Chapter 399 - 347: Chaisi: The Problems After Waking Up

Chapter 399: Chapter 347: Chaisi: The Problems After Waking Up

’If only sleep came in a compressed version.’

When Chaisi opened his eyes, he thought hazily, ’I must have been asleep for a long time.’

The lingering sleepiness was like great wads of waterlogged cotton, stuffing his mind into a vast white fog. His consciousness felt heavy and the world spun as he pushed himself up. When he reached for his phone, he didn’t seem to know how to command his own body, nearly tumbling headfirst off the small bed.

’Not enough sleep... but I have to be awake.’

He didn’t have the luxury of sleeping as long as he wanted. He vaguely remembered that a thousand loose ends were waiting for him. The Nest Dominance Game progressed day by day. Who knew what had happened while he was asleep?

Besides, it felt like a hole had been carved out inside him, his stomach acid shrieking with a sharp, hollow hunger.

Chaisi slid off the small bed and sat on the floor, every muscle in his body aching.

He stared blankly at the date on his phone screen. For a moment, he thought either his phone or the world itself had to be broken.

’What’s going on? How is it December 5th already?’

’Where did all those days in between go?’

He pressed hard on the corners of his eyes and slowly pulled a few threads of memory from the wet cotton filling his head.

’Han Liuyue... She was saved. Han Liuyue is okay.’

Right, he remembered now. Sha Xue had told him. She said Han Liuyue was in the hospital, had even drunk water and eaten something... Mai Mingle was there at the time, too.

Mai Mingle had said she suspected the Nests were planning to make a move on the Human World.

Even then, exhausted as he was, Chaisi had realized it was an opportunity to win her over. He could use the safety of the Human World to bind her to his cause. He decided to seize the moment, showing her his notes on the last Nest Dominance Game. She had brought someone with her that day, it was Nate—

’Wait.’

Chaisi rubbed the bridge of his nose.

’No, that’s not right. I almost misremembered.’

Mai Mingle came alone. He had dreamed of Nate that night. But in the dream, Nate had said a few very strange things related to Mai Mingle... Even after waking up, he remembered them crystal clear.

"She tricks people by looking like an old lady, she ruined me... On the 6th, she’ll get the Time Illusion."

’The 6th...’

Chaisi opened his phone’s messages.

Mai Mingle had told him on December 3rd that she had rescued someone under instructions from a Nest. In the two days since, there hadn’t been a single message, not one phone call. ’Does she know I’ve been sleeping? Or did she enter a Nest again?’

An eighty-six-year-old woman could enter a Nest, yet here he was, stuck in the Human World, slowly scrolling through his meaningless phone, consumed by suspicion.

Today was December 5th. Even if Mai Mingle had entered a Nest, it wasn’t far from the day his dream had foretold she would obtain the "Time Illusion"...

Normally, you couldn’t take dreams seriously. But when Nests were involved, that wasn’t necessarily true.

’When the 6th arrives, I have to see Mai Mingle.’

’Before then, when I talk to her, I have to act normal, not show any sign that something’s off.’

’A Time Illusion...’

Chaisi licked his dry lips.

He didn’t know if it was the fire of hunger, ambition, the searing fantasy of conquering a Nest, or the desire to no longer be burdened by guilt. Something was making his blood run hot and his stomach tighten. He wanted to sink his teeth into a prey’s throat, to tear the world into chunks of flesh, to swallow someone’s tears and blood—

’Maybe I’m just hungry.’

He couldn’t distinguish between his desires.

Chaisi haphazardly pulled on his pants, grabbed his phone, and pushed open the door to go downstairs.

When he had dreamed of Nate, the Kai Family Mansion had been silent; he subconsciously felt that no one was around now either. But when Chaisi reached the ground floor and entered the lounge, he realized someone was there. The moment Sha Xue saw him, she shot up from her chair and asked with a smile, "Brother Chaisi! Are you really awake this time? Not going back to sleep?"

The word "I’m" came out as nothing more than a hoarse breath.

Chaisi cleared his throat. The second time he opened his mouth, his voice worked properly. "I’m awake. Have you been here the whole time?"

"A few of us are taking turns keeping watch," Sha Xue replied. "Tian Xi didn’t feel right about leaving you here to sleep alone."

’So that means last night—it was last night, right?—when I dreamed of Nate, there were people on watch in the Family Faction mansion the whole time.’

’It really was a dream... Not to mention, Nate isn’t even a Hunter. He’d have no way of getting past the Hunter on watch downstairs and sneaking up to find me.’

’But enough about that for now. The most important thing right now is—’

"Is there anything to eat?"

Even with a million clues and scents waiting for him to hunt down, he had no choice but to surrender to his most basic animal instinct.

There was no cook and no ingredients in the mansion. Sha Xue found him a few packs of nuts, then drove out to a restaurant to buy some food. In the past, whenever Chaisi saw a Hunter wolfing down food after returning from a Nest, he would secretly marvel and worry about their stomachs, wondering where all that food could possibly be going.

Now that it was his turn, he suddenly felt that Jin Xueli had been far too polite with her eating at the "Between the Backlight" bar last time.

"The... the whole thing?" Sha Xue sounded stunned over the phone. "The entire menu...?"

"The whole thing," Chaisi said, afraid she might buy even half a dinner roll less than he wanted. He stressed, "Two of everything."

When she drove back, the restaurant’s takeout containers filled the entire trunk. Apparently, the owner had specifically told Sha Xue that next time she was planning a party, she should order in advance to avoid cleaning out his entire kitchen in one go.

At least Chaisi hadn’t forgotten he was a member of civilized society. He didn’t tear open the bags and swallow them whole, packaging and all. He even remembered to ask for some privacy, shooing Sha Xue out while he ate.

"Come on, just a piece of the butter chicken would be fine..." she said, still reluctant as she was pushed out.

"You can have the leftovers," Chaisi said honestly. "But don’t get your hopes up."

For the first time in his life, he realized how similar eating and fighting were.

Nearly every muscle was engaged, every bite an attack. The same ferocious focus, the same beads of hot sweat, the same act of tearing something apart to ensure his own survival.

It was as if he were satisfying a bloodlust he hadn’t even realized he had.

When Chaisi was finally satiated and put down his utensils, he found that he had, in fact, left a piece of butter chicken for Sha Xue.

’...This counts as taking care of my subordinate, right?’

Well-rested and well-fed, Chaisi’s mood lightened considerably. When he called Dr. Nate, he even found it in himself to be lenient. ’One has to be reasonable sometimes. After all, it was my dream; I shouldn’t make him suffer for it.’

Nate answered on the second ring.

His voice was calm. "Hello?"

Chaisi paused.

He glanced at his phone. The screen did indeed say "Dr. Nate".

"It’s me," he said.

"I know. What is it?"

So calm and composed, as if Chaisi were merely his secretary.

Chaisi’s brow slowly furrowed. "...Where were you and what were you doing at one o’clock last night?"

"Last night? Sleeping at home, of course," Dr. Nate asked calmly in return. "What else would I be doing at one in the morning? Did something happen?"

’...He even dares to question me back.’

"Anything unusual lately?"

"No. If Hunters come, I treat them. If there are no patients, I rest."

Chaisi was a master interrogator, but with a complete blank slate and no useful information, even his faint sense of unease wasn’t enough to get anything out of Dr. Nate.

’Something’s not right.’

’...Looks like I’ll have to find a chance to pay him a visit.’

However, what Chaisi didn’t expect was that this would only be the first of his fruitless calls today.

His second call was to Mai Mingle. He didn’t even hear a ringtone before the call was abruptly disconnected. He tried several more times, but couldn’t get through. He called Sha Xue over and tried from her phone, but it still wouldn’t connect.

Even the messages he sent were met with red exclamation marks.

Even if she were in a Nest, her phone would just be turned off at most. The way it was acting, it was as if she’d canceled her number entirely.

’Could Mai Mingle have already gotten the Time Illusion, and that’s why she’s vanished into thin air?’

Chaisi took a deep breath and made his third call, to Tian Xi.

’Tian Xi is reliable. He’s a Household Hunter, so he’ll definitely be able to con—’

"You have reached this number’s voicemail. Please leave a message after the tone," a female voice interrupted his train of thought.

Chaisi hung up abruptly.

’Where did Jin Xueli drag Tian Xi off to? Has he been gone since last night?’

’Fine, I’ll try Jin Xueli. If this time—’

"The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable," the same female voice piped up again.

Chaisi almost suspected that something was wrong with the world he had woken up in.

’Has getting a call to go through become as unlikely as winning the lottery?’

He sat stunned at the table, surrounded by the mess of plates and cups, trying to sort through his thoughts. He didn’t know what it meant that he couldn’t contact any of these people, but his next course of action was unaffected, remaining crystal clear...

Suddenly, Chaisi turned his head toward the dining hall entrance.

The doorway darkened for a moment as a figure appeared. The person stepped through the shadow, and the light illuminated his face once more.

Chaisi immediately stood up and called out softly, "...Uncle Kai. Uncle Kai, what are you doing here?"

Kai Luonan stopped in the dining hall. His gaze swept over the table, and he shook his head with a sigh that was almost a smile.

"You have a bigger appetite than I did when I came back from a Nest back in the day."

He pulled out a chair and slowly, deliberately, sank into it, settling himself firmly.

No matter what status Chaisi held in the Kai Family, his bearing could never match Kai Luonan’s, who moved as if he knew he owned everything around him.

But what Kai Luonan owned was far from enough for him.

"I had them tell me the moment you woke up."

Chaisi nodded, momentarily speechless.

The five-year-old Chaisi who had stared, stunned and helpless, at Kai Luonan after being rescued was still curled up inside his shell, unable to even utter a word of thanks.

Kai Luonan crossed his legs and folded his hands over his knee. However long he spent studying Chaisi, Chaisi waited. Finally, Kai Luonan was the first to speak. "How are you feeling?"

"Recovered," Chaisi answered immediately. "I can do whatever you need me to do now."

Kai Luonan nodded.

"I don’t have a task for you." His voice was low and gravelly, like a slow, muddy river capable of swallowing animals whole. "I’ve given you plenty of time. Time to save people, time to rest."

"Yes."

"So now it’s time to talk," Kai Luonan said, raising his gray-blue eyes to look at Chaisi. "How exactly are you planning to win this ’Nest Dominance Game’ for me?"