Chapter 13: Changes in the Body_1

"The Black Snake should have left by now."

Wei'er's crisp voice rang out as she said to you, "In the future, it's best not to mess with the people of the Snake and Rat Meeting. They have significant influence here in Grey Stone Street and even have connections with some figures within Winter City. Many who cross them during the day are found dead before night falls."

You nodded vigorously, knowing all too well the dangers of this world. Disasters always seemed to loom around you, before and likely in the future. Ever since you received the Great Will's blessing, this had become an immutable fact.

Wei'er frowned and asked, "How did you get onto Black Snake's radar, that dead pervert?"

You told the cat-eared girl that you had merely made eye contact with Black Snake on the street, and then he had fixated on you.

Wei'er was speechless.

She felt that the level of your misfortune was truly outrageous.

Wei'er glanced at you and said, "So, can you leave now? This is the second time I've saved you."

"Right away." You curiously looked up at the stone wall above and asked, "Is there a mechanism in this wall? How did you pull me in here?"

The cat-eared girl put a finger to her lips and said solemnly, "This place was left by my mother. As for how I brought you in here, that's my ability. As payment for saving your life yet again, please don't tell anyone about this place!"

Ding! Wei'er has issued you a mission: Do not disclose any information about this place.

You immediately indicated that you would definitely not blab about it.

Wei'er's fierce gaze had no effect on you whatsoever; you even wanted to pet her head and ears.

Note: Traveler, do you want to try?

No!

You asked, "What is an ability? Can I have one too?"

Wei'er glanced at you, having grown accustomed to your lack of common knowledge.

"What's called an ability originally comes from those who follow the official path toward Sublimation, Transcendent beings. However, for 'Variants' like us, as the erosion of the Mutant Factor deepens, powers similar to those who have embarked on the path to Sublimation can also emerge."

"Of course, instead of using the term 'Sublimated ability,' it might be more apt to call them 'Mutant abilities.' The more that Variants use this power stemmed from calamity, the further they fall into the abyss of Mutation, until they turn into monsters."

Recorded item: Sublimated abilities/Mutant abilities.

You memorized what the cat-eared girl had told you.

"Don't just stand there. Let's go. As I said before, our deal is over. I won't charge you this time for saving you, but Grey Stone Street is too dangerous for someone like you. Leave as soon as possible."

Wei'er climbed up the ladder placed next to the wall, motioning for you to follow her with a hook of her hand.

You felt the kindness emanating from the cat-eared girl once more.

You passed through a pile of dusty books.

Do you want to climb up?

Yes

Following Wei'er, you climbed up to the third floor and crawled out through a turned-up corner.

The room was relatively spacious, a double bed over two meters wide stood at the center of the room. Many clothes were scattered carelessly on the bed and on the wardrobe, which appeared to be the usual attire for the two Lolitas, Wei'er, and Aina.

"Big sis, someone from the Snake and Rat Meeting just ran downstairs, right? Do you know what happened?"

The door opened from the outside, and the little wolf-eared Lolita Aina looked inside curiously.

Aina saw you and exclaimed with both surprise and delight, "Sloppy Uncle? You're back? Didn't my sister drive you away?"

Traveler, you could no longer tolerate the nickname Sloppy Uncle.

Do you wish to correct Aina's way of addressing you?

Yes

Do you wish to reveal your real name to them?

Luo Xi hesitated for a moment, then chose yes.

Yes

You told them your real name: Luo Xi, and you asked Aina to stop calling you Sloppy Uncle, but instead brother."

"So your name is Luo Xi?" Wei'er looked at you with a half-smile, "Didn't you say you had forgotten your name?"

You felt a tightness in your heart.

Luo Xi thought to himself, This is not good.

Would this slip cause the Lolitas' favorability toward him to plummet drastically?

Fortunately, no Favorability prompts popped up.

Traveler, what is your response?

① I just remembered my name.

② I'm sorry, I had my reasons.

③ Say nothing and just leave.

You said, "I just remembered my name; that's all."

"Oh, is that so?" Wei'er escorted you to the living room and opened the door again.

Everybody has secrets, and soon you'll be strangers again, so she didn't want to delve into your secrets.

Your Happiness Level -10

You walked toward the door.

Ding! Due to the emotional turmoil from earlier, the erosion level of the Mutant Factor in your body has reached 1%, entering an unstable state.

A wave of intense dizziness engulfed your head, traveler, as you felt everything go dark, with severe pain and a burning sensation spreading throughout your entire body.

Your body unexpectedly began to collapse to the ground, but the little wolf-eared Lolita Aina reacted quickly, rushing to embrace your waist and prop you up.

The little Lolita called out in panic, "Wei'er sister! What's happening to Sloppy Uncle... I mean brother? You didn't do something strange to him, did you?"

Wei'er also looked stunned.

She instructed Aina to lay you on the floor and, after a brief examination, made an uncertain judgment.

"It seems like the factor within him has begun to erode his body."

"Will he die?"

"So hot... if we don't cool him down, he might actually die..."

Wei'er hesitated for a moment then said, "Well, since I've already saved him twice, saving him one more time doesn't really matter. Aina, go get some cold water bags and find a clean towel."

...

Luo Xi's phone slid onto the blanket.

He clutched his head.

Pain, pain, pain!

And he was so hot, so thirsty.

His face was twisted in pain and burning heat.

It felt like something inside him was fighting, incessantly tearing at his body.

Damn it, could the pain from that damn game really carry over into reality?

Squeak—

The dormitory door was opened from the outside.

The person who came in immediately saw Luo Xi on the bed and shouted excitedly, "Little mule? You're back all of a sudden? Did the boss fire you? I told you being a working stiff has no future; you should come back and hang out with us..."

"Luo Xi?"

"Damn, Luo Xi, what happened to you?"