Chapter 19

Shi Yu was surprised—Sang Huaiyu asked about him on the phone?

He froze for a moment, taking a long time to fully understand what that meant.

His heart suddenly skipped a beat. He had never met Sang Huaiyu before, so how did that person even know who he was—let alone ask about him?

Just thinking about how Sang Huaiyu, behind his perfect and pure image, was actually some mysterious and dangerous being made Shi Yu’s scalp tingle. The question now felt even more terrifying. He couldn’t help but clench his fists—did Sang Huaiyu discover something?

Shi Yu looked at Han Chuyi, hoping to read something from his expression. But Han Chuyi just looked annoyed—there was nothing useful on his face.

“Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Are you too happy to talk now?”

Han Chuyi sneered. After all, no one who had met Sang Huaiyu could ignore his godlike beauty. On top of that, Sang wasn’t just from a powerful family—he was also the only one among the ability users who had reached the top. With so many advantages, even someone as proud as Han Chuyi couldn’t help but admire him.

Now seeing Shi Yu looking so stunned, Han just assumed he was like the others—dazed by Sang Huaiyu’s charm.

Shi Yu: …

Happy, my foot!

Being noticed by the biggest final boss in the whole story—he should be scared to death, not happy! He was just hoping he wouldn’t suddenly die in his sleep one day. Only someone with no fear of death would feel lucky about this—like this idiot in front of him, clearly blinded by the evil god’s charm.

Shi Yu gave Han Chuyi a strange look, which made Han a bit irritated.

“What’s with that look?”

Shi Yu replied, “Would you believe me if I said I’ve never met this ‘Mr. Sang’ you keep talking about?”

Han Chuyi: “Never met?”

“Who are you trying to fool? If you hadn’t met Sang, why would he suddenly ask about you? That guy is busy all the time—he doesn’t just randomly notice some small-time streamer. And you’re telling me he remembers your name?”

Han Chuyi looked completely unconvinced.

Shi Yu twitched his lips. He really hadn’t met him—at least not in a real conversation.

He’d only been to the Abilities Association once and had stayed home ever since. How the hell did that evil god even know about him?

…Wait.

Shi Yu suddenly remembered—when he went to the Association a few days ago, he might have run into someone near the testing room.

That memory had been blurry, but now it came back clearly. And suddenly, he froze.

—A tall, lean young man, silver-white curly hair, a white silk ribbon, and a small red mole beside his nose.

The image in his mind grew clearer. He remembered that person helping him get his canned lunch meat out of the vending machine. His face changed slightly.

Wasn’t that exactly how the book described the evil god with the divine appearance?

He had definitely seen him. So why had he forgotten all about it? Why hadn’t he noticed anything strange at the time?

If Han Chuyi hadn’t just mentioned it, Shi Yu wouldn’t have remembered at all.

—He had seen the protagonist on his very first visit to the Association. But after brushing past him, he completely forgot the whole thing.

Something was wrong.

Shi Yu clearly remembered how deeply the protagonist was described in the book. There was no way he wouldn’t recognize Sang Huaiyu.

So that meant… he had already been influenced by the evil god back then?

A cold feeling crept through him. Shi Yu pressed his lips together. For the first time, he truly felt how terrifying the protagonist was.

Han Chuyi was still questioning him, but Shi Yu realized that no matter what he said now, Han wouldn’t believe him.

So he pushed those thoughts down and simply asked,

“Are we done here?”

“If we are, I’m going home.”

He had been on edge all day, and now even Shi Yu couldn’t take it anymore.

Han Chuyi was a bit annoyed by Shi Yu’s earlier comments, but when he saw how pale Shi Yu looked—like he wasn’t feeling well—he let it go. Just as he was about to offer to take Shi Yu home, his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“What? A regular person sent to the hospital got contaminated?”

“Alright, I’m coming now.”

Han frowned. He hadn’t expected problems to pop up so soon and had no choice but to drop the conversation.

“Alright, then. Go home first.”

“Once you get home, message me.”

Shi Yu: ???

Since when were they that close?

Even when he reported the “men’s high heels” case to Han Chuyi, he only did it as a responsible citizen. He never thought they were friends or anything.

Plus, wasn’t this guy just arguing with him a minute ago?

Shi Yu ignored him. Only after getting on the bus did he finally breathe a sigh of relief and start reviewing everything that happened today.

First, there was that sudden creepy event, then Fu Nanyao’s transformation, and then… the evil god asking about him.

So annoying.

Shi Yu rubbed his forehead, feeling a wave of irritation rise for the first time.

But then he hesitated—maybe the evil god didn’t pay much attention to him? They only brushed past each other, right?

He probably remembered his name because of the “men’s heels” report.

Shi Yu made up his mind—not to get involved with the story anymore. The further he stayed away from plot characters, the better.

When the bus stopped, he looked at Han Chuyi’s WeChat.

After a moment’s hesitation, he reached out and deleted the most active contact—Han Chuyi.

That night, Han Chuyi worked all night. When he finally got home and was about to rest, he suddenly remembered something and grabbed his phone.

On top of his contact list was “Sang Huaiyu.” Han casually scrolled down—and landed on the chat with Shi Yu from earlier that day.

A cute cartoon shark was Shi Yu’s profile picture—totally unlike his personality. But now that he thought about it, Shi Yu’s streaming name was something like “Shark Blowing Bubbles.”

So childish.

Lying in bed, Han Chuyi grinned a little. The moonlight lit up his handsome, sharp features. After chewing on his lip, he suddenly sent Shi Yu a funny sticker.

He had been a bit rude earlier—was Shi Yu asleep now?

Just as Han was thinking that, he saw the chat screen lag for a second.

Then a red exclamation mark popped up.

Message failed to send.

A bold system message followed:

“Dear user, you are not friends with ‘Shark Blowing Bubbles.’ Please add them as a friend before sending messages.”

Han Chuyi shot up in bed, stunned for a while.

That guy actually deleted him?!

Shi Yu had no idea Han Chuyi was fuming.

After getting home, he took a shower and finally relaxed. He used to feel a bit awkward with the little eerie creature at home, but after dealing with the terrifying “men’s heels” incident, the little guy now looked kind of adorable.

When Shi Yu got back, the little creature was already at the door. As soon as it heard him enter, it ran over with his slippers and tried to stand straight while taking the stuff from Shi Yu.

Shi Yu: …

He felt a little guilty—but not much.

Maybe eerie creatures could sense each other. When the little one touched him today, it jumped back—like it smelled something scary on him.

Realizing this, Shi Yu crouched down and said, “I’m okay.”

“There was just a bit of trouble at the hospital today, but it’s over now.”

“If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll go shower again.”

Really?
The little guy could still smell the terrifying aura on Shi Yu and felt uneasy.

But hearing his calm voice, its chilly leaves swayed gently, and it finally relaxed.

Shi Yu felt a tickle in his palm and couldn’t help but smile.

“Alright, go rest now.”

“If there’s anything, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

The little guy obediently went to its room.

After washing up and drying his hair, Shi Yu closed his eyes, but thoughts of Fu Nanyao suddenly popped into his mind.

He tried to recall the story—but couldn’t remember. Was it possible to reverse a transformation like that?

Lost in thought, Shi Yu eventually drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, at the city’s Seventh Hospital, Fu Nanyao had been there for a full day and night. After coming out of the emergency room, his condition had stabilized.

Shen Yan, who had been away on a business trip, returned and was surprised to see a missed call from Shi Yu. He immediately tried to call back—but by then, there was no signal.

After returning to City B, Shen Yan finally found out what had happened today.

An SSS-level monster had attacked the hospital, and when Shi Yu called earlier, he was asking for help. Luckily, Han Chuyi had answered the phone.

Thinking about this, Shen Yan finally relaxed a bit. He looked at Fu Nanyao, who had been brought back to the Ability Users Association an hour ago.

After his external wounds were treated, Fu Nanyao was no longer suitable to stay in a regular hospital. He had to return to the Association for special treatment.

As the only doctor in the team, Shen Yan was also responsible for monitoring Fu Nanyao’s condition.

When he sent Fu Nanyao to the examination room this time, Shen Yan already felt something was wrong.

He leaned back and waited quietly. Suddenly, Sang Huaiyu said,

“Captain Fu is fine this time.”

Fine?

Before leaving the training ground and heading to Beishan Hospital, Fu Nanyao’s corruption level had already reached 85%. At the hospital, he even lost control and fought with the “Men’s High Heels” monster. His corruption level shouldn’t have stayed stable.

Normally, a corruption level of 90% means someone has turned into a monster. If it hits 95%, they lose all sanity and only want to kill.

Before entering the exam room, Fu Nanyao had used his powers. Even with the best expectations, Shen Yan thought his corruption level was at least 90%.

That would mean he had turned into a monster, but still kept a bit of his mind. And yet, Sang Huaiyu was saying he was fine?

Sang Huaiyu had merged with a strange supernatural object that gave him powers like “prophecy,” “vision,” and “foresight.”

Because of this, when he said something, people believed him.

But this made the situation even weirder.

Fu Nanyao had fought an SSS-level monster and even broke through its nightmare field. And yet, his corruption level didn’t rise?

Why?

What exactly happened at the hospital today?

Everyone, including senior officials from the Association, waited outside the examination room. When the alarms finally stopped, the door opened.

A staff member in full protective gear walked out with the report. His expression was odd.

“The report shows that Captain Fu’s corruption level kept going up and down…”

“But in the end, it landed at… 80%.”

It was even lower than it had been after leaving the training ground.

But how could that be?

To be honest, when this result first came out, both the examiner and his colleagues thought they must have made a mistake.

But after checking again and again with the equipment, the result was still the same.

It was correct. Even though there were ups and downs, the final result was a lower corruption level.

This was the first case where a corruption level had decreased after fusing with a supernatural being.

For the Ability Users Association, this was hard to believe.

Shen Yan reached out to take the report. He read it carefully, then said with a complicated look:

“Looks like we’ll need to ask Captain Fu himself.”

“Is he awake?” Shen Yan looked toward the room.

Wen Jingjing nodded. “Yes, he’s awake.”

But she looked unsure. “Captain Fu saw the report just now, but he said… he doesn’t remember anything from that time.”

Inside the exam room, Fu Nanyao lowered his eyes. In his memory, the last thing he remembered was being enraged by the “Men’s High Heels” monster. His corruption level hit 99%. Then, using the last of his reason, he went downstairs to break the field and let the civilians escape.

But after that, his memory was completely blank.

When someone’s corruption level hits 100%, they don’t remember anything. So Fu Nanyao guessed he fully turned into a monster as soon as he went downstairs.

That would explain why he remembered nothing afterward.

But then… how did he turn back?

Fu Nanyao had no memory of what happened after that.

He sat on the examination bed, frowning as he breathed. For some reason, he felt a strange dislike for the strong smell of disinfectant in the room.

It was like, without realizing it, he had once smelled something much better—something sweet and pleasant…