Chapter 46 Part 2

The Resurgence Management Office saw it too.

The info popped up on Qiu Tao’s phone, then all group data wiped clean.

Lu Jingshan raised a brow.

“Pretty quick move.”

“They’re not idiots,” Wang Dong grumbled.

“We nabbed several of them; if they hadn’t noticed the leak, they wouldn’t need to exist.”

Wang Dong’s voice dropped as he thought of the “River Ghost” locked in isolation, still clueless about his remote conversationalist.

Who’d have thought Taiping Luxury Garden pulled that trick.

That weird entity’s mischievous streak was overflowing—teasing people for fun.

While toying with the River Ghost and reporting him at the same time, his troublemaker tendencies were all too obvious.

Wang Dong shook his head and cleared his throat lightly.

“So, Captain Lu, we’re just leaving things at Taiping Luxury Garden as they are for now?”

He wasn’t worried about Rebirth of Fire causing more trouble. His only concern was that residential complex. It was clear that the troublemaker anomaly there was just watching the show.

He just didn’t know if the other side had gotten their fill of entertainment yet.

If not…

Wang Dong subconsciously rubbed his arms.

Lu Jingshan glanced at him.

“Let’s leave it for now.”

“What else can we do?”

Lu Jingshan was even starting to wonder if he should try talking to them directly.

From these recent incidents, the personality of the Taiping Luxury Garden anomaly they’d been in contact with seemed even more complex than he’d initially estimated.

Even he couldn’t figure it out anymore.

Fortunately, from start to finish—nearly a month since they’d been discovered—it had never once left the complex.

That was what gave them a chance to breathe.

As for its online activities…

Lu Jingshan shook his head. He and Wang Dong both leaned toward it just being Taiping Luxury Garden having some fun.

Otherwise, how else to explain it?

Could it be that Taiping Luxury Garden was some civic-minded anomaly that reported problems to them right away upon discovering them?

Yeah, right.

No three-year-old would buy that.

Lu Jingshan pinched the bridge of his nose. As Wang Dong shrugged, he sighed, “Whatever. Let’s go interrogate the River Ghost first.”

“We can try to flush out a few more Rebirth of Fire members while we’re at it.”

Wang Dong nodded and followed along.

There was no rush with Taiping Luxury Garden anyway. Better to handle what was right in front of them.

He only hoped that those Rebirth of Fire idiots would be stupid enough this time to let them catch them all in one go.

…

After finishing his evening shift at the flower shop, Bo Ting locked up as usual and went to lead Doudou out from under the tree.

With only two days left until the shop’s opening, there were more valuables inside these past few days, so Bo Ting checked everything extra carefully.

Once he confirmed the windows were tightly shut and the door securely locked, he recorded a video and sent it to Miss Du.

Miss Du replied with “Received,” and only then did Bo Ting relax. He leisurely tugged on Doudou’s leash, preparing to head home.

He had to admit, the preparations for the opening had kept him surprisingly busy these past few days. He’d even worked an extra hour today, which was rare, but Miss Du had sent overtime pay in the group chat, soothing his wage-slave soul.

Bo Ting pocketed it casually, his mood much improved. He strolled back with the cool breeze, through the garden and up the stairs to his building. He was already thinking about sleeping in tomorrow to catch up on some rest.

Not long after he left.

In Wenhua Street District, at the entrance to Yunhe Convenience Store:

Two men in black robes appeared in a blind spot from the cameras.

“This the place?”

Mu Feng replied, “Should be.”

“Qiu Tao and Huaiya both got nabbed here?”

The black-robed man holding a photo compared it, frowning slightly.

“This should be one of the Resurgence Management Office’s hidden outposts.”

“The vibes around here feel off.” His voice was steady, clearly far more experienced than Huaiya had been on his first visit.

The other black-robed man looked around and nodded as well.

“No wonder Huaiya and the others fell for it so easily.”

“If the Resurgence Management Office set up a trap in advance, that would explain it.”

“The layout inside this complex doesn’t look like a normal neighborhood. We almost overlooked it when we passed by earlier, if not for the photo reminding us.”

If they hadn’t suspected it was too much of a coincidence for both incidents to happen here, Rebirth of Fire wouldn’t have risked coming to check it out.

But now that they had, they’d spotted the issue.

—There was a faint, eerie aura lingering in this complex.

Neither man thought the complex’s existence might be an anomaly event in itself. After all, for something that big to be sitting right out in the open, the odds of the Resurgence Management Office ignoring it were zero.

The only explanation was that this complex was connected to them somehow, which was why they turned a blind eye.

Mu Feng felt confident in his assessment.

“Looks like they place a lot of importance on this place.”

He noted it down thoughtfully.

“The Resurgence Management Office has been cracking down on us hard lately. The River Ghost’s last mission failed because of those meddling bastards!”

The square-faced man beside him cursed under his breath, then snarled viciously,

“Since we’ve found their second office site, why not just destroy it?”

“Let them taste what it’s like to be caught off guard for once.”

It was impossible not to be tempted. Their organization’s string of setbacks had all been tied to the Resurgence Management Office.

And here was a chance for payback, right in front of them.

However…

Looking at the residential area before them—which looked no different from any ordinary neighborhood to the naked eye—Mu Feng held himself back for the moment.

“Wait a bit.”

“They don’t know we’ve found this place yet.”

“That’s our advantage.”

Mu Feng hadn’t even finished speaking before the square-faced man got it.

“Fine, we’ll wait then.”

The square-faced man was a bit displeased, but then he thought of something else.

“But we’re just gonna come all this way and leave after a quick look?”

They’d risked detection to use the Blood Backtrack Camera to review the incident, even causing his ability to go out of control. Walking away empty-handed left him unsatisfied.

Mu Feng knew what was on this guy’s mind. Every time he activated the camera, the square-faced man—Ma O—would amplify his greed.

Now that they’d found what seemed like a Resurgence Management Office secret outpost, how could they just leave?

Sure enough, Ma O suggested next,

“Let’s go in and take a look.”

“We won’t go deep—just poke around a few houses by the wall to gather more intel.”

As he spoke, his body twisted, limbs elongating, as if he couldn’t wait to head into the security booth.

Mu Feng frowned and stopped him quickly.

“Over the wall.”

Who knew if there were cameras in the security booth.

And they didn’t even know if there were ability users inside. Better to play it safe.

“What a hassle.”

Ma O was impatient but relented under reason.

The two picked a flat spot along the wall and climbed over. The moment they landed, they looked up at the garden ahead and felt a second of relief.

“Looks like people actually live here.”

Good thing they hadn’t rushed in blindly and triggered some alarm.

Though it was connected to a Resurgence Management Office outpost, the complex still had a strong sense of everyday life.

Mu Feng pondered. If not for the eerie aura outside, the harmonious lights inside might have fooled him completely.

As he glanced a bit longer, Ma O suddenly got excited.

“Guess what I found?”

“That potted flower on the opposite rooftop—isn’t that an A-Level Anomalous Plant?”

Ma O’s face lit up with excitement. He hadn’t expected to spot an A-Level anomalous plant right after entering. And it didn’t seem aggressive at all.

As expected of the Resurgence Management Office’s secret base—real treasures inside!

Greed surged through him in waves, amplified by his ability’s side effects. He could barely hold back.

The moment he saw that flower, the only thought in his mind was to take it.

Mu Feng’s head throbbed for a second. But seeing Ma O approach without incident, he ultimately didn’t stop him.

Ma O was an S-Rank Ability User; that flower was just A-Level. No issue.

Sure enough, after Ma O approached and released his ability, the motionless little blue wildflower coiled on the rooftop didn’t stir, as if cowed.

Ma O smoothly plucked it. Thinking how he’d scored an A-Level anomalous item just like that, he nearly laughed.

Today was his lucky day.

His grin widened as he clutched the flower pot tightly.

Mu Feng kept his eyes fixed on the occupied areas opposite, wary of trouble, and didn’t notice his companion’s changing expression.

Seeing that Ma O had secured the flower, he withdrew his gaze and checked the time quickly.

“Let’s go.”

“We got what we came for. Head back.”

With his greed sated, Ma O didn’t resist. He nodded.

“Be careful.”

The two snuck out over the wall again, cradling the Little Blue Flower. They didn’t notice that after the blue wildflower vanished, the neighboring purple and red flowers trembled slightly, their barbs suddenly growing denser.

Bo Ting slept soundly until a buzzing filled his ears. He flipped over instinctively, but even with the blanket over his head, the noise persisted.

He realized he was dreaming.

But this dream felt a bit off today?

In a daze, Bo Ting dreamed of the flower shop scene.

Yeah, before he left, he’d checked the whole place—except the skylight overhead, which he’d left open.

Miss Du had said Little Blue, Little Purple, and Little Red needed to bask in the moonlight at night, so he could put them outside.

The three pots of flowers lounged lazily under the moon.

Half-asleep, Bo Ting turned his head and suddenly dreamed that Little Blue was gone.

A pair of rough hands reached in through the skylight, excitedly carrying Little Blue away.

What the hell?

Bo Ting jolted in his dream, about to get up and chase, when he heard Little Blue say,

“Brother Bo Ting, no need to worry.”

“I went out foraging.”

“I’ll come back after hunting and fattening up Little Red and Little Purple.”

The burliest of the three flowers, Little Blue Flower, waved its chubby leaves and hopped away.

Bo Ting blanked out for a moment, wondering if he was losing it. What kind of nonsense dream was this?

But when the midday sun hit his face and forcibly woke him, Bo Ting shook off the weird dream, got up, and grabbed his phone.

The moment he unlocked it, he saw a sudden message from Miss Du.

—”Oh right, Little Blue went on a trip today. Don’t worry about it.”

—”It’ll come back on its own.”

Bo Ting: …???