Chapter 30: Birthday Party

"Obsession, greed, anger, delusion, life, death—all are illusions. Life is short, a great dream." Bai Li Yi's voice was calm, but carried a certain melancholy rhythm.

Gao Yang silently noted it down in his mind.

"That's about it," Bai Li Yi stood up and stretched his body, "I should get off work now. See you."

"See you."

Gao Yang watched Bai Li Yi leave, thinking that this guy didn't look like a doctor at all, but more like a poet. Anyway, he had gathered quite a bit of useful information. Now he could basically confirm that there were six types of beasts: Obsession Beasts, Greed Beasts, Anger Beasts, Delusion Beasts, Life Beasts, and Death Beasts.

Officer Huang had mentioned that there were three types of Anger Beasts: Killers, Devourers, and Horned Beasts.

Li Weiwei was most likely a Devourer—she didn't hurry to kill him, and the way she tortured him and the things she said... it felt more like she wanted to "eat" him.

Aunt He was clearly a Killer: no words, just violence, very bloodthirsty.

As for the Horned Beasts, Gao Yang hadn't encountered one yet. If possible, he hoped he never would.

The Obsession Beasts, also known as the Lost Ones, seemed to have three types.

The old man Liu who sold spicy hot pot was the least harmful, the gentlest type. This type of beast seemed to be the most common in this world and was easier to identify.

The second type was those Lost Ones who were difficult to distinguish from real humans. Even Awakened Ones couldn't tell them apart with just experience and the naked eye. They needed special abilities, like Bai Li Yi's [Red Eyes], or the "Psychiatric Patient's" [Sense of Smell]. Officer Huang's wife and Gao Yang's own family were probably this type of Lost Ones. Of course, they could also be unawakened humans, and as long as no one tried to "test" them, they would remain like Schrödinger's cat, with a chance of being either human or beast.

The third type of Lost One was Wang Zikai. He was too "strange" to analyze, impossible to classify.

Also, the "Old Man Zhang" they encountered a few hours ago should have been the first type of Lost One, but he had suddenly gone berserk without warning, and his beast form was quite bizarre. It was possible that the "White Cat" was responsible.

Was that white cat a beast too? Could it be one of the Obsession, Delusion, Life, or Death Beasts?

If each beast had three types, that meant there were at least 18 different types of beasts in this world!

Gao Yang couldn't help but gasp: once awakened, there was no turning back. He had to join an organization quickly, find a powerful backing, and learn more about the rules. Otherwise, he would always be a "blind player," vulnerable to being preyed upon as soon as night fell, his survival entirely dependent on luck.

...

At noon, his mother and sister came to the hospital to take over for Gao Yang.

He went home, showered, and rested. He only slept for 4 hours but woke up feeling refreshed. Since becoming an Awakened One, his physical condition had notably improved, likely related to the increase in his attributes.

Gao Yang roughly calculated: surviving one day earned him 24 luck points, and if he survived a month, that would be 720 points. If he put all those points into one attribute, it would be quite powerful.

But Gao Yang had already chosen the path of adding luck to his attributes. He wasn't one to give up halfway and hated wasting sunk costs. So, he decided that from now on, half of his luck points would go into gaining new talents, and the other half would continue to enhance his luck attribute. The leftover points would be distributed as needed.

In the evening, after dinner, Gao Yang went out. Although his mother had arranged for him to take a break, he decided to go to school for evening self-study so he could catch up with Qing Ling. Qing Ling was very cautious and never used her phone for communication, as it left traces. She preferred to talk face-to-face when something important came up.

Just after the first evening study session, Gao Yang was about to find Qing Ling when Wan Sisi ran over, concerned: "Gao Yang, I heard your dad... is in the hospital."

"Yeah, he had a car accident," Gao Yang replied.

"Oh my god, is he okay?" She looked genuinely worried.

"He's out of life-threatening danger, but the situation... isn't great," Gao Yang said dejectedly. "The doctor said he might have to sit in a wheelchair from now on."

"He won't, your uncle will definitely recover," Wan Sisi comforted. "My uncle had a car accident two years ago. The doctor said he'd be paralyzed, but not only did he avoid paralysis, he could walk again after a year. Though he still needs a cane, he can move around without much trouble."

"Thank you," Gao Yang said gratefully. Then, he thought: maybe Wan Sisi's uncle is a beast, which is why he recovered. Does this mean that if my father is a beast, he could likely recover as well?

Gao Yang was shocked by the thought, shivering: How could I wish for my father to be a beast...

His mind was a mess. When he looked up, he saw Wan Sisi hadn't left, watching him, hesitating.

"Is there something else?" Gao Yang asked.

"Ah, actually..." Wan Sisi's cheeks flushed, "I wanted to ask if you're free this weekend afternoon. It's my birthday, but never mind. You should take care of your uncle."

"Okay..."

"Gao Yang, you have to go," Qing Ling suddenly appeared, startling Gao Yang.

Wan Sisi looked surprised and stared at Qing Ling, unsure of what to say.

"I'll go too," Qing Ling added, "Is that okay?"

"Of course, of course!" Wan Sisi smiled, though she felt a little awkward. She hadn't planned to invite Qing Ling, not because she disliked her, but because she knew Qing Ling had "misandry" and that she had invited male classmates. She worried the atmosphere would become tense.

Gao Yang quickly gave Qing Ling a look, but she pretended not to notice.

"Well then, see you on Saturday afternoon at 2:30, at Le Baodi. Don't be late," Wan Sisi said, nearly running off in embarrassment.

Qing Ling sat down next to Gao Yang. "I heard about your dad."

"Why do you want to go to the birthday party?" Gao Yang asked, not answering her.

Qing Ling lowered her voice, "You've been spending a lot of time with Sisi lately, and she's been more proactive than before. I need to observe carefully to see if she's suspecting you."

"You're overthinking it..."

"Is that also overthinking, regarding Li Weiwei?"

Gao Yang was speechless.

...

For the next two days, Gao Yang went to substitute for his mother and sister at night, then rested at home during the morning. In the afternoon, he would wake up, get ready, and go for evening self-study, briefly meeting Qing Ling and asking Wan Sisi a few English questions.

His father stayed in the ICU for four hours, then was moved to a special care ward. On the third morning, he woke up briefly but couldn't speak, only blinking, before falling back asleep.

Just that was enough to lift the shadow from the family. His mother, who had been frowning, finally relaxed, even thinking about redoing her makeup. His sister showed a long-lost smile and resumed teasing Gao Yang.

Sunday morning, Gao Yang returned home, showered, and rested for a while before waking up.

He checked his system, and his luck points had accumulated to 85.

He spent 60 points to learn a new talent, which, as expected, was a failed attempt. He had 25 points left, which he decided to keep for now.

Gao Yang calculated again: if it took three attempts to succeed in learning a talent, he would need 180 points for the third talent. After that, the required points would double to 120 for the next attempt, and 360 for three successful attempts.

The demand for luck points seemed endless. Ordinary grinding might not be enough, and this dangerous world probably wouldn't give him time to wait.

Fortune favors the bold—if only there were "dangerous but survivable battles." If he could fight for half an hour a day, it would be like gaining a few extra days of experience. Once he joined the organization, he would definitely study this more. Maybe he could find a way to infinitely farm "experience."

...

At 2 p.m., Gao Yang quickly got ready and headed for Le Baodi. There was some traffic, and he was the last to arrive. After the receptionist led him to the private room Wan Sisi had booked, just as he was about to open the door, he heard a boy's voice wailing: "I'll play along in your show, but I refuse to cooperate, forcing the one who loves you most to improvise..."

Gao Yang thought, you're forcing the audience to be actors? Singing so terribly, and then expecting applause? How miserable.

He walked in and saw "Xuan Shao" sitting on a high chair by the karaoke machine, holding a microphone, singing with deep passion.

Xuan Shao's full name was Niu Xuan. He wasn't exactly a rich second-generation, but he was certainly a small local tycoon. His father owned more than twenty chain supermarkets in the city. Niu Xuan was generous, loved to show off, and was the kind of guy who liked to gather people around. He wasn't bad-looking and was a popular figure in the class.

Compared to Wang Zikai, a reckless "troublemaker," Niu Xuan was much more slick. He had different faces for his parents, teachers, and classmates.

If you played along with him, you would feel superior. But if you offended him, you'd usually regret it. The subtle, invisible exclusion he would cause made it difficult to bear. Gao Yang didn't interact much with Niu Xuan. He was one of those people Niu Xuan didn't particularly care for, but also didn't bother to pick on.

As soon as Gao Yang entered the KTV, Niu Xuan's singing stopped. He enthusiastically shouted into the microphone, "Oh, isn't this Gao Yang? Finally made it, everyone's been waiting!"

Gao Yang involuntarily tensed.

This feeling... didn't seem good.