Chapter 28: I Don't Want to Stay Outside for Even a Minute
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“Doctor An’s private consultation room has its own surveillance system. You could ask Doctor An’s assistant.”
“She should know.”
The security guard was kind enough to offer a solution.
Unfortunately, it was the middle of the night.
Only the staff on duty remained in the entire hospital; everyone else had gone home after work. Even if Wen Ke wanted to find An Shi’s assistant, he would have to wait until tomorrow.
After thanking the guard, Wen Ke left the hospital.
Not long after Wen Ke departed, a furtive figure appeared on the surveillance monitor, flashing past in an instant.
The security guard was still dozing and failed to notice anything.
…
“Ten o’clock every night.”
“Not a minute early, not a second late.”
Lu Yuan woke once again in bed, his expression filled with helplessness. He had more or less figured out some of the patterns and rules governing this world.
Ten o’clock at night was Lu Yuan’s reset time.
The moment that hour arrived, whether he was sleepy or had taken sleeping pills, he would inevitably enter the dream.
And every time he awoke, he was always in the same place: the bed in the villa’s bedroom.
A thought stirred in Lu Yuan’s mind.
If he did not get out of bed and simply closed his eyes and went to sleep, would he wake up in the real world?
The time at which he entered the dream was fixed, but the time at which he awakened each day was random. This meant that the sinister dream world could control when Lu Yuan fell asleep, but not when he woke.
With that in mind, Lu Yuan closed his eyes and pulled up the covers.
“I’ll just treat it as sleeping somewhere else. This bed is quite comfortable.”
Half an hour later, Lu Yuan opened his eyes wide and stared blankly at the ceiling.
He could not sleep.
He simply could not sleep.
He did not feel tired in the slightest.
That long-forgotten insomnia had returned—only this time, it had struck in the sinister dream world rather than reality.
Lu Yuan sighed. It seemed his plan to exploit a loophole had come to nothing.
He sat up in bed.
At that moment, the television, which had remained black, suddenly flickered to life with a screen full of static. Its deathly white glow fell across Lu Yuan’s face, making him look as though he were being photographed for a funeral portrait.
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[Dear Psychologist, the principal of Bright Wisdom Elementary School has extended a sincere invitation to you and hopes to arrange an employment interview as soon as possible. Please report to Bright Wisdom Elementary School within three days.]
Lu Yuan shook his head.
As expected!
That accursed television had no good intentions. It had been pressuring him all along to leave the villa and explore the outside world.
Lu Yuan turned to look out the window.
The world beyond was shrouded in murky gray mist. From time to time, a few faint green lights flickered into view, only to vanish in an instant.
This sinister dream world had no daytime.
Lu Yuan even suspected that the villa was the only place in this world with any light. Everywhere else was drowned in darkness.
Human instinct naturally feared darkness and the unknown. Lu Yuan certainly had no desire to leave the villa. At least for now, the villa was safe.
But the television clearly had no intention of letting him settle down. It was forcing him to go outside and explore the other regions of this world.
“There are still three days. I’ll wait a little longer.”
If he could put it off, he would.
Lu Yuan turned his attention back to the television screen.
The words displayed on the screen changed again:
[Dear Psychologist, through your cooperation with Zhuo Yan last night, you prevented a vicious incident. You have gradually gained the recognition and affection of others.]
[You have successfully unlocked the Affection Display. You may now view the affection value that any supernatural entity holds toward you.]
Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered.
Affection.
What could it do?
The television sensed Lu Yuan’s confusion and took the initiative to explain:
[The higher an entity’s affection for you, the more willing it will be to help you.]
[Affection is divided into five levels.]
[Level One: Stranger. Affection value: 0–20. When you encounter an entity of this level, try to raise its affection toward you. If you cannot, we recommend that you flee for your own safety.]
[Level Two: Acquaintance. Affection value: 20–40. You have successfully established the foundation of friendship with the entity and may ask it for help. The entity may refuse.]
[Level Three: Familiar. Affection value: 40–60. The entity’s hatred toward you has been greatly reduced, and it is willing to heed your words. You may ask it for help, though there is still a chance it will refuse.]
[Level Four: Best Friend. Affection value: 60–80. Your friendship with the entity grows steadily deeper. You may ask it for help, with only a small chance of refusal. Moreover, whenever you face danger, there is a fifty percent chance that it will take a fatal blow on your behalf.]
[Level Five: One and Only. Affection value: 80–100. You are the entity’s sole friend. It will not allow anyone to harm you and will never refuse your requests.]
A great many words suddenly appeared across the television screen.
Lu Yuan’s eyes grew strained from reading them.
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It took Lu Yuan a while to read every word on the screen.
“This affection value seems extremely important.”
Lu Yuan rubbed his chin.
After all, this was a world belonging to supernatural entities. No matter how capable an ordinary human like him might be, he could never be more frightening than those entities.
But if Lu Yuan had a whole group of supernatural friends, the situation would be entirely different.
He was merely uncertain how to raise this affection value.
This time, the television offered no answer.
Lu Yuan pondered it himself. He would have to figure it out gradually, but for now, he had a suitable subject for experimentation.
Zhuo Yan.
At present, Zhuo Yan did not seem to harbor any deep hatred toward Lu Yuan. Whenever she saw him, she did not attack.
He could study the nature of affection little by little through her.
Lu Yuan actually found the prospect rather novel.
It felt like playing an innovative new game—one that combined the mechanics of a nurturing game with those of a horror game.
Viewed purely as a game, this sinister dream world was undoubtedly a tremendous success.
Its sense of immersion and realism was unrivaled.
But precisely because it was so realistic, whenever danger arose here, the body in the real world would suffer corresponding repercussions.
Lu Yuan had assumed the television’s message had ended, but new words appeared once more:
[Dear Psychologist, only a healthy body can enable you to serve others more effectively. Please recover your own body as soon as possible.]
The television was reminding Lu Yuan.
He was still using An Shi’s body, and in every respect it felt deeply unfamiliar. Naturally, returning to his own body would be ideal.
The next second, Lu Yuan realized that something was wrong.
If the map of the sinister dream world corresponded exactly to that of the real world, then An Shi’s villa was a full four or five hours away from Lu Yuan’s psychological clinic on foot.
In other words, Lu Yuan would have to identify the clinic’s location precisely while surrounded by the endless fog outside, then remain out there for four or five hours to make his way back.
Stay outside for four or five hours…
To be honest, Lu Yuan did not want to spend even a single minute out there.
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