Not long after, Zhong Yan left the Cunning Hares's apartment.
He had thought he'd only stayed there for a short while, but upon stepping outside, he realized it was already night.
Apparently, when a person is mentally overwhelmed, even their perception of time can become distorted.
Instead of going straight home, Zhong Yan made his way to the top of a tall building.
This was a place he often came to when he wanted to be alone.
After the summer break, New Eridu's temperatures had dropped noticeably. Up here, on the exposed rooftop of the high-rise, the wind howled past his ears with a biting chill.
Zhong Yan sat on the edge of the rooftop, staring up at the moon—now mysteriously half-eroded—his expression a little distant.
The reason he felt so dazed was... he was going to be a father.
In truth, he was well past eighteen, so having a child wasn't particularly shocking. But it had all come so suddenly.
For a first-time father, it was only natural to need time to process it all.
And then, another new problem surfaced.
When the child's born... how am I going to explain this to Ellen and Belle?
Wait—Ellen...
Something clicked in his mind. He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed Ellen's number.
He didn't bother sending a message. Calling directly showed just how urgent he felt.
A few rings later, the line connected—and Ellen's mildly irritated voice came through the receiver: "What is it? I was about to shower. The water's already running, so make it quick."
Normally, Zhong Yan would've cracked a mischievous joke about showering together. But this time, he didn't have the heart. He cut straight to the point.
"Ellen, uh... have you been feeling unwell lately? Like... like nausea, for no reason?"
The second the words left his mouth, Ellen hung up.
Clearly, she understood what he was trying to ask.
Before he could call again, a string of texts appeared on his screen.
[Ellen: You]
[Ellen: Better]
[Ellen: Get]
[Ellen: Lost]
Yeah. She was mad. But at least she hadn't blocked him—which meant she was just angry, not done.
Okay. This can still be salvaged.
Judging from her reaction, Ellen hadn't been affected. That was a relief.
It seemed the odds of cross-species... consequences between Xiren and humans were significantly lower.
Still, not zero. Otherwise, Xiren wouldn't exist in the first place.
...
At that very moment, while Zhong Yan was busy processing the fact that he was about to become a dad, another surprising thing was happening—Pei, who was supposed to be waiting for him at home, had quietly snuck out.
Carrying its wallet, it nimbly avoided every street surveillance camera and made its way to the subway station.
As a precaution against being identified as a Nin-Village Bangboo by the Public Security Bureau, it had disguised itself just enough to blend in—at least enough that it didn't stand out at a glance.
Once at the station, it boarded a subway train. Following Zhong Yan's teachings, it carefully hid its wallet to prevent it from being stolen—and to avoid beating potential thieves into critical condition.
Pei's destination was Lumina Square.
There, a friend of its was waiting.
Soon, the train arrived. Pei hopped off at its stop and bounded out of the station.
As soon as it reached the exit, it spotted its friend, who had been waiting for some time—One-Denny-Boo.
They had met once on Ninth Street, and it was there that their friendship had been formed.
Today was their promised playdate. The timing was a bit late, since Pei had to take care of Zhong Yan during the day and only got out after finishing dinner.
"Eh-ne! (Pei, I'm over here!)" One-Denny-Boo called out excitedly, waving both arms the moment it saw her.
Pei's eyes lit up, and it called back in delight.
Two little Bangboo—without any way to contact each other—had managed to meet up on the strength of a verbal promise alone.
"Eh-ne eh-ne! (One-Denny-Boo, didn't you say your friend needed a battery to survive? How's it doing now?)" Pei asked once it calmed down.
Hearing this, One-Denny-Boo's cheerful mood suddenly dipped: "Eh-ne... (Not great. The battery didn't help. The 100 Denny you gave me... was wasted.)"
"Eh-no? (Why? Doesn't your friend need a battery to keep functioning?)"
"Eh-ne... (My friend's a cat...)"
That was when Pei finally understood why the battery hadn't worked.
Living with Zhong Yan, it had picked up common knowledge that most Bangboo lacked—like the fact that cats don't run on batteries. They need medicine to heal.
So, Pei proposed taking One-Denny-Boo's friend to the hospital. After a long pause, One-Denny-Boo finally nodded in agreement.
Soon, they arrived at the place where the injured friend was waiting.
It was a white cat with an injured leg. The wound had already begun to fester. If left untreated, the cat might lose its leg entirely.
Pei wasted no time. Together with One-Denny-Boo, it rushed the cat to the hospital located in the center of Lumina Square.
Most of the doctors were off duty at this hour. Only a nurse remained at the front desk.
When she saw two small Bangboo running in with a cat, the nurse was momentarily stunned.
Before she could say anything, Pei leapt onto the counter and shouted, "Eh-ne eh-ne! (My friend is hurt—please treat him! I have Denny, I have lots and lots of Dennies!)"
As Pei spoke, it pulled out its wallet and dumped its entire contents on the counter. The total amount... was well over a hundred thousand.
If that money wasn't stolen, then it was hard to imagine just how wealthy the family this Bangboo belonged to really was.
Still, the nurse didn't immediately agree to its request. Instead, she replied as if reading from a protocol manual:
"I'm sorry, but this isn't a pet hospital. Also, patients here need to have proper registration records. Do you have those? If not, you'll need to bring your owner here."
As she finished speaking, she pushed the Dennies back toward Pei.
"It's hospital policy, you see."