Her voice was soft and sweet as she whispered, “Thank you, Mommy.”

Huh? Mommy?

I… became a mom just like that?

Holy crap, this is insane.

You have to understand, in real life, I’ve heard way too many horror stories about women dying during childbirth. I’ve always dreamed of having a family, sure… But giving birth? That’s my biggest fear.

After coaxing the little girl to take a nap, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed in my ear:

【Initial players: 30 | Current survivors: 20】

What? Ten people were already dead? Just from choosing rooms?

I grabbed my phone, held it right up to my face, and barely managed to make out the text on the screen. It was the player chat group, where everyone was frantically sharing what they’d learned, mainly how people had died.

Apparently, the hot-tempered blond guy and three others fought over the third floor. The blond guy barely won and moved in. But the moment he knocked on the door, a creature with a human body and a dog’s head stepped out. Its jaws split open, revealing rows of bloody teeth, and it swallowed him whole.

A few seconds later, it chewed noisily and spat out a few white bones still clinging to bits of flesh.

Through the half-open door, the other players saw piles of bones inside. They guessed those must’ve been the remains of past victims.

After witnessing that, everyone’s adrenaline spiked. By now, aside from Elaine and Jethro, every new player’s Fear Value had already hit 50 and it was only the first day.

One middle-aged man died the instant he stepped into the tenth floor; his Fear Value shot straight to 100. Others were dropping in all kinds of ways, scared to death, ripped apart, or just losing it from sheer terror.

Of course, none of that had anything to do with me.

While my little girl slept, I grabbed a mop from the bathroom and got to work. I scrubbed the place from top to bottom. The blood-red floor tiles? I managed to scrub them until they were almost white. Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

The dried red stains on the walls wouldn’t come off, so I picked up a scraper and started chipping away at them instead.

By the time I finished, it was already afternoon. My back was killing me, so I collapsed onto the couch beside the little girl and fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke again, a chill had crept through the air.

The room was dark. Standing in front of me was a shadowy figure, its outline barely visible.

Even though I couldn’t see his face clearly, the moment he spoke, that deep, magnetic voice made my heart skip a beat.

He laughed in a low, sexy voice, “Heh, interesting. You actually survived this long in Lily’s hands.”

Then Lily’s cold voice piped up, “You better not touch her. This mommy looks fun. I want to keep her to play with.”

The man didn’t answer. He waved one big hand and sent Lily flying off the sofa. She slammed into the balcony glass with a crash, and there was the sickening sound of bones breaking.

He sneered, “Who gave you permission to speak to me like that? You really think you’re my daughter?”

I couldn’t take it.

I scrambled up off the couch, muttering, “Who let you talk to a kid like that? What kind of father are you?”

I meant to slap him across the face, but my hand slipped and landed on his abs instead. Damn, that felt good! I couldn’t help touching them a couple more times.

Seeing him on the verge of a furious explosion, black energy crawling off him, I quickly tried to make amends…

“Lily’s my little sweetheart, and you’re my big one. We’re one happy family now.”

I gave him my best smile. “Actually, um, honey, you’ve got a great body, but… why do you look kinda short? Don’t worry though. Now that I’m here, I’ll cook for you both every day. Soon, you and our daughter will be tall and strong!”

The live chat went absolutely wild.

【What the hell is she saying? How does she dare talk like that to the Headless Boss?】

【Finally! The infamous Headless Boss. He’s supposed to be the strongest one in the Happy Home scenario. The top player last time died fighting him.】

【Wait… why does the Boss look like he’s blushing? No way, did she just fluster him?】

【You’re down bad, man.】

Everyone in the stream was waiting for him to snap my neck like he’d done to every other player before.

But instead, he calmly lifted the severed head he’d been holding and placed it back onto his neck. Then he leaned in, his cold, dangerous aura fading a little, his voice suddenly carrying a hint of… wounded pride.

“Short? I’m six-foot-one. Why don’t you take a closer look?”

Even ghosts, it seems, care about their height.

“Nina,” he said suddenly, my name rolling off his tongue in a deep, velvety tone that made my heart race.

I grabbed his tie and yanked him down until he was practically on top of me, murmuring dramatically, “Can’t see. Come closer.”

His handsome face came into sharp focus, and I couldn’t help grinning inside.

Thank God this game only tracks Fear Value, not heart rate. Otherwise, I’d be dead already.

When he stayed silent, I panicked, thinking I’d made him mad. My eyes sparkled as I rushed to flatter him.

“Wow! You’re six-one, I’m five-five—that’s the perfect height difference! We’re meant to be!”

The man in the tailored suit turned bright red and was just about to respond when Lily, freshly reassembled, charged in. She kicked him so hard he flew into the ceiling and got stuck there.

Then she turned to me with her big, teary eyes, pressed her face against mine, and whispered softly, “Mommy… Lily hungry. Food.”

Seriously, who could resist that?

I immediately dug through the fridge, squinted, and happily set about cooking for the little girl…and my husband.

I’m not bragging about my cooking, but those two practically licked the bowls clean.

When I went to shower, I heard them in the next room, talking quietly.

“Lily, maybe we should keep her. She cooks pretty well.”

“But Dad, when those two get back tomorrow and find out we won’t eat their food, they’ll freak out.”

“Call that food? If they complain, I’ll kill them.”

“Okay, I’ll keep watch.”

After my shower I took the master bedroom like it was mine. I poked my head out from under the covers and watched the dark shape sitting motionless on the sofa.

I softened my voice and started showing off my homemaking.

“Babe, why don’t you finish showering your body in the bathroom and I’ll wash your hair in the kitchen? It’ll be faster that way.”

Chat exploded: 【What kind of suggestion is that?】

Even crazier, the headless boss actually agreed to my plan.

In the end, we split up to do our own thing.

I was in the kitchen washing his hair, humming a tune as I washed.

The live chat was horrified by the scene.

【Seriously, they’re made for each other. Only a complete lunatic would act this calm while washing a ghost’s head.】

They didn’t understand that, for someone as nearsighted as me, it just felt like washing a large, fuzzy, black watermelon.

Then the “watermelon” spoke. “You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Of course,” I said honestly. “I think I’m getting along really well with you and your daughter. I’m sure I’ll clear this scenario with no problem.”

The watermelon grinned, his sharp, handsome features twisting in a strange smile. “You will, Nina.”

I gazed back at him gently, though to be fair, I couldn’t actually see him clearly. “By the way, I never asked your name.”

The “watermelon,” or rather the headless boss, suddenly lifted off my hands. His head flew across the room and attached seamlessly to the body that had just stepped out of the shower, turning back into that tall, handsome six-foot-one man again.

He seemed to remember something unpleasant, his voice rough and low. “I don’t really have one. But… if you must call me something, call me John Doe.”

With that, he turned and left, muttering that he’d sleep in the guest room.

What a stingy husband.

Couldn’t he at least let me fall asleep on his abs?

Scratching my head, I couldn’t think of a name right away, so I went back to bed to keep brainstorming.

Just as I was thinking, a pair of dark eyes appeared under my blanket, a pale little face glowing faintly in the dark.

For a second, it looked straight out of ‘The Grudge.’

Luckily, my poor eyesight softened the scare, it just looked like a blurry white blob.

“Mommy, ignore that headless old monster. Tonight, Lily wants to sleep with Mommy.”

So it was Lily.

I had no idea when she’d crawled into my bed.

I pinched her soft cheeks and pulled her into my arms, speaking gently. “You shouldn’t call your dad a monster, sweetheart. That might hurt his feelings.”

Lily blinked at me, confused. She opened her mouth, revealing a row of bloody gums with no teeth. “Heehee… But I’m a little monster too. They call me a little slut and a brat.”

I sighed and tried to steer her thinking back on track. “Who said that? That’s not right. If Mommy ever meets them, I’ll scold them and hit them for you. But, Lily, you can’t say things like that about yourself, okay? It would make Mommy sad.”

I kept mumbling to her softly, not even sure when I drifted off.

What I didn’t know was that after I fell asleep, Lily lay quietly beside me, watching my face. Her dress turned red, then white, then red again.

Finally, she whispered, “Mommy would be sad. I can’t make Mommy sad.”

The live chat went wild:

【Holy crap, I’ve never seen the Blood Dress Girl’s aura fluctuate like that! Her dress actually stayed white at the end!】

【Unbelievable. This new player just changed her entire attribute set. She’s got some serious skills.】

The next morning, I woke to the sound of that eerie mechanical voice again:

【Initial players: 30 | Current survivors: 15】

Half-asleep, I grabbed my phone and saw the player chat blowing up. Another five people had died overnight. Three of them were killed by the entities.