Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 890 Rustling Sound

"Grandma Field Mouse...you, you've come to have dinner with us?"

Yang Hua asked in a soft voice, just like Fang Youhua.

The old field mouse stared at the two people sitting at the table with its small black eyes behind its glasses, and slowly revealed a "kind" smile.

"Good boy."

The old field mouse walked over to them with a smile and sat down. It reached out with its curved paws to Fang Youhua's hand on the table and gently shook it.

Yang Hua felt a chill run down his spine, especially when he saw the old field mouse's obviously sharp, almost reflective claws.

Why did the old field mouse suddenly reach out and grab Sister Fang?

Unlike Yang Hua's fear, Fang Youhua showed an embarrassed smile and lowered her head slightly in response to the old field mouse's "praise".

"Grandma Field Mouse, you flatter me too much."

"You've always been a good kid."

The old field mouse seemed oblivious to the fact that Fang Youhua's white clothes were now covered in scarlet, and gently patted the back of her hand with its paw.

Spit—!

The sharp claws "accidentally" scratched the skin on Fang Youhua's hand. When a sharp pain rose from the back of her hand, Fang Youhua seemed not to feel it at all, and lowered her head shyly without saying a word.

The old field mouse was very pleased with her "obedience." "Alright, alright, you've been busy all day, haven't you? Come on, have some soup. Tonight's soup is specially cooked by me, and it tastes delicious."

"So you cooked it yourself!" Fang Youhua exclaimed. "No wonder it smells so good."

Yang Hua, who was sitting opposite him with his head down, not daring to utter a sound: "..."

Yang Hua looked cautiously at the watery broth in the wooden bowl on the table, which contained only a few yellow flower-like plants, and wondered if there was something wrong with her nose.

...She couldn't smell any fragrance at all; instead, there was a lot of the sticky, rotten smell unique to the cave...

"Hehe," the old field mouse chuckled, adjusting her glasses with her paw, her voice softening considerably: "What a lovely child. Since it smells so good, drink it quickly, or the soup will get cold."

As soon as the old field mouse finished speaking, Fang Youhua very "sensibly" picked up the bowl and began to drink the "clear soup".

The bland, icy "clear soup" rolled down Fang Youhua's throat and into her stomach, making her empty stomach feel a little uncomfortable, even with a strange, spasmodic pain.

Fang Youhua's expression remained unchanged. Under the old field mouse's gaze, she licked the remaining soup stains on her lips. "Luckily, the soup hasn't gotten cold."

The old field mouse was even happier. It felt that it really liked this obedient child in front of it. It patted the other's hand on the back of its head with a cheerful smile and then turned its head to look at Yang Hua, who hadn't touched the spoon.

"And what about you, child?"

The old field mouse looked at Yang Hua, its eyes behind its glasses still holding a lingering smile.

"...I also think it tastes great."

Yang Hua quickly lowered her head to drink the soup, and even made slurping noises to show that she really thought the soup was delicious.

The old field mouse was completely satisfied.

It stood up, leaning on its cane, and looked at the two female players who were "engrossed" in drinking soup. For the first time, it revealed a genuine smile that resembled "being in control of everything."

"Good children," the old field mouse said happily, "as long as you behave well, don't worry, I will definitely make sure you live a good life."

Fang Youhua blinked upon hearing this, "I believe you."

"..." Yang Hua choked on the soup and hiccuped. Hearing this, he quickly chimed in, "Yes, I also believe in you, Grandma Field Mouse."

"Only good children like you can win my favor," the old field mouse said cheerfully. "By the way, my descendant, Mr. Mole, will be visiting my home in a week. You two good children will be in charge of receiving him."

【Ding】

[Congratulations to Fang Youhua and Yang Hua of the guild "Eye of All Things" for obtaining the quest - Host Mr. Mole, who will be visiting in a week.]

[Current guild exploration progress of "Eye of All Things" is 42%]

[Guild "Alive" Exploration Progress 48%]

"..."

The notification sound indicating a 2% exploration progress dispelled Yang Hua's fear, and she subconsciously looked at Fang Youhua.

Fang Youhua's expression remained unchanged; she still looked at the old field mouse with a shy expression, and her every move seemed particularly abnormal to Yang Hua.

She felt that Fang Youhua was acting strangely now, and it was getting stranger and stranger...

Seemingly noticing that Yang Hua was looking at her, Fang Youhua raised her eyes and glanced at Yang Hua.

Yang Hua was startled and forced a dry smile.

Over the next few minutes, the old field mouse murmured a lot of things, like how being obedient would bring happiness, and finally left the main room satisfied.

After it became completely quiet, Yang Hua stopped drinking her soup and looked somewhat uneasily at Fang Youhua, who was wiping her mouth across from her. She whispered:

"Sister Fang, what should we do next?"

"Next?"

Fang Youhua turned her head to look at the sleeping swallow in the basket in the corner, and put down the wooden spoon in her hand.

thump—

The wooden spoon fell into the wooden bowl, which was now only filled with a thin layer of soup, making a dull thud.

"Go back to sleep."

As Fang Youhua spoke, she stood up and gently extended her hand to Yang Hua, "Come on, let me hold your hand. When we get back to the room, I'll take care of the fracture in your arm."

"..." Yang Hua looked at the back of her hand, which had been scratched by the old field mouse, and some blood was faintly emerging from the white scratches.

Yang Hua hesitated for a moment: "Sister Fang, is your hand... alright?"

"fine."

Fang Youhua glanced casually at the scratch on the back of her hand, "It will scab over and heal on its own tomorrow."

"..." Yang Hua could only hold her outstretched hand and walk out of the main room step by step.

It wasn't until he was almost out of the main room that Yang Hua noticed the swallow lying in the corner of the room, and his pupils widened instantly.

"Fang, Sister Fang, over there—"

Yang Hua instinctively wanted to say that there were swallows in the main room—"Shh."

Fang Youhua raised her left hand to her lips and gently shushed him.

"Don't shout."

Fang Youhua looked at Yang Hua's wide eyes and said softly, "Field mice don't like people who are too loud."

Yang Hua's heart skipped a beat.

It was quite a while later, when Fang Youhua had almost pulled her back to her room, that Yang Hua finally realized something.

So, tonight... should they go out and look for clues?

Yang Hua wanted to ask, but looking at Fang Youhua pulling her forward, the words caught in her throat and she swallowed them back.

Well, let's just take it one step at a time and see what Fang Youhua has to say later.

Inside the underground passage, the candles hanging on the walls behind the two suddenly flickered several times, then returned to normal when the two realized what was happening and turned around.

Finding nothing amiss, Fang Youhua and Yang Hua continued walking forward.

No one noticed that a few seconds after they turned around, several thin, curved claws covered with fine hair suddenly emerged from the earthen wall, grabbed at the candles hanging on the wall haphazardly, and then quickly withdrew.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

—————————Cave Room.

Yu Shijiu looked at Thumbelina, who had closed her eyes and fallen asleep after returning to the room, and after hesitating for a few minutes, he also lay down on the bed.

Just like last night, there was a strong musty smell on the old field mouse's bed, as if it hadn't been aired out or sun-dried for a long time. When mixed with the faint, sweet smell of decay in the air, it created a strange and nauseating odor.

However, Yu Shijiu was already used to it.

He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, but did not fall asleep immediately. After a lot of things went through his mind in a daze, he slowly put his right hand into his pocket and gently stroked the broken claw that belonged to some strange animal.

Yu Shijiu became increasingly agitated as he touched her, yet also felt a strange sense of excitement.

The words Xiao Li left before logging off echoed in his mind.

This claw is contagious.

Yu Shijiu turned over, turned his back to the sleeping Thumbelina, and took the broken paw out of his pocket to look at it for a long time... In the end, he could only conclude that the thing looked a bit like the paw of an old field mouse.

"Ugh……"

Yu Shijiu blinked, then put the broken claw back into his pocket with a headache, staring at the dusty ceiling of the room, lost in thought.

The faint humming coming from the burrow, the sleeping swallows… the old field mouse saying its good friend is coming to visit… and Thumbelina's eerie changes in expression, movement, and state… and the straw bracelet found deep in the cupboard… and those densely packed claws in a certain burrow…

All the clues were like scattered beads. Yu Shijiu felt as if he had touched a faint thread, but he was still a little short of connecting them.

He had a premonition that perhaps only by meeting the mole, whom the old field mouse described as "very disciplined," could these jumbled clues be pieced together.

Yu Shijiu thought for a while and then started to feel sleepy.

He yawned slowly, pulled the musty blanket up a little, and looked like he was about to go to sleep.

Beneath his seemingly calm breathing, a familiar sense of excitement for the impending "chaos" and "danger" was quietly growing in his heart.

"Rules..." Yu Shijiu silently pondered these two words in his heart, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips.

"Grandma Field Mouse... I love... breaking the rules."

As night deepened and all was quiet, and with no players venturing out to search for clues, the cave gradually fell into a state of apparent tranquility.

However, unnoticed in the main room, the swallow in the basket was healing its injured skin beneath its feathers at an extremely strange speed.

------

He Lingling was awakened by an extremely faint sound, as if something was gently scraping the ground.

She suddenly opened her eyes and realized that Anjie, who was supposed to be keeping watch for the rest of the night, was asleep.

He Lingling: "..."

She looked at the dark circles under Anjie's eyes, hesitated for a few seconds, but still didn't call out to her. Instead, she carefully got out of bed by herself, tiptoed to the door, and pressed her ear to it.

rustling—rustling—

The incessant scraping sound outside the door continued, and He Lingling frowned, somewhat hesitant.

Should we open the door and take a look?

Last night it was humming, but tonight it's scratching? Could it be that the same thing is bothering them tonight and last night?

In another room, Yu Shijiu, who had just fallen asleep, was also awakened by the noise outside the door.

He does sleep very lightly, especially in such a quiet environment filled with unknown dangers.

The scraping sound was very faint, but it was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent cave. The source seemed to be... outside the room door?

Yu Shijiu silently opened her eyes and blinked. A few seconds later, she quietly sat up and glanced at Thumbelina, who was still sleeping soundly beside her.

Thumbelina beside her had her eyes closed and was breathing steadily, seemingly oblivious to the little commotion outside the door.

"..."

Seeing that she was still unconscious, Yu Shijiu slowly got out of bed and, like a cat, silently slipped to the door and pressed her ear against the rough wooden door.

“Rustle…rustle…”

The sound is clearer.

There was also a faint rustling sound, like countless tiny teeth gnawing at something.

The sound almost immediately reminded Yu Shijiu of the hairy claws that had been sticking out of the walls in the passageway during the day.

Are they those rat-like animal monsters? There seem to be quite a few of them.

They were outside the door... as if they were scratching at the door, or digging for something...

Grabbing at the door? Digging for something?

Yu Shijiu, who was listening intently by the door, had a slight twitch in her eyes.

At dinner, the old field mouse said we shouldn't wander around at night—but these creatures in the burrows, which are like "cleaners," are so active?

Does this mean they are not bound by the "rules" mentioned by the old field mouse?

Or perhaps... they are part of the "rules" that the old field mouse was talking about?

Is nighttime likely when these "residents" are active?

Yu Shijiu's mind was a jumble of thoughts, but in the end, curiosity prevailed over everything.

He gently opened the door a crack and peered out through the gap.

The corridor was dimly lit, unlike the bright candlelight they had encountered when they entered. But by the faint, dying yellow candlelight on the walls, Yu Shijiu witnessed a chilling scene—

Countless dark yellow claws with sparse hair were slowly extending and retracting from the walls and floor of the passage, repeating the cycle endlessly.

They weren't waving aimlessly, but rather... rhythmically "stroking" and "cleaning" every inch of the passageway's surface.

The "rustling" sound was the noise made when the claws rubbed against the soil and rocks.

In the darkness further away, the rustling scratching sounds continued, as if the claws in front of them were digging and expanding the burrow in the darkness.

The scene was eerie and tranquil, as if the rat-like "monsters" in the walls of the cave had come to life at night, maintaining and expanding themselves.

Yu Shijiu was engrossed in watching and itching to leave when suddenly he noticed the broken claw in his pocket moving again!

This time, the trembling was no longer weak as before; it became somewhat hot, and the tips of its claws slowly struggled to point in a certain direction of the passage.

Um? ?

Instead of throwing it away, Yu Shijiu gripped the severed claw in his pocket even tighter.