Chapter 58 Part 2

Bo Ting glanced at Upstart Bro, ignoring Upstart Bro’s worsening dark circles, and praised sincerely.

“Upstart Bro’s looking sharper too.”

Upstart Bro grinned, teeth flashing, thrilled at the praise from Bo Ting.

Maybe the kid wasn’t so scary.

Wonder what the 2nd group folks were on about—probably a misunderstanding.

Watching Bo Ting head down, Upstart Bro returned to his computer and, on impulse, glanced at his own weathered middle-aged mug.

…

Bo Ting hadn’t waited long downstairs before Uncle Sun arrived.

The low-key black car pulled up at the complex gate. As he settled in, Uncle Sun gossiped:

“Mr. Bo, why no meets with Mr. Xu lately?”

Huh?

Uncle Sun tracked their hangout frequency?

Bo Ting was a bit surprised but still said, “I’ve had some things going on at home lately.”

“By the way, I won’t be disturbing Mr. Xu today, will I?”

He hadn’t thought much when he agreed earlier, but now that he was heading straight over, would it affect Mr. Xu’s work?

Uncle Sun quickly shook his head.

“Of course not.”

“President Xu’s meeting will end after this one today.”

“Mr. Bo can wait in the office for a bit.”

When President Xu had asked him to pick up Bo Ting, in Uncle Sun’s eyes, Bo Ting was already on the level of Mr. Xu’s partner.

After all, though President Xu seemed approachable, he kept a strong sense of distance in his personal life. He almost never allowed anything unrelated to work into the office area.

Uncle Sun’s mind wandered with all sorts of messy thoughts as he turned the car toward downtown.

Xu Qinglai had been in a meeting the whole time, but perhaps because he’d sent Uncle Sun to pick up Bo Ting, after ten minutes, he suddenly glanced down at his phone.

Seeing no messages, he refocused on work.

Once the meeting ended, Xu Qinglai returned to his office and spotted the person sitting on the sofa.

Bo Ting turned the shark plush head and waved.

“Uncle Sun said you were in a meeting, so I didn’t disturb you, Mr. Xu. I just sat here and rested for a bit.”

“Is the meeting over?”

The young man across from him asked so casually.

Xu Qinglai subconsciously replied.

After speaking, he raised an eyebrow slightly. “Work’s wrapping up today.”

“But I still need to sign a few documents.”

“Ah, no problem.”

“You go ahead with your work. It’s still early anyway.”

Bo Ting sat patiently on the sofa, waiting.

Xu Qinglai nodded.

He watched the shark head by the floor-to-ceiling window and paused for a moment before looking outside.

“The upper floors have one-way glass. You can take off the hood—it’ll be more comfortable.”

Bo Ting wanted to, but… cough, he’d accidentally glued his neck when he left the house, so taking it off was tricky now.

When Mr. Xu looked at him, Bo Ting shook his head.

“It’s fine. I’m pretty comfortable like this.”

Xu Qinglai’s expression grew subtly odd for a moment.

But a few minutes later, someone knocked on the door.

He went over and opened it. As Bo Ting turned his head, he saw that Mr. Xu had returned with milk tea and some snacks!

Huh?

“I was worried you might be hungry, so I just had my secretary get these.”

Bo Ting: …

Mr. Xu was surprisingly thoughtful. But to drink the milk tea… he’d have to take off the hood.

He hesitated for a long time but couldn’t resist the temptation of the milk tea. He slowly walked toward Mr. Xu’s desk.

“Um, Mr. Xu, could you help me with something?”

Xu Qinglai looked up. As he pondered what kind of help Bo Ting might need, he heard, “I accidentally glued the hood on. Could you help me take it off?”

It should just be a matter of cutting the glue, right?

Bo Ting thought uncertainly.

Xu Qinglai was momentarily stunned and finally understood why Bo Ting hadn’t removed the hood when he arrived.

This guy… glued the hood on?

But why?

That question had popped into his mind off and on since their first meeting.

Bo Ting seemed to really dislike others seeing his face, so he always wore the shark plush when going out.

Today, he’d gone further and straight-up glued the plush on.

Did this have something to do with Bo Ting staying home these past few days?

Xu Qinglai didn’t show it on his face. He just reached out and lightly traced a circle on the hood.

The hood, glued on with strong adhesive, came off easily.

“There.”

Bo Ting turned his head in surprise.

He’d thought it would be a hassle to remove today, but Mr. Xu was so clever.

Great!

“How did you do that, Mr. Xu?”

Xu Qinglai smiled faintly.

“Simple.”

“But the milk tea’s getting cold.”

That one sentence instantly shifted Bo Ting’s attention. He turned and walked to the desk.

Xu Qinglai watched his back, his expression complex.

…

The Resurgence Management Office had been on high alert for three days, but… nothing happened?

Not only was there zero activity from Taiping Luxury Garden, but even the Copper Splitter in Lena City was silent.

Even stranger, during the Lena City arrests, Rebirth of Fire members had chanted the Copper Splitter’s honored name in low voices, yet the Copper Splitter showed no reaction—no response at all.

“It’s a bit odd,” Lu Jingshan said with a furrowed brow.

Normally, revived Anomalous Gods didn’t truly value human followers much, but they rarely vanished when believers chanted en masse like this.

When he’d gone to Lena City to assist, Lu Jingshan had prepared to face the Anomalous God’s direct intervention.

But… the Copper Splitter stayed silent.

He wasn’t the only surprised one—the Lena City Resurgence Management Office was stunned too, since this was prime Copper Splitter territory.

It had sheltered followers multiple times before, forcing them to back off.

But this time… things were completely different. All fifty-plus people were arrested without issue, beyond everyone’s expectations.

The secret organization members hauled back to the Resurgence Management Office wore expressions of shattered worldviews, unable to believe their worshipped Anomalous God had abandoned them.

“Impossible.”

“I must not have been devout enough.”

“Right, sacrifice a few more people. Just sacrifice a few more now.”

The group, long warped by the Copper Splitter’s influence, no longer looked human as they rambled incoherently, slamming into walls.

The isolation rooms were chaos. Lu Jingshan had zero interest in talking to those scum.

He just turned to Yin Liao with a headache.

“Report the situation?”

“What did the higher-ups say?”

With the Copper Splitter so quiet, he feared another big incident.

Yin Liao nodded gravely.

Amid Lu Jingshan’s surprise, he said, “Just got word—the Copper Splitter was eroded.”

What?

Eroded?

Lu Jingshan froze, never expecting that answer.

“Did I hear that right? The Copper Splitter’s an Anomalous God.”

A revived one at that—more dangerous than the Tree of Defiled Soil.

Yet Yin Liao had just said it was eroded?

In disbelief, Lu Jingshan took the phone with the data from Yin Liao.

“See for yourself.”

“Classified intel. It’ll self-destruct after viewing.”

Minutes later, after reading, Lu Jingshan fell silent for a long time.

Yin Liao quieted too.

After a while, they exchanged glances.

“Per the intel, the only one who met the Copper Splitter before the erosion was Taiping Luxury Garden.”

Neither doubted the intel from the hidden First Ability User Squad.

“The Copper Splitter appeared at Kaka Game Hall three days ago.”

“And that same day, Taiping Luxury Garden went there too.”

“So, it’s not that Taiping Luxury Garden’s been quiet these past two days—it’s that It already took down an Anomalous God?”

Lu Jingshan felt a sense of absurdity saying it.

That was an Anomalous God.

Though the Resurgence Management Office rejected the notion of divinity, those revived Anomalous Gods had transcended humanity in every sense.

Yet now, Taiping Luxury Garden had eroded one casually, without even responding to followers.

“Too horrifying.”

“Does Taiping Luxury Garden have that kind of power?” Lu Jingshan couldn’t help doubting.

After all, both were Anomalous Gods…

Yin Liao: “Unconfirmed for now.”

So the phone info only cautiously said “met.”

But coincidences like this didn’t exist in the anomalous world.

Lu Jingshan: …

“Fine.”

Though Taiping Luxury Garden’s terror exceeded expectations again.

Fortunately, It was staying quiet today, not coming out.

He’d just thought that when he noticed the vice-captain’s expression turn odd again.

“What?”

Yin Liao: “Latest update.”

“Taiping Luxury Garden appeared downtown this afternoon.”

“What?”

Lu Jingshan’s face filled with horror, instantly worrying for the downtown citizens’ safety.

“But—”

Yin Liao paused slightly.

“It bought ice cream and went back.”

After his date with Mr. Xu, Bo Ting felt utterly delighted.

He declined Mr. Xu’s offer to drive him and, after dinner, happily bought a large soft-serve cone before boarding the bus home.

Nighttime Mengjia City had its own charm.

Bo Ting sat at the back of the bus, using his air-conditioning function to preserve the ice cream’s fresh texture. Even after getting off, it hadn’t melted at all.

This was awesome!

As Bo Ting prepared to enter the neighborhood, his phone vibrated. He opened it to find a message from an unknown number.

Jumbled text filled the file, but oddly, he could understand it.

“Take back… erosion.”

“Spare me…”?

So weird.

What erosion?

Bo Ting dismissed it, but back home, he got another text.

This one even more deranged.

“Kill me… erosion.”

Bo Ting: …

Psycho.

Sharking people was illegal.

He was a good citizen with a Mengjia City Federation ID.

Bo Ting ignored it completely.

Even into the night, the unknown number kept harassing him.

Bo Ting sighed and messaged Upstart Bro.

“Upstart Bro, can you check this number for me?”

Why the constant weird messages?

Upstart Bro, up late, replied instantly.

“No problem.”

Minutes later, Upstart Bro sent a screenshot.

“Same hacker that’s been hounding you before.”

“Same IP.”

What?

The one who figured out he was an air conditioner?

In the dead of night, Bo Ting jolted awake.

Just then, another delirious message arrived, like from someone with a terminal illness.

“Who am I?”

The font was crooked, words jumbled—as if typing was a struggle.

Bo Ting: …?!!

Wait—he slowly widened his eyes: Could it be that back in the bathroom, he’d cranked the AC too high and given the guy a stroke?!!