Chapter 39 Part 1

Customer service seemed to think that he shouldn’t be there.

He should find a rope, hang it around his neck, and end it all. That way, he wouldn’t have to chat with the lunatic on the other side anymore.

He also wouldn’t have to live in fear, worrying that the Lovers’ Bell would come back.

This was probably his retribution. It was the price for reselling the Lovers’ Bell so many times to escape the killing… like hell it was!

Customer service’s face twisted, and she stared darkly at the computer screen.

She refused to believe she couldn’t make the lunatic on the other side see sense.

There were still a few days left—no problem. As long as the other side showed some signs of enlightenment, the Lovers’ Bell would notice too.

Customer service took a deep breath.

After looking at the blood-pressure-spiking conversation in the chat window, she knew it wasn’t suitable to continue chatting today.

She forced herself to regain a friendly tone.

“Is that so?”

“We’ll pay more attention to our wording next time.”

“Dear customer, that’s all for today’s follow-up.”

“You can chat more with your companion tonight, and we’ll follow up again tomorrow.”

With a tone as flat and mechanical as ever, customer service went offline again.

Bo Ting touched his chin, feeling like the other side had been trying hard to suppress something.

But chatting with Mr. Xu again tonight?

Maybe he could give it a try.

At eleven o’clock that night.

Xu Qinglai had just finished showering and blow-drying his hair when he heard his phone ring.

The familiar melody rang out again—it was the special notification tone he’d set for that guy after this morning.

For some reason, he felt like Bo Ting’s messages would come even more frequently in the next few days.

Sure enough, after the morning chat, another message arrived now.

But it was already eleven at night. What could it be?

As Xu Qinglai pondered, he walked over and saw Bo Ting’s message.

“By the way, I forgot to remind you, Mr. Xu.”

“You can take the Smiling Doll home after work this afternoon and place it on your bedside table at night (blush).”

“Cough cough, just bring it back to the office in the morning.”

Bo Ting said it casually, completely unaware of how over the line—heck, how flirtatious—his words sounded.

Xu Qinglai’s mouth twitched.

“Is that so?”

“I’ll try it again tomorrow.”

“I didn’t bring it home tonight.”

He glanced at the empty bedside table, his expression inscrutable.

Bo Ting didn’t mind.

To change the subject, Xu Qinglai had to bring up a new topic.

“I had the delivery guy send a few boxes of instant noodles to your neighborhood today.”

“They should arrive tomorrow.”

“Remember to pick them up at the security booth.”

Huh?

Mr. Xu bought him stuff too?

Bo Ting was a bit surprised. He’d been so caught up in the Smiling Doll’s after-sales service that he’d almost forgotten about it. He hadn’t expected Mr. Xu to remember.

That was so touching.

Reacting quickly, Bo Ting pulled out his notebook and added a new line, planning to tell customer service about it during tomorrow’s follow-up.

This had to count as a clear “change” in their relationship warming up, right?

If they weren’t both straight guys, he might even call it—telepathy between hearts.

…

The Resurgence Management Office pulled out all the files related to the Lovers’ Bell.

After staying up all night, they finally identified the seller behind the “webpage.”

Good news: It wasn’t anomalous.

Bad news: They were two human Ability Users.

And these two Ability Users were on the wanted list.

“Captain Lu.”

“After investigation, it’s these two: Pang Juan and Lou Xiaoshan.”

“Five years ago, they awakened their abilities by chance and didn’t register with the Management Office. Instead, they deliberately hid it, joined a private organization in Lena City, and engaged in illegal activities.”

“Three years ago, they somehow obtained the Lovers’ Bell. After disguising it, they consigned it to an auction house for sale, and from then on, the anomalous item Lovers’ Bell circulated freely, causing multiple deaths in succession.”

Si Ning reported while flipping through the files.

“So, when the Ability User squad in Lena City was investigating the Lovers’ Bell back then, it disappeared because these two sensed something was off and deliberately retrieved the anomalous item before fleeing?”

Lu Jingshan frowned slightly.

Si Ning: “That’s probably it.”

“As for why they went to such lengths to resell the Lovers’ Bell…”

His expression grew slightly complicated, tinged with disgust: “According to the investigation, Pang Juan and Lou Xiaoshan are also a couple, and they’ve been together since before awakening.”

That was why they feared the Lovers’ Bell so much.

“Damn, so these two kept reselling it nonstop just to keep the Lovers’ Bell from latching onto them? Letting this anomalous thing go around killing people in their place?”

In the quiet office, Xue Hengfu couldn’t hold back a curse. He was getting fed up hearing this.

If they couldn’t control the anomalous item and were worried about their own lives, they could have reported it to the Resurgence Management Office.

Letting this ghost thing roam free like this—how many people had they harmed?

And anomalouses grow stronger!

The more killings, the faster the growth. Didn’t they have any common sense?!

Lu Jingshan glanced at him and sighed inwardly:

“They don’t lack common sense; they just don’t value other people’s lives.”

“These two probably did other things after becoming Ability Users, so they didn’t dare report it to us, fearing it would implicate them.”

“What a pair of scum!”

Wang Dong sighed, then steered back to the discussion: “So what now?”

They’d identified the targets, but they still couldn’t pinpoint their location. They could only confirm from the IP of the sales that they were hiding in Mengjia City.

Lu Jingshan was a bit regretful they couldn’t find them directly.

But it wasn’t no progress—finding people was much easier than finding an anomalous.

“Screen them.”

“Organize private searches.”

“Start with the outer suburbs.”

Criminals like these Ability Users often hid in the chaotic outskirts. The city center was too prosperous, with too many places requiring ID—one slip-up and they’d be exposed.

Vice Captain Yin Liao nodded.

“I’ll take one team with Si Ning.”

“We’ll start tonight.”

The last search for the Lovers’ Bell in Lena City had failed, and Yin Liao suspected Pang Juan and Lou Xiaoshan had something that let them detect their own kind’s presence, so they’d fled early after sensing danger.

This time, they had to move fast—find them before they realized they were being watched.

The Resurgence Management Office sprang into action.

But private searches were time-consuming and laborious. After one night, they’d only ruled out one district.

Wenhua District, where Taiping Luxury Garden was located, was crossed off the list.

Yin Liao led his team to another area.

The next day.

Bo Ting had just gotten up in the morning when he received customer service’s good morning message.

The timestamp was even more precise than his phone’s system clock.

It was just a nine-ninety-nine craft item—did the after-sales service have to be this good?

Bo Ting was a little puzzled.

“You guys have nothing better to do every day than watch just me?”

He couldn’t help sending a message.

Pang Juan choked on the other side. She sneered inwardly, tempted to tell the lunatic they only served the dead.

Every buyer of the Lovers’ Bell got this “attentive” service from them.

So in the end, they’d “attentively” go die for them!

But for now, she had to endure.

Pang Juan replied calmly: “Yes, dear.”

“It’s a company performance requirement—we have to collect feedback.”

“Dear, after chatting with your companion last night, did you have any new discoveries today?”

Ah.

Office workers really had it rough.

Remembering his own days of deadpan wage-slaving, Bo Ting sighed, feeling sympathy for all workers.

So he was a bit more lenient with her.

He endured the awkwardness of revealing his privacy and shared.

“There probably is.”

Hm? Pang Juan’s eyes lit up—she felt like heaven rewarded the diligent!

Finally, they’d waited for it.

Bo Ting paused, then sent another message.

“Mr. Xu bought me some gifts too.”

“I’m heading to the security booth to pick them up now.”

Tch, these foolish lovebirds—hooked and already showing off.

Pang Juan found it ridiculous. Still, she played along.

“Is that so?”

“How thoughtful. What did Mr. Xu buy you, dear?”

Bo Ting: “Instant noodles.”

One sentence left Pang Juan on the other side speechless. For a moment, she thought she’d misread it.

She checked the page again and confirmed it was indeed instant noodles. She couldn’t help but hesitate, words caught in her throat.

If the guy next to her had given her “instant noodles” as an important gift early in their relationship, she’d have twisted off Lou Xiaoshan’s head.

Who knew this Mr. Bo customer was such a love-struck fool?

Filter on full blast like that, and yesterday he still dared claim they were bros?

Had she never seen bros before?

Pang Juan choked for a while before smoothing it over: “Practical—pretty good.”

At least edible.

“Has taste!”

Bo Ting finally felt understood.

These boxes of instant noodles meant something completely different. They were his meals for the rest of the week.

Without Mr. Xu, he might have starved.