NOVEL NEXT Chapter 174: Something Supernatural
Seeing his former roommates in such a state, Ethan felt a pang of sorrow.
"What's wrong with them?" he asked.
JJ let out a long sigh and replied with frustration, "If only we knew. They were like this when we found them this morning. They've been here ever since, but the doctors haven't been able to figure out what's wrong."
As he spoke, a group of doctors entered the room. Men and women, young and old—there were over twenty of them. They conducted a series of examinations on the four patients lying in the beds.
One of the doctors turned to JJ and asked, "Have their families arrived yet?"
JJ explained that their families had been notified, but since they were all from out of town, it would take time for them to get here. The family of the fourth bro, Shawn, who lived the closest, should be arriving in Ember City soon.
The doctor nodded and told JJ to come find him once the families arrived. With that, the group of doctors began to leave.
Ethan quickly stepped forward. "What's wrong with them? What's their diagnosis?"
The doctor paused, glanced back at the four patients, and shook his head. "We've run every test we have. There's nothing wrong with them—at least, nothing we can detect."
With a look of helplessness, the doctor walked out.
JJ's face darkened, and he muttered under his breath, "Damn quacks. If you ask me, it's not a medical issue, it's something supernatural."
At his words, several of the departing doctors turned back, frowning. Some looked angry, but none of them said anything.
Ethan's heart skipped a beat.
In the past, Ethan would have dismissed the idea of "supernatural forces" as nonsense. But now, he couldn't help but wonder if JJ might be onto something.
Ethan and JJ stayed at the hospital to care for the four until the afternoon, when their families finally arrived. During that time, Ethan noticed something strange: although the four hadn't eaten anything, they kept asking for hot water. Not just warm water—scalding hot water, so hot that Ethan couldn't even imagine drinking it.
Yet, each of them downed three cups at a time.
Over the course of the afternoon, each of the four drank an average of two thermoses of boiling water. Strangely, despite consuming so much liquid, none of them needed to use the bathroom.
Once their families arrived, Ethan and JJ left the hospital. JJ, in particular, was exhausted. He'd been running around since morning and hadn't eaten a thing.
The two of them found a nearby place to grab a quick meal. As they ate, JJ suddenly asked, "Ethan, where are you staying now? Can I crash with you? I don't want to go back to the dorm."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
It wasn't that he minded having JJ stay over—he was just curious why JJ suddenly didn't want to return to the dorm.
JJ glanced around nervously before leaning in and whispering, "I think… I think Rowan and the others were cursed. The dorm's not safe."
"Not safe?" Ethan frowned, confused. "But you said they weren't even in the dorm last night, right?"
"At first, they weren't. I don't know where they went. But when I took off my VR helmet this morning, they were all lying in their beds. They hadn't even logged into the game."
JJ's face paled as he spoke, his voice trembling. "It scared the hell out of me."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice even further. "Because… my VR helmet didn't detect anyone entering the room. If it had, I would've known they were back."
Ethan's brow furrowed as he processed this. "So… you're saying they came back… cursed? And they bypassed the VR helmet's sensors?"
JJ nodded vigorously. "Exactly."
Hearing this, Ethan also found the situation strange. He watched as JJ kept glancing around nervously, as if he were on edge.
"Stay at my place tonight," Ethan said, standing up to pay the bill.
They took a taxi back to the school dorm first, as JJ needed to grab his VR helmet. Throughout the trip, JJ clung to Ethan, as if afraid he'd run off.
When they arrived at the dorm, Ethan stepped inside. It was the first time he'd been back here since his rebirth. Memories flooded his mind as he walked to his old bed and ran his hand over it, lost in thought.
"Third bro, let's go," JJ said, holding his VR helmet and tugging at Ethan's sleeve.
Ethan couldn't help but chuckle at JJ's behavior. He hadn't realized JJ could be so jumpy. The guy kept scanning the room, as if expecting something terrifying to pop out at any moment.
By the time they reached Ethan's villa, it was already dark. It was late October, and in Ember City—a northern city, the sun set early in winter. By 5 PM, the sky was pitch black.
JJ stood at the villa's entrance, his mouth hanging open in shock. "Third bro… this is your place? Did you get adopted by a sugar mommy or something?"
Ethan just smiled. He'd heard this kind of comment more than a few times. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire
Once inside, JJ acted like a kid in a candy store, gawking at everything. "There's a spare room on the third floor. Pick one and make yourself at home. If you're hungry, there's food in the fridge," Ethan said, not bothering to show him around. He treated JJ like family, so formalities weren't necessary.
Ethan hurried to the second floor. There were less than two minutes left before Ethereal went live, and he wanted to log in right on time to make sure he didn't miss Celeste if she came online.
As soon as he entered the game, the first thing he did was find NoPaperOnTheBigOne and sign a contract, transferring 1% of the shares in the All-You-Need chain to him.
NoPaperOnTheBigOne clenched his fists, visibly excited. "Boss, don't worry! I'll make sure these two shops thrive!"
"Just two shops? You're too easily satisfied," Ethan said, giving him a sidelong glance and a calm smile.
"Wait…" NoPaperOnTheBigOne's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you saying… there are more All-You-Need shops?"
Ethan shook his head. "Not yet, but there will be soon."
Under NoPaperOnTheBigOne's stunned gaze, Ethan patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, let's head to Springhaven and Blackridge."
With that, Ethan led the way toward the teleportation array. NoPaperOnTheBigOne followed in a daze, first to Springhaven and then to Blackridge.
When they arrived at the Level 2 shop in Blackridge, NoPaperOnTheBigOne felt like he was dreaming. He was filled with awe and admiration for Ethan, thinking to himself, How can I ever repay this man for everything he's done for me?
At that moment, he realized that the 1% share Ethan had given him would translate into an astronomical income.
Just yesterday, the Potion, engineering shop, and auction house in Ember City had brought in over $800,000 in revenue. His 1% share meant he'd earned $8,000 in a single day.
And that was just one day's earnings…