A Happy Home

On the seventh night, like a veil of sorrow, a quiet veil enveloped the "Home of Happiness." This cage, built of grief and obsession, seemed to sense its impending end, and an unprecedented, almost frozen silence filled the air.

"Mom" prepared a dinner that could be described as "grand".

The iconic raw, bloody steak remained, but now meticulously cut and arranged in an almost artistic fashion, garnished with a few wilted, scentless sprigs of rosemary. The murky, dark red beverage had been replaced with a viscous, amber-like liquid, served in a stemmed glass. In the center of the table, several white candles were lit, their dim, flickering light dispelling some of the chill, yet also casting an eerie shadow over the deliberately created "warmth," like a vigil before a funeral.

No one spoke during the meal. Even the most impatient Xiaomei kept her head down, mechanically and slowly nibbling at the hard, moldy bread crumbs, afraid to make the slightest sound, lest she break the fragile balance and bring about her final misfortune.

"Mom's" gaze almost never left Shi Mo.

The candlelight danced across his sharply defined profile, casting an ethereal glow on his silver hair. His heterochromatic eyes, illuminated by the interplay of light and shadow, appeared even deeper, more eerie, and…more inhuman. She watched silently, her eyes uncontrollably reddening, tears blurring her vision.

She didn't question, she didn't hysterically. Instead, in a tone that seemed to come from a distant shore, tinged with deep weariness and a sob, she slowly revealed the bloody truth: "I know..." Her voice was soft, as if afraid to disturb a fragile dream, "You... are not my child."

These words, like a boulder thrown into stagnant water, stirred up a storm in the hearts of Lao Wang, Xiao Lin, and Xiao Mei, who were eavesdropping. Even the chat in the live stream froze for a moment, and all the viewers held their breath.

"My son... my real child..." Her tears finally broke free, silently sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the rim of the glass filled with dark red liquid, creating a barely perceptible ripple. "He and his father... left me three years ago... that accident... took everything from me..."

She spoke haltingly.

How did that extreme, unbearable longing and sorrow twist her soul, how did it unleash the power of strange rules and legends, transforming this once perhaps joyful family into a despairing, endlessly looping cycle of capturing "substitutes" to fill the endless emptiness in her heart—[Happy Home].

She is both the ruler here, imposing rules and punishments, and the most tormented prisoner, tormented by eternal longing, unable to find release.

The candidates in the other rooms clearly heard this sorrowful outpouring, and their inner fear was replaced by an indescribable complex emotion—shock, sympathy, and a touch of sorrow as fellow sufferers.

In the live stream, after a brief silence, came sighs of shock at the truth:

[...So, this is the truth.]

No wonder she's so stubborn... (feelings are mixed)

The bizarre birth often stems from humanity's most extreme suffering.

Even though she knew it was fake, she still couldn't help but rely on Shi Mo as a source of comfort...

What will Shi Mo say? Will he comfort her?

Shi Mo listened quietly, his heterochromatic pupils remaining calm and undisturbed, as if everything she said was already within his understanding. He comprehended this form of existence born from the intertwining of intense emotions and rules.

When "Mom" finished speaking and looked at him with teary eyes, waiting for a response she might never receive, Shi Mo did not speak. He simply raised his eyes and met her gaze.

The next moment, a barely perceptible mental fluctuation, combined with his temporary access to the rules of this place, spread silently, instantly blocking all external live broadcast signals and monitoring.

All the screens outside suddenly went black. There was no static, no freeze-frame, just complete darkness and silence, as if the signal had been completely cut off.

What happened?! The screen is black?!

Where's the signal? It disappeared at the crucial moment!

Is there a problem with the instance? Or...?

[This is so frustrating! What are they talking about?!]

With all prying eyes blocked out, this small space illuminated by candlelight seemed to become an isolated island, separate from the rest of the world.

Looking at the tearful figure before him, essentially a pitiful being forever bound by his own obsession, Shi Mo sighed almost inaudibly. This sigh seemed to carry a profound, ineffable meaning that transcended endless time.

He didn't produce any physical object. He simply gazed at "Mom," and a clear and peaceful thought was transmitted directly into the depths of her consciousness, ensuring that no third party could hear it:

("I cannot be your true son to fill the void in your heart.")

("But the rules here may be somewhat stabilized because of my arrival.")

("I will remember this place.")

It offered no explicit promises, yet carried a strange, comforting power.

At the same time, a faint, soothing, and stabilizing aura of order, originating from his very being, gently permeated the surrounding space, like a spring breeze sweeping across parched land.

"Mom" staggered to her feet and gave Shi Mo a tight, forceful hug. The hug was brief but filled with all the unspeakable emotions, and then she quickly let go, as if afraid that her touch would taint something.

With trembling hands, she pulled a small, exquisite crystal bottle from the innermost pocket of her apron, radiating a faint yet pure energy, and shoved it into Shi Mo's hand without a word. A similarly pleading and tearful thought echoed back:

("Here...child...thank you...really...thank you...")

That was an A-grade item—[Power Source Potion] (permanently increases strength by 10 points). It was almost the most precious thing she could gather in this sorrowful "home" formed by these rules, the closest thing to "life" and "hope".

Shi Mo sensed the energy contained within the crystal bottle, and without refusing, nodded slightly to her. Immediately, the crystal bottle vanished from his hand.

Almost at the same instant he put away the potion—

The live broadcast signal from outside suddenly returned!

The screen lit up again, showing the same candlelit restaurant. "Mom" was facing away from the camera, her shoulders trembling slightly, as if wiping away tears. Shi Mo remained calmly seated, as if the brief darkness had truly been just an accidental technical glitch.

In the live stream, the viewers were completely dumbfounded:

[The signal is back! What happened just now?!]

[Mom is crying! What did they say?!]

[Shi Mo seems... to have not changed much?]

[I'm so anxious! What exactly happened in those few seconds?! This will become an unsolved mystery in the history of ghost story live streaming!]

The morning of the eighth day arrived as scheduled, amidst a subtle and melancholic atmosphere.

A cold, piercing notification sounded in the minds of all the candidates, signaling the end of this long and agonizing ordeal.

When that familiar wooden door, entwined with black thorns, appeared in their respective rooms, Lao Wang, Xiao Lin, and Xiao Mei practically tumbled and crawled, rushing towards it with the ecstatic joy of surviving a catastrophe and tears streaming down their faces, eager to escape this nightmare.

Shi Mo was the last to set off.

He pushed open the door and saw "Mom" standing in the empty doorway.

She wasn't wearing the stained apron, just a faded, plain-colored dress. A smile, a mixture of sadness, relief, and tenderness, graced her face as tears streamed down her cheeks like broken beads. She waved to him forcefully, again and again, bidding him a silent farewell.

Before stepping into that pure white space, Shi Mo paused slightly. He turned around and looked at her one last time, his gaze lingering for a moment on her hand, which seemed to be tightly holding some kind of invisible hope. Then, almost imperceptibly, he nodded slightly.

The next moment, his figure was swallowed by white light and disappeared completely from the "House of Happiness".

Final settlement:

Surviving candidates: Shi Mo, Lao Wang, Xiao Lin, Xiao Mei.

Shi Mo's Completion Rating: SSS (Perfect Role-Playing + Hidden Plot Trigger + Deep Rule-Based Interaction + ???)

The other three people's evaluations: Lao Wang A, Xiao Lin B, Xiao Mei B.

The live stream has ended. External screens have returned to normal, displaying the message: "[The instance 'Happy Home' has been closed]".

Public opinion has completely exploded!

The entire internet is engulfed in a frenzy of discussion about the "Happy Home" instance, especially Shi Mo's mysterious final interaction.

The hashtags #ShiMoRaw #UnsolvedMysteryOfHappyHome #TheSadTruthOfTheDRankInstance #ShiMo'sFinalNod and so on have gone viral across all social media platforms.

Viewers' opinions on Shi Mo are becoming increasingly polarized: the labels of powerful, mysterious, and cold remain, but the silent exchange at the end and his glance back as he departs evoke a complex and difficult-to-define emotion in many. The several seconds of black screen, and what happened within it, have become a lingering mystery in everyone's minds, sparking countless speculations and interpretations.

Shi Mo's silent thought, "I will remember this place," is like a pebble thrown into the river of time.