Chapter 876: So Sad I Could Die

To be honest, Aries’ request is quite simple. The person in his heart already has a general outline—only a face is missing.

But how could such a face be so easy to find?

After all, Aries said, “It can’t be a face from the real world.” So where on earth are we supposed to create this face?

“Um… what about a cartoon character?” Jiang Ruoxue asked.

It seemed like she and I were thinking the same thing. If we can’t use a real-world face, then perhaps only a cartoon character would work.

“I don’t watch much cartoons either,” Aries said. “Can you find one?”

I understood what Aries meant. Even if it was a completely fictional cartoon character, Aries still needed to see the face.

“We can try to find one for you,” I said. “But the path you’re taking is so rare that no one can guarantee success.”

“I understand,” Aries replied. “Whether it works or not, I’ll remember this kindness.”

After bidding farewell to Aries, Jiang Ruoxue and I set off on our journey to find a “face.”

Jiang Ruoxue had come to see me this time, and it would be several days before she respawned in her own room, so we still had some time.

But how difficult would it be to find a “face” in such a vast city?

Especially one that didn’t exist in the real world—a completely fictional cartoon face.

We searched many nearby buildings that looked like residences, focusing mainly on posters on the walls and bookshelves inside.

But every room here seemed to have been ransacked. The walls were covered in cracks and scorch marks, and paper materials were severely damaged, barely recognizable. We managed to find a few intact ones, but the cartoon images on them were just simple sketches, with only basic lines outlining the facial features. I tried imagining them on a real person’s face, but it didn’t match at all.

Just as we were at a loss, I suddenly remembered that strange snake.

Though I hadn’t thoroughly checked every book, if I thought about it—shouldn’t a bookstore have comic books? Even if not, there should at least be sketchbooks or drawing tutorials, right? Those would have fully fictional faces, which might help Aries.

“Ruoxue, come with me.”

I took her to the White Snake’s game area, where we happened to see several people walking out in tears, followed by the White Snake himself, also teary-eyed.

Jiang Ruoxue was bewildered by the strange sight.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “Why are all these people crying?”

“Uh… I’m not sure either. I haven’t been here in a while.”

Watching the White Snake reluctantly shake hands with each person as they left, I found it absurd. Had the “Support Group” really taken off? But why did everyone look so sad?

Wasn’t this place supposed to help people overcome sadness?

The White Snake turned and noticed me. He wiped his tears and shook his head. “I should greet you, but I’m not in the mood right now, so I’ll pass.”

“W-Wait a second…” I hurried forward. “White Snake… I need your help with something. It won’t take long…”

“Not now,” the White Snake said irritably. “I didn’t expect to hear so many sad stories in one day. My mood is terrible. But… I still have to thank you for your stupid idea. After renaming it the ‘Support Group,’ we’ve gotten a lot more visitors…”

“Sadness Support Group…?” Jiang Ruoxue almost laughed, barely suppressing it. “A misery competition?”

“You…” The White Snake glanced at her and sighed deeply. “What do you know, brat? Listening to sad stories makes it easy to empathize… I need to go cry for a bit. Don’t bother me.”

“Hey, wait…!” Jiang Ruoxue quickly stepped forward. “White Snake, this is a bookstore, right? Do you have books?”

“Yes,” the White Snake nodded.

“Can we borrow one?”

“No,” he replied.

“Eh…?” Jiang Ruoxue was stunned.

“That won’t work,” I cut in. “I’ve dealt with him before. He doesn’t lend out his books.”

“Then what about just one page?” Jiang Ruoxue pressed.

“Brat, no means no. Not even a corner of a page,” the White Snake snapped. “If you want me to lend you a book, you’ll have to join my ‘Support Group’ and come share sad stories with me every day. Otherwise, leave. I’m really not in the mood to argue.”

Though Jiang Ruoxue and I were seeing the fully-formed “Support Group” for the first time, the sight of those weeping people earlier told us this wasn’t the place for us.

“Wait, wait…” Jiang Ruoxue scratched her head. “White Snake, how about this… We can’t join your ‘Support Group,’ but I can offer you something else in return.”

“Something else…?”

Jiang Ruoxue nodded lightly. “You came up with such a weird organization on your own, so you must be a pretty kind person, right?”

“Not exactly kind, but this group is important to me,” the White Snake said.

“Either way, you’re willing to listen to others’ sad stories. That’s admirable to me,” Jiang Ruoxue continued. “So, I thought of a way to help you stop feeling sad.”

“Stop… feeling sad?”

“Yep!” Jiang Ruoxue grinned. “I wouldn’t tell just anyone this—it’s kind of my secret technique. If you want to hear it, you’ll need to give us a sketchbook. Deal?”

I’ve said it before—I really admire Jiang Ruoxue.

The White Snake pondered for a moment before asking skeptically, “You can really help me stop feeling sad?”

Jiang Ruoxue didn’t answer. Instead, she stretched out her hand. “The book.”

The White Snake fell silent, then nodded. “Wait here.”

He went inside the bookstore to search, while Jiang Ruoxue and I waited outside. After a while, his voice came from inside: “No sketchbooks left… Will a comic book work?”

“Sure!” Jiang Ruoxue called back.

Soon, the White Snake emerged, holding a palm-sized comic book. The cover looked very old, titled *20th Century Boys*.

“This is it. Will it do?” He handed it to Jiang Ruoxue.

“Fine.” She took the book, nodded, and passed it to me.

I flipped through it briefly and noticed the characters looked slightly more realistic than typical manga. Hopefully, it would help Aries.

“Now, tell me how to stop feeling sad,” the White Snake said mournfully.

“Simpleton…” Jiang Ruoxue smirked. “Listen up. If you feel sad… you can just try dying.”

I nearly jumped at her words, expecting the White Snake to lash out and kill us both. But instead, he just froze for a second—then slowly nodded.

“That makes sense…” His lips curled into a grin. “If I feel sad, I can just die! Perfect!”