Chapter 49: The Nurse Anomaly Past
In front of the bed, Yang Jin gently caressed her thigh as she slowly unbuttoned the top of her uniform. Leaning forward, she gazed at Shen Yu with burning eyes.
"I want you to..."
Shen Yu swallowed nervously and stepped closer, only to watch Yang Jin calmly pull a pair of black compression stockings from inside her uniform.
"I want you to help me put these on."
He blinked in surprise before crouching beside the bed. Holding the soft black stockings in both hands, Shen Yu carefully smoothed out the fabric and gently slipped one over Yang Jin’s foot.
"N-No... It’s not that I can’t put them on myself..." she murmured, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I... I just wanted to know... what it feels like... to have a man put them on for me."
Shen Yu looked up instinctively.
Yang Jin had lowered her head, her face flushed with nervousness, embarrassment, and anticipation. Her usual cold, indifferent expression had completely disappeared.
"Like this?"
The silky stocking slid smoothly over her delicate foot.
The instant Shen Yu’s warm hand gently held her ankle, Yang Jin’s body trembled.
Ding.
Yang Jin’s Favorability +5.
"Are you ticklish?" Shen Yu asked with a faint smile.
Without answering, Yang Jin simply bit her lip.
Shhh...
His fingers carefully guided the stocking higher, gliding from her calf toward her thigh. The smooth fabric clung perfectly to her fair skin.
"Mmph..."
Her cheeks grew even redder, but she remained silent, allowing him to finish.
At the same time, system notifications continued to sound in Shen Yu’s ears.
Ding.
Yang Jin’s Favorability +5.
Yang Jin’s Favorability +5.
Current Favorability: 75.
New Affection CG Unlocked.
Play now?
"No."
Shen Yu declined for the moment.
As Yang Jin’s breathing gradually steadied, Shen Yu finished adjusting both stockings before letting her feet rest naturally on the floor.
Yang Jin brushed a hand through her slightly messy hair before staring at Shen Yu with fascinated eyes.
"So... this is what it feels like..."
Her voice carried both quiet excitement and an inexplicable sadness.
She seemed to remember something painful, and the happiness in her eyes slowly faded.
Watching her carefully, Shen Yu recalled the Affection CG he had previously unlocked.
As a child, Yang Jin had struggled with severe communication disorders. During middle school, her psychological condition had worsened, yet her father never cared about her feelings. Instead, he controlled every aspect of her life, leaving her to silently endure everything.
Was this simple act something she had longed to experience all along?
Or was she merely curious about something she had never been allowed to try?
"Yang Jin... was this the reward you mentioned?"
His question interrupted her thoughts.
She looked at him quietly for several seconds before suddenly sitting upright.
Then, without warning, she wrapped her arms tightly around him from behind.
"Don’t die."
"Hm?"
"Don’t die..."
Her voice trembled.
"We’ll... take it one step at a time. One step at a time."
Like someone hopelessly in love, she buried her face beside his ear, her warm breath brushing against his skin.
For a brief moment, she seemed on the verge of losing control.
She lightly kissed his earlobe several times before abruptly forcing herself to let go.
Stepping back, Yang Jin clasped her hands behind her back.
Through the stockings, she could still faintly feel the warmth Shen Yu had left behind.
Taking a slow breath, she regained her usual composure.
The blush faded from her face, replaced once again by the familiar cold, aloof expression.
"All right," she said calmly. "Your reward is over."
Shen Yu chuckled.
"So your reward was biting my ear?"
"Hmph."
Yang Jin ignored his teasing.
With the same icy demeanor she always wore, she turned and left the ward.
Watching the door close behind her, Shen Yu tapped his fingers thoughtfully.
"’Take it one step at a time...’"
"What exactly did she mean?"
"I still haven’t obtained the warehouse’s real reward, nor the laboratory’s true reward."
"But now I understand how to enter the third world."
"If she’s telling me to proceed step by step..."
"Then the warehouse should probably come first."
"Seventy-five Favorability."
"Yang Jin wouldn’t lie to me."
A moment later, Shen Yu looked up.
"System."
"Play the newly unlocked Affection CG."
Ding.
As the familiar mechanical notification sounded, his vision slowly faded into darkness.
When his sight returned, he found himself inside a university classroom.
"Professor Yang... are you sure your daughter is all right?"
A teacher’s worried voice echoed through the room.
"She’s already changed dormitories three times. Every time, she ends up fighting with her roommates."
"The other students also say she screams in her sleep almost every night."
"Shouldn’t she receive some psychological counseling?"
A middle-aged man wearing glasses answered coldly.
"Nightmares are nothing more than stress."
"As for conflicts with classmates, that’s perfectly normal."
"Rather than discussing such trivial matters, tell me this—how are her grades in nursing?"
"She’ll inherit the Yang family’s hospital one day."
The teacher hesitated.
"Academically, she’s exceptionally talented."
"But whenever she interacts with people, she becomes frightened and extremely nervous."
"I always feel..."
"Perhaps she’s under too much pressure."
"Maybe she should be allowed to rest for a while."
The man interrupted sharply.
"Enough."
"What do you know?"
"I’m doing this for her own good."
The classroom was spacious and brightly lit.
Yet the conversation inside felt suffocatingly oppressive.
The memory ended almost as quickly as it had begun.
When Shen Yu opened his eyes once more, he sat silently on his hospital bed for a long time, deep in thought.
Shen Yu sat silently on the hospital bed for a long time, lost in thought.
"So... was everything he did really for Yang Jin’s sake?"
Recalling the excitement on Yang Jin’s face just moments ago, Shen Yu couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.
Just what kind of upbringing had she endured for such a simple act of kindness to make her so happy?
Perhaps all of the mysteries surrounding this instance would finally be answered after entering the Third World.
According to Yu Ji, a Rationality Potion should only be used as a last resort to save one’s life.
If Shen Yu still had one when he entered the Third World, then even if things went wrong, he should have a chance to escape alive.
But if he went after the warehouse’s real reward now, he would be forced to consume the potion beforehand, leaving himself defenseless against whatever came afterward.
Carefully weighing the risks and rewards, Shen Yu remained silent for a long moment.
Finally, he made his decision.
He chose to trust Yang Jin.
Without another word, Shen Yu climbed off the bed, left the ward, and headed for the elevator.
He pressed the B1 button.
Ding.
The elevator doors slid open.
To his surprise, Yu Ji was already standing inside.
His eyes were tightly shut, his body twitching unnaturally as his lips continuously murmured the same word.
"Freedom..."
"Freedom..."
"So he’s activating his talent again..."
Shen Yu immediately pressed the Close button before the doors could fully open.
The elevator shut once more.
He turned around without hesitation and headed for the stairwell instead.
Right now, he was no match for Yu Ji.
Without Yang Jin nearby to suppress him, if Yu Ji awakened while channeling his S-Rank talent, Invoke Soul, stealing Shen Yu’s remaining Rationality Potion would be effortless.
Step.
Step.
Step.
His footsteps echoed through the damp, bloodstained stairwell as he descended toward the basement.
Although Shen Yu couldn’t see the Pollution Value displayed on his headband, the moment he reached the entrance to the storage room, he knew it had risen again.
The blood seeping beneath the heavy iron door slowly spread across the floor.
The words Storage Room gradually distorted before his eyes, twisting into a different name.
Morgue.
"So... I’m back to -15 Pollution."
Without stopping, Shen Yu reached for the rusted handle.
Creak...
The heavy iron door slowly swung open.
Unlike before, he made no attempt to avoid the dried blood crust scattered across the floor.
Instead, he stepped directly onto it while keeping his gaze fixed behind him.
Crack.
The hardened blood beneath his feet shattered.
A familiar sound echoed through the morgue.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
