Why Do I Feel Like Something's Not Quite Right?

Zhou Meng knew that, in Slay the Gods, one of the abilities Lin Qiye would probably least want to have was Nyx's Extraordinary Fertility.

Not only did it sound useless, but it also felt a little improper.

But Nyx really did have that ability. As one of the primordial gods of Greek mythology, she had given birth to most of her children on her own, and every one of them was a conceptual god.

Space, day, fate, death, sleep, dreams, and so on.

Though of those children, only Philotes remained now, and even that only daughter had been killed by her divine agent, Number 22.

"Brother Meng, that purple, uh, trait you just gave me—what was it? Why do I feel like something's not quite right?" Lin Qiye felt the changes taking place inside him.

How should he put it? Unlike the mental perception Michael's eyes gave him, and the ability to see movement within twenty meters at three times the speed of an ordinary person, the purple trait that had just entered his body didn't seem to have given him any particular boost in ability.

It had, however, given him an inexplicable urge.

An urge to reproduce.

That wasn't to say his little head was now controlling his big head, and he was about to find a woman to engage in the great harmony of life.

Rather, he kind of wanted a child. Well, not just kind of—he wanted one very, very badly.

One child? No, no, no, preferably lots of children!

In short, Lin Qiye now wanted to have lots of children, and he wanted to give birth to them himself!

Holy shit, something's wrong! Why do I want to give birth to lots of children myself? I'm a man, a man!

Lin Qiye, who had just been so immersed in his desire for children that he couldn't pull himself out of it, suddenly came to his senses. He shook his head wildly, trying to drive the terrifying thought away.

It had to be Zhou Meng! What kind of strange trait did that guy give me?!

"Hurry up! Take that damn trait of yours back!" Lin Qiye shouted angrily.

Watching Lin Qiye, Zhou Meng doubled over laughing. Though it wasn't very nice of him, the loving look on Lin Qiye's face just now had really cracked him up.

He hadn't been in the psychiatric hospital long, but he felt that the scene that made him happiest had already appeared.

"This is [Extraordinary Fertility], a purple trait! Are you sure you don't want to try it a little longer? Because I'm taking it back!"

The prank had gone far enough. Zhou Meng beckoned with his right hand, and a flash of purple light flew out of Lin Qiye's body and back into his hand. With another thought, he returned the [Extraordinary Fertility] trait directly to Nyx, the goddess of night.

Lin Qiye felt the spontaneous urge to give birth to lots of children finally disappear, and he let out a long breath.

At the same time, he noticed that the writing on the wall had changed. Zhou Meng's treatment progress had increased!

But only by 0.01%.

It looks like what the writing on the wall says is true. That trait just now was strange, but it should have been a purple one.

Based on the settings in some of the games Lin Qiye had played, a purple-quality trait should be pretty good. There were blue and green below it, and orange and gold above it.

But Lin Qiye wasn't particularly delighted that he could borrow traits from Zhou Meng. He had just fought a life-and-death battle with a monster, met a superhuman uncle who must have had a massive organization backing him, and then been dragged into this psychiatric hospital in a dream.

He was tired enough already. Although obtaining these traits could strengthen his abilities, he didn't want to be some kind of savior. He only wanted to protect his family.

Looking at Lin Qiye's untroubled eyes, Zhou Meng could roughly guess what he was thinking. Of course, he didn't have to guess; he could just steal the thoughts from his head and take a look.

Unfortunately, the family this kid wanted to protect was a false one, constructed by him using the Mortal Divine Realm.

But his desire to protect that family was genuine! There was no need for Zhou Meng to expose the truth.

"Brother Meng, I understand the traits now, but what kind of god are you, exactly? I don't remember ever hearing your name among the gods of Daxia," Lin Qiye asked in confusion.

Zhou Meng answered with a wry smile, "Unfortunately, I can't figure out where I came from or why I ended up in this psychiatric hospital. As for where I'm a god from, I don't know that either. All I know is that my only ability is stealing. Of course, I can also lend you the traits I steal."

Stealing? A god of thieves? Lin Qiye hadn't done much research into divine systems, but the only god he could remember who presided over the concept of theft was Hermes from Greek mythology. But Hermes should have looked distinctly different from the strange god in front of him, with his black robe and messy curly hair.

Maybe his memories will return as his treatment progresses?

Lin Qiye stopped thinking about Zhou Meng's origins and asked about his condition instead.

"I told you, I'm not sick," Zhou Meng answered expressionlessly.

"Uh, that's what all psychiatric patients say," Lin Qiye objected.

"But I'm not a psychiatric patient!"

"Then why are you in a psychiatric hospital?"

"I fucking—" Zhou Meng felt that Lin Qiye's logic had come full circle. He couldn't convince him.

In a psychiatric hospital, the more you insisted you weren't sick, the more everyone thought you were.

The two walked out of Zhou Meng's room. Looking at the six remaining rooms, Lin Qiye asked in confusion again, "Are you the only patient? Are the other rooms empty?"

As he spoke, he went over and tried the handles. However, five of the room doors were locked, and he couldn't open them.

Only the handle on the door to Nyx's room, Room One, responded when Lin Qiye grasped it. The intricate lines and patterns on the door suddenly broke apart and gradually dissipated into the air.

Zhou Meng had stolen this door before, but when he returned, he found that it had been restored.

Good. Now I won't have to get hit by the stolen door every time.

Nyx, the goddess of night, was still sitting primly on the stool.

Lin Qiye went over to check on Nyx. After she suddenly stood up and called the vase her child, giving him a fright, he also saw the written message on the wall.

Although both tasks involved treating a patient, Nyx's was different from Zhou Meng's: he could draw corresponding abilities as her treatment progressed.

Sure enough, the patients here are all gods. Nyx is a primordial god of Greek mythology. Maybe Zhou Meng is a top-tier god from some mythology too!

At that thought, Lin Qiye couldn't help feeling a little fear and reverence. But when he remembered the prank Zhou Meng had just played on him, the reverence vanished in an instant.

To treat them, he first had to figure out what was wrong with each patient. Nyx was holding a vase and believed it was her child, which was obviously not right. Zhou Meng seemed perfectly normal, but there also seemed to be something a little off about him. It looked like Lin Qiye would have to find someone to ask.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, Zhou Meng called out to him.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. The trait from before doesn't count. I'll lend you two more now, for self-defense."

With that, Zhou Meng reached forcefully toward Nyx and grabbed two blue traits.