Chapter 37

Chapter 37

After setting up the AFK mode and exiting, Bai Fuling made sure to go and complain to customer service.

He still couldn't find the game's specific name or official website online, but he did locate the customer service option—probably a real person—on the page before entering the game.

Perhaps due to some system incompatibility, the first two characters were distorted and blurred into an unreadable gibberish.

Bai Fuling clicked on the ■■ service.

"/Hello, how can I help you ma?"

A ton of typos, just like that previous feedback pop-up. Bai Fuling frowned. Either the system hadn't loaded properly, or this game was intentionally going for a weird, glitchy style.

Abstract Nonsense Studio?

Bai Fuling typed his feedback into the box: "There are text formatting errors in the game; characters are overlapping. See attached screenshot (screenshot.jpg). Also, the game is super laggy at times. Is it my phone or your game's network?"

"#Apologies- We are very sorry for the inconvenience, currently connec*ting*&"

Currently connecting? Bai Fuling didn't quite understand.

"What do you mean by 'currently connecting'?" Bai Fuling typed. "Is it a network issue?"

";;Currently connecting, please wait patiently, will come come come;; find you find you**"

Bai Fuling: "..."

What a weird reply. Did they really have to use such garbled text? But then he reconsidered. Official customer service probably wouldn't mess around like this, as they deal with a wide player base, not just him.

If they encountered a more hot-headed player who got angry and didn't appreciate the joke, they might go off on the devs.

So it was likely still a system configuration issue, Bai Fuling thought. The text wasn't loading completely, there were various garbled characters, and the meanings were probably distorted too.

He reread the reply and figured it was most likely a network problem, hence the [currently connecting] response.

He just didn't know if it was his own poor internet speed or the game's server being as reliable as a potato.

Bai Fuling couldn't be bothered to investigate further. His fundamental purpose in contacting customer service was to milk some compensation, so he cut to the chase.

"There are bugs in the game. Shouldn't players receive some monetary compensation? Or just expand the backpack slots directly. Twenty slots are way too few."

"Okay ^^ The game is currently in testing, so some issues may occur. Are you sure you want to expand your backpack ***?"

More garbled text at the end. Bai Fuling glanced at it. But since the beginning mentioned expansion, getting even a little extra would be a win.

Bai Fuling decisively typed: "Yes, I agree."

The other side replied with a few basic smiley face emoticons, though they seemed to flicker with a few black lines as if they were bugging out.

After filing the complaint and securing compensation, Bai Fuling casually tossed his phone onto the sofa and got up to cook and eat.

Having played the game for so long, staring down at the screen, when he suddenly stood up, Bai Fuling's vision blacked out for a second. He put a hand out to steady himself against the wall.

For a moment, he felt like he had pressed against something icy cold and soft.

"?!"

He jumped in surprise, turning to look—the wall was just an ordinary plain white wall, with nothing extra on it.

...Oh. Must've been my imagination.

Probably because he stood up too quickly, there wasn't enough blood to his head, making him feel woozy. Bai Fuling shook his head, thinking. Feeling dizzy was like stepping on cotton; the wall feeling soft when he touched it made sense.

The brief dizziness was just from standing up too fast + a little lightheaded from being hungry. After a moment, he felt much better.

Bai Fuling's vision fully cleared. As he focused, he suddenly noticed a few odd ink spots on the wall.

Huh, when did these ink splatters get here? How could there be ink stains? He remembered never taking his paints or brushes out of the art studio before.

Bai Fuling was puzzled. He reached out without thinking to touch them a couple of times, only to end up with a hand covered in white wall powder.

"..."

Forget it, they were just a few small black dots, barely noticeable if you didn't look closely. Bai Fuling wiped his hand with a wet wipe from the table. I'll keep an eye out later. Maybe I had accidentally brushed against some paint while moving supplies or flicked some ink from a brush.

He didn't dwell on it too much because his stomach was growling loudly with hunger.

Bai Fuling let out a small yawn and headed toward the kitchen.

Behind him, the warm sunlight shone through the living room window, bright on the wall.

Under the light's illumination, the few small black dots on the wall shifted sideways almost invisibly, disappearing into the shadows on the other side of a dividing line.

=

After eating and spending some time in the art studio, after he finished up, Bai Fuling reopened the game.

He had set AFK mode before closing it, so he should have arrived at Warm Home by now.

The black tendrils spread and unfurled, and Bai Fuling saw his character.

—Wait a minute, who is this wild man on the screen???

The black-haired character he controlled was now covered in bits of grass, his white coat torn like rags, his hair still dripping water, and a puddle of water at his feet when he stopped.

Only the Angel Halo above his head still shone brilliantly, with the hamburger firmly stuck to it now adorned with a few strands of seaweed.

Bai Fuling: "..."

I was only AFK for a bit; how did my character end up like this!

Did he trek through mountains and rivers, scaling cliffs barehanded? What route did the game system take to bring the player back to the city?!

Could it be that it defaulted to the shortest straight line between two points? Bai Fuling's train of thought instantly connected.

Well, if a player were to choose, they might also go that way—saving time and effort, very reasonable.

So what if his appearance turned into a wild man's? This wasn't a dress-up game. The result was what mattered.

The good news was, he was now standing in front of a residential complex gate, with a sign reading [Warm Home]—no matter what, he had successfully reached his destination.

Bai Fuling was only briefly surprised by his character's adventurous return outfit but didn't pay it much mind.

A new look never hurt. Besides, once he refreshed and put on his signature yellow raincoat, he'd be a shiny, brand-new player again.

He heard voices whispering in the background.

"...Where did this guy come from? He's been standing here motionless for half an hour. What is he doing?"

"Cosplay? What's that thing on his head?"

"Should we call the police? I'm scared to go home with him standing there like this, boo hoo."

What, call the police? Wait, is it illegal for a player to stand idle? Could they get arrested and locked up? Or would someone dressed like a savage be taken to a homeless shelter?

How dare the NPCs comment on the player's outfit! Normally, in this kind of RPG, aside from special scenarios in specific contexts, players have complete freedom in how they dress.

Even if a player dressed up as a giant walking tomato, no one should bat an eye—only in real life would someone take a photo and post it online asking: "Why is there a giant tomato on the subway?"

Bai Fuling controlled the on-screen character to move forward. He figured it was probably because he had stayed in one spot for too long that a generic NPC started such dialogue, likely meant to remind players not to idle randomly.

The residential complex gate was a keycard-activated gate that beeped. Bai Fuling only had a key to his home but didn't bring an access card.

Fortunately, there was a doggy door nearby. Bai Fuling skillfully belly-crawled through it.

The security guard, who had just been about to speak up and ask for registration before opening the gate: ???

...Wait, what just crawled through the doggy door!??

The security guard was thunderstruck!

In his 30-year career and 50 years of life, he had never seen such a thing—how could a person squeeze through a doggy door?? And how did they even manage it without getting stuck!?

—Of course, players aren't afraid of getting stuck because they have the all-powerful 'Unstuck' command.

Bai Fuling didn't mind crawling through the doggy door at all—after all, he was a player. To players, all roads lead to Rome; how you enter the mission area isn't important, as long as you can get in.

If there's a hole, crawl through it; if there's a gap, squeeze through—that's the player's exploration rule!

Bai Fuling took out the key from his backpack, clicked to enlarge it, and glanced at the label: Warm Home Community, Building 6, Unit 1, Room 302.

Guided by the label, he made his way to Building 6 inside. The unit door was broken, so no extra unlocking steps were needed—just pull it open and walk straight up to the third floor.

As soon as he entered the unit, Bai Fuling bumped into an NPC coming downstairs. The NPC was looking down at his phone, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Bai Fuling dressed like a savage. He spat out, "Get lost, don't block the way."

Bai Fuling's attention was grabbed for a second, but his focus wasn't on the NPC's rude remark—it was on the glowing phone in the NPC's hand.

He suddenly remembered: Oh! The player still doesn't have a phone and can't call the police or emergency services. So the player needs a phone!

If the player wants it, the player gets it.

Bai Fuling had always been a doer. As he passed by the NPC, he just reached out and snatched the other's phone.

--Obtained [Phone × 1]

Wow, he actually got a phone. Bai Fuling was thrilled. Great, now he could call the police and an ambulance without having to go to the police station or hospital in person.

So that's how it was—this suddenly appearing NPC was meant to round out the player's gear.

Thus, Bai Fuling gave a rare nod and said to the NPC in front of him, "Thank you."

The passerby who had just been robbed of his phone while going downstairs: ?

A huge exclamation mark appeared over the NPC's head, and he whipped around to glare at him: "...Hey, you! What are you doing! Give my phone back!!"

Bai Fuling was puzzled: "I said thank you."

What's up with this NPC? Why would they want back equipment they just gave to the player? That's impossible!

Bai Fuling stashed the phone in his backpack, brushed off the NPC, and continued upstairs.

"...Wait! This is robbery! You bastard, if you don't give it back, I'm calling the police!!"

Call the police? Bai Fuling stopped in his tracks.

He remembered the system prompt from when he was locked up last time—punishment only applied if you were [witnessed] and [caught].

There were no other witnesses around, so all he needed to do was stop this person from calling the police.

So Bai Fuling decisively controlled his character to pull out the wooden club he had retrieved when leaving the rooftop earlier from his backpack: "You want to call the police?"

The man's protest died in his throat, and he took two or three steps back: "...N-no, no no no, not at all, nothing like that."

Bai Fuling tilted his head: "Really?"

The man: "Really, really!! Don't be rash, calm down!" He seemed to have noticed the text on Bai Fuling's white coat. "You... did you escape from a mental hospital?? How did you get out!?"

Bai Fuling didn't want to engage in manual small talk. Since the guy wasn't calling the police, there was no need to bother.

But he suddenly remembered that this NPC had cursed at him earlier, telling him to get lost—how dare an NPC insult the player! Players always get revenge!

So Bai Fuling, who had started to walk away, turned back and chose to deliver three solid whacks with the club, knocking the man unconscious. After looting the items on him, he left him leaning against the wall.

Then, he put away the club and continued upstairs.

He didn't encounter any other NPCs along the way. Bai Fuling used the key to open the door and entered Guan Jiayue's home.

The place looked half-packed. Guan Jizhong must have been here, as many things were already boxed up.

Bai Fuling didn't rummage through the boxes. Usually, clues wouldn't be in already-packed luggage. The reason for leaving things half-packed was precisely to make it convenient for players to investigate.

He controlled his character to move forward, deciding to check room by room, clicking on everything interactive or highlighted.

The process of elimination never goes out of style!

Even so, he couldn't explore aimlessly. After all, this game had such a high degree of freedom, with many interactive elements.

So Bai Fuling first tried to find information connected to previous clues. Once he had a lead, he continued collecting clues he found useful.

The first connected clue he discovered was a paperclip.

"Colored Paperclip: A colored paperclip pinned to a sleeve."

When examining the corpse last time, there was also a colored paperclip pinned to the victim's sleeve. So when he noticed this detail on the clothes hanging on the bedroom clothes rack, Bai Fuling immediately remembered.

The previous victim was a library staff member, so Bai Fuling tried to find details related to the library.

He found a sticky note by the desk.

"Written Sticky Note: Stuck to the side of the desk, it reads: [Return books next Monday!!! Don't forget]"

On the nearby shelf were discs, a few books, and a notebook.

"Discs: Various discs with titles on the covers: 'Mysterious Creature Chronicles,' 'Secret Tales of the Strange,' 'Does the Loch Ness Monster Really Exist?'"

"Reading Notebook: Contains many scattered excerpts, mostly about urban legends, unidentified creatures, and the occult. At the very bottom is a line in small handwriting: [I saw a huge cat! Legendary creatures really do exist! Definitely not a hallucination. I'll bring a camera to check again next week.]"

Urban legends. Hallucinations. Cat. Bai Fuling pondered, sorting through the thoughts in his mind.

He remembered that Mr. Chen, who was publicly identified as the culprit in the news, had some books related to mental illness and hallucinations at home;

The white-haired child from the psychiatric hospital said the people upstairs were all monsters and wanted to play a game of big cat tag with him;

The ward contained: unidentified bloodstains, raw meat scraps, a 13-year-old newspaper, empty syringes;

The reason Pang Chengyu's mother broke down—"cat" and "person";

Liao Zhiqiu had cognitive impairment of unknown origin and was gifted organs...

It seems that the quests "Sweet Dream," "Cat's Secret," and "Where Did Mom Go" are likely connected.

Guan Jizhong, Liao Zhiqiu, and Pang Chengyu—these NPCs share a common thread. Oh, Luo Qingyue should probably be added too.

The next clue points to the library. Bai Fuling pieced it together in his mind. This location hasn't been unlocked yet; it's time to explore the library.

Having made up his mind, Bai Fuling changed into his bright yellow raincoat, once again becoming the brightest character on the screen. He removed the organ burger from his head and stored it in his backpack.

The previous feedback was useful—his backpack had expanded! Though occasionally, some unidentified black lines would flicker on its interface, indicating it was unstable.

Bai Fuling opened the mini-map, located the library, and prepared to head there. He originally planned to summon his mount, the "big dog," to save time, but the system popped up a notification:

"The big dog is resting today."

Bai Fuling: "..."

The nerve! This mount takes so many days off, making him feel like the real workhorse.

So, living mounts really can't compare to proper vehicles. Bai Fuling began to miss his previous wheelchair.

No, he thought. He still needed to get that wheelchair back—if all else fails, he could go mess with Luo Qingyue! Then have him push him to and from school.

With his head in the clouds, Bai Fuling didn't pay much attention to the screen, just absentmindedly moving his character forward with his fingers.

At that moment, a person suddenly walked out from off-screen, reaching out to grab Bai Fuling as he passed by, their attitude very enthusiastic.

"You finally came, darling."

Bai Fuling was abruptly drawn into a hug. He stopped and saw a dialogue box suddenly pop up, a question mark slowly forming in his mind.

A smaller dialogue box immediately followed on the screen: "Could you play along for a bit? Thanks." The person whispered, giving Bai Fuling a wink.

From the avatar, it was clear this was a short-haired young man with earrings, delicate features, who looked mixed-race, smiling with curved eyes and lips shaped like a fox's. He appeared harmless-looking but was quite tall, a full head taller than Bai Fuling's character.

New plot? Bai Fuling blinked.

The young man put an arm around Bai Fuling, his hand resting naturally on his shoulder, the gesture very intimate. He waved to the side: "Sorry, my boyfriend's here to pick me up, so I'll be going now."

Next to them was a bar. A few pixel characters stood at the entrance.

"...Your boyfriend?"

"Really, Olbert? Never heard about him before. And—" The person looked at Bai Fuling.

He was about to say this guy looked like a random passerby, but upon closer inspection, he realized the black-haired youth was quite good-looking, definitely not just some background character.

It's just that the outfit was a bit strange—why wear a raincoat on a sunny day? And with an angel halo on his head?? This isn't about being an extra or not; it's about being normal or not!!

Too stunned to speak, the group at the bar entrance fell silent for a moment.

Olbert smiled and waved, keeping an arm around the person in his arms as he walked away. Not far off, he felt the person beside him struggling.

"Hold on, hold on, don't rush. Play along a bit longer, and I'll make it up to you later, okay?" Olbert lowered his voice, continuing to steer him away.

Turning the corner ahead, they entered a paid parking lot, free from the stares of the bar patrons. Olbert then released his arm, the previous intimacy and enthusiasm fading as he stepped back.

"Sorry, I used you as a quick excuse. It was really hard to get away." Olbert smiled. "You're such an angel. Where are you headed? How about I give you a ride? I'll treat you to a meal another day."

Bai Fuling had struggled earlier because he noticed they were straying from the path to the library. Now, hearing the new character's offer, his eyes lit up: "You have a car?"

"Yeah, right here." Olbert flicked a keychain and gestured toward a bright red car nearby.

Bai Fuling took two steps forward and directly grabbed the car keys from Olbert's hand.

"What's wrong? Can you drive, little angel?" Olbert was stunned for a second when his keys were taken. Watching Bai Fuling head to the driver's seat, he smiled again, his eyes crinkling.

He watched as the other person sat in the driver's seat without looking back, expertly turning the key, starting the engine, and stepping on the gas—all in one smooth motion—before speeding off!

—Just drove off like that!!

Olbert stood in place, watching his red car race away, his smile freezing for half a second.

...Wait. Wait?

This isn't right, is it????

Bai Fuling, driving off: Today is such a great day! NPCs are giving away phones and cars—awesome~ =w=