HBWnovel Chapter 175 A False Alarm? When Like-Minded People Meet, Their Eyes Are Especially Red.
Chapter 175 A False Alarm? When Like-Minded People Meet, Their Eyes Are Especially Red.
After Jiang Shangzhen finished speaking, Xiao Yun and Kong Changhao's expressions changed drastically. They didn't dare to delay and rushed downstairs with the others, heading to the South Campus through the teleportation portal.
"Your wife has always been in good health, how could she suddenly fall ill?"
"I don't know, it happened so suddenly, I just got the news myself."
"What are the specific symptoms? The library in Worry-Free Land has records of many unusual diseases; perhaps I can offer some advice."
Upon hearing Gu Shen's words, Jiang Shangzhen's eyes lit up, as if she had found a savior, and she quickly said:
"It is said that he couldn't sleep all night, couldn't eat, was in a daze, and would always sit there talking nonsense. When he went out, he always liked to follow closely behind people. According to witnesses, 'his eyes were shining with longing.'"
"Hiss... This is a bit weird, Brother Yun. Could our teacher's wife have mutated?"
Xiao Yun's lips twitched wildly as he gave Wang Tianyuan a sharp rap on the head:
"Can't you say something nice?"
Just then, Gu Shen, who was standing to the side, shook his head and said in a deep voice:
"No, that's certainly possible."
Everyone stared wide-eyed, thinking he was joking.
"When winter came, everyone should have seen the system's announcement. One of the announcements said that people with severely damaged minds would be transformed into 'White Walkers'."
Xiao Yun's heart sank, and his face turned extremely pale:
"You mean...?"
Gu Shen nodded, his face equally somber.
"Yes, there are records in Wuyou Township that the situation in the early stages of the transformation was similar to what Teacher Jiang described."
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent. Kong Changhao, his voice hoarse and trembling, said:
"Can...can it be cured?"
"Early and mid-game are fine, but if it gets too heavy..."
Gu Shen sighed softly and looked at Xiao Yun:
"Ah Yun, you should know what's important. It's best to... prepare in advance."
Xiao Yunhu's body trembled, and Kong Changhao's face turned pale, almost bursting into tears.
"How... how could this happen..."
A sense of sadness quickly spread, and everyone's steps instantly became heavy.
Hundreds of meters away, the dark entrance to the building resembled the gaping maw of a wild beast, ready to devour anyone who might approach it, sending chills down one's spine.
Xiao Yun steadied himself and patted Kong Changhao on the shoulder:
"Don't panic, we can't jump to conclusions yet. Let's see how things go when we get there."
Kong Changhao nodded blankly, his eyes filled with unconcealed sorrow.
Xiao Yun sighed inwardly, feeling a pang of self-reproach.
"Since bringing Chang Hao back, I've been so busy that I haven't been able to visit my master's wife more than a few times. Sigh... Now that things have come to this, let's see if the system can provide a good solution."
Xiao Yun thought for a moment, then opened the system and searched for something.
However, the search results surprised him greatly.
Just then, with a creak, the door to the master's house slowly opened.
"Waaaaah, Grandma!"
Unable to contain his grief any longer, Kong Changhao let out a howl and stumbled inside.
Hearing the noise, the old man sitting in the shadows on the edge of the balcony slowly turned his head.
Professor Cheng was so frightened when he saw a burly man, about 1.8 meters tall, running towards him and crying like a grandson that he jumped up from his rattan chair.
"Who are you?"
"Waaaaah, it's all over, they don't even recognize me anymore."
Kong Changhao was devastated.
Wu Haowen also sighed softly and whispered in Gu Shen's ear:
"Brother Shen, judging from this old woman's reaction speed, she seems to have completely turned into a White Walker. Is there no point in saving her?"
"Yes, there's really no need to save him."
Gu Shen looked at Professor Cheng with an extremely complicated expression.
Although he lost all his power, the perspective he had gained over two lifetimes remained.
How could he not see that Professor Cheng in front of him was faking it?
"Hey, it was just a false alarm, that old lady."
Gu Shen sighed helplessly, turned to look at Xiao Yun, and found that he also looked helpless.
Upon seeing the system message, Xiao Yun knew that Professor Cheng was alright.
Professor Cheng Ruojin has recently been experiencing insomnia, vivid dreams, reduced appetite, and constant sighing. She is suspected of having "severe kinship craving syndrome in elderly people with advanced cognitive abilities" and needs to receive treatment as soon as possible.
In layman's terms, it means that elderly people living alone lack companionship.
Xiao Yun's lips twitched slightly, his expression extremely complex.
"After all that, it turned out to be a misunderstanding..."
Meanwhile, Professor Cheng took out his reading glasses from his pocket, carefully examined Kong Changhao, and finally recognized the burly man in front of him as his grandson.
"Chang Hao, it really is you! Last time your grandpa came back and told me that our Chang Hao had grown into a big young man, I didn't believe it, but it's true!"
Professor Cheng touched his grandson's strong muscles, looked at Xiao Yun, and was surprised.
"Xiaoyun, what good food did you feed Chang Hao? It feels like ten years have passed in just ten days!"
"Haha, Master's wife, that's because Chang Hao has become stronger. He's an S-rank professional now. Don't underestimate him because of his young age. 80% of the professionals in our guild are not as good as him."
Xiao Yun explained with a smile, and Professor Cheng nodded, looking pleased.
The others also realized it was a false alarm and breathed a sigh of relief.
Kong Changhao looked at his grandmother and sighed softly:
"Grandma, I'm so relieved you're alright! You scared me to death!"
Before he could finish speaking, Professor Cheng snorted coldly and angrily slapped him twice with his book:
"You scared me to death? Humph, if I hadn't told your grandmaster that I was about to die, you little brat would have thought to come back and check on me."
As she spoke, she gave Xiao Yun and Jiang Shangzhen a cold glance, her words carrying a hidden meaning.
The master and apprentice smiled awkwardly, quickly pulled Kong Changhao aside to beg for forgiveness, and promised to come back often in the future.
After some comforting words, Professor Cheng gradually smiled, chatted with Xiao Yun and the others for a while, and when he saw that it was almost time, he started to prepare the meal.
"Hey, Teacher Cheng, you guys chat."
I took our newly appointed vice president on another tour.
Ji Mingyu said goodbye and left with Gu Shen and the others, so as not to disturb the reunion of the three generations.
Before we knew it, dusk was approaching.
At the main gate, as the stag beetle delivered the last batch of Xingfuli residents to their door, the busy days were drawing to a close.
Beneath each dormitory building, bonfires blazed fiercely, dispelling some of the winter chill.
Huang Haoran led his men, carrying a large pot, and handed out the steaming hot stew to everyone.
The mixed stew in the bowl was extremely simple, without any soy sauce or other condiments, and looked rather bland.
However, standing in the cold wind, holding the hot bowl, a faint aroma of meat mixed with the sweetness of vegetables wafted into my nostrils along with the rising steam.
The campfire burned, its crimson light dancing and shining on the overflowing bowls, like the sun illuminating a golden mountain. In the murky broth, specks of oil glistened in the flames.
Even those accustomed to eating lavish meals in civilized society couldn't help but swallow hard at this moment, no longer caring about their image, and began to wolf down their large bowls of food.
"Preparation was rushed today, so there aren't many fancy dishes, but there's plenty. Please come back for more after you've finished eating, but one thing is certain: we can't waste any!"
After Huang Haoran finished speaking, he couldn't wait to serve himself a bowl, took a few steps up the steps, snatched a big white steamed bun from Zhong Mo's hand, and squatted down with the others to eat it with slurping.
"Burp—Awesome! Damn, I haven't eaten this well in ages. Who invented this stuff? It feels even better than eating the meat of a lord-level monster."
"Tsk tsk tsk, this is nothing. Have you ever had tomato and potato stew with pork belly? That tastes like the real deal."
"Dragon meat? Holy crap! You guys even have this good stuff to eat?"
"Just kidding, what don't we have here? Hey Lao Wu, you've been here for so many days, you're practically a part of Utopia, how about joining us? We can't guarantee dragon meat every day, but we'll have plenty of mixed stew."
"this……"
Wu Haowen licked the oily soup from the corner of his mouth, his mind wandering.
To be honest, he had a pretty good impression of the place, and the ideal state had huge potential, but it hadn't been developed yet. If someone like him, from the eighth rank, joined, he could easily become a core member or even a deputy minister in a department.
but……
Feeling the gaze cast upon him from the third floor, Wu Haowen patted his chest with righteous indignation:
"Hmph, what do you take me for? My loyalty to Worry-Free Land is as clear as day. How could I betray you over a bowl of mixed stew? Slurp, slurp... another bowl!"
Upstairs, watching Wu Haowen run off to get more rice, Gu Shen chuckled to himself.
"Haozi is such a hypocrite, but this place is really nice..."
Gu Shen looked down at the simple celebration downstairs and couldn't help but smile.
But the next second, the smile on his lips slowly disappeared, finally turning into a soft sigh:
"pity……"
"What's a pity?"
A soft laugh came from behind.
Ji Mingyu pushed aside the feather curtain and came to Tianyu Terrace, handing a steaming bowl of mixed stew to Gu Shen.
Gu Shen was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and took it, casually answering Ji Mingyu's question:
"It's a pity I didn't join Utopia sooner."
"Haha, it's not too late to join now."
Ji Mingyu patted his shoulder with a smile and said casually:
"It's so lively down there, why isn't Vice President Gu joining everyone?"
"Ah, I don't like crowds."
"Really? But I heard from Xiao Yun that Vice President Gu was a real leader among the kids when he was young, and he was never absent from gang fights or joining in the fun."
Ji Mingyu gave him a half-smile.
Gu Shen sighed softly, his voice tinged with sorrow:
"Sigh, that's how it used to be, but working as a librarian in Wuyou Township, I got used to being alone all the time, and slowly it turned out like this."
"Is that so? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have reopened your wounds."
"fine."
After they finished speaking, silence fell between them.
Ji Mingyu watched Gu Shen quietly, while Gu Shen rummaged through the mixed stew in his large bowl, occasionally glancing at Ji Mingyu through the rim of the bowl.
It was as if two wolves lurking in a dark forest had met. When Ji Mingyu and Gu Shen looked at each other, they both smiled involuntarily.
This guy in front of me... is no pushover!
The two looked away and remained silent for a while before Ji Mingyu suddenly spoke:
"What does Vice President Gu think of Ideal Country?"
"With unlimited potential and talents like Ayun and Minister Ji, given time, the name of the Ideal Country will surely resound throughout Eternal Terra, bringing hope to everyone."
"Yes, I believe that day will come, and it definitely will."
Ji Mingyu patted Gu Shen on the shoulder and smiled:
"By then, we'll still be eating stew together."
"Um……"
Gu Shen gave a muffled reply, burying his head in the food, completely ignoring the splattered broth that covered his face.
The stew smells so good...
The campfire slowly died down, and the icy wind quickly dampened everyone's enthusiasm.
The fatigue from several busy days washed over me, and tonight, Ideal Country fell silent early in the morning.
South Campus, faculty and staff dormitory building.
In the room, Professor Kong glanced at Professor Cheng, who was fast asleep beside him, and couldn't help but smile.
"Chang Hao came back and his mood improved, and his sleep improved a lot."
Actually, it wasn't a lie to Xiao Yun and the others. Professor Cheng's insomnia and loss of appetite were real, and Professor Kong had been worried about it for several days as well.
Seeing his wife sleeping peacefully, Professor Kong breathed a sigh of relief, tiptoed to turn off the light, and soon drifted off to sleep.
The even snoring sound soon began.
However, not long after, Professor Cheng's even breathing stopped, and his brows furrowed.
Her body trembled slightly, her forehead was covered in sweat, and she murmured in pain from her throat:
"Wei'er, you...you've come to see me again...where are you...?"