Chapter 181 - 167: The Protagonist’s Trial

Meanwhile, after Guan Lan and Guan Xing arrived at the entrance of the old theater, Guan Xing said there was treasure inside, but Guan Lan didn’t rush in immediately.

She originally wanted to check the surroundings first. However, the moment she had this thought, many puppet-like villagers appeared around them. They emerged from the darkness in a massive horde, their bodies twisting as they approached them.

Left with no other choice, Guan Lan could only grab Guan Xing and step into the old theater.

But what Guan Lan didn’t expect was that her consciousness would blur for a split second the moment she entered. When she recovered, she only felt her arms being gripped tightly and violently wrenched behind her back.

Receiving a heavy blow to the back of her knees, she let out a muffled groan and was forced to her knees on the wooden floor of the stage by two men.

A charred wooden puppet lay horizontally before her eyes, flashing an eerie smile at her.

Guan Lan struggled with all her might, but the Strength suppressing her was surprisingly immense. Looking up, she saw faces warped by a twisted Transformation, roaring at her with unbridled fury.

"Chen Jiannü! You offended the Puppet God! Your crimes are heinous!"

"Die!"

"Die!"

"Die!"

The villagers surrounding the stage shouted in unison.

Immediately after, a rough noose was violently slipped over Guan Lan’s neck. It was yanked tight, choking her to the point of near-asphyxiation.

"Let go of my mom!!"

Guan Xing’s heart-wrenching cries rang out from below the stage. Guan Lan looked over in shock.

She saw the tiny Guan Xing being held up by the arm like a helpless chick by another villager with a twisted face, her small face flushed red from the strain.

"You evil demon! Take my sword!"

Using every ounce of her Strength, Guan Xing viciously thrust her feather duster into the abdomen of the man holding her.

Unfortunately, the flimsy feather duster couldn’t hurt him at all. The villager mercilessly raised his hand and delivered a vicious slap to Guan Xing’s face.

SMACK!

The crisp, loud sound was exceptionally piercing. The tiny Guan Xing was sent flying by the blow, crashing heavily onto the ground several meters away with a pained whimper.

"Xing!!" Guan Lan’s eyes nearly split at the seams. A mother’s instinct caused her to erupt with unprecedented Strength, struggling and writhing desperately.

"Hang her!"

"Hang her!"

"Hang her!"

The villagers on the stage with twisted faces let out malicious roars in unison. The two villagers gripping the rope yanked with all their Strength!

Guan Lan’s entire body was instantly hoisted up by the immense Strength. Her feet left the ground, and the rope bit into the flesh of her neck. The suffocation made her instinctively kick and struggle. Everything before her eyes began to spin and turn black, her lungs burning as they desperately craved air.

"Mom... Mom..."

Guan Xing’s faint voice drifted over. In Guan Lan’s blurry vision, Guan Xing was struggling to get up from the ground. Half of her face was red and swollen, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Yet, regardless of everything, she raised the feather duster again, wanting to charge at the stage to save her.

But the man who had just slapped her away lifted his foot and ruthlessly kicked Guan Xing flying.

THUD. With a muffled sound, Guan Xing crashed into the nearby row of chairs and stopped moving.

No!!!

The blood silk burst in Guan Lan’s eyes. She pulled a dagger from her game inventory and slashed at the rope around her neck with all her Strength.

But it was too late. She saw the man below the stage raise a rust-mottled woodchopper’s knife and bring it down mercilessly toward the unconscious Guan Xing.

"Reload!!!"

Guan Lan knew that Guan Xing had protagonist plot armor, but as a mother, she didn’t dare to gamble on it!

Guan Lan suddenly opened her eyes, panting heavily. She and Guan Xing had returned to the entrance of the old theater.

"WAAAH—"

Guan Xing threw herself into Guan Lan’s arms. Her small body trembled violently, her hands tightly gripping Guan Lan’s collar as she cried until she was out of breath.

"Mom, I want to go home. I don’t want to play this game anymore. I don’t want to be the savior anymore. I want to go home, I want to go home..."

Guan Xing wailed loudly. She usually feared nothing—not even ghosts. But when she saw her mother being hanged by those bad people, she was terrified. The immense fear had completely crushed the young Guan Xing.

Guan Lan’s heart clenched at her daughter’s cries. She hugged the trembling little body in her arms, gently patting Guan Xing’s back.

Guan Lan also feared nothing, but she couldn’t bear to see Guan Xing suffer even the slightest bit of harm. The moment that woodchopper’s knife came down just now, she too had fallen into ultimate terror.

Just as she was about to say something, the system’s notification chime sounded.

[Triggered Beginner Tutorial Event: Trial of the Protagonist]

[Event Explanation]: Newborn protagonist of Ancient Abyss, it has been detected that you have entered the key scene of your first game, ’Sanmen Town Old Theater’, and have encountered your first major crisis. To help you better understand the rules of the world, discover your own potential, and obtain important abilities needed for the subsequent game, this beginner tutorial event has been specially initiated.

[Event Requirements]: Please use your exclusive Talent Ability to survive the current stage together with your guardian. After entering the scene again, you cannot exit midway. You are not allowed to use any time-reversal Items, nor are you allowed to use any abilities other than your Talent Ability. You must either clear the stage, or die!

[Event Rewards]: Special Item: It’s Time to End This (This Item is a one-time Special Item and is unique. It can only be used within this scene. When you say, ’It’s time to end this’, you and your guardian will immediately arrive at the final moment of this scene. Whether you encounter the final boss or the final reward will depend on your luck.)

Guan Lan wouldn’t give up in the face of this current hurdle. It wasn’t because of this damn system quest, but for Guan Xing’s sake.

She couldn’t let Guan Xing leave just like this, carrying an indelible shadow of terror!

At this moment, if they chose to flee out of fear, Guan Xing would forever be shrouded by this shadow. Whenever she encountered similar difficulties in the future, her first reaction would always be to shrink back.

What Guan Xing needed to learn wasn’t how to escape fear, but how to find courage within fear, and how to find a chance of survival in a desperate situation.

She had to grow up; she had to become strong. Otherwise, in this man-eating world, Guan Xing would have no path left but death!

With those controlled villagers no longer appearing around them, Guan Lan still had time to mentally prepare Guan Xing.

Guan Lan crouched down in front of Guan Xing and helped wipe the tears from her face.

"Xing, do you remember the last time you snuck into my laboratory and broke my computer?"

Guan Xing sobbed and nodded. She had been spanked so hard that time; her bottom still hurt just thinking about it.

Guan Lan curled the corners of her lips slightly. "Then do you remember how Mom caught you?"

Guan Xing recalled and said, "You couldn’t catch me at first at all. I hid for two hours. In the end, it was only because the nanny said she baked a chocolate cake for me that I came running out. But it turned out you were in the kitchen..."

Saying this, Guan Xing was about to cry again.

Guan Lan smiled. "That’s right. You were jumping up and down in my laboratory like a little monkey. I couldn’t catch you no matter what, and you managed to slip away. Later, I took you to learn parkour, and even the teacher who taught you said you had a special Talent in this area."

Guan Xing nodded, sniffing as she slowly stopped crying. "Yeah, I like parkour. I’m a parkour expert."

Guan Lan’s gaze flickered slightly. "Yes, Mom believes you are a parkour expert. As long as you want to escape, no one can catch you."

Guan Xing nodded vigorously.

As Guan Lan spoke, she tightly clasped Guan Xing’s tiny hands in her own.

"Mom fails many times when doing experiments too. I also feel sad, scared, and frustrated. These emotions are all normal, but we can’t let them destroy our confidence. We have to conquer them. Once you’ve conquered them, you’ll realize just how amazing you are, and that all those things were just paper tigers.

"Next, we are going to go in there one more time, and we will encounter the exact same situation. This time, I need you to use your superb parkour abilities to run away. Do not get caught by anyone. As long as you aren’t caught, I can escape from danger and wipe all those people out. Are you willing to go with Mom... No, little friend Guan Xing, are you willing to try one more time with your teammate, Guan Lan?"

Guan Xing looked fearfully at the nearby doors. Guan Lan waited patiently. Just as Guan Xing’s tears were about to fall again, she raised her hand to wipe them away herself and nodded at Guan Lan.

"I’m willing!"