Chapter 26
The special team searched the old building for too long. Yu Tu could not help but fall asleep while waiting. When he woke up, he saw the ceiling of the hospital.
Yu Tu looked around. This was a single ward with the window open and the curtain drawn to one side. Bright sunlight poured in, illuminating several pots of vibrant green plants in the corner.
The whole room was decorated in bright, warm colors. If it weren't for the IV tube hanging next to his bed, he might not have realized that he was in a hospital.
There was a small table next to the bed, on which was a light yellow incubator with a sticky note on it:
【After waking up, eat first. Be careful with the IV tube on the back of your hand. When the injection is almost finished, remember to press the bell next to it. The cell phone and spirit page are in the drawer. If anything happens, please contact me at any time.】
Yu Tu first took out his cell phone and Ling Ye from the drawer. When he turned on the phone, it was fully charged. Obviously someone had charged it in advance.
When I opened the Lianxin APP, several messages popped up in the chat box, all from Gu Hongying.
[The Crescent Moon Hangs on the Tree]: Tutu, I've charged your phone and put the food by your bed. We're finishing up our mission here and can't stay with you. If you wake up, send me a message to let everyone know you're safe.
[The Crescent Moon Hanging on the Shutong Tree]: Wow! I saw the baby spirits you told me about before! They are so cute! But why do I feel like they are using me as a scratching post? Is this an illusion?
[The crescent moon hangs on the sparse tong tree]: Help, help, help! I really don't understand, what are they saying? Help———
Gu Hongying himself is a bit of a chatterbox, and he sends a message every once in a while. Yu Tu can basically infer what stage of their mission they are at from his messages.
[Crescent Moon Hanging on a Shutong Tree]: Tutu, you are very mobile, you even took apart the [Shackles] of the baby spirits, but the talismans were too broken, so I had to pick them out and classify them into four categories... Ahem, Sister Lu is cursing right now Q^Q
【The Crescent Moon Hangs on the Shutong Tree】: An Jiajia is awake! I finally figured out the whole story! No, why would a scumbag live and waste food?
Can you please speed up a little? It's so annoying!
[The Crescent Moon Hangs on the Shutong Tree]: An Jiajia translated the baby spirit's words, Tutu, they are very worried about you—but this is not a reason for them to use me as a cat scratching post!
My hair is not a bird's nest, stop squatting on my head!!!
…
Yu Tu read through the lines one by one, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
Gu Hongying is actually a very considerate person. He was afraid that Yu Tu would wake up alone and at a loss, so he kept leaving messages to let Yu Tu know the current situation.
After getting a general understanding of the progress over there, Yu Tu was no longer panicked. He sent a message to Gu Hongying saying that he was awake, and then turned off his phone.
As soon as he relaxed, the feeling of hunger quickly swept through his mind, and his stomach issued an arrogant warning—
“Gugugugugugugu~”
Yu Tu: “…”
I'm so hungry!
After he finished reading Gu Hongying's message, he logged out and checked the time, only to find that it was already past three in the afternoon, which meant that he hadn't eaten for almost a day and a night!
Yu Tu opened the light yellow thermal box beside the bed, and the aroma of millet porridge filled the air. Next to the porridge was a three-grid plate. One grid contained tender cabbage hearts, one contained steamed eggplants with chopped green onions, and one contained stir-fried shredded potatoes sprinkled with sesame seeds. Although they were all vegetarian dishes, they looked delicious.
After the food fell into his stomach, Yu Tu burped with satisfaction, feeling happy that he was finally alive.
On the phone, Gu Hongying's reply came, saying that they would be back around six in the afternoon. Since Yu Tu had already woken up, he would talk to him in detail about the follow-up matters after he came back.
Someone had taken care of the final details, and Yu Tu's tense mood relaxed, suddenly feeling free.
He took out his cell phone and clicked on the comic website X. He originally wanted to check out everyone's reactions to the appearance of the vest in the third episode, but he didn't expect that the comic had been updated.
Yu Tu: “……?”
Aren't comics updated every ten days?
It’s not even ten days since the last time?
Comic readers are also very strange, but——
Who would complain that the author updates frequently and updates frequently? Readers will only shout "Modo Modo" and hope that the updates will be updated faster!
The comic was updated in the early morning of last night. Yu Tu had already fallen asleep at that time and did not wake up even though he set a special reminder.
The cover of the fourth episode is a close-up of Gu Hongying with a brilliant smile, with several illusory silhouettes lined up behind him.
Yu Tu clicked on the first page. The story of this episode began when Gu Hongying arrived at the door of his home. He was faced with the first problem after returning home—he had no key.
He took the Sanqing off his head and held it in front of his eyes: "Sanqing, I don't have the key."
Sanqing: “……?”
A question mark appeared on its furry head: "You don't have a key, do I?"
Gu Hongying suggested sincerely: "Can't you go through the glass? Why don't you go in through the window of my room and open the door for me?"
There was a barely perceptible sense of guilt on Sanqing's furry face: "It's daytime, if we make too much noise we'll be discovered."
It whispered: "I don't want my wages to be deducted."
Gu Hongying sighed: "My parents are not at home all year round. They are like a dragon that can only be seen from the head but not the tail. Finding them is harder than seeing a ghost..."
"Tongzi, what are you talking about?"
Before Gu Hongying finished speaking, he heard a familiar and sinister voice. He turned his head stiffly, like a jerk whose acupoints had been pressed. The door of their house opened at some point. His mother, who had not been seen for many years, was leaning against the door frame with her arms folded, smiling dangerously. The comic drew a small annotation box next to her:
【Gu Hongying's mother Gu Xingzhu】
Next to the gentle-looking man standing behind Gu Xingzhu was a similar annotation box:
【Gu Hongying's father Huo Hanzhi】
Gu Hongying saw his father standing behind his mother and he stood with his hands up, helpless. His smile seemed to show a kind of schadenfreude as if he was enjoying the excitement.
Gu Hongying, who was called by a nickname, almost trembled and dropped Sanqing.
Ordinary people cannot see Sanqing. Gu Hongying was just trying to rack his brains to explain why he stretched out his arms like a fool when he heard his mother smiling and calling him, "Little Sanqing is here. Come in quickly. I have prepared a fruit plate for you."
Gu Hongying: “…”
Not only could his mother see Sanqing, she actually knew Sanqing!
Know... Sanqing?!
The amount of information contained in this sentence was so great that Gu Hongying's brain almost crashed. In the comic, a petrified man was drawn next to Gu Hongying, as if he would turn into powder if the wind blew.
"Xingzhu, Xingzhu!" Sanqing kicked her little claws on Gu Hongying's palm, flapped her wings and flew to Gu Xingzhu's shoulder and cuddled her, "Long time no see!"
"Long time no see." Gu Xingzhu stroked Sanqing's chin like a cat, "Thank you for bringing Tongzi back."
The man and the bird walked inside while chatting, completely forgetting about Gu Hongying who was petrified outside.
"Dad." Gu Hongying asked dazedly, "Am I dreaming?"
"Congratulations on opening the door to a new world after turning eighteen." His father Huo Hanzhi tried his best to control the corners of Shang Xuan's lips, "This secret has been kept from you for eighteen years. Your mother and I have been so hard! Why don't you come in and cook us a big meal to celebrate?"
Gu Hongying: “……?”
Dad, listen to yourself, is this human language? !
Unlike Gu Hongying's chaotic wind, the comic readers mercilessly laughed at today's comics.
[Yingying: I must be dreaming, and I haven’t woken up yet. None of this is real!]
[Congratulations to Yingying for discovering the door to the new world: cooking a big meal for her parents to celebrate———hahahahahahaha I’ll laugh for a while, the merit will be deducted from Yingying! ]
[I was worried about how Yingying would get back on track...
Good news: No more rounding.
Bad news: More people are aware of the embarrassing experience.]
In addition to the comments mocking Gu Hongying, there was another wave of comments that suddenly emerged:
[Mommy is so cool! I can do this, sister! ! ! ]
[Gu Hongying's parents look so compatible. I support this couple!]
[嘤嘤媽妈: Looks like a very capable elite √
Yingying's father: He looks like a very evil elite√
Yingying: The future elite who owns a high-definition VCR (Black History Edition)√]
After reading the amount of information revealed in these few short pages, Yu Tu finally understood why Gu Hongying was as confused as he was at first, but knew so much about the inner world after returning home - because his parents had a very deep connection with the inner world.
Yu Tu turned another page, and the comic's perspective had shifted to Gu Hongying's home. Gu Xingzhu was feeding Sanqing with diced fruit poked with a toothpick. Sanqing was spread out on the dining table like a furry little ball: "Wow - Xingzhu, you're so nice!"
It was only when Sanqing, in a fit of resentment as a social animal, kicked Gu Hongying to the entrance test location with one claw that he felt a hint of familiarity from him.
Sanqing thought for a long time based on that breath, and finally it suddenly dawned on him something. It took out a special contactor, found Gu Xingzhu on the contact list, and sent him a message.
[Tuantuan Jiojiu]: Xingzhu, I’m sorry QAQ, I kicked your kid directly to the entrance test site in the middle of the night!
[Faintly seeing falling stars through the bamboos]:?
[Tuan Tuan Jiujiu]: Wuuuuuu, I'm sorry, I was too impulsive———
【Falling stars can be seen through the bamboo】: It's okay, just kick him, my Tongzi is tough. When you kicked him, he must have been carrying the spirit page, but he died suddenly, so according to the regulations, you have to accompany him to take care of him.
If you really feel sorry for me, remember to record a VCR of Tongzi for me~
[Tuan Tuan Chirp]:?
【團團啾啾】：這不太好吧……大部分孩子第一次入學測試都挺……嗯……狀況百出的……
【隔竹依稀見落星】：他一歲到十八歲的黑歷史我這邊有十幾個G的文件，多這一個不多，但少這一個就不完整了啊！
【團團啾啾】：……
【團團啾啾】：行。
顧星竹和三青這一段對話以回憶的形式被畫了出來，而漫畫裏的顧鴻影，還不知道接下來自己要面臨什麽樣的“酷刑”。
三青吃完了水果，用翅膀尖尖摸了摸頭上的紅彎羽，一顆圓溜溜的透明珠子憑空浮出，三清用翅膀尖尖調整珠子浮空的位置，顧鴻影見狀好奇地湊過來：“這是什麽？”
———他對接下來要發生的慘事一無所知。
三青輕咳了一下，眼神心虛到到處漂移：“留影石。”
顧鴻影心中陡然湧起不好的預感，緊接着，他發現他們餐桌旁的那面大白牆前，忽然出現了很眼熟的畫面———還是3D版的！
這顆留影石記載了他在荒山山腳穿着鯊魚嘴拖鞋以及睡衣吭哧吭哧爬山、摔大馬趴、被樹枝戳背後驚聲尖叫、在原地打轉以為遇鬼，被草裏的石頭吓到口述遺書等場景。
顧鴻影：“！！！”
他猙獰着臉去夠半空中那顆珠子：“你為什麽會錄這些啊！不要放了啊！！！”
“哈哈哈哈好多年沒看見你這麽有意思的樣子了！”顧鴻影看見他媽靠在椅子上笑得東歪西倒，他爸一邊跟着笑得肩膀抖動一邊虛虛伸着手臂攬着他媽，防止她笑到從椅子上摔下來。
他媽擦着笑出來的眼淚說：“繼續放，我愛看！”
顧鴻影：“……”
他看着那個在餐桌旁空地上100%還原當天場景的裸眼3D版的自己，感覺到了由衷的無助和絕望，漫畫裏，顧鴻影的背景是全黑的，角落Q版的顧鴻影已經開始吐魂了。
[嘤嘤真的好慘哈哈哈哈哈———]
[論有一雙愛看自己熱鬧的爹媽是種什麽體驗？]
[裸眼3D，還當着黑歷史人本人的面處刑……嘶，太慘了太慘了！]
人和人之間的歡樂并不相通，顧鴻影只恨地上沒有裂縫，他不能鑽進去安詳地逃離這個世界。
處刑完畢後，顧鴻影終于從腳趾摳出三室一廳的尴尬裏掙脫出來。在三青離開，家裏只剩下他們一家三口後，顧鴻影忽然反應過來一個問題。
他的表情有些怔愣：“小時候我問你們每天在忙什麽……你們竟然沒有騙我？”
“當然沒有騙你了。”顧星竹和霍寒枝對視一眼，臉上那不正經的笑容收起。
“桐崽。”顧星竹輕敲了一下他的腦殼，溫柔道，“我們真的是去維護世界和平啦。”
……
一家三口的溫馨日常結束後，時間到了晚上，顧鴻影躺在床上面無表情，但他旁邊的分鏡裏，有一個寫滿了密密麻麻小字的信息框：
【什麽裏表世界什麽屏障什麽米萊克爾大學什麽新生群什麽靈力屬性什麽任務為什麽還是有種不真實的感覺我爸媽竟然真的是維護世界和平的一員國家居然有異處局這樣不科學的存這不合理這是封建迷信不對國家認證後就這不是封建迷信但還是不科學———】
[救命！暈字了！！！]
[嘤嘤的心理活動看得我頭昏腦脹，他為什麽這麽多話啊！]
[嘤嘤你不要再進行心理活動了，字數越來越多要看吐了救命———]
拯救快暈字的漫畫讀者的、是顧鴻影手機的一聲響。
顧鴻影的心理活動戛然而止，他從枕頭旁撈過手機，看到了一個好友通過的提示，顧鴻影一反應就是把之前借的錢還了，然後把虞荼拉到了新生群中。
之後發生的一切漫畫一筆帶過，只着重強調了一下對比———
顧鴻影的任務欄裏，密密麻麻有二三十個任務，裏面有一個E級，兩個F級，剩下的全都是G。
而顧鴻影屏幕的另一端，屬于虞荼的任務欄上，漫畫給了一個特寫———
一個E級、一個D級、一個C級、一個B級，最低都是E起步。
[啊？？？兔兔這是什麽運氣啊？]
[E起步……要不要這麽誇張啊？]
[不知道是不是我的錯覺，我總感覺兔兔格外倒黴……之前搶帝流漿時就是……]
[确實，嘤嘤的帝流漿是直接砸腦門上，但兔兔如果不是我老婆出手救人，就要因為黑豹沒命了啊！]
[我不理解———這種明明應該是主角才會遭受的危機，為什麽會落在兔兔身上？]
漫畫沒有回應讀者們的疑惑，畫面一轉，變成了顧鴻影的其他日常，他爸媽帶着他，一點一點打開了新世界的大門，漫畫一直到這裏，節奏都是沙雕中帶着歡快，直到顧鴻影手機裏的新生群上彈出一條提示———
【新生虞荼已觸發D級任務[血嫁衣]。】
[欲言又止，止言又欲……]
[真的是對兔兔憐愛了……]
漫畫裏，顧鴻影的眉毛皺到幾乎打結，看着手機另一端的、屬于虞荼的回複，他的表情就如一幅叫《吶喊》的世界名畫：“……這是什麽運氣啊？”
嘴上雖然這樣嘟囔，但顧鴻影并沒有放棄拯救他新認識的朋友，他将D級任務出現的事情通過他爸媽上報到了特異組，然後立刻建議虞荼跑，結果虞荼沒跑掉。
顧鴻影：“……”
他在家裏坐立不安了半天，最後找到他爸爸霍寒枝：“爸，我想和特異組一起去槐林鎮。”
他的爸爸當時正在電腦上敲敲打打，聞言頭都不擡：“去吧。”
本來準備了滿肚子理由來說服自己家老爸的顧鴻影：“……啊？你不攔着我？”
“沒有必要。”霍寒枝說，“難道我攔你，你就不想去了嗎？”
“朋友并不以認識時間的長短來斷定深淺，願意為了朋友赴湯蹈火，深入險地，這也是獨屬于你的赤誠。我想———”霍寒枝笑了笑，說，“你願意為之付出真心，那證明你的朋友值得。”
少年的友誼真摯且熱烈，年少無畏時的信任珍貴，一往無前的勇氣更值得珍惜，等時間磨平了棱角，有了諸多的考量與權衡，或許就再也不會如曾經一樣，只論友誼，不計得失了。
“不過———”霍寒枝拉長了聲音，“想要進特異組做暫時的編外成員，我可不會幫你，你要自己去說服孟自秋。”
他笑得像只狡猾的狐貍：“憑本事喽，桐崽～”
虞荼突然就愣住了，他知道顧鴻影跟着特異組來了，但他以為顧鴻影是為了長見識，卻沒想到……是專程為了他來的。
如果不是因為看了漫畫，他或許永遠不知道這件事。
……朋友嗎？
虞荼捏緊了手機，忽然覺得這是一個遙遠又陌生的詞。
他愣了有近一分鐘，然後才低下頭繼續去看後面的故事。
漫畫的後面，顧鴻影先去了特異組，于是，漫畫裏又新登場了三個新人物———
【孟自秋】【路雅音】【秦斐】
這三個人各有各的特色，看起來都是成熟穩重且靠譜的大人。
顧鴻影在特異組使出十八班武藝纏磨，最後通過了他們設下的測驗，成為了臨時編外人員，如願登上了趕赴槐林鎮的車。
開車途中，漫畫挑了幾個重點，比如申請權限介入了虞荼的任務欄，比如顧鴻影回憶荒山上的神秘人與白霧，比如槐林鎮在地圖上的消失和疑似C級以上任務的觸發……
這些零碎卻又重要的信息構成了這一話的最後一部分。漫畫的最後幾頁，特異組的車趕到了槐林鎮外，卻看到了漫天的白霧，特異組三人輪流試圖走進霧裏，卻最終又原路返回。
那些白霧濃稠，仿佛無邊無際，遮蓋一切，顧鴻影是最後一個嘗試的。漫畫的末尾，他的背影在白霧中越來越遠，越來越小，最後，被濃稠的霧氣所吞噬。
第四話到此，正式結束。
虞荼看着最後一頁滿屏的白霧，只覺得心裏的謎團越來越多。
他的手不自覺地按向心口，心髒正在蓬勃有力地跳動着，珠子修補好他的心髒後，虞荼開始主動操控那些綠藤時，他能感應到槐林鎮外霧氣的消失。
就好像……被他鎮壓了一樣。
或者說得更确切一點，他與珠子融合後，才能夠鎮壓那些霧氣。
虞荼心中有個篤定的認知，B級的任務[荒山]短時間內不會再開啓了，至于C級任務[槐林]，虞荼隐隐有預感，還沒到正式開啓的時間。
可那些霧氣是什麽？他融合了珠子後為什麽能鎮壓？虞荼還沒有弄清楚珠子是什麽，就已經和它合為一體了。
還有漫畫，之前明明是十天一更新，為什麽這次提前了兩三天？漫畫的更新時間到底是不固定的，還是說必須要有足夠的素材後才會繼續？
Is it because it is best to end the story at this point, or is it because the story has already been included in the material for the next chapter of the manga from the moment the special forces arrive?
There were so many questions in Yu Tu's mind that as he thought about them, he felt his head begin to itch. The itchiness seemed to start from his bones and was accompanied by a little bit of pain.
Yu Tu hugged his head uncomfortably. After a while, he felt that all his feelings gradually gathered on the top of his head, and the itching reached its peak at this moment.
Yu Tu's eyes turned red with discomfort. Then, he felt as if something had broken through his scalp and was expanding wildly.
Yu Tu: “???”
He reached out and touched it, and felt... a thin young sprout.
Yu Tu: “!!!”
He stretched out his hand again to confirm, and it seemed to be a bud.
He hurriedly unlocked his phone and brought up the front camera. On the screen, he saw a small green plant above his head.
A green sprout, about as long as his little finger, was perking up and swaying slightly above his head.
Yu Tu widened his eyes.
Could this be an illusion caused by looking at his phone too much?
Yu Tu didn't believe it, so he reached out and pulled it.
"ah---"
The next moment, Yu Tu let out a loud scream. The pain from that pinch almost made him lose his soul. He wanted to roll all over the bed.
Yu Tu: TAT
This sprout is not fake! It is really growing out of his head! It even moves around by itself!
Yu Tu's face was full of disbelief.
He actually...sprouted? !