Chapter 218

Chapter 218

After initially quitting the pixel game that had suddenly appeared, Bai Fuling hadn't yet adjusted.

Because he used to check in every day, after breakfast he still habitually picked up his phone, and then would realize—oh, the playthrough was complete.

He hadn't uninstalled the game, not because he didn't want to, but because it simply couldn't be deleted. After repeating the attempt several times, Bai Fuling simply switched to another phone—out of sight, out of mind—so he wouldn't keep thinking about it every day.

This time, no unknown icons appeared on the new phone, so Bai Fuling was relieved. The previous phone had probably caught a virus, which made it undeletable. It was good to cut his losses early.

No longer spending hours gaming every day, Bai Fuling had more time to do other things, such as walking, fishing, watching movies, and of course his main job—painting.

But perhaps due to game withdrawal, Bai Fuling couldn't muster much interest in anything.

He kept thinking about the last unfinished thing in the game—although when the fireworks went off, in a sense he had fulfilled the promise to Luo Qingyue, there was still one more unfinished matter.

He remembered that Luo Qingyue still had something to say to him.

What did Cotton Spirit want to tell him?

Bai Fuling could vaguely guess. Based on the typical game progression, it was probably a confession.

Honestly, he really wanted to hear Luo Qingyue's confession. If it hadn't been for the unexpected incident with the robbers, Bai Fuling would have wanted to try out the romance module.

Unlike all the romance simulation games he had played before, the romantic storyline in this game, which wasn't centered on romance, made Bai Fuling particularly curious about its development.

Or perhaps simply because the other party was Luo Qingyue. Bai Fuling really wanted to unlock Cotton Spirit's new form and new interaction stories.

Who knew the unexpected quest would come first. Bai Fuling sighed, somewhat regretting his hasty decision to quit the game.

But if he started a new save, he would have to begin from scratch... and the interactions all over again would no longer be the same. Better to forget it.

There were so many games in the world; he could find another one to play when he was bored.

Bai Fuling bought a batch of new game cartridges online and played them on his home console. The new cartridges were also pixel games, of the level-clearing coin-collecting type.

He played just to kill time, but after completing the first three levels, the screen suddenly flickered, and the entire art style darkened a shade.

Bai Fuling thought it was a special effect, but then, black tentacles spread across the ground of the screen.

The black tentacles grabbed the character he controlled, like a man-eating quagmire, and dragged the pixel character down into the ground.

Nothing but emptiness remained on the screen.

"...What's going on?" Bai Fuling froze for a few seconds, shaking the game controller. But no matter how he operated, the playable character no longer appeared on the screen, only the unchanging pixel background.

Facing the still screen, Bai Fuling frowned, opened his phone, and sent an error report to the game's customer service.

At first, the customer service communicated with him very formally and politely, trying to help him solve the problem.

After a string of garbled text, the customer service on the other side slowed down in sending messages, typos started to increase, and the replies became even weirder.

"#Customer Service?#: Do you really like this game, ma?"

"#Customer Service?#: Do you prefer to stay in such a world me?"

"#Customer Service?#: Can you tel me where your home is?"

"#Customer Service?#: Also, can you open the door for me? :)"

What the hell, was this harassment? Bai Fuling, slightly annoyed, left a low-score review and quickly blocked the customer service.

After this episode, he lost interest in playing the new game. He simply shut off the console, tossed the cartridge aside, and went to his studio to work.

However, from that day on, life started to feel wrong.

At first, it was only subtle oddities.

Brushing his teeth in the morning, the reflection in the mirror would always lag by half a beat. He turned his head, and from the corner of his eye he saw the person in the mirror still maintaining the original posture, eyelashes drooping, like a frozen doll.

When he focused his attention and looked again, everything returned to normal, leaving only the cold glass reflecting his stunned face.

Bai Fuling thought it was just from staying up late watching movies, causing blurred vision.

On his evening walks, Bai Fuling always felt someone was following him.

It wasn't the footsteps of pedestrians—it was a sticky, dragging sound, like liquid slowly oozing across the ground.

He turned around sharply, but there was no one behind him—only the wind rolling fallen leaves across the street corner. Yet the feeling of being watched pierced his back like a needle and wouldn't go away.

While taking a shower at night, warm water streamed over his body as steam filled the bathroom. Bai Fuling closed his eyes to rinse off the soap, when suddenly he heard a very faint breath, not his own. Long and cold, right against his neck.

He abruptly opened his eyes, but the mist was empty, the bathroom light dim yellow, water droplets sliding down the tiles.

"Drip, drip."

The sound of dripping water mingled with a faint sobbing, thin as a thread.

"Little Bai..."

An extremely soft call, drowned out by the water, was fleeting.

Bai Fuling turned off the faucet, his heart pounding, wrapped himself in a towel and rushed out of the bathroom, repeatedly checking the doors and windows—all securely locked. He sat on the bed panting, comforting himself that he had been suffering from insomnia lately, and that he was hallucinating.

He remembered that when he had played the game before, there were occasional strange occurrences at home, but none so frequent or obvious. And... hadn't he already quit the game?

Bai Fuling had thought that he was addicted to the game, leading to some gaming aftereffects, which was why he resolved to quit. But now, even after quitting, these hallucination symptoms still persisted... maybe it was due to recent sleep problems.

Maybe he should go see a doctor.

Bai Fuling picked up his phone from the bedside table, and faintly saw a blurry shadow lying on his pillow in the reflection of the black screen, quietly watching him.

He jolted and quickly turned on the phone screen, and the shadow instantly disappeared, leaving his palm slick with cold sweat.

"..."

Bai Fuling hugged his octopus plushie on the bed, but he didn't sleep very peacefully at first.

He dreamt again of that pixel game, of the teaching building of Pelland Academy, of the cruise ship and jellyfish out at sea, of the burning building, of the classmates' expressions shifting from question marks to exclamation marks, and finally, Luo Qingyue sitting alone on a bench.

From under the bed, there came a faint squirming sound.

Not a mouse, not an insect—it was a sticky, slow sound, as if sludge were surging, seeping out from the cracks in the floor, spreading little by little.

All the shadows in the room seemed alive, frantically coalescing, churning, and expanding.

The shadows of the wardrobe, the shadows in the corners, the shadows behind the curtains—all surged toward the bed, coalescing into a thick, impenetrable ink and slowly taking form on the floor.

No bones, no outline, like melted darkness, or sticky, cold mud, carrying the sorrow and longing of the entire world, slowly crawling up the edge of his bed.

Barely awake, half-asleep, Bai Fuling vaguely felt something approaching him. A soft, boneless touch gently brushed past the tips of his hair—tender yet sorrowful, clingy yet cautious.

Tears, utterly cold, large drops falling from the shapeless void of the shadow, falling onto his cheeks, neck, and the back of his hands.

"...Bai... Little Bai..."

"I've been looking for you for so, so long..."

"From every inch of land, from the hearts of every person..."

"I finally found you."

"Don't abandon me anymore, okay..."

A blurry voice sounded in his ear. Bai Fuling wanted to open his eyes but had no strength, as if in sleep paralysis.

The cold touch pressed against his skin—no body heat, no heartbeat, but carrying a longing so heavy it nearly crushed him.

Not malice, not fear—just pure, suffocating longing.

But the dream was fading, a damp drowsiness overtaking him. Bai Fuling felt as if he were sinking into some soft liquid.

So sleepy, so at ease...

He slipped into a long-lost peaceful slumber.

...

"So, doctor, that's what's been happening." Bai Fuling sat in the consultation room he had booked, recounting his recent experiences, and concluded, "I feel like I haven't been sleeping well, and sometimes I even have hallucinations. Do I need medication, or is there a therapy for this?"

"I see... Then why did you quit?"

"Huh?" Bai Fuling was a bit confused, then caught on, "Oh, you mean why I quit the game? Because I felt the virtual world was affecting my real life."

"What if that world is real?"

"Is that some kind of joke, doctor?" Bai Fuling said, "It's just a game."

"Since you said your symptoms started after quitting the game, why not try going back?—Back to the world where everyone misses you."

"...What are you talking about." Bai Fuling frowned, sensing something off.

He then noticed the doctor's face. The doctor in front of him wore a mask and cap, revealing a pair of familiar, gentle eyes.

What...? Bai Fuling was stunned. The in-game design and his real appearance were different, but he still recognized it intuitively.

He saw the name tag on the doctor's chest: "Luo Qingyue - Physician"

Luo Qingyue?! How could it be Luo Qingyue?? That's a game character, and he's in reality now—

Bai Fuling abruptly stood up.

Countless thin black tentacles extended from the cuffs and lower hem of the doctor's white coat, falling to the ground with a wet slap. Those sticky, wet black threads slithered silently like snakes, wrapping up his pant legs, coiling around his waist, and some even twining around his fingers.

"!!!" Bai Fuling wanted to scream, but under intense emotional fluctuations, it was hard to make a sound.

Already mentally exhausted, he felt a dizzying spin, and then he fell heavily sideways.

—Of course, he didn't hit the ground. The tentacles caught him firmly.

The extra tentacles seemed a bit at a loss, guarding the unconscious black-haired youth as if guarding a sleeping Snow White.

Isn't that what humans do—

hug and shake hands? It was bewildered too. It chose to hug and shake hands, so why did Little Bai faint?

It felt a bit wronged. It had been so careful in its approach... earlier, when it found Little Bai, it could only secretly follow and secretly watch. After finally thinking it had laid the groundwork and could truly meet him, Little Bai still couldn't accept it.

It was indeed too hasty, it thought.

Even though this wasn't its world, its power could alter cognition. While it couldn't change the whole world, it could distort the cognition of certain areas and individuals.

To be honest, it could of course directly control Bai Fuling's thoughts. Just by inserting a thin tentacle into his ear, into his brain, and toying around a few times, it could turn him into a puppet that would never resist.

But it didn't want to.

It only had one Little Bai, and it didn't want to break him.

It had learned from the game—only gentleness and love could win Bai Fuling over.

It didn't want a beautiful doll; it wanted a living soul.

It had to take things seriously and approach him step by step.

With that thought, it twisted space again, altering the perception of those nearby.

Let's try another form.

...

Bai Fuling opened his eyes and found himself lying on a bench outside the hospital, covered with a coat.

"You're awake—how do you feel?" came a warm voice from beside him.

Bai Fuling turned his face and saw a gentle man with a scholarly air sitting next to him—his neighbor, Luo Qingyue.

At the mention of that name, Bai Fuling's head throbbed slightly. But he didn't dwell on it and simply sat up.

"Why am I here?"

"...You said you've been sleeping poorly and came to see the doctor. I came with you. You seemed a bit low on blood sugar." Luo Qingyue said, pressing a warm sweet soybean milk into his hand. "Drink some to get your energy back."

Bai Fuling accepted the sweet soybean milk, trying to recall the hospital visit, but his head was fuzzy and he couldn't remember clearly. Still, it seemed he had indeed come because of sleep issues.

"Thank you for coming to the hospital with me," Bai Fuling said politely.

To be honest, he hadn't expected his neighbor to be such an easy-going young man.

Bai Fuling knew he wasn't one for socializing. After his parents passed away, he mostly stayed home drawing and hardly ever greeted the neighbors.

It was rare to have a good neighbor... How did they meet, anyway?

Bai Fuling sipped the sweet soybean milk, unable to recall the details. But sitting beside Luo Qingyue, he indeed felt a familiar sense of peace.

He felt as if they had already been through many adventures together.

"...Fireworks," Bai Fuling let the word slip naturally from his lips. "Did we agree to watch fireworks together?"

Author's note:

It: A reunion with a handshake and a hug—isn't that the right thing? And I did both at once! (waving tentacles.gif)