Chapter 90: Illness

Chapter 90: Illness

Chen Jinkin never expected that Yuezi would meet him again in such an unhuman form.

This shows how bold Yuezi is and how highly he thinks of himself, thinking a likable white dog appearance could resolve everything.

Initially, Chen Jinkin coldly chuckled in anger, then slowly curled his lips into a captivating smile towards the big white dog sneakily glancing at him and said, "Come~"

Dog Yuezi instinctively shook his tail that resembled a broom and involuntarily took a step forward with his front paws.

But his wild instincts made him stop cautiously.

"...Woof?" If I come over, do you promise not to hit me?

Chen Jinkin's smile grew more enchanting: "It really hurts to hear you say that. How could I possibly hit someone as cute as you? Look at your glossy fur, it must feel so good to touch, right?"

Dog Yuezi immediately wagged joyfully: "Woof!"

Absolutely! My fur is as smooth as it gets! Even Rejoice and Head & Shoulders can't compete! Pantene couldn't achieve this either!

Dog Yuezi, full of confidence in his fur, happily dashed towards Chen Jinkin.

He was hoping for a sweet embrace from his beloved Chen and a thorough petting session.

However, just as he approached Chen Jinkin, he was caught by the ear, turning his whole world upside down.

"Woof woof woof, what the heck?!"

What happened to petting? Why switch to ear-tugging?! It was so shocking he almost spoke human language!

Chen Jinkin twisted the dog's ear 180 degrees, then slapped the white dog's mouth several times with his hand.

Each slap was so forceful that it made the nearby residents and exiles shudder, indicating the strength behind them.

"Geez, this new guy seems a bit hot-headed..."

"Right, right, Da Bai is so cute, he just nibbled him lightly, how could he hit him like that!"

"Da Bai is a good dog that has protected us at night!"

"Ah, does he have a temper disorder?"

"The more I look, the more it seems..."

"Me too!"

As a third resident started glaring at Chen Jinkin with hostility, Chen scoffed and stopped slapping Yuezi, also tidying his messy ears and the fur on his head.

The neighbor girl, a student, came over, clearly disapproving, "Chen, how could you treat Da Bai like this? Da Bai is our neighborhood's guardian deity!"

Saying so, she lovingly took out a meat sausage from her pocket, eagerly unwrapping it and offering it to the big white dog, "Da Bai, this is a pure meat sausage! My treasured goodie. Here, it's for you!"

Then, the student witnessed a perfectly synchronized reaction from both man and dog—

Both displayed disdain on their faces, with the man crossing his arms and laughing coldly, while the dog pulled back its paws and turned its head away without mercy.

Student Zhang Jing: "..."

Why is this dog so ungrateful?

Before she could recover from the rejection, she saw Da Bai turn around, circle Chen Jinkin, and then gently lick the handsome neighbor's fingers with its tongue.

Student Zhang Jing: "............"

What a man-pleasing bootlicker of a dog!

How could such a dog possibly be the guardian deity of the neighborhood!

The student left in a huff, rolling her eyes and taking her sausage with her.

Handsome Jin was left to disdainfully push away Da Bai, who then happily snuggled up again.

Eventually, Chen Jinkin couldn't help but laugh, twisting Yuezi's ear again, though this time he didn't go as far as to tug the fur 180 degrees.

Regardless, Yuezi in his non-human form was somewhat cuter than his human guise.

By then, Xiao Yao had finished distributing bread and mineral water, and the remaining 110 or so people in the neighborhood had started to quietly eat lunch.

However, the two exiles he had wanted to stop, one violent and the other depressive, were now taken away for another inspection, predictably transitioning from being uninfected to infected nuisances.

The doctors in protective suits didn't care that people were still eating, surrounding the two exiles and using disinfectant sprays to methodically eliminate them, effectively eradicating the source of infection.

Chen Jinkin pursed his lips, tugging on Yuezi's ear.

Earning a loving lick from the dog-lover.

He disdainfully wiped away the drool.

He was now pondering what "illness" actually is, and how many different types there are.

Before entering Bai Yue City, Xiao Yan once told him that the world of "illness" would eventually turn into a desolate, terrifying human hell, a world without solutions, where one wouldn't even know how they might die.

So even though he had almost king-level strength, he still died silently in that world.

Before entering, he had imagined this world to be desolate or overrun by zombies. Yet, the reality of this tranquil, ordinary, locked-down neighborhood was far from it.

The greatest danger seemed to be the sick wandering at night.

So… what truly is the danger of this world? How could it kill him without him even noticing?

“I can't take it anymore! Doctors, come deal with her! She definitely has a disorder! She's used up an entire pack of wet wipes to clean her hands dozens of times in a short period! Isn't this OCD? Isn't this germophobia? Who uses up a pack of wet wipes in five minutes?!”

Suddenly, a resident, unable to bear any longer, pointed at the woman beside him who paused in her hand-wiping, her face a mix of confusion and disbelief looking at the man.

“Husband?”

“Don't call me your husband! Don't you realize you're sick?! Do you want to infect me with your terrible disease?! Oh god, I can't even imagine myself obsessively using wet wipes all day! Quick! Treat her! And if she can't be cured, just eliminate her!”

The woman looked at her hands whitened from wiping, then at the irate man, sighed resignedly, and smiled weakly, “Alright. I always knew this day would come. None of us can escape it.”

“But, husband, you're picky with food. Without my cooking, you might not eat well. I'll go for treatment, but don't wander around tonight. Even if you're very hungry, don't. Or you'll be treated as a patient too.”

She smiled at her shocked and angry husband while continuing to wipe her hands and gently patted his chest, “I'll wait for you ahead.”

The man stepped back dramatically, “Who asked you to wait for me! I will never be sick!!”

His final shout was desperate, as if volume could prove something.

Chen Jinkin laughed outright at the man's behavior, witnessing yet another of the hundred faces of a scoundrel.

Then, a sense of anger and irritability uncontrollably arose in his heart, the urge to kick that man flying or simply wishing him dead surged.

"Ah..."

"Ao?"

Chen Jinkin gently rubbed Da Bai's fluffy head, his expression growing serious, "I think I know... what the greatest danger of this world is. This could be quite troublesome."

The fur in his hands was smooth and soft, inadvertently soothing his mood. Chen Jinkin slowly exhaled, "I was a bit irritable just now, that's not good."

"...sigh, this isn't good at all."

Realizing his barely controllable irritability, Chen Jinkin sighed twice in quick succession, pausing as he stroked the dog's head.

Attempting to smile on his third sigh, he admitted, "Now, I seem a bit despondent."

In a short time, he was influenced by two inexplicable negative emotions, nearly missing such changes in himself.

So, in this world, "illnesses" can be contagious, right?

Whether it's colds and fevers with high contagion that can harm the body or mental "illnesses" like irritability, depression, and OCD, all can be contagious.

Physical viruses can be detected and treated with medication.

But how about mental illnesses? How can they be quickly cured and eradicated?

This indeed feels a bit unsolvable.

Chen Jinkin pondered and said to himself, "I will never be disheartened."

His energy value didn't decrease at all, which didn't surprise Chen Jinkin in the slightest.

It was an ineffective incantation because his energy wasn't sufficient to keep him forever undiscouraged.

He was merely testing the waters.

"Then, my mood today has been very calm."

Instantly, Chen Jinkin noticed his energy value decreased by one-fiftieth.

He rarely showed a look of surprise.

It's not like when he first entered the exile realm; one-fiftieth of his current energy could easily kill an ordinary high-level devourer.

And all he did was utter a single sentence.

"...Ha."

It immediately reminded him of that world where Le Zi (Da Bai) was present, where uttering just one sentence had drained more than half of his energy.

The higher the level, the more shameless it gets, it seems.

However, having calmed down, Chen Jinkin reflected on his recent state, probably having been influenced by "irritability," "depression," "compulsion," and even... "misandry."

Or to say, mild psychological disorders.

And these negative emotions had never appeared before he left his small dwelling.

"Big Brother Chen, it's almost 2 o'clock now, and everyone is tired. The district chief suggests letting everyone go home to rest. Will you be going back?"

Chen Jinkin looked at the female student who was smiling warmly at him, realizing there wasn't a hint of joy in her eyes.

"Going back would mean today was all for nothing, right?" Chen Jinkin asked.

The female student displayed a clearly forced smile: "There's nothing we can do about it... Ah, after all, diseases are hard to cure, but we will definitely overcome this dreadful disease eventually!"

Chen Jinkin: "Oh."

Girl, you're so despondent you could grow mushrooms.

So, this female student might very well be suffering from depression.

That leaves the middle-aged office worker among my four neighbors, who is likely to fly into a rage at the drop of a hat.

Meaning, by simply descending the stairs with these four neighbors, I've been infected with four types of mild mental disorders...

Chen Jinkin thought this and looked around at the hundred-plus residents of the community with a ghastly pale face.

Instantly, the calm buff he had applied to himself earlier was shattered.

No wonder Yao Yan had no clue how he died.

Suddenly contracting over a hundred mental illnesses, it's a mystery how a sane person would die!

"Hey, brother, why do you suddenly look so upset?" The young man with braids patted Chen Yijin's shoulder with concern.

Chen Yijin chuckled: "Mind your own business about the affairs of the God of Speech."

Braided Youth: ????

Another one gone mad?!

That evening, as Chen Yijin waited for the night in his room, the expression he wore while staring out the window even made the accompanying dog, Lezi, feel somewhat uneasy.

The moment it turned completely dark, Chen Yijin suddenly smiled, donned a golden fish headgear, and drew his energy into a blood-red great axe.

Holding the axe, he let out a cold laugh: "Hehehehehe!"

Lezi, the dog that followed: "..." It barely could muster a laugh.

"Hehehe!"

As Chen Yijin, wearing the golden fish headgear and holding the blood-red great axe, laughed for the second time, his door was banged on again.

From outside, an eerie old man's voice: "Hehehe... little bunny, sweet bunny... open the door, will ya?!"

The door was kicked open by someone in a golden fish headgear. The old man, who had turned into a long-necked, big-eyed peeping monster, was struck again by the door. As he was about to roar in anger, his huge eyes caught sight of the monstrous figure with a head turned into a golden dead fish, wielding a blood-red great axe!

"You, you, you! Gaah! You, you, you!"

The peeping old man couldn't help but scream, "How did you turn into this? Ah—"

Then, his two large eyes were directly smashed by the blood axe wielded by Brother Fish Head, whose sinister voice was laced with a terrifying laugh. Under the shocked gaze of the monster in the hallway and the dog Lezi inside the room, he raised his bloody axe and roared:

"Come on! Isn't it just going mad? As if nobody else can do it!"

These days, who doesn't harbor a grave illness within, who can't just go mad at any moment?

Not saying I can't beat them, but I can certainly join in!

And maybe I can knock on every door along the way, to see which room holds a little white rabbit, the truly unafflicted savior.

Mad Gold: Hmph.

Dog Lezi slowly grinned, howling as it transformed into a grey big black wolf, joining the nocturnal frenzy.