"Obsession, greed, anger, delusion, life, death—all are but illusions. Life is brief, a grand dream." Bai Li Yi’s voice was calm, yet carried a certain melancholic cadence.
Gao Yang silently committed it to memory.
"That should be enough," Bai Li Yi stood, stretching, "Time to clock out, see you around."
"See you."
Gao Yang watched Bai Li Yi's retreating figure, thinking to himself, this man seemed more like a poet than a doctor. In any case, he had gathered quite a bit of useful information. It was now almost certain that the beasts could be divided into six categories: Beasts of Obsession, Greed, Anger, Delusion, Life, and Death.
Officer Huang had mentioned that the Anger Beasts were subdivided into three types: Executioners, Devourers, and Heralds.
Li Weiwei was most likely a Devourer. She hadn’t rushed to kill him back then, but had tortured him instead, with her words and actions—like she was trying to consume him.
As for Aunt He, she was clearly an Executioner: no words, straight to violence, exceedingly bloodthirsty.
As for the Heralds, Gao Yang had yet to encounter one. If possible, he hoped he never would.
The Beasts of Obsession, also known as the Lost Ones, seemed to have three varieties as well.
Old Man Liu, who sold spicy skewers, was the most harmless and gentle kind, likely one of the more common creatures in this world. They seemed easy to identify.
The second type were those Lost Ones who were indistinguishable from humans. Even the Awakened couldn’t recognize them through experience or sight alone; it required special abilities like Bai Li Yi’s Red Eyes, or that "madman’s" Sense of Smell. Officer Huang’s wife, and possibly his own family, belonged to this group. Of course, it was also possible that they were merely unawakened humans. As long as no one "tested" them, they would remain like Schrödinger’s Cat, both human and beast until proven otherwise.
The third kind of Lost Ones was exemplified by Wang Zikai. He was too strange to analyze, impossible to categorize.
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As for Old Man Zhang, who they had encountered a few hours ago, he should have been one of the first type of Lost Ones, yet he had gone berserk without warning, and his beastly transformation had been bizarre. It was possible that the white cat had something to do with it.
Was that white cat a beast too? Could it be one of the Beasts of Obsession, Delusion, Life, or Death?
If each type of beast had three variants, then there were at least eighteen different kinds of beasts in this world!
Gao Yang couldn’t help but gasp. There was no turning back after awakening. He needed to quickly join an organization, find a backer, and learn more rules. Otherwise, he would remain a "blindfolded player"—vulnerable as soon as night fell, his survival dependent entirely on luck.
...
At noon, Gao Yang’s mother and sister arrived at the hospital to relieve him.
Gao Yang returned home to shower and rest, and after only four hours of sleep, he was fully recharged. Since becoming an Awakened, his physical condition had noticeably improved, likely due to his increased attribute values.
Gao Yang did some rough calculations: surviving one day earned him 24 luck points. If he could survive for a month, that would be 680 points. If he allocated all of them to a single attribute, it would make a significant difference.
But Gao Yang had already committed to increasing his luck, and he wasn’t one to abandon a course halfway. He also hated sunk costs, so he decided that from now on, half of his luck points would go toward acquiring new abilities, while the other half would continue boosting his luck. Any leftover points could be distributed as the situation required.
In the evening, after dinner, Gao Yang left the house. Though his mother had secured a leave of absence for him, he decided to attend his night classes anyway—it would give him a chance to check in with Qing Ling. Qing Ling was always cautious, never using her phone to communicate, as it left traces. Whenever she had something important to discuss, she preferred face-to-face meetings.
As soon as the first class ended, Gao Yang was about to go find Qing Ling when Wan Sisi ran over, concern in her voice, "Gao Yang, I heard your dad... is in the hospital."
"Yes, he was in a car accident," Gao Yang replied.
"Oh my God, is he alright?" She genuinely seemed worried.
"He’s out of immediate danger, but... the prognosis isn’t great," Gao Yang said, feeling dejected. "The doctors said he might be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life."
"No, he’ll recover," Wan Sisi reassured him. "My uncle had a car accident a few years ago. The doctors said he’d be paralyzed for life, but not only did he avoid that fate, he was able to walk again within a year. He still uses a cane, but he’s mostly fine now."
"Thanks." Gao Yang appreciated her kind words. But then he had a troubling thought: maybe Wan Sisi’s uncle was a beast, which was why he recovered. Did that mean if his father was a beast, he could heal too?
The idea sent a chill down Gao Yang’s spine. How could he ever wish for his father to be a beast?
His mind was in turmoil. When he looked up, he saw Wan Sisi hadn’t left. She was staring at him, as if wanting to say something but hesitating.