Su Youzhu glanced at him unexpectedly, not sure when he started eating so much.
However, this girl had a pretty good personality—calm and not very talkative.
She didn't bother to ask more, simply went to the kitchen to scoop some rice and placed it on the dining table.
Gu Jianlin couldn't hold back the overwhelming hunger anymore and started devouring the food like a whirlwind.
A moment later, he realized his eating manner wasn't exactly graceful. He looked up and said, "Sorry, I'm just a bit hungry."
Su Youzhu paused for a second, responding, "It's fine, I don't mind."
Gu Jianlin couldn't help but say, "But your gaze tells me that you think I eat like a convict fresh out of prison."
"It's fine. Eat more; it's good to replenish your body."
With an expressionless yet charming face, Su Youzhu unexpectedly pushed her own portion toward him: "Want more?"
Gu Jianlin hesitated for a moment: "Aren't you eating?"
Su Youzhu replied flatly, "I'm dieting."
Gu Jianlin glanced at her slender and graceful figure. Even in loose-fitting green casualwear, he could clearly see the delicate curves of a teenage girl—especially her exposed neckline with a charmingly sculpted collarbone.
This girl stood just 155cm tall and weighed no more than 76 pounds. Dieting didn't seem necessary at all.
But she put the bowl of rice down directly and started rummaging through the stack of test papers in his suitcase, clearly not giving him room to refuse.
Gu Jianlin had no choice but to accept her offer with a smile.
He ended up eating four bowls of rice, fifteen braised chicken wings, and a large bowl of potato stew with beef brisket.
Yet, the hunger still didn't go away.
Suddenly, he realized something was off; this sensation of hunger wasn't necessarily physiological.
Gu Jianlin turned his head to look in the mirror in the living room and was shocked to see the Black Qilin lying weakly.
Its ancient, majestic vertical black pupils were filled with unhidden hunger and greed.
So that's how it is!
Gu Jianlin had a sudden epiphany: this inexplicable hunger couldn't be resolved with food—it was influenced by the Black Qilin, an issue belonging to the realm of the Transcendent.
Suddenly, there was a wailing sound of police sirens outside the window, accompanied by flashing warning lights.
Simultaneously, a commotion erupted from the building next door.
"Reanimated corpses! Tons of reanimated corpses! They climbed out of the coffins!"
A young man scrambled out, babbling hysterically and incoherently.
Gu Jianlin stood by the window, watching as the deranged young man was taken away by the police car, lost in thought.
Reanimated corpses, coffins, resurrection.
He immediately thought of the Qilin Immortal Palace, that ancient tomb of unknown location.
At that moment, he realized he might not be the only one who had recently entered the Qilin Immortal Palace—other players could very well be nearby!
"That's Mr. Sun's son from the supermarket downstairs, right?"
Su Youzhu leaned close, her light cyan short hair giving off a faint sandalwood scent: "They say he's been out of his mind for days—three days ago, he was already rambling about reanimated corpses and talking about buying Black Dog Blood and Black donkey hoof."
Gu Jianlin watched the police car disappear into the distance and asked, "As protection against evil spirits? Why didn't he go for child's urine?"
Su Youzhu mused, "Maybe he already has some?"
Goodness...
Gu Jianlin was at a loss for words.
Back then, the forum post described this—they'd counted more than 230 online players. Apart from the five who were trying to resurrect an Ancient God, there were likely plenty of first-time entrants like him.
Having such bizarre and eerie experiences, it's only natural for someone's mental state to collapse.
But judging from the current situation, stuff like Black Dog Blood, Black donkey hoof, or even child's urine wouldn't be effective.
After all, they weren't dealing with reanimated corpses; it was the Ancient God.
He suddenly got curious. Where was Mr. Sun's son being taken?
And could the police station even handle such a matter?
If not, then what?
Most likely, they'd end up sending him to the hospital or psychiatric facility.
Gu Jianlin suddenly remembered the old man he met in the ancient tomb once mentioned that there's a massive Ether Association in the country. Perhaps they'd deal with situations like this?
He silently noted down the name, planning to inquire about it tomorrow.
"I'm going to copy your homework now. Don't forget to take your medicine, and try not to go out later."
Su Youzhu clutched his test papers and notebooks, turning and walking away: "Help me review for the exams this afternoon?"
"Reviewing for exams" sounded like a polite term.
What she meant, in reality, was getting him to mark key topics and even predict test questions so she could memorize them by rote.
Ever since becoming siblings, Zhu's academic performance had skyrocketed from the very bottom of the grades to a respectable 500+ ranking—now considered middle-tier in her cohort. Even the school teachers were amazed.
It was entirely because Gu Jianlin, the human cheat code, was helping her.
Gu Jianlin rubbed his forehead and said, "Let's do it tonight. I'm a little tired now and want to take a nap."
Su Youzhu gave him a sideways glance: "Tonight? Oh, so you can check out my nightwear, huh?"
Gu Jianlin's eyelid twitched.
He wanted to explain that he was just genuinely tired, not trying to ogle her in pajamas.
Su Youzhu said calmly, "Anyway, Mom and Dad won't be home tonight, so stay up as late as you want."
Gu Jianlin felt a dark cloud pass over his face.
This girl might look like an ice-cold beauty, but she was prone to dropping shockingly audacious remarks.
Combined with her expressionless demeanor, it was hard to tell if she was joking or if she had other motives.
Profiling someone wasn't the same as mind reading; even analyzing her personality only suggested she'd spent too much time indoors and had probably seen too much crude content online.