Chapter 38

The little monster nodded obediently. Seeing that Mom understood it, it happily waved its tentacles.

Shi Yu was confused for a moment. He didn’t expect someone would actually be looking for the little monster.

Does it even know anyone here?

Feeling a bit puzzled, Shi Yu became serious because of what the little monster said.

“Can you feel who is calling you?”

The little monster focused and slowly shook its tentacles.

“I don’t know… Mom.”

“Wah lah,” it said, feeling useless and lowered its head sadly. But then it quickly cheered up.

However, it could feel… the direction of the person on the other side?

The scattered signals came through the little monster’s lower belly to Shi Yu.

Shi Yu listened carefully and told the little monster to send him the exact address.

The little monster nodded.

After a while, Shi Yu finally got the location of the person calling the little monster. When he saw it, he was shocked. — “Yunxiao Mall”?

Why there?

He narrowed his eyes, feeling strange.

But the calling voice was already getting weaker.

The little monster raised its tentacles confusedly. Hearing Mom say, “Keep listening.”

“Tell me what you find later.”

The little monster said, “Wah lah.”

Okay, Mom!

Of course, Shi Yu wasn’t foolish enough to just rush to Yunxiao Mall when hearing the voice. Who knows what might happen? Could it be a trap set by someone else, waiting for him to walk into it?

After having the little monster secretly listen the whole time, Shi Yu calmed down, washed his hands, and returned to his room as if nothing had happened.

On the livestream, after the camera that was turned off was turned back on, Shi Yu’s face appeared on the screen. He looked the same as before, and no one knew what he had done during those few minutes he was gone.

Everyone was actually more worried about Shi Yu.

“Yu Bao, if you’re sick, you should rest well.”

“You work so hard every day. No need to livestream tomorrow, just take medicine and sleep.”

Shi Yu said this morning that he caught a cold, and just now he felt unwell and went to the bathroom.

Looking at that pure and handsome face, the chat was full of love and care. After all, who could be heartless?

He was the only good-looking food streamer, and everyone was waiting to watch Yu Bao eat.

Shi Yu blinked, surprised that the fans were so understanding. They let him take leave before he even said anything.

“It’s actually not that serious.”

“I’ll take medicine tonight and see how I feel. If I’m fine, I’ll livestream as usual tomorrow.”

He pressed his lips lightly. Suddenly, after hearing some fans’ “aow aow” (sounds of concern), he felt a bit puzzled.

Fan “Love lamb skewers”: “Cough cough, Yu Bao, don’t worry too much.”

“Get some rest early.”

“Okay.”

Shi Yu smiled. After chatting with fans for a bit, he turned off the camera and ended the livestream.

On the other side, Sang Huaiyu also saw that Shi Yu was sick.

Sick?

He paused slightly. By human manners, he seemed like he should ask about it.

Shi Yu was about to go offline when he saw his backstage avatar shake — a new message popped up.

Who is it?

He looked and was surprised to see it was the big boss.

“Sick?”

A simple message appeared on the screen. Shi Yu clicked it and was surprised the big boss also watched his livestream.

He vaguely replied.

A little cold should count as a cold, and he did have a little monster inside his belly, so he did feel a bit unwell.

He thought the boss was just casually asking after seeing the livestream, but after hearing his answer, the boss paused to think.

Sang Huaiyu: “If that’s the case…”

“I bought some medicine. A delivery guy will bring it soon. Remember to receive it.”

Shi Yu: …???

What? Bought medicine?

Wait, he frowned suspiciously and looked at the screen. “Boss, how do you know my home address?”

He just ordered delivery directly, but how would the boss know where he lived?

Sang Huaiyu looked up, a bit surprised Shi Yu was so sharp.

“It’s written in the contract.”

Shi Yu: …Oops, I forgot about that. That makes the boss’s question make more sense now.

His ears felt a bit hot. He touched them and thought he might have overreacted.

But the boss didn’t seem angry.

Sang Huaiyu smiled faintly and said calmly, “Being cautious living alone is good.”

At least for humans, that’s how it is.

Suddenly praised, Shi Yu felt a little shy because he just doubted the boss.

“Thanks, boss.”

“Well, boss, you went to a lot of trouble. I’ll wait to receive it.”

He scrolled down to find an OK emoji. After waiting a while with no reply, he put down his phone.

After about ten minutes, Shi Yu turned his head and saw the delivery had really arrived, and quite quickly.

He looked at the delivery info that appeared after the boss’s message and typed to ask the delivery guy to leave it at the door.

Only after hearing the elevator sound did he go out to get it.

The heavy bag shocked Shi Yu when he lifted it.

If the boss hadn’t said it was medicine, Shi Yu might have thought it was full of stones — why so much? Maybe it was delivered to the wrong place?

He didn’t believe it and went back to the living room, turned on the light, and opened the package. Inside, there were many layers of medicines neatly packed.

Shi Yu: ???

No way, did the boss buy every medicine the pharmacy had?

The whole bag was full.

Shi Yu’s eyelids twitched as he counted. He even thought these medicines could last him five years.

There were too many things to complain about; he didn’t know where to start. He looked down at the big bag and finally couldn’t help but pick up his phone.

“Boss, are you sure you bought all these?”

Sang Huaiyu looked down and saw “Received?”

“What’s wrong?”

He just glanced and didn’t think much. Not knowing exactly why humans get sick, Sang Huaiyu bought a little of everything to avoid delay.

Uh… Shi Yu wanted to question it but thought the boss meant well. Buying so many medicines might just be a simple wealthy person’s straightforward way.

Damn!

When will he become rich? Why can’t he get rich overnight too?

It’s frustrating to compare. He didn’t even have a car, and someone was disturbing his little monster’s sleep in the middle of the night. Now he had to wait.

Shi Yu gritted his teeth and shyly deleted the question mark he had typed. Just as he was about to reply, suddenly a big red envelope appeared from the other side…

Sang Huaiyu, reading a “How to be a good boss” tutorial online, was trying to learn by example:

“This is an employee benefit.”

“Your — sick pay.”

Shi Yu: !!!

He took back his sour words. Seeing “employee benefit,” he hesitated but clicked accept, very tempted but shy.

This should be okay to accept, right?

Sick pay, after all. Shouldn’t be a problem.

Shi Yu blinked and accepted the red envelope. His mood warmed up a bit. Suddenly, all the noisy disturbances that had woken him up didn’t seem so annoying anymore.

Even though he didn’t know what the boss’s future intentions were, the immediate benefit was real.

Shi Yu took a deep breath, looked at the amount in the red envelope, and typed with genuine feeling:

“Boss, you’re really a good person.”

Sang Huaiyu: …?

Good person?

He paused, remembering what “good person” meant to humans, and raised an eyebrow.

Members of the superpower association passing by saw Mr. Sang looking at his phone thoughtfully, feeling curious and glanced again.

Sang Huaiyu looked up, seeing Wang Shan, who hadn’t left with Shen Yan and the others, looking curious. He smiled slightly with narrowed eyes under white silk.

Wang Shan suddenly felt a chill, like something was watching him. He rubbed his arms nervously and didn’t dare look anymore.

So strange. Why did Mr. Sang just look weird?

…

After turning off his phone, Shi Yu randomly picked two bags of medicine from the big delivery that matched his symptoms.

After scanning them with the medical robot and confirming they were okay, he drank a cup.

Wow, the taste!

Shi Yu quickly gulped water the next second.

The little monster saw Mom looking so uncomfortable drinking medicine and “wah lah wah lah” comforted him.

Shi Yu hadn’t taken medicine in a long time and almost spit it out because it was so bitter. After swallowing the bitter taste, he felt a little better.

“It’s okay.”

He comforted the little monster, then remembered the main thing.

“How’s your eavesdropping going?”

“Did they call you again?”

The little monster tilted its head, thinking about Mom’s question, nodded then shook its head, and gently pressed its tentacle against Mom’s skin.

Shi Yu was puzzled, then heard the conversation from the other side.

Though they were several streets apart, through the little monster’s tentacles he could hear everything clearly.

“Hahaha!”

Suddenly, a strange sound came. It was a man with a very ugly voice laughing wildly?

The hoarse laughter made Shi Yu’s ears numb. He couldn’t imagine how the little monster listened for so long. He rubbed his ears slightly, thinking the man on the other side might be crazy.

Sure enough, the next second, the laughing man started speaking.

“Did you see it?”

“Open your eyes wide, you will definitely see it!”

Shi Yu: …?

See what?

Peng Badou had been watching for a long time. At first, his brain hurt badly, like something was irritating it. His vision blurred for a moment. But later, the feeling weakened.

The monitoring stone in Ma Wuyang’s hand was about to run out of power.

He pressed his head, afraid to look at the crazy man beside him. His whole body itched. He didn’t dare to look down, afraid he might have already become like the “horse” on the other side.

He could only use his last bit of reason to resist and prayed someone would come quickly.

He had never looked forward to the arrival of the superpower association’s people so much.

“Catch this madman quickly!”

No matter what price he has to pay, it’s okay.

Peng Ba was confused in his mind and didn’t notice that fine grass-like sprouts were growing on his face.

Ma Wuyang kept forcing him to look. His crazy voice grew louder and louder, so Shi Yu couldn’t help but move away.

Then he heard… hmm?

It sounded like a car stopping?

Ma Wuyang and Peng Ba couldn’t hear clearly in the basement. But with the help of the little monster’s tentacles, Shi Yu could hear everything clearly. Nearby, in the parking lot, a car stopped and was heading toward Yunxiao Mall.

Zhao Wen took out the car keys.

“Is it here?”

“Wait.”

“There really seems to be a strange feeling inside the building.” He checked and his expression changed a bit.

At first, while driving, everyone was doubtful. But after coming here, they really felt it.

Shen Yan closed his eyes to sense, then opened them: “The basement was changed before. Someone must have used a strange cover to hide it.”

“Now the feeling is leaking out.”

“Something must have happened inside.”

“Let’s go straight in.” They looked at each other. Han Chuyi’s arm turned strange, and he was the first to enter the mall.

Shi Yu came to find out who was calling the little monster but didn’t expect people from the Psychics Association to get involved.

The noise just now was Dr. Shen and Han Chuyi?

He was surprised.

Why are they here?

A few people kept searching for the hidden basement entrance. Inside, Peng Ba, pushed nearly to madness by Ma Wuyang, finally couldn’t take it anymore. He threw the surveillance stone to the ground and turned to run.

The sudden noise alerted those searching for the entrance. Han Chuyi looked to the west side.

“Here!”

Ma Wuyang didn’t expect him to run, his face darkened. He picked up the surveillance stone.

The strange energy on him spread out and chased after Peng Ba.

Peng Ba just reached the door and saw a splitting human head chasing him.

That head had the exact same expression as Ma Wuyang: a fierce glare and a twisted laugh.

If it caught him, the result would be obvious.

Peng Ba used all his strength to escape. One by one, he threw off the strange things on his body. In just one minute, his right hand was caught.

With a scream, he made up his mind and threw his hand away, then crawled forward.

Han Chuyi kicked open the hidden door and entered.

Suddenly, a human head exploded in front of him, blood running down the wall.

On the ground lay a person, covered in blood, life uncertain.

Ma Wuyang lost control the moment he caught Peng Ba. But he didn’t expect someone else to come.

When the hidden door he placed was broken, Ma Wuyang noticed immediately.

Someone else came in?

Did Peng Ba reveal the location?

In that moment, he realized something was wrong. Not having time to deal with Peng Ba, Ma Wuyang pulled back his head and looked deeply at the unconscious Peng Ba on the ground, then quickly disappeared.

After losing one hand, Peng Ba finally couldn’t bear the pain and fear and fainted.

The Psychics Association people who entered saw this scene that looked like a crime scene.

“Leave one person to watch this.”

“I’ll keep chasing.”

Han Chuyi looked back, said nothing more, and followed the fading energy.

Shen Yan frowned at the person on the ground and quickly identified him—a pickpocket from the “Gu Jin” group.

But why was he here? And why was he being chased?

Did a member of “Gu Jin” call the police on his own people?

Shen Yan looked serious and controlled the person to prevent accidents.

Meanwhile, Han Chuyi followed the fading energy right away.

Ma Wuyang was an SS-level psychic, and so was Han Chuyi. Han Chuyi was even stronger in one-on-one combat.

But Ma Wuyang escaped too quickly and had prepared many traps in the basement. Han Chuyi got lost in the maze.

After several turns, the energy was gone and the direction was lost.

“Damn!”

“Trash, running so fast.”

He searched with a stern face but found nothing.

Shi Yu covered his ears from the distant cursing, feeling speechless.

But the voices grew quieter. He guessed the escaping person took something and left.

From the earlier talk, Shi Yu guessed someone had a “surveillance stone” that had the little monster’s energy on it, so it could call the little monster.

Now, this surveillance stone was probably in the hands of the “Gu Jin” member. The one running with the stone was “Gu Jin” leader Ma Wuyang.

The message Feng Yunzhen told him connected in his mind, and Shi Yu frowned:

So why is Ma Wuyang calling the little monster?

…

Ma Wuyang had no real goal.

He was completely crazy. The head he carried buzzed loudly as he ran.

The strange-looking man went into a dark alley, cursing Peng Ba and holding the head carefully.

He had already brought Peng Ba to meet “it.”

And Peng Ba still dared to report him and work with the Psychics Association?

Ma Wuyang’s face was fierce as he carefully protected the surveillance stone like a treasure, holding it tightly.

“It’s okay, there’s still a chance.”

“Still a chance.”

Shi Yu listened to the rambling and twitched his mouth, thinking no—this kind of person must not poison the little monster’s ears. He bent down and lightly touched his belly. He wanted to ask the little monster if it could destroy the surveillance stone.

But then he stopped and thought maybe no need to destroy it. If he kept the stone, next time Ma Wuyang acted, Shi Yu would know and could teach him a lesson all at once.

Shi Yu felt more sure of this and relaxed a bit, pulling back his hand.

Back in the basement, Han Chuyi who couldn’t catch Ma Wuyang returned and saw the unconscious person controlled.

“Is he a problem too?”

Wang Shan looked strange and said, “He’s also a member of ‘Gu Jin.’”

Han Chuyi: …

“Members of ‘Gu Jin’ report their own people?”

Not just him was shocked—Wang Shan and Shen Yan also felt something strange about this.

Shen Yan felt this might help them find Ma Wuyang and understand these strange recent events.

They took unconscious Peng Ba back to the Psychics Association.

The second time meeting, Wang Chenghe, who just woke, was not surprised to see Peng Ba.

But what shocked him was that Peng Ba’s arm was cut off by the leader?

He was stunned for a moment, then saw Peng Ba take a deep breath.

Compared to the crazy fight in the basement, Peng Ba was calmer now. At least he was alive.

He looked around carefully, sure he was safe, then said:

“I confess.”

“I was the one who made the report call.”

Han Chuyi frowned impatiently: “If I’d known it was you.”

“What happened? Explain clearly.”

His face grew serious.

Peng Ba was dizzy for a moment. He felt calmer but the itch came again.

“Your face…”

Wang Chenghe suddenly shouted in fear.

Peng Ba looked down stiffly and saw the green sprouts on his face that looked very much like Ma Wuyang’s. His pupils shrank.

After a while, he calmed himself and said, “These are all Ma’s doing.”

“He didn’t know what he got, he’s… completely crazy.”

Half an hour later, Shen Yan looked at his notes.

“You said Ma Wuyang suddenly sent you a message threatening to meet.”

“You realized something was wrong from his orders before, so you called us as a backup.”

This sounded crazy.

“At the meeting, Ma Wuyang said there was a way to break psychic limits and forced you to look at a stone?”

“Yes, a stone.”

Peng Ba nodded. “That stone was once on a rotten butterfly.”

“On it… was something strange.”

When Peng Ba said this, he swallowed hard, like he saw something unbelievable. But his eyes grew fierce and the green sprouts on his face started growing again.

Shen Yan watched silently.

Wang Shan and the others were horrified by this too. They only dared look at each other after leaving the examination room.

Shen Yan closed his eyes: “Don’t touch Peng Ba for now.”

“Especially those green sprouts on his face.”

“Yes.”

Without Shen saying it, they knew. Zhao Wen nodded.

Han Chuyi frowned: “So Ma Wuyang’s change started after seeing that ‘stone’?”

What kind of stone was so powerful it drove a ‘Gu Jin’ leader crazy?

“Don’t know.” Wang Shan shook his head, feeling the whole thing was terrifying. They had to find Ma Wuyang and get to the bottom of this.

What exactly was that stone?

…

But after checking for days, no clue about the stone was found. They did get some leads on Ma Wuyang.

Since the day that guy escaped, he showed up near the flower-and-bird market and funeral street in City B.

According to the information they found, his mind is almost broken. They were very close to catching him.

After coming out of the simulation room, Fu Nanyao took over the case and looked at the info in his hand.

“First, catch Ma Wuyang.”

“He knows the most right now.”

The info said Ma Wuyang would go to Xijie Hailai supermarket to get a SIM card in two days. This was the newest lead from their contacts.

It was their best chance to catch him.

Shiyu also got news about Ma Wuyang, and because of the little monster who acts like a messenger, they had even more details than the psychic association.

“So this guy plans to go to the supermarket the day after tomorrow, and wants to kill witnesses?”

He’s really dangerous. Once he moves, trouble starts.

This time, they can’t let him succeed.

Luckily, he left behind a ‘monitoring stone’ with the little monster, otherwise they wouldn’t even know where he is.

Shiyu yawned: “Can we find where he is now?”

The little monster made some noises and closed its eyes to sense. Finally, it found a location.

“Mom… here.”

In the park?

Shiyu was surprised. That guy was really bold. But the park wasn’t hard — just find a blind spot in the cameras.

At night, Shiyu changed clothes and planned to go to West Road Park.

Because his belly had suddenly grown, he wore a loose hoodie to cover it as much as possible in the dark.

In West Road Park: Ma Wuyang sat strangely on a bench, staring at the monitoring stone, but it no longer felt the same.

It was gone.

People walking by saw someone sitting weirdly and got scared, stepping away from the bench.

Ma Wuyang lifted his head fiercely. When a lady walking her dog on the other side gasped, he got up, but suddenly the monitoring stone lit up.

It moved?!

The twisted-faced man excitedly raised his hand, his eyes bloodshot, almost laughing madly.

Then, suddenly, in the quiet night… a slap hit his face.

“Stop laughing!”

In the silent darkness, the air seemed frozen by the slap.

Ma Wuyang froze, didn’t move his body, only his eyes shifted. His crazed laughing face twisted from the slap.

“Thick-skinned!” Shiyu muttered quietly.

He had been holding back for a long time.

When he came over, he thought Ma Wuyang was about to harm an old lady and her dog — unforgivable. He wanted to hit him more but controlled himself.

Invisible mental threads controlled the area.

Ma Wuyang’s eyes were angry. Before he could move, he realized he was controlled.

But when did it start? He didn’t notice at all.

His face burned with pain, but he could only stand still like a puppet, waiting for the attacker to act.

Opposite him, Shiyu wore black and blended into the night, his face hidden. But each slap got stronger and stronger until Ma Wuyang’s eyes went blank and he finally stopped, breathing heavily.

Little monster: ???

“Uproar”

Fun…

Mom is… playing a game?

It wants to slap too!

The little monster was eager.

Shiyu smiled slightly, lowered his head: “What game? You only know how to play games.”

Becoming a game-addicted kid, seriously.

Seeing Ma Wuyang lost the will to fight, Shiyu slowly came forward, tightening the mental threads.

Ma Wuyang, with a bloodied face from the slaps, instinctively raised his head. His expression changed from alert, to scornful, then to fear.

In horror, he saw someone slowly walking out — a pregnant woman, whose face and shape couldn’t be clearly seen.