"Uncle Ge, getting in a workout?"
Passing by the residential community’s fitness area, Li Ran saw Uncle Ge exercising on the horizontal bar.
Good grief—one windmill spin followed by a mid-air 360 flip, then another aerial spin and a flip, landing smoothly.
That entire gymnastics combo left Li Ran utterly dumbfounded.
"Xiao Ran, you’re here?" Uncle Ge greeted him with a smile, patting his lower back. "Getting old now. A few simple moves already tire me out."
"Simple moves? Uncle Ge, that routine could get you into the Olympics."
Grinning playfully, Li Ran pulled out a pack of Pu’er tea from his storage space.
He had picked it up from the Happiness Supermarket just now—bought some tea on the way, as he had some things he wanted to ask Uncle Ge about.
"Xiao Ran, why are you bringing more tea? I haven’t even finished the last batch you gave me."
Li Ran shoved it into Uncle Ge’s hands. "New variety. You’ll love it."
"Well... I won’t say no, then. Good lad, you are."
After some small talk, Li Ran got to the point.
"Uncle Ge, you know this neighborhood well. Can you tell me the rules I need to pay attention to around here?"
Li Ran felt there were some things better clarified up front—blind guessing would only lead to trouble.
"You seem like a decent young man, so I’ll tell you."
Uncle Ge nodded. "There’s a clinic on the east side of the community. No matter what happens, don’t go there. If you do, they’ll make sure you can’t get home that night."
"Don’t mess with the stray dogs in the neighborhood. They’re extremely vicious."
"Them?" Li Ran asked, surprised.
"Yes—them," Uncle Ge affirmed with a serious nod.
"There's a female tenant in Building 6 who brings a different man home every few days. But no one’s ever seen those men come back out. If your kidneys are strong, give it a shot."
"There’s a lunatic living on the rooftop of Building 4. Best not go there, unless you have a death wish."
"The alley in the back? Total chaos..."
"And finally, one thing all you new residents must know."
At this, Uncle Ge’s face grew serious, locking eyes with Li Ran.
"In ten days, it’ll be the tenth anniversary of the community’s founding—the Night of Madness!"
The previous warnings Uncle Ge had shared were all valuable, but this last one filled Li Ran with an ominous, apocalyptic dread.
"The Night of Madness?" Li Ran asked nervously.
"That night, every household must leave their doors open and keep the lights on till dawn. There’ll be dragon dancing, sky lanterns, river lanterns, riddles—you name it. Everyone in the community takes part. It goes on all night long."
Boom!
The words hit Li Ran like a thunderclap. He froze in place, speechless for a long moment.
"Good lad, come by for tea when you’ve got time."
"S-sure… okay."
Li Ran stood dumbfounded, mind replaying the scene he’d once seen at Azure Isle Academy.
A nightmare-inducing festival of monstrous creatures swarming the streets?
“Day Fifteen!”
He gasped sharply.
“The final day—sleep isn’t even safe!”
In the “Happiness Garden” world, there was a bug that players could exploit to survive each night: as long as they went to sleep before midnight, nothing bad would happen.
But on the last day, that bug would be forcibly overwritten.
No one sleeps—screw sleep, get up and party!
Day Fifteen: The Night of Madness!
Once it arrives, it’s every player’s worst nightmare!
---
Community Area – Near the Garbage Dump
Xiao Yi, Chen Jiabin, and Huang Wentao were hiding in the grass not far from the dump.
"Everyone ready?" Xiao Yi asked, looking at the other two with a serious expression.
"I bought dog food and scattered it all the way along the path," Chen Jiabin replied.
"Bear traps are in place," said Huang Wentao.
"Perfect. Now we wait for that vicious dog to take the bait," Xiao Yi nodded.
All three stared intently at the direction of the garbage station.
If things went as expected, the vicious dog would appear there.
Xiao Yi had accepted a team quest from property management. The quest recommended a four-player team.
Objective: Drive out the vicious dogs in the community.
At first, he didn’t want to ask Li Ran. But considering it was a four-man mission, and Li Ran was the strongest among their batch of players, he figured it might be much easier with his help.
Unfortunately, Li Ran refused flatly.
Oh well—just a team quest. The three of them could handle it. Besides, fewer people meant bigger shares of the reward.
After completing missions over the past few days, Xiao Yi had built up a eerie value of 200 and even got a fine-quality hunting rifle plus an escape skill.
Offense and escape—he was ready for anything.
As for Chen Jiabin and Huang Wentao, he didn’t expect much from them. As long as they didn’t drag him down, it was fine.
"It’s here," Chen Jiabin said, eyes locked on the garbage station.
Xiao Yi and Huang Wentao looked in that direction too—a stray dog had crawled in through a hole at the base of the wall.
"This is the vicious dog? Looks like a mutt from the countryside," Chen Jiabin scoffed.
It did look like a typical rural mutt—small, yellow fur, fierce-looking, baring sharp teeth.
"A mutt? Then you go first," Xiao Yi shot him a glare.
"Let’s go together," Chen Jiabin immediately backed down.
"Yeah, it is a team mission," Huang Wentao added.
Xiao Yi raised his hunting rifle and said, "You go first, Chen Jiabin. Huang Wentao, you’re second. I’ll be in the back."
"With your gear, shouldn’t you go first?" Huang Wentao questioned.
"I’m a ranged attacker—you want me in melee?" Xiao Yi retorted confidently.
Thinking it over, both nodded. Fair enough.
With tactics set, the stray dog wandered near the dump, sniffed out the trail of dog food, and began following it.
"Bait’s working," Chen Jiabin said excitedly.
The stray dog munched along the path toward the bear trap. Suddenly, one paw stepped directly in the center of the trap.
"Woof—WOOF WOOF!!"
The dog let out a painful howl.
"Now! Go!" Xiao Yi shouted.
Chen Jiabin pulled out a baseball bat; Huang Wentao unsheathed an iron sword.
Both their weapons were basic quality.
"Xiao Yi, stay close—we’re counting on you for the damage," Huang Wentao said nervously.
"Don’t worry, I know what kind of guy Xiao Yi is. We’re in good hands," Chen Jiabin reassured him.
Xiao Yi forced a stiff smile. "Enough chatter—just hold it in place, and I’ll blow its dog head off!"
The three approached the injured dog.
It was crying, sobbing in pain, paw clamped hard in the trap, wound deep to the bone.
"Attack!" Xiao Yi shouted.
Chen Jiabin and Huang Wentao swung their weapons, charging forward.
Xiao Yi fired a shot from afar.
Bang!
The hunting rifle boomed—direct hit.
"Ha! Got it!"
The dog’s body was torn apart, sent flying.
Seeing it wounded, Chen Jiabin and Huang Wentao moved in to finish the job.
But then—
Grrraaaah!!
The fallen dog let out a terrifying growl.
Before they could strike, its body began to morph grotesquely.
That small frame expanded wildly—transforming into a three-meter-tall demonic hellhound!
The giant beast was wreathed in black flames, its flesh rotting and festering with squirming worm-like creatures. One of its eyes was replaced by a massive parasitic insect.
"H-h-how is this possible?!" Huang Wentao collapsed in terror.
Xiao Yi and Chen Jiabin’s faces turned ghostly pale.
Vicious dog?
This was no dog—it was a hellhound from the abyss.
Only now did Xiao Yi understand why this was a team quest.
There was no way one person could handle this!
Fear crept in—he started inching away, hands gripping the rifle slick with sweat.
None of them were thinking about the mission anymore.
One thought burned in their minds: RUN!
The three of them turned to flee, but the enraged Cursed Hellhound wasn’t going to let them go.
ROAR!
The beast lunged at Huang Wentao—its massive jaws clamping down.
Huang Wentao didn’t even have time to scream. His entire upper body vanished.
Seeing this, Xiao Yi’s face went ghost white.
Clutching his rifle, he sprinted for dear life.
Chen Jiabin wasn’t far behind.
But the hellhound was fast. It was catching up quickly.
Desperate, Xiao Yi’s glasses flashed with a sinister glint.
"Jiabin, hold it off—I’ll cover you!"
With that, he shot Chen Jiabin in the ankle.
Chen Jiabin collapsed, clutching his leg in agony, roaring:
"You bastard!!"
"Xiao Yi, I curse you to die horribly!"
He never expected Xiao Yi to throw him to the monster to buy time.
"Sorry, Jiabin. You’re gonna have to die for this." Xiao Yi’s tone was icy.
As long as the hellhound devoured Chen Jiabin, he’d gain a few more seconds to escape.
"Blame yourself for being too naive."
As he ran, he glanced back.
The beast had already caught up to the fallen Chen Jiabin.
Its jaws were wide open.
Xiao Yi grinned cruelly, savoring the hopeless look on Chen Jiabin’s face.
ROAR!
The hellhound snarled, but then stopped.
It nudged Chen Jiabin’s back… gently.
Chen Jiabin slowly stood up, eyes glowing with a deadly sharpness.
Xiao Yi’s grin froze.
His expression twisted into something truly grotesque.
One man, one hellhound—both grinning coldly.
(End of Chapter)