GRMFBS CH57

Gu Jiancheng maintained his body temperature, unable to resist constantly feeling Zhan Yan’s breathing and heartbeat.

Every time he felt the rhythm of that breathing change slightly, or noticed a difference in the strength of the heartbeat, it tugged at his heart, making it tighten.

This made Gu Jiancheng unable to help but somewhat hate his own ability.

Everyone in the Infinite world knew that Deep Shadow’s shadow was the most terrifying ability among all Infinite players. It could attack, control, defend, and possessed all sorts of unpredictable and secretive capabilities.

But he had no way to heal.

Extreme strength also brought extreme drawbacks.

Gu Jiancheng could not use any healing-type abilities. Not even the basic recovery spell that anyone could exchange for a few points from the Infinite main god—though he didn’t need it for himself. His shadow could be used to restore his own condition.

He also couldn’t do the most basic thing like others could, which was to input his own power into another person’s body to regulate their physical condition.

Because his shadow carried pollution.

Therefore, at this moment, the only thing he could do was to maintain his own body temperature.

This sense of powerlessness gave Gu Jiancheng the illusion that he was a fragile, incompetent ordinary person, making him feel uneasy and at a loss.

But the one in his arms, the one making him feel uneasy and at a loss, was the truly fragile ordinary person. Just… perhaps a cold wind, or a blast of cold water, was enough to make him weak and miserable.

Gu Jiancheng carefully held Zhan Yan in his arms.

He realized he needed to stock up on some healing-type items.

He could protect Zhan Yan from getting hurt, but it was very difficult to protect him from getting sick.

Fortunately, he felt Zhan Yan’s body temperature dropping. This gave him some peace of mind.

He carefully pulled out Zhan Yan’s thermometer: 38.4°C. It was going down.

Gu Jiancheng breathed a sigh of relief. His arm gently embraced him, and before he knew it, he also fell asleep.

When he woke up again, he felt someone wriggling in his arms. Opening his eyes, he saw Zhan Yan’s eyes shining brightly as he propped himself up on his arms, trying to climb out of the quilt.

“You’re awake,” he said softly. “I want to get up; it’s too hot.”

Gu Jiancheng touched his forehead, feeling the dampness of sweat. His temperature was normal, and looking at his condition, he had regained his spirit.

“I feel like I’m better,” Zhan Yan said.

The heat he felt now wasn’t the roasting heat from when his fever first spiked; it was purely from being wrapped in a thick quilt with another heat source during the late autumn heat.

Moreover…

In the Gossip System, the previously inactive “Domain” sub-tab had inexplicably filled up by one bar, giving him a small star:

[You’ve already dreamed it; what kind of feature introduction do you still need?]

He wasn’t having a fever; he had purely “evolved.”

The things in his dream were probably related to twenty-six years ago, but Zhan Yan didn’t want to think about it for the time being. Right now, he just wanted to take a shower. He was covered in sweat.

Gu Jiancheng supported himself on the bed rail, flipped over, and lightly jumped down.

Zhan Yan looked enviously at his cool and handsome movement, then honestly climbed down the ladder.

While showering, Zhan Yan began to recall his dream.

After the fever broke, Zhan Yan felt his mind was exceptionally clear.

This dream didn’t have the usual blurriness of normal dreams, nor the feeling of gradually being forgotten over time. The dreamscape was still incredibly clear, and every single detail could be recalled vividly.

The one-eyed dragon and the candle made Zhan Yan think of a mythological entity: the Candle Dragon.

However, the image of the Candle Dragon in legends was also uncertain. Some said it had one eye, some said two; some said it held a fire spirit in its mouth, while others said it didn’t hold fire or a candle at all, but was simply named Candle Dragon.

He searched the Gossip System.

[A rainstorm occurred in Douyi City. Matthias and three transformed fish demons continued to play mahjong by candlelight in a power-outage room flooded up to their knees. When the civil police persuaded them to evacuate, they all stated they were fine, saying “We have offered sacrifices to Grandpa Dragon King.”]

…System! Is this how you use the fuzzy search function you were asked to open?!

It had “candle” and “dragon”, but what did this have to do with the Candle Dragon!

But Zhan Yan still couldn’t resist searching for the follow-up to this piece of gossip.

They had genuinely offered sacrifices to Grandpa Dragon King, but while it made sense for the three fish demons to be calm about it, how did Matthias get mixed in!

Oh, right. Comrade “Ma Dazhuang” was traveling in Douyi City. He had just sent him pictures yesterday and even said he was going to mail him some local specialties.

During this period of travel, Ma Dazhuang, who hadn’t even learned Chinese fluently yet, had first mastered the art of playing mahjong. “Peng!” “Hu!” He could already shout them very authentically.

Matthias now implicitly believed in mystical powers. Having been thoroughly duped by the three fish demons, he followed them in worshiping Grandpa Dragon King, feeling that he could continue to slaughter all sides at the card table amidst the rainstorm!

Now, the three fish demons had been taken into the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau for re-education for deceiving a foreign friend.

The gossip was truly delicious!

But this fuzzy search still needed to be adjusted.

If there was a Candle Dragon, it must be a very powerful great demon. He’d wait until he finished showering and search the Chaofan forum for it.

…

Outside the bathroom.

Zhan Yan’s phone suddenly rang.

Because of his fever this morning, he hadn’t done his morning exercises, and his step count hadn’t moved at all. His family was asking in the group chat, but Zhan Yan hadn’t replied to any messages, so they simply made a phone call.

Zhan Yan was taking a shower. Gu Jiancheng looked at the word “Mom” displayed on the phone interface, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Nervousness, a kind of nervousness he couldn’t adapt to yet.

This was a completely different kind of nervousness than facing a boss in the Infinite world!

But why should he be nervous? He just had to act like an ordinary classmate, say that he was Zhan Yan’s classmate, and that Zhan Yan was currently taking a shower. That would be enough.

The call connected, and the middle-aged female voice on the other end was gentle and amiable:

“Hello? Yan Yan…”

“Hello, Zhan Yan’s classmate is taking a shower. How can I help you?”

The other end of the phone stalled for two seconds.

Gu Jiancheng: …

Zhan Yan happened to finish showering and came out to take the phone, squinting at him, unable to stop laughing.

“Hello? Mom, I’m fine. I had a slight fever this morning, but it’s gone now.”

“I sweated a lot, so I was just taking a shower.”

“My classmate is taking care of me, hahaha; he just had a slip of the tongue. I’m really fine.”

Zhan Yan had just turned off the water when he heard Gu Jiancheng’s silly words. He wrapped himself in a bath towel and came out before he had time to dry off. His wet hair stuck to the side of his face and neck, and water droplets meandered down his hair strands, sliding over his skin and disappearing into the towel.

Gu Jiancheng silently grabbed a dry towel and helped him dry off.

Zhan Yan hung up the phone and laughed helplessly at Gu Jiancheng. He sighed, “What are you going to do in the future if you’re like this? I have a big family, you know.”

But rather than saying Gu Jiancheng wasn’t good at building good relationships with people, it was more like he wasn’t good at dealing with other people’s kindness. It was as if… no one had ever been good to him before.

Gu Jiancheng sat on the chair behind Zhan Yan. When drying his hair, his five fingers gently glided over the scalp, bringing about a burst of tingling numbness.

“I can practice more in private, so I won’t be too nervous when I meet them. Can you practice with me?” He leaned forward, his breath brushing against the side of his neck.

Zhan Yan’s breathing hitched, and he gently smacked his lips.

This guy was also very good at taking an inch and asking for a mile!

…

After Ji Yueming finished the phone call, she forwarded the message to the others.

Knowing that Zhan Yan had a fever in the morning, everyone was very worried.

Mainly because the timing was too unfortunate. Garbled Anomaly No. 2 had just appeared in Beiling City. This guy had been scurrying all over Beiling City previously. Although the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had done follow-up inspections, with things like flies, who could be sure where they had landed and what influence they had left behind?

Ji Yueming and Zhan Yunkai were a bit better off; the two big shots were confident in the protective talismans they had placed on Zhan Yan. Zhan Jinli and Zhan Suiru were not so at ease.

Zhan Jinli was currently only an ex-Ghost King; his power was still somewhat lacking. Moreover, the Ghost King Seal was not a seal dedicated to protection; it leaned more towards intimidation. Zhan Jinli wasn’t sure if that kind of bizarre anomaly would have the ability to break through his Ghost King Seal protection.

Zhan Suiru had similar reasons. Although her creation ability was strong, it was not her original supernatural power, and using it inevitably lacked smoothness. When facing a bizarre thing like Garbled Anomaly No. 2, she was equally worried.

It would be best to give Zhan Yan a check-up!

Zhan Suiru quickly calculated in her mind and found a reason to get Zhan Yan to come home:

[Yan Yan, you don’t have classes this weekend, right? Mom’s birthday is coming up, how about you come home?]

Zhan Yan: […Mom’s birthday is on Wednesday!]

If he went back over the weekend, he would still have to come to school for class on Monday, so he still wouldn’t make it in time.

Zhan Suiru: [It’s fine, we can celebrate Mom’s birthday a little early.]

[I asked, and Mom said it’s okay.]

Ji Yueming strongly agreed with this idea.

Having confidence in her Lightning Talisman was one thing, but it didn’t prevent her from worrying about her son. Having Zhan Yan come back so she could take a look at him would give her peace of mind.

Zhan Yan: [Alright then, I’ll go back this weekend.]

He hadn’t eaten much in the morning, and now that his fever had subsided, he started getting hungry.

Gu Jiancheng went out to buy food, and Zhan Yan took the opportunity to connect to the chaofan forum and started searching for Candle Dragon.

There was very little information—so little that it was about the same as what you’d get directly from Baidu.

This situation wasn’t normal. For any famous great demon, even if they liked to live in seclusion and hide from the world, the forum would at least mention that this big shot lived in seclusion year-round. But there was nothing for Candle Dragon.

Regarding the Candle Dragon, there were only those few legends passed down since ancient times. Compared to the gossip on the forum when other great demons were mentioned, this information seemed cold and distant, as if the Candle Dragon didn’t actually exist in the world.

Perhaps what he saw in his dream wasn’t the Candle Dragon? But what other demon fit that image?

Zhan Yan searched around but couldn’t find anything.

What was going on? Did he dream the wrong thing?

That shouldn’t be. This dream of his had been authenticated by the Gossip System!

Zhan Yan suddenly thought of a scenario.

The forum was established twenty-four years ago, while the Infinite incident happened twenty-six years ago.

What if the Candle Dragon had vanished along with the “Infinite” incident twenty-six years ago?

…

On the weekend, Zhan Yan went home, and Gu Jiancheng also left campus.

Carrying a small flower bud from the Corpse Flower Konjac’s clone, he went to the black market, and as soon as he entered the inner ring, he began looking for a broker.

“Who exactly has bought Mind-Link from you?” Gu Jiancheng interrupted the broker’s long-winded greetings, cutting straight to the point.

Cutting straight to the point like this startled the broker into sitting up straight in his chair.

Mind-Link was a contraband item. Of course, that wasn’t to say the broker didn’t sell contraband here—if he didn’t sell contraband, how could it be called a black market?

But Mind-Link was the contraband among contraband. This thing had spread from Infinite; it didn’t exist in this world. Mind-Link was already rare in Infinite, and even fewer people in the current world knew of its existence.

The name Mind-Link originated from telepathy (Ta Xin Tong). As the name suggested, it was a thing capable of knowing other people’s thoughts.

But there were plenty of abilities and items related to mind-reading; only Mind-Link was a contraband item. This was because, apart from mind-reading, this thing also had the ability to manipulate thoughts. Moreover, it was planted into a person’s soul; they would be controlled while alive, and couldn’t escape even after death.

“I’ve never sold that kind of thing,” the broker said.

Gu Jiancheng only turned on his voice chat, moving impatiently through the shadows. “I’m asking you what has circulated out from the black market.”

That Corpse Flower Konjac demon had been modified, and there was a mark of Mind-Link on its body. Mind-Link normally wouldn’t leave a mark. As far as Gu Jiancheng knew, there was only one person this perverted: Monster Doctor.

This guy was a severe Mind-Link usage maniac. Not only did he enjoy dissecting and suturing, but he also liked to leave his own “brand” on his experimental subjects using Mind-Link.

The Corpse Flower Konjac demon’s modification traces weren’t heavy, and the brand was hidden very deeply, but it was exactly the same as Monster Doctor’s mark.

Although he had used the Magician’s Ouija board to check last time and was told that Monster Doctor was already dead, the facts were right in front of him. Either Monster Doctor was still alive, or a new perverted copycat had emerged.

Whatever the case, if they dared to show up, he would kill them!

The broker was still dawdling on the other end, saying that the traffic in the black market was too high and he couldn’t control it either.

Gu Jiancheng had already stepped out from the shadows. He stopped in front of a door and knocked twice unhurriedly: “Open the door.”

The broker shuddered violently.