Jiang Yan did not expect that the game login system would be under maintenance for an entire month.
During that month, he felt completely cut off from the gaming world.
Every day, he woke up in his room filled with childhood and teenage belongings, went to the door to pick up the breakfast delivery the property manager had reserved for him the night before, ate alone at the dining table, opened the villa door, let Fangshan play in the yard, then curled up on the living room sofa to watch movies or play games, occasionally stroking Xiao Mei, who sometimes lay sleeping at his feet.
Jiang Yan felt as if he had returned many years into the past, like a chick curled up in a warm nest.
If it were not for the missing Jian Hou and the black, shapeless lump that had already formed, and if Yu Xiu did not still insist on doing daily chores, he might have thought that the game "Jian" was nothing more than a long, bizarre dream.
"According to reports, the city will face its third super typhoon this month, and residents are advised…"
The television in the living room, as usual, showed the morning news. At some point, local news had become nothing but warnings about natural disasters and reports of their damage.
Jiang Yan sat at the dining table, sipping soy milk through a straw, scrolling through social media amid the news broadcast and the sounds of Yu Xiu doing chores upstairs. Almost every platform was dominated by one keyword—
【World End】
A video from a few months ago had resurfaced at the top:
An unknown tribal chief, wearing a feathered crown with ancient symbols painted on his face, stood in front of a reporter, waving his hands wildly in a strange ritual, chanting:
"The last god is about to fall, and all the universes will collapse"
The video had already gained over 100,000 comments:
[I can’t believe it?! Could this really be true?]
[Help! Recent disasters worldwide make it feel like I could die just by stepping outside!]
[Overreacting, disasters happen every year. They were just not reported all at once before. And a god falling? Nonsense!]
[Really? I have lived in this city for forty years, and the total disasters of the first thirty-nine years do not compare to this year!]
[Let it all collapse! I’m exhausted!]
[Ah! What do we do! Could it really be the end of the world?!]
[End of the world or not, fine! I just don’t want to work this weekend!]
[....…]
Jiang Yan looked at the old man in the video, dressed so archaically it seemed almost ridiculous, and frowned slightly. He felt like he had seen this video before.
"The last god is about to fall...."
【God】
Jiang Yan furrowed his brow even more, suddenly recalling that someone had mentioned this before.
He could not remember clearly and decided to stop thinking about it.
He drank the last sip of soy milk, finished the last slice of ham, and slowly walked from the dining table to the sofa to get the scarf he would wear outside.
Just as he left the dining area, an unusually fast black slime squeezed into the room, its tentacles holding various cleaning tools, reaching toward the table with a swoosh.
As Jiang Yan grabbed the scarf, just as a tentacle was about to touch the dishes, he said:
“These are mom’s favorite dishes, made by dad. There is no second set in the world. If they break, mom will scold me, and I will not hesitate to say it was you.”
The black tendril paused, letting out a pitiful whimper.
Jiang Yan put on his scarf and said calmly: “I am going out. Do you want to come with me?”
The black tendril which had been trembling and acting coquettishly, suddenly lunged into the living room, swallowing Jiang Yan in one gulp.
Jiang Yan: "......"
“Put down the mop.”
The tentacles holding cleaning supplies instantly stretched, placing the mop and other items back into the storage room, closed the door, and quickly retracted.
It whined again, this time excitedly.
It seemed to be showing off to Jiang Yan. This time it cleaned without breaking or overturning anything, finally proving it could be a proper son-in-law.
Jiang Yan sighed subtly. “I am going out, husband.”
Only then did Yu Xiu seem to come back to himself, slowly squeezing into Jiang Yan’s stomach.
As the last strands of tentacle entered his abdomen, Jiang Yan reached behind to support his waist. He felt as if a pumpkin were tied to his waist, heavy and pulling him forward.
He then changed his shoes, opened the door, and before stepping outside, glanced at Xiao Mei sitting on the sofa, staring unblinkingly at his abdomen, and said calmly:
“I am going out.”
The villa door closed slowly, in the green-gold eyes of the black cat.
---
Jiang Yan sat in the car, the scenery outside the window constantly moving backward as they gradually drove toward the city.
The driver was a friend of a neighbor of Jiang Yan’s father’s relative, and had been Jiang Yan’s father’s driver for over ten years. Since Jiang Yan was in fifth grade, he had been picking him up and dropping him off at school. By now, he could be considered half a senior to Jiang Yan and knew his personality completely.
So when he saw Jiang Yan willingly going out by himself today, he was so shocked he didn’t even light his cigarette.
As soon as they got in the car, he called Jiang Yan’s parents and began talking nonstop:
“Aiya! Yan Yan is so much more cheerful now! He even goes out to have fun!”
“See! You said he wasn’t doing well! I knew he’d be fine! When has he ever told me he wanted to go out to meet friends before?”
“Don’t worry. Don’t worry. He’s going to meet Jian Hou’s family. I won’t let him run around.”
“……”
Jiang Yan sat in the back seat, holding a belly that, despite being invisible from the outside, felt as heavy as a melon, and he was breathing lightly.
Yu Xiu, hidden in his abdomen, was trying to ease his discomfort. He thoughtfully wrapped his tentacles around Jiang Yan’s waist and stroked lightly, but it had the opposite effect.
The soft, sticky suction cups traced along Jiang Yan’s waist like a string of delicate kisses, sending layer upon layer of goosebumps across his body. Jiang Yan seriously suspected that Yu Xiu was doing it on purpose.
Because he hadn’t been working for a long time, Jiang Yan was slightly out of touch with the world and forgot that it was now the morning rush hour.
The car jolted and swayed, and soon Jiang Yan’s head was spinning, his stomach churning and threatening to vomit.
Finally, as the car drove into the neighborhood where Jian Hou lived, Jiang Yan could no longer hold it and leaned toward the greenbelt trash bin to dry-heave.
The driver immediately stopped the car, and the property manager standing nearby hurriedly brought him some water.
After taking a few sips, Jiang Yan felt much better. He propped his hands on his lower back, thanked the property manager and driver, and instructed the driver to wait in front of the building. He would come out after seeing Jian Hou.
His actions left the property manager and driver momentarily stunned.
Then the driver chuckled and said, “Where did you learn to act like that? Leaning over, vomiting, holding your back. You’ve always been fair-skinned and childish but this looks like....”
Pregnant.
He didn’t finish the last part, afraid Jiang Yan would be upset, and just looked at him cheerfully.
Then the driver sighed, “If only you were a girl. You and Yu Xiu’s child would probably be parent by now.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the tentacles around Jiang Yan’s waist instantly coiled around his legs.
Jiang Yan said nothing.
He took a deep breath, trying to appear normal, then said goodbye to the driver and went toward Jian Hou’s apartment.
Sure enough, Jian Hou still hadn’t returned.
Jiang Yan input the password and collapsed onto Jian Hou’s sofa, lying still.
After resting for a while, he looked around at the familiar furnishings and let out a long sigh.
He knew that if Jian Hou were back, he would contact him immediately. But he had come anyway. Although it was unlike his usual behavior, in this situation he couldn’t just wait.
At that moment, Jiang Yan’s phone rang.
It was a message from Jian Hou’s friend, who had helped investigate whether several new players were in a “missing” status in the real world.
Although they weren’t wealthy, they were barely second-generation elites. Jian Hou had many friends, some from a higher social tier, so checking on a few strangers was not difficult.
【Jian Hou, I’ve checked the few people you asked me to. As you said, they’re not at home.】
【But their families don’t seem to have noticed anything unusual. No one has reported them missing. I guess they went on a business trip or vacation. Otherwise, if it were truly “missing” as you said, their families would have reported it.】
【Why are you checking on these people? Do they owe you money?】
Jiang Yan frowned lightly.
Exactly as he suspected.
In the previous dungeon, everyone except him might not have exited the game.
But the dungeon had been successfully cleared. The game had ended.
So were Jian Hou and the others simply trapped in the game, or had they seamlessly entered a new dungeon, or were they still inside the previous one?
Or was it possible that not only their dungeon, but the entire game, and now in the real world, he was the only one left?
Jiang Yan’s blue eyes darkened slightly.
He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, and thanked the friend.
【Ha! We’ve known each other for more than ten years. So many years of friendship, why say thanks?】
【It’s just that you’ve never gone out to hang with us. I was surprised and happy that you contacted me this time!】
【Old friends should meet and hang out more. Staying home every day is so boring. I’ll be back in S City in a month; we’ll have you set up a gathering!】
Jiang Yan stared at the word “friend” in the chat and was slightly dazed.
Friend.
No, from childhood, Jian Hou was his only friend.
Jiang Yan began defining what “friend” meant.
It was strange. Now he was analyzing this.
What is a friend?
According to Baidu, a friend is: “An important social connection in a personal network; someone with whom one has developed a relationship without blood ties, but who is very close and friendly.”
This person was Mo Cheng.
He and Jian Hou had met in middle school. Since then, Mo Cheng would invite him to birthday parties, greet his parents on holidays, send him blessings, and invite him to important events, all together with Jian Hou.
At his and Yu Xiu’s wedding, Mo Cheng had helped significantly and even stood at the reception as a groomsman.
Important? Seems like it.
No blood relation, but very friendly? Seems so.
So, they were friends?
Jiang Yan’s long eyelashes trembled.
He didn’t know why he suddenly started analyzing this. Jian Hou was his only friend.
He felt something inside himself changing.
One part was disappearing, another sprouting.
Then, for the first time in twenty-five years, Jiang Yan started evaluating the people around him: starting with Jian Hou, then his godparents, teachers, classmates, and finally his own parents.
He didn’t notice that in his clear, glass-like blue eyes, the blue data chain was constantly scrolling.
As he recalled a childhood fortune-teller who once mistakenly said he would have a “widow’s fate,” prompting his mother to buy charms to ward off misfortune, his phone rang again.
The caller ID showed: Mom.
Jiang Yan answered, a faint smile on his lips. “What’s up, Mom? Did dad make you upset again?”
However, the voice on the other end was indeed his father: “Yan Yan.”
His father’s voice was serious and tense. Jiang Yan could faintly hear his mother speaking beside him, her voice sobbing slightly.
“Dad, what’s wrong?”
Jiang Yan tensed instantly, and Yu Xiu in his abdomen extended a tentacle, wrapping around Jiang Yan’s hand holding the phone as if wanting to listen together.
A second later, his father said words that made his scalp tingle:
“We seem to have found Yu Xiu.”
Jiang Yan’s eyes widened, the tentacle around his wrist stiffened.
Yu Xiu?
Which Yu Xiu? His husband?
But Yu Xiu... Wasn’t he in his belly?
How could his parents have found Yu Xiu?
In his current form, without a human shape, there was no way his parents could recognize him.
Yu Xiu couldn’t have a human form; he could only exist in a game dungeon.
Jiang Yan froze.
At that moment, the apartment door sounded as if a password was being entered. Before Jiang Yan could react, Jian Hou burst through the door.
“Yan Yan!! Great! I went to your place and didn’t find you, so I knew you’d be here!”
Jian Hou excitedly threw himself onto the sofa and hugged Jiang Yan. His face looked fine, though he seemed a bit weak, like someone just recovering from illness.
“Old Jian, you’re back?”
Jiang Yan was stunned, not even realizing when his father’s call had ended.
Seeing Jiang Yan safe, Jian Hou’s eyes reddened. He shook Jiang Yan’s shoulders excitedly:
“Yan Yan, listen to me, Tao Shi and the others said you were…”
Jian Hou’s words were cut off by voices at the door.
“Is Jiang Yan here?”
Both froze, looking toward the entrance, where four uniformed police officers stood outside the slightly ajar door.
When Jian Hou entered the unit, he didn’t see them. He hadn’t noticed a police car outside the building. This high-end apartment had one unit per floor, requiring a card to use the elevator. Given the elevator speed, Jian Hou couldn’t have missed them.
But the truth was that they appeared suddenly, as if just spawned.
“Is Jiang Yan here?”
“I am.”
Completely unprepared, Jiang Yan snapped back to reality.
The four police officers entered the apartment, their eyes filled with regret and sympathy as they said:
“Your husband, Yu Xiu, is suspected of intentional homicide and has been detained. We need your cooperation for the investigation. Please come with us.”