His fingers stiffened in place, and Bo Ting’s first reaction was:
Haha, it must be some kind of prank, right?
This damn scam was done pretty seriously.
Bo Ting stared at the “Mengjia City” on the location for two seconds, convinced he wouldn’t fall for it.
Heh.
They had just finished setting the trap and then changed the location info, thinking he wouldn’t realize it was a combo move?
Scam tactics these days were no longer simple—changing location data was a small trick. Some even simulated real people in videos.
After the initial jolt of surprise, Bo Ting quickly realized it was just some tech gimmick.
He decisively exited the chat page, pursed his lips, and planned to buy dog food on another shopping app. If that didn’t work, he could ask a netizen to buy it for him or use a delivery runner.
These shopping sites were way too unreliable.
The scammers were getting bold.
After venting inwardly, Bo Ting didn’t take the little interlude seriously at all.
A few minutes later, the screener stared blankly as the page showed “typing…” before suddenly stopping. After a moment, they cautiously clicked on the other party’s profile picture, expression puzzled. “It seems like they went offline?”
Lu Jingshan: …?
Why wasn’t it following the script?
Didn’t they show some willingness to chat just now?
How did they leave after just two sentences?
The data analyst monitoring the anomaly frequency fluctuations shook their head regretfully, noting that the conversation had been too short to detect anything.
Vice-captain Yin Liao stepped forward, reread the chat log from a few minutes ago, and found nothing wrong.
Up to the last message, everything seemed fine.
Even if the other side didn’t want to buy because of the platform verification, dropping interest so abruptly after asking a question didn’t make sense.
And what were those two “typing…” instances about?
Second Squad Captain He Chengfeng, who had watched the whole thing, let out a cold laugh.
“Old Lu, I told you this strategy of yours was useless.”
“Communicating with anomalies? Instead of wasting time fishing, just let us go in and check it out.”
“We might even find something.”
Lu Jingshan rubbed his brow and glanced at the slender, sharp-featured man across from him.
For the first time, he thought that while people always called him a brute, the Second Squad captain was clearly even more reckless.
Charging into an anomaly neighborhood without figuring anything out? Suicidal?
Seeing no response after speaking, He Chengfeng pressed: “So what now?”
Lu Jingshan: “We wait.”
“Just sit here waiting?” He Chengfeng asked incredulously.
Seeing him getting impatient again, Lu Jingshan sighed. “What else?”
“Captain He, don’t rush. The anomaly events in this neighborhood have only targeted their own kind so far—no harm to residents.”
“We can only observe conservatively and see if it shows up again.”
This was standard protocol for SS-grade and above anomaly events, something all ability users were trained on when joining the Resurgence Management Office.
He Chengfeng fell silent for a moment, then frowned tightly.
“It’s already confirmed as SS-grade or above?”
This was one of the anomaly events they knew the least about, and confirming it so simply left He Chengfeng hesitant. He looked toward the higher-up in the video.
Zheng Shangyun nodded. “Yes, that’s confirmed.”
“While we can’t accurately gauge the neighborhood’s level from the A-grade anomaly [Wandering Chef], the B-grade [Two-Headed Rat King], and the unknown-grade [Worm Anomaly]…”
“But don’t forget the large-scale forgetting incident last time.”
“That should corroborate it.”
After all, none of the captains present had low ability user grades, yet even they had forgotten. The severity was clear.
With that final point, He Chengfeng was convinced.
Not to mention them—Zheng Shangyun in front of them was a genuine SSS ability user. If even he… no one felt it more deeply than the man opposite.
The Resurgence Management Office fell temporarily quiet.
With no objections, Lu Jingshan stepped forward and took the “shopping account” that had been flagged first thing that morning, planning to study it carefully.
They had to analyze the anomaly’s personality from the conversation.
Otherwise, what if the next probe went wrong too?
…
Meanwhile, Bo Ting had no idea he was already under personality analysis.
After selecting two types of dog food anew, he was about to place the order when he remembered the platform verification and suspected he’d been targeted by scammers.
So he didn’t rush it. After a midday break, he messaged the netizen.
“Mr. Xu.”
He sent a cat waving emoji, then asked a bit sheepishly: “Mr. Xu, do you have time right now?”
His phone buzzed. In the conference room, Xu Qinglai glanced at it while the project manager presented, then checked the screen.
Bo Ting?
Why message now?
Puzzled but curious, Xu Qinglai opened the chat.
“Yes.”
“What’s up?”
He lowered his gaze slightly, wondering what Bo Ting needed. Less than a minute later, two links popped up, accompanied by a matching transfer.
“Mr. Xu, my account might have issues—scammers targeted it. Could you help buy these two dog foods and have them delivered to my neighborhood?”
“Yeah, just put my number in the notes. I’ll coordinate with the rider myself.”
The earnest request jumped onto his screen.
Xu Qinglai paused, a smile tugging at his lips.
“Of course, no problem.”
“It’s just a small thing.”
The project manager on stage was sweating bullets, voice faltering, eyes darting—until they caught Xu’s expression. Their heart skipped.
Why did Xu look so casually amiable, yet fake-smiley, like during a rival bid?
Xu Qinglai clicked purchase, noted Bo Ting’s number, and replied leisurely.
Then his gaze shifted to the stage. After the department manager finished, his expression unchanged: “There’s an issue with that part.”
“Think it over again when you get back.”
“Got it.”
The mid-levels shrank like quails. Only the partner joked to ease the tension: “Speaking of, your phone rang during the meeting, Mr. Xu. Chatting with your significant other?”
The married partner head meant to defuse awkwardness. Xu Qinglai glanced over in surprise, loosening his shirt button.
“Just a friend.”
“Why would you think that, President Wang?”
President Wang: …
Huh?
Just a friend?
But he’d seen Xu buy something for the chat contact without hesitation.
Xu was approachable and gentlemanly outside work, but like many wealthy people, kept distance.
Yet he’d bought for someone openly.
That led to the partner’s misunderstanding.
Xu Qinglai smiled faintly. “Just a friend asking me to buy dog food for their pet.”
“Don’t overthink it, President Wang.”
“Oh, oh, got it.”
President Wang chuckled awkwardly, not daring to pivot topics again lest he misread more.
The reports continued.
Minutes later, Bo Ting got Mr. Xu’s reply and finally relaxed, feeling a bit exasperated.
Doudou’s dog food had been a nightmare to buy.
Three times now!
If this failed, he’d return it to Sister Han.
Staring at himself in the mirror, Bo Ting even wondered if he jinxed Doudou.
But why hadn’t Mr. Xu accepted the transfer?
After staring at the payment page, Bo Ting scratched his head.
“Mr. Xu, um, did you forget to accept the payment?”
Afraid to bother him, Bo Ting waited before sending.
His phone vibrated. Xu Qinglai looked down.
“I didn’t forget.”
“But like I said, it’s a small thing.”
“Consider it treating Doudou to a meal.”
After so long chatting, Xu Qinglai knew the bone dog’s name, his tone light and natural.
Bo Ting: !!!
No way.
But with the transfer rejected, there was nothing he could do.
Bo Ting paced the living room anxiously. Just as his brows furrowed, a message came.
Xu Qinglai could roughly gauge the netizen’s surface personality: a bit money-minded like ordinary folks, but averse to unearned gains.
His thick lashes lowered, Xu Qinglai chuckled softly.
“But.”
“I’ve been busy with work lately—headaches.”
“If it’s not too much, could you send a goodnight voice message before bed?”
“Yeah, your voice sounded nice last call.”
The mild, joking request landed.
Bo Ting blinked. A goodnight voice?
Cough.
Such a small favor needed thinking? Helping a friend was obligatory.
Mr. Xu was wealthy but not without troubles—even bedtime issues.
As a straight guy, Bo Ting saw no issue with one man sending “goodnight” to another.
They were friends. They’d chatted evenings anyway—just typing to voice.
He sent an orange cat “leave it to me” emoji, then leaned back on the sofa, touching his throat.
…
To send the goodnight, Bo Ting skipped greasy food that afternoon, opting for beef noodles.
The fresh, savory beef noodles warmed him instantly. After two bites, the doorbell rang unexpectedly.
“Who is it?”
Bewildered, Bo Ting peered through the peephole and saw Doudou.
The pitch-black large dog stood in the dim corridor, nearly invisible.
Bo Ting twitched his lips. Seeing no Sister Han, he opened the door to let the dog in.
“How’d you come alone?”
Doudou woofed softly and shook the little bamboo basket on its back.
Bo Ting looked down—two bags of dog food inside.
But didn’t this match what he’d asked Mr. Xu to buy this morning?
Puzzled as he picked up a bag, Sister Han messaged.
“Little Bo?”
“Did Doudou get there?”
“I was walking it in the garden and bumped into a delivery guy at the gate. Knew it was dog food you bought for Doudou, so I signed for it.”
“Saved you a trip.”
Ah, that explained it.
No wonder it looked familiar. Bo Ting smiled.
“Perfect.”
“I’m eating now, so no need to go down.”
After thanking Sister Han, Bo Ting eyed Doudou’s basket.
See? His address was fine. The previous two sellers were the problem.
Otherwise, why did Mr. Xu’s proxy delivery work perfectly?
He vowed to thank Mr. Xu properly tonight.
Bo Ting couldn’t resist petting the dog’s head.
Doudou woofed twice, seeming disdainful.
But the next second, as Bo Ting looked, it sat obediently, wiped its paws on the mat, and tilted its head innocently with the basket.
Bo Ting: …???
In just a few short days apart, Doudou had actually learned to wipe its feet?
Bo Ting was startled by Doudou’s behavior and couldn’t help but bend down to check again.
It had wiped them quite clean?
Their eyes met, and the gazes of one human and one dog were both complicated.
Bo Ting cleared his throat lightly. “Alright, go play on the balcony.”
“I’ll open the dog food for you after I finish eating.”
“Woof.”
