The phone screen was a bit dirty, making Ying Yu’s name appear slightly blurry. Under the special indoor lighting, the numbers below were so bright they were almost ethereal.
Zhou Q’ian did not answer immediately.
Ying Yu, who was missing, why would he suddenly call him?
From any angle, this was unreasonable. If he had recovered his communication, he should have called someone from the laboratory first.
Zhou Q’ian decisively took out his cane.
Ying Yu and the university student had disappeared too suddenly. He had to be on guard against being pulled into some place the moment he answered the phone. It was always right to be prepared with a self-defense item.
Beside him, Shen Zhiyi stared at the phone screen and said, “Put it on speaker.”
Zhou Q’ian’s fingertips almost lightly swept across the screen.
The call went through.
He turned on the speaker so that the voice from the other side could be heard more clearly.
No one on either side spoke. For a moment, there was only a slight static.
A few seconds passed. Just as Zhou Q’ian was narrowing his eyes and preparing to speak first, the other side suddenly began to speak intermittently:
“The moon above the willow branches… the male elephant seal…”
The excessively distorted sound quality made it almost impossible to recognize Ying Yu’s voice. The noise on the other end was getting louder, much like the buzzing sound of an old tape recorder when the tape gets stuck.
“…the rabbit is not well-behaved, the fragrance spreads for ten…”
“Zzz—”
An almost piercing static burst out. The harsh sound was so painful it felt like it could pierce the eardrum. The next second, the call ended abruptly.
Zhou Q’ian immediately redialed.
“The user you have dialed is not in service…”
Zhou Q’ian frowned and tried twice more before finally giving up.
“‘The moon above the willow branches, the male elephant seal, the rabbit is not well-behaved…’ the last sentence was not finished,” the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped a lot. The previous sleepiness was completely gone. Zhou Q’ian pondered, “Ying Yu is a decisive person. He wouldn’t deliberately be a riddle-maker.”
The only possibility was that the other party couldn’t speak too clearly.
The hasty call, the abrupt end—everything confirmed that Ying Yu’s situation was not very good.
Of course, the premise was that this call was really made by Ying Yu.
About a minute after the call ended, the door was pushed open again. Yu Tong walked in with a sealed bag. “All the information is here.”
Halfway through his sentence, he keenly sensed that the atmosphere was different from when he had left.
“Did you find anything?”
Yu Tong’s gaze was fixed on the surveillance photo on the table, thinking that Zhou Q’ian had found some new information from it.
“It’s nothing,” Zhou Q’ian took the sealed bag from his hand as if nothing had happened.
Assuming the call was really made by Ying Yu himself, and he had called him first, there were two possibilities. First, Ying Yu knew what kind of situation he would be involved in, and this information would be useful then. Second, Ying Yu did not trust the people in the laboratory. Just as Yu Tong had hinted before, Ying Yu’s disappearance would trigger a butterfly effect. Perhaps there was some hostile force hidden in the laboratory, making it inconvenient for him to ask for help.
The second possibility was very small, but with everything unknown, it was always good to be cautious.
“I’ll go back first,” Zhou Q’ian stood up.
Yu Tong nodded. “I’ll drive you.”
Riding in the modified car, before completely leaving the fog, Zhou Q’ian requested to be dropped off there.
Yu Tong didn’t ask any more questions. After leaving him a business card, he hastily returned the way he came, looking very busy.
After confirming that there was no one around, a serious expression appeared on Zhou Q’ian’s face. He took the initiative to discuss the content of the phone call.
“‘The moon above the willow branches, a date after dusk.'”
This was a very famous line of poetry.
There was no need to be too secretive about game-related information in the fog. Zhou Q’ian continued, “Ying Yu once made an appointment with me to team up for an instance at the end of the month. Perhaps he was implying that I would be going into an instance, and… it would be the same one as him.”
This sentence served as a form of identity verification, proving that the caller was indeed him.
Shen Zhiyi did not immediately express his opinion.
It was more of a firm reminder than an implication. If there was danger in the instance and he had a way to pull people in, Ying Yu would prioritize contacting the laboratory. Informing Zhou Q’ian specifically meant that the instance would actively come to him.
Zhou Q’ian: “Male elephant seal…”
This term was not unfamiliar to the citizens of Yanyang District. It was once a popular internet slang.
The origin was a clichéd story of catching a cheater in the act. A wife beat her husband into the hospital. The husband’s family angrily cursed the wife and demanded accountability. The husband, full of remorse, said it was all his fault and even knelt down to beg the wife for forgiveness.
But in just a couple of days, the mistress secretly came to visit. The two of them got heated, and soon the husband was caught cheating a second time, this time in his hospital bed.
The incident caused a huge commotion and was filmed and spread online. In the video, the wife cursed her husband for being a “male elephant seal”—ugly and promiscuous.
In the animal kingdom, elephant seals are very promiscuous. It is said that they are either mating or on their way to mate.
This term thus became popular and one of the internet memes of that year.
Zhou Q’ian pondered. Similar stories of catching cheaters happened almost every day across the country. The story itself couldn’t contain much information.
But if it was related to an instance…
He looked at Shen Zhiyi. The latter’s words were in line with his own thoughts. “It might be related to the instance entrance.”
The story of the male elephant seal mainly involved three places: first, the hotel where the cheating was caught; second, the hospital bed where the cheating was caught; and third, the aquarium. When this meme first became popular, many people specifically went to the aquarium to make videos and popularize this animal.
Zhou Q’ian did a quick search on his phone. Coincidentally, among the three locations, both the hospital and the aquarium had rumors of supernatural events.
“It’s not far from the city center.”
During that half-hour of thick fog, these areas should have also been covered.
As for the last two, “the rabbit is not well-behaved” and “the fragrance spreads for ten X,” “the fragrance spreads for ten X” was probably “the fragrance spreads for ten miles,” representing food or something. As for the latter, Zhou Q’ian really couldn’t think of a connection.
Shen Zhiyi: “You can still make a connection.”
“Hmm?”
“The rabbit might be related to Mr. Si.”
Zhou Q’ian’s eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands. “I almost forgot, there’s still this character!”
“…”
Zhou Q’ian didn’t think it was his fault. It was Mr. Si’s presence that was too weak.
Shen Zhiyi thought for a moment, then still said, “We just saw him in the Huagu City instance.”
Zhou Q’ian was silent for a moment. Indeed, being under high tension for a long time had its drawbacks.
Shen Zhiyi didn’t think it was a big deal to occasionally overlook things. “It doesn’t matter. You’ll remember immediately when you go back and see your bus.”
…You’re right.
Zhou Q’ian looked at Shen Zhiyi, his doubts increasing.
Although it hadn’t been long since he had been in an instance, Shen Zhiyi seemed to know Mr. Si very well. Even if he was the same person as Mu Tianbai, the latter’s player ID was very new, which meant he had only recently entered the game.
Shen Zhiyi shouldn’t have had any interaction with Mr. Si.
Before he could speak, Shen Zhiyi said first, “It’s getting late. Why don’t you invite your auntie over to my place for dinner?”
“My mom likes to play mahjong with Aunt Wang in the afternoon. She won’t…”
“After dinner, have your auntie take a gift box with her.”
Zhou Q’ian remembered the strange gift box Shen Zhiyi had brought for his mom last time. It contained food. He gave up thinking about what the specific ingredients were.
As if knowing what he was thinking, Shen Zhiyi took the initiative to say, “They’re all bean-curd-like foods that are not easy to gain weight from.”
Zhou Q’ian’s gaze shifted upon hearing this. Excessively devouring monsters could lead to a second evolution and being permanently trapped in the game. His mother’s self-control was clearly not as good as the Boss’s. Translating Shen Zhiyi’s words, the things in the gift box could create a feeling of fullness, but their energy was far less than that of normal monsters.
It was equivalent to suppressing his mom’s appetite while indirectly slowing down her second evolution.
He took out the [Health-preserving Bag] he had obtained from the ghost temple, introduced its use, and said, “I’m planning to find a chance to have my mom eat it.”
After hearing this, Shen Zhiyi pondered and said, “You can give it a try.”
·
After being worn out by an instance, his clothes were wrinkled and stained with blood and sweat.
After setting a time with Shen Zhiyi, Zhou Q’ian took a taxi home alone, planning to change his clothes first.
The familiar, old, and shabby building was as dilapidated as ever. Zhou Q’ian pushed open the old unit door. As he was about to go upstairs, he suddenly took a few steps back.
He walked back to a large tree nearby and saw a cigarette butt in a pile of grass.
Although there was only one, it still raised his alarm. The entire residential complex didn’t have many buildings, and the occupancy rate was average. Zhou Q’ian knew the residents of this building like the back of his hand and was sure that no one smoked.
He half-squatted down. It should have rained in the past two days, and the soil was still wet.
There were no obvious shoe prints on the ground, but the blades of wild grass were listlessly clinging to the ground, a stark contrast to the vigorously growing grass next to them.
“Someone has stepped here, and for a not-so-short period of time.”
Zhou Q’ian stood in the same position and looked up.
From this angle, he could clearly see his own floor. The position was very hidden.
Zhou Q’ian lowered his eyes and sneered. After a moment, he went upstairs again.
Mother Zhou’s schedule had always been stable. She was about to go play mahjong. When she saw Zhou Q’ian, she opened her mouth and said, “You ran off for a few days without a word. Did you find a partner?”
This question was as natural as asking “what are you doing” or “have you eaten.” It had almost become her catchphrase.
Zhou Q’ian: “I found food.”
The woman’s hair seemed to be about to stand on end.
Zhou Q’ian quickly remedied the situation. “Mom, Shen Zhiyi said he’s treating you to dinner and has prepared a gift box.”
She was expressionless at the first half of the sentence, but upon hearing the latter half, Mother Zhou’s hair softened a little. “He’s a considerate child.”
It was rare to hear her satisfied with someone, but she didn’t say anything more.
Seeing this, Zhou Q’ian pondered what his mom’s criteria for choosing a daughter-in-law were.
So far, when his mom saw some NPCs, she would crazily consider them as potential daughters-in-law. But when faced with some existences that were clearly not normal people, she would be indifferent.
Zhou Q’ian had a vague guess: controllable, aggressive, or of a different species.
It seemed that his mom’s ideal daughter-in-law first had to be someone she could beat, and second, someone who could bring him danger or was convenient for a posthumous marriage.
“Hiss…”
Zhou Q’ian shook his head. Why on earth did he suddenly think of comparing Shen Zhiyi to the criteria for choosing a daughter-in-law?
It must be the lack of sleep again.
…
They had agreed to have dinner at seven. Zhou Q’ian did not go out immediately, but first stayed in his room to read some materials.
Yu Tong had already told him almost all the information that could be extracted. He didn’t see anything special either.
Before going out, Zhou Q’ian sent a message to Han Li: [Help me check Heshengkang Hospital, Polar Ocean World, and Longlong Hotel.]
Han Li replied quickly, obviously not in an instance: [Check what?]
Zhou Q’ian: [Whether there are any new instance entrances or supernatural events.]
Han Li’s information channels were quite broad, and she was good at summarizing. She should be proficient in this area. The two of them had also cooperated to trick the Red Hood before. Han Li was a smart person and knew the consequences of leaking this matter.
With leverage and fear, the possibility of having a second thought was basically extinguished.
Compared to the huge laboratory, using such a person was much more reassuring.
After everything was arranged, Zhou Q’ian changed into a light and comfortable sportswear and went out with his mother.
Forty minutes later, the mother and son stood outside a luxurious villa in the city center.
“What business is little Shen in?”
Mother Zhou could see the illegal buildings without a key, being immune to illusions to a certain extent.
Back then, You Ma had inexplicably thrown a peach blossom branch. Later, Zhou Q’ian had seen it in the game store. The price was high, and it was an illusion-type weapon. But it was directly broken by his mom with a light touch.
Zhou Q’ian pursed his lips.
In terms of martial strength, the Boss should be superior to his mother, but he was not immune to illusions.
Each had their own strengths.
Unfortunately, their spears were both aimed at him.
“Teaching.”
Mother Zhou smoothed her hair. “A teacher? It must be some fly-by-night school.”
Otherwise, how could he have earned so much money and gotten a big house?
Zhou Q’ian nodded emphatically.
Mom, you’re so right!!
With a key, they naturally just opened the door and went in.
The moment the door opened, a wave of fog immediately rushed in. Zhou Q’ian subconsciously tensed up, feeling like he was entering an instance.
A pair of large hands passed over his shoulders and closed the door.
Shen Zhiyi had appeared at some point. He first explained, “I went to intercept some fog to make the environment in the house feel a bit ethereal.”
“…” Zhou Q’ian sometimes admired him.
Not everyone could spout nonsense with a straight face while looking like an intellectual.
Shen Zhiyi first invited Mother Zhou to rest in the living room. The latter was very interested in the valuable art paintings in the corridor and was slowly admiring them.
In the fog, Zhou Q’ian smelled the smell of hot pot. It was quite pungent. There must have been a lot of chili peppers.
Shen Zhiyi glanced at him. The two of them walked to the dining table.
Glancing at the bubbling hot pot base, Shen Zhiyi said, “Throw the health-preserving bag in.”
“?”
“Otherwise, your auntie probably won’t eat it,” Shen Zhiyi said faintly. “I checked online. They say a good hot pot base can even make plastic taste good.”
With this fog, she could eat it all without anyone noticing.
Zhou Q’ian exclaimed, “Jinlian.”
A natural-born poisoner, he even considered the environment.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Zhou Q’ian calmly threw the health-preserving bag into the pot. “I was just praising your competence.”
A table of sumptuous dishes was quickly set up.
Mother Zhou’s love for hot pot was on the same level as her love for mahjong. Shen Zhiyi, by a strange twist of fate, had made her even more satisfied with this dinner.
Zhou Q’ian didn’t want to eat anything too spicy at night. He served himself a bowl of rice alone, planning to have some beef slices and mix it with an egg.
The rice was crystal clear. Mother Zhou praised that Shen Zhiyi’s rice cooker looked very capable.
“Let it join the table too.”
Shen Zhiyi pretended not to hear and used the public chopsticks to place the health-preserving bag in Mother Zhou’s bowl. “Please try this.”
The smile on Mother Zhou’s face faded a little. She lowered her eyes expressionlessly. “What is this?”
Zhou Q’ian’s heart immediately tensed up.
Shen Zhiyi: “Seafood.”
The health-preserving bag, after being cooked, looked a bit like cuttlefish, but upon closer inspection, the difference was still quite large.
“It’s mutated from radiation, half price, cheap.”
“Is that so,” Mother Zhou nodded. “I didn’t know you were so good at managing a household.”
Knowing how to be frugal.
Zhou Q’ian’s hand holding the chopsticks stiffened slightly.
How on earth do you guys carry on with such a ridiculous conversation?
Originally, Zhou Q’ian was worried about the material of the health-preserving bag, whether it could be bitten through, or if its effectiveness would be reduced after being bitten. But he underestimated his mother’s swallowing ability. She barely chewed, and like a python, directly swallowed the item that was many times thicker than her esophagus.
On the other side, Shen Zhiyi calmly poured water for the two of them.
He never doubted this family’s swallowing ability.
The scene of Zhou Q’ian swallowing a five-star fish eye raw was still “shining brightly” in his memory.
Just two minutes after the health-preserving bag went down, one second everyone was talking and laughing, and suddenly, Mother Zhou put down her chopsticks.
The bowl and chopsticks collided with a “ding.”
The sound wasn’t loud. Zhou Q’ian took a light breath and sat up straight, but didn’t dare to look up.
A cold gaze fell on him. Zhou Q’ian braced himself and carefully tried to raise his eyes. He happened to see his mother’s lips curl up in a faint smile, with not a trace of a smile in her eyes.
At this moment, the way she looked at him was somewhat like how she looked at the health-preserving bag she had just swallowed.
The suddenly stiff atmosphere lasted for a few seconds. Just as Zhou Q’ian’s spine was turning cold, Mother Zhou moved again.
“I’m full,” she stood up with a large movement. The scraping sound of the chair against the floor was sharp and piercing. After leaving a gloomy sentence, Mother Zhou sat in the living room to watch the news.
The TV volume was turned up very loud.
The news was reporting on which island had been submerged. Because of the fog, Zhou Q’ian couldn’t see the specific expression on his mother’s face, but her writhing hair was already declaring her displeasure. A few snakes were coiled at her feet, flicking their tongues.
“…Phew.”
Zhou Q’ian let out a long sigh of relief, his body slowly relaxing.
The situation was much better than he had imagined, so good that he wanted to sing a song about how only mothers are good in the world.
Appetite is the instinct of an alienated human. For him to forcibly stop this instinct, a beating would have been a light punishment.
Zhou Q’ian’s gaze returned to Shen Zhiyi. With his mother present, it was temporarily inconvenient for him to ask some of the things he wanted to know.
“It will get better gradually,” Shen Zhiyi said pointedly.
Mother Zhou leaving the table midway at least proved that swallowing the health-preserving bag raw did indeed give her some feeling of fullness.
Zhou Q’ian listlessly ate a few mouthfuls of rice.
When it came to the issue of appetite, he couldn’t help but think of the terrifying dream he had just had. In the dream, his mother was dying by a trash can, the Boss was also in a pool of blood, and there were many more corpses in the distance… they should be corpses.
It was a hellish scene. His intuition told him that there were no living people in that scene.
Later, the scene began to change drastically. The two of them were gnawing on something.
“Could that be the opportunity for them to turn into monsters?”
Something from the instance had flowed into the real world, just like the health-preserving bag, and had edible value?
The steam from the hot pot swirled around, but it failed to bring any color to Zhou Q’ian’s pale skin from fatigue. Shen Zhiyi slowed his tone and said, “Go back and rest well. We’ll talk about the rest when you wake up.”
Zhou Q’ian did not try to be strong and nodded slightly.
The injuries from the instance would heal after coming out, but some after-effects could not be eliminated in a short time. Just like the university student who had gone to the pharmacy before he disappeared, the side effects of [Cloud Crystal] probably hadn’t passed yet.
All the conversations with the ghost market manager seemed to have taken place in his mind. His head was still throbbing with a dull ache.
After a full meal, Zhou Q’ian’s mental state relaxed a little. His posture was not as tense as before. Just as he was about to take a sip of water to moisten his throat…
“Ding-a-ling.”
“Ding-a-ling!”
The phone had been switched from vibrate to ring earlier. It rang incessantly like a life-hastening talisman, so loud that it seemed like it would jump out of his pocket at any moment.
Zhou Q’ian’s body stiffened slightly. After a moment, he tilted his head back and sighed. “How am I supposed to rest now?”
How am I supposed to rest!
