I'll Call You Brother, You Call Me Dad

Zhou Meng repeated the process, entering the rooms of Bragi, Sun Wukong, and Gilgamesh in turn.

The signs on their doors were a harp, a Ruyi Jingu Bang, and a cracked crown, respectively.

Bragi was an exceptionally handsome blond man. As the God of Poetry, he played his harp and sang at the top of his lungs constantly, but his voice could be said to match neither his looks nor his music in the slightest.

To avoid damaging his hearing, Zhou Meng could only keep stealing Bragi's urge to sing while quickly checking his traits.

[Origin of Art] [Peerless Beauty] [Poem of Destruction] ["Heavenly" Voice] [Immortality] [Undying Body] [Lovesick] and so on.

Some of these were his own traits, while the others belonged to Idun, his wife, who shared one body with him as two souls. These traits, however, were more suited to support than combat.

Zhou Meng was rather interested in the ["Heavenly" Voice]. Obviously, he knew exactly what the quotation marks around that trait meant.

Sun Wukong, in the fourth room, completely ignored Zhou Meng when he entered. His appearance solemn and dignified, he looked as though no trace of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven remained in him. He had no desire even to raise his head, merely sitting cross-legged in meditation with his palms pressed together.

Zhou Meng had no intention of disturbing him either. The monkey's condition had resulted from witnessing Bajie and Sand Monk die tragic deaths while he was powerless to do anything, causing him to withdraw into himself.

[Heavenly Manifestation] [Somersault Cloud] [Fiery Golden Eyes] [Indestructible Diamond Body] [Life-Saving Hair] [Immobilization Spell] [Nine Great Demon Kings] [Great Sage Equal to Heaven] [Victorious Fighting Buddha] [Primeval Stone Monkey] [Mischievous Nature] [Childlike Heart]

It had to be said that most of Sun Wukong's traits were crimson gold or orange, with very few below purple.

Moreover, seeing traits such as Demon King, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and Victorious Fighting Buddha together gave one a disorienting feeling.

And traits such as Mischievous Nature and Childlike Heart showed that even after Sun Wukong became a Buddha, attained his spiritual rank, and withdrew into himself from the blow, he had never changed his original intentions.

Gilgamesh sat upright in the folding chair in his room. This most ancient king of humanity could make any chair he sat in look like a throne.

The moment Zhou Meng entered the room, he actually felt an urge to kneel. But the Hero King of Uruk was only a Demigod. Abilities aside, his status was not high enough to make a god like Zhou Meng kneel.

[Hand of Kingship] [Longevity] [Demigod] [Arrogant and Conceited] [Tyrant] [Golden Rule] [Ultimate Kingship] [Gate of Babylon] and so on.

"Who are you? Insolence! Why don't you kneel before this king?" Gilgamesh was furious to see Zhou Meng looking him up and down as soon as he entered, without showing the slightest respect.

Zhou Meng couldn't be bothered wasting words on him. He gave a casual wave and left.

Another minute spent talking to this insane tyrant, whose combat power was top-notch but whose mental capacity was rather low, would be a waste of breath. Besides, Zhou Meng was certainly no match for the tyrant right now.

As for the last one, Yaland, who was Nyarlathotep in disguise, Zhou Meng had no desire to see them at all. He would leave the psychiatric hospital's laws to keep them sealed here for now, then steal the Crawling Chaos's traits once his stealing ability had improved.

The reason Zhou Meng wasn't opening the door now was that he was worried something bad might happen if he actually stole it. One of Nyarlathotep's reasons for disguising themself as Yaland was to seize control of the psychiatric hospital. To be safe, it was better not to court trouble for now.

After touring the ward area, Zhou Meng planned to check out the director's office upstairs. There was also a letter there that the first director, Ji Nian, had left for Lin Qiye.

Just as he was about to head upstairs, Lin Qiye suddenly emerged from the other end of the corridor.

He was back.

It seemed time flowed differently inside and outside the psychiatric hospital?

"Zhou Meng! I—I've come up with a way to treat Nyx. Do you want to come take a look?" Lin Qiye asked.

The doctor had told him that medication for mental illness served only as an aid, and that real treatment could only work by opening the patient's heart.

Since Nyx kept talking about her child, he could simply become her child!

But he wasn't sure the method would work. If he angered Nyx, eight hundred of him wouldn't be enough for her to kill, so he hoped Zhou Meng would watch from the side.

Even if the God of Theft didn't sound as formidable as the Goddess of Darkness, what if he could save his life at a critical moment? Besides, he had stolen a trait from the goddess and given it to him, so he surely wouldn't stand by and let her kill him.

"Oh? Sure." Zhou Meng agreed. Although he knew what would happen next, he wanted to witness this moment of maternal love and filial devotion for himself.

With Zhou Meng accompanying him, Lin Qiye entered Nyx's room. After hesitating for a moment, he gently reached out and embraced Nyx's head, whispering in her ear, "Mother, I'm back."

In an instant, Zhou Meng sensed an unprecedented radiance flare in Nyx's eyes, and the dark room became filled with brilliant starlight.

Nyx stretched out her trembling arms and held Lin Qiye tightly. After a long while, she finally spoke in a trembling, ethereal voice. "Welcome back, Thanatos, my child!"

At that moment, Lin Qiye also saw a panel appear out of thin air before him. It showed that Nyx's treatment progress was at 3%.

He also successfully drew an ability called [Starry Night Dancer].

However, as he made the draw, Lin Qiye also saw a term that looked somewhat familiar: [Extraordinary Fertility].

He immediately looked at Zhou Meng beside him.

So it really was you, you unscrupulous God of Theft!

Zhou Meng smiled without confirming or denying it.

Young man, don't be too naive. There are several traits you can't see on your wheel. If you're not happy about it, how about I let you try the traits for maternal love and filial devotion next time?

Just as the two were each occupied with their own thoughts, Nyx suddenly spoke.

"Thanatos, my child, come here quickly. Come and see your father!"

Lin Qiye was momentarily stunned.

My father? Nyx's consort, who was also her older brother, Erebus?

But aren't there only three people here: Nyx, Zhou Meng, and me? Where did Erebus come from? Could this have something to do with Nyx's mental illness too?

Nyx pulled Zhou Meng to her side and smiled lovingly. "Look, my husband, our child Thanatos has returned! Thanatos, come and see your father!"

Zhou Meng slapped his forehead. Earlier, to stop the goddess from taking him for her son, he had stolen one of her thoughts. He hadn't expected her to mistake him for Erebus instead!

But he quickly recovered his composure and looked calmly at the somewhat dumbfounded Lin Qiye.

"Ahem. How about this, Qiye? From now on, we'll each call the other what we want. I'll call you brother, and you call me Dad. What do you say?"

Lin Qiye was so angry he instantly wanted to slap him across the face.

God of Theft? You're clearly the God of Mischief! So you get the better of me either way!