White wriggling worms scrambled out of the middle-aged man’s eye sockets one after another. Just one glance made people shudder.
The shopkeeper let out a light chuckle, his expression twisting as he picked up his phone.
He wanted to see what the other side dared to send.
Bo Ting waited at home for a long time. He had been about to head downstairs when he picked up his phone and saw that the location of the pet shop owner selling dog food had suddenly disappeared.
What was going on?
The young man’s face gradually turned cold as he had just put on his raincoat.
They had agreed on delivery—how had the person vanished all of a sudden?
He sent a “?” to the other side’s screen.
A few seconds later, the reply came back with a “?” as well.
Bo Ting: …
“Shopkeeper, where are you?”
Shopkeeper Zhang stared deathly at those words, his anger turning into laughter.
“I’m at the place you told me, but there’s no Taiping Luxury Garden here at all.”
“Customer, are you trying to trick me?”
With the last line sent, a sinister malice poured forth. The shopkeeper could barely hold back any longer.
Bo Ting was stunned for a moment, thinking the other was joking.
Their neighborhood had such a huge gate—how could it be missed?
The other side was definitely lying.
As expected, using free samples as bait meant there was a problem. This shopkeeper was surely trying to scam good reviews.
He had just given the other a good review, and now they claimed they couldn’t find the location. Was the next line going to be that the address was inaccurate, so no delivery?
Bo Ting’s face grew serious.
“Is this how you do business?”
Even burning bridges after crossing the river wasn’t this fast!
He had seen the other set off just a minute ago and given the review as requested!
The shopkeeper of Rebirth Pet Shop was caught off guard by the sudden accusation. For the first time, he encountered someone this stubborn.
He had been tricked, and now this guy dared to play the victim?
Did he even know what he was dealing with?
For the first time since being possessed by the worms, Shopkeeper Zhang felt he had to do one thing: lure this damned guy out!
Barely suppressing his explosive tone, Shopkeeper Zhang tried to endure and replied, “Dear customer, it’s not that the shop is deceiving you.”
“It’s just that the address is a bit vague.”
“I’m right next to the location you sent. There’s a Yunhe Convenience Store here. Could you come down and look for me?”
“Of course, due to the delivery issue, we can give you an extra pack of dog food today.”
Zhang Sheng’s face darkened with rage, and worms rustled down his body in fury. Even the birds flying nearby didn’t dare approach him.
Bo Ting frowned at the other’s excuses.
Next to Yunhe Convenience Store?
How could he not see their neighborhood right beside that illegally renovated convenience store?
Weren’t they practically together?
This shopkeeper couldn’t even lie properly.
Thinking this, Bo Ting became even more convinced the guy was a scammer. He wasn’t in a rush to go down and instead typed to confirm: “Look carefully again. No Taiping Luxury Garden?”
Zhang Sheng cursed under his breath.
If it wasn’t there, it wasn’t there.
He had been standing here for so long—how could he miss it?
Was this guy a lunatic?
If it was a lunatic, he’d have to fix the brain after taking the body.
A wriggling worm poked its head out from his eye socket. Zhang Sheng impatiently glanced around again, and in the next second, he yanked the worm from his eye.
Wait, why was there a Taiping Luxury Garden here now?
Had he hallucinated earlier?
The middle-aged man froze for a moment, suspecting he had seen wrong.
But looking again, a residential complex had indeed appeared next to the previously unremarkable Yunhe Convenience Store.
Black letters boldly spelled out the name on the gate, with a security booth quietly nestled outside, utterly unassuming.
Zhang Sheng: …
It seemed this pet shop owner’s body was truly on the verge of collapse—now even his vision was blurring.
A whole neighborhood, and he hadn’t seen it earlier.
He automatically came up with an excuse in his mind. Though still dubious about the suddenly appearing complex, his inner greed won out. After gurgling twice in his throat, a smile reappeared on his face.
“Customer, sorry. I’ve been too tired lately and my eyes are playing tricks.”
“I see it now.”
“I’m coming up right away.”
A strange message came through.
Bo Ting found it odd. He hadn’t even said where he lived—how was the shopkeeper coming up?
But seeing the other’s confidence, Bo Ting didn’t interrupt.
Whatever.
If he couldn’t find it, the shopkeeper would contact him again, right? And if it was a scammer, he wouldn’t care.
He sat back on the sofa and patiently waited.
Meanwhile, at the Resurgence Management Office, just past noon, they received a report.
“What?”
“Someone in Camphor Street District reported their pet suddenly dying?”
This had nothing to do with the Resurgence Management Office, right?
The operator was puzzled at first but gasped upon seeing the synced photo.
Tch, it did look like a weird incident.
In the pet room, the owner had gone to work but midway remembered to check on their pet, which had been seriously ill a few days ago, to see if it had eaten on time. Instead, the video captured this scene.
The footage showed a white pet dog running out of its cage upon hearing the sound. But as soon as it reached the camera, it scattered like wind-blown sand—”whoosh”—instantly turning into a pile of worms that collapsed without warning.
The dense mass of wriggling worms crawled across the living room. The horrific, gruesome sight made viewers want to retch.
The operator, who had just started their shift, dry-heaved and quickly contacted superiors.
The Sixth Esper Squad, responsible for the incident, soon received the images.
Xue Hengfu had just finished lunch in the cafeteria when he looked and nearly vomited.
“What the hell?”
“Turning into living worms?”
Zhao Jiang twitched his mouth. “Weird incidents are getting more abstract these days.”
Two-headed rats were still imaginable for humans—this worm thing?
Captain Si Ning scanned the Ability Users Exchange Forum and frowned. “No trace of this pet incident on the forum.”
“It looks like a weird event that hasn’t fully erupted yet.”
The forum usually discussed outbreaks with known details, like the Depressive Drift Bottle, which spread among students before an ability user spotted it, posted it, and drew the office’s attention.
But this “pet-to-worm” event hadn’t leaked yet, meaning the weirdness behind it was still hiding.
This time, it was just a fluke that the pet owner captured it on video.
Xue Hengfu nodded sympathetically. “Seeing that through a video— the pet owner must have trauma now.”
“But luckily, psychological counseling will make them forget the weird event.”
They stood up resignedly, cleared their trays, and headed to check the scene.
Passing the lobby, Zhao Jiang glanced at the Third Squad and lowered his voice. “So, that neighborhood case—is it handed to the Third Squad now?”
Mentioning that baffling neighborhood that made everyone act like their brains were waterlogged gave Zhao Jiang chills. He couldn’t help rubbing his arms.
“Feeling this invisible terror is scarier than those disgusting worms.”
“Who says it isn’t.”
Xue Hengfu sighed. “Good thing it’s not us following up.”
“That place looks tough.”
They got in the car and left for fieldwork.
In Taiping Luxury Garden:
Bo Ting waited at home for ages with no knock at the door.
And the chat on his phone had gone silent.
Bo Ting: ???
“Bro, where are you?”
After entering the neighborhood, Zhang Sheng ignored his phone and, as usual, casually released a worm.
In this world, he trusted his worms the most. Customers might lie, but wriggling worms wouldn’t.
They always precisely helped him find hidden humans.
Images of humans begging for mercy flashed in his mind again, igniting his heart.
After noting this damned customer’s name, Zhang Sheng relaxed his brows, waiting for the worm to locate him while whistling and strolling behind it.
The white worm darted into the garden upon entering the neighborhood, like a fish in water.
But before Zhang Sheng could smile, an unfamiliar foot suddenly blocked the worm’s path.
“Xiao Hei, come here quick.”
“Looks like there’s a bug!”
A shoe stepped on the worm Zhang Sheng had just released.
Giggling voices rang out nearby. Zhang Sheng sneered, malice surging. He yanked off his helmet, turning that grotesquely eerie face toward the four kids with their backs to him.
But in the next second, sensing eyes on them, the four bear children turned their heads.
Xiao Wang and the others, including Xi Xi, were playing. Xiao Wang curiously lifted his foot after stepping on the bug and kicked it toward the railing.
Turning, he saw something watching them?
Eyes met. Zhang Sheng saw the bear child who kicked his worm twist his waist 180 degrees, looking up cutely to greet him:
“Uncle, is this your worm?”
The white worm burst underfoot. The four bear children eyed him excitedly, like discovering a new toy.
Wait…
Zhang Sheng staggered back, sensing something wrong.
Why could these kids’ waists twist like that?
And why did all four have identical expressions?
“Uncle, can you give me another worm?”
The boy in the middle spoke, and the chubby one beside him excitedly chimed in:
“Uncle, Xiao Chuan wants one too!”
The exact same voice and tone echoed.
Before Zhang Sheng could react, in a blink, the four bear children were right in front of him.
The worms on his body stiffened in place.
But by then, retreating was too late…
…
Half an hour later, the Sixth Esper Squad arrived at the pet owner’s complex. After checking the house, a phone rang.
Si Ning saw the Resurgence Management Office number and answered.
“Hello, Sixth Squad’s Si Ning.”
“Captain Si?”
“Have you reached the scene?”
Si Ning nodded and walked to the window.
The operator’s voice was odd. “Just got another report—a pet turning into worms.”
“Ten minutes before you arrived.”
A second incident?
The operator was about to say more when his eyes widened at the screen.
“Wait, Captain Si, you still there?”
“Don’t hang up.”
“Another one!”
On the map pinpointed by the first “pet-to-worm” weirdness type, twelve locations flashed red simultaneously.
And tracing the red worms’ paths all converged on one spot—Rebirth Pet Shop.
Si Ning’s pupils shrank. He frowned at the pet shop on his phone.
—Was this the source of the weird event?
As the office called, a squad member behind him wailed.
“Oh no.”
“Our neighbor bought dog food from this shop and even recommended it to me.”
Wu Senshen looked shocked. He never expected this highly rated local pet shop to blow up like this, so suddenly.
“You know this pet shop?”
Si Ning, who had glanced quickly, turned to the speaker.
Wu Senshen nodded. “Heard of it. Pretty famous in niche circles.”
He searched locally and showed the captain the image.
“They mainly sell pet food. Users rave about it.”
“I thought the reviews were too over-the-top back then. Didn’t expect real issues.”
Under the cozy photos like other pet shops, the fanatical, devout comments were chilling.
Si Ning flipped through the recent comments, all in the same tone, but what made his expression change slightly was this:
Just one hour before the “pets turning into worms” incident broke out, someone had left a comment about buying dog food.
Si Ning pursed his lips. “Send three team members to check if there’s anyone left at the pet shop.”
According to the page’s claim of free trial samples with every order, and estimating from the time of the last comment in the reviews section, the shopkeeper should not be at the pet shop by now.
However, Si Ning was not entirely sure, so he could only prepare for the worst-case scenario.
“Check the address of the citizen who left that purchase comment.”
He hoped the customer was still alive by the time they found them.
Though, given the speed at which these weird events unfolded, Si Ning held little hope for that.
The Sixth Squad quickly got to work.
Soon, news came back from the pet shop: the owner, “Zhang Sheng,” was not there.
From the in-store surveillance footage, he had checked his phone an hour ago, taken dog food from the counter, and gone out.
Xue Hengfu, who had rushed over to take charge, wiped the sweat from his brow. “The shop itself shows no issues based on the readings inside, just as you judged, Captain.”
“The problem is with this shopkeeper.”
“There are only a few leftover wriggling worms in the shop, and they’re already dead by now.”
“And…” Xue Hengfu tested some of the remaining pet food, his expression turning queasy.
“All this pet food has been laced with wriggling worms. We don’t know their properties yet; we’re waiting for results from the testing lab.”
Si Ning nodded. “Seal off the pet shop for now.”
“Cleanse it thoroughly according to procedure.”
“Got it.”
The team members acknowledged and got busy.
After hanging up, Si Ning turned to the teammate beside him who was skilled with computers and asked again, “Any results yet?”
This involved an unknown-grade weird entity, and it had already gone after its next victim, so he couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Zhao Jiang sighed. “Captain, don’t rush me. I’m already on it.”
“But for some reason, this person’s information just won’t come up.”
“We can pull records for all the other pet owners, but not this one. It’s like they appeared out of thin air.”
As Zhao Jiang spoke, he found it strange himself. Could the person on the other end be a computer expert like him, who had hidden their info on purpose?
Tch.
That was fine on normal days, but at a time like this, prioritizing privacy and hiding info meant missing the golden window for rescue.
Zhao Jiang exhaled, furrowed his brows tightly, and continued his search.
Meanwhile:
Bo Ting had waited for ages and was almost certain he’d been scammed.
Even if the other party had gone to such lengths just to trick him into leaving a good review.
But who was to say there weren’t people like that? Before it happened to him, Bo Ting wouldn’t have believed it either.
Realizing for the first time how lacking his social experience was, Bo Ting frowned as he returned to the local delivery app, intending to delete his review—only to find that the shop owner had already hidden the store entirely.
He couldn’t even search for it anymore!
In frustration, Bo Ting hammered the bed expressionlessly and messaged the netizen.
“Mr. Xu.”
“I think I got scammed.”
A very melancholic cat emoji appeared on the screen, propping its paw on its cheek.
Xu Qinglai glanced at the chubby orange cat emoji and couldn’t help but chuckle a little.
It was just too cute.
Especially when linked to the personality of the guy on the other end.
“Why do you say that?”
Xu Qinglai cleared his throat lightly and asked. From what he’d learned about this netizen over the past few days, the word “scam” seemed hard to associate with him.
Bo Ting sighed. Though he felt a bit embarrassed, he still sent the saved chat screenshot to the netizen.
“I got tricked into giving a good review.”
“The tricks these merchants pull nowadays are way too deep. Not a single honest word.”
“He even got so perfunctory at the end that he didn’t even ask for my building number.”
Bo Ting vented as he sent another emoji.
Xu Qinglai’s gaze scanned the chat log.
When he saw the merchant—whom Bo Ting was complaining about—say they couldn’t find Bo Ting’s address, his eyes paused for a moment.
If it were any other merchant, Xu Qinglai would have thought it was just a ploy too, but this seller was from “Rebirth Pet Shop”…
Knowing that Rebirth Pet Shop seemed suspicious, Xu Qinglai raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“So he never delivered in the end?”
He asked one more time, thinking maybe something unexpected had happened to the “merchant” midway.
Bo Ting: …No.
“I’m still waiting right now.”
“It’s been the whole afternoon.”
“Sigh.”
He stood by the window, looked down, snapped a photo, and sent it to the netizen while typing out his complaint:
“The bear kids in the neighborhood garden have already caught five or six jars of bugs, and that shopkeeper still hasn’t shown so much as a shadow!”
