Chapter 170: Reality: AFK
Eleanor's efficiency was almost too high.
It left Ethan feeling a little lost.
Just last week, he'd casually mentioned the idea.
A few days later, after a rapid-fire series of actions on her part, an entire foundation had seemingly materialized out of thin air.
She hadn't even given him enough time to mentally prepare.
The last time he'd experienced this kind of situation—where his subordinate was working at lightning speed while he remained comfortably idle—was...
Well.
The previous time.
Most of the time, it was the people at the top running around drenched in sweat while everyone below relaxed comfortably, sometimes even yawning.
Still.
This wasn't bad.
Since things had already progressed this far, he might as well keep moving forward.
Now that the foundation officially existed, they could finally start preparing initiatives that actually mattered.
After all, once the foundation was footing the bill, many forms of long-term assistance that would have been impossible on an individual level suddenly became viable.
The first thing that came to Ethan's mind was the diabetic girl he'd treated before.
Insulin.
Expensive on the market despite its low production cost.
Required strict cold-chain storage.
Almost impossible for individuals to stockpile.
And if the supply stopped, a patient's condition could deteriorate rapidly enough to become a death sentence.
This was something the Holy Light couldn't solve.
It could repair systems.
It couldn't operate them indefinitely.
Nor could it conjure a hormone that required precise dosing and continuous supplementation out of thin air.
Then there was epinephrine.
Even more brutal than insulin.
A drug whose lifesaving window lasted only a few minutes.
The kind of medication that dragged someone back from the brink when their heartbeat stopped, their blood pressure crashed, and consciousness was slipping away.
Ethan couldn't exactly be expected to rush over every time and save the day with Resurrection.
Then came thyroid hormones.
Very similar to insulin.
And glucagon for emergency hypoglycemia treatment.
Initially, those were the only medications Ethan thought about.
There were a few other problems that Holy Light couldn't solve.
But after some consideration, he decided they weren't appropriate.
He ran a respectable clinic.
Helen and Eleanor probably wouldn't approve either.
After Ethan presented his list, Helen and Eleanor added many more.
Naloxone for overdose reversal.
Anti-epileptic medication.
Anticoagulants.
Injectable broad-spectrum antibiotics.
Unlike insulin and hormone replacement therapies, Holy Light was clearly effective against many of these conditions.
Yet both women reached exactly the same conclusion.
"No."
"You can't save everyone."
That was their answer.
After thinking it over, Ethan realized they were right.
He wasn't trying to create an extension of his personal limits.
He was trying to build a system capable of operating long-term.
As for compliance requirements, procurement logistics, and pharmaceutical oversight—
He dumped the entire pile onto Eleanor.
This had obviously expanded far beyond the original scope of "helping establish a foundation."
Yet she didn't complain once.
She simply got to work as though handling such matters was completely ordinary.
The foundation would pay.
The clinic would receive funds.
Helen took responsibility for managing that process.
Once all those tasks—which represented only the most basic groundwork for the foundation—had finally been organized...
Ethan realized something.
The clinic was short-staffed.
Very short-staffed.
It was probably time to hire more people.
When Ethan returned to the apartment that evening, Penny was finally gone from the couch.
He let out a sigh of relief.
The four geeks were standing in the middle of the living room conducting what appeared to be some sort of experiment.
A speaker had been laid on its side on the floor.
Its top was covered in plastic wrap.
Raj was carefully pouring a thick white liquid onto it.
Ethan walked over and stared for two seconds.
"...What is that?"
"Cornstarch and water," Sheldon answered without looking up.
"What are you using it for?"
"You'll see."
Raj straightened up.
"Everything's ready."
Howard rubbed his hands together.
"Let's do this."
Leonard pressed a button on the remote.
The speaker began vibrating.
Low-frequency sound waves spread through the room.
The blob of liquid sitting over the bass port suddenly came alive.
It bulged.
Split apart.
Twisted itself into bizarre shapes.
Dancing in rhythm with the music.
Like a living creature.
The four geeks immediately entered a state of pure ecstasy.
"Whoa!"
"That's perfect!"
"Look at that waveform!"
They bounced around with the music, waving their arms excitedly.
Ethan stood there completely bewildered.
"...What?"
What the hell was this?
At that moment, Penny emerged from her room carrying a laptop.
"Hey."
Leonard immediately pointed toward the speaker as though he'd discovered a new continent.
"Penny! Come look at this!"
Sheldon enthusiastically explained:
"This is a non-Newtonian fluid. Under normal conditions it behaves like a liquid, but under the force generated by the speaker, it exhibits solid-like properties."
Penny looked at the speaker.
Then at the dancing slime.
"...What?"
Now there were two confused faces.
Penny shook her head and gave up trying to understand reality.
"I need to talk to Sheldon."
Leonard immediately turned off the speaker.
The room fell silent.
Raj leaned toward Howard and whispered something.
Howard stared at Penny in shock.
"You heard correctly."
"She really did say... Sheldon."
The two of them headed toward the kitchen and immediately began discussing game quests.
Penny said:
"I'm exploring Totegi Island right now."
"But I'm stuck."
"I can't get past the Captain's Guard."
"Do you have the Magic Sword?" Sheldon asked.
"No. I have a bronze dagger."
Sheldon immediately sounded disappointed.
"You can't defeat the Captain's Guard with a bronze dagger."
"My God."
"This is exactly like trying to unlock your apartment with your car keys."
"...Okay."
"So how do I get the sword?"
Meanwhile, back in the living room—
Howard stared blankly.
"Has the world gone insane?"
"A little," Leonard agreed.
Ethan shrugged.
"They played together all night."
Raj looked utterly baffled.
"Sheldon and Penny?"
"That's so bizarre."
"It's kind of like watching Stephen Hawking date a female gorilla."
Ethan looked at Raj.
"Isn't that a bit excessive?"
"I mean, Sheldon and Hawking have some similarities, but Penny—"
Howard immediately delivered the finishing blow.
"Penny played the gorilla in Killer Ape."
"...Fair enough."
You win.
Meanwhile—
"Okay. You've got the Magic Sword."
"Give it to me!"
"I'm going to kill that Captain's Guard!"
The moment Penny obtained the sword, she practically abandoned Sheldon on the spot.
Clutching her laptop, she sprinted back into her room without even saying goodbye.
Sheldon returned to the living room.
Looked around at everyone else.
And acted as though nothing unusual had happened.
"Continue."
Eventually, Penny reached Level 20.
The moment it happened, Sheldon visibly relaxed.
Level 20 meant:
Her full skill tree was unlocked.
Beginner protection had ended.
The tutorial phase was officially over.
Theoretically, his duties as a mentor were finally complete.
"Congratulations," Sheldon said.
His voice carried the relief of someone who had fulfilled a social obligation.
"You have officially graduated from the beginner phase."
Penny looked delighted.
"Awesome!"
"So what do we do now?"
Sheldon answered:
"You can move on to more advanced content. Such as—"
"Dungeons!"
Penny interrupted instantly.
Sheldon nodded.
"Yes."
From that day onward, life in the apartment quietly changed.
Penny no longer asked:
"How do I start this quest?"
Instead, she constantly asked:
"How do I clear this dungeon?"
At first, Ethan found it strange.
Penny was naturally talented at games.
Back when they played Halo, she'd completely crushed Sheldon.
So why was she wiping dungeon groups over and over?
The answer became obvious after Ethan watched her play.
Penny approached MMORPG dungeons exactly the same way she approached Halo.
The moment she saw an enemy, her first instinct wasn't positioning.
Or checking where her teammates were.
Or evaluating the battlefield.
It was charge.
Charge directly into the middle of the mobs.
Fight at point-blank range.
Use every skill immediately.
And never retreat until her health bar was empty.
It was the instinct of an FPS player carved deep into her soul.
In PvP, that kind of playstyle could sometimes be incredibly effective.
In dungeons?
It was called a suicide charge.
Every time Ethan watched Penny run a dungeon, he could physically feel the veins throbbing in his forehead.
"Penny, you need to wait for the healer to recover mana," Ethan reminded her.
"But my health is full."
Sheldon struggled to remain calm.
"Penny, you need to let the tank establish aggro first."
"Why? Wouldn't it be faster if we just killed everything?"
"This is a five-player cooperative dungeon," Sheldon said, speaking faster and faster.
"It is not a stage for individual heroics."
"But I almost killed it just now!"
Sheldon took a deep breath.
"Would you like to... perhaps read a guide first?"
Penny immediately shook her head.
"The guides are too long. I prefer jumping right in."
Things rapidly spiraled out of control.
Penny began showing up in Sheldon's room at midnight asking how to clear Black Castle.
During the day, while Sheldon was working, she'd call him to ask about Burning Spirit Temple.
After Sheldon started turning off his phone, she simply called the department chair's office looking for him.
Ethan had originally planned to introduce Penny to PvP.
That idea was now completely dead.
She probably was better suited for PvP.
But Ethan had no intention of accepting the risks involved.
Far better to let her terrorize Sheldon alone.
That evening, Ethan and Leonard were relaxing in the apartment.
For once, Sheldon came home unusually late.
Leonard sat at the table browsing the internet.
Ethan wore headphones and leisurely murdered people in Age of Conan.
Suddenly, the front door slammed open.
Sheldon stormed inside.
"Ethan. Leonard."
Both men looked up.
"You need to do something about Penny."
"She interrupts my sleep."
"She interrupts my work."
"And if there are any other important activities in my life," he continued, speaking increasingly fast, "I am confident she will somehow appear and interfere with those as well."
Leonard immediately looked at Ethan.
Ethan played dead and pretended not to hear.
Leonard sighed and turned back to Sheldon.
"Why should I do something? You're the one who got her into MMORPGs."
"Correct," Sheldon replied.
"But when she first moved in, you were the one who introduced yourself."
"If you had exercised greater restraint at that time, none of this would be happening."
Then he turned toward Ethan.
"And you."
Ethan finally looked up.
"Me?"
"You told me beforehand that her audition might not go well and that she would need emotional support."
"I provided emotional support," Sheldon said.
"And now we're here."
Ethan opened his mouth.
Then chose silence.
He had genuinely only mentioned it in passing.
Leonard offered a suggestion.
"Why don't you just tell her to stop bothering you?"
Sheldon dropped his bag onto the floor.
His voice carried unmistakable despair.
"I tried."
"I sent her messages."
"I wrote an email with extremely clear wording."
"I even changed my Facebook status to: Sheldon Cooper would appreciate it if Penny stopped bothering him."
"I don't know what else I can do!"
Leonard spread his hands.
"Then what exactly are we supposed to do?"
Sheldon stared at them.
His tone became dangerous.
"I don't know."
"But if the two of you don't do something soon..."
"I am going to become very unpleasant to live with."
Leonard blinked.
"Wait. Are you suggesting that up until now, we've been living with a pleasant and easygoing Sheldon?"
Sheldon nodded.
"Correct."
Then he glanced at Ethan and noticed that Ethan looked completely unconcerned.
As though he'd seen much worse.
So Sheldon added:
"Even worse than that time I got sick in Germany."
Ethan immediately ripped off his headphones and stood up.
"We're going to talk to her."
He and Leonard crossed the hall and knocked on Penny's door.
No answer.
Ethan pushed the door open and peeked inside.
"Penny?"
"Busy," she replied, waving vaguely from the couch.
The two men stepped inside.
The apartment was a disaster.
The coffee table.
The dining table.
The floor.
Everything was covered in clutter.
Opened snack bags were scattered everywhere.
Potato chips and candy had merged into colorful piles.
Some soda cans were empty.
Others contained a single lonely sip.
Penny was practically curled into the couch.
She wore an oversized hoodie.
The bottom was bunched up.
The zipper wasn't fully closed.
The T-shirt underneath was twisted and crooked.
Her sleeves hung loosely over her hands, swaying with every keystroke.
Her hair had completely surrendered.
The blonde mess had been hastily tied back into something that no longer qualified as a hairstyle.
A few strands clung to her face.
Possibly sweat.
Possibly oil.
She didn't even notice.
She rubbed them away with her shoulder and kept staring at the screen.
Her entire body leaned toward the laptop.
Her mouth hung slightly open.
Her breathing was shallow and fast.
Her eyes were locked onto the display.
She looked like someone whose body had been completely taken over by a video game.
The air carried a faint smell that wasn't exactly fresh.
Leonard couldn't help asking:
"Aren't you supposed to be at work today?"
"I don't work Mondays."
Today was Thursday.
Ethan spoke first.
"Hey Penny, I've got some really good wine. Want to have a drink and chat?"
"I don't drink."
She never looked up.
Ethan turned toward Leonard and shrugged.
Your turn.
Leonard took a deep breath.
"So, Penny..."
Penny suddenly snapped:
"Queen Penelope AFK."
Then she ripped off her headset and glared at both of them.
"What?!"
Leonard instinctively stepped back.
Then gathered himself and tried again.
"Sometimes..."
"Some people start playing MMORPGs."
"And before they realize it, they become addicted."
"Okay, got it, got it, got it," Penny said dismissively.
Then she pointed at the laptop.
"I'm about to level up."
Leonard pressed on.
"When people are frustrated in real life, it's easy to lose themselves in a virtual world."
"The achievements there feel rewarding, but they're not real."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Penny said.
She put her headset back on.
"Queen Penelope has returned."
Leonard made one final attempt.
"Penny, there's a French fry in your hair."
"Oh."
She reached up.
Pulled it out.
And immediately ate it.
"Thanks."
The two men stared in horror.
Then quietly retreated.
Out in the hallway, they stood in silence for a moment before walking back toward their apartment.
Suddenly, Ethan spoke.
"Leonard, if you're still interested in dating Penny, all you'd really need right now is a higher-level character."
"Run a few dungeons with her and you'd basically be set."
"No!"
Leonard rejected the idea instantly.
Then realized he had answered far too quickly.
He cleared his throat.
"I think our priority should be getting her out of the game."
"She's in a really bad state right now."
"She's just a little messy," Ethan said reassuringly.
"You can think of her as a cute little pig."
"I'll pass," Leonard replied.
Ethan shrugged.
It was only a suggestion.
The truth was, for someone in Penny's current situation, this was exactly the easiest stage for developing admiration toward someone.
If a person was better at the game than she was...
Willing to carry her through dungeons...
And also took good care of her in real life...
That combination of reliability and guidance could very easily turn into emotional dependence.
In the original timeline, even Howard had come surprisingly close to pulling it off.
But...
Remembering the sight of Penny curled up on that couch moments ago, Ethan couldn't help shaking his head.
Only Howard would be desperate enough to go after her in that condition.