Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Liao Zhiqiu noticed Pang Chengyu next to him, but he didn't show any particular attitude, and very naturally chose to ignore him.

Because there was literally no one in his eyes—with no emotional connotation intended.

It wasn't until Bai Fuling turned and spoke to Pang Chengyu that Liao Zhiqiu glanced at Pang Chengyu and asked Bai Fuling, "This is your..."

Bai Fuling: "Friend."

Liao Zhiqiu: "Servant?"

They answered at the same time, and the air fell silent for a second.

"Friend?" Liao Zhiqiu shifted his gaze to Pang Chengyu. He stared for a moment before slowly remarking, "This looks... like a person."

Pang Chengyu: "How dare you say I'm not a person! ...Uh, wait."

The other guy had said he *was* a person. Pang Chengyu understood that. But the way he said it just now didn't sound very friendly; he thought he was being insulted as not human!

Bai Fuling understood Liao Zhiqiu's meaning.

He knew that for Liao Zhiqiu, a top-tier animal fixation sufferer, remarks like "is a person" or "seems like a person" were not compliments.

To promote team harmony and avoid NPC infighting, Bai Fuling added, "Oh, it's fine. He's a pseudo-human, Pang Chengyu."

Liao Zhiqiu's cognitive disorder had its own criteria for judgment. If Bai Fuling directly called the golden-haired NPC some kind of animal, he figured it probably wouldn't register.

So he used a different term. Compared to "small animal," the scope of "[pseudo-human]" was much broader.

At Bai Fuling's words, Pang Chengyu's eyes widened: Huh?? How did his image as a reliable teammate in the transfer student's mind suddenly become "pseudo-human" QAQ!

But the super-powered transfer student must have his reasons for saying this... probably because of his reckless rope-climbing act earlier.

To shoulder the banner of rebellion against the outdated school rules and discipline, one needed a more stable mindset and more mature decision-making. Presumably, the transfer student was subtly reminding him of this. Pang Chengyu felt deeply apologetic.

Upon hearing Bai Fuling's words, Liao Zhiqiu's originally indifferent expression softened considerably. He looked at Pang Chengyu, his eyes finally acknowledging his presence, albeit barely.

"Oh. Pseudo-human." Liao Zhiqiu nodded. "Good."

But he didn't share any Cat Stick with Pang Chengyu.

"Aren't you celebrating the kitten's birthday today? Where are we going?" Bai Fuling steered the conversation back to the task, not forgetting the main objective for the day. As long as he could see where this so-called kitten was and whether it was still alive today, the task would make significant progress.

"You want to come along?" Liao Zhiqiu's expression faltered slightly upon hearing this.

"Can't I?" Bai Fuling was inwardly surprised. The NPC was asking back; did he need to accept a second-stage task?

Logically, he should have already accepted it last time! He made his pixel character circle the dark-circle pixel character, trying to find the interaction point to trigger the task.

The dark-circle pixel character, watching the player circle around, turned like a sunflower following the sun. A small pink heart popped up above his head as he said, "If you want to follow, then follow."

The kitten can do whatever it wants. The kitten always has its own ideas.

Bai Fuling happily watched the screen pop up with the "[Party Formed Successfully]" notification. Once in a party, he could see his teammates' locations on the map at any time.

"We'll take a small path," Liao Zhiqiu said. "A path I only discovered this year."

Bai Fuling: "Where are we going?"

Even though the party status meant he wouldn't get lost, he still wanted to know in advance. Players were always particularly curious.

"This year..." Liao Zhiqiu thought for a moment, then said, "We should go to Maple Leaf Lake."

*This year* we should go to Maple Leaf Lake? So the location was different every year. He knew it—asking the NPC a few more questions paid off!

Bai Fuling seized upon this clue and continued, "Does your kitten appear in a different place every year?"

"The kitten wants to explore every bit of scenery around," Liao Zhiqiu explained. "Actually, the scenery of each place is different every year. I'll pick the most beautiful spot this year to celebrate."

Quite thoughtful, Bai Fuling thought. He didn't expect Liao Zhiqiu to consider so many details.

However, it sounded like this cat might not be a literal kitten—otherwise, how could it convey a desire to see scenery? Or perhaps this was part of Liao Zhiqiu's cognitive disorder, him imagining things.

"...Maple Leaf Lake. You're going to Maple Leaf Lake?" Pang Chengyu's voice suddenly came from the side. He sounded somewhat concerned and hesitant.

"Why are you here?" Liao Zhiqiu immediately fixed his gaze on him.

Pang Chengyu: "Huh? Didn't we just get acquainted earlier?"

Liao Zhiqiu: "I know, but that was then. When did you follow us? Why are you following?"

Pang Chengyu: "I followed Classmate Bai out—I've been here the whole way! Don't tell me you didn't notice me at all? You completely ignored me!!"

Liao Zhiqiu stared at Pang Chengyu silently for a few seconds, as if verifying his words.

Bai Fuling promptly intervened to mediate: "He's a pseudo-human, pseudo-human. Not a person."

"..." Liao Zhiqiu nodded, finally withdrawing his gaze and no longer staring coldly at Pang Chengyu.

Bai Fuling couldn't help but construct an image in his mind:

Pang Chengyu: *Just breathing*

Liao Zhiqiu: Constantly provoking me.

He now understood further—Liao Zhiqiu held an indifferent, uninterested attitude towards passing humans around him, but was wary and cold towards humans who approached and made contact.

While others might dislike men or women, Liao Zhiqiu directly disliked *people*.

Bai Fuling silently took out a Cat Stick and nibbled on it.

Good thing he had built up an animal impression from the start. Otherwise, this NPC would probably be impossible to interact with.

Bringing his attention back to the present, Bai Fuling remembered the text that had popped up in Pang Chengyu's dialogue box earlier. Following the keyword, he asked a few more questions: "So, what's the deal with Maple Leaf Lake?"

The golden-haired pixel character's head sprouted a tangle of black lines. He paused before a dialogue box popped up: "Maple Leaf Lake—Maple Leaf Lake isn't a fully publicly accessible lake. Don't you know where it is?"

Ah, the NPC is testing the player! Bai Fuling opened the mini-map, searching for any lake symbol marked on this basic map.

Liao Zhiqiu beside him answered first: "I know. Follow the small path, go around, and it's there."

Bai Fuling began checking the routes along his current position on the map.

"Uh, so we're still going?" Pang Chengyu's words halted again. "Maple Leaf Lake is a lake within the psychiatric hospital's grounds..."

Psychiatric hospital! Bai Fuling locked onto the hospital icon on the map. This time, he finally found the location.

This lake was actually inside a psychiatric hospital? Bai Fuling felt a surge of excitement. After all, in games, psychiatric hospitals were classic places for triggering plotlines, uncovering clues, and hiding secrets.

Out of ten games, nine feature a psychiatric hospital! There's gotta be something worth checking out in there.

Bai Fuling couldn't help but exclaim happily, "Really? A psychiatric hospital? Well, now we're definitely going."

Even without the 'Cat's Secret' quest, he would definitely go explore it.

Pang Chengyu, looking at the suddenly excited Bai Fuling, sprouted a giant question mark above his head.

Liao Zhiqiu, on the other hand, said calmly, "If you want to go, go ahead and play."

Pang Chengyu: "...Hey, wait a minute, this isn't a place to have fun!!"

Bai Fuling completely ignored the NPC's complaint and even snarked internally about the NPC—this AI can't keep up with the player. Needs more work.

He picked up the pace. Following Liao Zhiqiu, they walked along a secluded path until they could see a pixel-art building in the distance.

The pixel-art building had a red cross on it, the sign for a hospital. From a distance, they could see the hospital's name: Qingfeng Town's Third Psychiatric Hospital.

Although the place where the player is located is called a town, judging by where the player spends most of their time, this is actually the largest and most developed area in the RPG game.

Perhaps the entire world is here. After all, RPG maps are only so big.

Bai Fuling followed Liao Zhiqiu as they entered via the small path. He saw white pixel-art buildings and unevenly trimmed shrubs.

The wind blew, carrying a newspaper with it.

Bai Fuling quickly clicked to pick it up—loot first, ask questions later! Free loot!

The date on the newspaper was today's latest issue, and the headline read: "#Crescent Scythe Murder Case Solved! Killer Apprehended#"

Bai Fuling: Wait, what?

No.

Beside him, Pang Chengyu also leaned over to look: "Wow, this case was solved? The killer caught?!—Is the person surnamed Chen?"

"No," Bai Fuling said with certainty. "This isn't the killer."

Pang Chengyu instinctively asked, "What? Why?"

Bai Fuling: "Because the quest is still ongoing."

Pang Chengyu: "Huh?"

Bai Fuling put the newspaper away: "The 'Farmer Great Detective' hasn't even shown up yet."

Just kidding, how could the case be solved before the player even shows up?

The culprit is *my* prey!

Author's Note:

Bai Fuling: The truth is always only one—wait, the player hasn't even shown up yet, who solved the case?