126. My core is shattered; I’m done playing!

Those infants seemed to have heard Chen Shang’s voice and turned their heads to look at him.

Only then did Chen Shang realize that their eyes were a pure white, completely devoid of pupils.

Suddenly, they gave Chen Shang a sinister smile, revealing sharp, beast-like teeth that sent a chill down his spine.

Startled by their eerie grins, Chen Shang’s body trembled involuntarily.

However, Bai Hu and Chu Jianlai, following Chen Shang’s gaze, looked around and both appeared puzzled. “Where are the people?”

“That’s impossible! There were clearly people there...” Chen Shang pointed at the corpse of the jackal and shouted loudly, “Hey? Where did they go?”

At that very moment, the crimson infants vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.

“I told you no one was there. Planner, are you just too tired?” Bai Hu touched Chen Shang’s forehead and sighed, “So cold! Why is there no warmth at all?”

Chu Jianlai frowned and stepped forward to feel Chen Shang’s forehead as well. Then, in the manner of an experienced traditional doctor, he calmly said, “Not entirely without warmth, but Mr. Chen appears to have suffered quite a shock and is running a slight fever.”

Hearing this, Chen Shang indeed felt dizzy and weak, his legs barely able to support his body.

“*Cough cough*... so tired, I feel like I can’t walk anymore.”

Chen Shang had never felt so frail before. This pain did not stem from the body but seemed to originate deep within his soul.

He opened the system panel, trying to find some medicinal items in the shop to heal his condition.

“Unable to use... what’s going on?”

But when he accessed the core system, the screen showed a mass of strange garbled text, accompanied by a message:

[Corruption Core malfunction detected... please check back later.]

His regular game system seemed to work, but all functions related to the “Corruption Core” were disabled.

“Ah, this...” Chen Shang’s head throbbed painfully, and his consciousness blurred once more:

—My core is malfunctioning?

He had always relied heavily on this indispensable “system” for transmigrators. Or rather, he had nothing else to depend on besides this system.

But now it was broken? Like a mechanical part failing?

As he contemplated this, the pain in his head intensified, and he nearly stumbled to the ground.

Seeing this, Bai Hu immediately helped Chen Shang up and, cradling him in a princess carry, held him close.

“Though I don’t know what you went through, you look like you’re about to drop dead from exhaustion.” Bai Hu’s slender arms were unexpectedly strong, and she pressed her cheek against Chen Shang’s in an attempt to soothe him.

“Rest a little longer. We’ll take you home.”

“...”

Before dawn, the two undead companions escorted Chen Shang back to his home.

Chen Shang rubbed his sleepy eyes and clumsily slipped out of Bai Hu’s embrace.

Despite having slept there for a while, his headache remained unrelieved. Fortunately, there was still some time before sunrise, so he could return to his room and rest some more.

On the way back, Chen Shang struggled to recall and retell his experiences in the abyssal otherworld to his companions.

Unfortunately, his memories were already hazy, compounded by the lingering dizziness and headache, making his narration disjointed and confusing.

If this were a dice roll on his speech skill, it would probably be something like 1d100=15.

Though Bai Hu and Chu Jianlai couldn’t understand most of what he said, they were greatly shaken. At least they grasped that Chen Shang had traveled to a very dangerous place and nearly met a grisly end.

“That’s enough for today...” Chen Shang lowered his head in exhaustion and whispered, “Thank you both.”

“Apologies. I was of no help today,” Chu Jianlai bowed deeply, his tone full of regret. “We had promised to protect Mr. Chen, but ended up unable to help and let you suffer.”

As if suddenly remembering something, Chu Jianlai pulled a cracked and battered suitcase from his bag and handed it to Chen Shang.

“This thing... still works?” Chen Shang immediately recognized it as the suitcase he used to carry his multifunctional light crossbow.

“Mr. Chen, this came back with you, but the exterior is badly damaged,” Chu Jianlai explained. “Fortunately, the contents inside are intact. It should be your weapon, right?”

Chen Shang took the multifunctional light crossbow, which had accompanied him since shortly after his transmigration, feeling a faint sense of relief.

“Planner, if you need our help, just let us know anytime!” Bai Hu, brimming with energy, patted Chen Shang’s shoulder and suggested, “We’ll come see you again tomorrow?”

“No need. I should be fine after a good sleep...” Chen Shang forced a faint smile on his pale face. “You should stay hidden. Don’t let the financial conglomerate’s people find you.”

The two undead nodded and turned to leave the residential area.

“This is really tough... how did things end up like this...” Watching their retreating figures, Chen Shang sighed and returned home.

The living room lights were off. After all, Chu Jianlai had told his sister he was tutoring at a classmate’s house, so she didn’t wait for him and went straight to bed.

Chen Shang felt utterly drained. Being somewhat fastidious, he didn’t even bother to shower and planned to head straight to his room to rest.

But as he opened the front door, he thought he heard voices:

“He’s here.”

“It seems like he can hear us.”

“Can he see me?”

“Heh heh heh... quickly respond, can you see us?”

“...”

Chen Shang raised his head warily and looked around, discovering several grotesque black shadows wandering in the living room.

Their forms were indistinct, drenched in blood, and horrifyingly twisted, as if crushed and mangled by a massive truck.

Most unsettling were their eyes, which had fixed on Chen Shang the moment he entered, like jackals spotting prey.

—Am I seeing ghosts? No, this world doesn’t have ghosts.

Chen Shang’s scalp tingled, his nerves stretched taut, and his heart pounded wildly like a water pump.

Clutching the handle of his battered suitcase, he considered whether he should assemble his crossbow and shoot a volley into these nagging apparitions.

However, the shadows suddenly vanished shortly after, and the eerie voices abruptly ceased.

“Was that... a hallucination?” Chen Shang massaged his throbbing head uneasily and stepped into his bedroom.

Although he didn’t understand why he was seeing such strange things, the only thing he could do was get some sleep and properly restore his strength.