There Must Be Something Wrong With This Game!

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: You’re Really Something

Duan Fei failed to catch up to Little Fatty.

It wasn’t because he was missing a leg, but because a group of uninvited guests had appeared at the hospital entrance.

They were green from head to toe, tall, and covered in fleshy sacs of indeterminable purpose. It made Duan Fei feel like they wouldn’t need any special effects to be cast in *Shrek the Monster*.

Although he couldn’t tell their exact age, Duan Fei felt that the oldest among these "kids" was no more than twenty, their facial expressions looking incredibly immature.

These were all children born after the nuclear war. The radiation had turned their bodies green, but it also led them to believe it was a divine gift, making them proud of their green hue.

Furthermore, having been born after the war, the collapse of science and culture meant they retained only basic social structures and customs, making them seem more like a pack of wild animals than humans.

They rode modified motorcycles, their engines revving and creating a shockingly loud, street-shaking roar.

Seeing these guys, Mary immediately grabbed a double-barreled shotgun from the back kitchen and aimed it at the lead Monster boy.

Seeing Mary pull out the shotgun, the lead boy laughed maniacally and raised his own weapon. A continuous stream of bullets hammered the spot where Mary was, pinning her down so she couldn’t even peek out.

"Go on, shoot me! Prove how brave you are!"

Laughing wildly, he bared his chest, a crazed grin spreading across his face as he invited Mary to shoot him.

When he saw that Mary wasn’t moving from behind cover, he pulled a revolver from his belt, took out half the bullets, spun the cylinder, and then pulled the trigger against his own temple.

With a loud CLICK, the Monster boy excitedly raised the revolver and shouted, "I am one of the chosen! I am the Messiah! I am the favorite, blessed by the Gods! I am immortal!"

"Hoorah!"

"Today is Hunting Day! Our prey is right ahead! Show the prey mercy, give the prey a chance to run. We’ll come back to hunt them later!"

Hoorah!"

Amidst the mountain-shaking cheers, the boys’ convoy retreated, departing with a deafening roar of engines, leaving behind nothing but a hospital marked by bullets.

Stepping out from cover, Mary watched the retreating Monster boys, her expression turning exceptionally grim.

She ran back to her camp, grabbed a suitcase, and started packing, while saying to Duan Fei, the other two old men, and the little girl named Alice, "We need to pack our things and leave. Now."

Seeing that the other three hadn’t moved, Mary roared, "Hurry up! They’re the Monster boys! They love to hunt any living thing that isn’t like them! Those little bastards have no empathy, no sense of human decency! The next time they come, the only thing we’ll be able to do is make it quick when they kill us!"

"What about the others?" Duan Fei asked immediately. "Didn’t they go out to look for supplies?"

"Don’t count on them. They’re not coming back. And even if they did, they’d just see the Monster boys’ hunting mark and run! Now, stop standing around! Grab whatever you think is most valuable and carry Alice. Let’s go!"

The three players looked back at the trash heap behind them, perfectly playing their roles as an amnesiac, an Alzheimer’s patient, and a senior citizen with developmental disabilities.

Finally, when Mary finished packing a suitcase, she saw that Duan Fei had found a Crowbar, Little Fatty had dug up a laptop that could still turn on, and Cuihua had found a Long Spear.

Letting out a long sigh, she said to Alice, "Alice, what did you pack?"

"Three doses of antibiotics, five boxes of painkillers, gauze, and a box of shotgun shells," Alice replied immediately.

"You three are worse than this child scout. But there’s no other choice. This is it. Hurry up, let’s move!"

But then she heard that familiar, street-shaking roar, and Mary’s expression changed again.

"It’s only been twenty minutes! Why are they back so soon!"

Grabbing Duan Fei, Mary pointed into the distance and said, "Run! Take Alice and your old friends and run!"

"What about you?"

"I’ll stay here. I can at least buy a few minutes."

Looking at Duan Fei, she hesitated for a moment, then suddenly hugged him and said, "Goodbye. This is the last time I’ll ever call you Dad. Take care of yourself, Dad."

"Uh... you’re my daughter?"

"Duh!"

"Then why didn’t you say so from the beginning?"

"Because there was no point! Because I’m sick of it! Every day, you wake up and forget everything, and I have to start all over again. And as I got older, it became harder and harder for you to accept the truth! But it doesn’t matter now. I’m about to die, so calling you Dad one last time is fine!"

After Mary finished speaking, Duan Fei felt a little moved.

She had painstakingly stayed here, watching over a father who forgot everything from the day before every time he woke up. The pain and despair in that were beyond words.

Although they could relive the warmth between father and daughter every day, that warmth could never accumulate. Instead, she had to face her father’s ever-growing suspicion day after day.

In the end, giving up was the only option. Staying silent was the only way to keep them both from getting hurt.

Gently hugging Mary, Duan Fei spoke softly in place of her father, Smith, "Thank you."

[You have felt your daughter’s filial piety. This filial piety pleases you. Your damage dealt is reduced by 5.]

Duan Fei: "..."

’Fine,’ he thought. ’This damn Gift of Chaos.’

’Reducing my damage at a time like this? You’ve really outdone yourself!’

Clutching his forehead, Duan Fei opened his panel. He saw that his Attributes hadn’t changed, but his Talent Effect was now displayed.

"Gift of Chaos: In this dungeon, when you feel another’s filial piety, you will receive an extra buff and your final damage will be reduced."

At the same time, a big (-5) was appended to his damage stat.

What did -5 even mean?

An ordinary person with a Crowbar would deal 4 damage with a full-force strike. Even a critical hit would only double that to 8.

With a 5-point deduction, it meant Duan Fei could barely deal any damage when hitting someone. He might even end up accidentally healing them or something.

’Wait a minute...’

’Healing?’

His eyes darted around. Duan Fei patted Mary’s back and said softly, "Call me ’Father’ one more time. I want to hear your voice again."

Mary’s eyes reddened as she murmured softly in Duan Fei’s embrace, "Dad."

"Mm."

[You have felt your daughter’s filial piety. This filial piety pleases you. Your damage dealt is reduced by 5.]

Seeing that his damage modifier was now at -10, Duan Fei gripped the Crowbar and calculated his current damage. He realized that no matter what, he could only deal negative damage now.

Crooking his finger, he beckoned Little Fatty over, then smashed the Crowbar down on his forehead.

"Ahhh... that feels good~"

Looking at Little Fatty’s ecstatic expression, Duan Fei gave him a thumbs-up.

’You’re really one of a kind!’