Daddy came home three hours later than Mo Bai expected.

She received the system's notice two days earlier, around 8 p.m. It said that Daddy would return in two days, so she had assumed he'd be back exactly at 8. But time dragged on, and he still hadn't come.

Every minute of those three hours felt like pure torment for Mo Bai.

She didn't know when Daddy would appear. She only knew that he could return at any moment within the final twenty-four hours of her three-day limit. As a result, she had to remain alert the entire time.

Thankfully, the waiting didn't last all day. Daddy came home just before midnight. If she had to keep that level of tension for a full twenty-four hours, she would've collapsed mentally and physically from exhaustion.

Mo Bai treated the voice outside just like she had with Mommy. "I can't move fast," she called through the door. "Please wait a moment."

She was using this delay to gauge the monster's personality, authority, and behavior.

When she had done the same with Mommy, the other woman had patiently waited outside, even though she clearly had the strength to break down the door. That had revealed a cautious and repressed nature of someone who gathered strength quietly and only acted explosively when pushed.

But what about Daddy?

Mo Bai had barely finished speaking when a deafening crash shook the apartment. The iron door flew inward and slammed onto the floor with a heavy bang.

From the darkness beyond the doorway, a massive figure stepped into the room. The creature was over two and a half meters tall, each step heavy and deliberate. His foot came down on the fallen door, and the thick metal bent under his weight, leaving a deep footprint.

"Since it's inconvenient for you," Daddy said, his deep voice rumbling, "I came in myself."

Mo Bai stared up at him and involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.

He wasn't a rotting corpse like Mommy. He was alive, but he was certainly not a human being.

His head was high enough to reach the ceiling, and his body easily weighed over 300 pounds. His arms were thicker than an average man's waist, and his fists were as large as sandbags. Mo Bai doubted whether even bullets could pierce that muscle.

His eyes were huge, taking up nearly half his face. It was round, bloodshot, and filled with feral rage, like a madman on the verge of snapping.

Mo Bai had seen Daddy in the videos before, but the real thing was far more terrifying. As he stepped closer, she began to doubt whether her plan would work at all.

Trying to ease her fear, Mo Bai whispered in her mind, "Xiao Qi, are you sure this level is functioning correctly? You said this was supposed to be a simple beginner level that anyone could pass."

"Confirmed," Xiao Qi answered in her soft little-girl voice that sounded almost too endearing for the situation.

Mo Bai muttered, "I'm pretty sure one slap from Daddy could send me straight back to the afterlife. If Mommy really meant to use me as a shield, I wouldn't even need to pretend to be dead. I would actually be dead."

Xiao Qi replied, "Player, please remember that you are part of the Observation Group. You are not meant to fight the game characters."

"But how am I supposed to survive without fighting?" Mo Bai asked.

Before Xiao Qi could answer, Daddy stopped right in front of her, his bloodshot eyes sweeping up and down as if sizing her up.

His gaze felt foreign and probing. Like he had just learned that he had a daughter and was getting acquainted with this new family member.

Mo Bai felt like prey under the predator's stare. Every instinct in her screamed danger, but she couldn't even twitch.

"My daughter is so beautiful," Daddy said slowly. "Like a broken porcelain doll."

Mo Bai almost wanted to comment on his surprisingly rich vocabulary, until Xiao Qi's voice chimed in. "Player has received compliments from two separate NPCs. Congratulations, you've unlocked the title 'Broken Porcelain Doll'."

So this was the same title Mommy had used to describe her. It seemed it had been attached to her from the start, only waiting for other conditions to activate.

Before Mo Bai could even ask what the title did, Daddy extended his enormous hand toward her.

Her own hand twitched reflexively, but she didn't move. Attacking now would be suicide, and the odds of winning were practically zero.

There was no killing intent in Daddy's eyes, so she forced herself to stay still as his heavy hand settled on her shoulder.

A loud crack sounded. Mo Bai wasn't sure if her shoulder was dislocated or shattered, but the searing pain told her something was certainly broken. Her right arm went completely limp, hanging uselessly at her side.

Seeing this, Daddy's expression softened. The rage in his eyes faded a little as he gently added, "Poor child, Daddy will protect you."

Protect her? Mo Bai nearly laughed aloud.

Just then, Xiao Qi displayed the title's details in front of her eyes.

[Title: Broken Porcelain Doll

Description:

You have long been tormented by illness, losing your ability to walk. You yearn for life and freedom, yet are trapped in a confined space.

Before death, you dressed yourself in your prettiest clothes, your body fragile but your spirit vivid. Your image was frozen in that moment.

Beautiful yet incomplete, like fine white porcelain, delicate and broken.

Effect:

Fine porcelain deserves gentle care. The more broken you are, the stronger the desire to protect you becomes.

The effect applies to all beings: players, NPCs, and even bosses. But the stronger their mental power, the greater their resistance.

To maintain the effect, the Player must deepen their "brokenness" to completely capture the target's sympathy.

]

Sweat poured down Mo Bai's face, and the strong urge to curse out loud intensified as she read.

What a horrible title and an even worse effect!

Xiao Qi continued, "Since the player has unlocked the title, Xiao Qi can reveal the original game walkthrough for the player."

Mo Bai snorted, "I already know it. The more hurt I am, the stronger others' desire to protect me becomes. Mommy was supposed to torment me just enough to awaken her pity so she'd stop hurting me and refuse to use me as Daddy's shield.

When Daddy comes home, both monsters would then fight each other over me, and I'd just sit back and watch them tear each other apart until three days passed. That's how I would 'win,' right?"

"Player is correct," replied Xiao Qi.

Mo Bai continued. "The rules kept hinting at it, too. Unlock the title, gain 'Appeal Value,' and I'd safely clear the level, right?"

"Yes."

"So Daddy attacked me just now because I looked too healthy and my 'brokenness' wasn't enough. Right?"

"That is right. But now that your brokenness has reached the necessary level, Daddy will not attack you again. All you have to do is wait until tomorrow night, and you will pass."

"Not necessarily," Mo Bai said flatly.

Daddy's nose was twitching now. His eyes narrowed as he began sniffing the air suspiciously.

He was searching for Mommy.

Even after all the perfume Mo Bai had sprayed, Daddy could still smell the faint trace of her scent coming from the wardrobe.

As he moved closer to it, Mo Bai asked quietly, "Xiao Qi, Daddy's not stupid. If he finds Mommy's body, will he realize that it was me?"

"Yes."

"And if he learns that I have the ability to kill her, he'll be more guarded against me, right?"

"Yes."

"And if his vigilance rises, his mental strength will increase too. That means my current level of 'brokenness' won't be enough anymore..."

Xiao Qi hesitated. "Probably not. But if the Player increases—"

"I know what you're about to say," Mo Bai interrupted. "You mean I can just hurt myself more to deepen my 'brokenness' and reactivate his protective instinct. With that, I can just lie here and coast through the level..."

"…Yes," Xiao Qi admitted after a pause.

Mo Bai looked down at her useless arm and asked, "And you're okay with clearing the stage like that?"

"Xiao Qi has no self-awareness. But according to the database, Observation Group players all clear stages by maximizing their appeal value. Titles are their shields. Please use yours wisely."

Mo Bai's left hand pressed against her throbbing shoulder as memories surfaced. "Five years. I've been trapped in this small room for five whole years. I've even almost forgotten what the wind on my skin feels like.

I longed for freedom until my dying breath, wished to stand again, and now you're telling me I have to stay sickly and helpless just to survive? Do you really think I can accept that?"

"Xiao Qi does not know. There is no data predicting your choice." Xiao Qi replied softly.

Mo Bai's eyes hardened. "Then let me tell you. I won't accept it. If surviving in this new world means living like before, I'd rather die right here in this beginner level than become an ornamental porcelain doll in a glass case."

With that, she wheeled herself over to the corner where the bottles of mineral water were stacked. She unscrewed two marked bottles just slightly, and the faint scent of alcohol drifted out. Satisfied, she put them back and grabbed a different bottle.

Meanwhile, Daddy, who was now standing right in front of the wardrobe, twitched his nose again. He turned toward the corner.

"Alcohol?" he growled.

"What alcohol?" Mo Bai asked innocently.

In an instant, Daddy was standing in front of her. He was so fast that he left a trail of afterimages.

He wasn't just strong. He was terrifyingly fast, too.

Mo Bai quickly maneuvered her wheelchair backward, widening the distance between them.

Daddy picked up one of the bottles, twisted off the cap, and the rich smell of alcohol filled the air.

His throat bobbed, and he couldn't help but take a sip. He took a drink and swallowed hard.

Watching him lose control, Mo Bai's lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.

Mommy's memo had mentioned that Daddy loved to drink. And Rule 6 indicated that 'Aside from having strong healing and stamina, and not dying even if his head is smashed, Daddy is no different from an ordinary person.'

That 'no different from an ordinary person' had the hidden implication that anything that affected normal humans would affect him too.

Over the past two days, Mo Bai had used her ability to turn two bottles of mineral water into alcohol.

Alcohol laced heavily with strong sleeping pills and painkillers.

Xiao Qi exclaimed, "Player, you are so clever! With all that medicine, Daddy will definitely sleep for a full day and night. You can safely pass this level!"

Mo Bai rubbed her aching shoulder and said calmly, "And if he's too strong and wakes up early? I need to take the safest route possible."

The safest route… was making sure that Daddy would never wake up again.