Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Shi Yu: …

The apology that seemed sincere carried no trace of genuine remorse.

Shi Yu frowned slightly, at a loss for words. Did this guy seriously think he’d back off if Shi Yu refused the apology?

After their earlier exchange, it wasn’t hard for Shi Yu to figure out the identity of the person in front of him. Someone who clashed with Shen Yan and acted so defiantly—could only be Han Chuyi, that college student from the novel who listened only to Sang Huaiyu.

What surprised him though was what brought this guy here too.

Could that creepy package from last night really be so troublesome that one member of the protagonist team wouldn’t be enough, and they needed two people together to deal with it?

The thought flashed through his mind, but Shi Yu quickly snapped out of it and simply turned away, nodding at Shen Yan without a word.

Han Chuyi let his hand drop with a bored expression and turned his attention back to Shen Yan.

“So, what’s the play here?”

“You’re just waiting around like this?”

He’d already seen the case report Shen Yan submitted on his way here and knew that the “undeliverable package” was targeting this ordinary person in front of them.

Were they seriously just sitting here waiting for the Horror to show up? How long were they planning to wait?

Total waste of time.

He coughed, thinking about how displeased Brother Sang would be if he showed up tomorrow and saw Han Chuyi still losing points.

“If you keep waiting like this, it’ll be nighttime before anything happens.”

“Why don’t we take the initiative instead?”

Han Chuyi didn’t want to waste a single second—it’d be better to take care of the Horror before evening.

Shen Yan glanced at him, considering he was also involved in the case, and held his tongue. “What’s your idea?”

Han Chuyi turned to look at Shi Yu, who was standing to the side, and reasoned, “That thing isn’t showing itself now because you’re all here, right?”

While Horrors were less active during the day compared to nighttime, that didn’t stop them from killing in daylight. The reason it was hiding now was simply because it picked up on a threatening presence in this house. Once Shen Yan and the others let their guard down, it would seize the moment and strike lethally.

Han Chuyi continued like it was obvious, “You guys leave for a bit. I’ll rig the place and let Mr. Shi stay alone.”

“If it sees no one’s around, it should come out, right?”

Unlike Shen Yan and the others, who played it safe and acted cautiously, Han Chuyi had a reputation for being reckless when dealing with Horrors. More than once, he’d gotten up close and personal while capturing them himself.

He was a hundred percent sure he could act the moment the Horror appeared, swiftly catching it without harming Shi Yu.

No point drawing this out.

Shi Yu: …

Confidence was good, but this overconfident?

So after all that talk, this guy was just winging it based on his gut?

Did it even occur to him—the “what if”? What if this whole thing blew up in his face?

Shi Yu stared at him wordlessly. This guy was seriously annoying—no wonder he had the lowest votes in the shipping wars before Sang Huaiyu’s true identity as a villain was revealed in the original novel.

No matter how cheerful his demeanor or how endearing his canine teeth were, he was still reckless, hot-headed, and prone to acting without thinking of the consequences.

After Han Chuyi made his suggestion, the living room fell into tense silence. Normally, when Han Chuyi went on missions, this was exactly the tactic he used with his teammates.

But now they weren’t dealing with an Ability User—they were dealing with just a civilian. They had to consider every factor.

Just as Han Chuyi was about to speak again, Shen Yan shot him a warning look, clearly rejecting the idea.

“Quiet.”

“I’m in charge of this case for now. If you want to help, then follow the rules.”

“This plan doesn’t guarantee the resident’s safety.”

He lightly pressed his fingers against his temples. The exhaustion he’d only just managed to ease came flooding back.

Han Chuyi gave him a strange look. “No way? Dr. Shen is actually being this cautious?”

“With us here, how could anything go wrong? How would two S-rank Ability Users from the Association let a B-rank Horror steal its target from right under our noses?”

“Dr. Shen being so careful—could it be that you’re scared?”

Because Shen Yan liked Sang Huaiyu, Han Chuyi had never really liked him. Now that his suggestion had been dismissed, he smirked and threw some shade.

He raised an eyebrow at Shen Yan, then turned toward Shi Yu.

“Dr. Shen should’ve spoken up sooner. Had I known you were so worried, I wouldn’t have suggested it.”

“Besides, look how scared everyone is. Rather than trusting them, wouldn’t it be better to trust me, right?”

Such a passive-aggressive ass.

The insinuation left Shi Yu completely done with this.

What did the rivalry between the second and third male leads have to do with him—a random bystander? Could Han Chuyi not drag him into this?

“Sorry, I just met Dr. Shen and the others today, and I don’t know you that well either. But between you and him, I trust Dr. Shen’s judgment more.”

He said this, tugged at his mask, and nodded at Shen Yan.

“By the way, why don’t you two work out your issues first? I’ll head back to my room.”

The young man in the blue hoodie turned and walked into the bedroom, leaving the group behind in the living room.

Wang Shan shifted awkwardly, not sure where to look, wondering how things had gone south so quickly after Han Chuyi’s arrival.

Ahem. Everyone else studied their shoes, avoiding eye contact.

Shen Yan couldn’t even bring himself to look at Han Chuyi anymore, but almost unconsciously, his gaze drifted toward the bedroom again.

Han Chuyi’s words had definitely crossed a line.

When Shi Yu came out later, he ought to apologize.

Unaware of Shen Yan’s thoughts, Shi Yu finally breathed easy after slipping into the room. Watching the painful-to-watch rivalry between the second and third male leads over the protagonist outside had been unbearable.

“I need to stay far away from main story characters from now on.”

Shi Yu nodded, more determined than ever to keep his distance from the main storyline characters once this incident was over.

Still, he was starving. He’d waited outside for hours and hadn’t eaten all morning—once the stomachache passed, the hunger came roaring back.

He glanced around the bedroom and finally found a bag of bread in a small drawer on the balcony. He tore it open and washed it down with water.

The bread was bland and dry. Shi Yu remembered it being sweet before—maybe he was just in a bad mood today, making it taste like cardboard.

But he made himself choke it down anyway.

After finishing the whole bag, Shi Yu rubbed his stomach. He was still hungry and dying for that roast chicken he had stashed in the fridge. But that obnoxious college kid was still outside…

He hesitated, then reluctantly gave up the idea.

Night fell fast. He had slept until noon, and after killing time, it was already evening.

This was the hour when Horrors were most active. Shen Yan opened his eyes and braced himself.

He pushed aside the constant exhaustion eating at him, checked the time, and almost went to get Shi Yu to stay with them.

But he paused, recalling Han Chuyi’s words earlier, and didn’t knock right away.

*Whatever, I’ll give it a minute.*

"Hypocrite."

Han Chuyi scoffed, shooting a lazy glance at the closed door.

With so many people around, there was no shot that "undiscardable package" would show up. Yet, as he thought this, he failed to notice the subtle shift happening just beyond the door.

Shi Yu was starving, mentally reciting *“roast chicken legs, roast chicken wings, roast chicken skewers,”* all kinds of savory, spicy meats flashing through his mind. Lying flat on the bed, he groaned and clutched his stomach.

His phone buzzed slightly beside him. A covert message popped up in his inbox as he muttered to himself.

Shi Yu shut his eyes, resting for a moment, when suddenly he got a whiff of meat in the air.

Was he hallucinating from hunger?

He had just been thinking about roasted chicken legs—was he now imagining their smell?

But this one wasn’t what he expected. Shi Yu liked spicy—this smelled more like… honey-barbecue?

He sat up sharply. *Wait, could a hallucination be this vivid?*

The next second, a square box about 25cm wide appeared outside the balcony.

*Nineteenth floor. A floating package out of nowhere—straight outta a horror flick!*

Shi Yu’s eyes widened, his heart jumping into his throat.

The freaky package was stuck to the balcony window like it might smash through the glass any second. When he opened his mouth to scream, his throat clamped shut—no sound came out.

He stood frozen in place, unable to move even an inch.

*Damn it! So this is what it feels like to be controlled by a Horror? Is this how everyone before me died?*

The thought barely crossed his mind before, just as Shi Yu braced himself for a silent death at the hands of the creepy thing, the blood-dripping box across from him suddenly stopped.

The “Undiscardable Package” studied the ordinary human male before it, as if noticing something off, and paused.

Then, as if it could no longer be restrained, it crashed through the window.

It was getting closer!

Was this the end?

Shi Yu's heart pounded wildly. But just as the delivery box reached his feet, it suddenly shattered.

The transparent adhesive seal was torn open by an unknown force, and under Shi Yu's bewildered gaze, it exploded into—a steaming hot honey-roasted chicken rice.