Chapter 246: Strange Arrival 13
“Hmm, yesterday I tasted a rare delicacy.”
Lu Qingyuan’s voice was gentle, the last two words softly exhaled from his tongue, carrying an imperceptible hint of lingering affection.
“That’s a shame, I didn’t come over yesterday.”
If she had known she’d be scared on the way back, she should have shamelessly stayed at Lu Qingyuan’s place.
“But Teacher Lu, do you know why ‘that’ thing keeps targeting me?”
Chu Yian couldn’t understand.
Some of the strange entities she had encountered before were easily dismissed if she pretended not to see them. But why did the paper-clothed entity keep pestering her?
Hearing this, Lu Qingyuan helped her analyze: “Generally speaking, a strange entity encountered by chance, as you said, disappears quickly. Could it be that you have some connection with this strange entity, or perhaps you offended someone close to it?”
“That’s impossible.”
Not to mention her kind nature, she never actively provokes anyone.
And she had only been in this game world for eight days, two-thirds of which she spent holed up at home. Who could she have offended?
“Are you sure there’s really no one?”
Lu Qingyuan took a sip of tea, watching her at his leisure.
Chu Yian was stunned.
She thought about it more carefully, “It seems… I really did offend someone.”
—The pawnshop owner.
She had sold Grandpa Treasure Box more than once, always managing to get something for nothing. Chu Yian usually did bad things with the mindset that this was just a game, and the law couldn’t punish her.
Walk by the river often enough, and you’re bound to get your shoes wet. The law couldn’t punish her, but strange entities could.
Chu Yian stammered out the bad things she had done, her voice growing softer towards the end, with no excuses, only guilt.
Lu Qingyuan listened, then stared at her for a while, “You’re quite bold, little swindler.”
“Will you call the police?”
Chu Yian suddenly remembered that Teacher Lu was now a law-abiding citizen. Why did she tell him about the bad things she’d done?
“No, because I’m a big swindler.”
Lu Qingyuan said this with a knowing look, unable to resist pinching her cheeks, which were puffed out from eating, “A big swindler won’t let a little swindler be taken away.”
Chu Yian paused, feeling that Teacher Lu’s last two sentences were a bit cheesy.
But these were minor details, the important thing was, “If I now return the money to the pawnshop owner I swindled, will this strange entity stop following me?”
“What do you think?”
Lu Qingyuan retorted.
She thought the possibility wasn’t particularly high. There were only two days left anyway, and she could ensure her safety by staying with Teacher Lu.
Play it safe, don’t take risks.
Chu Yian felt that being a slacker who just ate and waited to clear the game was pretty good.
Having decided, Chu Yian resolved to be Teacher Lu’s shadow for the last two days. Wherever he was, she would be, eating and drinking well, just like a vacation.
Teacher Lu even brought a projector, and she spent her days reading, watching TV, and eating delicious food—it couldn’t be more wonderful.
She lay on the sofa, changing the channel after watching a replay of the World Cup.
“Next, we report a piece of social news: A middle-aged couple caused a commotion at Ren’ai Hospital, claiming their son disappeared at the Hospital. According to investigations, the middle-aged couple has no son, only a daughter. Currently, the middle-aged couple has been diagnosed by doctors as mentally unstable and will be sent to Fourth City Hospital for examination…”
Ren’ai Hospital?
Chu Yian found the name a bit familiar, “Teacher Lu, the place you took me for treatment before was also called Ren’ai Hospital, right?”
“Yes, what’s wrong?”
Lu Qingyuan walked out of the kitchen upon hearing this, his gaze falling on the news report, “Did someone go missing at Ren’ai Hospital?”
“No. It’s a couple suffering from delusions, demanding their son from the Hospital.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a question suddenly came to mind, “Teacher Lu, how do you think ‘that’ thing kills people?”
Now, with strange entities invading.
Logically speaking, there are many strange entities, and certainly many people who can see them. So, many people must be dying every day. In a situation where the number of deaths exceeds the normal, why haven’t the people around them noticed, and why haven’t those in power noticed?
Everyone acted as if nothing was wrong.
“Do they kill people by making them silently disappear from this world, and then erasing all traces of that person’s existence?”
Chu Yian suddenly thought of this possibility, causing Lu Qingyuan, who had returned to the kitchen, to pause.
This living human really is… quick-witted.
Chu Yian only had this thought and didn’t intend to verify it.
After lunch, she followed Lu Qingyuan into the study.
He seemed to always work from home, spending four hours daily processing things on his computer. Chu Yian had a book about strange entities on her lap, but her gaze was fixed on her phone.
“Big Chu, I found a group.”
“It’s a group chat about strange entities. I found many players like us in there (group link).”
Chu Yian looked at the message from Zhu Shen and clicked on the link he sent.
It really was a group, and she joined directly upon clicking.
The group name was [Mutual Aid in a World Full of GY – Group 34], and there were already over a thousand people in it. Seeing the numbering, Chu Yian guessed there might be at least 33 other such groups.
The information refreshed very quickly inside.
“Please, I want to clear the game: Oh my god, I’m offering a hefty reward for a way to kill strange entities!”
“Playing in the world: Did you see today’s news, about Ren’ai Hospital? I’m sure it was killed by a strange entity.”
“Amitabha: I went to the temple and got an amulet, hoping it will protect me.”
“Peerless Beauty: What’s the use of a fake amulet? Might as well ask for a big shot to carry me online. Please, big shot, carry me! Male big shot, female big shot, anyone is fine. I am a 25-year-old young man with looks and a good physique, I accept PY transactions, can repay with my body.”
…It really is a player base camp.
Chu Yian looked at the bizarre content, especially the ID named Peerless Beauty—she glanced at it twice, finding it quite odd.
However, seeing other players made Chu Yian feel a bit of familiarity.
She generously shared a piece of information she was certain of.
“Being a slacker this round: The strange entities in this round of the game are unkillable. Don’t think about fighting back; focus on how to avoid them, that’s the key to survival. Only two days left; just hang in there, and victory is yours.”
She shared real information, but real information isn’t always believed.
“Please, I want to clear the game: Not necessarily. Even the hunters in hide-and-seek games can be killed, so strange entities should also have a way to be killed. As the saying goes, wealth comes from danger; who doesn’t want to be Huang Fei Hu once?”
“Flying Pig God: His name is Huang Fei Hu, thank you.”
“Ba La La: Whatever his name is, judging from the hide-and-seek game, counter-killing strange entities does seem to have a certain feasibility.”
