CH 16

Faced with the little girl whose tears were silently dripping down her face, Zhu Yuan opened and closed his mouth wordlessly. For a long while, he could not make any sound, as if his throat was glued shut.

He knew that although Bian Bian was young; she was very intelligent. Having gone through the experience of her grandfather turning into a monster, she was quite sensitive towards these things. It was because she had already gone through such an experience that Zhu Yuan did not want her to undergo something like that again.

He would rather leave a bad impression in Bian Bian’s heart. It would be fine even if she doesn’t like him.

“How could that be?” Zhu Yuan steeled his heart and showed a startled expression. “Bian Bian, why would you think that?”

He wiped away Bian Bian’s tears clumsily. The rough fingers of the adult man scraped across the little girl’s tender skin and caused it to become red. Upon seeing that, Zhu Yuan retracted his hand and used a napkin instead.

Bian Bian pursed her lips, not saying anything.

Zhu Yuan started speaking again: “Bina Bian, I’m really sorry. It’s not that Uncle doesn’t want to bring you to the base. Uncle needs to go take revenge, and it’ll be dangerous if you stay by Uncle’s side. It’ll be safer for you to stay here. Once Uncle is finished with his revenge, I’ll come back to bring you to the base.”

When an adult has made up his mind to lie to a child, it’s actually quite easy to do so.

Met with Zhu Yuan’s gentle explanation, Bian Bian felt a little confused. She turned to the little bear cradled tightly against her chest, the action giving her a sense of security. Then, she reached out with her other small hand and gently touched Zhu Yuan’s face: “Your face is really white and you were coughing badly earlier… Grandpa was like this before too.” Her voice trailed off.

Zhu Yuan grasped her small hand. At this moment, all of his inner resentment and uneasiness has suddenly disappeared.

He should’ve died a long time ago.

The warm and cozy moments from the past few days were nothing more than stolen time. 

The only thing he should be doing now is to ensure that Bian Bian will not be broken-hearted because of him.

“Silly Bian Bian.” Zhu Yuan laughed, “Did you forget that Uncle has injuries?”

Saying that, he changed his expression and deliberately said: “Could it be that you want Uncle to turn into a monster?”

“That’s not true. I don’t.” Bian Bian hurriedly shook her head. At the same time, those words allowed Bian Bian to believe in Zhu Yuan’s lie. Confirming that Uncle Zhu Yuan would not become a monster, the little girl visibly relaxed.

Seeing that Bian Bian believed his words, Zhu Yuan’s eyes flashed with relief.

“But…” Without the fear of Uncle Zhu Yuan turning into a monster, Bian Bian had another worry. She said anxiously: “Can’t you stay home and heal your injuries before going to the base to take revenge?”

Zhu Yuan already knew she would ask this and patted her head. He took out the level 3 wind crystal and said naturally: “Uncle has this now, so my injuries will be healed very quickly. Since Uncle’s enemy has gone to the base, if Uncle goes a day later, there’ll be more opportunities for him to leave the base. Then it’ll be very difficult for Uncle to find him again.

Bian Bian did not really understand.

“Uncle must leave earlier. The earlier I can find my enemy, the earlier I will be able to take revenge.”

Now, Bian Bian understood.

“Do you have to go now?” asked Bian Bian while suppressing her tears.

Zhu Yuan did not look away from those crystal clear eyes. He only said: “Uncle promises you. I will come back to you once I finish my revenge.”

The small child nodded her head obediently, giving Zhu Yuan a sweet smile. Her smile made people want to cradle her in the palm of their hands and protect her from any harm.

Zhu Yuan’s eyes burned, and his heartbeat began to accelerate. He knew that he needed to leave now. The farther away he was, the better.

He had no way of building a thick metal wall like Lu Yu to isolate himself so that he’d be unable to harm Bian Bian while protecting her at the same time… He could only leave and go as far away as possible.

The farther away from Bian Bian he was, the safer she would be.

Before he left, Zhu Yuan spent some time bringing up the remaining edible food from the supermarket downstairs.

“Bian Bian, when Uncle is not here, you should cultivate if you are bored at home… As long as you become powerful, monsters won’t dare to come to find you… I put the stovetop on the chair, so you’ll be able to heat water and make food. However, you have to be careful. Use your ability to protect yourself…”

Zhu Yuan’s speech was a bit jumbled, affected by the virus. His memories were getting messed up. In the end, worried that Bian Bian would notice, he stopped talking. He gave Bian Bian a hug, lowering his head to gently kiss her forehead before turning around and leaving.

“Uncle Zhu Yuan, I’ll be waiting for you at home.” Bian Bian ran to the window. Downstairs, Zhu Yuan had found a barely functional car. He waved at the small figure in the window and stepped on the gas. The car wobbled away from Bian Bian’s line of sight.

Bian Bian stretched her neck and watched for a long time. Her bright eyes were filled with reluctance when she finally withdrew her gaze. But after a while, she started to smile happily again. She pulled the little bear into her arms and said: “When Uncle Zhu Yuan is finished with his revenge, he’ll be back. Since he is so powerful, he’ll definitely come back very soon.”

Having grasped the circumstances regarding Zhu Yuan’s departure, Bian Bian turned her attention towards the invisible uncle.

She hadn’t even said thank you for the invisible uncle’s help.

“Uncle, are you still here?” Bian Bian called out cautiously while looking around the empty living room. She was a bit curious, but also a bit anxious.

There was no response.

Bian Bian chewed nervously on her little finger before suddenly pointing at the cup on the table: “Uncle, if you are here, move the table on the cup.”    

A minute went by. The cup remained in place, not moving a single inch.

Bian Bian hung her head a bit dejectedly. It turns out that the invisible uncle had also left.

Her clear eyes gradually dulled, similar to how a sparkling and translucent crystal loses its original luster. 

The sunset in the west and the world was bathed in the hazy dusk of twilight. Bian Bian lit the candles as usual and drew the metal curtains shut. The interior of the house became dim. 

It was very quiet. There wasn’t a slight bit of sound. It was dead silent.

Bian Bian patted her small stomach. After eating a bowl of fried apples, she wasn’t that hungry.

Before Zhu Yuan came, at night, Bian Bian would wash up early, lie down on the bed, and talk to Hui Hui for a while. Then she would close her eyes and go to sleep.

However, after living with Zhu Yuan for a few days, Bian Bian felt unused to her old lifestyle.

She hugged her little bear while laying in bed, her mind recalled the appearance of the corpse beast she saw during the day. The more she thought about it, the more afraid she became even though she was clearly not scared at the time.

“Hui Hui, I’m scared.” A small, choked sob sounded in the quiet room. “I miss grandpa.”

The little bear had no way to comfort Bian Bian with words, but its presence was a source of strength for Bian Bian.

Hugging her little bear, she cried for a while. Bian Bian raised her small hands and wiped away her tears before getting off the bed. She lit several candles, and the room suddenly became a lot brighter. 

“Hui Hui, I want to go see grandpa.”

Having brought up grandpa, Bian Bian felt brave again. 

With one hand clutching onto her bear and the other holding the candle, she opened the door. The staircase was so dark that nothing could be seen. When the door opened, a sliver of light leaked through, and the staircase was bathed in a faint light. 

Bian Bian arrived in front of the metal wall and placed the candle onto the floor. When she lifted her head, she was surprised to see that the bowl filled with rice and meat was empty. 

When she looked the day after she brought grandpa food, it had not been touched. 

It signified that grandpa didn’t eat things like this. 

But Bian Bian never gave up on bringing food for her grandpa. 

These days when Zhu Yuan makes food, Bian Bian would always fill a bowl and place it in front of the hole just in case grandpa would eat it. 

Zhu Yuan didn’t stop her from wasting the food. In fact, he had been very supportive. 

Now the bowl was empty. Didn’t that mean grandpa ate it?

“Grandpa.” Hugging the empty bowl, Bian Bian shouted happily. 

In this quiet environment, her shout of “grandpa” was exceptionally loud, echoing through the staircase. Following her shout, heavy footsteps sounded from within the metal wall. 

It was followed by a familiar crash. 

Ordinary people would have been terrified of the horrific crash that resounded in the dark, enclosed space. Bian Bian, however, found a strange sense of security within the crashing sounds.

She felt at ease. At the very least, Bian Bian felt more at ease than when she was in her room. 

Thus, Bian Bian sat down along the vibrating metal wall. Hugging her little bear, she curled up against the corner of the metal wall and slept peacefully amidst the vibrations.

Within the metal wall, the zombie that had continuously struck the wall stopped moving. Emotionless, its murky gray eyes roamed around mechanically.

Following the faint light coming from the hole, he walked over. He stared at the hole for half a minute before moving away. He picked up a bottle of mineral water that Bian Bian had pushed in from the ground, unscrewed the cap, and gulped down the whole bottle1He’s quite the civilized zombie lmao. Actually I didn’t know zombies drank water… I kinda thought they just went grawr and roar and chomp chom.. 

Holding the empty bottle, he stood still, as if he had forgotten what he was supposed to do next.

He kept on standing there until he sensed something and suddenly became agitated. This time he rammed into the wall again, striking it a lot faster than he did previously. 

Nong Jiusi soaked in an enormous hot spring, surrounded by walls embedded with countless luxurious jewels. The word “bejeweled” did not do the luxurious bath justice.

The dragon race likes shiny things.

It was in their nature.

When they saw anything shiny, they wanted to collect it. This was something Nong Jiusi excelled at.

His palace was made with all kinds of sparkling jewels— He had gone to “gather” them from various planets.

Take the NR virtual device for instance. Nong Jiusi had actually obtained it from the hands of an intergalactic thief. He had taken a liking to its outer appearance. He liked the way it had glittered in the sunlight.

The thief knew that they were extremely unlucky to have fallen into the palm of Nong Jiusi’s hands. In order to live, the thief had taken out the NR device and hyped it up as much as they could, saying that the device was extremely magical.

Nong Jiusi took a liking to the sparkling exterior, waved his hand, and let the thief go.

……

Therefore, he didn’t really understand the workings of the NR device. He had randomly tried it out once and played the game. But once the game disconnected, Nong Jiusi momentarily lost interest and just stopped caring about it.

Now soaking in the hot spring, he suddenly remembered. He sent Nong Tang to fetch the device, ready to once again study/investigate it and see whether the device was really as magical as the intergalactic thief had said it was.

As soon as he opened it, a projection with the words “logging in” popped up automatically.

Nong Jiusi: “?”

System: [Welcome.]

System: [As a father, please provide Bian Bian with a pleasant environment and help her grow up. Good luck.]

Nong Jiusi: “……”

It was the same game as last time. Did it login automatically?

He wasn’t interested in playing a stupid game about raising children. Ignoring the system notifications, he got ready to exit the game.

The image suddenly changed, and he saw the little one called Bian Bian curled up in a corner.

Nong Jiusi’s eyebrows rose.

Two-thirds of the candle had already been burned through. Besides the little one, a dirty little bear laid on the floor. The red threads sewn on the bear’s arm were so hideous that Nong Jiusi had to avert his eyes to prevent them from being defiled/corrupted.

Looking at the little one again, he saw that both her eyes were shut tightly and her face was flushed. The hair in front of her forehead was drenched with sweat, clinging wetly to her skin. She seemed to be very uncomfortable.

Nong Jiusi frowned, and he squatted down. After carefully scrutinizing her for a few seconds, he extended a slender finger and poked the little one.

The little one fell over.

Nong Jiusi: “……”

A loudspeaker icon appeared beside the metal wall. When he tapped it, a loud striking sound exploded by his ear. 

Thinking back, he remembered the notification that the game had given before. Bian Bian’s grandfather had turned into a zombie after being infected. Using his gold welding abilities, Bian Bian’s grandfather had built himself a metal wall to isolate himself so that he wouldn’t harm his granddaughter.

From this, it can be concluded that the one who kept striking the wall was Lu Yu, who had become a zombie.

Nong Jiusi stared at Bian Bian.

What was going on in the little one’s mind?

Sleeping out here in the middle of the night, not afraid of the zombie who could break out and eat her.

[Attention Player 2, Bian Bian is currently running a fever at 102.02°F. You have two options.]

[One, physically lower her temperature. Assist Bian Bian so she is safe and sound.]    

[Two, let the fever develop. If her temperature rises to 109.4°F, there is a 50% chance of awakening psychic abilities. The remaining 50% chance is death.]

[Please make your choice.]

Faced with the options [Lower temperature] and [Let fever develop], Nong Jiusi casually said: “If I choose the second option and the little girl dies, what happens afterward?”

System: [You will lose the right to raise Bian Bian. The game will end when Bian Bian dies.]

“I can’t choose again?”

[No.]

Nong Jiusi pondered for two seconds before decisively getting out of the bath. With a towel tightly wrapped around his waist, he made his way to Bian Bian’s side in the projection.

A high fever of 109.4°F meant a 50% chance of awakening psychic abilities… This was a great opportunity, but there was no need.

More importantly, looking at the little one’s uncomfortable expression at close range made it feel too realistic. There was no way Nong Jiusi could choose [Let fever develop].

In the case that her abilities didn’t awaken, wouldn’t he have to watch the little one “burn” to death? 

Even if it was a game, he didn’t want to see a situation like that.

……

Gazing at the little one curled up like a little ball, Nong Jiusi had an odd expression on his face. Finally, he picked Bian Bian up, posture stiff.

Lord Jiusi, who had never held a child before, was forced to hold a child within the game. It was a feeling foreign to him.

His first time was unexpectedly taken due to a game.

Like a puppet, Nong Jiusi held the child and walked to the door of the third floor. However, he was stopped by an invisible force that prevented him from entering. 

—It was because Bian Bian was on the stairs and not in the living room. That was why he couldn’t enter the door.

“……”

He lowered his head. The little one in his hands was trembling nonstop, her small face redder than before.

Turning around, he walked downstairs to the floor below. Like before, he was still blocked by an invisible force, unable to pass through.

Nong Jiusi’s eyes narrowed slightly. He needed to lower her temperature but was unable to enter the living room or leave the complex. He could move around the stairs on the third floor. Where was he supposed to go to lower the little one’s temperature?   

Take off her clothes?

Members of the Dragon Clan are strong from birth. “Sickness” was not a term that applied to their lives, but Nong Jiusi still had some common sense.

When humans develop a fever, taking off their clothes didn’t seem to be useful in cooling them off.

Medicine?

He subconsciously tapped open the market. Everything was grey.

[Attention, Bian Bian’s temperature has risen to 102.2°F. You have lowered her temperature. If you don’t take action, once her fever rises to 104°F, Bian Bian will suffer from irreversible damage.]   

Nong Jiusi decisively returned to the third floor and faced the door with furrowed eyebrows.

In the next second, he switched to holding Bian Bian with one arm instead of using both. Clenching his freed right hand into a fist, he lightly attacked the invisible barrier.

[Anomaly—]

[System is in disorder…]

[System recovering…]

[System recovery complete.]

He withdrew his hand. The invisible barrier had disappeared. Nong Jiusi carried Bian Bian into the room.

System: [……]

Ultimately, it did not utter another word. It appeared to have tacitly agreed with Nong Jiusi’s rule-breaking action of punching the invisible barrier. 

Confronted with the narrow, dimly lit room that was devoid of beauty, Nong Jiusi’s eyebrows furrowed and his expression changed to that of unconcealed disgust. He placed Bian Bian on the sofa and moved his left wrist. After a few seconds, Nong Tang, who had received the order, hurried in.

“My Lord.”

He wasn’t surprised to see Nong Jiusi standing in the projection wrapped with only a bath towel.

Nong Jiusi pointed at Bian Bian: “The little one has a fever. How do you lower her temperature?” 

Nong Tang was surprised at how serious his lord was towards game characters, but did not dare to neglect his lord. However, dragons honestly didn’t know anything about lowering one’s temperature physically. 

He touched his horns, hesitating before saying: “Soak in water?”    

Nong Jiusi felt that Nong Tang’s words made sense. He proceeded to fill a basin with water and placed Bian Bian into the basin as if he were planting a radish.

Jolted by the cold water, Bian Bian woke up in a daze. Feeling comfortable, she murmured unconsciously. 

Seeing a loudspeaker icon pop up by the little one’s head, Nong Jiusi tapped on it.

“Daddy…” A sweet voice rang in his ears. It was like a feather gently brushed against his heart.

Lord Jiusi’s indifferent expression froze.