I am weak and friendly

Chapter 290 It Was You All Along?! (4K)

Aunt Zhang's home is a detached villa, located in the villa area of ​​the neighboring community.

The villa is a three-story building that looks quite old, but it doesn't appear dilapidated.

As soon as he got close, Tang Yiping smelled a strong, forgotten odor of decay.

Tang Yiping was not surprised.

Upon arriving at the villa's entrance, Aunt Zhang invited Tang Yiping, saying, "Teacher Pingzi, please come in and sit for a while."

For an elderly person who has just "seen a ghost" and is being "followed by a ghost," returning to a cold and quiet home where they are all alone is still quite terrifying.

Tang Yiping entered the villa and turned on the lights in all the rooms on the first floor for Aunt Zhang. He then noticed that Aunt Zhang visibly relaxed.

Tang Yiping felt that Aunt Zhang was relieved too soon. If she had just glanced under the table behind him, she would have been scared out of her wits.

Only then did Tang Yiping have time to take a closer look at the villa.

The villa's decoration was neither new nor old, and the style was somewhat outdated, but it had a very homey feel. However, Tang Yiping could clearly sense that something was missing.

The stench of decay permeated the air from all directions. Tang Yiping was very familiar with this feeling; it was as if something that had originally existed had been erased.

Moreover, the layout of this villa felt somewhat cramped, lacking the extra-large living room that Tang Yiping had imagined.

After going up to the second floor with Aunt Zhang, Tang Yiping turned on the lights for her and asked, "Do we need to turn on the lights on the third floor too?"

"The third floor?" Aunt Zhang said, "My house doesn't have a third floor."

There's no third floor?
Tang Yiping hadn't noticed whether this villa had a third floor, but he did notice that the other villas were all three-story structures.

Tang Yiping was all too familiar with this kind of attentional bias; the 41st floor of Qihang Building was a prime example.

It seems the problem lies on the third floor.

Aunt Zhang had already seen a ghost today, and Tang Yiping, afraid of scaring her, didn't say much.

After all, the 3rd floor and such are non-existent; they're only suitable for late-night dorm room chats and ghost stories.

After talking with her for a while, Tang Yiping took his leave.

To be honest, the atmosphere in a home with only an elderly person living alone is quite oppressive. Tang Yiping felt that with his limited resources, he really couldn't handle it.

Moreover, Tang Yiping also knew that the other party was not truly a lost child, and seeing Aunt Zhang's depression, his feelings were quite complicated.

It's heartbreaking to see an elderly person, once enjoying a happy family and full of energy, suddenly transformed into what they are now.

This is probably not sadness or grief, but rather a sense of emptiness that cannot be filled.

It felt like a huge chunk of my life had been ripped out all at once.

But where did Aunt Zhang's son go?

How can we bring him back?

Aunt Zhang saw Tang Yiping to the door, and Tang Yiping told her to go back and close the door quickly.

Tang Yiping pretended to leave, but stopped at the corner.

He turned around and looked back at Aunt Zhang's villa.

He felt that if he didn't help, the old man would probably have a very hard time getting through each day.

But how can I help?

The tug-of-war with [touchpoint interconnection] has reached a certain critical point; further tug-of-war will cause the bubble space to become unstable.

Even if nothing happens to Earth during this process, if the Negative Entropy Farm is destroyed, who knows how the people behind the "Survival Guide for the Weak" will react.

Tang Yiping only dared to proceed step by step, and even became cautious about updating OIFU.

It's more of a maintenance phase right now.

The original approach is no longer viable; I need to find another way.

But where can we find this method?

As Tang Yiping was pondering, the shadow behind him suddenly thickened, and then a person emerged from his shadow.

It was Charon, who had been following him all the way and had almost scared Aunt Zhang to death at every moment.

"Respected Lord Stoka..." Charon bowed to Tang Yiping, and was about to speak when Tang Yiping waved his hand, telling Charon to shut up first.

Although he was curious about what Charon was back for, the guy didn't pose any threat to him, and his attention was now more focused on the villa.

Just now, he suddenly sensed something, and he was afraid that if he spoke, the feeling would disappear.

He looked up at the villa, then turned to look at the other villas around him.

In comparison, Tang Yiping discovered that what had disappeared from the building was not the third floor, but the first floor.

It's like the second floor was simply shoved onto the ground and connected to the main entrance.

By comparing the exterior and interior structures of the villa, Tang Yiping had already formed a mental image of the entire house's structure and many things that seemed amiss.

No wonder I felt the villa was cramped; the second floor, which was originally intended for living, had been placed on the first floor.

Once Tang Yiping confirmed this, the villa in front of him suddenly began to rise from the ground, forcibly squeezing out a "new" floor in the original location.

Tang Yiping subconsciously took a step back, his eyes widening in shock.

what's the situation?
Why did the first floor reappear?
It was pulled out?

That's impossible. Right now, it's only connected to itself, and it's only one anchor point. That's definitely not enough.

Wait, that's not right.

Tang Yiping found it hard to describe what he had seen. In fact, the extra floor wasn't actually here. It's difficult to describe this phenomenon in human language. It was as if Tang Yiping had two senses, each seeing different things. Then, his brain determined that they were structurally connected and forcibly pieced them together using the visual center, ultimately presenting them visually.

Charon looked at the small building in front of him and asked Tang Yiping, "Lord Stoka, what are you looking at?"

"What can you see in this villa in front of you?" Tang Yiping asked.

“Hmm…” Charon looked at the small building in front of him and said, “The outer wall of the bubble space is not very smooth… There is a two-story building on it. This building is located at the junction of two bubble spaces, which is a natural place suitable as a nest.”

Is it true that the instinct of the weak is to seek a safe haven?

Tang Yiping then looked at Stoka.

“Woo-chio-chio…” Stoka said.

In his eyes, the 1st floor, the 41st floor, and that warehouse are all part of the negative entropy farm of [The Wrong Path Sheep].

Tang Yiping confirmed one thing: he might have acquired something similar to the vision of the bubble space, but this thing was obviously different from the vision of the unknown race such as the Stokka who had a real vision, or the vision of the original inhabitants of the bubble space like Charon.

Stoka is a "true big shot race". In his eyes, all bubble spaces are likely to be transparent. He can see all bubble spaces within a certain range, but because he is only a prosthetic body, he cannot cross them.

According to Stoká, the Gap Shadow can pass through different bubble spaces, but Charon can now clearly not see through the bubble spaces and can only see the outer walls of the bubble spaces.

Tang Yiping himself was clearly completely different from both of them; it was his brain that was telling him that it was here.

This feeling was just like when Wen Rui was taken to the other side of the world, and Tang Yiping instinctively drew a map in his mind.

Now, Tang Yiping is also sketching out a completely different structural diagram in his mind, which is superimposed on Tang Yiping's other senses.

Is it the effect of comparing the "City Heart that Stops Jumping" with certain other information?

"Stoka, what's inside?"

"Tang Yiping asked. "Inside are the remains of the [Sheep of the Crossroads], sir," Stoka said.

Hmm... Is it a limitation of the prosthetic body or a limitation of the race? Stokka's bubble space vision doesn't seem to be very detailed? It's more like a global remote sensing, more like an overview, and the accuracy isn't necessarily very high.

I need a probe with finer granularity.

Tang Yiping was thinking this when he suddenly remembered something: "I heard that the Shadow Clan can pass through the outer wall of the bubble space?"

"Hmm?" Charon immediately sensed something was wrong. What was Lord Stoker planning to do?
He suddenly regretted coming back to Lord Stoka.

Once the transaction is complete, I should get away from here and go back as soon as possible!
Damn it, I have this greedy and petty nature of mine!

I shouldn't have come!
"Let's go see what's inside," Tang Yiping said.

"Lord Stoka, even for us, the Shadow Clan, traversing different bubble spaces is not such a simple process..."

Tang Yiping looked down and searched through the folds of his clothes, finding a speck of primordial dust that had somehow remained, and flicked it onto the ground.

Come and eat!

"I understand, Your Excellency Stoka, I'll go take a look right away!"

"I'm clenching my fists," Stokamo said.

Although we don't know what's inside this bubble space, this edge area is the home ground of the Shadow Clan, where we can attack or defend as we please. And just by going in to take a look, Lord Stoka gave me 10,000 survival points!

Lord Stoka is so generous!
I love Lord Stoka.

Normally, you'd be lucky to get 50 points from these kinds of exploration missions!

Charon's figure disappeared from Tang Yiping's sight once again.

After a short while, Charon returned.

“Lord Stoka, there is a local native inside.”

"Who?"

Charon shook his head: "I don't know him."

How could I possibly know the people in this world?
Well……

"Could you take my phone inside and take a picture for me?" Tang Yiping took out his phone, intending to teach Charon how to use it.

"Uh... well... if I'm carrying items..."

Tang Yiping flicked his sleeve.

Ah, let's eat some more!
"I'll go right away, Lord Stoka, please wait for my good news!" Charon got up from the ground and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute, is there any danger inside?" Tang Yiping asked.

“There’s only one local tribesman inside, just like your prosthetic body. Don’t worry, I guarantee I’ll complete the mission.” Charon was a little touched. Lord Stoca was actually worried about my safety?

A powerful figure as wealthy as Lord Stoka would actually worry about the safety of a nobody like me? I'm so touched...

"Can you take me in?" Tang Yiping asked Charon.

Charon: "???"

I was overthinking it; Lord Stoka wasn't worried about my safety at all...

Charon hesitated, "Your Excellency Stoker, the phase shifting process of our Shadow Clan is extremely taxing..."

Then he saw Lord Stoka pat his trouser leg.

If Charon had a tail, it would be wagging right now.

"Yes, sir! Lord Stoka, please follow me!"

"Tch, what a loser!" Tang Yiping muttered to Charon.

This guy is as useless as Lola.

No, my Lola is a directional demolition expert, a money-making genius, a wall-climbing master, and a stealth master. How can this guy compare to Lola?
Okay, I have to admit, this guy's ability to travel through bubble spaces is still quite useful.

Now we're using it, aren't we?

Regardless of what this guy came here for, it makes perfect sense that Charon is the last gift in the "Charon Gift Package."

As Tang Yiping was thinking, Charon surged up, enveloping Tang Yiping's body like a cloud of black mist.

The instant Tang Yiping was enveloped by Charon, a notification popped up in front of his eyes:
—You have found a good material for [clothing to cover the body]. Please craft it into [clothing to cover the body].

Tang Yiping: "???"

Tang Yiping never expected that his last chance to improve his survival level would be here.
No, the last reward item in the [Charon's Grand Gift Pack] is indeed Charon himself?

Turn the Shadow Clan into clothing?
How can a living person—no, a living shadow—turn into clothes?

However, given the tone of "A Guide to Survival for the Weak," this is actually quite normal.

Moreover, in novels and anime, it's not uncommon to see various armors with their own life forms, or two organisms living in symbiosis; in fact, there are countless examples.

The problem now is how to persuade Charon.

Stoka said, "This guy is a professional, isn't he?"

Professionals should be very proud.

But it's hard to say, since this guy's current state doesn't exactly scream "pride."

Tang Yiping lowered his head.

After Charon covered himself, Tang Yiping discovered that his body was covered with a layer of grayish-black, semi-transparent substance.

He touched it; the texture was somewhere between jelly and smoke. It was slippery and bouncy upon first touch, but with a little force, it crumbled as if it didn't exist, like a wisp of smoke that could only be seen.

"Lord Stokal, are you ready?" Charon asked.

“Come on,” Tang Yiping said.

As he covered Tang Yiping's body, Charon trembled with excitement.

So many! So many [Dust of Primordial Silence]!
In every fold of the garment, between the fibers, there are countless specks of "original stillness"!
I’m rich, really rich!
Waaaaah, I'm so happy...

The extra income caused Charon's mental energy to explode, and Tang Yiping felt his body suddenly lighten, as if his flesh had turned into a texture between jelly and light smoke, and he lunged forward. Then everything went black, as if he had passed through a layer of viscous substance, and his vision changed to an indoor environment.

This is the living room of a villa. A person is sitting on the sofa with their back to Tang Yiping, watching TV.

Tang Yiping felt that the figure from behind looked somewhat familiar.

Tang Yiping's heart stirred, and his figure floated forward, passing through the sofa, maintaining his sitting posture, and sitting on the sofa.

With a "snap," Charon's power reached its limit, dissipated, and disappeared, shrinking back into the shadows at Tang Yiping's feet.

The man watching TV on the sofa suddenly noticed that there was someone next to him.

He was startled, and when he turned around and saw Tang Yiping's appearance, he was so frightened that his soul almost flew out of his body.

"Young Master Tang...?!"

"It's you?!"

Tang Yiping was also taken aback.

Aunt Zhang's son was actually him?
(End of this chapter)