I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

The group realized they couldn't wait any longer.

—Once the old lady with the cat face finishes eating the scattered players, it will be their turn to be the "fresh" food.

Seven people, six of whom were able to move.

You'll face hundreds of black cats, dozens of human-faced rat villagers, and a boss that's evolving.

Despite the ridiculous disparity in strength, they had no way out.

There might still be a glimmer of hope if we go further.

If we retreat, then we can only wait to die.

Su Ya forced herself to formulate a plan, speaking rapidly and clearly:

"Yang Asha, you're strong. Go head-on later and try to catch them off guard to disrupt the situation."

"Uncle Lin, take the cleaver and go to the side. Only chop at the cats that pounce. Don't let them surround you. If the cats attack, you can use the villagers as shields."

"Yang Hexuan, find a high place. I don't care if you throw plates, bowls, or anything else you can throw, just try to distract the cats and give us cover."

"Zhou Hui, Ouyang Qiu, find a chance to use lime to drive away the cats."

"I'll finish off the remaining damage and help Yang Asha get closer to the cat-faced old woman—remember that?"

"Got it!"

The group responded in hushed tones, their eyes gleaming with a fierce, fearless light.

When people are driven to the brink of despair and watch their fellow human beings being devoured bit by bit, that ruthless streak naturally emerges.

Su Ya took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over the cat-faced old woman on the platform who was leisurely licking her paws:

"Let's do it!"

Yang Asha was the first to stand up, grab the table, and flip it over: "Crash—"

Plates, bowls, and soup were spilled all over the floor, and broken porcelain shards were scattered everywhere.

The stray cats at the nearby tables were startled, and they all jumped up, bristling and meowing.

"Meow meow meow meow—"

"Splash splash splash—"

The little girl didn't stop moving. She grabbed the elm bolt, stepped on the table, and rushed forward.

With her professional skills boosted, her steps were quick and steady, almost like a wild deer in the mountains, and she rushed to the platform in no time.

"ha!"

She shouted and swung the door bolt, sweeping it across the large cats guarding the platform.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A series of muffled thuds rang out.

Two or three cats, each about the size of a small dog, were hit and sent flying like tattered sacks, crashing into pillars and letting out pitiful howls.

"Meow—!"

"Meow meow meow!"

"Meow!!"

The cats instantly erupted in chaos.

The meows of cats echoed across the threshing ground as dozens of black cats stood up at the same time, arching their backs, bristling their fur, and pounced on Yang Asha.

"Good job! I'll do it too!"

Yang Hexuan climbed onto a nearby table, grabbed the porcelain plates and bowls on it, and started throwing them at the cats as if they were free.

The sounds of cracking and shattering continued in unison.

Porcelain shards flew everywhere, scattering the cats and sending them scrambling for cover.

Lin Jianguo, his back hunched, was also filled with enthusiasm and rushed forward to help, grabbing a kitchen knife.

He didn't linger in battle, striking once and then moving to a different spot, hovering on the edge of the cat colony to relieve the pressure on Yang Asha.

Zhou Hui and Ouyang Qiu, clutching packets of lime, crouched low and, using the table as cover, sprinkled handfuls of lime into the cats' eyes.

"Asha, watch out!"

Su Ya followed behind Yang Asha with a shovel in her hand. Whenever a cat came around to attack, she would shovel it away.

Cat hair and blood splattered everywhere, and my hands became sticky in no time.

But Suya used all her strength in every move.

"Bang!"

Another stray cat was swatted away, its flesh mangled and bloody.

The initial fear in Suya's heart had vanished, replaced by a numb calm.

Being soft-hearted will lead to your demise.

The old lady was indeed pitiful, but they just wanted to survive.

Being soft-hearted towards cats and enemies is being cruel to yourself and your teammates.

The entire birthday banquet was completely thrown into chaos.

The paper figure was knocked around and fell over, its paper hands crumbling into dust.

The table was overturned, and soup was spilled everywhere.

The sounds of cats meowing, shouting, shattering porcelain, and breaking bones mingled together, like a pot of boiling porridge.

The villagers also realized what was happening, stopped what they were doing, and started squeaking and biting at the cats.

They are numerous, fearless of pain, and very difficult to deal with.

"Lime! Quickly!"

With the rats holding her back, Su Ya successfully approached the coffin, shouted, and plunged a shovel into the neck of the old cat that was lunging at Zhou Hui!

Blood splattered, and a few drops even landed in his eyes.

"Go to hell!"

Zhou Hui and Ouyang Qiu seized the opportunity, rushed to the coffin from the left and right, tore open the lime packets, and splashed them hard at the cat-faced old woman!

"Whoosh—"

The white lime powder, like a thick fog, enveloped the cat-faced old woman.

"Awooooo!"

The cat-faced old woman meowed, and lime powder ended up covering her face:

"Meow—!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream burst from the monster's throat.

It suddenly stood up, its black fur standing on end like a giant hedgehog.

It tried to rub it with its claws, but the lime had already gotten into its eye sockets, causing it excruciating pain.

The angry roar made the entire threshing ground buzz.

All the stray cats went crazy the moment they heard the meow.

Ignoring casualties, they charged madly toward the high platform.

The human-faced rats squeaked and screamed, intensifying their attack.

"It's done!"

Yang Hexuan shouted excitedly.

But the next second, he couldn't laugh anymore.

A pack of cats that has gone mad is even more terrifying.

They were not afraid of pain or death, and they rushed forward one after another, like a black tide.

Lin Hao was torn into pieces, like a tattered rag, scattered here and there...

Yang Asha was forced to retreat repeatedly.

Lin Jianguo's body was covered in more and more wounds.

Zhou Hui and Ouyang Qiu were surrounded by a group of cats, and the two of them stood back to back, wildly waving tables and chairs around.

Suya wasn't feeling well either; her shoulder was covered in several cat claw marks, all of them torn and bleeding, making her gasp in pain.

"Lime can only harm it temporarily, it can't kill it, and we can't wait for it to recover!"

She shouted, "Asha! Find an opportunity to attack its main body, hit its eyes! Hit its throat!"

"knew!"

Yang Asha responded, and with a cat's claws still on her back, she rushed to the edge of the platform, swung the door bolt, and smashed it down on the cat-faced old woman's head!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

Although the cat-faced old woman was blind, her hearing was extremely sensitive. Upon hearing the sound of the wind, she suddenly turned her head.

The bolt slammed into its shoulder.

The burial shroud was smashed, black fur flew everywhere, and blood seeped through.

The injury wasn't serious.

"Meow—"

The cat-faced old woman, in pain, became even more enraged.

Following the direction of the sound, it swung its paw fiercely.

It moved so fast that it was just a black shadow.

Yang Asha couldn't dodge in time and could only use the door bolt to block it.

"Snap!"

The elm wood door bolt was swept off its hinges by a single claw!

With its remaining strength, the cat's claws grazed Yang Asha's calf, causing blood to gush out.

[Architect's Skill Activated!]

A semi-transparent white light shield suddenly rose in front of Yang Asha—just enough to block the cat-faced old woman's next claw attack.

Without a second thought, Su Ya rushed over, raised the shovel, and forcefully shoveled the already curled sheet metal into the old woman's throat!

"clang!"

A metallic clanging sound rang out.

The shovel was scratched with several deep marks, and Su Ya was shaken so badly that she staggered backward, her hands and feet going numb.

"Sister Suya!"

Yang Asha in the shelter panicked and reached out to pull her, but Su Ya, with a resolute air, leaned towards the cat-faced old woman instead!

!

! !

"Meow!"

The cat-faced old woman opened her mouth and bit down hard, the sound of bones shattering exploded, and everyone thought Su Ya had gone mad!

The next second, Su Ya revealed a smug smile: "You've been fooled."

In her other hand, she had somehow acquired a packet of lime powder and two yellow talismans.

—【Yellow Talisman Paper (Quest Item): A yellow talisman drawn by a geomancer using cinnabar, watermark, tiger urine, and peach wood ash; it has miraculous effects.】

The next second, Su Ya shoved those things into the cat-faced old woman's mouth!

The cat-faced old woman froze abruptly.

Then, it made a "hoarse" sound in its throat, as if something was stuck in its throat.

Black smoke billowed from its mouth, nose, and eyes, increasing in volume and carrying a pungent, acrid smell.

"Meow...meow..."

It let out a painful whimper, its body convulsed violently, and its claws scratched wildly at its throat, as if trying to pry the talisman out.

Yang Asha rushed over and dragged Suya into the shelter.

The people in the audience breathed a sigh of relief.

The talisman is useful!

But before they could be happy for long, the cat-faced old woman suddenly stopped convulsing.

It slowly raised its head.

His bloodshot eyes were filled with hatred that almost overflowed.

The talisman injured it and dispersed some of its resentment, but it was far from enough to kill it; instead, it completely enraged it.

"roar--!!"

A roar that sounded neither like a cat nor like a human burst from its throat.

Its body grew larger at a visible speed, its black fur grew wildly, its claws became longer and sharper, and the human skin on its face quickly peeled away, completely transforming it into the appearance of a giant black cat.

Only the outline still bears a resemblance to a human figure.

"Bang! Bang bang bang!!"

The force struck the light shield, producing a dull thud.

The light shield shook violently, and numerous cracks appeared.

I couldn't even last three minutes!

The stray cats also swarmed around, layer upon layer, densely packed, like a black tide.

"What should we do? The light shield won't last much longer!" Zhou Hui was so anxious she was almost crying.

If Suya and Yang Asha die, how can they possibly escape?

Ouyang Qiu has absolutely no desire to die right now.

If you can live, why die?

Moreover, she has awakened her profession. Although she doesn't know what the future holds, it is sure to be a wonderful and fantastical adventure.

Her gaze swept under the table, over the back of the platform, and she caught a glimpse of a dark gray shadow moving in the shadows on the side of the platform.

It's very small, like a big rat.

Peeking around furtively, trying to sneak away.

It is a human-faced rat transformed from Huang Facai.

……

……

……

"Bang!"

Three minutes later, the light shield shattered.

The cat-faced old woman's claws, carrying a foul stench, lashed out fiercely. Yang Asha rushed forward first, wielding her shovel to block the attack.

"Let's go!"

She shouted and used all her strength to push Su Ya out.

Lin Jianguo and Yang Hexuan had already been overwhelmed by the swarm of cats.

Just when everyone was in despair, a terrified squeal of a mouse saved them!

"squeak!!"

Ouyang Qiu and Zhou Hui, with strength they didn't know they had, forced the human-faced rat closer, and Yang Asha immediately pushed it forward with all her might!

The slippery, human-faced rat struggled, flailing its arms and legs in the air, before finally crashing down right at the giant cat's feet with a "thud."

Just as he was about to get up and run, the big black cat suddenly stopped, lowered its head, and sniffed him.

His initial rage suddenly subsided.

A complex emotion flashed in its blood-red eyes.

There was resentment, hatred, and a faint trace of human confusion.

The air was still for a few seconds.

The wildcats stopped attacking, the human-faced rats stopped fleeing, and the players held their breath.

All eyes were on the "mother and child".

"Squeak squeak squeak! Mother, it's me, your eldest son!"

Huang Facai was so frightened that he trembled all over and collapsed to the ground, bowing repeatedly to the cat-faced old woman and making squeaking noises as he begged for mercy over and over again.

The cat-faced old woman stared at it, motionless.

Suddenly, it spoke.

It wasn't a fierce cat's meow, but an old, weak, and tearful female voice.

The sound was squeezed out of its throat, intermittent, like an old radio playing over and over again:

"Boss..."

Huang Facai froze, looked up, and his eyes were filled with terror.

It can understand.

That was its mother's voice.

"Boss, Mom's cold..."

The aged voice continued, filled with endless grievances and injustice:

"You locked the door and wouldn't let Mom in... Mom called out all night, but you wouldn't open it..."

"Big brother, Mom's hungry... You took all the rice and noodles, Mom has nothing to eat..."

"You said you wanted to start a business and make a lot of money, and I even gave you my savings for my funeral... How could you do this to me..."

Each word, each sound, was Huang Laotai's despair before her death.

—It was her pleading as she pounded on the door from outside, and the agony of lying in bed, starving to the extreme.

All the wild cats cried out mournfully, as if providing accompaniment.

The old woman with the cat-like face was trembling slightly.

Its face would change repeatedly, sometimes into a cat's face, sometimes into an old woman's wrinkled face.

"Eldest son, didn't you say before that you would take care of Mom when she gets old?"

Grandma Huang's voice rang out again, this time gentler, as if she were coaxing her son when he was a child.

"You said you wanted Mom to live in a big house, eat and drink well, and enjoy a life of luxury..."

"Look, Mom will give you everything you wanted."

The moment the words left his mouth, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

The threshing ground has disappeared.

The banquet, the black cat, the human-faced rat, and the paper figures all vanished.

In its place stood a magnificent, golden mansion.

Green bricks and tiles, vermilion gate, and mountains of gold and silver piled up in the courtyard, glittering in the sunlight.

A gleaming car was parked in front of the gate. A chubby, fair-skinned boy and girl stood in the courtyard, smiling and bowing.

The path beneath Su Ya and the others' feet had also transformed into a smooth bluestone path.

They're all paper offerings, things used for the dead.

Grandma Huang wanted to give all these "good things" to her eldest son.

"Boss, look."

The cat-faced old lady, no, now she looks more like an old woman named Huang.

Most of the cat fur on its face had fallen out, revealing the old woman's aged face, her eyes looking tenderly at the blond-haired man on the ground:

"These are all things you burned for Mom."

"High-rise buildings, mansions, gold and silver jewelry, cars and servants... it's all yours."

"Everything you ever wanted before, Mom will give you."

Her voice was gentle, but it sent chills down one's spine.

The yellow-haired, human-faced rat trembled even more violently, shrinking back in fear.

"Why are you unhappy, boss? You have to smile."

Grandma Huang tilted her head:

"Didn't you always say that Mom wasn't capable enough to give you a good life?"

"Mom is capable now."

"Mom can give you everything you want."

She slowly bent down and reached out her hand to Huang Facai.

There was still cat hair on the back of his hand, and his nails were sharp and long.

"Since you always complain that Mom is incompetent and that Mom is a burden to you..."

Her voice gradually turned cold, and her gentle expression turned venomous.

"Then Mom will put you back in my belly and give birth to you all over again."

"This time, Mom will make sure you enjoy endless wealth and luxury from the moment you are born."

"Is it okay, boss?"

The moment the words left his mouth, the big cat suddenly opened it wide.

His mouth was wide open, at an abnormal angle, like a snake, almost splitting to the roots of his ears.

Inside was a pitch-black throat, carrying a strong, fishy smell.

Huang Facai let out a piercing scream and turned to run away.

It's too late.

Grandma Huang's hand moved with lightning speed, pressing down on its head.

Then, it bit down hard on its neck.

"Click."

A crisp sound of bone cracking.

Huang Facai's screams stopped abruptly, his body twitched twice, and then he became completely still.

"Clap, clap, clap."

Old Mrs. Huang chewed slowly, her throat bobbing, swallowing her eldest son's body bit by bit.

Blood flowed down the corner of her mouth, staining her burial clothes red.

Everyone who witnessed this scene felt a chill run down their spines.

Huang Facai has truly returned to his mother's belly.

After swallowing Huang Facai, the giant black cat slowly stood up and stared at Su Ya and the others.

The wild cats became restless, circling the platform.

Suya swore she never wanted to see Huang Facai's other three brothers.

If she had the chance to do it all over again, she would cook those four bastards into a dish and send it over on the first day.

Just as everyone thought the cat-faced old woman would continue her attack, the entire space suddenly shook.

Like an earthquake, the world spun around.

All sounds became blurred and distant.

The sounds of the cats meowing, the wind, and their footsteps all seemed to be muffled by a layer of water.

The cat-faced old lady ate a quarter of her fill, and the birthday banquet ended.

All surviving players will be forcibly teleported out of the instance.

The instance "Grandpa Huang's Birthday" is now officially closed.

[Current number of surviving players: 10]

[Individual rewards have been distributed.]

【玩家苏雅、仰阿莎完成隐藏任务「腹中子，盘中食」其一，获得道具：猫皮（银）、不老丹丹方（1/4）、坟边苔*15、猫崽蛋*2、精炼宝剑（剑客专属武器）*1、游标卡尺（建筑学家专属武器）*1】

……

The space was becoming increasingly distorted.

The surrounding scenery began to fade and blur, like a painting that had been haphazardly erased.

Then everyone was plunged into darkness.

……

……

……

……

"It's finally over."

Outside the instance, Song Mo stood up and stretched, while the rewards belonging to the screenwriter kept scrolling in front of him, with ink-wash text constantly rolling.

Basic Rewards: ...

[Dungeon Rating Rewards: ...]

[Special Audience Rewards: ...]

Song Mo's gaze swept across the messages, then suddenly stopped at a certain spot:

"A limited-time, fixed-location dungeon? What is that?"

On the ink-wash text, several specially marked and bolded elements float quietly.

【The Weeping Woman in White at La Llorona: Limited Location - Texas, USA (Countdown to Disappearance: 23:59:59)】

【The Jersey Devil: Limited Location New Jersey, USA (Countdown to Disappearance: 12:59:59)】

[Jorōgumo: Limited Location - Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan (Countdown to Disappearance: 1:59:59)]

[Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: Limited Location - Neon Tokyo (Countdown to Disappearance: 23:59:59)]

【Flying Head Barbarian: Limited Location - Tyrandemang City (Countdown to Disappearance: 00:59:59)】

【The Screaming Banshee: Limited Location - Ireland-Wales Border (Disappearance Countdown: 23:59:59)】

[London Underground Ghost: Limited Location - Victoria Underground Station, Great Britain (Countdown to Disappearance: 2:59:59)]