Chapter 128 - 118: Saved!

Bai Qiang walked over to Yin Zhen and crouched down. Without a word, she pulled out a dagger, slit Yin Zhen’s finger, and dripped her blood onto the screen of the Electronic Pet Machine.

Yin Zhen barely reacted. However, when Bai Qiang grabbed Zoe’s hand and prepared to use the blade, Yin Zhen suddenly seized her wrist, staring at her with murderous intent.

"I’m saving her!"

Bai Qiang broke free from Yin Zhen’s grip, slit Zoe’s fingertip, and squeezed another drop of blood onto the screen.

The palm-sized Electronic Pet Machine was forcefully shoved into Yin Zhen’s palm. Amidst the howling winds of the collapsing world, Bai Qiang shouted at Yin Zhen.

"You’d better pay back what you owe me!"

As her voice faded, the countdown hit zero. In an instant, Bai Qiang returned to the information center’s conference room. The windows were still shattered, and the ultraviolet lights were still shining on her. Shen Qing, still shaken, scanned all of them.

The system in Bai Qiang’s mind continued its announcements. Every word was cold, ruthless, and rather amusing.

[You have consumed 300,000 words. Your current word count is too low. The Light of Heavenly Destiny has transferred. You have lost your Protagonist Identity.]

[You have lost all words. You have lost all Talents. You have lost all Items. You have lost all Titles.]

[Your Identity Card has been downgraded to a Gray Card.]

[They appreciate your stupidity and have decided to gift you a few words to save your miserable life. Your current remaining word count is 4.]

[You have obtained the exclusive title—Holy Mother.]

[Holy Mother]: Upon active activation, you can bear a fatal blow for someone else once. However, you will not die; you will only be severely injured and become a burden. If you save others, will they save you?

[Mysterious Evaluation]: Knowing it’s a pit of fire yet still jumping in, knowing it’s not worth it yet still insisting on saving them. We suggest you book an appointment at a hospital and check if you have a mental illness.

Reading to the end, Bai Qiang revealed a delighted smile and thought to herself, "Oh, looks like I struck a nerve. Mocking me with ’Holy Mother’? I’m sorry, but your praise is a bit too subtle! A Holy Mother who sacrifices herself to save others has never been a derogatory term. The ones who truly deserve to be mocked are those who are generous with other people’s sacrifices, standing safely on the shore and forgiving everything on behalf of the victims.

"Using this word on me shows that you’re scared. You’re scared of someone who would rather take a loss to do the right thing, scared of this human nature that calculates no costs and expects no returns—something you can neither understand nor control. Don’t worry. I will continue to be the kind of person you fear."

Bai Qiang chose to become a psychiatrist because, during high school, her best friend—the silly girl she had grown up with who always talked about becoming a police officer to help others—committed suicide due to depression. Bai Qiang hadn’t been able to pull her back from the brink, and it remained her lifelong regret.

That girl hadn’t done anything wrong. No, that wasn’t quite true. Her only mistake was being too kind, always considering others before herself.

Many people with mental health issues, especially young depression patients, suffered mostly because they were too kind.

Because of their kindness, they blamed themselves for every problem. Because of their kindness, they constantly suppressed themselves, forgiving others and making excuses for them instead. Because of their kindness, they believed that as long as they died, everyone else would be freed.

Why do the good die young, while the wicked live for a millennium? Because the wicked vent everything out on others and never consume themselves with inner turmoil. Good people are the exact opposite.

Was this right? No, it wasn’t!

Bai Qiang hadn’t chosen to be a psychiatrist to truly save the world. She wasn’t that noble. She only wanted to reach out and pull up those who cried out to the world for help but received no response, doing so within her sight and her capabilities.

The system was thoroughly verbally shut down by Bai Qiang and made no further sound.

Bai Qiang pulled out a chair and sat down. Behind her was the glassless window, and beyond that were the myriad lights of Guan City. The blood-red hue had faded from the sky, and everything had returned to normal.

Crossing her legs, she leaned back in the chair, took out a cigarette, and lit it. She took a deep drag and exhaled a long plume of smoke, feeling a profound sense of satisfaction from the inside out.

"Did any of you get the protagonist halo?"

Bai Qiang asked the others in front of her, who were still struggling to process the situation. They all looked as if they had just woken from a dream, unsure if the invasion game had truly ended.

Hearing her question, the group shook their heads in unison.

Bai Qiang’s sharp eyes swept over them. After confirming that no one was lying, she couldn’t help but inwardly marvel. Were there still hidden experts in Guan City?

Had the protagonist really not been chosen from among their group of the most active Players?

In that case, she was quite looking forward to seeing what kind of person this new protagonist would be.

"Bai Qiang!"

Shen Qing shouted sternly. Bai Qiang was just about to snap back with "What do you want from your grand-aunt?" when she suddenly remembered that she was no longer the protagonist. Shen Qing could actually shoot her now.

Coughing softly, Bai Qiang put out her cigarette, uncrossed her legs, sat up straight, and gave Shen Qing a professional smile.

"Commander Shen, do you have any instructions?"

Shen Qing frowned and sat down. "Tell me. What exactly happened this time?"

Bai Qiang chuckled dryly. "I’m so sorry. My authority is too low now, so I can’t go around revealing everything to non-Players anymore. Why don’t you go through the trouble of finding Ancient Abyss’s new protagonist and ask them? Besides, I have nothing else to do here, so I’m heading home. If my cat comes back and sees I’m not there, it might run away again."

Meanwhile.

After returning to her own home, Yin Zhen immediately blocked out the chaotic noises from the system and the forum in her mind. She retrieved the item Bai Qiang had shoved into her hand from her game backpack to examine it.

[Electronic Pet Machine (Activated)]: Luminous Prop. Costs 300,000 words. Using the Blood of Bloodline as a catalyst, it can turn a living creature that has been dead for no more than 24 hours into an egg within the Pet Machine, allowing you to hatch and raise them from scratch.

[Usage Explanation]: The incubation period is 7 days, requiring 3 drops of the Blood of Bloodline each day for feeding. After hatching, it requires 1 drop per day for 365 days. The raised creature will regenerate using your flesh and blood, returning to your side. Note: If it is not fed on a given day, it will require triple the amount of feeding the next day. If it is not fed for more than three days, the creature will die instantly.

At this moment, right in the center of the screen of this palm-sized, white egg-shaped Pet Machine, there was a colorful pixel-art egg. Its base featured a flowing water pattern, dotted with some golden specks.

"Zoe, is that you?" Yin Zhen’s voice trembled.

BEEP BEEP!

The Pet Machine emitted a sound and vibrated, and the egg inside wobbled slightly from side to side.

Yin Zhen collapsed weakly onto the sofa, her anxious heart finally settling down. As long as there was still a way to save her, everything would be fine.

Only then did Yin Zhen realize Bai Qiang’s intention when she had previously asked if she still had any living relatives in this world.

300,000 words. A Luminous Prop, which was even more Advanced than Golden Items. How many words could a protagonist possibly have?

Bai Qiang had sacrificed her Protagonist Identity!

Realizing this, Yin Zhen smiled bitterly and muttered, "Now, I really won’t be able to pay off what I owe her anytime soon."

After pondering for a moment, Yin Zhen confirmed a few detailed questions with the system regarding the use of the Electronic Pet Machine. Now that she had the authority, she didn’t need to guess the hidden traps in these Explanations; she could directly verify them with the system.

First was the blood issue. She needed to equip her Character Card before feeding; otherwise, it wouldn’t count as the blood of a relative.

Second was the time issue. The Pet Machine’s time flowed in sync with her, the one providing the Blood of Bloodline.

If she went to Chi Hai for 7 days and left the Pet Machine in Ancient Abyss, even if the time in Ancient Abyss was frozen, 7 days would still pass for the Pet Machine.

She had to keep the Pet Machine with her at all times. This was fine, too; at the very least, it would ensure that no unexpected accidents occurred.

While asking this question, Yin Zhen also took the opportunity to confirm another issue. If Players frequently traveled between the two worlds, they would essentially be consuming double the time, cutting their lifespans in half.

A Player who could originally live to be eighty in Ancient Abyss would only live to forty there if they continuously participated in the games.

However, Yin Zhen felt it was unnecessary to worry about this. Most Players probably wouldn’t even last half a year before being killed by the invasion game’s hidden traps.

Those who truly had the capability to survive continuously would definitely be able to obtain Items in the games that elevated their life forms or extended their lifespans.

Even continuously adding Constitution attribute points would have a boosting effect on one’s lifespan.

The final question about the Pet Machine concerned Zoe’s state after resurrection. This was quite a pity. Since she was using S717’s blood to feed her, the resurrected Zoe would still belong to the Blood Clan.

[Friendly Reminder: The invasion game involves many story dimensions, and the item repository is quite vast. As long as the Player actively participates in the games, you might be able to find a reversal method in other worlds, or obtain Special Items to help you fulfill your wish.]

Yin Zhen ignored the system and spoke to the egg in the Pet Machine, "From now on, I’ll take you with me to see different worlds. As long as I’m alive, I will never give up on you, and I will definitely find a way to turn you into a human."

BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!

The egg inside the Pet Machine bubbled with little hearts and wobbled happily. However, the movements were so exaggerated that it tipped itself over. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t stand back up, rolling and bumping all around its pixel-art room.

Finally, the egg stopped moving, and a chat bubble appeared above it, displaying a dizzy, spiral-eyed expression.

Seeing this, Yin Zhen chuckled.

She found a sturdy string to replace the key ring on the Pet Machine and hung it around her neck.

Although she felt very apologetic towards Zoe, Yin Zhen had to admit that having the Red Corpse World brought to an end At this moment truly made her sigh in relief.

And this experience allowed Yin Zhen to draw a lesson, locking away a certain part of her heart.

She looked at the potted, thorny Immortal Cactus on the balcony. From now on, she would be a qualified villain. She would never again cross paths with the protagonist of any world. Once confirmed, she would kill them immediately!

"Now, let’s see what the rewards are."