Chapter 5: The Husband I Had to Sew Back Together

I immediately pinned my husband down on the bed. Without a word, I stripped every piece of clothing off his body.

"What are you doing?" he protested. "Let go of me! How can you just strip off my clothes?"

The incisions all over his body began oozing blood, rapidly turning him into a bloody mess. I wasn't scared in the slightest; I just felt this parenting game was a bit gory.

The clean bedsheets I had just changed were ruined. It was a total nightmare for my OCD.

Gritting my teeth, I ripped the stitches apart one by one.

My husband stared at me in horror. His entire body trembled as if he had never imagined I would actually do something like this.

"Hold still," I snapped. "Whoever stitched you up did a terrible job. Look at these crooked seams! How am I supposed to sleep beside you looking at this mess?"

The system remained silent.

I glanced at the stitches scattered across the bed and frowned. They were uneven, dirty, and covered in dried blood.

"Don't worry. I'll fix you properly."

I went to the sewing cabinet in the bedroom and pulled out a needle, some clean thread, and a pair of scissors.

My husband immediately tried to escape.

"No! Stay away from me!"

I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back onto the bed. "Stop moving! If you keep struggling, I'll make the stitches even worse."

Penny stood beside the bed, watching silently. Liam leaned against the doorway, his expression unusually serious.

Neither of them tried to stop me.

I carefully cleaned every wound before beginning to sew.

One stitch. Then another.

I tightened each thread carefully, making sure the seams were straight and secure.

The more I worked, the calmer I became. Finally, I could see my husband's body returning to a neat, orderly state.

"There," I said with satisfaction. "Much better."

The system's voice suddenly rang out.

"Husband's favorability has increased to 20."

I froze for a moment.

So this was another parenting mechanic?

I looked at my husband, who was lying stiffly on the bed with a strange expression on his face.

"You should have told me sooner that you needed help," I scolded him. "As your wife, how could I ignore you?"

His eyes widened.

The system sounded again.

"Husband's favorability has increased to 40."

I nodded knowingly. "See? Being honest with your wife is important."

For the first time since he had entered the apartment, my husband stopped looking angry.

Instead, he quietly lowered his eyes.

"Honey..." he whispered.

"What?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

I smiled. "Of course it doesn't. I fixed it."

Behind me, Liam suddenly let out a strange laugh.

"Mom really is amazing."

Penny immediately ran over and hugged my waist.

"Mom, can you fix me too?"

I looked down at her adorable face and smiled.

"Of course. But you don't have any wounds, so there's nothing to fix."

Penny pouted.

I gently patted her head and tucked her into bed.

Once the children were asleep, I turned back to my husband.

His body looked much cleaner now, but something still bothered me.

There were dozens of old scars underneath the stitches, as though his body had been repeatedly torn apart and sewn back together.

"How did you get all these injuries?" I asked.

My husband didn't answer.

His expression suddenly became cold.

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm asking you a question."

He looked at me for a long time before finally saying, "People did this to me."

"Who?"

His lips curled into a faint smile.

"Players."

I blinked.

"Players?"

Before he could explain, the system suddenly announced:

"Day One complete."

"Current survivors: 31."

My eyes widened.

"Thirty-one?"

I had no idea what had happened outside.

I simply looked at my neatly cleaned bedroom, my obedient children, and my husband whose stitches I had repaired.

Everything seemed perfectly normal to me.

Then I noticed something written in dried blood on the bedroom wall.

It hadn't been there earlier.

Five words were slowly becoming visible beneath the peeling paint:

"DO NOT LET HIM SLEEP."

I stared at the message in confusion.

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

My husband quietly got into bed beside me.

I pulled the blanket over him and turned off the light.

"Enough. Everyone needs sleep."

Beside me, my husband opened his eyes in the darkness.

For the first time, there was no bloodlust in them.

There was fear.