My starting summon is a small skeleton

Quancheng Hospital.

Lu Wu saw Lin Jianying and his goblin outside Granny Li's operating room once again.

Lin Jianying was squatting in the corner, arms around his knees, his head buried deeply in his arms, slightly trembling, resembling an abandoned cub.

Beside him stood the currently helpless Goblin Warrior.

Lu Wu didn't disturb them, instead, while picking up his sister who rushed towards him as soon as she saw him, he asked Li Ruyu, who had come with him the day before, "Mom, wasn't Granny Li in good health? How did she suddenly become seriously ill, and what's the situation now? Is the surgery likely to be successful?"

Mentioning this, Li Ruyu couldn't help but sigh deeply.

"The doctor said Granny Li had been sick for a while, but she never mentioned it and didn't seek medical attention, always hiding it and enduring it so that Lin wouldn't find out.

Adding to that, Lin has been busy lately and didn't pay much attention, only realizing it when it was already too late."

"Right now, Granny Li's condition isn't very promising. The doctor said they can only try their best to save her, but after all, she is already over seventy, and it's hard to say whether she'll pull through.

And even if she survives this, her physical condition is still..."

As she spoke, Li Ruyu couldn't help but turn her head to look at Lin Jianying in the corner.

"Moreover, since Lin brought Granny Li here yesterday, he's been like this, not eating for an entire day."

Lu Wu knew about the affection between Lin Jianying and his grandmother.

He also knew that Lin was blaming himself, blaming himself for not caring enough for his grandmother, which led to the current situation.

As Lu Wu glanced at Lin Jianying, Li Ruyu bit her lip.

"Lu Lu, you're here; why don't you go and persuade him to eat something? He's always listened to you since you were kids."

"Me?"

Lu Wu was startled, but he didn't refuse, "Alright, I'll try."

Saying that, Lu Wu put his sister down and picked up a box of food silently handed over by his father, approaching Lin Jianying.

Lin Jianying, hearing footsteps, thought it was the doctor or Lu Haikong coming. He immediately raised his head: "How's the surgery..."

Stopping mid-sentence, Lin Jianying realized it was Lu Wu and had a choked-up reaction, his eyes instantly moistening.

Clearly, Lu Wu's arrival was unexpected and quite impactful to him.

If Lu Wu had a human favorability detector like the 'Golden Finger,' he would certainly see something like [Favorability Increase +99][Success in Strategy]above Lin Jianying's head.

Unfortunately, Lu Wu didn't have such a 'Golden Finger,' missing a chance to open the doors to a new world.

"Why are you here?" Lin Jianying whispered.

"I heard Granny Li was ill, so I came to check on her.

Haven't eaten, have you? Here!"

Lu Wu bluntly handed over the box of food. Lin Jianying, not having eaten or drank anything from yesterday till now, was surprised and took the food.

Then, holding the box, he looked at Lu Wu with eyes gradually reddening.

This scene made Lu Wu particularly uncomfortable, frowning, "What are you looking at me for? Eat!"

Seeing Lu Wu frown, Lin Jianying no longer dared to look and obediently opened the box, began eating hurriedly, but choked after just a few bites.

With a sigh of helplessness, Lu Wu passed him a bottle of water.

"Slow down, no one's competing with you!"

After gulping down some water, Lin Jianying slowed down his eating, occasionally casting cautious glances at Lu Wu.

This behavior strongly gave Lu Wu the impression of looking at a male version of Dudu.

How did this childhood friend manage to make them all behave this way?

Moreover, having raised friends like that, how could he simply see his past self summon 'Little Skeleton' and immediately break away himself?

Hmm, why Lin Jianying chose to go solo was a question Lu Wu had not previously delved deeply into.

After all, he wasn't his past self and had no intention of winning Lin Jianying back, so naturally had no reason to investigate further. When he first arrived, he even thought having fewer childhood friends was better to avoid dealing with complicated interpersonal relationships.

Now, seeing Lin Jianying acting so much like Dudu, Lu Wu felt some curiosity to reflect on it.

With Lu Wu mastering the memories of his predecessor, the reason for Lin Jianying's solo journey was easy to figure out.

Lu Wu remembered that back when he was close with this guy, the guy often vowed to become a professional summoner and find his parents.

Knowing this fixation of his, it wasn't hard to guess why he went solo.

And in front of Lu Wu, acting like Dudu, he completely dared not show up before Lu Wu to speak of this matter.

He was afraid to bring up going solo in front of Lu Wu.

So, after they summoned their beasts, he opted for the simplest tactic.

But although Lu Wu guessed the reason, he wasn't prepared to forgive—or rather to speak of forgiveness might be inappropriate—as Lu Wu never really took the matter to heart.

Neither before, nor now.

Knowing the reason wouldn't lead him to reconcile with this cheap childhood friend because he was not his past self, and Lin Jianying was not Dudu. Maybe they could remain ordinary friends moving forward, but Lu Wu felt there was no need to develop it further.

...

Lu Wu and Dudu didn't stay too long at Quancheng Hospital.

It just so happened that Granny Li's surgery was nearing its end.

Half an hour later, the surgery ended—successfully saving Granny Li, though she remained in a coma.

After seeing Granny Li, Lu Wu took Dudu and his three-year-old sister, Ni Ni, home.

Li Ruyu worried that Lin Jianying alone might not take proper care of Granny Li, so she decided to stay and help.

Lu Haikong, seen by Lu Wu as a devoted, faithful man and father, naturally stayed wherever his wife was!

...

Meanwhile, as Lu Wu left the hospital for home, in the Underground Cave Secret Realm, a young guy who had friended Lu Wu earlier received a call.

On the other end, a low, husky voice spoke, "Black Fox, there's a task I need you to handle."

The young man, or rather Black Fox, nodded immediately, "Please give your order!"

"I want you to investigate someone for me, I'll send you the details soon.

Find out everything about him within three days, remember, everything, and keep an eye on his movements. Notify me immediately if he leaves the city!"

"Yes!"

The brief conversation ended and soon after, Black Fox received a message on his phone.

The message contained all the personal details of the person, along with information related to him.

Seeing the information, Black Fox couldn't help but smirk.

"Fate indeed serves strange paths, didn't expect to interact with you so soon."

...

Tomorrow's chapter will be out by 12 pm, I'll strive to overcome my habit of brevity aiming for a 4,000 to 5,000 words chapter.