Chapter 16: Cat

He remembered that during the day, he had accepted a task to stop a gang rape crime. He just stopped four Porters from raping Sister Mei, so why wasn’t there a notification that the task was completed?

Could it be… he stopped it too early?

Oh, come on! Did he really have to wait until those guys had pinned Sister Mei down and stripped her clothes off?

Since Lü Yang was there, he would never stand by and let things get to that point.

“I didn’t realize you could be so scary when you’re angry. You managed to subdue all four of those jerks.” After sitting down on the bench, Sister Mei spoke quietly to Lü Yang, her face filled with gratitude and admiration.

“They just had a moment of bad intentions. They’re not really hardened criminals, or I wouldn’t have been able to handle them.” Lü Yang forced a bitter smile. Even now, he still felt a bit tense, both physically and mentally.

“Are you hungry? Have something to eat.” Sister Mei took a plastic bag from her purse containing a few baked cakes she had made herself.

“You have food?” Lü Yang couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. He really was almost starving.

“Here.” Sister Mei handed a large cake to Lü Yang and took a small one for herself to eat.

The cake was a bit hard, but it was fragrant. Lü Yang wolfed it down quickly. After that, Sister Mei handed him another piece.

“How did you make this cake? It tastes pretty good.” Lü Yang probably felt he had eaten the first cake too quickly, so he didn’t shove the second one into his mouth right away. Instead, he started a conversation with Sister Mei.

She had only taken a couple of small bites of her own cake, while he had already devoured a whole large one.

“You think it tastes good? Hehe, I was almost embarrassed to offer it to you… It’s just regular flour, mixed with oil, salt, scallions, and ginger, then shaped into cakes and baked. I get hungry easily. Back when my husband was alive, he used to bake these cakes for me as a snack. He was from the north and was really good at making flour-based foods. His baked cakes were much better than mine. After he passed away, I had to learn to bake them myself, but mine are nowhere near as tasty.” Sister Mei spoke softly, her voice tinged with sorrow.

Lü Yang fell silent for a while. He slowly ate the cake, bite by bite. He wanted to say something but didn’t know how to comfort Sister Mei. Once someone is gone, they can’t come back. Sister Mei had lost her husband, and he had lost Yi Yi. The only hope he had was to collect 100 Eerie Points to bring Yi Yi back.

Before, Lü Yang had always doubted the reality of this matter, but now that the Mysterious Domain had truly happened, he had no choice but to accept it.

Suddenly, Lü Yang thought about that Side Quest. If he killed the four Porters, he could get six Eerie Points. Didn’t that mean that by going through a few more Mysterious Domains, he could save up enough Eerie Points to rescue Yi Yi?

But to save someone, he would have to kill others. That didn’t feel right. Although the four Porters had intended to commit a crime against Sister Mei, they didn’t deserve to die. Would killing them be going too far? He could imagine that they also had parents and families to support, which was why they were doing this kind of physical labor that few people wanted to do these days.

Even though Lü Yang had been in fights before, he had never killed anyone. It was hard for him to summon the courage. Forget killing people—even breaking a cat’s leg would weigh heavily on his conscience. So, he quickly dismissed the idea of killing the four Porters to gain Eerie Points.

“My husband knew how to make many delicious things. He was busy with his business outside but always cared about our family. He treated me so well…” While Lü Yang was lost in thought, Sister Mei kept talking about how wonderful her husband was.

“Yeah, it’s really hard to find men like that these days.” Lü Yang nodded and agreed with Sister Mei, but his mind was still occupied with thoughts of the Mysterious Domain and Eerie Points.

Earlier, a voice had notified him that the Mysterious Domain Side Quest had started. That meant there must also be a Main Quest for this Mysterious Domain. It seemed that only by triggering and completing the Main Quest could Lü Yang end this Mysterious Domain.

What was the Main Quest for this Mysterious Domain? There didn’t seem to be any related hints in the Eerie Computer!

“Good people don’t live long!” Sister Mei sighed. “Two years ago, my husband got into a car accident on the main road outside this Residential Area. It was past 1 a.m. His car was smashed by an old Large Truck with fake plates. The driver ran away and still hasn’t been caught.”

“Weren’t there street cameras that captured it?” Lü Yang asked Sister Mei.

“Back then, this area was still very remote. There were no cameras on the street… Ah… I’ve always had terrible luck.” Sister Mei sighed, her voice choking up.

“Try to think positively. Once someone’s gone, they can’t come back. Your husband surely wouldn’t want to see you so unhappy in heaven.” Lü Yang had no choice but to comfort Sister Mei with a few words.

“Do people really go to heaven after they die? Can he see me from heaven?” Sister Mei murmured, as if asking Lü Yang.

“Maybe.”

In the past, Lü Yang, who never believed in ghosts or gods and stuck to materialism, would never have said such a thing. But ever since that Eerie Computer appeared, his long-held beliefs had started to waver.

Especially with this Mysterious Domain happening now—it was something that science couldn’t explain at all.

“I really wish he could come back! He once said that even in death, he would die after me so I wouldn’t be left alone and sad. He also said I’m not good at taking care of myself and wouldn’t survive without him… But in the end, he left before me.” Sister Mei suddenly started crying.

Lü Yang glanced at Sister Mei, feeling a bit helpless. He didn’t know what to say. When it came to a Woman who kept drowning in her own sad past, he had no solution.

A cat’s meow caught Lü Yang’s attention. He looked up and saw the Black Cat that had run past him and Sister Mei earlier. It was now at the intersection, its glowing eyes staring in Lü Yang’s direction, as if it could see through the bushes and spot him and Sister Mei.

When his eyes met the Black Cat’s, Lü Yang couldn’t help but shiver, feeling a strange sense of dread. For some reason, he felt that if he wanted to figure out what the Main Quest of this Mysterious Domain was, it probably had something to do with this Black Cat.

The Black Cat stared in Lü Yang’s direction, let out another meow, then turned and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

It ran so fast. Did he really have to break its leg?

“That cat… it wants to tell us something.” Lü Yang said to Sister Mei. He planned to investigate the direction where the Black Cat had disappeared, hoping to find clues to end this Mysterious Domain.

“Huh? A cat?” Sister Mei seemed still lost in her own pain, reacting slowly to Lü Yang’s words.

“Sister Mei, the world we’re in right now isn’t the normal Real world. We have to find a way to end all this if we want to return to reality.” Lü Yang continued explaining to Sister Mei.

He couldn’t bear to leave her alone here. If he didn’t convince her, she would likely stay hidden in this corner out of fear, unwilling to go out and search for clues or solutions.

“It really is… not normal… like a nightmare…” Sister Mei looked around, her expression dazed.

“If this is a nightmare, we need to find a way to wake up as soon as possible. Otherwise, we might never wake up. Come on, let’s go look around together.” Lü Yang stood up, pulled an Iron Shovel from under the bench, and spoke to Sister Mei.