Mutual Redemption with the Villainous Boss [Infinite] - Chapter 1

The long national highway, accompanied by the persistent chirping of cicadas, carried a scorching breath of heat that made travelers irritable in the sweltering summer.

Zhu Ci dragged her suitcase along the road. The wheels kicked up clouds of dust, making a heavy sound and occasionally flipping up roadside pebbles.

As one of the few university students in the town, this was her first summer break. Her parents were busy and had no time to pick her up.

There were few cars on the highway, and the only bus required a wait of several hours. She had always been sensitive to the heat, and since it was afternoon with the sun tilting slightly past its zenith, she decided to walk, thinking home was only a few kilometers away.

Wiping sweat with her sleeve, Zhu Ci pulled out her phone to check the distance. There was only one kilometer left; she was almost there. She kept encouraging herself.

Before putting the phone back in her pocket, she glanced at the time: 3:01 PM.

The closer the sound of the cicadas grew, the closer she was to the town.

The place where she lived was a relatively remote small town near the mountains. The population was small; the neighbors all knew each other and frequently looked out for one another.

Finally having entered the town, a man on a motorcycle stopped beside her. He took off his helmet, revealing a dark, weathered face.

“Back for the holidays, Little Miss? The school food must be good; you’ve shot up quite a bit!” The man grinned, showing a row of yellow teeth, and patted her on the shoulder.

“Yes, Uncle Wang. I grew a few centimeters; I’m almost 1.7 meters now.” Zhu Ci didn’t stop her pace as she responded.

“I just saw your big brother over there. You two really have a great relationship, coming home at the exact same time.”

Zhu Ci was surprised. She asked, “My brother is back too?”

“You don’t believe me? My eyesight is sharp as a tack; I saw him from across the street.”

“Hurry on home now. I still have to pick up your aunt; she got so caught up in Mahjong she forgot to buy groceries.”

After bidding farewell to Uncle Wang, Zhu Ci quickened her pace, wanting to get home quickly. Since going away to university, she hadn’t seen her brother, who worked out of town, for an entire year. A faint sense of anticipation stirred in her heart.

If Brother is back, why didn’t he say anything?

Finally, after turning another corner, she saw her family’s house.

Zhu Ci’s father was the town doctor and earned a decent income. The house they lived in had been renovated not long ago—a two-story small villa that looked slightly out of place compared to its surroundings.

Standing at the front door, she took out her keys to unlock it. With a soft “click,” the lock opened.

She placed her hand on the doorknob.

A ringtone suddenly sounded, and the phone in her pocket vibrated loudly. She quickly stopped what she was doing, pulled it out, and pressed it to her ear.

“Hello? Cici, are you home yet?” A gentle male voice came through the receiver.

“I’m at the front door. What is it, Dad? Aren’t you busy?”

On the other end of the line was Zhu Ci’s father, Zhu Honghua. He was holding a medical chart, propping the phone against his shoulder. “I’m busy, yes. It’s just that your mom told me this morning to defrost the pork before I left, and I forgot. Take the pork out of the freezer in a bit, and the frozen shrimp too—your mom bought them yesterday. Wait for Dad to come home tonight and show off his skills; I’ll make a whole table of delicious food.”

“Got it. You guys come back early.” After a few more trivial words, Zhu Ci placed her hand back on the doorknob and pressed down.

The call ended abruptly. She looked at the screen; Zhu Honghua had hung up.

He probably bumped the button by accident, she thought.

Zhu Ci shrugged and pushed the door open.

As she pushed the door, she glanced at the time on her phone once more.

The time jumped from 3:17 PM to 3:18 PM.

Just like that, she remembered this specific moment.

She had no idea that her casual decision today would have such a gargantuan impact on the future, even to the point of completely overturning human history.

The door opened, and Zhu Ci dragged her suitcase inside. Even though the curtains were drawn open, the house was incredibly dark. The pitch-black corners seemed to be hiding something.

She didn’t pay it much mind and went straight to her room to drop off her suitcase.

The green plants that used to be on the windowsill were gone. Perhaps while she was away, her parents had moved them to the balcony to get some sun.

Only a single pot of withered spider plant remained. The soil was moist, but the leaves were yellowed, sitting lonely on the windowsill.

Zhu Ci turned on the light and the air conditioning. She intended to flop onto her bed to relax, but suddenly, something felt wrong.

There was a pungent smell of mold on the bedding. When she touched the wooden bed frame, it let out a piercing creak. The room had been very dark just a moment ago, but now that the lights were on, she realized the white walls were covered in black mold spots. They were densely packed, looking as if they were trying to crawl toward the ceiling.

How could a newly renovated house end up like this?

Looking closer, she rubbed her eyes. The walls were moving. This wasn’t an illusion.

Like an animal hidden under a carpet, the walls were bulging and undulating continuously, as if something were trapped inside.

Zhu Ci began to panic.

She slowly backed toward the door, leaning against it, her hand reaching behind her for the handle.

She felt nothing.

Cold sweat trickled down her back. The bulging movements grew faster and larger, feeling as though something was about to burst through the wall.

Zhu Ci whipped her head around. Behind her, there was no longer a door.

It was just another wall.

With her phone still in her pocket, she hurriedly pulled it out to call the police.

“We are sorry, the number you have dialed… has been destroyed.”

The beginning was a normal mechanical female voice, but it instantly turned into a burst of piercing, static white noise, scaring her so much she threw the phone away.

In her panic, she forced herself to calm down. Whether this was real or a dream, she couldn’t distinguish at all.

A strange sound emanated from the wall. A crack appeared on the surface. Something was trying to get out, struggling violently.

Although Zhu Ci didn’t know what it was, she knew clearly that if that thing got out, she wouldn’t survive.

She bit her lower lip and crouched down.

Calm down, calm down. The window was closed, the door was gone, the table and bed had mold spots, and so did the walls—the places with mold spots were where that thing moved most frequently.

That spider plant… She looked toward the windowsill. The scenery outside hadn’t changed; it was still sunny and bright. Only the window itself was clean and transparent, untainted.

Zhu Ci reached toward the desk. Her small crossbody bag she brought back today was sitting there, containing her ID card and some personal items.

It sat there perfectly fine, unaffected. But the suitcase in the corner looked as though it had been sitting there for years, covered in mold and dust.

The thought that she might have been dragging such a suitcase when she entered the house sent a chill down her spine.

In the entire room, the window was the only breakthrough point. Though it was tightly shut, she didn’t know if she could break through.

Having made up her mind, Zhu Ci slowly leaned her body forward, dashed to grab the bag on the table, and then pivoted to charge toward the window.

A wail seeped from the walls. She slung the bag over her shoulder and began striking the glass with her elbow.

Once, twice… she didn’t usually exercise and didn’t have much strength. The window felt as if it were glued shut; it wouldn’t budge or break.

The crack grew larger. Small fragments of stone fell out from within, but those “stones” moved, crawling around on the floor.

Zhu Ci looked back. Those weren’t stones; they were grotesquely shaped insects.

Seeing no way out, she felt a bit discouraged. She picked up the pot of spider plant, intending to throw it at the crack.

The moment she picked it up, her vision changed.

A row of icons appeared at the bottom of her line of sight. In the top right corner was an egg, hopping and bouncing, hovering in front of her.

As if possessed, she reached out and touched it.

“Congratulations to the player for touching the game!” The egg broke at a single poke, and a small winged person hopped out, flying two circles.

“Player Zhu Ci, you have successfully bound to the game ‘Genesis: Eerie Phobia.’ I am your novice guide, Xiao Chuang. Please touch me again to start the novice tutorial.” The little person flapped its wings, its voice sounding as if it were coming from within her mind.

Zhu Ci didn’t speak. She looked at the growing crack, then back at it.

The little person had golden curly hair, deep blue eyes, and a tiny face, wearing a light green dress. It stared at her with wide, blinking eyes.

Zhu Ci reached out, moved her hand to Xiao Chuang, and—facing its expectant gaze—threw it away.

What kind of ghost thing is this? This must all be an illusion.

“Player Zhu Ci! What are you doing?! Don’t you want to understand your current situation?” Having been thrown away, Xiao Chuang quickly flew back, pretending to be angry.

“I believe science will eventually explain this. I don’t need you.”

“Am I not scientific?” Xiao Chuang watched her smash at the window, fluttering around. “I am a masterpiece of collective scientific achievement, a new generation of intelligent interactive companion. I can answer any dialogue fluently. How am I not scientific?”

Zhu Ci’s heart was racing. She didn’t stop her movements, but despite her great effort, the window remained motionless.

“Are you sure you don’t want to click the novice tutorial?” Seeing she was ignoring it, Xiao Chuang shook its wings. “‘That thing’ is about to awaken, you know.”

The crack in the wall had opened wide enough to reveal the trace of half a human figure. A rancid stench accompanied by an unidentifiable fluid flowed out, so disgusting that Zhu Ci nearly gagged.

“You really are stubborn!” Xiao Chuang had never seen someone so obstinate. Its beautiful features twisted together. “If you die because you didn’t touch the novice tutorial, the GM will dock my salary!”

“Stop talking. I need to focus.”

Zhu Ci thought rapidly. She couldn’t break the window, so there had to be another exit. The spider plant in front of her was incredibly heavy; she could barely lift it, let alone throw it.

The spider plant? Up high? There’s one more place not contaminated by mold!

The ceiling.

She grabbed the windowsill with both hands, stepped hard against the wall, and kicked upward, standing on the edge of the window. With one hand braced against the side, she reached for the ceiling with the other.

Xiao Chuang’s eyes widened.

Sure enough, the ceiling was hollow.

Zhu Ci gripped the windowsill tightly, forcing herself to maintain balance. She climbed to the very top and reached the second floor.

“Player Zhu Ci, you’re quite clever. Currently, your comprehensive puzzle-solving speed index exceeds 65% of players worldwide. And since you discovered this independently without the novice tutorial, you’re among only 0.78% in the world. Congratulations, your points have increased by one hundred.”

Zhu Ci didn’t understand most of what Xiao Chuang said. She was looking for a way down from the second floor, but the last sentence caught her attention.

“What are points?”

Xiao Chuang coughed performatively. “Please touch or silently think of the first points icon in the bottom right corner. It will open automatically. Inside, you will find all your points and the rules for obtaining them.”

“Points can be exchanged in the mall for items, rewards, and assets. They will be a huge help to your game experience. So, are you interested? Want to hear the novice tutorial now?”

“Wait until I get out,” Zhu Ci said, curious but not wanting to show it. She finally found the door to the second-floor storage room, took out a folding ladder, and lowered it near the guest room, far away from her own room.

Finally landing on the ground outside, she let out a shallow sigh of relief.

The howling hadn’t stopped; she could even hear the sound of heavy thumping from here. That thing might have already come out.

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