Sister Natalie's face turned ashen.
"We're a step too late," she muttered grimly.
Everyone in the room had an unpleasant expression. There was a heavy silence weighing on the air.
Lucas calmly continued eating his meal, unbothered for the moment, but his ears perked up when the captain finally broke the silence.
"What exactly is their assigned task?" the captain asked with a frown.
Sister Natalie took a deep breath and answered solemnly, "Charles and Caleb… their job was to shoot a video of the boy locked in the dark room."
The captain looked confused. "And that's supposed to be hard?"
She nodded solemnly. "It's the same boy who failed yesterday's Smile Test. He hasn't been released yet. He's still inside…"
"If it were just a regular shoot, it wouldn't be difficult," she continued, crossing her arms and pacing back and forth, her eyes dark with worry. "But the Dean said the Smile Test footage reserves are running low. So they want to use that child to make a brand-new video…"
At that, Lucas finally paused mid-bite and looked up, eyes narrowing.
> : I've been watching Lucas's livestream. Can someone in chat explain what the hell's going on?
> : I saw it. It was awful. They were forced to shoot that video, and when they refused, the damn perverted Dean kicked them out!
> : WTF. Thank God this orphanage is just a setting in a game.
> : Don't be so sure. Dark stuff happens in real orphanages too. We just never hear about it.
> : Whoever gets that mission is so screwed. How can anyone go through with it???
> : With the way this system works, I have a really bad feeling.
Lucas's gaze lingered on the half-eaten food. He tapped the table rhythmically, thoughts spinning.
"So that's where the Smile Test videos come from..." he murmured, his voice barely audible. "They use kids who are already broken. It explains why the ones in the video can still smile… Their minds must be far more twisted than we imagined."
He let out a sigh, nearly silent, but the heaviness was palpable.
"I thought teaming up would give me some breathing room. But this game... the danger never stops."
Lucas's hand drifted to the kitchen knife strapped to his waist. Its cold metal brought a strange sense of reassurance.
Veteran players watching the feed caught on immediately.
This mission… it was now most likely assigned to the remaining players.
Soon, the captain and Sister Natalie gathered everyone to discuss their next move.
"We could pretend to be sick," one player suggested. "If we're not well, maybe we won't have to do the task."
"If one person calls in sick, the others will suffer for it. You want everyone to feign illness?" someone else argued. "What if that triggers another mechanism?"
"Then what the hell do we do…"
All the players looked tense—except Lucas, who remained calm, analyzing the room.
Clack clack clack
The sharp sound of high heels echoed in the hallway.
Everyone immediately fell silent, eyes locking onto the door.
Click...
The handle turned, and the Dean stepped in, her lips blood-red, smile bone-chilling. Aunt Chloe followed closely behind.
"Good," the Dean said sweetly. "You're all here."
She entered gracefully, like a predator among prey.
"You may have heard… two of your fellow interns have lost the right to compete for full positions."
Not a soul responded.
The Dean's smile widened as she continued, "You're new. It's understandable that some of you aren't used to the workload yet."
She motioned behind her, and Aunt Chloe stepped forward with a folder.
"So, Aunt Chloe will be taking you to adapt to a more suitable job."
Then, the Dean casually added, "To the dark room."
The moment the words left her lips, every face in the room went pale.
"You'll assist Aunt Chloe as she completes the unfinished task."
"No!" one player quickly held their stomach and groaned. "Dean, I'm not feeling well. May I take leave?"
The Dean smiled like a knife.
"Of course. You may watch from the side."
She looked at the others. "If anyone else is unwell, feel free to just observe. No pressure."
Despair bloomed like a virus.
Then came the system prompt:
> [System Prompt: All players in current instance (8/10) have triggered a side mission]
[Side Mission: Help Aunt Chloe complete the video shooting]
[Reward: Unknown quantity of blank attribute points]
Shock froze them in place.
"Blank attribute points… as a reward?" someone whispered.
> : The system's using rewards to bait players into doing this?!?
> : It doesn't force anyone... but attribute points?! That's too damn tempting!
> : Crap. Lucas is gonna do something, isn't he? I feel it coming...
> : Whoever does it, I'm reporting them.
> : Just observe! Don't get involved! Screw this system!
The chat exploded with fury. On the walk to the dark room, Sister Natalie lowered her voice.
"If anyone dares help Aunt Chloe today," she said, her eyes like daggers, "I'll make sure you regret it."
Her eyes swept the group.
"I mean it."
Faced with her unwavering righteousness, the others nodded.
"I won't do it," someone swore. "I have standards."
The captain leaned toward Natalie. "Will you try to stop Aunt Chloe?"
Natalie's lips thinned. "I believe in justice. But I'm not stupid enough to get myself eliminated."
The captain sighed in relief and waved Lucas over. "Jason, come sit next to me later. Don't be afraid."
Lucas gave a small smile. "Thanks, Captain."
They arrived.
The Dean opened the door.
The dark room.
Lucas's eyes narrowed as he stepped inside.
Dim lights illuminated a small bed in the center. The floor was stained with dried blood. Torture devices hung from the walls.
A camera stood across the room, aimed at the bed where a frail little boy sat, curled into a ball, eyes wide with horror.
Everyone sat down.
"Begin," the Dean said softly.
Aunt Chloe turned on the camera and selected a knife from the wall.
"This one's perfect. Cuts clean."
The boy trembled violently. Natalie and the others could barely watch.
Aunt Chloe approached the bed.
"Aunt Chloe!" a voice called out.
Everyone turned.
It was Lucas. He stood with a sheepish smile.
"I'd like to help you film the video. Hands-on experience is the best teacher, right?"
Silence. Utter silence.
The captain's jaw dropped. Sister Natalie clenched her fists.
The Dean's face lit up. "Excellent! Go learn from Aunt Chloe."
Lucas walked forward, calm and collected.
> : ???
: Lucas lost it?!
: He's a maniac!
: Doing this for side mission points?!
: Unsubscribing. I'm done.
> [93,512 viewers quit Lucas's livestream]
[Current popularity rank: 3rd. 360,000 behind 2nd place. Supernova status in danger.]
Aunt Chloe handed him instructions.
"Hold the boy down. Don't let the blood splatter."
Lucas nodded.
He grabbed the boy's wrists, pinning them behind his back, then pressed his legs down.
The child struggled desperately, but Lucas didn't flinch.
Aunt Chloe grinned and lowered her knife.
"Let's start with the belly…"
The blade hovered.
The boy's eyes bulged in terror.
Then—
WHACK!
A kitchen knife slammed down—
"AAAGGHH!!" Aunt Chloe screamed in pain.
Lucas stood above her, having buried the blade in her shoulder.
Calmly, he pulled it out.
Turning to the Dean, whose jaw hung open, Lucas spoke softly, "Aunt Chloe helped every child. Watching her get carved apart… That would really test the children's psychology, wouldn't it?"
The Dean trembled. "Y-Yes, yes… You're absolutely right."
Lucas smiled.
"I knew my idea was correct."
Aunt Chloe stumbled back, blood gushing from her wound.
Lucas advanced. "Use the original method if you like. But I prefer a kitchen knife."
He stepped closer.
"No matter what, Aunt Chloe… don't forget to smile."
The camera kept rolling.
The boy, once terrified, now stared with hollow eyes.
And slowly… a smile crept onto his face.
> [Player Captain: -2 Sanity]
[Player Natalie: -2 Sanity]
[Player Nathan: -2 Sanity]
> [Player Lucas has completed the side mission alone and claimed all rewards]
[Reward: 160 blank attribute points]
Before the screen blurred with mosaic…
The last image was Lucas's radiant, blood-spattered smile.
> : HOLY SH*T. Thank God I'm not in the game.
> : He really did it. He completed it. He got all the points himself!!
> : That's not the point! Who the hell could go through with that???
> : Lucas is terrifying... but you gotta admit, he's got a silver tongue.
As chat went wild—
> [501,122 viewers in Lucas's livestream]
[436,549 gifts sent, 436,549 points earned]
[Rank: 3rd, now only 150,000 from 2nd. Popularity surging again.]
The Supernova spotlight draws closer…
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