Chapter 6
Si Jingce froze completely. His grip on the mouse suddenly tightened, and his heartbeat accelerated so fast it throbbed painfully in his eardrums.
The little bird hugging his face was breathing rapidly, chirping nonstop—
{Don’t be afraid, Master! I’m here to protect you! I’ll protect you for a lifetime, forever and ever, in every life!}
The man was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
[Aaaaaaaah—Mom, help me!!]
[??? What just jumped on lcberg’s face?]
[It’s Yan Yan! I’m dying, this is the first time I’ve seen lcberg actually scared.]
It took considerable effort for him to peel the bird off his face.
Yan Yan had his eyes shut tight, wings flailing, and once Si Jingce got hold of him, it was a while before he cautiously opened his eyes and met the man’s amused gaze.
Yan Yan: …Oh no, a little awkward.
“What happened? What’s going on?” Cloud’s screen was dead silent, nothing had happened on his end, but hearing the piercing bird screams from Si Jingce’s side gave him a fright.
“Nothing, just got double jumpscared—by a ghost and a bird.”
A face jump-scare was a classic scare tactic in horror games. Si Jingce had played so many that he was used to these tricks and could sometimes even predict when one was coming.
No matter how prepared he was, he wasn’t prepared for Yan Yan’s ambush.
He ignored the chat full of laughter and mockery and looked down to ask Yan Yan, “If you’re scared, do you want to go back to your coconut shell and sleep?”
The little round fluffball looked up at him.
It took a long while before Si Jingce finally heard a soft, tearful voice:
{N-no… need.}
So frightened he couldn’t even talk properly.
Si Jingce swiftly took off his jacket, folded it into a little nest, and tucked Yan Yan inside.
The bird wriggled for a bit, then tilted his head.
The jacket still carried human warmth—cozy and comforting.
The ghostly face on the screen faded, returning to calm. Si Jingce didn’t gain any items and began analyzing with Cloud: “In games like this, a face scare usually triggers when you interact with something forbidden. Nothing unusual happened on my end. Did anything happen on yours?”
“I just opened a box and grabbed repair tools,” Cloud grumbled. “Who the hell makes the toolbox password a sliding puzzle?”
“And it’s a complicated sliding puzzle. You have to collect all the clues to solve it. I’m dying here.”
Si Jingce was quiet for a moment.
“So… did you open the box yet?”
Cloud sounded sheepish: “I’m still trying…”
[I’m reporting this! No, he hasn’t!]
[He’s restarted like ten times and still hasn’t solved it. I even saw him walk past multiple clues and just ignore them!!]
[I’m losing my mind watching this!]
“Hey hey hey, don’t tattle on me.” Cloud’s voice shrank. “Okay fine, my eyes might be bad. But aren’t we linked in the game? If I screw up, maybe it triggered your face scare.”
Hearing that, Si Jingce suddenly had a very bad feeling.
Cloud… should be able to solve the puzzle, right?
He… should be able to…?
Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t fix the power box. But Si Jingce did find a charred corpse.
The cruise ship remained shrouded in darkness, waiting for rescue. The captain gathered everyone and confirmed the body was the parrot’s owner.
There were rope marks on the body, pointing to one conclusion—
He had been murdered.
The captain immediately ordered the cause of death kept secret, but rumors still spread in private.
With the rescue ship delayed and a potential murderer on board… someone finally snapped.
The captain was pushed from above and fell to the deck.
The deck was drenched in blood. Tourists and crew began accusing each other. Those who sensed danger locked themselves in their cabins.
While unraveling the next clue, Si Jingce kept an eye on Yan Yan tucked in his coat.
After the ghost jump scare, Yan Yan kept his eyes shut, trembling, but his curiosity got the better of him. He peeked at the screen, then shrank back at another scary scene.
The perfect example of someone scared but still wanting to play.
In-game, people grew enraged and desperate. A tourist led others to steal food and accidentally beat a crew member to death. Violence spiraled out of control. The cruise ship became a hellscape.
Betrayal, scheming—one scene worse than the last unfolded. Si Jingce and Cloud’s characters temporarily formed an alliance to survive.
As the ship’s population dwindled, they were quickly discovered. In the chaos, Si Jingce’s character fired the first shot.
A new massacre began, and the entire sea was painted red.
Finally, the nightmare ended.
The cruise regained power… but only two people were left alive.
Following the clues, Cloud’s character found schizophrenia meds and a bloodstained rope in the waiter’s room.
The mystery was finally solved: Si Jingce’s character had severe mental illness, but manipulated his way into a job on the cruise. The parrot’s death triggered his buried violent tendencies, leading him to kill its owner.
The once-allied friends faced off on deck. Si Jingce pointed a gun at Cloud.
He pulled the trigger without hesitation, then set the entire ship ablaze, dying in the inferno.
Returning to land was just a fantasy. Even if they survived, the law awaited.
The sunrise at sea, a symbol of hope, pierced the grey sky as the ruined cruise sank silently in the golden light.
A melancholy ending theme played alongside police sirens. Si Jingce leaned tiredly against his chair and pulled the bird out of his coat.
…Yan Yan had gone limp from fear.
He didn’t make a sound, flopped completely in Si Jingce’s palm.
As he checked the bird for injuries, Cloud sighed dramatically: “Human nature… such a complicated thing. This game’s strengths and weaknesses are clear. It’s not that scary though—I didn’t see a single ghost the whole time…”
As he talked, Cloud noticed the silence from the other end. “Bro? Any thoughts?”
Si Jingce replied coolly: “My only thought is—never play this game with an idiot.”
There were indeed no ghosts. All the horror happened on his side.
Cloud: …
[LOL that final bullet on the deck was definitely fired with personal spite from lcberg.]
[I saw other endings. If the sailor hadn’t failed the puzzle, it wouldn’t have triggered the waiter’s breakdown. There are even clues that the sailor did it on purpose. Definitely a game that needs a walkthrough guide.]
[Honestly the plot felt kinda vague. And the ending was that cliché ‘protagonist had mental illness’ trope.]
[Who cares about that—Yan Yan’s so scared he’s gone limp!]
It took quite a while for frightened Yan Yan to recover. He stumbled over to the mic and started yelling at Cloud.
Stupid human!
You don’t even know how to play! I could do better just pecking at the keyboard!
If you can’t play, then don’t play!!
Cloud: “?”
“What’s Yan Yan saying?”
Si Jingce translated with precision: “He’s cursing you out.”
“Oh, I see.” Cloud laughed awkwardly, not taking it seriously. He changed the subject: “Hey, I’ve been working on a new content plan—visiting friends’ homes to play with cute pets. It’s getting decent traction, and I thought maybe…”
He totally wasn’t trying to see the bird!
Yan Yan angrily chirped: “Chirp chirp Q^Q”
Hah. Just try it. I’ll peck you to death.
Si Jingce translated again: “Sure, as long as you’re not afraid of getting chased and bitten by Yan Yan.”
Now Yan Yan froze.
He hesitated, lifted his little claw, then snuggled against Si Jingce’s palm.
Was this what they called a deep bond between bird and master? His human could even read his thoughts.
[That translation is dripping with personal bias.]
[Good bird, bad human! Why take your anger out on Yan Yan!]
Si Jingce quietly took the heat.
[Aaaaah a collab video! Will there be a stream that night?]
“We’ll see,” Cloud replied. “It’s still early, wanna play a few more rounds?”
“Nope.” Si Jingce looked at the ball of fluff curled in his coat and gently scooped him up. “I’ve got a scared little guy to comfort.”
He ended the stream amidst fans begging him to stay and locked eyes with the fluff in his hand.
Si Jingce suddenly felt a pang of regret.
Pearl birds were naturally timid. Letting Yan Yan watch a horror game was pushing his limits.
A bird’s development needed a safe and secure environment. Too much fear could cause shock reactions.
And Yan Yan… was still a thoroughly cage-raised bird.
“You’re not allowed in the study anymore.” Si Jingce made a firm decision.
He wasn’t going to stop streaming horror games. The best way was to let Yan Yan play on his own outside.
Yan Yan: ?
Huh? Why QAQ
Back in the living room, Si Jingce had just opened the cage when Yan Yan zoomed into his new coconut shell nest at lightning speed.
He hadn’t even had time to build a proper nest. Si Jingce had stuffed in a wad of coconut fiber, and Yan Yan buried his head straight into it, leaving only the tip of his tail feathers exposed.
As if feeling a chill, even the tail feathers vanished back inside.
“Are you okay now?” Si Jingce asked, looking down. He placed his hand at the cage opening in case Yan Yan wanted to come out. “I’m heading to bed. The weather forecast says it’ll thunder tonight.”
It was a very, very considerate warning.
Yan Yan poked his head out: “Chirp chirp chirp!”
Why would I be scared? I’m a bird! Birds aren’t afraid of wild storms or thunder and lightning…
Si Jingce couldn’t understand the string of chirps, and since Yan Yan didn’t climb onto his hand, he retracted it.
“If you’re not afraid, then I’m going to bed.”
Before heading to his room, he double-checked that all the living room windows were shut tight. Once everything looked fine, he entered and closed the bedroom door.
The last sliver of light disappeared from the living room.
Yan Yan made a few adjustments to the coconut fibers and settled into his new home.
The shell hadn’t yet absorbed his scent, so he shifted around several times and still couldn’t find the perfect sleeping position.
But he was so tired.
His head nodded downward bit by bit, drifting off to sleep.
He didn’t know how long he slept before the wind outside suddenly picked up, rattling the windows like they were about to break.
A flash of lightning tore across the sky, followed by a deafening thunderclap.
The house trembled, shaking the coconut shell and waking Yan Yan.
“Chirp…”
He opened his eyes. The thunder outside overlapped eerily with the thunder from the horror game.
The living room was pitch black. Yan Yan retreated deeper into the shell, terrified that the next flash of lightning would reveal a hideous ghost face.
It’s fine. It’s really fine…
The little bird squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force himself back to sleep.
BOOM—
Another thunderclap roared. Yan Yan couldn’t take it anymore.
He jumped out of his nest, and a figure by the door caught his attention.
A headless human, tall and wearing a black trench coat.
Waaaaah—!! It’s a ghost!
Yan Yan squeezed through the bars of the cage!
Neither his previous owner nor Si Jingce realized—this cage couldn’t hold Yan Yan. The gaps between the bars were wide enough that with a bit of effort, he could squeeze through.
His feathers flattened from the squeeze, then puffed back up once free.
He darted through the cat door on Si Jingce’s room and glided onto the bed.
The little bird poked his head out from under the covers.
This was his first time entering Si Jingce’s room.
It smelled faintly of snow-covered mountain tea—subtle, bitter, and comforting.
Si Jingce slept soundly, completely unfazed by the thunder.
Such a… soft bed.
Just for tonight, I’ll sneak in and cuddle with Master… I won’t do it again.
Yan Yan nudged the blanket and easily poked a hole, crawling into the warmth and exploring.
Soon, he climbed on top of Si Jingce.
The man wore thin sleepwear, and Yan Yan stepped onto his abs. The warmth was soothing, and his body rose and fell with each breath like a gentle carousel.
It was kind of fun.
And Master still hadn’t woken up.
Yan Yan pushed his luck, bouncing upward.
His foot suddenly stepped on a raised spot.
What was that?
“Chirp chirp?” he whispered, stepping on it a few more times, then gave it a curious peck.
The man beneath him stirred.
Si Jingce was woken by the pecking and sat up.
The bird lost his balance and slid down from his chest.
Yan Yan landed between his legs with a plop, and the room light flicked on. The sudden brightness made him squint.
When he adjusted, the little bird looked up—meeting Si Jingce’s gaze.
His handsome face held a trace of anger, though his ears were flushed as if bleeding.
“Yan Yan, what are you doing?”
Yan Yan immediately snuggled against his arm: “Chirp.”
{Uuuh… Can I sleep with you tonight?}
