Later
Thanks to the unknown Bangboo calling for help, 'Caelus' was dragged into the hospital. His injury has been treated, and now, he's sitting on an empty bed, hands covered with bandages, and raccoon-coloured Bangboo sitting on his lap.
"Great," 'Caelus' mutters in annoyance. "It wasn't enough that I got myself teleported into Hollow, but after surviving, I got my asses dragged into the hospital with injuries with possibly an overcharged bill...."
The Bangboo heard his rant and immediately looked downcast, its ears flopped, and the screen displayed a pair of sad eyes. 'Caelus' notices this immediately and feels guilty before patting his head.
"I'm not blaming you, little guy." 'Caelus' says gently. "I...am just a bit frustrated, but I am not blaming you. Thanks for calling for help..." This immediately cheers the Bangboo, displaying its happiness through the eyes on its screen. 'Caelus' chuckles at this before noticing someone entering the room.
Upon seeing who is entering the room, 'Caelus' goes stiff. The person is a short loli with dark green pigtailed hair, wearing a blue tank top and very short pants covered with gears, but still exposing a lot of skin. 'Caelus' knows who this woman is, Qingyi of the Public Security, the android loli knows how to stun everyone with her three-section staff, and for the morally questionable people, her young appearance.
'Caelus' wonders why she is here before realizing that he just got out of the Hollow not long ago. From the resident's perspective, he's basically an illegal Hollow Raider. This realization causes 'Caelus' to gulp nervously.
"Greetings," The loli, Qingyi, greets with a smile. "Apologies for the intrusion. I am Qingyi of the Public Security, and I would like to ask a few questions, if you don't mind."
"Um, sure...?" 'Caelus' agrees without a second thought. He would rather avoid troubles with the Public Security, especially with Qingyi of all people.
"Appreciate your cooperation," Qingyi says with a nod. "Now, how should I address you, young man?"
"Please call me Caelus," 'Caelus says before stopping. He was pretty sure he was trying to say his name, but he ended up saying Caelus!?!
'That's not my name, it's Caelus!' He froze as his face turned pale. He can't even think of his name! When he tried, 'Caelus' pops up in his mind instead. This revelation horrifies him, and Qingyi seems to notice this as well.
"Are you alright?" QIngyi asks in concern. "You look pale."
"Y-yes," Caelus says shakily. "L-let's get this over with."
"Alright..." Qingyi merely nods. "So, tell me, why are you inside the Hollow? You do know that entering Hollow with no authorization means breaking the laws in New Eridu?"
"I...actually had no idea," Caelus decided to lie. The answers cause Qingyi to blink in surprise. "I'm not exactly from New Eridu. You can confirm it by checking that I have zero public record in the New Eridu."
"Um..." Qingyi wasn't expecting this when she imagined questioning a supposed illegal Hollow Raider. "You...didn't exactly explain why you're in the Hollow."
"I got there by accident," Caelus says while gently rubbing the Bangboo on his lap. He had to come up with a story for his situation, and fortunately, he had experience coming up with story ideas in a fly as he was a fanfic writer. "My...family and I were moving to New Eridu, since criminal gangs were fighting over territory, and my hometown just so happened to be it."
"I...I see," Qingyi says while nodding hesitantly. "...may I ask what happened to your family?"
"...we were chased by the gangs, and we were captured," Caelus says, trying to make sure he didn't show any signs of suspicion. "They...they forcefully drag me and my family into the Hollow. I...heard they were hoping we could get killed by the Ethereals or get corrupted by the Ether."
"..." Qingyi didn't utter a single word, letting Caelus talk.
"...I saw them slowly getting corrupted by the Ether...I..." Caelus mutters before stopping, trying to act like someone who is grieving. He even forces himself to tear up, something that is easy to do by simply thinking about how he wasn't able to see his family again.
"...I'm sorry," Qingyi says softly as Caelus merely gives the android a sad smile.
"They...they try to kill me without hesitation...my parents..." Caelus acts like he was traumatized. "I...I know the Corrupted lose their humanity, but...."
"Alright, that's enough," Qingyi says calmly, gently places her hand on Caelus. "You don't need to continue..."
"..." Caelus nods, feeling a sliver of guilt for lying to her. But, given that he might get arrested, he would rather pull this card.
"Thank you for telling me about this. I'm sure it wasn't easy..." Qingyi says as Caelus nods again. She glances at the Bangboo on his lap. "Is he yours?"
"A-ah, no..." Caelus says truthfully. "W-when I somehow got out of the Hollow, he's the first person I saw. He immediately calls for help after seeing my state."
"I see," Qingyi says with a smile. "Again, thank you for your cooperation despite everything you...went through."
"Um..." Caelus wants to ask something, but he hesitates.
"Something the matter?" Qingyi asks curiously.
"...I'm gonna get charged for hospital bills, aren't I?" Caelus asks hesitantly.
"...right, you're not from New Eridu," Qingyi mutters. "Given how often Hollow-related incidents occurred, New Eridu will provide free healthcare for everyone. Of course, if you're a Hollow Raider or criminal, the hospitals have the right to call for the Public Security to either arrest you or fine you."
"I-I see," Caelus says as he sweats nervously at the information.
"Oh, once you're out of the hospital, you should visit the Public Security Office. Tell them you're here under my name." Qingyi says as Caelus blinks.
"Um, is there a reason why?" Caelus asks nervously.
"Well, first, we have to officially clear up any possible misunderstanding you caused after getting out of the Hollow by proving your innocence," Qingyi explains. "Especially when my junior's been...adamant wanting to arrest you."
"..." Caelus grows nervous hearing this. Her senior would either be Zhu Yuan or Seth, but from the special episode, he had a feeling Seth was the one. Also, proving his innocence? Yeah, he's cooked.
"Once it's done, we could also help you become New Eridu's resident," Qingyi says as she glances at Caelus. "It might be a lengthy process, but you know what they say, patience is a virtue."
"Y-yeah..." Caelus nods as Qingyi walks away.
"I'll see you in the office," Qingyi says before walking out of the room. Once she's gone, Caelus collapses into the bed, imitating a meme of a certain dog accepting their fate.
"Great..." Caelus mutters quietly, deciding to distract himself from his current situation by opening the system, specifically the Path sections.
Available Path(s):
- Destruction (LVL 1): 50/200
- Preservation (LVL 0): 1/1000
- Harmony (LVL 0): 0/1000
- Remembrance (LVL 0): 650/1000
"How did I almost unlock the Path of Remembrance?" Caelus mutters in confusion. He was pretty sure he didn't do anything that followed the Remembrance Path. Is it because of the ZZZ info he preserves? Or is it because he still preserves memories of his past lives even after somehow getting isekai'd to another world?
Yeah, he had no clue how he is halfway to unlock, in his opinion, one of the most broken Paths in Star Rail, lorewise, or gameplay-wise.
Meanwhile, Qingyi can be seen calling someone on the phone. After hearing Caelus' story, she decided to do a background check. Caelus was telling the truth when he said he didn't have any public record, and there's news regarding a gang operating near Hollow. Perhaps he was talking about them?
She should've asked more, but she didn't after seeing him tearing up. Her custom detector confirms no sign of deceit, but she can't ignore the possibility that he may be a good liar or her detector might be malfunctioning. So, her alternative would be investigating the local gang.
"Thank you for the confirmation, Zhu Yuan," Qingyi says to the person on the phone.
"It's always a pleasure to help you, senior." The person, Zhu Yuan, says. "Although, is it fine to just leave him be? We know nothing about him, and he might cause any trouble."
"I understand you're concerned about this," Qingyi says. "But, innocent till proven guilty. Remember that lesson, Zhu Yuan?"
"Yes, senior. You said that quite a lot of time." Zhu Yuan says, sounding exasperated. "Alright, let's hope he's not some sort of unknown criminal. Seth has been restless since the hospital reports him."
"I hope so, too," Qingyi chuckles before she hangs up the call and walks away. Coincidentally, a nurse holding a file accidentally bumps into her, causing the nurse to drop the file as the content scatters all over the floor.
"O-oh, my god. I'm so sorry!" The nurse panicked as she started gathering all the file contents.
"It's fine," Qingyi waves it off and helps the nurse. As she helps, she notices one of the files contains an Ether Aptitude test. Usually, such tests weren't done in a hospital, but in the case of people not from New Eridu who got trapped in Hollow like Caelus, they would do it in the hope of seeing a possible Ether corruption so they could take action.
Speaking of Caelus, it seems that the test is his, as he's the only patient who is not from New Eridu. Qingyi didn't mean to peek at it, but with her android physiology, she had recorded everything into her memory.
"Um, nurse?" Qingyi asks, her voice filled with disbelief. "May I ask... is this test valid?"
"O-oh," The nurse understands her question. "Yes, it seems that the test is valid. The doctors have done the test multiple times and even checked if the device may malfunction, but no matter what, it always ends up with that result."
"...my god," Qingyi mutters in disbelief, subconsciously returning the test to the nurse.
Ether Aptitude: 100.
"Humans rarely have high aptitude, and even for Thirens, Ether Aptitude of 100 is very rare," Qingyi mutters quietly as the nurse enters the patient's room. "...now I'm curious..."
To be Continued