◎ Need to adjust relationship with new landlord. ◎
Ji Xuyang, unable to establish a tacit glance with his boss, squinted. He thoughtfully looked at his boss, then at the unfamiliar boy beside him, realizing this matter was not simple.
This was completely different from what he had imagined!
It was the first time he saw his boss get along peacefully with a suspected strange high-level being without immediately exposing the truth. Besides, Yue Peihui asked him to find an orange warning-level mission, presumably to test this boy. Now, his boss was gazing at him affectionately—what was that about?
He had been painstakingly pretending not to know his boss, which was already a tough challenge for his poor acting skills.
Just as he suspiciously eyed the two, the man being scrutinized lifted his eyelids slightly and said calmly, "Kind-hearted person, why don't you go check on that man?"
Ji Xuyang jolted awake and immediately laughed nervously, "Y-yeah, right, I'll go check right away!"
He hurried over to the unconscious middle-aged man, checked his breathing and condition, and found he was simply fainted. Ji Xuyang avoided Lin Jingdu's direction and used a detector to scan the abnormal energy concentration on the man, which had returned to normal. This meant the strange entity controlling the man had left his body and disappeared.
Ji Xuyang frowned and stroked his chin: "This is really strange."
He stood up and waved toward Yue Peihui, "He's fine now, don't worry!"
Fortunately, he acted quickly, and since the supermarket was on the verge of bankruptcy with few customers, the incident didn't escalate.
Not exactly fine. Hearing Ji Xuyang's words, Lin Jingdu pressed his lips. He could sense the eerie aura still lingering densely in the supermarket, not dissipated.
The boy's eyes darkened. If not dealt with, it could harm humans when he was otherwise occupied. The Evil God could never allow that to happen.
But what excuse could he use to leave briefly and handle that guy? Although humans knew he had special abilities, saying "I'm going to be a magical boy" as an excuse felt odd.
Before he could think of a reason, Lin Jingdu saw Ji Xuyang approaching, peeking at their shopping cart basket, then feigning surprise: "Ah, you bought so many vegetables!"
"Yes," Lin Jingdu said, "because vegetables are discounted after nine at night…"
Ji Xuyang wanted to distract Lin Jingdu for a bit, so he had a sudden idea: "Hey, bro, you're good at picking fresh vegetables, could you come with me to the vegetable section?"
Yue Peihui frowned, his eyes showing slight objection.
Ji Xuyang understood his hint, chuckled awkwardly, "If not, never mind, no big deal…"
"Okay." Lin Jingdu thought for a moment and agreed.
Yue Peihui suddenly looked down at him.
The boy looked up calmly: "It'll be quick anyway. I also want to get something from that direction." Lin Jingdu pointed toward the direction where he sensed the aura.
Yue Peihui naturally wouldn't refuse the chance for some alone time. His black eyes darkened with complexity as he quietly said, "…Alright."
Lin Jingdu nodded, fluttering his long eyelashes, and whispered, "Wait for me." As the words fell, unnoticed, a small black octopus-like creature lightly jumped into Yue Peihui's coat pocket.
The three parted ways. Lin Jingdu walked alone in the opposite direction, his figure disappearing behind the shelves.
Only after the boy's coat corner vanished behind the shelves did Yue Peihui withdraw his gaze, his expression dark and unclear.
Ji Xuyang said confusedly, "Just let him go alone like that? I thought he'd stay within our sight, in case something happens…"
Yue Peihui didn't look at him and said calmly, "I've observed. His strength surpasses ours."
Ji Xuyang was shocked: "Really? Boss, did you check his abnormal energy?"
"Checked," Yue Peihui said, "It's within normal range."
Ji Xuyang thought, then why judge the boy's strength above theirs? He didn't quite believe it, thinking his boss was modest. After all, his boss had successfully contained a deep red warning-level person!
…But it was also possible. Yue Peihui's blood had a strange attraction to strange entities. This constitution had pros and cons. For Yue Peihui, it was the perfect bait to attract strange beings. And very few strange beings didn't take the bait, so the boy's ability to resist Yue Peihui's blood's attraction indirectly showed he had considerable strength.
"By the way, boss," Ji Xuyang asked, "Why didn't you act just now?"
He asked casually, thinking the boss wanted to give him a chance to train or felt the orange-level threat didn't require intervention. But the man's expression became more unfathomable: "…My ability can't be used."
Ji Xuyang's face changed, and he whispered, "What do you mean you can't use it?!"
"Literally what it means."
The man didn't want to explain more to the team because he himself didn't understand why his ability suddenly disappeared during the fight with Kugui. Could it be Kugui's new trick? But he quickly dismissed that idea. Kugui remained cautious of him, even after being severely injured, choosing to flee quickly instead of a mutual destruction. He must still fear his ability.
Ji Xuyang murmured, "That really is quite strange."
Thinking of Kugui, Yue Peihui looked up and asked, "Has the bureau found any news about Kugui?"
Ji Xuyang snapped back to attention and shook his head. "No, it seems those guys have hidden away to recover."
"That's truly a pity," Yue Peihui scoffed lightly. "Did my cigarettes… get brought to me?"
"Yes, yes!" The young man dug into his pocket and carefully pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Boss, you should smoke less, it's bad for your health."
Yue Peihui simply responded with a brief "Hmm" and lowered his eyes to take them. It wasn't that he was addicted to smoking, but nicotine could temporarily numb the itching sensation on his skin and the pain that almost felt like his nerves were being torn apart.
"Wait!" Before Yue Peihui could take them, Ji Xuyang suddenly pulled his hand back. Under his superior's calm gaze, he reached into his pocket again, acting mysteriously.
Yue Peihui glanced at him. "What are you doing?"
Ji Xuyang looked left and right to make sure no one was around before pulling a small vial of medicine from his pocket.
"What's that?"
Ji Xuyang shook the small bottle containing a colorless, odorless liquid. "The bureau has recently been researching a new drug targeting the supernatural."
"A new drug?" Yue Peihui raised his eyes. "Can it make supernatural powers disappear?"
Ji Xuyang replied blankly, "I don't know about that, but this is a bottle I went through a lot of trouble to get!"
He spoke proudly, "I went through quite a few approval processes, kept a rare patience, and finally the research department handed me this bottle to experiment with during missions."
Yue Peihui ignored the strange point of pride and looked thoughtfully at the bottle. "Give me the medicine, I'll help you test it."
"Alright!"
After handing the medicine to Yue Peihui, Ji Xuyang asked, "Boss, are you going back to the bureau? Everyone's quite worried about you."
Putting the medicine into his pocket, Yue Peihui said calmly, "I can't go back for now. I still need to work things out with the new landlord."
Ji Xuyang: "?"
The new landlord… does that mean the young man from earlier?
The man said no more, his dark eyes staring to the left.
Ji Xuyang couldn't help but ask, "Boss, what's wrong?"
"When the bureau assigned you this mission, did they say the investigation only involved one supernatural entity?"
Ji Xuyang thought for a moment. "I think they did…"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man scoffed lightly, "A bunch of useless fools."
Ji Xuyang had a bad feeling. "Boss, you mean…"
The man temporarily set aside the shopping cart and started walking in one direction. "There are at least two here."
Ji Xuyang's face darkened and he hurried to catch up with Yue Peihui's pace. "Damn, seriously? Boss, wait for me!"
*
The young man walked deeper into the area filled with ominous energy. The flickering of the overhead lights became more intense and eerie.
Lin Jingdu's expression remained unchanged, and his steps did not falter despite the strange flickering.
The surrounding air began to distort, as if even the floating debris in the air were agitated.
A pair of vacant eyes tried to approach the Evil God, but with just a slight glance from the god, the person collapsed to the ground.
"Thud."
"Thud."
"Thud."
One after another, humans rushed toward the young man but fell just a few steps short. The young man's gaze fixed straight ahead into the dark depths of the flickering lights, indifferent to the fallen, controlled humans around him.
Strange whispers began echoing in his ears. The eerie whispers now carried a hint of fear, as if urging the young man to stay away.
Lin Jingdu ignored them.
Step by step, he walked to a mirror on the deepest wall.
The mirror was strange, with intricate vintage carvings that looked too elaborate for a supermarket. Most peculiar was its surface—pitch black, reflecting none of Lin Jingdu's figure.
His pale gray eyes and jet-black pupils both glared at the mirror, but the Evil God did not rush to act.
The mirror remained still, obedient like an ordinary mirror.
The young man tilted his head, eyes locked on the mirror. "Why don't you reflect me? You've reflected so many humans, why are you still now?"
If one looked closely, they would see the mirror trembling slightly, a chilling sensation deep inside.
It had no idea it had chosen a perfect hunting ground, but would also attract an indescribable presence!
Lin Jingdu calmly stared at it. "Reflect me."
His voice was clear and gentle, as if simply curious about what his reflection would look like. But only those who heard him could sense the quiet danger beneath that innocence.
The mirror obeyed desperately, attempting a last-ditch effort. Ripples appeared on its surface, and then a figure emerged…
Ruthless red eyes, a fleeting glimpse of tentacles.
But in less than a second, a crack appeared on the mirror's surface, accompanied by a sharp "crack."
More cracking sounds followed, the mirror shattered into a spiderweb pattern. With another crisp shatter, it broke into dull fragments that fell at the young man's feet.
The young man looked down at the shards. The darkness beneath his feet deepened, seemingly swallowing the mirror's remains.
The supermarket's atmosphere shifted back as the mirror died, but the young man's expression did not improve.
His clone was signaling him—his human… was in danger.
[Author's Note]
Mirror: I broke, who will hug me?
