C6 Tears of a Man and a Woman

You're making us feel like outsiders.

The host is acting distant, like we're not part of his inner circle.

If only the bathroom livestream wasn't blocked.

I've been holding it in all day.

I've seen other hosts relieving themselves just about anywhere.

That image is too glorious to behold.

The host is so good-looking, it's such a shame not to see him in the buff.

Quiet! He's my husband! I'm the only one who gets to see him!

Dreaming much? Aren't you worried your race's features might shatter the host's worldview?

Pfft! Our love knows no racial bounds!

And our love transcends gender too!

It's like I've stumbled upon something monumental...

Who knows how many sentient beings have been socially annihilated by this game...

Our race's elite paid a steep price to erase their dark past completely...

I'm convinced my idol has no skeletons in his closet!

Never before has Xiao Hao felt his privacy to be so precious.

It moved him deeply.

Men were stoic, women wept.

Xiao Hao could never have imagined that one day, the simple act of using the restroom alone would stir such emotion.

Opening the bathroom door, he felt invigorated, his cheeks flushed and ears glowing.

Those in the know understood he'd just been to the restroom.

The uninformed might suspect he was up to no good.

Xiao Hao glanced at the game panel; the comments scrolling across the screen made him wince.

He inadvertently pictured the other players' dire situations, the vivid imagery burning his eyes.

He couldn't bear to think about it.

Absolutely couldn't.

He checked his phone; it was past ten o'clock.

The day had slipped by without notice.

He gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows; the world outside was shrouded in perpetual darkness, regardless of the hour.

"Good night," Xiao Hao whispered gently, as if to himself, his voice tinged with hope for the morrow.

Good night.

Sweet dreams~

The friends from Alien Land had no idea Xiao Hao was bidding them good night.

In the tenderest recess of his heart, Xiao Hao silently expressed his gratitude: "Thank you."

Xiao Hao was an orphan.

He seldom experienced the world's kindness.

Mostly, it was hostility.

Being an orphan meant having no protector, no connections.

From his earliest days in kindergarten, when he was most vulnerable, it seemed like everyone had a chance to kick him when he was down.

While others had the sanctuary of a place called "home," Xiao Hao had nothing.

His only defense was a cloak of indifference, a shield against the world.

Ironically, in the midst of such a brutal game, he found an abundance of kindness.

That night, Xiao Hao slept with a tranquility that surpassed even the comfort of his modest rented room in the real world.

The alarm clock sounded punctually, playing a children's tune that was all too familiar.

After a quick breakfast, Xiao Hao was set to head out and battle monsters.

By tomorrow at the latest, he needed to gather soul tonic herbs.

As he stepped out, the chill from the dark red, muddy ground seeped into his heart once more.

But this time, his heart wasn't fluttering with anxiety.

To avoid being taken by surprise like the last monster encounter, Xiao Hao released the Shadow Hippocampus first.

Once the hippocampus emerged, Xiao Hao noticed that what was once a 20 to 30-centimeter creature had grown to nearly half a meter in length.

The label (juvenile) had vanished from its game profile.

Incredible.

It had grown overnight—what kind of hormone had it been fed?

Thanks to the god-like perspective of his Alien Land viewers and their bullet-screen guidance, Xiao Hao quickly located the treasure chest.

Mostly food, with a few blood agents, cotton, and the like.

You should have seen how thrilled Xiao Hao was to find cotton!

Imagine him, just yesterday, clad in pajamas, streaming live as he roamed the ocean floor for an entire day, shivering from the cold!

The battle was a spectacle, with the wild monsters and the hippocampus displaying stunning effects.

Yet there was Xiao Hao, in his synthetic pajamas, almost comically out of place.

If he survives to the end, this could become his "signature scene"—a social death sentence in the real world.

But here in Alien Land, after seeing how he stacked up against other players, Xiao Hao's spirits lifted.

Dressed in a black, military-style bodysuit and gripping a coral spear, he pressed on. Ahead lay the wild monster the bullet screen had forewarned: the Ribbon sawtail fish.

"Husband, you look so handsome in that outfit!"

With his sharp, sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, standing tall like a graceful tree in the wind, could this be the boyfriend I've lost over twenty years ago?

Cough, cough, those arriving later, please form a line. He's my boyfriend, thank you.

Enough with the noise, I'm off to battle the monster!

The Ribbon sawtail fish is quite the drama queen. Darling, don't let it bewitch you!

...

"Wuwuwu..."

Drawing nearer, Xiao Hao could faintly make out the sound of sobbing ahead.

The ceaseless cries, soft and sticky, easily conjured the image of a beautiful woman's heart-wrenching sobs.

Sadly, the live comments had already spilled the beans. Xiao Hao, who was meant to play along, chose to ignore it instead.

Approaching, Xiao Hao spotted a pit ahead.

The sobbing emanated from the pit. He sent the Shadow Hippocampus ahead to scout, but it wasn't attacked.

Moving closer with trepidation, Xiao Hao could hear his own heartbeat; his grip on the spear slick with sweat.

The nearer he got to the pit, the more he slowed down, his breaths becoming shallower.

He dreaded a wild monster might suddenly leap from the pit, catching him unawares.

Spear at the ready, Xiao Hao finally reached the pit's edge.

Inside, he saw a woman's head atop a fish's body.

She cried, her fish tail occasionally brushing her cheeks as if to wipe away tears.

Xiao Hao nearly scoffed, "You're underwater, submerged. What's the point in wiping your face?"

The head turned to Xiao Hao, uttering strange syllables. He didn't recognize the language, yet somehow grasped its meaning.

"I am cursed by a witch. Only a prince's kiss can break the spell. Will you help me?"

Xiao Hao's expression darkened with skepticism.

Something felt off.

The woman's head was undeniably beautiful, her features delicate and her skin dewy, as if water could be wrung from it.

Her face and tone seemed straight out of a fairy tale.

But wasn't this supposed to be a damn horror game?

Alright, dark fairy tales can be pretty terrifying too.

Seeing the eager anticipation on the creature's face, Xiao Hao thought it would be impolite to start a fight without a word.

So, he responded with courtesy, "Sorry, I'm not a prince. I can't lift your curse, but don't worry, I can still ease your suffering."

With that, the Shadow Hippocampi intuitively cast the Dark Domain.

A scream pierced the air, the shrill soprano sending shivers down Xiao Hao's spine.

Casting a glance at the spear's tip, Xiao Hao decided to use it to silence her.

"Clang!"

To Xiao Hao's astonishment, as soon as the iron spear touched her, the woman's canine teeth elongated instantly. The vampire-like fangs clamped onto the spear's tip, and Xiao Hao could swear he heard the clang of metal on metal.