https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-41-Mountain-Pool-Haunted-House-Arc-1-/13510921/
Chapter 40
Chapter 40
At 2 p.m., the intercom buzzed, jolting Feng Bu Jue awake. He felt groggy and irritable. Though he’d bathed his cat that morning at the pet clinic, running errands after returning home had eaten up over half an hour. He’d barely managed to collapse onto the couch—clothes still on—for a nap that had lasted only six hours.
Stumbling to the door, he grabbed the intercom receiver. "Who is it?"
"Us", Wang Tan Zhi replied. "Judge Bao’s here too."
"Did the door open?" Feng Bu Jue pressed the unlock button, yawning.
"Yeah, yeah. Let us in."
A minute later, the two rode the elevator upstairs. Walking down the corridor, they rang Feng Bu Jue’s doorbell. He peered through the peephole before opening the door. Without greeting them, he trudged back to the couch.
Wang Tan Zhi and Judge Bao let themselves in, placing a pizza and a six-pack of beer on the coffee table. Heading straight to the kitchen, they grabbed plates and chopsticks.
"Hey, Feng Bu Jue, since when do you have a cat?" Wang Tan Zhi noticed a spotted cat napping on the couch.
"You don’t see the litter box in the corner? Of course I adopted it." Feng Bu Jue cracked open a beer, swigging it like mouthwash before swallowing.
"When did you get it?"
"This morning." He belched. "Don’t think it’s asleep. Cats are alert—even if they nap sixteen hours a day, their ears twitch at the slightest sound, which means…"
Xiao Tan reached for the cat, but it sprang awake, darting behind the couch. Xiao Tan lurched forward, losing balance and stumbling.
Judge Bao returned with napkins and plates, shooing Xiao Tan onto the couch. "Why the sudden cat obsession?"
Feng Bu Jue shrugged. "Fate. We bonded."
The "sudden" puzzled them—Feng Bu Jue had owned a cat as a kid. A neighbor’s elderly cat had kittens; he raised one for thirteen years until it passed.
"Named it yet?"
"Assass."
Judge Bao spat out his beer. "You could’ve picked something normal—like Coco or Max!"
Feng Bu Jue snapped his fingers. The cat turned its head, meowing.
"See? Perfect fit", Feng Bu Jue said, pointing at the cat’s unimpressed face.
"Posting this online", Xiao Tan said, pulling out his phone.
Feng Bu Jue yanked the curtains open, scooping up Assass. Holding the cat aloft like Simba in The Lion King, he intoned, "My son… your name echoes across Azeroth… Arthas…"
Wang Tan Zhi filmed the bewildered cat in 360 degrees.
"Are you two twelve?!" Judge Bao snapped. "Acting like middle schoolers!"
Sheepishly, they sat down. Assass retreated to a cushion.
"Why’re you free this week?" Feng Bu Jue asked.
"My wife took the kid to her parents’."
"Permanent or temporary?"
"Bite me! Her mom missed her granddaughter."
"Sure looks like paradise to you", Feng Bu Jue smirked.
Wang Tan Zhi grabbed the remote. "What’s this week’s movie theme?"
"So-bad-it’s-good marathon", Feng Bu Jue said.
"Seriously? Last time we talked about those infamously awful films everyone’s slept on—Ghost Rider? Daredevil?"
"Same director", Feng Bu Jue confirmed.
Wang Tan Zhi browsed. "How about The Twilight Saga? Seven movies now—two more added by 2055."
"Never watched one", Judge Bao shrugged.
"Razzie Awards dominated seven categories. Twenty years later, dubbed one of the century’s worst trilogies."
"Wait—Twilight, Battlefield Earth, and Jack and Jill?"
"Yep. Jack and Jill swept the Razzies in 2012", Feng Bu Jue said. "Let’s suffer together."
"Fine."
Two hours later…
"Still alive?" Judge Bao asked, staring at the credits.
Wang Tan Zhi glumly eyed the floor. "I’ve lost something sacred."
Feng Bu Jue stared at the sunlight. "My brain’s been violated."
"Next: sci-fi and comedy. Comedy first", Judge Bao grimaced.
Ninety minutes later…
"Al Pacino’s legacy, ruined", Wang Tan Zhi muttered.
"Worst script ever", Feng Bu Jue groaned. "Judge Bao?"
Snoring. Eyes open.
"Traitorous civil servant", Feng Bu Jue muttered.
After midnight, Feng Bu Jue slid into his gaming pod, logging in via sleep mode.
[Access Type: Sleep Mode. Adjusting… Adjustment complete. Set Load Game time or return.]
[Setting confirmed. Connection initiates 6 April 2055, 1:00 AM. Goodnight.]
He drifted off.
Consciousness returned in the familiar elevator. The screen displayed: 6 April, 1:00 AM. Time froze—no ticking seconds. Sleep mode’s quirk.
Wang Tan Zhi’s party invite popped up. Joining, Feng Bu Jue saw Long Ao Min already in the group—Xiao Tan had queued him earlier.
"Big news!" Wang Tan Zhi blurted.
"Someone hit level 20?"
"Wow, you knew?!"
"Lucky guess."
"Actually", Long Ao Min said, "the first level-20 player emerged around 12:30 real time."
Feng Bu Jue checked the group panel: Long Ao Min level 13, Xiao Tan 11. They’d farmed solo content earlier.
"System announced it in the login hub—forums are exploding", Long Ao Min added.
Feng Bu Jue opened the official thread. Title: [Congratulations to "Fearless Hero", First Player to Reach Level Cap in Closed Beta Phase!]
(End of Chapter)
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