Chapter 52: Coroner: On Duty

Yue Yiyue leaned against the doorframe, quietly watching Gu Nanqiu watch TV on the sofa.

A vibrating message on her phone reminded Yue Yiyue that time was almost up.

They both had classes in the afternoon.

What if something happened to Gu Nanqiu alone in the classroom?

Or perhaps she would get brainwashed during class, and after it ended, Yue Yiyue would see Gu Nanqiu holding hands with a stranger, smiling sweetly at her and saying she had found her true love.

Although that would pinpoint the target who needed to die, it would still be unfair to Gu Nanqiu.

Holding hands with the Timid Ghost stalking her—that scene was too disgusting…

Thinking of this, Yue Yiyue felt unusually irritated, tinged with a hint of anxiety.

She walked gloomily to the sofa, her face expressionless.

Gu Nanqiu noticed Yue Yiyue’s change in mood right away.

“Are you still worried about this?” Gu Nanqiu paused the TV, her tea-colored eyes looking at Yue Yiyue with a trace of guilt. “Yiyue, can you escort me to class and pick me up after?

“If you’re still not reassured, install surveillance at home.

“You can also put a Tracker on me!

“Or skip class this afternoon and attend with me—that’s a good option too.”

Hearing Gu Nanqiu’s suggestions, Yue Yiyue didn’t reply right away. Instead, she stood there seriously weighing their feasibility.

It seemed worth considering.

After installing surveillance, adding a Tracker would let her know Gu Nanqiu’s location anytime, anywhere.

If something happened and she couldn’t rush over immediately, but if they went to class together, that problem would be solved.

In this special situation, the suggestion was indeed great.

“You’re right.” After calmly analyzing the options in her mind, Yue Yiyue met Gu Nanqiu’s gaze. “I’ll implement it for the time being.”

The conversation felt strange and carried an eerie undertone.

But the two involved acted completely normal, as if they had just held a serious meeting

and issued a grave decision.

“Mm!” Gu Nanqiu’s eyes lit up instantly, a big smile blooming on her face.

This outcome was beyond Gu Nanqiu’s expectations; she had thought Yue Yiyue would refuse.

……

Gu Nanqiu tried her best to suppress her pounding heart. She walked to Yue Yiyue’s side, hugged her, rested her head on Yue Yiyue’s shoulder to hide her slightly reddened eyes, and nuzzled her affectionately.

‘Occupy me, turn me into your possession.’

She planted a dragonfly-light kiss on Yue Yiyue’s soft, fluffy little face. “As you wish, I’ll let you know my status every moment, but I have a few better suggestions. Want to hear them?”

Gu Nanqiu’s voice grew more excited. “Yiyue, how about locking me up right here?

“Like in some novels, make me your canary in this place?

“Then, the things you’re worried about won’t happen at all.

“This will be our safest Nest.”

The joy of Yue Yiyue wanting to control her overwhelmed Gu Nanqiu’s mind; she directly discarded so-called human morals and laws.

Her head was filled only with becoming Yue Yiyue’s possession.

Gu Nanqiu caught Yue Yiyue off guard and squeezed her, causing both to tumble onto the sofa.

Yue Yiyue looked at Gu Nanqiu’s flushed cheeks from excitement. Her hand subconsciously supported Gu Nanqiu’s slender waist.

Yue Yiyue did not find Gu Nanqiu’s sudden words strange.

Instead, it brought a sense of reassurance.

She reached up to stroke Gu Nanqiu’s fluffy head, fingers rubbing her ears reddened from agitation. “No, this university is what you worked hard to get into.

“But if we’re still together after graduation… if you don’t want to work, stay home. I’ll work hard to give you the life you want.”

Gu Nanqiu just wanted to stay home; it wasn’t like destroying the Earth. This small wish—if she could accompany Gu Nanqiu to the end—she would surely fulfill it…

Meanwhile, two little figures started fighting in Yue Yiyue’s mind. Did she really have to attend this class?

No, staying here might even make her useful to those things.

Her SAN Value had been unstable yesterday, nearly letting Them in.

Her mental state was too poor.

Although her body was relaxed, her mind was tense, liable to collapse anytime.

She might eventually break at some moment, like Xie Ying, choosing suicide.

After a tug-of-war between rational and emotional thinking, Yue Yiyue finally called in sick.

But she did not stay in the room; instead, she decided to find the Coroner.

Perhaps the Coroner had something that could save her precarious mental state again.

Something to make her a bit calmer.

————

It was still that hospital.

Yue Yiyue stood at the hospital entrance and checked her phone again.

A chat bubble from the seaweed-haired, gold-rimmed glasses woman popped up. “This time the front desk nurse will tell you where to go. Don’t run; we’re colleagues. We won’t let you die.”

Recalling how the Coroner had deliberately scared her last time, Yue Yiyue took a deep breath.

She went to the front desk and, under the nurse’s robotic guidance, walked through the long corridor again to the Coroner’s office.

This time, Yue Yiyue wasn’t terrified. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt—her mind easing step by step.

It was as if some invisible thing was gently soothing her nerves bit by bit.

Just like yesterday’s call with her mom.

This was something she had not felt last time.

Creak—the door was pushed open.

The Coroner sat behind a pear wood desk, several plates of food arranged on it. She savored them delicately.

Seeing Yue Yiyue arrive, she pointed to the sofa nearby. “Sit yourself. We’re so familiar now. The site you provided—they shut it down. We didn’t grab extra info.

“But why aren’t you watching your good friend today?” The Coroner still had that effortlessly composed demeanor, though her chest name plaque had changed to Special Police Force.

Below it was not her name, but a strange term—Gluttony Caretaker.

It was odd, but it had nothing to do with Yue Yiyue, so she looked away. “Thanks for handling that. She’s cunning too.

“I have some other matters to deal with. I feel if I don’t handle my own issues, I’ll become her burden sooner or later.”

Saying this brought no imagined sadness, but a sense of relief.

Admitting she was not needed didn’t seem so hard.

Yue Yiyue sat on the sofa and recounted everything from yesterday.

At the end, she looked at the Coroner. “Do you know where to buy a Tracker? You should understand. Only then will I feel at ease, like now—I’m here, but I really want to call Gu Nanqiu, hear her voice.”

“I know this isn’t normal—these actions are crazy.” Yue Yiyue paused awkwardly. “But Gu Nanqiu accepted it.

“No matter what kind of me, she takes it all, including me agreeing to put a Tracker on her.

“She didn’t think I’m crazy; she was happy.”

The Coroner listened to Yue Yiyue’s account, casually lifting her wrist. Mental Value 17…

Hmm, normally humans would choose suicide at such low Mental Value, but Yue Yiyue was just a bit muddled in speech, lowering her moral bottom line again.

Come to think of it, she had never seen Yue Yiyue fully collapse, not even when they were ordinary humans.

“Sorry for making you listen to so much nonsense.” After pouring out the words pent up inside, Yue Yiyue felt much better than when she arrived—at least her taut nerves had relaxed a lot.

Perhaps some device in the room was regulating her emotions.

“Coroner, can I ask if there’s anything to stabilize my mental state? I feel like this way, I’ll do something I’ll regret.” Yue Yiyue sat on the sofa, her eyes filled with unnoticed confusion and a trace of fear of the unknown.

Silence fell in the room.

The Coroner thought quietly, while Yue Yiyue waited.

“No, you don’t need it. Your mental state has always been stable, and for you, stability isn’t good.” After pondering, the Coroner sent her preliminary assessment of Yue Yiyue to Ye Qiu.

“You’ve been suppressing yourself, tying yourself down with so many things. Why not release here?

“Here, you’re not that insignificant, polite-to-everyone little delivery girl Yue Yiyue.”

The Coroner softened her voice. A dark red light flashed in her eyes, and the world went silent. In Yue Yiyue’s vision, only the Coroner’s seaweed-like long hair remained, like a heavy net capturing her in one fell swoop.

The voice continued to guide gently. “Yue Yiyue, isn’t it good to take your rightful identity and do as you please?

“She went to such lengths to create this world, not for you to cower like a Timid Ghost, unable to do anything.”

The Coroner approached Yue Yiyue, sweet food scent wafting over, followed by a dainty watch with a golden osmanthus dial. “This is from your old acquaintance, entrusted to me for you.”

————

She didn’t know how she’d said goodbye to the Coroner.

When Yue Yiyue came to, she was already on the bus back to school.

Trees streaked past in reverse, and Yue Yiyue felt an unprecedented lightness.

She looked at the watch now on her wrist and curiously touched the dial. A small blue screen appeared before her.

On the blue screen was a red dot, located at C University’s Computer Teaching Building.

With one glance, Yue Yiyue knew this was the Tracker she wanted.

She fondled it like a child with a beloved toy.

At the same time, she noticed the number beside the dial jumping upward.

17…

23…

47…

Finally stopping at 69.

This must be the Mental Value.

Yue Yiyue did not know why she was so certain, but she trusted her intuition.

She pressed the button nearby, and a small, exquisite dagger appeared in her hand.

With four blood grooves.

Very practical.

Her phone vibrated, interrupting her exploration. She pulled it out—it was that unblockable special number, with one line:

“A small gift, please accept. If you want to thank me later, come to A City soon.”

————

In the bus’s most inconspicuous seat, she quickly figured out the watch’s functions. Yue Yiyue got off with the excitement of presenting a treasure and rushed toward the Computer Teaching Building.

She could show this to Gu Nanqiu soon! She now had a little treasure, which might help…

It might protect her.

With such thoughts, Yue Yiyue weaved through the crowd, oblivious to the strange looks from those nearby.

She arrived hurriedly at the Computer Teaching Building five minutes before class ended.

Yue Yiyue stood at the back door of the lecture hall, giving herself two minutes to catch her breath. She subconsciously touched the watch on her wrist, thinking how to explain it to Gu Nanqiu.

And how to describe its origin.

But soon she noticed the huge lecture hall lacked the teacher’s voice or students’ discussions.

The quiet was too strange.

Yue Yiyue looked up to confirm the floor—it was the building she’d escorted Gu Nanqiu to, that classroom.

The one where she had seen Gu Nanqiu enter and choose her seat.

Holding her breath, lightening her steps, Yue Yiyue pushed the back door open a tiny crack.

Instantly, every student in the classroom turned back in unison, staring straight at her.

Inside, Xie Ying sat right by the door, her hollow, lifeless eyes fixed on Yue Yiyue as if gazing upon a dying person.

Behind them, the blackboard was densely covered with:

“I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.”

“I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.”

“I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.”

And the seat where Gu Nanqiu should have been sitting.

Was empty.