On June 19th, at twilight, a modest birthday party was happening in a duplex apartment.
Bai Zini and Bai Ziling had turned off the lights in the living room early and drawn the curtains; Bai Zini passionately claimed that this was the only way to create an atmosphere, asking if you understood what a birthday was.
Ke Mingye brought the birthday cake to the table. The room was dim, lit only by the light of the few candles. Turning his head to look at the balcony, the light blue curtains fell loosely, blocking most of the light from the setting sun. The twilight illuminated just an inch of the floor near the wall, elongating the shadow of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Bai Zini took it upon herself to open a karaoke channel on the TV. She plugged in a microphone with a USB cable, sat in front of the TV, and led the singing of the Happy Birthday song in an off-key comical tone.
Bai Qiuwu and Ke Yongzhu, after coming back from school, quickly joined their ranks.
The siblings gathered around the birthday cake. In the soft candlelight, they each took a turn with the microphone, singing a few perfunctory lines—just that their sister Bai Qiuwu sang with some semblance of talent, while the others' voices seemed possessed by indescribable ancient gods from the Cthulhu mythos.
The birthday song rose intermittently in the living room, often interrupted by the laughter of others. A breeze blew through the twilight sky, lifting the gauzy curtains.
Through the curtains, you could see several figures gathering around the cake, one of whom, tall and thin, had their eyes closed and hands clasped in front of their chest making a wish, with someone placing a paper wreath, made on the spot, on their head.
Out of the six, Ke Yongzhu especially found singing this kind of song a big ask.
When the microphone reached this temperamental elementary school student, he had a scowl with lines across his forehead. He would open his mouth without making a sound, pretending to start singing then suddenly turning his head, glaring with probing eyes at his family's reaction. If someone laughed out loud, he could put down the microphone without singing and feel justified.
Those sitting on the sofa, as if they had reached a consensus on a "do not laugh challenge," kept a straight face, trying their best to hold back laughter—laugh and you lose.
The corners of Bai Zini's mouth twitched slightly, and later, unable to hold back any longer, she stuffed a piece of cake into her throat, bowed her head, and chewed vigorously while trying to stifle her laughter, her cheeks puffed out like a panda's; this was her last resort.
Finally, after several rounds of testing by Ke Yongzhu, he reluctantly moved his mouth close to the microphone. Hardly had he begun the first word of "Happy Birthday" when the usually silent and indifferent Bai Ziling suddenly snorted, giggling lightly, prompting Ke Yongzhu to turn and glare at her right away.
Seeing Ke Yongzhu look her way, she tried to play it off by raising a slice of neatly cut cake to cover her mouth and cheeks. Eyes cast downward and tinged red, she purposefully coughed twice, her pale hair slightly swaying on her shoulders.
Seeing her like this, Ke Mingye sitting beside couldn't hold back any longer. He appeared to be occupied with his phone, but in fact, he was slapping the sofa hard with his right hand, nearly breaking the armrest.
Ke Yongzhu dropped the microphone with a dark face and pounced on Ke Mingye, knocking him into the sofa and persistently nudging against his chest with his head, causing Ke Mingye to upend his piece of cake onto the sofa, shouting "Stop it, I haven't had my cake yet," while laughing uncontrollably.
It was clear that the little rascal was holding back; not transforming into a dragon and biting him was an act of extreme mercy.
Just as the two were roughhousing, the door opened, and Ke Youqing and Bai Wenna came home.
Bai Wenna, seeing a piece of cake smashed on the living room sofa, with cream tracing a path down the armrest, was about to get angry, but Ke Youqing stopped her, removed the cigarette from his mouth, and said something. She sighed, and in the end, merely stated it could not happen again.
Bai Zini jumped off the sofa, ran to the entrance, and grabbed their hands, pushing them to sit on the sofa. Then she forcefully handed the microphone to Ke Youqing's mouth.
The usually stoic father took a deep breath, gazing solemnly at the lyrics.
However, the moment he started singing in that deep, honest voice, people around him were laughing so hard they fell to the ground, rolling about; some sprayed the cola they were sipping from their mouths, others rubbed their Tianming Acupoint and started chanting Buddhist scriptures.
Time flew by quickly; the sunset slowly sank below the horizon, taking away the afterglow that spread over the city.
Bai Zini went to the restroom, leaving her smartphone on the sofa. Her second brother, Ke Xiaomo, picked up the phone, holding a slice of cut cake, and walked towards the corridor entrance.
He had remembered the gesture Bai Zini used to unlock her screen, so he easily entered the correct password, opened WeChat, and glanced at her chat messages with Ke Mingye.
[Ke Mingye: I'm on the elevator, is second brother still in the restroom?]
[Bai Zini: Yes, he hasn't come out. What if he passed out?]
[Ke Mingye: Maybe he's playing with his phone inside. You often play with your phone in the restroom too, sometimes staying in there for half an hour.]
[Bai Zini: I'm just following your lead, 'like father like son.' I've already turned off the lights at home and drawn the curtains; Zi Ling even went to find the leftover firecracker and banner from last year. We're just waiting for you to come back, big bro, hurry up!]
[Ke Mingye: Okay, if I'm not there yet, you and Zi Ling just wait outside the restroom door, don't let him come out, I'll give him a surprise when I get there.]
[Bai Zini: Okay.]
After reading the messages, Ke Xiaomo put away the phone, leaning against the wall with half of his face shrouded in shadow.
"Is my judgment off? Mingye is still the same Mingye, maybe I'm just being paranoid." Thinking this, he turned his gaze towards Ke Mingye.
At this moment, Ke Mingye was sitting on the armrest of the sofa, sipping cola, his eyes fixed on the TV screen. However, his mind wasn't there but rather on the Deception Puppet all along.
The time was exactly the agreed 5:25 PM, and the Deception Puppet had arrived at the Meiyijia Supermarket on Yandai Commercial Street.
This place was the meeting spot mentioned by a player with the ID "Fan Quan," though the supermarket appeared to have closed down, with a sign stating "Temporarily Out of Business" pasted on the firmly locked doors.
But Ke Mingye's attention wasn't on the sign because there was a massive panel floating in front of him.
[Congratulations, you have discovered the "Huanjing No. 5 instance." It has been recorded in your dungeon atlas, which you can open and view at any time.]
[Dungeon name: Massive Zombie Chase]
[Dungeon location: Yandai Commercial Street, Meiyijia Supermarket]
[Dungeon difficulty: F-rank (recommended for players below level 3 to form a team to tackle the instance)]