her lips and teeth popping out as she spoke. "I just tasted a few bites, and it tastes pretty good. It's best to eat it while it's hot, so hurry up and eat it."

As she spoke, Mom placed the food on the table. Dad also got up and helped Mom set the plates and serve the dishes.

Liang Jun lowered her eyes and noticed a casserole dish that had been pushed in front of her.

The casserole dish appeared to have been carefully wiped clean, leaving no trace of oil. Inside were several square pieces of meat with skin on, and the broth had been simmered to a deep brown color. Scattered on the oily surface of the broth were a few pieces of fresh green onion and cilantro.

The strange aroma of meat and that cloying sweetness wafted up as the casserole churned.

Liang Jun subconsciously pushed back a little, creating a suitable distance.

"Let's have this as our main dish."

Mom brought out a plate of bread from the kitchen. "I see there are still quite a few slices of bread in the kitchen. Shall we eat these, okay, Nunu?"

She bought that bag of whole-wheat bread slices for breakfast. Liang Jun was quite surprised that NPCs could eat normal food.

"Of course," she replied, not forgetting to respond to her mother.

But to my surprise, Mom took out a plate of pre-portioned "food" from the back cupboard.

The slices of meat were shaved very thinly. The raw meat, which had not undergone any cooking, was a scarlet color. Some of the yellow fat tissue was stuck to the slices, and underneath it was a pool of cherry-red blood.

Accompanying it is a small bowl of "jam"—it has the color of strawberry jam, but it doesn't taste like strawberry jam.

Out of curiosity, Liang Jun gently stirred the mixture with her chopsticks. The tiny pieces of meat buried at the bottom were turned to the surface, and a few remaining hairs were barely visible.

Physiological nausea made her feel terrible. Liang Jun tried to get up to gag, but her father pressed her shoulder down.

"Where are you going, Junjun?" Her father's eyes held a probing look. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Hearing her father say that, her mother stopped in mid-air as she took off her apron, and green liquid slowly flowed from her deep, empty eye sockets.

"Aren't you going to eat, Nong Nong?"

Sensing the sudden drop in air pressure, Liang Xun could only go along with their story for now.

She sat back down, her left hand slowly rubbing the unused wooden stick through the fabric of her pajamas.

“I’ll eat,” Liang Xun moved the food a little closer to herself and pretended to pick up her chopsticks. “I’ll eat now.”

After receiving an affirmative answer, the parents ignored Liang Yun and began their own frantic eating.

The two of them devoured their food with gusto. The green tissue in their cheeks jiggled wildly, and excessive saliva dripped from the corners of their mouths, mixing with the broth and creating layers.

Liang Xun's hands were both under the table. Unless she was insane, there was no way she would eat Qin Miao's flesh.

The wooden stick was already hot from her grip, but Liang Jun still couldn't find a suitable opportunity to attack.

There was hardly any food left on the table—except for Liang Jun, whose table was still overflowing—and her mother was enjoying the last piece of bread sandwich.

She hastily spread all the jam on the bread slices, then picked up a few pieces of meat with a good balance of fat and lean, and greedily piled them on top of the jam.

Seemingly feeling that it wasn't enough, the mother stopped eating and looked at the father sitting opposite her.

"Could you go to the kitchen and bring me the rest of the meat slices? I saved the chewiest thigh meat for last, so it'll be more satisfying to eat that way."

At this moment, Dad's mouth was already stuffed full of meat. Although there was some dissatisfaction in his eyes, he still put down his chopsticks and followed Mom's instructions to go into the kitchen.

The mother's scrutinizing gaze swept across the entire dining table, finally settling on Liang Jun.

Her eyes instantly showed displeasure, and even the area where her head and body connected seemed to grow several sizes larger.

Why haven't you eaten a single bite yet?

Her mother's tone was sinister and cold, and the smell of rotting flesh mixed with the sweet and bloody stench in her mouth, spraying onto Liang Jun's area.

Why aren't you eating?

As the questions pressed her, the mother slowly rose from her seat.

She was so full that she could hardly walk, and through her almost translucent belly, you could even see the food beginning to break down inside her body.

Liang Jun's gaze followed closely.

She noticed that her mother had casually picked up the knife and fork on the table and was walking towards her.

"Is my cooking not good enough?" Mom's fat belly slumped onto the table, the sound of the knife and fork scraping against the surface was jarring. "Why aren't you eating? Are you disgusted by your mother?"

Liang Jun did not speak.

Her hands were clasped together under the table; she was ready to pull out the wooden stick at any moment.

When the other party did not respond, the mother became even more furious.

She almost screamed as she lunged at Liang Yan.

Why aren't you eating?! Why aren't you eating—

Just as the knife and fork in her mother's hand were about to slice across her neck, Liang Jun dragged her chair back in an instant. The distance between the two caused her mother to miss her target and land on the dining table.

Without wasting any time, Liang Jun decisively pulled the wooden stick out of her pajamas, and then used all her strength to plunge it into her mother's heart.

In an instant, the fragile outer skin began to crack from the heart, and the green viscous fluid inside gushed out along the cracks.

Liang Jun felt that one time was not enough. Ignoring her mother's heart-wrenching screams, she simply pulled out the wooden stick and repeated the action several times.

Only when the mother's body completely broke did the food that had just entered her stomach spill out.

In its partially digested state, a putrid, rotten smell suddenly filled the air.

The smell made Liang Xun dizzy, and she staggered as she leaned on the wooden stick.

[Hidden rule triggered.]

3. Your parents love you very much, please don't hurt their feelings. Their hearts are very fragile, please don't touch them unless absolutely necessary.

The hidden rules have been revealed.

Liang Jun's pajamas were completely soaked with the slime. The hidden rules she had triggered kept echoing in her mind, and she gave a dry, bitter laugh.

But then, that familiar eerie feeling crept over him once again.

Liang Xun's bitter smile faltered halfway through, her eyes once again filled with vigilance and tension.

"Girl, what are you doing...?"

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice sounded behind her. Before Liang Xun could even turn around, the icy touch had already pierced her bones through the fabric of her clothes.

She tried to turn around and stick the stick back in, but horrifyingly, she couldn't control her limbs at all.

The stench was already spraying onto his neck.

Liang Jun struggled desperately, but to no avail; tears of pain and despair streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Perhaps Qin Miao felt the same way back then...

The chill underfoot grew stronger. As her vision blurred, Liang Xun even vaguely glimpsed two wisps of black and white mist beside her.

Is this some kind of dying hallucination?

He even managed to see the Black and White Impermanence.

Liang Jun raised her hand and wiped away the remaining tears on her face.

She had prepared herself to die, but the moment her fingers touched the warm tears, she felt a chill run down her spine—

His limbs were able to move normally again.

The moment she realized she could control her body, Liang Jun gripped the wooden stick tightly, turned around, and was about to plunge it into her father's chest.

Everything happened so fast that Liang Xun didn't even notice the shock that flashed in the NPC's eyes before the fully charged wooden stick was forcefully driven into the other's chest.

The sound of flesh tearing open was like a muffled thunderclap.

Liang Jun was quite strong; with that thrust of the stick, the NPC's contents burst out after the pressure was released.

Broken fragments, along with a mixture of green, foul-smelling slime and food scraps, splattered onto Liang Xun's face.

Only after seeing the monster in front of her finally crumble into a pile of mud did Liang Jun belatedly feel a surge of terror.

She finally couldn't hold it in any longer and started dry heaving while clinging to the chair.

Liang Jun almost vomited up all the acid in her stomach.

The dizziness following the panic made her unsteady on her feet. Liang Jun barely managed to support herself as she slumped back into the chair, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

The hallucination of seeing stars seemed to lessen considerably. Liang Xun shook her head slightly, and her vision returned to clear.

As her gaze gradually moved upward from the muddy puddle, Liang Jun once again saw the swirling black and white mist.

This isn't a hallucination?

The endless stream of unexpected events made Liang Jun's heart pound wildly.

She rubbed her eyes with her hand under her clothes, but when she looked up, the scene was still unchanged—

The fog was still there.

It even shows a tendency to keep getting closer to itself.

Liang Yan reacted instinctively, stood up, stepped back, and reached for a wooden stick; the whole sequence of movements was fluid and natural.

Her stick pointed directly at the mist, the sticky substance at its tip still dripping down.

Before Liang Jun could even speak, the system's electronic voice rang in her mind once again.

[Checking for signs of the dungeon boss's survival...]

[Number of BOSSes remaining: 0/2...]

[Boss detected dead, saving current progress...]

The system's voice remained cold and devoid of warmth.

As Liang Jun's trembling hands and the fog where the black and white lines became clearer, the system beeped again.

[Congratulations, player! You have successfully completed the tutorial level: Safe Zone Survival!]

A note from the author:

----------------------

The latter half of this chapter has been modified.

Because the original version deviated from the original outline, after some thought, I decided to follow the outline and readjusted the original plot points that had branched out from it.

If you've seen the original version, remember to refresh and watch it again. The first half remains unchanged; the changes are all in the latter half.

If this is your first time seeing this, don't worry, it's already the revised version.