Forces of Temptation

The plot of the fairy tale is simple.

A tale of evil and evil.

A pair of brothers and sisters, because of their poor family circumstances, and their stepmother, were abandoned by their father in the depths of the forest.

They stole the bread and tried to knead it into crumbs as a way to go home, but they were pecked by the birds.

The two brothers and sisters lost their way in the forest.

Fortunately, they came across a hut made of candy.

The two brothers and sisters were surprised and delighted, they demolished the house and feasted.

The owner of the hut is a witch. She treats the two children who suddenly arrived with a pleasant face, but actually treats them as her own reserve food.

After the witch showed her fierce face, the two witty children worked together to fight back.

The elder brother deceived the witch and delayed the time; the younger sister used the lie to deceive the witch to look into the boiling pot and push the witch into the pot.

They took part of the witch's property, went to a river, asked Mr. Mallard to carry them across the river and went home.

After returning home, the vicious stepmother was killed by a mechanical seance long ago.

Of course, the soft-eared father can only be innocent.

The family lived a happy life.

End of the show.

Nanzhou does not comment on this story.

After reading this fairy tale when he was young, he carefully designed several candy houses in his mind according to the cookbook.

…Now I can finally see the deity.

Although there is no clear expression as usual, Nan Zhou's mood is obviously good.

The evidence is that he has his hands in his pockets, his toes and looking around much more often than normal.

This kind of innocent childishness, which is buried under the sober and cold appearance, makes Jiang Fang like it to death.

He said, "Let's go."

Of course, they walked so easily because they did not retreat.

There is no open space behind them.

The road is surrounded by a large arc of trees.

The intertwined vines entwined it, densely packed, seamlessly filling every possibility they could explore backwards.

This is of course the setting of the copy, which requires them to go forward.

Since there was no way to go, they did as they were asked.

The mottled pebble road stretches to the edge of the forest, and the line of sight becomes brighter, and then there are differences.

On one side is a colorful hut that is 100 meters away.

And there are obviously NPCs waiting at the door.

It was a pair of small figures standing holding hands.

They look like a pair of little princes and princesses.

The little girl in the pink dress stood on tiptoe when she saw a visitor, and waved a handkerchief at them cheerfully and excitedly.

This snake-like trail, with sparse vegetation, has no name.

The three looked at each other.

Although I really want to visit the candy house, Nanzhou knows that it is equally important to protect the escape route.

He pointed his thumb to the more desolate one.

Jiang Fang nodded slightly, acquiesced to Nan Zhou's judgment, and pointed to the unknown road.

The two turned their heads and asked Li Yinhang's opinion together.

Li Yinhang naturally followed the ticket.

Unconsciously, the tacit understanding of the three people no longer needs language to express.

They collectively left the NPC with three backs, and walked towards the opposite side of the road, drifting further away.

Two little NPCs who warmly welcome guests: "...?"

…

The further the road goes, the more moist the soil.

A pungent watery odor gradually became stronger.

And after a fast walk for nearly 10 minutes, they finally reached the end of the road.

After turning another corner, what appeared in front of them was a huge swamp.

The swamp was so large that it was difficult for Nanzhou to find the boundary.

The green-colored swamp was covered with fine, milky white bubbles, like the skin of a toad, constantly squeezing and fermenting a poisonous sap.

On the dry branch on the side, an ordinary bird is slowly picking its feathers.

This was the only living thing they could see besides them.

Jiang Fang broke a branch and threw it into the swamp upright.

The swamp is like the mouth of a greedy animal, wriggling hungry, swallowing the branches in one bite.

Li Yinhang broke out in a cold sweat.

This swamp is the edge of the entire map.

Their investigation is very valuable.

Thinking about this, Li Yinhang didn't even want to go to the candy shop.

…but she just thought about it.

She was about to ask them if they wanted to stay here to investigate, when her stomach suddenly twitched.

A clear hunger came up from the bottom of my stomach.

Under this convulsion, the stomach bag squeezed out a dull "grunt" sound.

Li Yinhang licked his lips a little embarrassedly.

Faced with such a large pool of slop-like silt sewage, my stomach growled, which was essentially as embarrassing as burping out of the toilet.

Nan Zhou was thinking, when he heard the sound, he looked at Li Yinhang: "Are you hungry too?"

…also.

Li Yinhang's heart tightened suddenly.

She should have noticed the information behind the abnormal changes in desire in the [Brain Invasion] copy.

She said, "Well, here's the brain—"

"Brain stem. Nucleus doubtful. Vagus nerve." Nan Zhou said, "The cranial nerves in charge of the digestive and respiratory systems are mainly used to tell you, 'You are hungry'."

This also echoes the story of Candy House.

The two brothers and sisters will not be abandoned because the family is in distress and famine.

Not because of hunger, nor did they stumble into the witch's house by mistake.

Jiang Fang put one hand on his waist and belly, and gently rubbed: "So, it's a time-limited checkpoint."

Of course.

Only by somatosensory, they can clearly experience the feeling of hunger slowly magnifying in the body.

Like a monster, slowly opening its bottomless mouth.

Nan Zhou said concisely: "Go back."

The hunger is still tolerable.

On the way back, they tried to eat some food that was redeemed with points.

The purpose is not so much a filling as an experiment.

Everyone ate a cookie to get a simple estimate of the rate of hunger.

The vagus nerve is also involved in swallowing.

So hunger is temporarily suppressed.

But less than halfway through, they were as hungry as they were before the cookies.

So, they divided the remaining half of the pack of biscuits, fortunately, before approaching the candy house, to ensure that their physical strength was sufficient, and their thinking would not be overly affected by hunger.

As they approached the fence made of chocolate bars, the long-awaited black-haired brother and sister again posed for a photo-like intimacy and gave them the most radiant smiles.

Their eyes are beautiful malachite green, like velvet gems.

They held hands and bowed politely to the guest.

Etiquette is thoughtful and quite elegant.

"Guests from afar—"

If it were left in the past, Li Yinhang would definitely show goodwill to such minor NPCs as much as possible.

However, due to the lack of blood sugar along the way, Li Yinhang has no intention of wasting time with them.

Under the influence of Nan Zhou and Jiang Fang, she directly asked: "What is the mission?"

Sibling: "…"

It was probably the first time they experienced being so thoroughly used as a tool person.

Even if the previous players felt hungry, at least they knew how to be polite to NPCs.

My sister opened her mouth and was stunned for a while before she regained the function of language organization: "You...you come first."

Nan Zhou on the side looked up at the candy house that he had longed for since he was a child.

The "lawn" leading to the house is decorated with stone slabs for people to rest on.

Visitors can step inside without worrying about damaging the ground.

The lawn is a large piece of green velvet cake, with a hint of green coconut, with an attractive matte color in the sun.

The macarons are beautifully skirted and adorned with the eaves.

The roof is made of Napoleon puff pastry, and the edges of the cake base, raspberry jam, butter sauce and layered, golden-baked puff pastry are clearly visible.

Crispy muffins make up the wall.

Multi-color blended mousse paint that shimmers in beautiful gradients in the sun.

In this situation, Nan Zhou misses his used up props [Ma Liang's sketchbook]

Jiang Fang saw his thoughts, grabbed his hand apologetically, shook it, and his eyes were soft.

Nan Zhou immediately recalled the reason why Jiang Fang used all the props, and the strange pain came up in his heart, and even the strong appetite subsided a lot.

He firmly grasped Jiang Fang's palm, showing his desire for protection in front of outsiders without any shyness.

I just wanted to comfort Jiang Fang: "..."

Jiang Fang said softly, "There is someone else."

Nan Zhou also whispered back to him: "It's because there are others."...I want to protect you.

The interior decoration is as attractive as the window.

The decoration on the lower edge of the wall crack is wavy Breton, with a thick layer of apple puree sandwiched inside.

Small madeleines in the shape of shells were made into bite-sized pieces and adorned with pictures of siblings on the walls.

On the small coffee table is a high-end tea set, and a few plates of fluffy and delicious soufflé.

The small teapot on the side was snorting tea.

However, the wooden floor is still laid in the house, and all kinds of furniture are not all made of candy.

The happiness of being in it is not too sweet.

Everything is just right.

My brother poured tea for them enthusiastically.

The aroma diffused when Ceylon black tea is poured into the bone china teacup blends with the surrounding sweet aroma, triggering a wonderful and profound chemical reaction, which makes the index finger even more excited.

The younger sister said obediently: "Travelers from afar, you have traveled all the way, are you hungry?"

Speaking, she pushed the soufflé on the small table towards them.

“…please use it.”

With the stimulation of food, the hunger that had been suppressed for a while immediately surged out.

What's more, this hunger was told her by nerves.

Irresistible.

Irresistible.

Li Yinhang almost couldn't help reaching out.

But she immediately grabbed her wrist with the other hand.

Although there is no evidence, her intuition tells her that the things here must not be eaten easily.

Nanzhou on the other side sat quietly, with lowered eyebrows.

Thinking for a while, he asked softly, "Do we need to do something for you?"

“…‘do what’?”

My sister picked up one of the black tea cups, brought it to her lips, and curled her crescent-like eyes: "No need."

"Our lives are very happy and we don't need anything from you."

This answer is completely beyond Li Yinhang's estimate.

…Huh?

Nanzhou's expression remained unchanged.

…lie.

Nan Zhou likes the settings in "Candy House" the most.

He has read the book many times.

It can be said that since entering this candy house, they have faced countless senses of disobedience.

First, in the original story, the two brothers and sisters finally took the witch's treasure, left the candy house, crossed the river, returned to their father, and lived a prosperous and happy life.

And now, they are back in the candy house.

…and claim to be the master.

No, this elegance seems to come from a kind of proficiency.

They are very skilled in attracting the coming and going, hungry guests.

It seems like a business.

Third, in the original story, they were smart children.

But also a child who knows how to use lies to achieve his own goals.

Their words should not be taken as the truth.

All kinds of doubts point to many problems:

Why did the two brothers and sisters return to the witch's candy house?

Where did their father go?

Should I follow their instructions and do "eating pastry" as a task?

Or resist the temptation to be too superficial and try to uncover the hidden quest?

Perhaps it was because none of the three had the intention to use a knife and fork, but one looked at the sky, the other looked at the ground, and the other looked around, and the younger sister's tone changed subtly.

Her voice became a little dissatisfied: "You guys, why don't you eat?"

Li Yinhang forcibly held back the surging stomach acid: "I don't like sweets."

This is obviously not a good reason for rejection.

Because the faces of the siblings have sunk.

Jiang Fang knew that Li Yinhang had already refused, and the next person must not be too tough.

Therefore, he extended his hand in a kind manner: "My teammates like sweets."

Speaking, he was going to take the knife and fork on the edge of the bowl and cut the cake for Nanzhou, but it seemed that he accidentally knocked off the silver fork.

The fork rolled exactly near the foot of Nanzhou.

He apologized mildly and turned to Nan Zhou: "Mr. Nan, help me pick it up, thank you."

After this interaction, seeing that they were willing to eat, the two brothers and sisters looked much better.

This also bought them a little time to continue to observe safely and collect clues.

Nan Zhou leaned down and was about to pick up the silver fork at his feet when his peripheral vision landed on a spot not far from the bottom of the sofa.

In his mind, the fourth doubt that he felt strange before, but could not clearly detect, flashed in his mind.

…wood floors.

Why is the interior of the candy house a wooden floor?

Is it because of practicality that it is inconvenient to live?

But the large green velvet cake lawn outside, in addition to restricting the range of activities of the occupants, what practicality is there? What is it convenient to talk about?

According to common sense, how can a house built with candy block the light and rain? How can people live there?

In the fairy tale world, everything is possible.

Why do you want to be authentic in flooring and furniture?

—What I saw in the corner of Nan Zhou's light gave these questions a clue to answer.

There is a thin nail that is firmly wedged between the cracks in the wooden floor.

The tip of the nail is pale and looks like a transparent thorn if you don't look carefully.

And the weirdest thing is that the nails are stuck on the floor with the nails down and the tips up.

This does not make sense.

Normally, even if someone's fingernail gets stuck in the crack of the floor and accidentally pulls it out when pulling it out, it should be with the tip of the nail pointing down, and it will definitely be cleaned up immediately. Don't let it get stuck in the crevices all the time.

Scene with nails up like this...the floor once cracked.

And one fell out of it.

In his dying struggle, he clawed at the edge of the cracked floor and flipped his fingernails.

The nails stuck to the edge of the cracked floor because of the stickiness of flesh and blood.

As the floor was closed again, this nail was also regarded as a thorn and was forgotten here.

…It is like a hand buried alive, desperate for help.

A strong sense of crisis swept Nan Zhou's heart.

He quietly reached out to the nail.

—next moment.

From the space at the bottom of the sofa, Nan Zhou accidentally met a pair of green eyes.

I don't know when, my brother's upper face and a pair of eyes appeared on the other side of the bottom of the couch, staring at Nanzhou.

Those innocent eyes that belong to children, when looking straight at people, also reveal an animal-like coldness and scrutiny.

His voice was compressed by the gap of the sofa, adding a bit of dullness and gloom: "...Guest, did you find the fork?"

Nanzhou's expression did not change, and she showed him the silver fork in her palm from a distance.

The boy blinked, and in a split second, he replaced his beautiful and innocent smile: "Then please taste it quickly, the tea will be cold."

Nan Zhou hummed, straightened up, and put the dropped silver fork back beside the small plate.

Nan Zhou held the fingernails that were quickly pulled out and hid in the palm of his palm, reached into his thumb, and carefully outlined the shape and traces of the fingernails.

The blood on the nails has dried, and a thin layer of blood can be scraped off.

But the nails themselves are not dry and brittle, and it can be seen that the time to peel off is not long.

He looked at the siblings.

Their hands were all intact.

And, just when Nan Zhou's hand touched the wooden floor, he felt a strange warmth.

When you step on it with your feet across the shoes, the warmth is not very obvious.

But when you touch it with your hand, the warmth becomes particularly distinct.

This warmth is by no means normal.

Under the floor, there seemed to be a huge boiler burning.

It is conceivable that if the floor of the house is also made of cakes, even if it is not deformed, it is easy to be baked soft by such heat.

Nan Zhou glanced at Jiang Fang.

Jiang Fang blinked at him lightly, with a hint of inquiry.

Nanzhou was taken aback.

Jiang Fang is more sensitive to these details.

He may have found out that the temperature under his feet was abnormal long ago, so he hit the silver fork and wanted Nanzhou to help verify his opinion.

Nanzhou easily thinks of the boiling water pot in which the sister pushed the witch into it and boiled it alive.

The strange temperature transmitted from the depths of the floor, combined with the two brothers and sisters who replaced the witch as the new owners of the candy house, and the strange nails wedged in the cracks of the floor at a strange angle—

The food is not edible.

Don't touch it.

The author has something to say:

Knight Boat, Online Guardian

Brother Fang: I am so weak.jpg