Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Bai Fuling, carrying the long-haired woman NPC on his back, waved cheerfully at Pang Chengyu. "Hey! See that? Your mom is flying in—!!"

"..." Pang Chengyu stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning, his face completely blank.

Liao Zhiqiu took a few steps forward, adopting a calm, welcoming demeanor. "If you wanted to go out, that's fine, but why bring back souvenirs?"

This counts as a souvenir?! —Well, in a certain sense, it really does. What else would a mental hospital's souvenir be but a patient?

Bai Fuling's thoughts strayed for a second before he quickly refocused.

"No time to talk! Anyway, we gotta run, now! The enemies behind will catch up soon!" Bai Fuling, still carrying the woman, rushed past the two under the tree without stopping, continuing his sprint forward. "Let's get out of their aggro range first!"

Generally speaking, ordinary enemies in games have their own designated activity areas.

Even if you provoke them until their aggro meter maxes out, as long as you escape their hunting range, regular NPCs will just reset.

Next time you meet, they might even smile and ask, "Traveler, where do you hail from?" At most, they might say, "This younger brother, I feel I've seen you before."

The red-name NPCs he'd provoked this time should all be enemies internal to the mental hospital, so as long as they ran out of this area, it should be fine!

The three were currently in a party. Bai Fuling had just shouted once and didn't bother repeating himself—they'll auto-follow anyway, no need for extra reminders.

The doctors from the mental hospital stood there, stunned, on the rooftop. They had chased all the way here but stopped at the edge, unlike Bai Fuling who decisively vaulted over the railing.

...Seriously, they initially thought the guy was going to jump off the building and take someone down with him!

Only later did they realize the black-haired youth was as agile as a monkey, giving off the illusion that he might one day ride the clouds and mist, transforming into Sun Wukong.

The doctors stood on the rooftop, staring at each other in disbelief, watching the figures hurriedly disappear into the distance.

The security guards downstairs had originally heard the commotion upstairs and rallied and rushed up. Who knew that just as they ran up, the guy had already slid down!

...How can someone go up and down a drainpipe like that? Is that something a normal person can do??

So, the security guards joined the doctors on the rooftop, also gaping in stunned silence.

"What happened? Was any valuable equipment lost or damaged? Are the patient records still intact?" The director of the mental hospital hurried over, his tone very serious.

"Nothing seems to be missing, Director," the doctor at the front said, then paused. "It's just... the people..."

"A patient escaped?" The director frowned.

"Ah, sort of, Director, but actually..."

The director waved a hand. "Don't hem and haw, wasting time. Explain the situation in one sentence!"

"—A mental patient broke into the mental hospital, nearly scared the colleagues into becoming mental patients, and then took away a mental patient!!"

Director: ?

Wait, what is this string of—a tongue twister???

Director: "...What did you say? Say it again?"

"It's like this, Director." The doctor composed himself and tried to convey the details in one sentence, taking a deep breath.

"—Just now, a mental patient broke into the mental hospital, nearly scared the colleagues into becoming mental patients, then knocked out a psychiatrist and a mental patient, and finally took away a mental patient!"

Director: "..."

Director: "........"

The director fell silent, utterly speechless.

Hearing this string, he was starting to feel mental himself.

He was getting brainwashed by the word 'mental patient,' for goodness' sake!!

=

Bai Fuling, carrying the long-haired woman NPC, charged ahead until they were deep in the woods, where the din could no longer be heard.

"Where are we?" Bai Fuling stopped. The minimap still showed they were within the range of the town's mental hospital.

"The hospital woods," Liao Zhiqiu said. "It's located on the outskirts. This woodland and lake were also incorporated into the hospital grounds."

"Oh, right!" Bai Fuling snapped out of it. "We still need to celebrate your kitten's birthday! Let's go to Maple Leaf Lake now."

Liao Zhiqiu naturally had no objections. He nodded and took two steps forward. "I'll lead the way."

"...No, wait a minute, you're just going to continue on to Maple Leaf Lake like this?!" Pang Chengyu, who had been silent beside them, finally spoke up. He grabbed his hair, looking on the verge of a breakdown. "The one on your back—her—how did you bring her out???"

Liao Zhiqiu said calmly, "The kitten brought us back a souvenir. You should just say thank you, not ask how it was brought back or why—such meaningless questions."

Pang Chengyu: "Don't you dare talk about my mom like that!"

Liao Zhiqiu looked puzzled for half a second before regaining his composure. He turned his face to Bai Fuling. "So you're his mother? He doesn't look much like you."

Bai Fuling: ?

...Incredible NPC comprehension. That's too robotic!

Pang Chengyu was hopping mad beside them, little black lines popping up above his head. "Hey! You! What nonsense are you spouting over there?! You're doing it on purpose, aren't you?!"

Here, for the sake of team harmony and because he understood NPC characteristics, Bai Fuling defended Liao Zhiqiu. He said to Pang Chengyu, "Liao Zhiqiu isn't doing it on purpose. It was an accident!"

Pang Chengyu: "Accidentally on purpose, is it?!"

Little black lines were still popping up above his head, but because it was Bai Fuling speaking, he calmed down somewhat.

"..." Pang Chengyu clenched his fists, pressed his lips into a thin line, quickly glanced up at the woman on Bai Fuling's back, then looked away. After letting out a sigh, his previously prickly aura deflated.

"...Why did you bring her out?" Pang Chengyu asked softly. "How did you know she was my mom?"

"I saw your family photo in her room," Bai Fuling blinked. "I thought you might want to see her. She might want to see you too."

Pang Chengyu paused at this, lowering his head. "No, she doesn't." Pang Chengyu said quietly. "Haven't you noticed? My mom—she hasn't responded with a single word?"

Huh? So that's just the setting! He thought he hadn't triggered it. Bai Fuling was surprised for a second.

He had been wondering why the NPC he carried out was so quiet, just like a real back accessory.

Bai Fuling originally thought it was because the plot hadn't been triggered, so the long-haired woman was temporarily just a key item without dialogue, needing to wait for later plot points to speak.

Now, hearing Pang Chengyu say this, he realized that was just the original setting.

"What's wrong with her?" Bai Fuling asked.

"...I don't know." Pang Chengyu's voice was very low. "I... I was just a kid back then. I don't remember clearly. I don't understand."

"How much can you remember? You can tell me," Bai Fuling gently probed. "I am the renowned Farmer Detective, Fresh Cabbage. I can help you."

Hearing this title, Pang Chengyu still felt the urge to laugh. He rarely mentioned the past, only occasionally letting it slip during arguments with his father.

He hadn’t intended to say anything, but when he lifted his head and saw the transfer student steadily supporting the person on his back, his gaze was earnest and open.

The remaining sunlight filtering through the forest leaves cast a faint golden edge on the black-haired youth, and the Angel Halo atop his head reflected a bright glow—abrupt yet harmonious.

"..." Pang Chengyu opened his mouth, feeling an unusual impulse to confide.

Perhaps it was because the transfer student had done many incredible things before, giving him a tiny sliver of hope. So, upon hearing Bai Fuling’s offer to help, after hesitating, he finally spoke up.

"My mom used to be a laboratory researcher at the hospital. Then one day—maybe 13 or 12 years ago? I was just a kid back then. There seemed to be some medical incident at the hospital. I don’t know the specifics, but it was reported in the news, and a few people reportedly died."

Once the floodgates opened, they couldn’t be stopped. Years of pent-up words finally found an outlet, and Pang Chengyu continued.

"That day, Mom came home from work very early. She hugged me and cried as soon as she entered, her whole body trembling. I remember this clearly… because I was so scared. I said, ‘Mom, don’t cry. Why are you trembling? What’s wrong, Mom?’" Pang Chengyu raised his arm to wipe his face. "She said—she didn’t know it would be like this."

"Mom’s words were too jumbled back then, and I was too frightened. I don’t remember much. I only recall her repeating… she didn’t know it was a person, she thought it was really a cat… I didn’t understand."

"Mom suffered a major shock. She didn’t leave the house for a whole month afterward. She fell ill, stopped speaking, and gradually lost all other reactions. Later—" Pang Chengyu took a deep breath and turned his head away. "…The old man sent Mom away, brought her here, said she needed to recuperate."

"I hate him," Pang Chengyu wiped his face again. "…I didn’t want Mom here. But before I could support myself and others, this place was probably the best for her—better than staying at home or at Grandma’s, where there would be constant yelling."

"I didn’t know how to face Mom… After that incident, she hardly responded to the outside world. She ignored me—"

"But she took a photo with you," Bai Fuling interjected.

"…" Pang Chengyu looked up, his eyes red. He had already wiped his face twice.

Bai Fuling glanced at Pang Chengyu a few times, then released the long-haired woman NPC from carry mode. Supporting the unresponsive woman NPC, he helped her onto Pang Chengyu’s back.

Probably, he still wanted more contact with his mom. Bai Fuling guessed. Besides—your own mom should be carried by you!

And just as Bai Fuling had speculated earlier, the moment the long-haired woman NPC made contact with Pang Chengyu, a new task was triggered.

"[Where’s Mom?]: Pang Chengyu wants to know what exactly happened to his mother. What really occurred back then? He wants to cure his mother’s illness, retrieve her soul, and bring his mom back.

Task Deadline: None

Task Reward: You’ll know when you complete it."

Bai Fuling was already accustomed to the task reward descriptions. He focused his gaze on the description, his thoughts drifting slightly to Pang Chengyu’s earlier words.

13 or 12 years ago… The old newspaper clue he collected at the mental hospital also pointed to that date. Pang Chengyu’s words also mentioned cats and people—could it be related to [Cat’s Secret]? And [Sweet Dream] too. These tasks seemed intertwined.

As Bai Fuling was pondering, a dialog box suddenly popped up on the screen.

He only then noticed that Liao Zhiqiu had been standing motionless beside him for a long time.

Liao Zhiqiu glanced at Pang Chengyu, then at Bai Fuling, and finally nodded, saying, "—Oh, so it wasn’t bringing back local specialties." He sounded slightly disappointed.

But Liao Zhiqiu quickly regained his composure, his spirits noticeably lifted. "Indeed, you’re not his mother. He seems human, unlike you."

Bai Fuling: ?

Seriously, dude, are you still stuck loading in the previous module?