“It was something like… ‘So Many Eyes in the Sky Today!’ What’s up?”
As soon as he said it, he froze.
Wait, what did he just say? So many eyes in the sky today?
“Holy shit!”
A chill ran up his spine. It was late at night with dozens of team members around, yet Wang Dong felt inexplicably terrified.
“This ID is connected to the eyes in the sky!”
Lu Jingshan nodded.
“I just remembered too.”
Realizing it now was horrifying. Even with the mental ability user’s influence, they still forgot everything about Taiping Luxury Garden so easily.
And such an obvious hint—he hadn’t noticed it back then.
Lu Jingshan exhaled and looked at the new ID, “Countdown.”
“Does this ‘Countdown’ refer to the countdown until the Lurker of the Mountains passes by?”
Tch, if it had even calculated that, wasn’t Taiping Luxury Garden a bit too terrifying?
Lu Jingshan never encouraged over-mythologizing the anomalous, but with Taiping Luxury Garden, he unusually felt an instinct to think deeper.
“Do we know Taiping Luxury Garden’s current movements?”
He looked up to confirm.
Wang Dong checked his phone. Ever since the cat spotted them last time, the Resurgence Management Office hadn’t dared close-range observe, relying on the milk tea shop for peeks.
But now…
“Yan Qian says Taiping Luxury Garden went out this afternoon and hasn’t returned.”
“Wait, no—it’s back.”
“But—it took off the hood?!”
The Resurgence Management Office had dealt with anomalous entities for years and knew high-level ones followed logic, especially god-level like Taiping Luxury Garden—their thinking was human-like, even smarter.
For it to suddenly remove the hood and show its true face, something was up!
Lu Jingshan went on high alert instantly, ordering the Fourth Esper Squad to full readiness and beware danger.
After receiving Lu Jingshan’s message, the milk tea shop nearly jumped.
“What? After playing along so long, Taiping Luxury Garden finally done pretending?”
A young member of the Fourth Esper Squad paled, still suspicious.
Meng Xiaokun didn’t know either. But as Captain Lu said, suddenly ditching the hood couldn’t be a whim.
He held his breath slightly, cautiously peering across the street using the milk tea shop’s dim light.
Just after Bus Route 055 stopped, Taiping Luxury Garden got off alone and now stood on the sidewalk, seemingly lost in thought.
The light turned red to green, cycling fully for five minutes before it finally looked up and approached.
Bo Ting was pondering a very serious question.
After the test, he discovered that Master Li on the No. 055 bus didn’t seem to have any mental illness?
After cautiously observing him the entire way, Bo Ting found that although the man talked a lot and was enthusiastic, occasionally complaining about the annoyances of work, he didn’t appear to be one of his fellow patients from the outside.
Of course, mental illness couldn’t be judged by appearances.
So Bo Ting decided to call the guy from the Population Census Office, Xue, to see if he had any way to find out if someone was mentally ill.
But… Mengjia City seemed very busy lately. Would that Xue guy even pick up his call?
Bo Ting hesitated for a moment. He’d just crossed the street when he instinctively pulled out his phone.
“Mr. Bo is back.”
Yan Qian stood at her door and greeted him stiffly.
Bo Ting nodded in response.
But he didn’t put the phone away.
Yan Qian caught a glimpse of it from the corner of her eye and was slightly stunned. He was actually calling the Resurgence Management Office?
A minute later, after a few rings, the call connected.
Xue Hengfu, who was guarding Changling District, was utterly confused. When his phone rang, he thought it was the captain calling to switch shifts for a break. But when he saw the number on the screen, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
Ta-Tai… Taiping Luxury Garden?
Why was Taiping Luxury Garden calling him?
Xue Hengfu was completely baffled.
After a moment of daze, he looked at his teammate.
Zhao Jiang was dumbfounded too, but they both knew without discussing that they couldn’t ignore it.
Answering it—he didn’t know what would happen. Not answering might anger them, and the consequences would definitely be bad.
Feeling like his luck was the worst, Xue Hengfu took a deep breath and shakily answered the call.
“Hello?”
A polite and reserved voice came through the phone.
Bo Ting’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected it to actually connect, and he couldn’t help but relax.
“Hello, is this the Population Census Office?”
“This is Bo Ting, the one who transferred the house ownership last time.”
Xue Hengfu: …
Of course he knew it was Bo Ting on the other end.
“What can I do for you?”
It was the middle of the night—don’t scare him like this.
His heart pounded wildly as he heard the other side ask:
“Actually, I have something important I want to ask.”
“Are mentally ill people in our city district allowed to work in public transportation?”
Bo Ting felt that directly asking if Master Li was a fellow patient invaded his privacy, so he decided to approach it from another angle.
If Mengjia City had regulations for public transportation, then Master Li was definitely normal.
Otherwise, with so many staff members, they wouldn’t let Master Li drive the bus.
Xue Hengfu choked on his breath.
What kind of weird question was this?
Regulations in Mengjia City for public transportation…?
Where would he know that from?
Luckily, his buddy was there. After Zhao Jiang quickly searched, he shook his head at Xue Hengfu.
Xue Hengfu breathed a sigh of relief. “Ahem, it should not be allowed.”
“Is something wrong?”
He asked instinctively.
Oh?
Was that the case?
Then Master Li wasn’t a fellow patient.
So… the problem was still with him?
This was tricky.
The other end of the line fell into a long silence. Bo Ting snapped back to reality.
“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just asking casually.”
“Sorry about that.”
“N-No problem.”
After Xue Hengfu responded, he heard the other side say, “Then I won’t disturb you anymore.”
The call ended, and Xue Hengfu let out a long breath, his back soaked in sweat.
He exchanged a glance with Zhao Jiang, both of them full of bewilderment.
“What do we do?”
“Call Captain Lu and ask?”
Zhao Jiang nodded.
“Ask him quick.”
…
After hanging up, Bo Ting returned to the neighborhood, his expression stern.
His taut nerves relaxed a lot upon seeing the residents.
After greeting Upstart Bro and Miss Zhou Ying, Bo Ting picked up his backpack with one hand and prepared to go upstairs.
Too much had happened today. Even with Bo Ting’s physical condition, he felt a bit tired now.
He just wanted to take a good shower and rest. As for the cooling and heating thing…
He’d deal with it tomorrow.
The next morning, after a good sleep, Bo Ting finally felt alive again.
After getting up and pouring pet food for Tang Yuan and Doudou, he stood on the balcony with a blank expression, looking down.
A few bratty kids were already out playing at dawn.
He hadn’t thought about it before. Now, Bo Ting realized his vision was abnormal too.
Who could see clearly from the 13th floor down to the ground?
He could even make out the bump on Xi Xi’s head from being hit.
And Xiao Hei—he’d clearly stayed up late last night, and now he was playing ball in the morning with dark circles under his eyes.
The garden was noisy.
Bo Ting’s gaze calmly shifted to the fitness equipment.
Zhang Ge was exercising more smoothly than before, darting around like a nimble monkey.
But Bo Ting noticed that his legs were soft and floppy like dough—not something human legs could achieve.
Many details he’d overlooked before connected into a line, making Bo Ting ponder.
Could his ability to cool and heat be related to the neighborhood?
Everyone in the neighborhood had some ability, and his was mimicking the environment?
Thinking that way, it seemed normal.
Bo Ting tentatively imagined his panel. When he opened it again, the room indeed heated up.
Doudou was eating its dog food, sweating profusely from the heat, when it suddenly let out a “Woof-woo!” and lifted its head to glare accusingly at Bo Ting.
Man and dog locked eyes.
Bo Ting suddenly thought of another question.
If everyone had an ability, did that include the cats and dogs?
He remembered Little Tang Yuan having unusually strong strength.
What about Doudou?
After feeding it for so long, Bo Ting realized… he didn’t know much about the dog at all.
A few minutes later, Bo Ting stared intently at the dog without moving.
When Doudou lifted its head, it blinked once.
To his shock, he discovered… Doudou had a skeletal face?
Its originally fluffy head turned into bony lines like a skull.
The bones moved particularly coolly now, smooth and not rough at all.
Bo Ting: …
Good.
He really wasn’t the special one.
Compared to the other residents, he just had a bit more mental illness.
He could relax now.
Bo Ting’s eyebrows eased as he watched the arrogant dog huff and then lie down.
He finally understood why Doudou, which everyone feared, never bit him.
—It was taking care of the patient!
Pets truly respected the elderly and loved the young, showing courtesy to the mentally ill.
