Chapter 23: Reality Shock

  Gu Ting slowly opened his eyes, stretched his stiff body, and yawned. He muttered to himself, "How could I have slept for only a few hours, yet my body feels so stiff?"

  Gu Ting looked around his room in confusion. What was going on? How did those two kids manage to clean up his room and even put a large vase with chrysanthemums on the windowsill?

  He looked down at himself and was shocked. His upper body was covered in black mud, and his clothes reeked of a foul odor. It was as if he hadn't showered in years.

  Just then, a girl with a clear complexion rushed into the room, carrying a basin and towel. She saw Gu Ting awake and exclaimed, "Brother! You're awake! Oh no, I'm so scared!"

  Gu Ting stared at the girl, who was crying uncontrollably. "Sister Shuang, how did you get here?" he asked.

  At that moment, Qing Feng and Yu Ze rushed into the room, asking what had happened. Gu Ting explained that he didn't know what was going on and asked them to tell him what had happened during his seven-day gaming marathon.

  Yu Ze pointed to the calendar on the wall and said, "Brother, you've been playing games for too long! Look at the date!"

  Gu Ting looked at the calendar and was shocked. It was December 8th, but he could have sworn it was only November 1st when he started gaming. He had lost seven days in the game!

  Qing Feng explained that they had waited for him to log off, but after two hours, they got worried and entered his room. They found him sleeping normally, but from the second day onwards, black mud started oozing out of his body.

  Yu Ze added that they had called a doctor, who said Gu Ting was healthy, but couldn't explain why he wasn't logging off. The doctor suggested they contact the game's customer service.

  Qing Feng continued, "We contacted the customer service, but they just said that the game is controlled by the main brain, and once you enter the game, everything is up to the main brain. They couldn't do anything about it."

  Yu Ze chimed in, "At their most helpless moment, they thought of us and our great principal mom. We immediately took a night train here, and Principal Mom said your condition was good after checking on you. She said the black mud coming out of your body was just impurities being expelled, and the more that came out, the healthier you would be."

  Gu Ting listened to their explanation and understood what had happened. He realized that his seven-day gaming marathon in the game had also passed in real life. As for the impurities coming out of his body, could it be related to the spiritual herbs he ate in the game? Was the game somehow connected to reality?

  Rain Ze looked at Gu Ting with a curious expression and said, "Brother, I suddenly think you're so handsome! You have such great air quality! Why didn't I notice before? Your skin is also so smooth and shiny!"

  Gu Ting took the mirror from Shuang and looked at himself. His appearance hadn't changed much, but he felt like his aura had undergone a significant transformation. His face looked better than before, and his skin was smoother.

  Could it be... could it be that the game had actually affected his real-life body?