Villain: The Creator's Revolt

Chapter 7: Did I Act Like It?

A hoarse, immature voice broke the silence, laced with confusion and a hint of ecstasy.

A little girl climbed up from the edge of the sinking Tiger Mountain. She was filthy, wrapped in tattered black cloth, and her strange purple irises encased dark, round pupils that couldn't stop staring at Sean.

She looked dull—like an old, abandoned beast.

But as she continued to gaze at him, something shifted. Expectation. Hope. A longing sparkled in her cloudy eyes.

"Brother... brother?" she called out hesitantly.

Amanda turned to Sean with a questioning glance. Despite having no combat skills, Sean's sharp and delicate features gave him a certain charm. His slanted, sword-like eyebrows exuded a rebellious and carefree air. The gold-rimmed shirt he wore was already wrinkled, yet it still carried the irritating presence of someone from a higher class.

His reputation was terrible—lustful, arrogant—but undeniably attractive.

She found it hard to connect Sean with the beastly little girl.

Her first thought was that the child had simply mistaken him for someone else.

But Sean remained silent, his expression unreadable.

The little girl, growing anxious, shouted again, "Brother!"

Sean frowned. He didn't know her—but at the same time, he did.

This was another Easter egg.

Internally, the developers had dubbed it "The Little Girl in the Zoo." If a player chose the male protagonist, this encounter would be automatically triggered under specific conditions.

In the original game, she lived in the zoo and would appear at random locations. Because of the ever-present danger lurking nearby, Sean had never planned to trigger this Easter egg.

But he wasn't the original game's protagonist. So how did the Easter egg still activate?

As he recalled the game's mechanics, he realized something. Now that this world had become real, the NPCs had evolved into living, breathing beings.

Sean glanced at Amanda, who was watching him with a suspicious expression.

If that was the case…

Might as well speed things up.

Sean put on a harmless smile, walked over, and half-squatted in front of the girl. "Little sister, you must have the wrong person."

The girl instinctively shrank back. She seemed terrified of leaving the perimeter of Tiger Mountain, yet she couldn't help but inch closer to Sean, her voice trembling with hope.

"Brother...? Brother?"

Sean's tone remained gentle, almost sickeningly so. "Little sister, I'm not your brother. Why are you here alone? Did you get separated from him?"

The little girl hesitated but took a few timid steps forward, sniffing the air as if trying to confirm something. As she moved, her black hood slipped down, revealing a small, delicate face—filthy, but oddly ethereal.

She looked like an elf thrown into a mud pit.

Amanda, who had been silently observing, furrowed her brows.

Then, suddenly, the girl's expression changed. Her gaze dimmed, and she recoiled, scrambling backward.

"You... you're not my brother..."

Sean took a slow step forward, still smiling. "Then, let me help you find him?"

The little girl clutched her head as if in pain. "Brother is gone! Brother is dead! Dead!"

Her scream echoed through the air.

Yet Sean remained unmoved, his voice steady. "Dead? How did your brother die?"

The girl's irises pulsed with strange, purple veins. Her breathing grew rapid, and after a choked sob, her body suddenly went limp.

She collapsed.

Amanda reacted instantly, darting forward to catch her.

As she grabbed the girl's frail wrist, the tattered black cloth slipped away.

Amanda's eyes widened.

The little girl's body was covered in scars. Her left calf was missing. But the most unsettling part was her grotesquely swollen stomach. Purple, pulsating lumps bulged beneath her skin, shifting unnaturally with each ragged breath.

Even so, Amanda didn't recoil. She held on tighter before turning to Sean, who had risen to his feet.

"Why even ask her?" she questioned.

Sean spread his hands. "How else can I help her?"

"Help?" Amanda scoffed. "Would you really help her?"

"That depends," Sean said, flashing a smile. "On whether she wants my help."

Amanda frowned. "What do we do now?"

"Wait. It's normal for her to be sick, considering she was born and raised here. But spitters like her have incredible vitality."

As if on cue, the girl stirred.

She flinched away from Amanda's hold, scurrying back down into the depths of Tiger Mountain.

Sean and Amanda peered down. Below, nestled against a rock formation, was a small, makeshift camp.

It was her home.

"Will you help her?" Amanda finally asked after a long silence.

Sean gestured toward the camp. "If you want to. If she wants to."

Without hesitation, Amanda jumped down, landing gracefully near the girl's shelter.

By the time Sean climbed down after her, Amanda had already coaxed the frightened child out of her tent.

She gently pulled the girl forward and whispered, "This brother will help you too, Rosy."

The girl's name was Rosy.

Rosy looked up at Sean with wide, expectant eyes.

Sean softened his expression. "Rosy, tell me—how did your brother die?"

Rosy's face twisted with pain, but Amanda held her small hand firmly, offering silent encouragement.

Taking a deep breath, the child clumsily gestured, trying to explain.

Sean and Amanda watched closely, piecing together her meaning.

Her brother had died from years of toxin accumulation at the bottom of the pit.

"Brother… brother just lay on the ground like this." Rosy mimicked a fallen figure, her expression dark with sorrow.

Sean nodded thoughtfully. "I see… but why did you mistake me for him?"

Rosy fumbled inside her ragged clothes and pulled out a dirty, crumpled drawing.

It depicted two figures—one big, one small—holding hands.

"You… you look like my brother," Rosy insisted.

Sean studied the thick, crude lines. He chuckled. "I suppose there is a resemblance. When did you draw this?"

Rosy lowered her head. "After my brother left. I missed him so much…" Tears welled up in her murky eyes. "I always wanted to show him my drawing."

Sean glanced at Amanda.

Amanda, usually composed, had a flicker of emotion in her eyes.

Sean smiled. "How about this? I'll be your brother. I'll go somewhere far away, then I'll come back—and you and this beautiful sister will greet me and show me your drawing. Sound good?"

Rosy's eyes lit up, then she nervously looked at Amanda.

Amanda smiled and nodded.

Rosy jumped excitedly, her bloated belly shifting unnervingly with the movement. But she didn't care. She tugged Amanda's sleeve and beamed.

"Then let's go inside first! Then we'll come out and see brother!"

Amanda gave Sean a long, unreadable look before following Rosy inside.

She didn't know why, but she felt something strange stir within her.

Perhaps Sean wasn't entirely the man the rumors claimed him to be.

Perhaps… he had some goodness in him after all.

Or maybe… she had just let her guard down.