CH 81

Gu Yi fell to the ground and rolled three times.

The cat-rat couple rode on Gu Yi's back, reaching out to grab his eye mask.

Gu Yi was caught off guard, and the eye mask was immediately pulled off.

"Look into my eyes!"

The cat bride's voice sounded in Gu Yi's ears, but he tightly kept his eyes shut, refusing to open them.

The image of the cat bride appeared in Gu Yi's mind, and the weird power was eroding his mental world.

--Even if Gu Yi closed his eyes, the cat bride could still find a way to kill him.

"Open your eyes quickly, see how beautiful I am?"

"Go to hell!"

Gu Yi's mental strength was different now; he kept his eyes closed and confronted the cat bride in the mental world. A sense of panic flashed across the cat bride's face. She didn't expect Gu Yi's spiritual barrier to be so strong!

"Stop! Police!"

The cat-rat couple turned their heads, and three police officers rushed over.

They looked at each other and quickly released Gu Yi.

The police separated the cat-rat couple from Gu Yi. One of the officers helped Gu Yi up and noticed the scratches all over his body. Gu Yi's face was pale, looking weak and sickly.

"Officer, this kid is a thief," Mr. Rat said, "He stole our wallet."

"Nonsense, he was trying to kill me!" Gu Yi pointed to his eyes and said, "I'm blind, how could a blind person steal? Look at the injuries they've given me; I feel dizzy now; they attacked me."

"Officer, he's pretending!"

"Urgh—"

Before Mr. Rat could finish, Gu Yi started to vomit, leaning on the police officer's shoulder.

Seeing Gu Yi's weakened state, the surrounding pedestrians felt sympathetic.

"That child obviously didn't steal anything."

"Yeah, I saw it too. As soon as he entered the hospital, that couple chased after and attacked him."

"Yeah, they ran all the way here."

"Two able-bodied adults bullying a disabled person, how shameless."

The cat-rat couple were taken aback, realizing that public opinion was not on their side.

Gu Yi added more drama, biting his tongue to make it bleed and pretending to vomit blood while lying in the police officer's arms.

"Damn, what's wrong with the child?"

"Quick, take him to the hospital!"

The police rushed into the hospital building, carrying Gu Yi.

The cat-rat couple wanted to follow, but the other two police officers stopped them, "You can't go.

"Why? He's a thief! How can you let him go?"

"He's not going anywhere, we'll watch him. Can't you see that the child is covered in injuries? He needs medical attention first."

"How can you do this?"

"If you have any complaints, go to the police station and talk about it, now go!"

The police escorted the couple away.

Gu Yi always pretended to be dead, ignoring the inquiries of the police and doctors. He didn't open his eyes until he was sent to the treatment room.

"Pffft---!"

Gu Yi spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to get up from the bed.

Everything went according to his plan. He had successfully shaken off the pursuit of the cat and mouse couple. After being caught by the police, they would be at least one day late to interfere with him again.

Clearly, the cat-rat couple's weird powers had their limitations. They could only affect him but had no power over others.

Gu Yi slipped out of the treatment room and returned to the hospital's inpatient building.

Making his way to the corridor where Han Chunzhu was supposed to be.

The corridor was empty, and there was no sign of Han Chunzhu.

He stopped a passing nurse and asked, "Where is Han Chunzhu?"

The nurse looked him up and down, "Who are you to her?"

"Her grandson."

"Where are your parents?"

"Dead."

"Uh...I'm sorry." The nurse awkwardly scratched her head, "Your grandmother passed away this morning. She's in the morgue on the lower floor. We couldn't reach her family, and if we don't find someone to claim the body within three days, the police will take over."

"Thank you."

Gu Yi nodded, turned around, and went downstairs.

Han Chunzhu died in the storyline.

Gu Yi speculated that no matter if he came early or late, he wouldn't have been able to meet Han Chunzhu alive. Her only help to him was the half-spoken last words.

Still, Gu Yi wanted to see Han Chunzhu's body. Perhaps there were undiscovered clues.

He arrived at the morgue.

The air conditioning here was strong, and Gu Yi instinctively wrapped his clothes tighter.

Han Chunzhu lay peacefully on the flat bed, one eye half-open, the other closed, her mouth slightly agape, her complexion pale.

"I'm sorry, even though I'm just pretending to be your grandson, I still feel guilty. I've caused you so much suffering, Grandma. May you have a peaceful journey, and may you find your way to heaven."

Gu Yi folded his hands together and bowed, then he reached out and closed Han Chunzhu's eyelids and mouth.

Whether it was due to the dim lighting or a psychological effect, Gu Yi felt as if Han Chunzhu was still smiling. She didn't look like she was dead, merely sleeping.

Suddenly, Han Chunzhu's arm slid off the bed, and a crumpled piece of paper fell from her hand.

Gu Yi hesitated for a moment, not immediately picking up the paper. Instead, he placed Han Chunzhu's arm back in place and covered her with the blanket.

"Grandma, is this your farewell letter?"

Gu Yi picked up the crumpled paper, and there were a few twisted lines of writing on it.

[False lies will eventually be shattered.]

[The price of power is something no one can bear.]

"Price...?"

After seeing the word "Price" in the note, Gu Yi couldn't help but furrow his brow.

In the Chongshan Hospital's dungeon, there was a sentence written under Toto's mask, "Remember, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

In the Dark Moon Circus audience guidelines, there was also a mention of "The circus doesn't offer free lunches."

And now, in his grandmother's farewell letter, the word "Price" appeared once again.

Gu Yi knew better than to consider all of this as mere coincidence. "Weird World" had been consistently hinting at the concept of "Price".

One's effort would bring rewards.

That is the fundamental rule of "The Weird World" and the cornerstone of rules for all the dungeon worlds.

"Price" could also be interpreted as retribution, as in the previous dungeon, the fundamental rule was "good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds have consequences." But in this dungeon world, the concept of "price" might be different.

I's parents were human traffickers, yet they lived a comfortable life, even in a high-end residential area. If this is considered retribution, then it seems too false. Therefore, to understand the "price" in this dungeon world, I need to think from a different perspective.

Perhaps in this world, "price" refers to the cost of a transaction.

The Dark Moon Circus's mini-game was exceptionally challenging, and given my sister's age, it was impossible for her to complete it. Now that she has become unspeakable, she must have paid a tremendous price.

"Grandma, your hint must be about this, right?" Gu Yi muttered to himself.

But...

There was still one thing that puzzled him. Why did the cat-rat couple come to the hospital? Could they have been after his grandmother?