Chapter 91: Madness (Part One)

With a furious roar, Chen Yijin joined the army of the night's madness, alongside the dog Lezi, who enjoyed the chaos from the sidelines, becoming an additional conspicuous sight in the neighborhood.

It was only after joining the night's brigade of madness that they discovered the peaceful neighborhood was actually a dance of demons, filled with the afflicted.

In the corridor, Chen Yijin wielding his crimson great axe, spotted the tall beauty from last midnight, draped in a black cloak, scouring for the faithless man to chop.

The chainsaw maniac rushing down from the fourth floor, after comparing his chainsaw with Chen Yijin's axe and Dog Lezi's fangs, wisely adjusted his direction to target other residents instead, only stopping his laughter when terrified screams emerged.

Chen Yijin thought these madmen were utterly lacking in elegance.

And they were irrational, without any clear purpose.

Unlike him, he decided to politely knock on each door, from the top floor down, greeting each occupant.

So, he first arrived at the top floor, the sixth floor.

Out of five units per floor, four had their doors wide open, evidently housing the afflicted.

But one door was tightly shut, appearing to be normal.

Only by finding the sole unafflicted person could the world quest be initiated.

Chen Yijin gently knocked on the door: “Hello, is anyone there?”

From inside the door: “......”

“I'm not sick, nor here to kill anyone. Just wanted to ask a question.”

From inside the door: "......"

"Please recite the multiplication table of nine, the periodic table of elements, the English alphabet song, or three poems you are most familiar with, rationally."

Chen Yijin's voice was elegantly polite, "Any of these options is acceptable, as people tend to have their strengths and weaknesses. We can't just use one test to determine if someone is sick."

Dog Lezi, who was initially quite pleased: "......"

The person inside: "......"

Dog Lezi incredulously lifted his head, looking at his Sweet Gold, thinking thankfully he's hearing this now when there's still time to quickly brush up on these things from the recesses of his memory.

But he did not agree with using this method to determine if someone was sick because, if asked, he, Dog Lezi, wouldn't know any.

Snorting, even if he was as forgetful as a sieve, he would stand tall and proud.

However, the person inside clearly had no intention of responding. Chen Yijin knocked twice more on the door and, not receiving an answer, slowly curled his lips into a smile.

At that moment, someone from the fifth floor, dirty and bloodied, looking like a maniac, fixed a death stare on Chen Yijin.

It seemed as if they would charge at him in the next second, but in the second before, Golden Fish Head had already raised his crimson axe and fiercely slammed it against the opposite door.

Bang!

The bang not only elicited a scream from inside the house but also made the blood-soaked maniac who was about to pounce shudder and immediately turn tail and run.

It seems he is no match for this Golden Fish Head lunatic; it's best not to linger here any longer.

Then, from inside the house, came a stammering, stumbling recitation of the multiplication tables.

After finishing, the Golden Fish Head outside nodded, "Okay, you've successfully proven yourself. Although 7 times 7 is 49, not 46, I'll forgive you."

After speaking, Chen Yijin dragged his axe downstairs, leaving the person inside gasping for air.

Terrifying, how did another sick individual appear today?

Afterwards, on floors five to one, Chen Yijin went from door to door, asking each household to prove they were not ill. He spent the entire night verifying that only twelve people in three buildings remained rational and disease-free through the night.

Among them was someone who looked very much like Yao Yan.

He also fought several maniacs with axes, chainsaws, and knives, helping them to "clear their minds."

Only when it was almost dawn did Chen Yijin return to his room to catch a brief rest.

Before sleeping, he planned to focus on observing those twelve individuals the next day.

With swift action, he was sure he could identify the truly healthy individual within two or three days.

Just need to be careful not to get infected by "the disease" during the day.

However, when Chen Yijin woke up early on the third day, something felt off.

"Woof?" Dog Lezi licked Chen Yijin awake with its large head.

Chen Yijin felt that the dog wasn't very hygienic, so he quickly got out of bed to wash his face.

But after washing his face and still not feeling quite clean, he frowned and washed it a second and third time.

Only after his face felt slightly sore from washing did Chen Yijin finally feel clean and relieved.

Then, he felt hungry and prepared to eat breakfast.

However, the room was just too dirty, with blood stains, clutter everywhere, a foul odor, and dog smell.

Chen Yijin frowned at Dog Lezi.

"…I'll bathe you later. Stand on the balcony for now, don't come in, I'm going to mop the floor."

Dog Lezi narrowed its deep blue eyes.

It trotted to the balcony, sitting down to watch Chen Yijin start a major cleanup.

First dusting the furniture, then furiously mopping the floor to remove blood stains, and even feeling that the walls and ceiling were dirty, he cleaned the entire house wearing a mask.

Then he started washing dishes, utensils, and cleaning the kitchen, spending three hours in the bathroom before coming out.

Dog Lezi just watched as its Sweet Gold spent from six in the morning till eleven, dedicating the entire morning to cleaning the house, and then not eating anything.

The white dog lay on the balcony and pulled a face, reflecting on the sick world around it, truly sick indeed.

Chen Yijin emerged from the bathroom after a three-hour bath, appearing a shade paler and noticeably weaker.

Damp all over, he sat on the sofa wrapped in a towel, staring out the window in a daze.

Something felt off.

Somewhat uncomfortable.

He had finally cleaned himself and the house looked much cleaner, so why did he still feel uneasy?

The morning sun was nice.

It warmed his skin, but he still wasn’t happy.

Hmm, he was hungry.

Ah, he hadn’t had breakfast or lunch yet.

So, he took out his favorite delicacies from his storage ring, but despite the table being laden with tasty food, he found himself devoid of any desire to eat.

Chen Yijin: "..."

No desire to eat, how dull.

Isn’t eating a daily routine?

Missing one meal won’t kill him.

Might as well go to sleep; feeling a bit tired.

Chen Yijin exhaled deeply and turned to lie down on the sofa.

Until the door was knocked.

"Bro Chen! No inspections in the complex today. But we’re all required to leave for the square safety zone by tonight."

"I came to tell you, the safety zone will be completely sealed off before six o’clock tonight. Those inside can’t come out, and those outside can’t get in."

"Bro Chen, you need to make a decision! You only have one chance to choose."

The voice seemed to be that of the girl student next door.

Her knocking and shouting were loud, but to Chen Yijin's ears, they sounded somewhat distant.

As if muffled by something.

"Bro Chen? Did you hear me?"

Chen Yijin lay on the sofa, his eyes vacant: "Got it."

He didn't realize his own voice had become weak.

Very faint.

The knocking faded after two or three minutes.

Chen Yijin fell asleep on the sofa.

Until something warm started to lick his eyes, lips, neck…

He suddenly opened his eyes and slapped away.

"Pervert! Shut up!!"

"Awo?"

Dog Lezi tilted his head, showing his canine teeth.

Chen Yijin looked at the dog's head and felt an itch to slap it again, but then slowly thought, why bother with a dog when he could just wash up and sleep...

Is it already four in the afternoon?

Seems like there was something important he needed to do but hadn't.

Forget it, doesn't matter, it's all so pointless anyway.

Life is just like that... boring.

After all, no matter what happens in between, in the end, we all die.

All roads lead to the same destination; why struggle?

Chen Jin's world began to fade, colors washed out, and sounds drifting away.

He wanted to lie down again.

Before lying down, he saw Le Yue standing by his side, neither wagging its tail nor acting obsequiously but looking at him with calm, deep-blue eyes in a way that didn't resemble a dog at all.

Like a deity looking down on an ant from high above.

He was never just a dog.

Perhaps he was always a divine being.

What he watched over... was an ant unable to defy fate.

He was watching over himself.

Chen Jin closed his eyes.

Le Yue tilted its head amusingly.

Should he bite Chen Yijin's neck now, or wait until he’s dead to bite his soul?

Humans are truly fascinating creatures; monstrous beasts can't bring them down, yet a minor ailment of unhappiness can torment them to lifelessness.

He doesn't quite like the sickly Chen Yijin.

It feels not at all sweet, even somewhat unpleasant to the taste.

Perhaps seeking only the soul isn't ideal; maybe... he should save him this time.

If unhappiness is the problem, isn’t that just a bite away, aow?!

Just as Lezi opened its jaws wide, ready to bite down on Chen Yijin's chest, a slender, somewhat pale hand suddenly shot out, gripping the dog’s mouth.

A sinister voice from the youth with closed eyes came through: "Dog Lezi, where were you planning to bite me?"

“……”

"I’m already in a bad mood, try biting me, why don’t you?!"

“……”

The white dog's tail wagged, and its ears twitched.

Chen Yijin suddenly sat up from the sofa, stuffed a pork bun into his mouth, grabbed his bedding roll, and dashed out.

It's 5:30 PM now; he needs to enter the central square's safe zone by six.

Even now, he's afflicted with three negative disease buffs.

Anxiety, compulsion, depression.

All at a primary level.

Suppressing that discomfort and unhappiness bubbling up from his heart, he forces a smile and sprints forward.

"Aow?"

Oh, all good now?

Chen Yijin pats the dog's head: "Not too bad."

"I'm pretty good at self-regulation."

Chen Yijin offers a smile.

After all, even a mute adored by thousands must possess a strong heart.

He might as well have a heart of diamond and steel.