Evil God 11

White/Turbidity Asylum 2

Chen Yu regarded the eccentric man, who was excitedly trying to sell him a membership, with a cold, unimpressed gaze.

“If you agree to join, you can pick any room you want in the hospital. Sleep in whichever one you please, or even switch rooms every day!”

Chen Yu clasped his hands behind his back. “…That doesn’t sound very appealing.”

Bai Zhen blinked. “Why not?”

Chen Yu paused for a moment. “The name ‘White/Turbidity Asylum’ is just awful; it doesn’t look like a respectable place at all.”¹

Bai Zhen: “…”

The smile on Bai Zhen’s face faltered, and he looked somewhat hurt; he immediately turned to the quack and asked, “Is it really that bad?”

The quack remained expressionless. “Is it supposed to sound good?”

Bai Zhen clicked his tongue, lowered his hands, and sat back down dejectedly.

But he hadn’t given up yet.

“You know, you’re a celebrity now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Evil God Host, Deep Sea Authority, a survivor who lasted a full three weeks in an unexplored zone like Sector S of the Twilight Ruins… You’re a walking delicacy right now; just walking down the street, even the dogs would be tempted to take a bite out of you…”

Seeing that Chen Yu remained unfazed, Bai Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly. “Come to think of it, while you were unconscious, you kept calling out someone’s name.”

“Fang Xun.” He enunciated the name clearly. “That’s your ex-boyfriend, right?”

Chen Yu’s expression finally changed. “…You investigated me?”

“You kept muttering it over and over while lying in that hospital bed; it would’ve been hard not to hear it.” Bai Zhen shrugged. “So, I had someone look into it a bit. And guess what? We found absolutely nothing. It’s as if the guy just appeared out of thin air… You mentioned earlier that you thought you saw your ex-boyfriend in your dream, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is it possible that your ex-boyfriend is a ‘God-Eroded’ too?”

“Enough!” Chen Yu cut him off abruptly.

His tone was far colder than when he had refused to join them earlier.

The quack frowned and took a step forward, but Bai Zhen raised a hand to stop him.

At that moment, the clown-like expression on Bai Zhen’s face gradually faded. Across his bruised and battered cheeks, a look of compassion emerged, as if he had seen through everything in the world.

“Don’t you want to know what exactly your mysterious boyfriend was hiding?”

“…That’s none of your business. I’ll find him and get the truth myself.”

Seeing the resolute look on Chen Yu’s face, Bai Zhen finally let out a long sigh. “Fine. In that case, we respect your choice.”

“Of course, if you ever change your mind, the doors to White/Turbidity Asylum are always open to you,” Then, his tone shifted. “But since you aren’t willing to join us right now, let’s settle the bill.”

“Bill?”

“Rescue fees, treatment costs, hospitalization, repair bills, and the usage fee for the Spinal Cord Vessel… To save you, Xiao Duanduan used an artifact that had already been reserved by a client. Since you don’t [unauthorized copy]want to join us, naturally, you’re the one who has to foot the bill.”

“Is it expensive?” Chen Yu asked.

“It’s reasonable.”

Chen Yu’s mind was still reeling from what Bai Zhen had just said, and the memory of that sorrowful dream left his thoughts in a jumble; he nodded absentmindedly.

“I’ll send you the bill tomorrow.” Bai Zhen finished speaking, then seemed to remember something. “Oh, right! Do you want to see your child?”

*

Three people were walking down a long, silent, and gloomy corridor.

Even though it was broad daylight, the doors lining the hallway were tightly shut; each bore an inlaid number that gleamed with a metallic luster.

As Chen Yu followed Bai Zhen past Room 117, a rhythmic thud-thud-thud sound drifted from within, like someone banging their head against the wall.

When they passed Room 002, a burst of singing suddenly rang out. The melody rose and fell erratically; it wasn’t exactly pleasant, yet not unpleasant either. Though certain fragmented syllables sounded like fingernails scraping against a chalkboard.

Room 44 was quiet, but as Chen Yu walked by, a small puddle of water suddenly seeped out from beneath the door crack; it was clear ​unauthorized copy​but carried a subtle briny scent reminiscent of seawater.

Chen Yu paused in his tracks. Bai Zhen turned back to look at him. “Number 44 seems to like you. Do you want to go in and have a chat with it?”

“No, no thanks.” Chen Yu looked away and quickly caught up with them.

After rounding a bend at the end of the corridor, they came upon a heavy door. Silvery-white all over and covered in layers of patterns and locking mechanisms, it resembled the entrance to a bank vault.

The quack explained that this was the nursery.

A one-way glass was set into the wall beside the entrance, offering a clear view of the room’s interior.

The room was small with stark white walls, though the light source was nowhere to be seen, and it was in a state of disarray. Shredded dolls, clothes, pacifiers, and all manner of debris littered the space; fragments floated in the air, making the room look like a junkyard.

Chen Yu couldn’t help but frown. It looked more like a cage for a wild beast than a nursery.

And right now, the little evil god was curled up in the corner of that cage.

Its skin was still wrinkled, though it had filled out and become plumper compared to when it was first born. On that shriveled face, a pair of eyes reflecting swirling chaos darted restlessly.

“It’s been like this ever since it was moved to the nursery. It doesn’t eat, it doesn’t sleep. Anything thrown inside gets [visit our site]torn to shreds inst–.” The quack spoke with a hint of resentment.

Before he could finish his sentence, the little evil god in the corner suddenly turned its head. Its chaotic eyes locked directly onto Chen Yu through the glass.

The quack paused and subconsciously stepped back.

Suddenly, with a whoosh sound, the evil god lunged toward the glass.

It slammed into the glass, bounced back, slammed into it again, and bounced back once more, all while emitting a series of hissing sounds. Thud after thud, the impacts made the glass vibrate and hum.

Bai Zhen gazed at the little evil god in the room as if he were observing a rare animal. “Chen Yu, it seems to really like you. Look how happily it reacts the moment you arrive.”

Chen Yu: “…”

Chen Yu felt his scalp tingle as he listened to the commotion of it pounding the walls and bashing its head.

Bai Zhen admired the scene for a moment before turning to beckon the quack. “Open the door.”

“Are we really opening it?” the quack asked hesitantly, his face full of worry.

“Open it.” Bai Zhen glanced at Chen Yu with a smile. “Its ‘mother’ stolen contentis right here; what is there to be afraid of?”

The quack gritted his teeth and swiped the access card.

With a soft shhh, the silvery-white door opened.

Almost simultaneously, a dark shape darted out from within. Its target was clear: Chen Yu!

The dark shape flew toward Chen Yu’s arms like a cannonball; the quack was startled and hurriedly scrambled backward.

However, just before colliding with Chen Yu, the dark shape suddenly halted in mid-air. It was Bai Zhen!

With lightning-fast reflexes, he had grabbed one of the little evil god’s legs, leaving it dangling upside down in the air. The evil god turned back in a rage. It flailed its limbs and hissed at him. Yet, it was like a kitten held by the scruff of its neck; no matter how it struggled, it couldn’t break free from that grip.

Bai Zhen held up the humanoid creature to examine it for a moment, clicked his tongue in distaste, and then shoved it into Chen Yu’s arms.

He made kissing sounds and said, “Alright, alright, stop the noise. Go find Mommy for some milk, okay?”

The moment it was tossed into Chen Yu’s arms, the little evil god immediately hung on his arm in a twisted posture.

Then, an intense pain coursed through his arm.

“Aargh–” Chen Yu cried out.

The bizarre baby had actually bitten him!

A newborn wouldn’t have a full set of teeth yet, but this bite left distinct marks and was incredibly painful! Beads of blood welled up from two rows of tiny, close-set tooth marks; mixed in were fine black threads that vanished upon entering the wound.

Chen Yu frowned as he looked at the evil god and immediately gleaned a message from its gaze: this little monster was trouble. Serious trouble.

After that vicious bite, the evil god finally let go. It lifted its wrinkled little face to look at Chen Yu and let out a satisfied little whimper. It looked just like a baby that had finally been fed.

The next second, it closed its chaotic eyes and fell fast asleep while hanging from Chen Yu’s arm.

The quack standing nearby gaped in shock. Even the irreverent smile on Bai Zhen’s face faded.

He tilted his head to stare at the shriveled infant clinging to Chen Yu’s arm. After watching for a long moment, he finally extended his hand and waved it at Chen Yu.

“That’s your child; whoever gave birth to it is responsible for raising it. Hurry up and take it away!”

*

At the doorway of the nursery, Chen Yu had already left with the little evil god, and a staff member was busy locking the door again.

Bai Zhen stood where he was. The playful, cynical look on his face gradually faded away.

“Come out; they’re long gone.”

A figure stepped out from around the corner. It was Captain Duan.

He was still wearing that black outfit, yet he had visibly lost a significant amount of weight. There were signs of a blow to his head; his complexion was a ghastly, ashen gray, and his eyes were bloodshot, as if he had just been released from some pitch-black, sunless dungeon.

“Xiao Duanduan, you look absolutely terrible,” Bai Zhen remarked bluntly.

Captain Duan didn’t respond; he simply gazed in the direction Chen Yu had gone. “Do you really intend to just hand the evil god over to Chen Yu?” He looked worried. “That is an evil god. Is it really safe to place it beside an ordinary person?”

“Rest assured. Chen Yu will join us sooner or later. That is his destiny.”

Captain Duan scoffed.

At that moment, Bai Zhen withdrew his hand from the pocket of his hospital gown and turned to face the nursery’s glass window. In the lamplight, that face – usually stolen contentso full of playful grins – revealed weariness, as if it bore the weight of too many things that ought not to be remembered.

“Xiao Duanduan, since you are so worried, why did you use the Spinal Cord Vessel to save Chen Yu?”

“The situation at the Twilight Ruins was so complex back then. The evil god was being born, the Deep Sea and Chaos Authorities were inextricably tangled, and other factions were circling like predators. Weren’t you afraid Chen Yu wouldn’t be able to withstand the its side effects? The client is one thing, but if Chen Yu had died and the infant had spiraled out of control… the consequences would have been unthinkable.”

Captain Duan frowned. “But it had already been born, and Chen Yu did bring it under control.”

“I weighed the pros and cons.”

Duan Zhuosheng’s voice remained flat and steady. “Even if White/Turbity had only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of mastering the power of the Chaos Evil God, it would have been worth staking everything on that gamble.”

Bai Zhen looked at him with a hint of admiration. “You know, Xiao Duanduan? People out there always say that White/Turbity is a nest of lunatics, and that No. 117 is the only normal one among us.”

“With such strong principles and bottom lines, and a total disdain for money… you simply don’t fit in with people like us.”

“But sometimes, I still can’t help but marvel at the choices you make.” As he spoke, Bai Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly. “Sending you to deliver the Spinal Cord Vessel to the client back then was the right decision.”

Faced with Bai Zhen’s praise, Captain Duan looked like he had just swallowed a fly. “…You flatter me.”

“What about the client?”

Upon hearing this, Bai Zhen suddenly spoke with irritation: “What else is there to do? You used the Spinal Cord Vessel that a client had reserved. For the past couple of days, they’ve been pestering us, insisting we breached the contract and demanding an exorbitant amount in compensation.”

“They just keep yapping on and on. What if their son died? It’s giving me a headache.”

Captain Duan: “…Well, they did spend a lot of money.”

Bai Zhen shrugged. “Xiao Duanduan, you go handle it in a few days. Try to meet their demands as best you can; if you really can’t, just stall for time. If you can’t stall them any longer, just kill them.” Bai Zhen added airily, “In any case, there’s no way we’re paying that breach-of-contract fee.”

At this point, Bai Zhen seemed to recall something. He pointed at Captain Duan and said, “Oh, and one more thing. Don’t forget to send the bill to Chen Yu.”

白浊[bái zhuó] means leukorrhea (flow of a whitish, yellowish, or greenish discharge from the vagina that may be normal or that may be a sign of infection.) In the original text it’s 白/浊