Chapter 3 The Infinite Boss Invites You to "Eat Melon" 3. Pei Yanzhi...
Pei Yanzhi did not intentionally come to run into Lu Yu.
Today marks the first day of the opening of the SSS-level dungeon "Fool's Kingdom".
In the past, all players of Smile Games only knew that the dungeons they experienced were based on a world, which they called the game world, but they didn't know what it actually was. Until a week ago, when the map of the game world was fully lit up, Smile Games officially announced on the huge sky that the SSS-level dungeon "Fool's Kingdom" was officially opened.
Basic information about the "Land of Fools" has been made public.
It's the Blue Star mentioned by the NPCs, the only SSS-level large-scale illusionary dungeon in the game, teeming with the bizarre and polluted, yet possessing a complete set of rules and common sense. All dungeons in the game exist based on it, including but not limited to the B-level dungeon he's currently in, the First Municipal Hospital.
In fact, setting aside the eeriness and pollution, this world is probably no different from the former Venus and Mercury; it's just an ordinary and normal human world.
Unfortunately, Pei Yanzhi sighed, it was impossible to get rid of them.
So no matter how realistic this place is, for these players, it can only be an illusion, a game. Because as long as it's a game, there will eventually be an ending and a completion, and that's where their hope lies.
Currently, the "Kingdom of Fools" has officially opened, but the main storyline quests have not yet been released and will be revealed in three days. At present, only one preliminary exploration quest has been started, which is aimed at the final boss of the dungeon.
In order to snatch the freshest fruit in this obviously unusual instance, countless guilds, teams, and solo players in Smile Games rushed in and raced against time to take action.
Pei Yanzhi was no exception.
But he was also different from them.
He wasn't in a hurry.
He entered the instance from Jinshui Star last night, and this morning he flew from Wanshou City, where his access card was located, to Baixiang City. However, after landing, he neither rushed out to make arrangements nor gathered his teammates to formulate an action plan.
He simply went to the hospital and registered.
The Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at the First People's Hospital of Baixiang City is very famous, so Pei Yanzhi decided to come and see a doctor first.
The doctor ordered a lot of tests. After Pei Yanzhi finished them in the morning, he sent a message to his three teammates, instructing them to infiltrate the vicinity of Chenhun Apartment, Jixiang Middle School subway station, and Xiaoxixi Media Company, respectively, to lie low for the time being and wait for the right opportunity. After that, he once again ignored the situation, ate lunch, picked up the newly issued report, and re-registered for a follow-up appointment in the afternoon.
Unexpectedly, compared to other teams, Pei Yanzhi's almost slacking-off start actually happened to coincide with the mission target locked for him by the "Great Prophet".
I don't know if it's lucky or unlucky.
Accidents can happen in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, Pei Yanzhi had already adjusted his expression, put on a polite smile, and naturally began to speak.
Lu Yu was surprised that the young man would strike up a conversation with him. His gaze lingered on the man's overly captivating smile for a couple of seconds before he nodded slightly: "Yes, you are too?"
“Yes. I’m from Wanshou City. I’ve been to many places for medical treatment before. This time I heard that Dr. Zheng from Baixiang City specializes in treating mental pollution and is very famous, so I came here to make an appointment and have a look.” Pei Yanzhi replied with a smile.
His voice was naturally smooth and pleasant. When he spoke slowly and deliberately, his pronunciation was pleasant and rhythmic, like a gentle stream polishing clear jade. When Lu Yu listened to him, he felt his heart calm down.
Lu Yu knew about mental pollution disorder. Experts said it was similar to depression and anxiety, a mental illness that almost everyone would get, differing only in severity and symptoms. In recent years, with increased stress, the number of people suffering from it had surged. However, despite the large number of sufferers, few actually sought treatment. People seemed to have become accustomed to it, only occasionally testing their mental pollution levels.
Last year, when Lu Yu was working overtime until the early hours of the morning for a month straight and was frantically thinking about launching a nuclear missile to destroy the world, he also came to Dr. Zheng twice for a mental pollution test. Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing wrong with him; it was simply from working overtime.
"Dr. Zheng is an expert in this field, and he is famous throughout the country."
Lu Yudao.
After he finished speaking, he paused, unsure of what to say next, yet subconsciously unwilling to end the conversation, so he said, "I'm here to see a doctor for paranoia."
Pei Yanzhi's eyes widened in surprise: "Paranoia?"
“Yes,” Lu Yu said, “I met a system today. It said it has chosen me as its host and wants to take me to eat melons.”
The gossip-eating system: 【!】
No? Host, you just blurted out your secret like that? In front of everyone?
This rather delusional answer made the long-faced man next door unable to keep his composure, and he glanced over.
Pei Yanzhi didn't react in any particular way, but asked curiously, "Did it let you eat any melons?"
This is a difficult question for Lu Yu to answer.
His teenage years are long gone, and he can no longer utter words like "near-god," "final boss," or "king of calamities." This is practically pushing him into a hole in the ground.
So he thought for a moment, automatically ignoring the entries on the gossip system, and instead talked about a gossip he had heard during his lunch break: "Yes. During lunch break today, a weirdo who looked like a girl but was actually a man entered the public restroom downstairs from our company. He went into the men's restroom and tried to take the toilet from the cleaner. In the end, the cleaner had no choice but to call the police, and the police arrested him."
Lu Yu's narration was a bit dry, not as engaging as his office colleagues', but Pei Yanzhi listened with great interest. He clicked his tongue in surprise: "Competing with others to sweep the toilet? What kind of hobby is that?"
Lu Yu said, "It's said that he's under too much work pressure and likes to clean toilets to relieve stress."
Inside the van, Jiang Yan and her two companions, who were secretly watching, were speechless.
"Calm down, Captain! Calm down!"
"The overall situation is paramount!"
"Three men can make a tiger; it's all just a rumor!"
Liu Xian and Lao Bai screamed wildly, holding down Jiang Yan, whose face was contorted in pain.
Outside the consultation room, Pei Yanzhi sighed from the bottom of his heart, "Everyone is under too much pressure these days."
Lu Yu nodded in deep agreement.
As they were chatting, their number was called from the clinic, and Pei Yanzhi was next.
Lu Yu watched him go inside with a stack of reports.
About ten minutes later, Pei Yanzhi pushed open the door of the consultation room and came out. Lu Yu was two people behind him in line and had to continue waiting.
"How are you?" Lu Yu asked with concern.
Pei Yanzhi smiled and said, "It's alright, the condition has improved."
"That's good," Lu Yu said.
"I'll be going now. Good luck."
Pei Yanzhi showed no intention of continuing the conversation with Lu Yu, treating him as a complete stranger rather than a player who had accepted an exploration quest and was trying to spy on him from all angles.
This left Jiang Yan and the other two looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Pei Yanzhi just left like that?" Liu Xian was a little confused. "Such a good opportunity to get in touch with Lu Yu..."
Jiang Yan said, "That's not right."
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Yu suddenly spoke up in the picture book.
"Hold on."
He stood up, tall and slender at about 1.87 meters. He took a step closer, his eyelids slightly lowered, just enough to see Pei Yanzhi's slightly low head.
His throat tightened, but he still managed to say, "It's a bit sudden, but... could I get your contact information? We can discuss our conditions sometime."
These words drew the attention of the long-faced man next door once again.
As Lu Yu approached, Pei Yanzhi seemed to sense something, freezing for a moment unnoticed, before smiling: "Exchanging symptoms? What's there to discuss about mental pollution syndrome and delusions?"
Lu Yu choked for a moment.
He was truly overcome by lust at first sight, and in a moment of impulsiveness, he used up all the courage he had ever had to strike up a conversation with someone. Now, faced with this question, his mind went blank, and he racked his brains for a witty, humorous, and non-awkward answer. All he could do was open his mouth and say sorry.
Unexpectedly, Pei Yanzhi spoke first.
The other person raised a pair of hazel, tender eyes, looked at him from a distance, and chuckled softly: "I can add you on social media, but let's forget about discussing your condition. Next time, I hope we can meet in a more romantic setting; the psychiatric ward of a hospital isn't exactly a pleasant place."
Lu Yu paused, realizing the implication in the other person's words, and his ears instantly burned.
"Okay." He swallowed hard, responded softly, and took out his phone.
The moment the friend was successfully added, the gossip system popped up a notification: [Congratulations, host, you have unlocked a new term, "The Untold Story of Pei Yanzhi!"]
Lu Yu paused for a moment.
He didn't immediately click on the enticing entry for the name, but instead bid farewell to Pei Yanzhi with a normal expression.
After watching Pei Yanzhi's tall figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, Lu Yu withdrew his gaze, straightened his expression, and said to the gossip-loving system, "System, wouldn't you say this is an invasion of personal privacy?"
The Gossip System: [...Didn't the host disbelieve in the existence of this system and in the gossip it generates? Since it's all fake, how can it be considered an invasion of privacy? At most, it's just the host's personal delusion, right?]
Lu Yu remained silent.
He felt that the system was somewhat strange and unsettling.
Lu Yu is mostly uninterested in gossip, but gossiping is human nature, and he is human too, so he can't be completely immune to it, especially when he encounters people or things that he genuinely cares about or is interested in.
After a moment of contemplation, Lu Yu abandoned his personal morality and character and clicked on the entry for the person he was attracted to.
[The Unavoidable Story of Pei Yanzhi:]
Pei Yanzhi, the host's current object of affection, is a 25-year-old single man residing at the Crown Hotel in Baixiang City, Hedong Province, Blue Star China. His mental pollution level is suspected to be severe. His outward identity is that of an ordinary human, a low-level office worker, but his true identity is (garbled code), he possesses (garbled code), and is known as (garbled code).
Lu Yu: "...Excuse me for asking, what is this garbled text?"
The "Gossip System": [Limited by the host's cognitive abilities and...]
Lu Yu was too lazy to pay attention to it.
He discovered that in addition to the garbled personal introduction, Pei Yanzhi's entry also contained a text.
Pei Yanzhi was already quite playful at the age of fifteen. His heart was divided into three parts.
Uncle Zhao's cat, Tuantuan, on the third floor is his true love. He bought thirteen fake tongues from Pinduoduo just to lick Tuantuan's fur. He carefully collected all the cat hair he licked, had it made into felt toys, and secretly put them in a small box under his bed.
His fleeting romance with Orange Cat at Aunt Zheng's house was a brief encounter. He was entrusted with spending three days with Orange Cat while Aunt Zheng's family was away, and the sweetness was extraordinary. During this time, Pei Yanzhi secretly filmed twelve videos of Orange Cat squatting in the litter box, and for many years afterward, he would watch them every midnight to ease his longing.
Duo Duo, belonging to Qi Pangpang, was his long-cherished white moonlight, who died young before he could possess her. He had always wanted to find a substitute to replace her in his heart. Unfortunately, among the countless cow cats in the 780 short videos in his collection, even the most similar one could hardly capture even a fraction of her spirit.
Wanwan resembles you, but in the end, she is not.
Lu Yu: "..."
Duoduo is a tuxedo cat, then what about Tuantuan and Juju?
[American Shorthair, Orange Tabby Cat.] (Answer from the gossip-eating system.)
It tentatively displayed the following text: 【How about it? Isn't Pei Yanzhi's gossip a bit juicy, a bit…?】
abnormal?
Lu Yu: "Cute."
The gossip-eating system: [...]
Lu Yu continued scrolling down, but it showed that the remaining content was not unlocked.
Lu Yu opened his mobile banking app, checked his balance, and said to the system, "Tell me how much to deposit."
The gossip-eating system: [...]
The system is limited by the host's cognition and...
The great gossip system doesn't bow to money and gives rigid answers.
Lu Yu felt regret.
Just then, his phone vibrated. He looked down and saw a message from Pei Yanzhi in the chat box: a cute cat smiley face and three words, "Pei Yanzhi".
My name is Lu Yu.
Lu Yu replied immediately.
He had already written it in the friend request section, but he sent it again. At the same time, he opened his emoji list and started searching.
Although he didn't quite trust this gossip-eating system, Lu Yu hesitated for a moment before searching for a cow-and-cat emoji holding flowers and sending it over.
Pei Yanzhi paused as he stepped out of the hospital, glanced down at his phone, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his lips, only to fade away shortly afterward.
He didn't reply, put away his phone, and stopped looking at it.
On a summer afternoon, the sun was blazing.
Pei Yanzhi wore long sleeves and trousers, yet there wasn't a trace of sweat on his clothes; in fact, there was a subtle sense of coolness surrounding him.
But he still went into the shade of the tree.
The slivers of light that fell through the gaps in the leaves resembled swimming fish, dangling past his shoulders and back.
As he turned a corner, he paused briefly, raised his hand, and tossed the bag he had been carrying into a trash can.
The moment the bag was swallowed by the trash can, his withdrawn fingers flickered slightly, and the bag, along with all the examination forms inside, vanished without a trace, as if erased by space itself.
Outside the psychiatric clinic, Lu Yu changed Pei Yanzhi's contact name while a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Inside a van near the hospital.
Liu Xian was somewhat dazed: "Uh... Captain, something feels off. Why did Lu Yu ask Pei Yanzhi for his contact information? What did Pei Yanzhi's answer mean? And what is Lu Yu laughing about now?"
Old Bai's face was grim and filled with rage: "Captain, Crimson Dawn is utterly shameless! A dignified 'World Lord,' ranked first on the leaderboard, the strongest player, actually resorted to a honey trap!"
Jiang Yan remained calm, her first reaction being to extract useful information from the pink-bubble-filled scene: "Liu Xian, record, the King of Calamities is suspected of being gay, current target of affection is 'World Lord' Pei Yanzhi."
Less than three seconds after he finished speaking, there was a knock on the van window.
Jiang Yan's expression changed, and she quickly turned her head to see that the car window, though unattended, was slowly rolling down.
Outside the car window, Pei Yanzhi's face, as white as jade and as fierce as a demon, appeared. Looking at them, he smiled slightly: "Vice President Jiang, you haven't been secretly talking badly about me, have you?"
A note from the author:
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[Sprinkling flowers] To celebrate the start of the story, 30 small red envelopes will be randomly given away in the comments section of this chapter tonight. Those who win, please check your envelopes!
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