Chapter 181.1 Frank Hospital
Wen Shi always saw himself differently than others did.
While Song Yan was mythologizing him, Wen Shi was meticulously examining a scarecrow with an unusual reddish hue, a skin tone he had never seen.
Wen Shi attempted to converse, “My soul isn’t in my body at the moment.”
He didn’t meet the straw demon’s prey standards.
Without any warning, the straw demon walked straight up to him. Even though its straw was dry, when they were face to face, the rough and messy body suddenly felt sticky.
The last time, the straw demon had spat a faceful of dust at him. As they got closer, Wen Shi automatically turned his face away, trying to avoid another spray.
However, in the next moment, his body froze as if it had been glued in place.
Wen Shi was briefly puzzled. He tried moving but his entire body was unresponsive, except for his eyeballs, which could move at some point.
Through the wall’s shadow, Wen Shi watched in disbelief as a piece of straw disappeared into his head.
Damn.
His lips couldn’t move either, and his expression became dazed. It felt like he had been carelessly thrown back in time.
【Please return to the hospital as soon as possible.】
【Special hint: Time flows at the same rate inside and outside of this scene.】
The more powerful the time reversal, the shorter the time difference between the two sides. But Wen Shi couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. He wanted to take a closer look at this straw demon, who could perfectly match the flow of time.
Everything before him vanished. As he rapidly descended, Wen Shi’s vision went dark.
The teleportation time and landing height were much smaller than expected. In less than a few seconds, Wen Shi found himself back on solid ground. He slowly opened his eyes, feeling a bit confused, and habitually assessed his current situation.
He was standing in a plaza, surrounded by people. Passersby didn’t seem surprised by the sudden appearance of a living person.
It was late at night, and the light from a projector behind him cast a glow on half of his face. Wen Shi turned around to see a massive screen displaying player numbers, all with much smaller digits than the ones he knew now.
“Virtual world?”
He had somehow been transported to the virtual world’s plaza. However, this plaza was slightly different from his memory. In the center stood a sculpture of a book, giving off a solemn and dignified vibe.
The players bustling about were used to this layout and didn’t pay much attention to the sculpture. But Wen Shi immediately thought of the “Bible.” At this time, the virtual world should still be themed around the Ten Commandments.
If he had truly gone back to that time period, wouldn’t it mean…
“As the strongest new player, you can use your influence to unite everyone. Why would you stand by and watch us newbies get bullied by the old players?”
Following the voice, Wen Shi glanced over, ignoring the person posing the question. The plaza had excellent nighttime lighting, allowing him to clearly see a familiar handsome face. “Fa…”
Wen Shi almost blurted it out, but he quickly restrained himself. When the man glanced in his direction, Wen Shi promptly hid behind the sculpture.
Altering the past was the biggest taboo during time rewinds. Wen Shi was sure they had never met before his foster father took him in.
When he grew up, he often heard the latter mutter, “The old man downstairs used to say that pretty kids become ugly when they grow up. Isn’t that nonsense? My kid just keeps getting better-looking.”
It was like a perfect scale-up.
If his foster father had any memory of this face, he would surely mention it.
The newbie kept on voicing out their accusations.
Wen Shi hid behind the sculpture and smirked. The strongest newbie would only attract countless people coveting his wealth, and he had many troubles to deal with. Where would he have the time to play the savior?
In the game, developing a mode of cooperation between new and old players was challenging. The only way to break free from this predicament was to complete skill quests. As long as one gained skills, their situation could be improved.
Later, Wen Shi learned from the “Virtual World Guide” that skill quests would intensify the difficulty, but players could voluntarily choose to give up.
Only he had no option to refuse.
“You dare to come and lecture me, probably because you think I have good character and won’t hold a grudge, right?”
The man’s voice was somewhat low but deep and clean, giving a very reassuring feeling.
The newbie’s face turned slightly unpleasant, and in the end, he only managed to squeeze out three words, “You have changed.”
They were part of the same batch of players when they first entered the game. The man used to be quite talkative back then. He even willingly helped several players, including himself. It was unexpected to see him become so ruthless now.
“My character is decent,” the man said, a cold glint in the corner of his eyes, “but my temper isn’t great.”
The newbie wanted to say a few more words, but under that icy gaze, he couldn’t bring himself to speak again, even as the man strode past him.
Wen Shi quietly followed behind.
The virtual world, usually shrouded in mist, was now covered in pristine white snow. Wen Shi shivered from the cold and suspected that every time the game changed its theme, the virtual world’s season switched too.
He took out his【Small Cloak】. Today’s invisibility time had been depleted while defeating A’Ao, leaving only its warmth and aura-concealing functions.
Wen Shi overheard the man muttering to himself as he walked, “Monsters are easier to deal with than people.”
Wen Shi fell silent for a moment. His foster father didn’t have many friends and never actively made connections. In his words, the thought of possibly departing from this world at any moment made him reluctant to interact with others, as it would only bring more sorrow.
Now it seemed that meeting with all kinds of people in the game was also a reason.
There were dedicated rental places in the virtual world, but they weren’t cheap.
The man had rented a fairly standard apartment with mediocre security. Wen Shi didn’t dare to get too close. He only confirmed the room number through the slightly trembling wooden door once he heard it close.
Wen Shi began to ponder. The time rewind point wouldn’t be set at this moment without a reason. If he wanted to leave, he would have to make a breakthrough with his foster father, but he couldn’t approach him with his current appearance.
Disguise?
After disguising himself, what reasons should he use to get closer? He would need to find the right opportunity and create a fictional identity, among other things.
Finally, Wen Shi made a bold attempt.
He wasn’t sure if he could properly shapeshift in the virtual world. His transformed body didn’t have active attack capabilities, but maybe it would work?
“Hopefully, there are no players with complete transformation abilities among the current players…” Otherwise, his player identity would be instantly exposed.
Knock, knock.
Claws tapped the door.
The man inside, who was about to pour water, opened the door. His gaze dropped from mid-air to his feet, where a black cat in a cloak was looking up at him.
The cloak had gained an extra attribute after its last evolution, changing its size based on the user’s condition. Now, it was quite suitable for the small black cat. There were no living creatures like cats or dogs in the virtual world, so the appearance of this creature was far from normal.
The man coldly shut the door.
Wen Shi calmly lay in the corridor.
In less than three seconds, the door opened again. The man took out a detection item, scanned around to ensure there were no explosives or listening devices, glanced left and right, and then scooped up the black cat. “Dibs.”
“……”
Wen Shi smoothly entered the room.
“Whoever sent you here, you better stay like this,” the man said as he poured water. “You look cute, it might keep me from wanting to harm you.”
Wen Shi understood why his foster father brought him in. Keeping an unknown source of danger close at hand meant it was at least controllable.
The man turned to look at him. “A pet should have a name. You can choose one.”
There were many items in the room, and the man allowed him to pick one.
Wen Shi wasn’t falling for this. When choosing something, one’s subconscious would tend to pick items related to themselves. For example, he would definitely choose a clock. Guiding him in this way, it wouldn’t be surprising if his true name was eventually revealed someday.
Pretty clever.
The man raised an eyebrow. A fighting pet? Some players did have fighting pets, but it was unlikely that someone would send one to monitor him. Judging by its exterior, it couldn’t be a robot either. The latter point needed further confirmation.
“I heard that cats need to be neutered.”
The clear cat eyes showed no signs of nervousness. The black cat even yawned out of boredom.
Never challenge the kitty in its area of expertise.
Seeing this, the man squinted his eyes. It was precisely this kind of arrogant laziness that suited him so well.
The man was neither overly modest nor arrogant. He tossed something resembling a collar, which, upon landing, turned into a circle with a diameter of about two meters. If the black cat ventured out of this area, he would receive a notification.
Items that could function in the virtual world were rare. Wen Shi was curious and contemplated using his claws to touch it but ultimately refrained.
With everything set up, the man went to the inner room, turned off the lights, and went to sleep. Before that, Wen Shi checked the time on the clock. It was 12:20 midnight, indeed not much different from the time in the instance.
The apartment fell into complete silence.
Wen Shi used the cloak as a small blanket and crawled into it to lie down. He remained vigilant for about an hour, but nothing happened.
No monsters, demons, thieves, or assassins… none of them existed. Everything seemed as Patient 51 had said: his quest wasn’t difficult. He just had to enjoy the experience.
“The last meal of a death row inmate.” His furry head buried into the cloak, his big eyes closing.
Eating wasn’t dangerous. The real danger lay in that final gunshot on the execution grounds. The ticking of the clock continued to sound in his ears, and the black cat’s paw twitched as he contemplated when that final shot would come his way.
Wen Shi had always been a good listener.
He decided to heed Patient 51’s advice. When the sun rose again the next day, Wen Shi didn’t actively search for clues.
The man had no plans to exit the game today and prepared two breakfasts. Meanwhile, Wen Shi continuously extended the duration of his transformation body. This journey back in time could be considered a burning though points.
When the man was reading a book, the black cat would sit by the window lost in daydreams. When the man washed dishes, the black cat would hand him a dishcloth. When the evening sun set, the man suddenly lifted the black cat by the scruff of its neck and looked into its heterochromatic eyes. “I suddenly have some suspicion that you were sent here to assassinate me.”
He pondered for a moment. “The look in your eyes, it seems a bit sad.”
When the black cat hung its head, it appeared somewhat dispirited.
It was a bit like a child who had been running around outside, feeling fine no matter how many tumbles they took, but upon returning home and seeing their parents or elders, they inexplicably felt vulnerable.
Time passed swiftly, and it was nearing midnight.
Wen Shi occasionally glanced at the wall clock. Jian Qingrong’s delaying tactics were evidently quite successful. He was still unharmed up to this point, which indicated that Patient 51 was still in the hospital playing the “cat-and-mouse” game.
If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))
