Suddenly we both hear banging on the front door. I frown and look to Alec as he quickly gets up and goes to the door. Alec reaches the door but when he sees Dr. Evens on the security cam he quickly opens the door with worry. Why was he banging on the door?
"You won't believe what I just found!" Dr. Evens says while quickly running past Alec and straight to me. I look to Alec before looking back at Dr. Evens. "What did you find?" I ask with confusion. Dr. Evens places a small laptop on my lap before saying "Take a look yourself!"
Frowning, I look at the small laptop and the video playing in a loop. My frown grows as I lean in to get a better look. Was this... "Is this me?" I ask with a whisper. Dr. Evans quickly nods his head in excitement saying "Yes! Isn't it remarkable?"  
I quickly connect the laptop to the house and blow up the image on the large glass windows in the bedroom. I slip out of the bed and step closer to the image with awe. "What is this?" Alec asks stepping closer to the window. 
"Nanobots..." I say in a whisper as I watch another nanobot attack the infected blood cells. Thousands of small nanobots attack the infected cells with viciousness as a second wave latches onto the damaged cells, effectively repairing them.
"What does this mean?" Alec asks with nervousness. Dr. Evens laughs out loud saying "We may have just found the cure! The nanobots are attacking the virus and even rebuilding... it's astonishing! Medical teams around the world have discussed the possibilities of nanobots but we still never had the technology to actually do it! It's always been a theory... a dream of sorts but Maya just made this a reality!"    
Alec turns to Dr. Evens with an undescribable look as he says "She's being healed? Her body is repairing itself?" Dr. Evens nods his head eagerly as he says "I do believe so! I've never seen anything like it but if she does heal... this could possibly work for others."
"Do you need a new blood sample?" I ask while still watching the screen. Dr. Evens laughs and says "You know all too well... I will need several... if that's okay?" I turn to him with a smile and lift my arm up to him saying "Take what you need... maybe we can save the others."
Alec watches everything in silence but as soon as the Doctor leaves, Alec wraps me in a tight hug. He then pulls me back and begins kissing me all over the face while saying "I thought I was losing you.." I feel myself smile as I say "I'm not that easy to kill."
I quickly turn my head to the side as I begin coughing again. Alec scoops me up and brings me back to bed once again as he says "I want you to stay in bed and get some rest... you're body needs it in order to fight this thing off." I give him a warm smile as I say "Noted"
I really was tired... so tired, my muscles were slightly shaking. It almost feels like the time I had gotten the flu. I've never gotten the flu shot but I've only gotten the flu three times in my entire life... but when I did get the flu, It felt as if I was at death's door.
I lay down on the soft bed as Alec tucks me in. He leans down and lightly kisses my head before slowly standing. I quickly grab his arm and say "Check on Chip, please... I want to make sure he's okay." Alec gives me a warm smile as he says "Rest, I will check on him I promise."
After Alec gives me his word I slowly begin to relax and before I know it I'm in a deep sleep. If my blood can somehow save the others... we'll have a way to stop this. Suddenly a large infected tree comes into view. I look at it in confusion and step closer. Black goo like substance was seeping from the bark like sap. 
Even the ground around it was blackened... I stop several feet away not wanting to step in anything but suddenly I feel the urge to get closer. I look around me and notice the entire forest was infected... what was going on? What kind of dream is this?


Maya is not your typical hacker. Ten years ago, her only living family was killed in cold blood. The killers make her take the fall but after ten years in prison, she's become stronger. Now, she hunts the very monsters that hunt others. She's untraceable until she runs into Alec, the Underworld's notorious leader who doesn't seem to be quite human. Things aren't as they seem though, as Maya is pulled into a twisted fate. Maya now has to run from the Underworld boss who wants her as his own and a mysterious hacker who seems to have it out for her. What could possibly go wrong, right? 

EVERYTHING.



I do not own the cover, the picture used is from Pinterest.

Wanna talk? Find me on Discord! Blissfullrage#3336
___________________________________

Would like to donate? paypal.me/Blissfullrage

The Biker Brothers were excited to go back to school that Monday morning. It was not anymore holiday and people began to relax again. They rode their bikes happily as the sun kissed the grasses of Subangdaku.

They arrived early at school and after some chitchats, they went into their separate classes. Before the first period, all teachers in the school informed their respective students of the emergency flu shots. They explained the situation and how the shots would be administered.

"So after the fourth grader," Mrs. Casabueno said, "all the fifth grader will be going to the clinic for your individual shots." 

"Ma'am," Bogart spoke up, "each of us will be injected, right?" 

"Of course," she replied. 

"Are you scared, Piggy?" Andrex whispered from behind Bogart. 

The boys around them heard him and they all laughed. Andrex was the leader of the gang who delighted in bullying Bogart. Andrex was tall, muscular, and a bit handsome in a ragged way. Bogart was too embarrassed with his remark that he did not answer back or even look behind him. 

"What's the noise about?" their teacher asked. 

"Nothing, Ma'am," Eric, the gang's second-in-command who was equally boastful but undeniably simpleton, answered for them. "Bogs here wet his pants imagining being injected."

The class got into an uproar that even their other classmates laughed. Bogart remained motionless, opting not to aggravate their teasing. 

"I think I smelled his piss," Albert, son of a wealthy local businessman and the gang's financier said. 

"Is that his piss running on the floor already?" Pepito, the group's loud-mouthed and no-brainy member chimed in. "Am I right, Henry?" 

The gang's fifth member simply nodded and did not add anymore fuel to the fire. The class roared in laughter again as others also began mocking Bogart. The truth was he did not wet pants, he was just silent while absorbing their insults. He bit his lips and clinched his fist but he did not dare move a single muscle. 

"Enough of that class!" Mrs. Casabueno ordered. "Bogart, did you really piss in your pants?" 

The class cried laughing. Being in her early fifties, Mrs. Casabueno easily believed whatever was said to her. Thus, she really thought Bogart wet his pants. Her innocence and their classmate's silence made everyone laughed. Bogart held his composure, but deep inside, he was grieving.

"Quiet!" Mrs. Casabueno shouted and the noise instantly subsided. "You should not be kidding Bogart." 

"Yes, Mrs. Casabueno." 

"Yeah, we should not be kidding him," Andrex whispered just low enough for Bogart and his friends to hear. "Instead, we should be pigging him." 

The gang giggled and then behaved like good boys. All throughout the class, Bogart was quiet and uncomfortable. He felt everyone was observing him, waiting for him to pee his pants. During lunch with his friends, he acted like everything was fine. Yet, they noticed his lack of energy. 

"Are you fine?" Jamie asked. "It seems like you are not your usual self." 

"I'm fine. Maybe I am just thinking of some things, like the coming flu shot."

"Why?" Tonton wondered. "Are you afraid of injection?" 

"Really?" Kiko teased him. 

"I did not say I'm scared!" Bogart yelled at them.

"Sorry, just chill, dude," Kiko said defiantly. "Don't be angry, l was just kidding." 

"Oh, sorry," Bogart apologized. "I did not mean to react that way. My head is just preoccupied."

"Just relax," Jamie said. "We are your friends here." 

Bogart smiled in response. After which, they finished their meal while talking about the latest episode of their favorite comics. By early afternoon, it was the turn of the fifth graders for the flu shot. They formed a queue outside the clinic while waiting for the grade four pupils to come out. The students in the first section were first in line, followed by the second and third sections, respectively.

"Did anyone piss his pants?" Andrex hollered from behind the queue which made everyone instantly laughed. 

"I heard him say oink oink while wetting his pants," Eric added. 

Kiko heard every word and understood what they meant. Only then he realized why Bogart was touchy earlier. He left his line and went to Jamie and Tonton, and told them everything he heard. The two also flared up and they immediately went to the end of the queue. By then, the bullies were already encircling Bogart with the boys pushing him around. 

"Hey!" Jamie yelled at them. "What do you think you're doing?" 

"Oh, who do we have here?" Andrex said mockingly. "Does Piggy need rescuing?"

"Don't you dare call him that?" Kiko ordered him.

"So what are you gonna do, Mr. Trying-Hard President?" Andrex glared at Kiko.

"What bunch of craps - a piggy and a loser!" Eric added. "You two should not be hanging out with them."

"That's none of your business," Tonton snapped.

"Hey!" Andrex yelled and pointed at Tonton. "I don't like how you sound, Nerdy Boy."

Jamie stepped out and stood up against Andrex, his eyes fierce and angry. They were head to head, and suddenly, Andrex pushed him hard. Jamie was thrown but immediately got up and pushed Andrex too. Eric was about to join in but Kiko pulled him aside. The other three thugs also engaged in the scuffle, so did Tonton and Bogart. But before it could get worse, the school guard whistled and ran up to them. The boys stopped and the guard, together with teacher Mr. Lucero, sent them to the school's principal. They appeared to have come to terms, and Kiko and Bogart were immediately sent to the clinic to treat their wounds.

"What are you boys up to these days?" Grace asked them.

"They got it days ago when we were playing," Jamie answered. "Not from the fight."

"I know," she said. "The wounds are not fresh but they need to be continually cleaned and disinfected. You should always change your bandage.

Kiko and Bogart nodded. Indeed, the wounds still hurt, especially Bogarts burn. Kiko's wound had already dried out but because it was located on his knee, it kept getting touched.

"You boys are quite naughty," Tara remarked upon entering the room. "You should get your shots now."

She brought some injections and vials. Grace helped her with the tasks. Meanwhile, Cecilia went to the doctor's office to replenish their stocks. By then, the doctor had already left and she was all alone. She took some vials from another box and mixed them with the flu vaccines.

"A few this morning and some more this afternoon," she said to herself.

She finished stocking the boxes and after observing that nobody had entered the room yet, she took her pager and typed "RIGHT ON PLAN".

Situated between a large river and verdant mountains, Subangdaku is a peaceful and laid-back community. For the Biker Brothers - Jamie, Tonton, Bogart and Kiko, life in the district was all fun and easy. Until something happens.....

Two "meteors" hit the once quiet district. In the succeeding days, scientists and media flocked in Subangdaku, disturbing its serenity and bringing changes to the community. How far can the people face the challenges?

Meanwhile, a girl with golden locks arrives in the primary school. She swept the hearts and eyes of everyone, including the Biker Brothers. Yet, the four friends felt something is really off about her. Who is she? What are her secrets?

As Subangdaku embraces the consequences of the "meteor" impact, the Biker Brothers must race to confront the changes within them. As evil lurks and intends to destroy the townspeople, the boys must speed to stop it with the help of their friends and loved ones. Will they triumph? Or will the evil simply destroy them?

New chapters every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday/Sunday.

"Little Miss is that you?" He called with so much hope in his eyes.

There was no answer to Dr. Cyan's call, which brought him to horror again. Although the voice sounded like the Little Miss, he was not then sure, if what he was seeing was a human. Don't evil entities imitate human's voices? 

"Please little Miss if that is you, please… please… I'm really scared to hell!" he cried out. He was practically begging for the girl to acknowledge his call. He was so insanely desperate and tremendously scared.

He saw the entity moved, it made him swallowed in fright. Heck! 

"Oh, please don't come closer!" He yelped out in distress. However, to his frustration, the white lady flew in toward him slowly. His body started shaking wildly by such sight! 

The flashlight and the vet kit that he was holding dropped in the floor in an instant. It created a thud sound enough to disturbed the place.

"I should have not made a sound… I'm sorry…I'm sorry…please spare my life!" Doctor Cyan was now hysterical. He practically does not know what to do, his body was still too heavy, and his feet was fixed on the floor—he was unable to run for his life and soul.

Dr. Cyan then has no more option but to shout for help. He amassed all his strength to scream out loud!

"HEL—….." 

He instantly felt a strong firm at the back of his neck and a cold hand covered his mouth to stop him from screaming. 

"It's me, it's me! Don't shout!" She whispered in his ears. 

Right then, the doctor had a clear view of the little missus staring at him, her long thick hair hung in her head all messed up above her white long robe. 

"Don't shout okay?" she added. She thought how stupid she was for putting her guard down; she should have sensed that someone was there already. Good thing it was only Dr. Cyan who caught her. 

The doctor nodded at her and when she felt his body relaxed, she let go of him.

"Little miss you gave me so much fright!" he chided. He cursed himself for thinking there was some sort of entity in the barn when scientifically speaking—such do not exists!

"I'm sorry. Why are you here? It is past midnight already," She apologized making sure her voice was not loud enough to wake everybody.

The doctor suddenly remembered his Staw disease dilemma and thought of the words the little miss uttered earlier. "I guess for the same reason that you are here" He added, his face turned into a serious mess.

"I'm here for Summer" The Little Missus replied, hoping the doctor didn't heard her words earlier. 
"There's no doubt to that," he answered.

"I grew out this habit of checking on him at night probably because of the incident," She reasoned out. "I'm a little anxious he might disappear again"

"You treated him, am I right?" He asked at once.

"Well, I'm just giving him water. He had a horse flu—"

"A Staw disease. He had a Staw disease. I heard you earlier" He said cutting off her alibi.

"Well, a Staw disease is some sort of a horse flu. I just created such term" she answered again, trying to escape every possible flaw in her words.

"Little Miss, I'm a vet and I know what a Staw disease is. It's fatal and there was no cure for it. I mean there is a cure but no one can find it, but tonight I did. Didn't I?"

"I don't know what you are talking about" Xhemin denied. She was looking for the right words to say, hoping she could still convince the doctor that she had definitely nothing to do with it.

"Little Miss, Summer caught the disease in the mansion and there are hundred more horses suffering the same. And all of them are going to die sooner" Dr. Cyan explained. He knew that the girl was having second thoughts about revealing the cure, but the reason for such was unclear to him yet.

"What? A hundred more horses?" Xhemin inquired with so much shock in her face. "You mean almost all the horses in the mansion had already been infected?"

"Yes. I am one of the hired veterinarians and researcher of that farm. For a while now, we had been treating the horses, but the disease seemed to be incurable. There was no more hope not until saw summer this morning," He narrated further.

"Staw disease has long been inexistent" 

"Yes as they said so. However, here we are with such a dilemma. Please Little Miss, I know you know the cure, please…please spare me some for the other horses"

"But I…I don't really—

"You are the great doctor's granddaughter; thinking about it now makes sense. I mean you said earlier you made the cure and knowing who you are—there is no reason for me not to believe. I had no doubt a person like you can make the cure"

"I promised my granddad that no one will know that I made the cure," Xhemin confessed. She thought that the Shun's were few of the person his granddad trusts and she knew they would do everything to protect her for his granddad's sake. "You must know how my grandpa don't want any special attention from the press or from anyone"

"Is that the reason why you are treating Summer secretly?" The doctor concluded.

"Yes"

"As I suspected," He continued, "A Staw disease is a very rare disease and no one can figure out the cure. If everyone will know that you made some, then you'll hit on the headlines"

"True. So please tell no one"

"Of course I won't. I will never do anything that will only hurt the great doctor. I mean our families are real good friends" The doctor assured her. "But Little Miss, I really need some of the cure"

"Well, I have made only these" Xhemin showed her a small bottle with a glowing pink serum in it. Knowing that the doctor needed more of it for a hundred more horses, she added; "It's not enough"

"Can you still make more?" He asked further desperately. "Or maybe you can give me the formula for it? If that's alright"

"I can" Xhemin answered but for some reasons her face then clouded with worry "However…."

Warning: Amazingly, absurdly and deliriously funny chaps ahead. Read and laugh at your own risk.

--------------------------------------

"You are one of my many dreams, and the only dream I wish I should have chased desperately" 

Darryl Lemmuel was an aspiring engineer. There was only one word to describe him—exceptional.

He was the only male heir of the Lagdameo clan and the future of L Empire. Apart from that, he was rumored to be financially independent at the age of eight, tricked the present president of L empire—his father— into agreeing with his terms and left home at the age of sixteen to live on his own. He broke all the socialite’s rule to have a good taste of adventure! 

Xhemin Lae Dugmoch was a struggling botanist.

Enrolled in an A-list school, she knew nothing but books, experiments and strawberries. As the granddaughter of a retired famous doctor, Xhemin was very keen in keeping her profile low as per her granddad's wishes. Nobody in the elite community knew that she existed and that her grandfather’s corporation— Feather HealthCare had an heir.

One witty heir and one crazy strawberry girl; their predicament started when their life got tangled up against each other in a conference.

HE suddenly became her target prey.

And SHE was a little trouble not worthy of his attention.

The trouble he soon learned to want— so desperately and dearly wanted.

-----------------------
After a long hiatus, daily updates resumes today (Feb 24, 2019 EST)

Chapter release: 14 Chapters a week 
Regular Updates will be release at 4AM and 4PM EST. 
Bonus Chapters will be marked as bonus


Note: The author publishes raw chapters daily. Editors are still backtracking the unedited parts.

Cover picture is from www.pinterest.ph


Shi Shi thought that since Zhang Zian had accepted Zhao Qi's cat, it would not be a problem for him to accept her dog. But when Zhang Zian turned her down, she asked in surprise, "Why?"
"Because it is ill. Its illness must be cured first." Zhang Zian answered very simply and firmly, "My pet shop doesn't provide pet boarding services for sick pets. Even if you go to other stores, those pet shop owners won't accept it either."
"It just caught a cold! A cold!" Shi Shi stressed, lifting the Labrador from the ground. "You see, Xiao La is only coughing and sneezing a little. It's actually very healthy! And we have already fed the cold medicine to it. It will recover in two days."
"Cold medicine? You mean the cold medicine for human beings?" Zhang Zian asked.
Shi Shi blinked and looked at Zhang Zian as if he had asked an unnecessary question. "Of course, it was a very high-grade imported cold medicine that I would take when I caught a cold."
"Dogs can't take cold medicine for human beings. Before any abnormal reaction occurs to your dog, I suggest you take it to the pet clinic for a checkup as soon as possible." Zhang Zian said solemnly.
"What? Why?" asked Shi Shi.
"Because cold medicine for human beings may contain ingredients harmful to dogs." Zhang Zian explained patiently, "Of course, not all cold medicines contain such ingredients. To say the least, even if the ingredients of your medicine are harmless to your dog, do you know the dosage of the medicine it should take? The dosage for the pet is based on the pet's weight—how many micrograms or milligrams of the medicine it should take are based on per kilogram of its body weight. A pet should not simply take one or two pills at a time like a human does. Did you calculate the dosage when you gave the medicine to your dog?"
"Well..." Shi Shi stuttered, "I was a liberal arts student..."
"It does not matter whether you were a student who majored in liberal arts or science!" Zhang Zian complained, pointing at the red sweater that the Labrador was wearing. "What is the matter with this sweater?"
"I bought it for Xiao La! The weather is cold!" She replied with confidence.
"Did you put the sweater on it before or after it caught a cold?" Zhang Zian asked again.

Shi Shi placed her fingers onto her forehead and contemplated, "Well...let me think...before it caught a cold?"
"Well, if I'm right, perhaps it caught a cold precisely because you put the sweater on it!" Zhang Zian said with certainty.
"Why? She asked with indignation. This was the third time she asked why. The weather worsened several days ago, I was afraid that it would catch a cold, so I bought the sweater for it!"
Zhang Zian explained, "Because the medium-sized and large-sized dogs don't need to wear extra clothes, their hair and muscles can generate enough heat for them. We're not in the freezing Siberia. When you walked your dog outdoors, the thick sweater on it had prevented the heat generated during exercise from leaving its body. When you returned home, you undressed it and it lay its hot belly on the chilly floor. That may be the reason your dog caught a cold."
Not convinced by Zhang Zian's explanation, Shi Shi said, "But I see a lot of people put all sorts of beautiful clothes on their pets...Besides, the Dragon Li cat in your shop is  wearing a Mandarin jacket and a bamboo hat!"
Her voice was a bit sharp. Hearing Shi Shi mention itself, Old Time Tea moved its ears and looked out the door.
Zhang Zian was speechless. 
Regarding the situation of Old Time Tea, in fact, what Shi Shi said was right. When winter arrived, Zhang Zian often saw people put thick clothing, such as vests, sweaters, hats, scarves, and shoes on their pets. The pets were dressed as human beings, because their owners worried that they might catch a cold. 
Zhao Qi said hesitantly, "In fact, I also want to buy clothes for my Lan Lan...Is it wrong to let pets wear clothes?"
"It depends. Cats generally stay at home and they rarely go out, and very few cats will  lie directly on the ground, so cats don't need to wear clothes. As for the Dragon Li in my shop, it wears clothes because it is at an advanced age." To make his explanation more thorough, Zhang Zian added, "Unless we are talking about the Sphinx cats, who basically have no hair and need to wear clothes in the winter."
Zhang Zian saw a group of photos uploaded by Xu Junyu, the makeup artist of the Dog Warrior crew, in her WeChat Moments a few days ago. In those photos, Xu Junyu showed that she had made a piece of clothing for her Sphinx cat. Zhang Zian gave those photos a thumb-up. Because Sphinx cats indeed needed to wear clothes in winter, so did some bulldogs, but most young, strong cats did not need clothes in winter. 
Cats were very sensitive animals that relied on their hair to perceive the air flow. Putting on clothes may cause sensory disorders with some cats, and they would act like they were drunk. 
As for the Siberian Forest Cats, Norwegian Forest Cats, Ragdoll Cats, Persian Cats, and other long-haired cats, it was unnecessary to put clothes on them. Even if people were frozen to death, these cats would not die.
"Besides, most of the dressed-up dogs you see on the street are small-sized dogs like Teddy or Chihuahua, right?" Zhang Zian asked.
Perplexed, Shi Shi nodded.
"That's right. Small-sized dogs may need to wear clothes in winter because they have specific larger surface areas and the heat emits from their bodies quickly, so they need clothes to keep warm. While the large-sized and medium-sized dogs have smaller specific surface areas and their bodies have better capabilities to keep themselves warm," Zhang Zian pointed to Shi Shi's Labrador. "Do you think your Labrador is a small-sized dog?"
"Wait a minute. The surface area of a small-sized dog is supposed to be smaller than that of a large-sized or medium-sized dog, isn't it?" In fact, she had missed the "specific" in that term. Perhaps she had heard it, but she ignored it because she did not understand what the term meant. 
"It's the specific surface area! The specific surface area is the ratio of surface area to volume! Take a sphere for example, the smaller the radius, the larger the specific surface area; the larger the radius, the smaller the specific surface area. The same principle applies to dogs." Zhang Zian laboriously imparted some knowledge of mathematics to her. 
"Oh," Shi Shi nodded, not fully understanding the principle. "I'm a liberal arts student..."
""Don't use liberal arts as an excuse. Liberal arts students should also have common sense!" Zhang Zian doubted that she had forgotten about the math she learned in school long time ago. 
Shi Shi said audaciously with self-confidence, "But I just can't understand it! If you write a novel, you can write these things in your novel. I guess many people don't understand these concepts."


"I said that I was not writing a novel...But then again, this dog has caught a cold. If you don't understand how to cure a cold for a dog, don't try to help it recklessly. You'd better send it to a pet clinic." Zhang Zian brought the topic back to Shi Shi's dog. 
 "I'm worried that Xiao La will be infected with other diseases if it were sent to a pet clinic…" Shi Shi could not make up her mind. "Manager Zhang, you are so resourceful, can you please cure my Xiao La?"
"No. First of all, I am not a licensed veterinarian and I have no qualifications to practice medicine. Secondly, I do not dare let your dog into my shop. I am afraid that its cold will be transmitted to my dogs ​​in the shop!"
To be cautious, Zhang Zian had been talking with them outside in the chilly wind and had not invited them into the shop. What he feared was that this Labrador's cold would be transmitted to other puppies.
"How could it be? My Xiao La does not have the flu! It has just caught a common cold!" Shi Shi said self-righteously.
Liu Sanlang thought for a moment and echoed with Shi Shi. "I remember that the pet sales agreement specified that the dogs in your shop had been injected with flu shots. They would still get the flu?"
Zhang Zian explained, "There are many kinds of influenza, and the flu viruses often mutate. The vaccines they received are only to prevent some respiratory infectious diseases. In addition, the flu and the common cold are difficult to distinguish from their symptoms. Even the common cold is also divided into the contagious and non-contagious common cold. I am not an expert in this regard. When one of my dogs catches a cold, it would also be isolated from other dogs, and then I would quickly send it to a pet clinic."
A-choo! While Zhang Zian was speaking, the Labrador sneezed again and lowered its head listlessly. It was obvious that Shi Shi's Labrador was not as lively as other Labrador dogs.
Zhang Zian pointed out specifically. "The canine respiratory infectious disease is highly contagious. If one dog is sick, it should be sent for treatment as soon as possible. Otherwise, it is easy to infect other dogs living together. Therefore, the canine respiratory infectious disease is also called the 'Kennel Cough', which means that if a dog has contracted the disease, all the dogs in the kennel will be infected very soon. Not only that, if you walk a sick dog outside and encounter someone else's dogs on the street, the disease may transmit to more dogs."
"Okay, I understand now. Sanlang, let's send Xiao La to a pet clinic now." Shi Shi finally had nothing else to say to Zhang Zian, who had firmly rejected to accept her dog. 
"Okay." Liu Sanlang was obedient to Shi Shi's words.
"One more thing...when your dog is well, don't put clothes on it anymore. When it's snowing, you can make your dog wear a raincoat to prevent the snow from wetting its hair. If you don't know where you can buy a raincoat suitable for dogs, you can buy it from my shop. And try to keep your room as dry as possible because a humid environment is more likely to harbor bacteria. Try ventilating the indoors more frequently, which can effectively help both human beings and dogs avoid catching a cold.
Zhang Zian gave them advice as the after-sales service. After all, this Labrador was bought from his pet shop.  
Liu Sanlang nodded frequently and kept Zhang Zian's suggestion firmly in mind.
Shi Shi had already picked up Xiao La and got into the car. Zhao Qi had given the air box with Lan Lan in it to Zhang Zian and got into the car, planning to get a free ride back home.
Liu Sanlang had not gotten into the car yet. He scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Manager Zhang, actually I still have another thing."
"What's the matter? I will not lend money to you!" Zhang Zian refused him vigilantly.
"I'm not borrowing money! It's that our Xiao La is a bit naughty," Liu Sanlang said helplessly. "It likes to bark for no reason. Our neighbors have filed complaints to the property management team several times. Occasionally, it also urinates and defecates in our home or on the corridor..."
Zhang Zian frowned. "You didn't train it not to bark or relieve itself everywhere? Didn't I tell you that unlike raising a cat, you must train your dog?"
"Yeah...but each time I tried to be harsh on Xiao La, Shi Shi would defend it and say that I was a crazy man who abused dogs. That was why Xiao La has become like this…" Liu Sanlang smiled bitterly. "Manager Zhang, can you help me change its bad habits? I will pay you."
Zhang Zian pondered and said, "Let's talk about that after your dog has recovered from the cold."


1. Download a suspicious game
2. Catch a few magical pets as partners
3. Go through interesting daily routines and lead the pet shop to a whole new level

"Grandmaster Ye, hello." 
"Grandmaster Jiang." 
"Grandmaster Ye, our hospital encountered a problem and I'd like to ask you for a favor." Grandmaster Jiang's tone was very polite.
"It's about Wind-Heat Syndrome Flu." Ye Lingchen had already guessed it. Grandmaster Jiang was a doctor, so if the man came to Ye Lingchen for help, there was an eighty percent chance that it was related to medical matters.
"Yes, that's right, the Wind-Heat Syndrome Flu is really terrible. The hospital is now overcrowded and panic-stricken. Do you have a way to fight this disease?" Grandmaster Jiang was already extremely tense by then, and although he knew that Ye Lingchen's medical knowledge was strong, the Wind-Heat Syndrome Flu was an unprecedented disease. He did not dare to give his guarantee that Ye Lingchen could cure it.
"I can cure it!"
Those simple words made blood rush to Grandmaster Jiang's face. A slight tremble came over his body.
Ye Lingchen had already cured Xiao Feifei of it, hence his confidence. He already knew how to deal with Wind-Heat Syndrome Flu, and he would surely find a way to announce the treatment even if Grandmaster Jiang did not contact him.
"Grandmaster Ye, what time do you think we should make an appointment?"
"Tomorrow then. I will come by first thing in the morning. Send me your hospital's address."
"Mm. Okay. I'll send a car to pick you up tomorrow morning."
Hanging up the phone, Grandmaster Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at the gazes all around him and smiled slightly, "He said he can cure it!"
"He can cure it?!"
The sound of intensified and rapid breathing was heard throughout the office. One by one, they looked at Grandmaster Jiang in disbelief.
"He really said he could cure it?" Old Yu rushed up and hugged Grandmaster Jiang. "Is it true or false?"
"It's true!" Grandmaster Jiang nodded affirmatively. "If he said he can cure it, then he certainly can cure it!"
"Okay, okay!" The old man shivered with excitement. "When will he come?"
"First thing tomorrow morning!" Grandmaster Jiang was equally excited. "The Wind-Heat Syndrome Flu that strikes fear in everyone can finally be solved tomorrow!"
...
The next day.
Grandmaster Jiang had already sent someone to pick up Ye Lingchen. The speeding car soon arrived at Capital Hospital.
People looked incredibly anxious as they went in and out of the hospital entrance. All of them were sullen and extremely depressed, be it elderly adults or young children.
The value of one's health would only be appreciated during times of sickness.
The doctors were constantly busy and almost every clinic was full of people.
Ye Lingchen glanced briefly at the situation and went straight to the office that Grandmaster Jiang mentioned.
Grandmaster Jiang and four other old people were anxiously waiting inside the office. They had not slept for nearly the whole night just to wait for Grandmaster Jiang's supposed savior.
At that moment, they all froze when they saw the teenager at the door.
"Grandmaster Ye!"
Grandmaster Jiang was shocked beyond compare. He quickly walked up to Ye Lingchen and said excitedly, "Grandmaster Ye, you are finally here!"
Ye... Grandmaster Ye?
The other four were stunned. Their hearts sank as they stared at Ye Lingchen's face with disbelief.
The boy was too young!
"Old Jiang, he, he's ..."
"He's an extraordinary medical master that I mentioned!" Grandmaster Jiang exclaimed before introducing, "These four individuals are the chief physicians of Metropolis Hospital: Grandmaster Yu, Grandmaster Zheng, Grandmaster Xie, and Grandmaster Chen."
"What?" Master Zheng stared at Ye Lingchen with widened eyes. "Old Jiang, are you mistaken? This kid isn't even twenty years old, are you sure he can cure the disease?"
"Old Jiang, you're kidding, aren't you?" Grandmaster Xie said the same thing and could not help but shake his head. "Now's not the time for jokes."
Grandmaster Jiang became anxious immediately. "He is really a miracle doctor. I vouch for it on my integrity!"
"Old Jiang, it's not that we don't believe you, it's just that this kid is too young. Medicine is wide-ranging and deep. We have studied for decades to get to this point, what qualifications does he have?" Grandmaster Chen said out loud. "Turning to anyone or anything in a time of crisis is something to be avoided. You're a doctor yourself. How can you make this mistake!"
Grandmaster Yu's originally anxiously looking complexion suddenly became dark. He stared at Grandmaster Jiang and asked, "Old Jiang, are you serious?"
His voice was hoarse, his eyes were sunken, and he looked extremely dejected.
"I'm serious." Grandmaster Jiang nodded.
"Are you making fun of me?!" Grandmaster Yu finally could not resist yelling. He pointed at Ye Lingchen and asked in a faltering voice, "Why him?!"
Hope was what they all waited for, but what they received were disappointment and despair. Such a tremendous blow almost made him faint.
"Old Yu, don't be too hasty. I saw him save a patient with my own eyes. I couldn't treat that patient at all." Grandmaster Jiang said.
"Some hard-to-treat cases have home remedies, and at times, there is a possibility that those diseases can be cured. But we cannot conclude from that alone that the person is a doctor. Old Jiang, you were too hasty," Grandmaster Zheng said again.
"I believe in Grandmaster Ye!" Grandmaster Jiang said solemnly and firmly.
After a pause, he continued, "Old Yu, your grandson is still ill, how about you let Grandmaster Ye try."
"Let him try?" Grandmaster Yu's raised his voice suddenly, "Do you think of my grandson as an experiment? You want me to let him try?! I don't believe he can cure Wind-Heat Syndrome Flu!"
Grandmaster Chen frowned, looked at Ye Lingchen, and asked, "Can you really cure Wind-Heat Syndrome Flu?"
"Yes."
"How confident are you?" Grandmaster Chen asked again.
"A hundred percent!" Ye Lingchen replied calmly.
Grandmaster Chen however, shook his head. The feeling of disappointment in his heart became even stronger.
As a medical practitioner, cautiousness was the primary issue, especially in the face of a variable virus such as Wind-Heat Syndrome Flu. No one would dare to state that they were a hundred percent confident. Nine out of ten times, someone who was that confident was surely a charlatan.
"Old Jiang, tell him to leave. I don't want to see him again!" Grandmaster Yu waved his hand weakly as if he had grown old several times in an instant.
"If you don't want your grandson to be cured, there are other people that need to be cured. I came over not to treat your grandson alone." Ye Lingchen shook his head and spoke indifferently. "Grandmaster Jiang, give me a set of scrubs. I'll be treating the other patients! "
With his scrubs and a surgical mask, he could also conceal his identity.
Such situations would attract plenty of attention and it was inappropriate to reveal his identity in public.
"Okay." Grandmaster Jiang nodded.
"Old Jiang, are you still going to obsess over this?" Grandmaster Yu was red with rage. "Metropolis Hospital does not tolerate liars. You are ruining our reputation if you hand him a patient!"
"Old Yu, Grandmaster Ye is really capable. We have nothing else to lose anyway, so just let him try it." Grandmaster Jiang smiled bitterly. He helped Ye Lingchen put on the white doctor's coat and brought Ye Lingchen to a treatment room.
"Grandmaster Ye, I prepared a treatment room for you. It's in the Wind-Heat Syndrome Flu ward. The virus is very prevalent there. You must wear a mask. Don't get infected ..."


Ye Lingchen was a regular high schooler who struggled with exams and expectations from his parents.
All that changed after he woke up from a strange dream and discovered that he had been granted the 'Prodigy System'. His life changed from this point on. Reading a book allowed him to learn its content immediately. Listening to lectures granted instant understanding of the lesson. Observation of a technique imprinted knowledge of the technique used.
Learning had never been so easy, and as the saying goes, knowledge is power. In this case, he now had access to a ton of unbridled power. 
What does it feel like to become a 'prodigy' overnight? Follow Ye Lingchen on this journey to discover the limitless possibilities...

After seeing her neighbour smile at her, Sia started the conversation,
"So, what's up with your voice?"
"It's just a sore throat after the flu," 'Ed' lied blatantly.
"Oh, I see. It sure sounds that way," Sia retorted with a smile that wasn't a smile at all. 
At her expression a shiver passed through the man's spine but he decided to ignore it as he was used to this kind of a feeling whenever he talked to her.
"So, do you live in Veturia or Ribekia?" the man asked trying to distract his mind from the nagging feeling he had been having for a while.
"Why would you assume that I live in one of those places?" Sia asked questioningly.
"Well, you don't necessarily need to live in one of those places, but I couldn't possibly name all the cities in the world to learn where you are from, could I?" Ed said with a smirk. 
"Well, I guess you have a point there. I am from Ribekia. What about you?"
"Veturia." 
Even though Sia could feel that her seatmate wanted to say something more she rushed in to ask a question first,
"So why are you flying to Ribekia, if that's not a secret of course?"
For a moment, the man looked at the girl intensively. After taking in her sight he breathed in and out deeply and then started looking out of the window. 
After a few moments, he answered with a slight smile that was well hidden by the mask,
"I am going there for the love of my life."
Sia looked at him quizzically and, finally, after some time spoke again,
"So, is this love of your life your girlfriend or your wife?" 
Her neigbour once again looked into her eyes through the thick lenses of his glasses and again looking out the window said with determination and also some apparent impatience in his tone,
"She is my woman, and she soon will be my wife too."
As if a paparazzi interviewing a famous star on his love life, Sia continued asking,
"So does that mean that it's a mutual love?"
The man furrowed his brows at her question and answered while this time not diverting his gaze from her,
"She might not still realize her feelings for me, but I will make sure that she does."
At his words, Sia gave him a bright smile and said encouragingly,
"Oh, I wish you the best of luck then!" 
Her smile then disappeared momentarily, replaced by sadness. Turning towards the window she stared at the passing clouds in deep thoughts. Taking a secret  glance at her neighbour she then continued with a sigh,
"I wish my crush would also be like you. I mean, he is obvious with his feelings but he doesn't have the guts to say them to my face." 
At her words the man's gaze became incredulous and soon uncontrollable coldness and bloodthirst starting oozing out of him.
"Your crush? And who is it if you don't mind telling." 
Even though he tried to control himself one could easily tell that he was speaking through gritted teeth.
Feeling his aura the people in the business class braced themselves for the worst to come. The devil was ready to kill. 
Sia gave a slight smile to him and said,
"I literally met him recently thanks to my trip to Veturia. Honestly, like your woman, as you call her, I guess I always avoided accepting my feelings for him. But now sitting here I realize how much he means to me and how much I want to share my moments with him."
The man took deep breaths to control the raging anger in him. He didn't talk for a while and didn't look at her side either, thus completely missing the smirk on her face. When he finally turned to her she was already looking out of the window with a desolate aura around her.
"Are you sure that you like that man. What if it's just attraction and not real like? What if you just haven't met the love of your life and he is just ... just a way to kill your boredom?"
Sia turned to him and making an angry face she retorted,
"You know ED, when you told me about your crush I didn't jump to conclusions and didn't laugh at your love that honestly feels laughable to me. I mean, what do you mean by 'She might not still realize her feelings for me, but I will make sure that she does'? Do you think that if she had feeling for you she would not realize them by now without you explicitly telling her that? Honestly what rights do you have as a stranger to judge me?"
The man's expression turned even darker,
"Huh? Stranger?" He laughed self-mockingly and sadness could be felt in his voice. With a lowered tone and much less hoarse voice he continhed, "yeah, I guess you are right. I am but a stranger to you Siana, am I not?" 
He clenched his fists trying to control his emotions. He couldn't burst here and not in this kind of a situation. He couldn't blame her for what she said. She was right. He was but a stranger she met for the first time. He was digging his palms with his nails without even realizing the self-harm he was causing himself. He felt like all life had faded away.
He always knew that She was the source of light and warmth in his world of darkness and cold. She made him feel alive and willing to live. She simply made him feel. She made him human. 
And now she decided to just walk away from him because of a guy she met just a few times. Was Will better than him? No, he couldn't accept that. He didn't want to accept that.
He could feel the coldness invading his body when suddenly a source of warmth surrounded his fist. 
He opened his eyes and looked with surprise at the delicate hand that was now covering his own. He looked up to her and he couldn't help but feel contended seeing her smile.
'I am so dumb. The answer is so simple: all I need to do is to protect that smile of yours. Even if it means I will suffer, I will make sure that you are happy. You are all that matters to me. If you truly like someone else I will do everything in my capabilities to support you from the shadows. But before that, just give me a chance and let me try my best to conquer you. If you truly don't like me I promise I will disappear from your life straight away." 
He returned her smile with a slight smile of his own. But the next second his smile froze upon hearing her question,
"So are we done role playing dear seatmate Ed, or shall I call you King? Or actually, maybe I should go for your real name Cain, should I not?"
While he was frozen at his place she reached with her hands and gently took off his glasses, then the mask and finally the beanie, revealing a man so handsome that even women would be jealous of.
"You really are even more handsome than in the photos!" The girl said with astonishment while cupping his face and looking straight into his eyes.
"So, are you really surprised, My Dearest King?"

"All I could hear were her occasional responses and small laughs. All I could see was her. All I wished to find was her smile. And all I wanted was... HER."

"She is the source of light and warmth in my world of darkness and cold. She makes me feel alive and willing to live. She simply makes me feel. She makes me human. "

"She is the only thing I have ever wanted... desired... If it takes me to become a demon to make her mine, I will. Even if she hates me, I will still love her. I know I am obsessed with her. I know she is scared of me. But I can't help it: I want her. I need her. "
____
What happens when two people that had a long story together finally get the chance to meet each other? 

For him, she is his everything, and for her, he is hers. However, because of his identity their path is filled with obstacles and difficulties. Because of her charms and personality, many desire her and can't let her be with him. 

She is a doctor and he is an underworld king covered in other people's blood. Will she stay true to her beliefs even if it could be detrimental to him? Or will she choose him and go against her principles?
Will they be able to overcome these obstacles and not fall for people's malicious plots?
____
All the characters and places are fictional. If there is any similarity to other books or novels it was not deliberate.

The photo doesn't belong to me. Will draw my own soon))

On this dry wintry day, Tong Lili was finally able to return home and rest under her own blanket after working for more than 30 hours in a row without sleep. Although she felt all sorts of dissatisfaction and unwillingness, her eyes would no longer open after becoming red and swollen from crying. She was far too tired.
Zhang Fan was also really tired. The 24-hour work shift plus having to concentrate for several more hours afterwards to perform surgery also made him feel rather dizzy. He closed the curtains in his apartment and took a hot shower. Thanks to the heating system, he didn't feel cold in his apartment at all. The chilly air outside didn't penetrate his apartment.
Winters in the border province were truly freezing. Currently, it was below -30 degrees Celsius. Any water particles in the air would instantly freeze into frost. The dry and cold temperature was also the best type of environment for viruses to grow in.
Whenever it was really dry, problems would often occur with the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract. The skin and mucous membrane were the first defense lines that human bodies had against illnesses. The dry and cold weather would cause viruses to run rampant.
The flu sounded rather weak in comparison to HIV, hepatis B, and so on. The flu might seem just like their weakly cousin who wasn't threatening at all.
However, influenza had always accompanied humanity, and evolved together with humans. An astronomical number of humans had died because of the flu over the years. The strongest influenza pandemic of all time occurred in 1918. More than 100,000,000 people died, ravaging much of Europe.
The 1918 flu pandemic, also known as the Spanish flu, would attack all people indiscriminately. For most diseases, it would only be the young and the elderly who were at risk, or maybe men or women would be more likely to be affected, but that wasn't the case with Spanish flu. No matter your age, how rich you were, or whether you were male or female, it would infect anyone. Although science was developing rapidly, the flu was also evolving. Even though humanity was now capable of standing on the moon, humanity had yet to discover a method to completely eradicate the flu.
Many people might look down on traditional Chinese medicine in modern times. However, it was precisely because of traditional Chinese medicine that the flu wasn't so virulent in China. But in modern society, life had become more quick-paced, and nobody was now willing to patiently wait for a slow treatment.
With pressure from life and society, ordinary people now felt that they should be able to be cured on the second day right after becoming ill. They no longer accepted the idea that a common cold would require treatment for an entire month. In many jobs, every day of not working would represent not having income. Many ordinary people wouldn't be able to afford this.
The beginning of flu symptoms wouldn't be much different from the symptoms of an ordinary cold. The true differences would appear two to three days after the onset of symptoms. Only then would the flu show off its true might. Typically, this would start with a high fever of more than 39 degrees Celsius.
After that, you would start feeling all sorts of discomfort, such as feeling cold, headache, lack of energy, sore muscles, sore throat, and so on. If this was an ordinary flu virus, it would usually take approximately one week for your body to defeat the virus by itself. Only then would the flu symptoms slowly go away. And if your body couldn't defeat the flu virus, then a secondary infection or bacterial pneumonia would likely soon occur. If you didn't control the illness effectively then, only death would await. Not only that, you would become just like a living biological weapon as you were also a source of infection.
The main way by which the flu would spread would be through the air as well as saliva. The flu virus was capable of spreading as you talked, coughed, sneezed, and so on, flying out together with secretions from your respiratory tract. The scariest part about the flu virus was that it was capable of staying in the air for approximately 30 minutes.
Anywhere that many people gathered, a single sneeze from someone infected with the flu might infect everyone else within a radius of several dozen meters. This was no joke or laughing matter. Older Chinese people would probably all remember the SARS epidemic that had made all of China so tense. Back then, no matter big or small, all windows were constantly open. This was because only by having excellent ventilation would it be possible to reduce the amount of infection, especially in enclosed areas.
The flu felt quite simple. It was only a virus. But actually, the flu was incredibly complex and powerful. The flu was strong to the point where China even established a monitoring system for the flu. This was the only common illness that China focused so seriously on, even reaching the point where the entire medical system of China was being used to monitor this illness.
Influenza was a type of an RNA virus. It possessed many types of core polymerase proteins. Even now, scientists still hadn't figured out the complete nature of the influenza virus. Not only that, the influenza virus was quite adept at mutating itself. When two different viruses simultaneously infected the same cell, the virus genes would then recombine themselves. It was often that a medicine which had previously been effective in treating this flu strain would suddenly lose effect after the mutation.
This was why the flu was so scary. Most of the time, ordinary treatment would treat problems without treating the underlying cause. What did this mean? It meant that treatment would focus on eliminating the patient's discomfort by lowering fever temperatures, stopping the coughing, and eliminating the pain. However, none of this would affect the virus itself very much.
The flu virus had low heat tolerance, and ordinary disinfection methods would easily destroy it. However, heat and disinfection would no longer work once the flu virus was inside a human body. It wasn't like you could burn the human patient! It really would be highly important to often wash your hands carefully every day in order to prevent yourself from getting infected.
The first two to three days after infection would be when the flu virus was the most infectious. However, this was also the time when people would pay the least attention to it. If one person got sick and didn't pay it much attention, it was common that they would infect their entire family. Please don't feel that it would be a sign of your love to lie next to your beloved one when they were sick. This author doesn't know whether it's a sign of love or not, but I do know that it means you're an idiot.
Winter would always be an explosive season for the flu. Anyone who wasn't ill yet that had family members with cold symptoms should put on a surgical mask in order to maintain his own health. Only then would you be able to properly care for ill family members!
Back when Chasu City Hospital was being run by Superintendent Huang Yun, his rotation doctor system was that doctors who wanted to be in a surgical department would only be rotated through the various surgical departments, while doctors who wanted to be in internal medicine would only be rotated through internal medicine departments. Although this did have its own benefits, the doctor wouldn't learn as much general knowledge. Meanwhile, Superintendent Ouyang changed the rotation doctor system to forcefully make young doctors rotate through every type of department.
Superintendent Ouyang's rotation doctor system seemed to be quite harsh for young doctors. This was because being a rotation doctor would last two years. For these two years, the young rotation doctors would have very low income, no status, and no sense of security. But, as long as the doctor made it past the two years of being a rotation doctor, they would be able to experience the benefit of rotation—having better general knowledge. Medical treatment would require general knowledge to begin with, yet over the past several decades, China had forsaken its roots in treating the foundation, instead learning the foreign methods of treating the head when there was a headache, treating the foot when the foot hurt, and so on. The downsides of this were now becoming apparent. China was now beginning to value general medical knowledge again instead of overly specialized knowledge.
Superintendent Ouyang was a superintendent who knew this quite well for a hospital leader in 2010. In fact, her rotation system showed its tremendous advantages right here and now.
A classical flu epidemic explosively arrived in Chasu City, and Chasu City Hospital's respiratory department, cardiology department, and pediatrics department were filled to the brim with patients. Not only was adding more beds impossible, even patients who could only manage obtaining a bed in a hallway would already be those well-connected. The list of people waiting for hospitalization was incredibly long. Based on typical waiting times, these people would all likely have to wait until next year before they would finally receive an open spot for flu treatment.
What could be done? What was the hospital supposed to do about the flu epidemic when there was no more space for patients? The higher-level government leaders kept calling Superintendent Ouyang, and endlessly urged her to think of something! The hospital was supposed to be responsible for thinking of an idea!
Superintendent Ouyang had the entirety of Chasu City Hospital's logistical staff clear out the main hallway of Chasu City Hospital. Although she was able to add a lot more space and hospital beds here, what was she supposed to do about the doctors and nurses required to treat the influx of patients? Where was she supposed to find so many professional doctors and nurses?
Superintendent Ouyang had an idea. She gave the command that all doctors and nurses who were currently on vacation, no matter if they were on marriage leave or sick leave, they were all required to come back to work as long as the doctor or nurse was still capable of walking!
Superintendent Ouyang was a strong and capable hospital leader who led with an iron fist!


One day, Zhang Fan, a poor medical student, receives a medical system from the future. This turns him into a new shining star in the medical field. Along the way, he must face medical corruption, competition, and infighting from other doctors, and even find time for a love life as he strives for the top of the medical field!

Like what was said by the notification, there were new items in the shop. However, most of them are for raising collected points for a stat raise in a routed playthrough. There were items specifically for Encounter mode and Challenge Mode, one Arata had not yet unlocked. There were also new clothes in the shop as well as new hairstyles. Arata almost spent the entire night browsing the magazines to pick a new style. Then again, he needed to see the most important of them all: the patch notes.

He almost tore his room apart with the things being thrown all over the floor like he was a raging hurricane. He then sat in front of the computer, thinking about any other possible places to look for it. Arata then rested his gaze on the forum site which was the default screen of his computer... only to find several notifications. He remembered not being able to check the forum for almost two days.

Most of them were from tags to answer questions built for veterans to shred their answers so newbies would understand. Then again, some others had answered on his stead so he was not worried about it a lot. Then again, there were direct messages from Devin.

"Hey, Arata. Are you okay? I never saw you offline. You're always online, even at 3 AM. Are you not sleeping anymore?" The first of his messages went. "Arata, you're not responding to my tags. Where are you?"

His tone began to sound sulking. "Always online, but not talking. Are you trying to finish the game in a week's time?"

"I can see you're still on Sept 4. If you weren't breezing through the game, then why are you online all the time?"

"How long are you planning to ignore me?"

Arata squinted at the messages one more time before responding again. "Yeah, I don't close the game anymore. What of it? Why are you messaging me?"

After a few seconds, the 'typing' sign appeared next to Devin's avatar photo of Ruby. He replied soon enough. "Just checking up on you, man. It's not normal. I remember rejoicing when you're not online during an event."

The king gasped as he mentioned 'event.' He proceeded with care, but he kept on erasing every word. Finally, he managed to get one out. "Oh, haha." Nailed it.

"You don't have a score yet though. Not participating? It's a chance to collect their summer avatars." Devin replied again, as if waiting for him to reply before sending it.

"Yeah, kinda. Got something better." The king delivered it with three crown emoticons.

"What's better than getting an Attori in micro-bikini?"

"Riding her using my own body." The king chuckled in front of the screen. He sobbed at the idea of not getting the avatar because he had no knowledge that there was an event, and at the fact that he would not be able to access the event since it was outside the campaign mode where he was stuck. He could only grunt in bitterness after. "Bed sheet Attori." He sent a separate crying-laughing emoticon after his reply.

Devin answered with a barrage of laughing emoticons and all caps. "YOU DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS AN EVENT, DID YOU!?" He sent more laughing faces.

"Shut up. I'm busy loving my girls." There went some fuming emoticons.

"You should join, man. Some fvcker aside from Pantsu was reigning the charts, and trashtalking about you because your name isn't in the Top 50." Devin sent another laughing emoticon.

Arata stared at the screen before replying. "Actually, I can't see the patch notes. I have no idea what is happening in the game aside from the things I bump into in my playthrough." Sweat emoticon barrage. "Can you give me a gist?"

"Why can't you see it? It's like dancing in the game lobby."

The king took a deep breath before responding. "My game. I think it's malfunctioning. It goes straight to campaign screen. I thought it was just how things are now."

"Aw, that's bad. Reported it yet?"

"I can't close the game." Crying-laughing emoticons. He tried to hide his genuine sobbing as he lied to one of his closest in-game friends. "Can't report. Can't even use my phone for something else."

Devin stopped replying at this point. Arata gasped at his silence. He covered his mouth and waited until another notification came to him. It was a message from the game, usually tagged as Usagi's message. He was afraid to open it because of the subject: Game problem: Can't access Lobby. He then gulped and opened the message nonetheless.

"Hi, this is CM Hideki. Someone reported about your problem. Can you confirm that you cannot access the lobby?"

"Devin, you rat." Arata cried as he was faced with a weird problem.

A CM, or community manager, is part of the game team who addressed the concerns of the players. This one in particular is CM Hideki, the most popular of the CMs as he had hosted lives before, showing the ropes of the minigames and new whatnots to the newbies and even some veterans through videos. He was also the one who tackled technical issues with the players such as button malfunction and other light issues. He was like a champion to the community, being quite the middleman between the mere humans called players and the gods they called devs among other names that are normally derisive.

Also, Hideki was the name of the males' Basketball Team's captain. Since CMs are asked to adapt game characters for their names, he chose Hideki despite the lack of 'brute' written on his image as a CM. Probably just because Hideki was MVP.

Anyway, the weird problem was that Arata refused to divulge his real state to the devs. What if he gets accused of hacking or using a mod? The king gulped down the forming lump in his throat again before reading the message one more time.

"Hi, Hideki. Yeah, I'm stuck in the Campaign screen. Phone isn't responding to any other buttons to exit the screen or the game." He chose his words carefully.

"I might have to forward this to our development team. Can I ask you for a few things about your phone?"

His heart was beating loud as if played the game of fibs with the CM. He could remember all the information he needed to say. Then again, he felt the strongest urge to claim. "Hideki, I'm not using a mod, I swear. Don't suspend me."

"Relax, as long as your game data comes clean, you'll be fine." Hideki sent a smiley.

"What do you mean 'comes clean?'"

"No irregular codes to increase points or currency gained. Things like that." Followed by another smiley. "I'll be making the report now. Anything else you want to ask me, Arata-san?"

The king felt his fingers die. There was a lot he wanted to say, but he could not figure out how to phrase them as innocent as he could. He was talking to the eyes an ears of the devs. One wrong move, he might get his account banned- in short, deleted. He needed to move and type something down.

"Arata-san, can you tell me how you can access the forums if you're stuck in the campaign mode?" There came the suspicions.

He took a deep breath and almost held it. "I'm using the computer in the room. It goes straight to the forum."

"I see. If that's the case, then the lobby seemed to be the only function locked." Hideki sent a thinking emoticon. "There should be an arcade in town. It will let you play the minigames without quitting your campaign. The social club can connect you to the Multiplayer mode as well.

"You don't have to be so scared, Arata-san. Lobby is just a shortcut page. Everything else can be accessed from the campaign mode. It was designed like that since the lobby was only added after the beta version. And to lift the action time penalty." He sent thumbs-up emoticons. "But we're still going to investigate this. I haven't received a similar report of the lobby locking."

"What about the event?" The king managed to let out his breath, fearing less.

"That one I can't help you with. The events are completely played outside the Campaign mode." Hideki replied with sad, flopping emoticons. "You might have to sit this one out."

"Thanks, Hideki." Arata sent some crying emoticons.

The CM responded with bowing emoticons. "No problem, Arata-san. I will keep you posted about this problem. Also, I would like to ask for your permission to let me message you from time to time if we find anything worthy to ask."

"Like?"

"Log in duration time and in-game purchases. Last beta test, we found some players buying third party products that affected their games."

"Sure. I'll work with you to fix this." Arata lied.

"Once again, thank you for your cooperation, Arata-san."

Silence. Arata felt so drained after feeling his own body pale up in the presence of a CM. His heart was still racing, and his lungs were pumping air faster than it ever had before. He then crashed in front of the computer, not bothering to sleep on his bed for the night.

It was Friday, and Arata had become out of it for a while. It was a normal happening to him in his previous life, and it was hard to break a habit. He only gave the report to Ruby who noticed his paleness that day; she would insist to stay with him, but she advised him to go home. Yukari and Attori noticed as well, only that Yukari could not pass up the club that day. His wife took him home and nursed him until she had to go home for the 6 PM action time.

The pale king read through the forum again. He spotted familiar threads and a lot more replies on the two threads that he started. However, he had no energy to respond. He was so drained he could barely remembering typing if he wanted his thoughts to be heard.

Then another notification came in. It was a private message from Botan.

"Dude, wtf. A mod?" It was all he sent.

"What mod?" Arata forced himself to communicate. Of course he had to take care of his reputation.

"Horsepower said you were using a mod, therefore, suspended."

"Do I look like suspended to you right now?"

"No, you won't be able to access your account if it was." He sent a barrage of laughing emoticons.

Arata only hummed with a small smile and tried to get into the conversation. "I'm just feeling sick. I don't want to entertain his bull."

"That horse-brain really." Botan sent another barrage of laughing emoticon. However, he sent another message. "Why are you lying to me, though?"

"I'm not lying. I would roast him today, but I'm sick enough not to." The king sighed. Of course, Devin sang to his favorite tune of gossips. "I told Devin about my technical issue if this is about not being able to do the event. Even talked to Hideki about it."

"Whoa, with Hideki? Wow."

"That sounded sarcastic." Arata squinted at the reply. "I really did."

"Dude, Hideki's suspended at the moment." Botan replied faster than he normally does. "CM Attori took over his post for now until he gets unsuspended."

His fingers froze again. Arata's eyes were never this wide before, and now he just realized he gave his information to someone else. Dang that man. Then again, he was able to send a message through a GM tag. He made an ugly sound, next to snorting and whining. "Don't play with me, Botan. Please, I went as far as giving him my game ID."

Then came a barrage of laughing devils. "You were so scared! Hahaha!"

"You ****!" Arata groaned as he just sent a reply with a censored word. "You CVNT!" He sent it again.

"Whoa, chill, pal!" Botan sent a barrage of tongue-out emoticon. "He's more like not asked to come for work. The last time he had a live, he was sniffing and sneezing a lot. It's been pouring everywhere, so he went down with some kind of violent flu." He sent a rolling smiley. "CM Attori is still taking over."

The one who almost killed Arata continued. "Then again, he must be very hardworking to still work despite that condition. Nodding emoticons. Very reliable."

The king just sighed; he felt rather bad for lying towards someone very dedicated to his job. He slumped in front of the computer again, pressing a back to the list of direct messages and hovering at CM Hideki's thread. He pressed on it and stared at the message he last sent.

"I'm so guilty," Arata murmured as he pressed on the dialogue box and typed down a reply. "I don't know if this will reach CM Hideki, but I just heard about his flu. Get well soon, Hideki."

None happened after.

"This is stupid." He leaned against the chair and stared at the 6 PM clock. He looked outside his window and started thinking about his plans. He should at least go around tonight to collect his revenue.

A reply then came from the GM thread. "Hello there, Arata-san. Thank you. Sick emoticons. I didn't mean to make you worry. The weather's become unfriendly lately."

"Huh?" Arata stared at the message, not replying at all.

"Anyway, I hope you're doing fine unlike me. Thumbs up." Hideki noticed the silence and just sent a message.

"Haha, your flu is making you talk weird. Hang in there." Arata just responded, along with a line of crying-laughing emoticons.

Hamasaki Arata was an avid dating sim gamer, building one harem after another in his little cyberspace. However, he just happened upon a newly released dating sim game called Player-kun Complex. In-game, the women the player maxes would be obsessed with loving the player in what seemed to be a compulsive way, which is like developing a complex. Seeing the gorgeous arts as part of the game's introduction, Arata immediately downloaded it.

After months, he was able to reach end game, maxing all the available women referred to as 'date-ables'. Just when he was getting bored of the game, the developers announced a major update, adding new date-ables and the notorious Encounter Mode. Like any other loyal player, Arata patched the game. He did while walking home and met a rather fatal accident.

Basically dying with the phone in his hands, Hamasaki Arata gets transported inside the game. Now, Arata meets all the date-able heroines that he maxed, and had to manage living in their synchronized routes. Not to mention the new ones he wanted to unlock and max as well.

This begins a struggle of a nobody turned into a living god in a world he had built in his little cyberspace.

Similarities to any game or living person or existing places are purely coincidental. This work of fiction includes adult themes such as sex, language, and murder. It may contain triggers as well so please be advised.

The trio talked for what seems like a long time, but it has only been half an hour. They were joined by James after he was done with his call.

Upon sitting down, the husband asked if the three were famished.

Clara looked at her husband. "I think I am." She looked at her watch. "Oh my, it is already quarter to one. Let us four go to a restaurant to have lunch." She looked at the two young ladies.

"We can't, unfortunately, we have still an appointment to attend to." Maya politely rejected the offer.

"Oh? That's too bad then, but you two still need to eat. Let's buy something to fill your stomach."

"Thank you, but there is no need for that Ms. Tan. We have packed lunches today because of our full schedule. We will eat them on the way to our next appointment. I hope you don't take our refusals to heart." Anne this time declined. She felt bad for having to say no. 

Seeing the look on Anne's face, Ms. Tan felt the need to soothe her worries. "Don't worry. I understand. I thought I would still have more time to talk with you two. Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed." She pouted.

"We are sorry." As if on cue, Maya and Anne apologized at the same. 

"Nah, it's ok. We will still hangout and stay in contact with each other, right? For sure, you won't refuse me with this." Ms. Tan gave them a look that they can't refuse.

"Of course we will be in contact." Anne smiled, while Maya nodded her head in agreement to Anne's statement.

"That's great! Then, when I ask you two, as long as you are not busy that day, you will have to hangout with me."

"We will." Maya replied with a smile.

"Also, don't be shy to contact me. If you want advice in love or about life in general, don't be shy to ask for my help. If someone bullied you two, I will do what I can. I'm not bragging, but if you bumped into a gigantic wall, I'm always ready to help. We just met, but I feel like we are destined to meet this day and to really get to know each other." Ms. Tan smiled and hold Anne's hand and Maya's too. "And of course, my husband can help too. Right?" She gave a familiar gaze at her husband.

The stoic looking husband is used to seeing this gaze of his wife. The said gaze is when his wife wants him to agree to anything she says. He nodded in agreement, not only because of his wife, but also because he felt some sort of connection with the ladies. He found them endearing, in which he rarely does, especially when it comes to the people he just met. 

"Thanks a lot Ms. Tan and Mr. Tan. Then we will do just that." Of course, Anne graciously accepted the offer. Since she and Maya have rejected them a couple of times already, she just felt the need to agree with the couple this time. What she forgot is that, they have already agreed to a lot of the couple's requests.. well, mostly the wife.

James reaches into his cargo pants's right side pocket, and pulled out what seems like a sleek and simple, silver metal business card holder. "Here. Don't hesitate to call me when you need help." He gave his card to Anne who is closer to him than Maya.

Anne took it graciously with both hands and slipped it into her black quilted leather card holder. "Thanks Mr. Tan."

"We have to go now. Nice meeting you again Ms. Tan and Mr. Tan." Maya informed, after she looked at her watch.

"See you two." Clara bid them goodbye, while James nodded at them to bid them goodbye.

The duo left the couple. Anne ate her lunch in the car, while Maya drove the car. Every stops, Anne would feed Maya. Maya will eat properly after they have arrived at their destination. While they were on the road, Anne was thinking about the couple they have just met. She is not gonna lie, she felt a bit intimidated at the couple on their initial meeting, but as they have interacted a bit more with them, Anne found them endearing and grounded. In the end, she just felt at ease in their presence.

"The Tan couple are nice." Anne told Maya out of the blue.

"Yes, they are. Despite being obviously rich, they are not snobbish."

"Mm... for some reason I like them."

"Same."

"I really do feel at ease with them, almost to a point where I feel like they could be my long lost relative, or something. Am I making sense? I mean, is that weird?"

"Nah. There are just those people who you feel some sort of connection with, despite just knowing them. I guess, good people can do that. Or.... a really good scammer can do that too. Not that I'm saying they are. You get my point."

"Yeah. Again, they are really nice."

"But just to make sure, we can search them up. You got Mr. Tan's business card, so we can try to snoop a bit."

"Ok. But, isn't that a bit too distrustful of us?"

"No, we are just being cautious and practical. We don't want to get scammed and regret it in the end, because we didn't do our homework. I mean, we are just making sure. We can tell them of our snooping, after we cleared them of the 'scammer' label.. etc."

"Makes sense."

Back at the couple, they are currently having their lunch at a five star restaurant that served authentic Chinese cuisines from different provinces. The restaurant is known for using their own organic produce, meats, seafoods, herbs and any ingredients that they need. They serve the in season ingredients, so they don't have a permanent menu, instead, they have what they call, menu of the day. In short, it is a restaurant that believes in sustainability.

The couple frequent this restaurant. They looked at the menu and ordered. A few minutes later, food comes in.

"Mmm.. smells good. I'm really famished."

"It does smell good." James said and started peeling off the prawns. After peeling them, he put them in a plate and slid them to his wife. He always does this every time there are shelling involved. 

"Thanks old man. You are the best. You have to eat too." Clara smiled and proceed to eat on her husband's labour of love, the plateful of shelled prawns.

"You are welcome." James smiled and started eating too.

They ate in relative silence after that, with the occasional pampering of James, of course. They enjoyed the food. After eating, they stayed for a bit in their private room to digest their food.

"What do you think of the ladies, old man?"

"They are nice."

"I know right. I really like that Anne. I don't know why, but I just pictured her with our son."

"Angelo?"

"Yes, Angelo." She confirmed. She went silent for a bit, contemplating something. "Speaking of Angelo, I'm going to call him."

Meanwhile in the Tan's Corporation, Angelo just sneezed. Last night he was sneezing too, maybe he have really caught a flu. 

Seeing and hearing the President sneeze, the ever observant Secretary Rod whipped out a tissue out of his pocket.

"Are you perhaps not feeling well, Mr. President?" Rod gave the tissue to his boss.

"No. I don't think so. Thanks." He received the tissue to wipe his nose.

Ring. Ring.

Angelo looked at his phone, and saw that it is his mom calling. "Hello."

"How's my son?"

"It seems that you are regularly calling me this past few days."

"Well, I just want to know how my workaholic and loveless son is doing." What a way to rub salt to her son's lack of romance.

"I'm good. Anything else mom?"

"Have you called your brother yet?"

"Mm."

"What did he say?"

"He will call you to inform of his decision."

"Good. Anyway, have you found a nice lady yet?"

"Mom, you just asked that yesterday."

"You are right, but I mean..."

"Mom."

"Son, I met this lady..."

"If you are going to match make me with someone, I'm not interested." Angelo cut off his mom mid speech. He is averse to match making.

"I know you hate match making, but this lady that I met is different. I'm sure you will like her."

"Mom, let me decide on my own. As I have said before, I'm not going to rush looking for someone." 

"Fine. You win. I'm not gonna match make you again. Find love on your own, see if you can find one before you grow 'old-old'.. hmph." Clara pouted. 

"Mom, I know you are worried. And I thank you for that."

"Whatever, I'm hanging up." Clara ended the call, sulking.

Angelo slid his phone into his pocket and sighed. His mom can be childish sometimes.

"Another match making, Mr. President?" Rod curiously asked.

"Mm."

'When is his mom going to stop? Does she not feel tired wasting her time match making him.? What if that new lady can't captivate him too, just like every lady his mom tried to match with him?' Angelo thought and sighed for the nth time.

If only he knew, who that lady is.

“I don’t believe I have fallen in love with you at first sight. That is too unrealistic. But what I’m sure of is, you’ve captivated me on our very first meeting.”     
                                                                                                          I'm already turning 35 years old this year and still a bachelor since birth. Don't get me wrong, I stayed single, not because I'm gay, nor asexual, nor unattractive, it is just because I haven't found the one yet. I do get attracted with some ladies sometimes but not to the point where I feel like there's a connection - a spark, that can be fostered into something. 

A memorable moment where it can be a bridge between two people and be the start of something your life has been needing for - love.                                                               

“Mr. your fly is open.”                                                          

“Huh....??” Say what?! Can someone please wake me up now!
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                                                       Disclaimer: 
                                                                                    Some scenes in the story might trigger bad memories or past traumatic experiences. I highly advice that you read at your own risk.

The story will progress a bit slow in the start to flesh-out the characters and their world and I hope you stay till the story really took off.
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                                                              Author’s Note:
                                                                                I’m still a green author. There are so much things to learn, and so, I welcome any ‘constructive criticism’ to improve my writing. 

In case of spelling, I use American and British English alternatively. Which sometimes, I’m not even aware that I kept switching between the two. Some example would be, color to colour, favor to favour, pajama to pyjama, and so and so forth. I apologize if some of you gets confused with the spellings.

In terms of grammar, I can’t guarantee a perfect grammar. Mistakes happen and I will try to correct them as much as possible.

Adding this story in your reading list and commenting on it will really help me stay motivated in continuing to write. I would be really ecstatic if you will.
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
                                                                            Update Info:
                                                                                       As of now, I make it a point to write at least 1000 words or more every chapter and upload at least 2x a week. I’m aware that I don’t upload as much as most authors here are. I could make up a lot of excuses but in all honesty... my excuse is that I’m living in the real world. That is what it is, plain & simple. I do hope you understand where I’m coming from. Unless, a certain condition is met. I’m not going to sugarcoat this...if in the future I can make money out of this, then it is a guarantee that I would do everything to upload a lot more, because who here doesn’t want money, right? \(>•

what does flu mean

what does love mean

Silent Hacker

The Biker Brothers and the Golden Baby

The Genius' First Love

Pet King

I Am A Prodigy

Siana

Path of Medicine With a System

My Arata Complex

Captivated at First Sight

People search what does flu mean also like: