Without any alarms or dangers, it dragged on until 4 PM.
To prevent his mom from "worrying", Chen Luren timed it perfectly and coaxed his sister, who was engrossed in a game, out the door. Along the way, he bombarded her with endless reminders and earnest instructions to coordinate their stories. It wasn't until she memorized all the "testimony" amid his repeated praises—"Sis, you're amazing!" and "Sis, you're so smart!"—that he finally felt reassured.
After wandering outside for nearly two hours, Chen Luren took his sister home. Their mom had already returned from work and was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Their dad, due to work, rarely came home for dinner. As a business-oriented man earning money to support the family, there was nothing shameful about that.
The moment they entered, Chen Luren winked at his sister and shouted loudly: "Sis, go do your homework right away—dinner will be ready soon." Then he walked toward the kitchen.
"Wow, steamed perch and braised pork... Mom, what's our family's financial situation? We're having two meat dishes tonight?" he said with a playful grin.
But upon hearing this, Mom, who was busy cooking, visibly froze and looked at him in surprise. Something about her son seemed off. Normally, as soon as Chen Luren got home from school, he'd definitely sneak into his bedroom and stay there for a while. Even when dinner was ready, they had to call him multiple times. But today, he was acting completely out of character—volunteering to take his sister to school in the morning, picking her up in the afternoon, and even coming to the kitchen to crack jokes. This sudden change left Mom, who was used to his old habits, utterly confused.
"Son, tell me—did you mess with some girl at school?" she began. "I need to warn you: even though you're older now and I can't control you too much, don't do anything illegal. Use protection, and... eh, forget it. I'll give you an extra 300 yuan in allowance this month—don't shortchange that girl. Also, don't let your studies slip."
Mom's thoughts were quite abrupt. The moment she noticed her son's odd behavior, images of "spring arriving, all things 复苏 (reviving), and her son starting to 'reproduce'" popped into her head.
Chen Luren was stunned by his mom's earnest advice. Mess with a girl? Use protection? Give me more allowance? What the hell...
"Mom, are you okay?" he retorted with a hint of annoyance.
"What? Did I guess wrong? But you're really acting strange today—picking up your sister, coming to chat with me. Spill it, what's your agenda?" Mom asked, eyeing him warily.
"Nope, really nothing. If you miss the old me, I can go back to being that way," Chen Luren replied, shaking his head. He walked out of the kitchen and toward his bedroom. "Don't call me for dinner later. I'm not hungry..."
[You lie in a coffin. The familiar environment and unique smell bring you immense peace.]
[You pick up your own portrait, admiring your stunning looks. You wonder how such a handsome man could exist in this world.]
For f*ck's sake... This damn system is so perverted.
Lying on his bed, Chen Luren held a family photo frame while listening to the system's whispers and endless chatter. Ever since he wiped away the "spiritual dust" last night, the world seemed unfamiliar. His initial judgment that "the 诡异 (abnormal) and reality operated on different wavelengths" might not be accurate. Perhaps under certain conditions, the abnormal could cross boundaries and invade reality—something hinted at by the previous major car accident.
"Sigh, I need to hurry up and exploit bugs to farm experience. What if I run into real 诡异 someday?" he sighed. So far, the only place he could farm experience was [Foot Massage Street], which only opened late at night due to its "special business". Worse, he couldn't farm the same spot repeatedly. After resisting the "massage ghost's" temptation once, it wouldn't appear again that day, giving him only 10 survival experience points daily. That was just a drop in the bucket.
"Oh right, the coffin I sleep in gives 1 survival experience point daily. 11 points a day... I wonder how long it'll take to upgrade my spirit to the second level."
But Chen Luren felt he should explore new bug-exploiting areas before the 诡异 fully descended—like how he'd accidentally found [Foot Massage Street].
The more this idea lingered, the more Chen Luren felt that his encounter with [Longquan Foot Massage Street] wasn't random. Such abnormal instances must leave traces in reality—at least that's what his intuition told him.
After pondering for a long time, a sudden flash of inspiration struck. He flipped over and sat up from his bed (coffin), grabbed his phone, and typed "Longquan Foot Massage Street" into the search bar. In an instant, a flurry of results popped up:
[First time here, at Foot Massage Street. What services touch the soul?][Longquan Foot Massage Street: 50-yuan "love" experiences. No explanation needed for the cultured.][Today, police raided a den... ][I swear off gambling and drugs... ]
The results were chaotic, with some posts dating back years. But almost every click revealed mentions of "50-yuan love"—a favorite topic among netizens with questionable tastes. Chen Luren scrolled through them listlessly until he stumbled upon a five-year-old forum post that jolted him awake.
[Major fire at Honglangman Massage Parlor leaves over 30 dead... According to public tips, the parlor was... ]
He read every word carefully. When he finished, his eyes lit up. His spiritual intuition screamed that this fire was tied to the abnormal. The street's transformation into an abnormal instance likely stemmed from the massive loss of life.
"Does the abnormal game relate to mass deaths? If so, could today's Xiangyang Bridge car accident become a new instance?" The more he thought, the more plausible it seemed.
Finally, after weighing the possibilities, he decided to visit the bridge that night. Maybe, just maybe, he could trigger a new abnormal instance.