Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Risk of a Stroke

Hearing Michelle Fuller’s voice, Renee frowned. "What happened to your grandfather?"

Michelle Fuller’s voice was choked with sobs. "Mrs. Lowe called. She said she got home from her dance group and found Grandpa collapsed on the floor."

"How is he doing now?" Renee asked, concerned. "Which hospital is he in?"

"The doctor said they were lucky to get him to the hospital in time..." Michelle Fuller gave her the address. "Renee, are you coming over now?"

"Yes, I’m getting changed now. I’ll see you soon." After hanging up, Renee hurried to her room to find something to wear.

Diana Jennings saw her standing in front of the closet, using her phone’s flashlight, and asked softly, "Renee, are you going out?"

Renee glanced back at her. "Diana, Michelle’s grandfather is in the hospital. I’m going to go see him."

Diana Jennings reminded her, "Drive safely."

"I know. You should get some rest, Diana." Renee grabbed her clothes and gently closed the door.

In the darkness, the screen of Diana Jennings’s phone lit up.

She picked it up and saw another strange message from an unknown number.

[Do you know why you lost your virginity five years ago? Renee did it. She wanted to ruin you!]

Diana Jennings stared at the message, her mind flashing back to that ridiculous night.

Her brow furrowed. Her fingertip touched the screen, and she dialed the number.

"We’re sorry, the number you have dialed has been switched off..."

Diana Jennings’s gaze turned ice-cold.

She gripped her phone tightly, then added the unknown number to her block list.

The hospital reeked of disinfectant. Under the cold, white lights of the hospital room, Mr. Fuller lay quietly on the bed, wearing a respirator.

"Ms. Fuller," Renee said, her voice soft.

Upon seeing her, Mrs. Fuller quickly masked her worried expression and greeted her with a smile. "Renee, you’re here."

"Renee," Sean Fuller greeted her with a nod.

Renee glanced at the heart monitor. All the readings were normal.

Michelle Fuller linked arms with her, her voice full of residual fear. "The doctor said he was at risk of a stroke if he hadn’t gotten medical help in time. It scared me to death."

"I know," Mrs. Fuller said, also terrified.

Sean Fuller frowned, his voice laced with confusion. "Grandpa always takes his blood pressure medication on time. At his last check-up, the doctor even said he was doing great. I don’t understand why he would suddenly collapse."

Michelle Fuller said, "I checked the security camera at the entrance. My dad’s cousin was here to see Grandpa tonight."

Hearing this, Mrs. Fuller said in surprise, "Michelle, are you suggesting...?"

"Yes," Michelle Fuller said, her expression grave. "Grandpa wouldn’t just collapse for no reason."

Renee understood. She glanced at her. "Does your grandfather keep any pets at home?"

Michelle Fuller replied, "An iguana."

’An iguana...’

Renee couldn’t find an Iguana Dictionary in her animal dictionary database.

She hadn’t acquired the language of the iguanid family yet.

Renee pressed her lips together, a wave of guilt and sadness washing over her.

She suddenly didn’t know how to tell Michelle that she couldn’t help this time.

Seeing her silence, Michelle Fuller seemed to guess something. "Renee, is it too difficult?"

Renee was about to nod when she suddenly thought of something.

She mentally opened the system control panel and went to the points shop. There, she saw an item that could be exchanged for the language of any animal family. In an instant, her eyes seemed to fill with starlight, shining brilliantly.

This item cost 200 points to redeem.

Renee glanced at her current point balance: 730.

’Spending 200 points on it seems a bit expensive,’ she thought.

’Wait a minute,’ she thought. ’Haven’t I gotten the reward for ruining Cole and Shirley Griffin’s wedding yet?’

Renee quickly checked her points-earned history.

Just as she suspected!

She immediately tried to communicate with System 009, but there was no response.

All Michelle Fuller saw was Renee spacing out.

She asked with concern, "Renee, what’s wrong?"

’The system must be malfunctioning,’ Renee thought.

Renee closed the control panel and turned to meet Michelle Fuller’s concerned gaze. A faint smile played on her lips. "It’s not too difficult. I can communicate with it."

"Okay, let’s go to my grandfather’s house now." Michelle Fuller sighed in relief, then her expression turned grim again. "If my dad’s cousin is the one who upset Grandpa and caused him to collapse, and then just ran off, I swear I’m not letting this go!"

On the way to Mr. Fuller’s house, Renee tried to communicate with System 009 again, but there was still no response.

’Is it just 009 that’s malfunctioning, or is the whole system down?’

Renee’s heart sank, and she quickly spent 200 points to redeem the animal language item.

[Confirm purchase of "Animal Language Tool" for 200 points?]

Renee selected "Yes."

[You have successfully purchased the "Animal Language Tool." Please select a language dictionary.]

Renee scrolled to the "Iguana Dictionary" and confirmed her selection.

Seeing the "Purchase Successful" notification, she slowly let out a breath of relief.

’Thank goodness the system is still working. I wonder what System 009 is up to this time.’

’Is it secretly upgrading itself again, like last time?’

The car pulled up in front of the old family home where Mr. Fuller lived.

Renee and Michelle Fuller got out of the car, and Michelle opened the door using facial recognition.

A few lamps lit the courtyard, clearly illuminating lush green plants and swaying flowers. A decorative rockery stood tall, with a stream of water trickling down its side, filling the air with an old-world charm.

Mr. Fuller’s favorite place to be was in his study, reading and practicing calligraphy. The iguana he kept was also in here.

Michelle Fuller flipped a switch, and in an instant, a warm, orange-hued light filled the entire study.

To the right of the desk sat a huge terrarium, and Renee’s eyes were immediately drawn to a conspicuous splash of olive green.

"Why is this iguana so big?" she asked in surprise.

Michelle Fuller gave a wry smile. "Grandpa fell in love with this Green Iguana at first sight. We never expected it to get so big; we’ve already gone through two terrariums for it."

Renee nodded and took out her phone to do a search.

Green Iguana Characteristics: Non-confrontational. Enjoys only two activities: eating and sunbathing.

Looks intimidating, but has a gentle and timid nature.

’What a strong contrast.’

Renee walked over to the terrarium.

The Green Iguana was lying lazily in its basking hammock, its eyes like two small green lanterns, watching her with a mix of caution and curiosity.

"I’ve never seen this human before..."

"Hello," Renee said, calmly meeting its gaze with a smile. "My name is Renee. What’s your name?"

The Green Iguana didn’t react to her advance at all.

After all, plenty of humans had tried to talk to it before.

"Since you don’t want to tell me, I’ll just call you Greenie," Renee said, raising an eyebrow. "How do you like that name?"

"Greenie?" The Green Iguana did not like this name. "Utterly unoriginal."

"Unoriginal?" Renee thought for a moment. "How about Green Hat, then?"

"Green Hat?" The Green Iguana seemed quite interested in this name. "That sounds pretty good."

Renee: "..."

’It has some strange taste,’ she thought.

"Wait a minute!" The Green Iguana’s lantern-like eyes suddenly widened in shock, as if it had discovered a great secret. "You... you human can understand lizard-speak?"

Renee nodded and asked with a smile, "Is that so strange?"

The Green Iguana exclaimed, "Yes! It’s very strange! I’ve never met a human who could communicate with me before!"

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