Wasn’t he going to eat?
What did he see now?
A flicker of curiosity passed. Xu Qinglai sent a “comforting” emoji.
“Small eatery hygiene issue?”
That was the most common food spot problem; he guessed subconsciously.
But the reply was three heavy exclamation marks.
Bo Ting: “That’s small potatoes.”
Before heading to the restaurant, Bo Ting had braced for a dirty, messy shop—prices were what they were.
But reality was even more surreal than imagined.
Who would’ve thought.
Bo Ting typed indignantly:
“They were stir-frying air!”
Silence hung in the air for a moment. Xu Qinglai instinctively curled his lips.
Before he realized it, amusement tinged his brows.
Seeing no reply, Bo Ting guessed Mr. Xu was laughing, feeling even more exasperated.
“Laugh away.”
He found it absurd himself.
Xu Qinglai suppressed his laughter, coughed lightly.
“Discovering now isn’t too late.”
At least he wouldn’t order again.
Bo Ting: …
Anyone who did now was a fool!
Tonight, he would boil the last two packs of instant noodles in the living room!
And add a sausage stick!
Or he wouldn’t feel satisfied!
That said, Wu Ge and his wife had fed him “emperor’s new meals” for weeks without him noticing. They had some skills.
Ruling out his own eyesight issues.
Only one conclusion: Wu Ge and his wife weren’t human!
They had some “conjuring food from thin air” ability to cook in an empty kitchen for so long without slipping up.
Only this made Bo Ting feel better.
With so many non-humans in the neighborhood, it was normal for an honest guy like him to be duped.
Taking a deep breath, after taking the elevator home, Bo Ting turned and eyed Gouzi and the calico suspiciously for a bit.
In the end, he still picked up Doudou and Tang Yuan and set them down.
After all, if not for Doudou and Tang Yuan accidentally knocking over the lunch box today, who knows how long he’d have been fooled.
This counted as merits offsetting faults.
Doudou and Tang Yuan, bewildered upon regaining freedom, had no idea what happened.
Whatever.
They glared at each other, then dashed joyfully to the balcony.
Bo Ting twitched his mouth, worriedly entered the kitchen, and boiled his hoarded noodles.
He was still mulling over future meals.
Having uncovered the “eating” scam at Wu Ge’s, Bo Ting had to think more.
From tomorrow onward, did that mean he had to go to the garden to dig for wild vegetables?
No, that wouldn’t do.
He still needed to think of a way.
Otherwise, he could try online shopping.
This time, he could buy more things and have Mr. Xu help him purchase them?
Bo Ting lowered his eyes.
But Mr. Xu never accepted his red envelopes.
Every time he asked the other man to buy something for him, he felt a bit embarrassed.
Steaming instant noodles were brought out. Bo Ting picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and then looked at his phone screen again.
Perhaps sensing his predicament, Xu Qinglai typed before Bo Ting could even say anything.
“I’ll help you buy some things and have them delivered over.”
The familiar avatar looked warm and considerate, and Bo Ting felt a surge of emotion.
But thinking about how the other man wouldn’t accept red envelopes, Bo Ting still refused.
“It’s fine, Mr. Xu. I’ll look around myself first.”
“If I can’t find anything, I’ll let you know.”
It was fine when they were just netizens, but now that they had become good friends, Bo Ting felt even more reluctant to accept things from Mr. Xu. It made him feel inexplicably uneasy.
Anyway, he could try on his own first.
…
For two whole days after losing contact with Taiping Luxury Garden, things remained eerily calm on the other side, making one wonder if it was building up to something big.
Lu Jingshan let out a soft “hiss” and rubbed his chin.
“No movement yet?”
“None.”
Si Ning had been sitting in front of the computer for a full day and night without showing any signs of fatigue.
Lu Jingshan glanced at the young man in surprise before forcing his attention back.
Hmm.
This meant that two days were completely tolerable for it.
He reached out and jotted a note.
At that moment, Si Ning suddenly frowned.
Lu Jingshan’s eyes lit up.
The “special account” had been logged into!
“It really came as soon as we spoke of it!”
After losing contact and feeding from the Resurgence Management Office, this kind of cannibalistic anomaly would likely log back into the previous account right away to resume “luring prey.”
Just like how they had baited the owner of the Rebirth Pet Shop before they were discovered.
The browsing history appeared on the desktop.
Si Ning clicked in and first noticed that after logging in, the account had changed its name—from the baffling So Many Eyes in the Sky Today! to Countdown.
Si Ning’s fingertip paused, lingering there abruptly.
“What does ‘Countdown’ mean?”
Lu Jingshan didn’t answer because he suddenly realized he had overlooked something.
—This anomaly’s account nickname made one’s scalp tingle just looking at it, yet he hadn’t noticed it before?
He snapped back to reality in a daze, and when he saw it change names again, he was completely baffled.
What did this mean?
Bo Ting had only realized after discovering that his neighborhood had crossed over that the nickname he chose might be a bit too—silly.
Ever since he learned that for people in Mengjia City, eyes in the sky were commonplace.
Bo Ting felt like his nickname was equivalent to walking around with something weird like “There Are Actually Clouds in the Sky” on his head.
So, to avoid being spotted as a non-local, the first thing he did upon logging in was change his name.
What to?
Hmm.
Come to think of it, he and Mr. Xu had known each other for so long that in another week, it would be a full month.
How about Countdown!
To celebrate the countdown to one month of friendship with his good friend.
Bo Ting excitedly finished changing the name, completely unaware that someone was watching on the other side. He clicked submit and returned to the homepage.
However, to his surprise, just like on his phone, the strange ads on the shopping platform had vanished for some reason. The page had reverted to how it looked the first time he browsed it.
A dazzling array of products that normal people would like.
Sure enough, it must have been a virus back then.
Bo Ting shook his head and casually opened the search page, typing in “instant food.”
Considering that Mengjia City might not have instant noodles, Bo Ting chose a broader term.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, a slew of ready-to-eat foods that required no cooking skills popped up.
On the other side, Lu Jingshan’s mouth twitched slightly.
“Why is it searching for instant food?”
Could an anomaly like that even eat instant food?
It was ridiculous.
Si Ning didn’t think the other side was the herbivorous type either. It was like saying a tiger enjoyed eating cabbage.
“Maybe it’s trying to confuse us and lower our guard.”
Si Ning guessed, then fell silent.
Items from the search page were gradually added to the cart.
Si Ning noticed that this anomaly had selected same-day delivery for everything, clearly having specific time requirements.
Lu Jingshan shook his head. “Check if the store owners and logistics for the items in its cart have any issues.”
The internet was tricky in this regard—under big data, it was hard to screen out hidden anomalies.
If Taiping Luxury Garden hadn’t been so conspicuous, they wouldn’t have found it so quickly.
Si Ning and the technician beside him quickly began screening.
After a while, the technician did flag a few suspicious ones.
But these were minor anomaly incidents, not even fully formed yet.
Taiping Luxury Garden’s appetite probably wasn’t that easily satisfied, right?
Sure enough, after browsing for a while, the Countdown account suddenly paused.
The office fell so quiet that even breathing lightened.
Bo Ting leaned back on the sofa, rubbing his neck. His phone, placed nearby, accidentally brushed against something and clicked into a craft page.
Hm?
A antique-style Smiling Doll appeared on the screen.
Bo Ting stared for a moment before realizing it was a misclick.
But this doll was surprisingly cute.
The little doll had a round head and plump body. One glance made people involuntarily like it.
Bo Ting had only intended to buy instant foods, but on a whim, he clicked in to see the description. Instead, he saw only a pitch-black page.
No seller?
Weird, was the page stuck again?
He backed out and tried again, and the page finally loaded.
The Smiling Doll’s smile looked a bit stranger than before.
Bo Ting poked its head through the screen, and a line of text appeared at the bottom.
—Do you like this doll? At midnight twelve o’clock, please buy it and pass it on to someone close to you (your bond will deepen oh).
Someone close?
Bo Ting’s mind wandered wildly for a while before settling on—Mr. Xu’s name.
