Looking at the strong clown who resembled a brown bear, trembling like a frightened bird, crying and begging for mercy, Haoyun didn't feel proud at all. Instead, he stood there in confusion, thinking to himself, "What the heck is going on? I managed to scare the living daylights out of this fierce guy?"

"Do you... do you not recognize me?" Haoyun asked after gathering his thoughts.

"Sob... I don't recognize you! Please don't hurt me," the clown replied tearfully, shaking his head.

Seeing the clown trembling even more after realizing there were others behind the tent, Haoyun, Dao Lao, and Dream Jia emerged from the bushes. Witnessing the clown's emotional breakdown, Haoyun and his companions couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt, almost as if they were villains plotting against an innocent child.

"Hey! Can you stop crying? We're not bad people. Why are you crying so loudly? What if other passersby hear you and misunderstand us?" Dream Jia approached, impatiently tapping the clown's head. Dream Jia's attitude was harsh, undoubtedly because this clown had made her suffer during the previous circus performance.

Seeing the clown's emotions spiraling out of control under Dream Jia's intimidation, Dao Lao couldn't help but intervene, saying, "Ahem! You two have had enough! Look at how scared you've made him. Despite his size, he's pretending to be a helpless child. There must be some mental issue going on. So, if you keep scaring him like this, he might actually lose his mind!"

Haoyun and Dream Jia looked at Dao Lao, feeling frustrated. They thought, "You have the nerve to tell us to stop? At best, we're trying to assert our dominance. But you, on the other hand, are directly attacking him verbally! Your behavior is much worse than ours!"

"You, you're the one with a problem! Your whole family has a problem! I'm just a kid, only two years old. I'm perfectly fine. What mental issue?" the clown retorted angrily and fearfully, crying and accusing Dao Lao.

Alright, it seemed like this clown really did think of himself as a child. So, either it was some absurd game setting by the Countess, or, as Dao Lao suggested, this guy really did have a mental problem.

"Hey there, little friend. Why are you walking alone in the wilderness at this hour? Where are your parents?" Haoyun asked. Since the clown kept insisting he was a child, Haoyun decided to follow along and ask for valuable information.

Seeing Haoyun's gentler tone, the clown choked back his tears and replied hoarsely, "My parents? I don't know where they are. Sob... I was with my parents in the forest looking for herbs. We found many good herbs and delicious fruits. After we brought the harvested items back to our camp outside the forest, my mother asked me to rest in the tent. Of course, I obeyed her, so I stayed obediently in the camp and played for a while before falling asleep."

"Then, I was awakened by a loud noise. When I woke up, I felt the tent shaking violently. So, I hurriedly crawled out of the tent and saw dust flying everywhere in the forest. Huge rocks were rolling down the hill as if the entire forest was about to collapse."

"I was so scared that I ran in the opposite direction of the forest, and after running for who knows how long, I finally regained my senses and remembered that my parents were still in the forest. But I was too afraid to go back because I was afraid the forest would collapse again and bury me inside. So, I just sat there, crying and waiting for my parents to come out. But they didn't appear for a long time. Then, I remembered to run back to the village for help. Sob... I'm afraid. I can't lose my parents. Sob..." At last, the clown couldn't hold back his tears any longer and broke down crying again.

This time, Haoyun and his companions didn't rush to comfort the clown. Instead, they quickly discussed in the system channel.

"So, what do you think? This guy's memory and storytelling ability don't seem like those of a two-year-old, do they? There must be something fishy going on," Haoyun asked.

"Isn't that obvious? Look at how big this guy is. Could your two-year-old grow up to be such a hulking figure? This must be his character in the game. And what he's saying must be related to the mission we're here to complete," Dream Jia replied, rolling her eyes at Haoyun.

"Yeah, based on what we've seen so far, that seems to be the case. Since he might be a plot character, let's go along with his topic and see if we can get more mission information," Dao Lao suggested.

With the action plan set, Haoyun gently interrupted the crying clown and, while expressing regret for his parents' ordeal, said, "I see! Don't worry, your parents should be fine! How about this? We'll accompany you back to rescue your parents!"

"No! We can't go back into that forest." Unexpectedly, the clown shook his head and refused.

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Then, with lingering fear, he explained, "Because when I left, the forest was still experiencing continuous landslides. So, it's very dangerous there now. Besides, I've never seen you guys before. You're definitely not locals, so you probably know very little about the natural environment of that forest. Under these circumstances, if we rush in, we might end up sacrificing our lives."

When the clown mentioned risking their lives, he quickly shook his head and said, "No! No way! My parents won't be in danger! They are very experienced in forest foraging, they'll be fine! Sob..."

After the clown refused Haoyun and the others' idea of accompanying him back to the forest to rescue his parents and insisted on returning to the village to seek help, Haoyun and his companions remained calm. They almost confirmed that the clown in front of them was a crucial character related to their mission here, and their task likely involved rescuing the clown's parents. The clown's insistence on returning to the village first should be a necessary plot device in executing this mission.

With this in mind, Haoyun and his companions stopped arguing with the clown and agreed to his request. Then, Dream Jia, in order to dispel the clown's lingering suspicion of her, fully utilized her unique affinity with children and asked in a soft voice, "So, little one, what's your name?"

"I'm called Little Tiger, everyone calls me Little Hu," the clown replied.

Hmm, so the clown's name here is just the name of the animal he's portraying? Isn't that a bit hasty? But upon second thought, this minimalistic approach seemed to fit the mischievous style of the Countess.

Dream Jia continued, mimicking the clown's voice and falsely praising his name, while introducing herself and her companions, "Oh, what a cute name! I'm Little Bunny, he's Little Horse, and he's Old Ox."

"Hello, Sister Bunny, Brother Horse, and Old Ox," Little Tiger greeted each of them politely.

Unlike Haoyun and Dream Jia, who pretended to be enthusiastic in response to Little Tiger's greetings, Dao Lao couldn't even be bothered to pretend. He casually responded to Little Tiger's greeting, feeling annoyed. Why did Little Tiger address Dream Jia and Haoyun so warmly as sister and brother? But when it came to him, he was just an old ox? Couldn't he at least add a "grandpa" suffix to show respect for elders?

Seeing this, Dream Jia quickly stepped forward to shield Dao Lao, who was short in stature, and continued to wear a mechanical smile, saying, "Hmm, Little Tiger is so obedient. How about it now? If you think everything is fine, shall we accompany you back to the village?"

"Gurgle... Gurgle..."

Just as Little Tiger was about to agree, his stomach betrayed him and growled loudly. Embarrassed, Little Tiger scratched his head and said, "Um, well, Rabbit Sister, do you have any food here? I've been running for my life since I woke up, and I haven't eaten anything yet."

"No problem. You stay here obediently, and we'll go get you something to eat," Dream Jia replied warmly.

Then, she turned to Haoyun and Dao Lao and ordered, "Hey! You two, go get something for Little Tiger to eat, now!"

Although Dream Jia's cloying tone made Haoyun and Dao Lao feel nauseous, her tiger-like gaze still intimidated them. Therefore, Haoyun and Dao Lao didn't dare to slack off. After agreeing to Dream Jia's command, they quickly got up and prepared food.

Although Haoyun didn't find any fish in the clear pond, he immediately thought of the fishing gear placed beside the pond. He believed that these fishing tools were probably placed here specifically for finding food for Little Tiger. So, he decided to first fetch the fishing gear by the pond and then figure out how to catch some big fish.

To Haoyun's surprise, as soon as he returned to the pond, he found a bucket miraculously filled with live fish. Although he didn't know how it happened, since he was already in this strange world, he assumed that no matter how magical the occurrences were, they should be considered normal phenomena. So, instead of dwelling on it, he picked up the bucket filled with live fish and returned to the campfire. Then, using some sticks he picked from the firewood pile, he casually skewered the fish and started grilling them.

At that moment, Dream Jia keenly noticed a hint of aversion in Little Tiger's eyes when he saw Haoyun holding the grilled fish. So, she pretended to be concerned and asked, "What's wrong, Little Tiger? Why are you looking at Brother Horse like that with such a strange expression? Is there a problem?"

Caught off guard, Little Tiger hastily waved his hands and said, "Sister Rabbit, you misunderstood me. It's not that I think Brother Horse has a problem."

Then, hesitating for a moment, he continued, "It's just... Well, I know this fish is delicious. But... I don't eat fish. The residents of Yinmu Village have always lived in harmony with nature and, under this philosophy, have become vegetarians who do not eat meat for generations."

After listening to Little Tiger's explanation, Haoyun and his companions looked at Little Tiger with expressions that said, "Are you kidding me?" He's playing a tiger, for heaven's sake! Tigers don't eat only vegetables, do they?

After hearing Little Tiger's explanation, Haoyun, Dao Lao, and Dream Jia all looked at him with expressions that seemed to say, "Are you kidding us?" They couldn't believe that a tiger, even a pretend one, would be a vegetarian.

Seeing their doubtful expressions, Little Tiger, also puzzled, asked, "What's wrong? Don't you know that our Tiger Tribe are all vegetarians?"

After Little Tiger's question, the three of them suddenly realized that they were in a show created by the Countess. All these strange settings were due to her personal preferences. They couldn't apply their normal understanding to the events happening here. Otherwise, their normal perception might affect their judgment and hinder them from completing the tasks in the show.

Quickly, Dao Lao responded, "Hahaha! Of course, we know! In fact, these delicious grilled fish are for ourselves. We have different food prepared for you."

Little Tiger, being only two years old, didn't think deeply about Dao Lao's words. His attention was soon called back by his grumbling stomach. "Then where is my food? I'm so hungry! Can you help me find something to eat?"

"Oh, right! Carrots, we have carrots. You can eat carrots, right?" Seeing that he had successfully distracted Little Tiger, Dao Lao quickly said. Confirming that Little Tiger liked carrots, he immediately got up and took a basket full of carrots from the tent.