His eyes were heavy with the rheum that had accumulated throughout his sleep. His arms were aching when he tried to remove the dried up mucus and Jin felt as if he had been chained down for a very long time.
Only after rubbing his eyes did Jin start to realise that his body was incredibly dull and …damp?! “Oh shit…” Jin thought to himself as he noticed that it was not just him but the entire place which had been flooded with the dark sludge liquid.
It was even more viscous compared to his original iteration, but it was obvious that it was leaking not just around his bed, but it actually broke the door and glass of the room that he was residing in.
“JIN!” Peppers shouted angrily as she popped her head out of the room’s window. “THAT HURTS!” The little girl Bellator shouted as she wiped the dark sludge away from her face.
“Oh but this is comedy gold!” Peppers laughed while pointing downwards. As the Dungeon Supplier was strapped to his bed, he could not clearly see what was happening.
“Shut up!” Milk argued in a disgusted voice as she stood up all drenched in her sleepwear.
“Who asked you to change into your sleepwear? You are totally translucent now. So baggy! Ahhahaha!” Peppers continued making fun of her, but Milk showed no mercy and grabbed her.
“Sheeesh! Better than the flat slopes that you have!” Milk replied while grinding her fist on top of Peppers’ head.
“That was really unexpected…” Pei started to remove the formerly white (but now dark chocolate colour) coat and threw it on the floor.
“Oh hey… Ladies?” Jin felt something similar to an impending doom when Pei walked closer to him as she folded her shirt sleeves up. But instead of a punch or slap, she actually performed her role as a physician and merely checked his vitals and some other parameters.
“Everything seems to be in order,” Pei concluded after the last step of the checkup in which she shone light into Jin’s eyes. “Looks like you finally returned. Well, it’s been long enough.” Pei heaved out a sigh of relief while trying to remove some of the stains.
Not before long, Panda Cleaners started to come in and whiff away all the sludge out of the room while Peppers and Milk decided to return back to their respective rooms for a much needed change of clothes, leaving Pei with Jin alone.
“How long have I been out?” Jin asked as he felt his body was stuck on the bed mainly because of the dark sludge overflow.
“It’s been decades. At first, the girls stayed at your site, but eventually they had to move on with your life. It took Lynn about 15 years, whereas Qiu Yue stayed here by your side for 4. Nevertheless, both managed to live comparatively happy lives afterwards. Unfortunately, they are no longer with us.” Pei answered nonchalantly, but Jin had his jaw dropped.
“No way! You are kidding, right? I don’t think that I passed out that long.” Jin refused to believe what he had just heard and tried to look around for his phone, but it was nowhere to be found.
“We have kept your store going, but after around two years, the customers stopped coming. They could somehow tell that the new instances we introduced lacked the charm of previous versions. Without you, the monsters could not give it their all, so it had to be closed down. Similarly it felt wrong to open up Pandapolis without you, so it hasn’t been used. The only relief you have is the Demon Metropolis. Although that place has been repeatedly invaded because of the new tech we had introduced. So not much left there either.” Pei listed everything while checking her nails.
The Panda Cleaner picked her coat up, (now all white again thanks to Panda System Magic) and Pei stuck her hand into one of the pockets, picking out his phone.
Jin was sitting in the sick bed in awe and could not believe the date on his phone. The timestamp was eighty years from now, and he did not know whether to tear from the fact. “Then the System kept me alive here for these eighty years?” Jin asked.
“You’ve achieved a miracle by allowing the System to improve its processing capabilities for the first time in centuries. There was barely anyone that had ever done something like that, and the System believes that you could continue to do so as long as you are kept alive. Speaking of, there’s also the problem, that you are now the only original Panda Clan Member remaining. All the more reason for it to keep you around.” Pei shared while she began to unbutton her clothes when the Panda Cleaner gave her a new set of fresh clothes.
“Before they left, the System convinced the Sub System Users to part with some of their eggs in a cryofreeze compartment. I, however, recommend you to fertilise them all. Especially since they possessed Sub Systems of their own. Who knows what special genes they might have once the System modified their body to take on the Sub System modules.” Pei suggested as she went to a corner and pulled the curtains so that she could change.
“I…” Jin was at a loss of words, and he ignored the Panda Cleaner’s presence. The cleaners had to pull him out of the bed because of his sudden shock and changed everything except for the monitoring wires that were still on him.
“Any preferences on who I should start with? Unfortunately, the System was unable to get the genes of the Tiger Princes. No, it would be more appropriate to call her Ex Tiger Queen. It’s too bad because her firstborn daughter had led the Royal Tigers to another Golden Age, even more so than herself.” Pei literally threw her dirty clothes out of the way and wore new ones.
“I am not choosing! If anything, I will continue with my work.” Jin stated as he leaned on the wall for support.
“You sure? It might be best to try to have offspring before it’s too late. Not sure how much your body can handle. This room has been set to dilate time, but that doesn’t mean your body hasn’t aged at all.” Pei asked for a confirmation, but Jin shook his head.
“I am sure. Just give me some time to process all this information.” Jin pleaded. He didn’t know how long it would take him to adjust to the new norm.
… fortunately, he wouldn’t have to find out.
“See? I told you, that’s how he would react! Even up until the end, he prioritises work!” A familiar voice was overheard from the broken windows and then a mix of giggling and sighs.
“Well, if you had let this play out for a day or two, he might have changed his mind.” Pei shrugged her shoulders when she came out from the curtains.
“Wait…wait, wait! Wait a minute! So, it was ALL a prank? Pei played a prank on me?” Jin’s brain was unable to understand this change. He could only conclude that he had been bamboozled once Qiu Yue and Lynn emerged from their hiding spot, waving their hands even though they were equally drenched in Jin’s dark sludge.
“Pei decided to have some revenge on you for making us all worry.” Qiu Yue confessed with a smirk.
“Welcome back.” Lynn bowed a little with a tinge of happiness in her heart and a small tear in the corner of her eye.
