Chapter 66 Part 2

The Ability Users guarding the screens only heard an incredibly heavy footstep.

Then, this small city, which had just been quietly situated, vanished.

The city was swept by the storm.

In just a few minutes, when the screen lit up again, it was beyond mere “damaged.”

The Resurgence Management Office drew in a cold breath.

“Is this the Lurker of the Mountains’ ability?”

He Chengfeng frowned and muttered to himself, unable to imagine the consequences if such a scene occurred in Mengjia City.

Si Ning’s face was also icy.

He had personally seen the watchtower disintegrate in the storm. In that instant, he understood why the Lurker of the Mountains had such a notorious reputation.

It was deliberate.

Even those cities that had encountered it without preparation before had been casually massacred by it like this.

The air fell silent for a moment before the call from Tage City’s Resurgence Management Office came through.

“The Lurker of the Mountains has left Tage City’s range.”

“After passing through the Xushan Mountains, the only nearby city now is Mengjia City.”

“Be careful.”

The call ended.

Zheng Shangyun exhaled slowly.

“Everyone saw the Lurker of the Mountains’ destructiveness.”

“So this time, we can only succeed—no failures allowed.”

“We currently have only three strands of ‘Divine Breath’ available. No margin for error.”

“Yes.”

Lu Jingshan and the others responded in unison. They knew this was their only chance so far.

If the “Divine Breath” deployment failed to attract the Lurker of the Mountains… it would lead to incalculable catastrophic consequences.

Mengjia City’s atmosphere grew tense.

Even Xu Qinglai, riding in the car the next morning, sensed the Resurgence Management Office’s movements.

“Strange, why is the inspection so strict today?”

Driver Uncle Sun muttered and stopped the car.

Xu Qinglai’s gaze fell on the “No Passage” sign ahead, thoughtful.

The Resurgence Management Office needed to calculate, based on the Lurker of the Mountains’ walking pace, which area it would enter first upon approaching Mengjia City.

Thus… every sector had to be checked.

Moreover, to prevent bad actors from causing trouble during the anomalous god’s passage, roadside screenings were intensified.

Almost every street block now had Ability Users patrolling back and forth.

Uncle Sun waited more than ten minutes before finally passing the inspection and leaving.

Before departing, he was still a bit puzzled.

“Is something big about to happen?”

“So many people?”

Xu Qinglai didn’t answer, merely withdrawing his gaze indifferently.

…

Bo Ting, however, didn’t sense the tense atmosphere at all.

After all, the streets around Yunhe Convenience Store were just as they had been before.

Neither the technicians’ predictions nor Zheng Shangyun and the others’ analyses suggested that the Lurker of the Mountains would pass through Taiping Luxury Garden’s territory.

After all, both were anomalous gods, and they rarely entered each other’s “territories” under normal circumstances.

Taiping Luxury Garden was unusually quiet with few people around.

However, right after lunch, Bo Ting received a commission from Miss Du.

“Little Bo, Little Blue says it’s tired of staying outside lately and wants to come back.”

“Do you have time to go out today?”

Hm?

To pick up Little Blue and bring it back?

“Of course.”

Bo Ting actually hadn’t planned to go out today, but if it was to pick up Little Blue, then he could make a trip.

Come to think of it, leaving a pot of flowers like Little Blue at West View Paradise made him uneasy.

Miss Du’s brows relaxed a little.

“Thanks.”

“I’ll send you a pot of flowers when it gets back.”

“No, no, it’s fine.”

Bo Ting hurriedly replied, feeling that Miss Du was being too polite.

Without Little Blue’s help, he would still be a poor wage slave right now, with no way to have accumulated so much savings.

For both reason and sentiment, he had to take good care of Little Blue.

After exchanging a couple of messages, Bo Ting saw that it was getting late, so he changed clothes and headed out.

He turned right upon leaving, boarded the bus, and the familiar West View Paradise route appeared once more.

As soon as Bo Ting turned his head, he noticed… hm?

The netizens online seemed to be right; why were there so many people in this area?

There were even staff members conducting checks?

Wait, they weren’t even letting people off the bus go unchecked?

Bo Ting pondered for a moment. After the bus stopped at the station, he gathered his documents and prepared to get off.

The uncles and aunties near the door were curious, craning their necks to ask a few questions, but the staff members smiled and brushed them off.

Bo Ting also reached the door.

Xue Hengfu: “Name?”

Bo Ting: “Bo Ting?”

The clear voice rang out, sounding oddly familiar.

Xue Hengfu looked up abruptly and nearly jumped out of his skin.

How was it this ancestor again?

When had He gotten on this bus?!

He had been busy with checks and hadn’t looked up earlier, so it was too late now that he saw Him.

Xue Hengfu’s face instinctively softened a bit. After quickly glancing at the documents, he said hastily, “No problem, you can go.”

Hm?

That was it?

Hadn’t the uncles and aunties ahead been checked multiple times?

Xue Hengfu cleared his throat lightly by way of explanation.

“Your documents were the ones we reissued; you’ve been checked several times already.”

Bo Ting nodded then. After getting off the bus, he asked curiously,

“I seem to run into you pretty often lately.”

“You’re quite busy, huh?”

Xue Hengfu: …

Running into him often? Had he blown his cover?

His heart fluttered with slight panic for a moment, but he forced a stiff smile. “It’s alright, just following orders from above.”

“Uh, the light’s green.”

In his haste, Xue Hengfu cleverly glanced at the traffic light nearby.

Reminded, Bo Ting realized it and thanked him expressionlessly before crossing the street first.

Only after the figure had left did Xue Hengfu lean against the bus door, coming back to life.

That had scared him to death.

He carefully withdrew his gaze, cursing inwardly:

This job wasn’t for humans!

But wait, what was the one from Taiping Luxury Garden doing in Camphor District?

Xue Hengfu thought of the house that had been transferred to His name earlier and wondered suspiciously: He couldn’t be here to inspect the property, could He?

…

Bo Ting naturally wasn’t there to inspect any property.

Though, stopping by for a look wasn’t out of the question.

After happily greeting the security guard, Brother Lian, Bo Ting entered the complex.

Hm, not bad. As expected of a high-end neighborhood; it had great investment value.

It had been a few weeks since his last visit, but the environment was still pristine, without a speck of trash on the ground.

Bo Ting admired his soon-to-appreciate property for a moment, then snapped a photo and sent it to Mr. Xu.

“Mr. Xu, here to pick up Little Blue.”

“Sharing a pic of the neighborhood garden too!”

A lively kitten head popped up again.

After glancing at the “West View Paradise” location, Xu Qinglai knew what Bo Ting was up to.

Picking up that mutated wildflower?

His fingertip paused for a moment, but he still replied, “It’s indeed good to bring it back now.”

“After all, it’s about to get unsafe outside.”

For him and Bo Ting, nothing in Mengjia City would change.

But the lesser anomalies might not be so lucky.

Xu Qinglai’s gaze lingered on the location pin, figuring that the appearance-obsessed wildflower posed no threat.

Bo Ting had no idea what Mr. Xu was thinking and was still a bit curious at that moment.

“Is the anomalous weather activity that dangerous?”

“No wonder Miss Du wanted me to bring Little Blue back.”

As he spoke, he pressed the elevator button.

Right after reaching the floor, he spotted eyes floating in the air.

He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion.

Ever since Bo Ting had last shown interest in the eyes, they had kept several meters away from him, making it hard for him to even catch a glimpse in the mirror sometimes.

Feeling a twinge of regret deep down, Bo Ting watched as the eyes maintained their distance and withdrew his gaze. He opened the door and went inside to rest for a bit.

But as soon as he entered, Bo Ting was left dumbfounded.

Had Little Blue grown way too big?

It had only been a dozen or so days since he’d last seen it, and now it had filled the entire house—and this was a large flat!

Bo Ting stared at the countless blue flowers climbing the walls and spoke up.

“How did you grow so big?”

How was he supposed to carry it back like this?

Anyone on the street would spot the problem immediately.

Bo Ting felt a slight headache coming on.

Little Blue had just finished eating and hadn’t expected Brother Bo Ting to arrive so soon. Feeling a bit embarrassed at his question, it hurriedly controlled its size.

It tried to retract all the dense blue branches and leaves that had overgrown the house.

After a good while, Little Blue finally managed to bundle itself up into a delicate gift-box flower arrangement.

It had even changed the pot underneath into a cozy white woven basket.

Bo Ting: …

“This works too, I guess.”

Carrying a little flower basket was weird, but better than hugging a mutated plant out the door.

With Population Census Office staff checking house to house now, getting Little Blue flagged would be disastrous.

Bo Ting breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that Little Blue could shrink back down. He stepped forward and picked up the basket.

But just as he touched it, Bo Ting paused suddenly.

His gaze caught the edge of the little flower basket glitching oddly, followed by a row of cute, excited text appearing.

“—Bo Ting Brother Exclusive Flower Basket!”

Bo Ting: …?