I'm The Only One With Cancer-Chapter 166: Spending Time with Family

Hearing the seriousness in her tone, the others exchanged glances.

Olivia chimed in from the side, "But if we do this... we might risk getting discovered..."

"It’s fine."

Margareth smiled, "I’ll talk to the commander and that bitch about this. It’s time for us to be on the offensive after all these years of hiding."

Even though she seemed a little impulsive in this instant, Hassan, Ethan, Olivia, and Veronica all knew Margareth well.

They knew there was a reason she became the second-in-command back when they were still the Twilight Task Force.

"Alright, tell us the details of the plan," Veronica said after a short moment of silence.

Margareth, seeing her comrades’ belief in her, could not help but feel a little touched.

"Let’s all take a shower first. We’ll meet in the meeting room by 4 am, okay?"

""""Understood.""""

***

While the five’s meeting was underway...

Zen had just gotten back into his room.

He plopped onto his bed with a jump, staring at the ceiling with an obviously bored gaze.

"What should I do now..."

Zen thought out loud, his voice lethargic.

"Seriously, why did Teacher have to kill me, tch..."

He knew the reason fully well due to Arthur’s note, but he still felt indignant.

Closing his eyes, he tried to sense his storage artifact.

Sure enough, in the blank white space, two cubes could be seen floating a few distances away from the wooden table and other things that Arthur left behind.

"What am I going to do with this...?"

Zen scratched the back of his head, feeling a little underwhelmed.

That was right.

These two cubes were none other than the byproduct of him using Contain on both the meteor and Atomic Rend earlier.

"Well, I can’t just throw them away, after all..."

Thinking of the aftermath and the damage that would happen had he thrown the contained meteor and Atomic Rend, Zen could not help but shiver.

"I guess I’ll just leave it be for now. It’s not like it’s using my magic to sustain it... Maybe I’ll have a use for it in the future, who knows?"

This was another aspect that he had noticed about the storage artifact that Arthur and Adara had given him.

When Zen held the contained meteor and Atomic Rend in the outside world earlier, his mana was being continuously drained in order to maintain it.

However, the moment he put it inside his storage artifact, the consumption stopped.

He thought for a moment as an idea popped up in his head, "This space has the same principles as Contain, wherein time seems not to exist..."

"This means that I can bring food from here to the Free World and vice versa!" Added him after a moment of thought.

"Right!"

Zen became even more excited, "Since this place stops time, then any items I put in this retain the same state they had from the moment before they entered this space."

"With this logic, even high perishable goods can last indefinitely..."

In his mind, he could not help but imagine himself copying other main characters in some shows who lived a simple life as a chef, bringing Earth’s cuisine to another world.

"Maybe I can start a restaurant and be just like them..."

Ideas upon ideas popped up inside Zen’s head.

This lasted for about twenty-five minutes before he suddenly stopped talking.

Then, in the next moment...

"AHHH!!!"

Zen suddenly got a pillow and pressed it on his face, screaming into it.

He waved his limbs randomly, looking like someone who was being possessed by an evil spirit.

"I. Am. So. Bored."

Zen said firmly, thinking, ’Just how am I able to survive up to this point!?’

He thought of watching some anime, shows, movies, or reading some novels, manga, manhwa, and the like.

He also thought of checking some social media platforms using his phone, but unfortunately, his interest in those things seemed to have faded since the launch of the Free World.

"Hmph, I’ll just sleep and pass the time."

Zen even inwardly wished that when he woke up, it would be three days later, so he did not have to wait for too long.

Closing his eyes, he tried to sleep.

"..."

"It’s too bright..."

Zen opened one of his eyes and saw the blinding light from the ceiling.

Then, with a wave of his hand, small mana spheres gently touched the light switch with precision.

Tick—

"Okay, that’s better..."

With a satisfied smile, Zen closed his eyes again.

And using his Cell Control, he quickly fell asleep.

After all, it was a subskill from his Immortal Cells, which enabled him to have cellular control over his own body.

This made it possible for him to even control bodily functions and the like.

Moreover, the control he had over his own cells could be extended towards other people with physical contact due to his Profane Transfiguration.

***

The next day...

"Good morning, Mom!Good morning, Dad!!"

Zen cheerfully greeted his parents, who were currently eating breakfast at the table.

Sera gave him a sideways glance and scoffed, not bothering to pay any attention to her brother’s obvious attempt at taunting her.

Looking at her nonchalant face, Zen chuckled and ruffled her white hair, "Good morning, Sis~."

"Hmph! ’Morning."

Zen sat beside her and spoke, "Why did you not eat at the cafeteria instead?"

The cafeteria was open 24/7 and offered a wide variety of dishes in a buffet style. Back when the family arrived at the Eden Republic for the first time, they met with Margareth and Nana in one of its private rooms.

"Meh, there are too many people there. Even in the private room, I can’t be comfortable as I am... So we decided to eat here instead." Ren said as he enjoyed his cup of coffee.

Rina sat beside her husband and smiled, "Dad’s right. Besides, isn’t it nice to spend time with family once in a while? Especially you, Zen. You’re always in the game..."

At the end of her words, Rina could not help but sulk a little.

"I’m sorry. It’s just that—"

Before Zen could speak, Ren interrupted him, "Don’t worry about it, son. We understand. It’s just that we can’t help but miss your presence sometimes."

At his words, Sera harrumphed.

"Haha..."

Zen could not help but chuckle, "You don’t have to worry about it, Mom, Dad. I will be going to meet with you all the next time I enter the game."

"Eh? Really, Brother?" Sera’s eyes shone as soon as she heard his words.

"Mhm. But I’ll need the name of the place where you currently are in the game, so I can see who’s the closest." Zen responded as he took a bite of his pancake.

Ren and Rina also looked at each other, seeing a smile on their faces.

The former was the first to speak, "You mentioned back then that you’re in the Kingdom of Light, right?"

"Yes. Dad."

"Let’s go to the meeting room later to see the hologram of the Free World’s map that you had acquired." Rina smiled gently.

Sera was also visibly excited, "Let’s meet later in the game, Brother! I’ll show you how strong I’ve become!!"

"Oh, about that... I can’t enter the game yet..." Zen scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile.

Ren’s and Rina’s brows shot up as the latter asked, "Why is that?"

"Ehem..."

Clearing his throat with a cough, Zen carefully responded, "The case is... I kind of... died in the game. So I’ll still have to wait around... two and a half days before I enter the game again..."

Seeing their worried eyes, Zen immediately waved his hands, "B-But I’m fine, really. Dying in the game isn’t really painful at all. It felt just like a normal game."

Even though he had high Intelligence Stat and skills associated with it, he could not help but panic in the face of his parents, especially now that he knew he had done something that would worry them.

’Ugh, it’s not like I can hide the fact that I died though...’

After all, they knew that Zen preferred staying inside the game out of all people.

Therefore, his voluntarily staying off the game was already suspicious.

Thinking this, Zen decided to change the topic, "Oh, by the way, Mom, Dad. When I enter the game, there’s no need to administer any fluids to me."

"Don’t worry about it. Veronica and I have already thought about it, considering that you told us about your special condition. We administered the IV fluid to you just in case..."

Ren responded, seemingly letting go of the matter regarding his son’s death in the game.

Although Rina seemed to want more answers, she ultimately held herself back.

However, Sera, who was sitting beside her brother, whispered, "Don’t be shy to tell us if you ever have worries, okay?"

"..."

Hearing her say some affectionate words, which she was normally allergic to, Zen prevented himself from making any sarcastic remarks.

Instead, he nodded and gently smiled, "Noted."

The family then continued sharing conversations about their experiences in the game over breakfast.