Lin Qiye darted out from the depths of the alley, his movements light and agile.
The keen perception developed during ten years of blindness combined perfectly with his suddenly restored vision, allowing him to easily evade Zhao Kongcheng's line of sight. With a flash of his silhouette, he vanished into the night.
"Where did he go!" Zhao Kongcheng frowned, scanning the surroundings. "Holy crap, did that kid play me!?"
Lin Qiye clearly heard the startled cry behind him but didn't have the luxury to dwell on it. His current speed far exceeded that of an ordinary person; every step he took carried an unprecedented sense of ease, as if an inexhaustible spring of energy was flowing through his body.
Ten minutes later, Lin Qiye stood before his front door. Despite the sustained sprint, he didn't feel the slightest bit of fatigue.
Pushing the door open, his aunt's anxious figure immediately rushed to meet him.
"Qiye! Why are you back so late? I was worried sick!" His aunt carried the faint scent of cooked food, her eyes full of concern.
"Sorry, Auntie." Lin Qiye looked down to hide any residual golden light in his eyes. "My classmates insisted on walking me back, and we got delayed on the road."
Just as he spoke, a thunderous growl erupted from his stomach.
His aunt froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Go wash your hands and eat. I saved some for you."
In the kitchen, Lin Qiye rapidly cleared everything on the dining table. His aunt watched in surprise as her nephew, who usually had a modest appetite, acted like a completely different person today.
"Eat slowly, no one is fighting you for it," she said, serving him another bowl of rice. "How was school today?"
"It was good," Lin Qiye answered vaguely, continuing to stuff food into his mouth.
After consuming three bowls of rice, Lin Qiye finally felt his hunger subside slightly. He hurriedly thanked his aunt, rushed into his room, closed the door, and collapsed onto the bed.
'What exactly happened?' Lin Qiye stared at the ceiling, his fingers lightly touching his eyes. He had become blind ten years ago, yet now he could see the light again.
Recalling the divine confrontation in the sky, Lin Qiye still felt a lingering fear. He recognized Michael; He was the god Lin Qiye had often seen on the moon over the last decade.
But who was that Block Man? Why were two powerful entities summoned because of him?
Even more confusing was the change this divine battle seemed to have wrought in him. His restored vision, enhanced stamina, and intense hunger all served as reminders—he was no longer that ordinary blind high school student.
"Block Man..." Lin Qiye murmured to himself, the image of that mysterious entity sitting upon the Golden Throne surfacing in his mind.
That incompatible, almost 'pixelated' appearance looked like something that had broken into the real world from another dimension. Fatigue soon washed over him; Lin Qiye closed his eyes, and his consciousness gradually blurred.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in the familiar dreamscape.
The Asylum for the Gods and that mysterious prison appeared before him once more. The powerful resistance on the prison side was still there, just like yesterday. However, Lin Qiye was surprised to find that he could walk a bit closer this time.
'This power...' Lin Qiye felt the energy surging within him, like some remnant force left in his body after that divine battle.
He stopped obsessing over the prison and instead turned toward the gates of the mental asylum he had been trying to enter for ten years. The stone path before the gates was smooth and level, clearly newly paved. The metal rings on the asylum doors glinted coldly under the moonlight, as if inviting him forward.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Qiye placed both hands on the cold metal rings. The moment he touched them, the entire asylum vibrated violently, as if a sleeping entity had been startled awake.
"Finally..." Lin Qiye gritted his teeth and pulled the rings with all his might, opening the gates.
The heavy sound of the bolt echoing through the quiet night air accompanied the slow opening of the doors that had been tightly shut for ten years. A gap appeared, revealing a dim corridor leading inside.
"It really opened?" Lin Qiye stood frozen, unable to believe his eyes.
After a moment's hesitation, he stepped inside. The interior of the corridor was dim and silent; old photos and paintings hung on the walls, and the floor was covered in a faded carpet. The air carried a faint scent of medicine, identical to the mental asylum in his memories.
At a fork at the end of the corridor, two arrows pointed in different directions: the left said "Activity Area," and the right said "Ward Area."
The Activity Area looked normal enough, but the Ward Area emitted an eerie aura, as if something transcending common sense existed there. Driven by curiosity, Lin Qiye walked into the Ward Area. Six doors were neatly lined up on both sides of the corridor, each covered in mysterious runes and seals that emitted a faint glow.
"What is this place?" Lin Qiye touched the runes on a door inquisitively, feeling a strange energy flow through his fingertips.
He tried to push each door, but most remained immovable. Only the seal on the first room had developed cracks, allowing the door to be pushed open slightly.
After hesitating, Lin Qiye pushed open the first door and peeked inside cautiously.
The room was simply decorated: a hospital bed, a chair, and a wardrobe. But the most eye-catching thing was the woman in black robes sitting by the bed. She possessed an otherworldly beauty, with flowing black hair and pale skin. However, her eyes were hollow and vacant, as if she had lost her soul.
A strange light screen suddenly manifested on the wall, displaying text:
[Ward No. 1, Patient Nyx (Ancient Greek Goddess of Night)] [Task: Treat her mental illness. Once the progress reaches the target, a skill can be extracted.] [Current Treatment Progress: 0%.]
'Skills? What skills?'
'Is this really the Goddess of Night?'
He approached Nyx cautiously and asked tentatively, "Hello, can you hear me?"
The goddess suddenly looked up, her blood-red eyes staring directly at Lin Qiye. Her voice was both eerie and gentle: "Child, you have finally come."
Lin Qiye froze, unsure how to respond. Nyx didn't say anything more; instead, she turned to pick up a vase in the room, softly humming a strange lullaby.
"This is my child, my lovely child..." she stroked the vase gently, then picked up the chair, "This is my best child, so well-behaved..."
Lin Qiye keenly realized that Nyx seemed to be suffering from severe delusional disorder; she was identifying various objects as her children.
'Maybe I can pretend to be her child to build trust?' Lin Qiye thought for a moment and decided to try.
"Mother," he called out softly, "It's me, your child. I'm back."
Nyx's movements stiffened. She slowly turned her head, and an incredible brilliance suddenly erupted in her eyes. She dropped the objects in her hands and rushed to Lin Qiye, hugging him tightly.
"My child! My lovely child! You've finally returned!" she exclaimed, stroking Lin Qiye's face, her voice filled with joy.
The values on the light screen on the wall began to change:
[Treatment Progress: 3%] [Extractable Skill × 1]
Lin Qiye felt a surge of joy; he hadn't expected to make progress on his first attempt. Just as he was thinking about the next step, a flash of light suddenly filled the room.
Click!
The sound of a camera shutter rang out. Lin Qiye looked up in shock and found a Block Man standing at the door holding a pixelated camera. It was the same deity he had seen in the sky during the day!
The Block Man deity waved cheerfully at him: "Hi! Hello, what a coincidence. You're here too."