Chapter 2: The Watcher at the Window

Qinghe almost had no ability to deal with the female neighbor. In the story, she possessed physical qualities that could not be measured by common sense.

As for Qinghe? Right now, she was just a little girl.

She sighed, sat at the desk, lowered her head to stare at the diary, and gently put pen to paper.

[Undercooked green beans can really cause poisoning.

Today, nothing special happened, but I keep feeling a chill down my back. Maybe I am catching a cold?]

At this point, Qinghe paused and began to think. This passage was only a hint. When tomorrow’s self saw it, she would probably understand instantly that she had transmigrated and that she was being watched.

What followed was the arrangement for tomorrow’s actions, including designing rule based traps so the female neighbor would overlook them and be unable to notice anything.

[If the weather is good tomorrow, I will air out the blankets, then go outside the village to look for food. There is not much food left at home.]

After writing this, Qinghe suddenly felt the sense of being watched from behind disappear. The female neighbor had probably gone to do something else. Qinghe’s mind raced. She immediately stood up, took five bags of dried fruit from where the food was stored, and hid them inside the bedding. This was half of the household’s stored food.

After finishing this, Qinghe sat back down at the desk. Almost the next second, the watching presence refocused on her back.

Sweat nearly soaked Qinghe’s entire body. Her calves trembled nonstop, and her breathing grew heavy.

'So close... so close to being discovered.'

Lowering her head, she continued writing in the diary.

[There are five bags of dried fruit left at home, placed by the wall. There is not much food.]

Qinghe’s eyes lit up slightly.

This sentence was for tomorrow’s self to see, and also for the female neighbor.

Still, Qinghe remained deeply uneasy. She flipped to the title page of the diary, where it clearly read [Clarity 15].

According to the guide in the game’s explanations, when clarity dropped below 20, it became easy to trigger plot kills, and the female neighbor’s memory alterations would be almost impossible to resist. She did not know whether these precautions would be useful. She hoped... hoped it was a bug.

The game did have ways to increase clarity, but those methods would increase the corruption value.

According to the game’s plot, the first time the female neighbor modified the diary, the added content was:

[My food has run out. The older sister next door said she could help me and let me move into her home tomorrow. She said she would give me food, but I need to help with a bit of work.]

Qinghe possessed memories of the game’s plot and should not be fooled by this.

If tomorrow the female neighbor added this sentence and stole the food by the wall, then Qinghe could pretend she had no food left, keep these five bags of dried fruit as emergency rations, and go to the neighbor’s house to obtain food.

After thinking further to see if there was anything she had missed, Qinghe decided to settle the diary’s contents like this for now.

As long as her clarity did not drop, and she pieced together what happened yesterday based on the diary each day, then... there should be no problem... right?

After finishing the diary, Qinghe relaxed and let out a breath. She looked out the window again. That strange watching sensation was still there. The sky was growing darker, but there should still be some time before the latest bedtime.

Knock knock.

At that moment, a crisp sound broke the silence, and Qinghe’s mind jolted awake.

Who was it? Was it... the female neighbor? But the watching presence outside the window was still there.

"Wh... who is it?" Her soft, childlike voice carried disbelief and fear, and tears welled up reflexively in her eyes.

Qinghe even felt that her body had gone so weak she could barely walk.

'This must be because of the original owner’s influence.'

"It is me, Xiao He."

It was the female neighbor’s voice.

The female neighbor was named Qiuli, a tall, silver haired woman who often wore a long black dress and gave off a mature, commanding presence.

Qinghe’s pupils shook violently in that instant.

If Qiuli was knocking at the door...

Then who was the shadow outside the window?

At this moment, the gaze fixed on Qinghe’s back burned like a branding iron.

'I almost forgot. This is a Cthulhu invasion apocalypse.'

In the game’s plot, the village where the protagonist lived was full of villains.

Qinghe felt a sharp, uncomfortable chill. The gaze outside the window was most likely from someone else in the village, but who exactly?

Qinghe did not know. None of this was mentioned in the game’s plot.

'As expected... a game is a game, and reality is reality.' The current world, to Qinghe, was completely real.

"Xiao He, open the door." Qiuli’s voice was gentle, yet carried an undeniable authority and a hint of something eerie.

What frightened Qinghe was that upon hearing Qiuli speak, a sense of reassurance rose from deep within her heart.

She even... involuntarily stood up, intending to open the door for her.

'Is this the original owner’s influence?'

According to the memories, the original owner had already lived with Qiuli for a long time.

Before the apocalypse, Qiuli seemed to have been the original owner’s senior from high school. Their interactions were so minimal they were almost nonexistent, with only a few brief encounters.

But after the apocalypse, when the original owner encountered danger while fleeing, Qiuli saved her. From then on, Qinghe acknowledged Qiuli as her older sister.

After that, the two talked about almost everything. Their relationship was close, like real sisters.

But Qiuli... was dangerous, was she not?

'...Is that unknown thing outside the window even more dangerous?' In this game, there were only death endings or corruption endings.

If it was that thing outside, would it kill her?

Thinking this, Qinghe felt icy cold flood her entire body. Unconsciously, she quickened her steps toward the door.

The gaze behind her grew even hotter, almost burning through her clothes.

"Huff... huff..." She panted heavily. Her heart pounded wildly, and a dark, sinister presence from outside the window brushed against her neck.

Her eyes flew open as the threat of death instantly enveloped her.

Crack.

Qinghe did not hesitate any longer. She opened the door, and the deathly pressure surrounding her receded like a tide.

"Sis... Sister...!" Following the original owner’s remembered tone, Qinghe looked up at the silver haired, red eyed woman standing outside the door.

'So... beautiful...'

A faint smile hung on Qiuli’s cool face, like light within frost.

Her hair swayed as a fragrant breeze washed over Qinghe, making her dizzy. She wore a black dress adorned with shimmering ornaments along the hem. Her elegant face was unadorned, yet her red lips drew Qinghe’s gaze. Every movement carried an air of nobility.

Qinghe swallowed. She seemed... a bit too tall.

Qinghe’s height was about one point five meters. Standing in front of Qiuli, she was clearly at a disadvantage. She estimated that this obsessive female neighbor was around one point seven meters tall.

Although Qiuli wore a smile, it carried a hint of authority.

Qinghe knew the ultimate goal of the person before her, yet she could not help but lean closer... like a frozen person approaching a fire, knowing it would burn but still reaching out.

The shadow of death from behind still surfaced in her heart from time to time.

'Then... who was that, exactly?' Was it really just someone from the village?

Qiuli extended her slender arms, gently caressed Qinghe’s cheek, and pulled her into a warm embrace.

"Xiao He, do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

Feeling the female neighbor’s embrace, Qinghe felt shame, resistance, and fear, but at the same time...

There was also a sense of dependence.

In the game’s plot, Qiuli seemed to always protect the protagonist. Although her motives were impure, at least there was no danger to life, right?

Should she sleep with her?

'...No... no way!'

But...

What about the one outside the window?