Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Little Monster didn’t know why Mom’s mood had suddenly turned strange again. Just as it was about to let out a loud wail, it heard noises nearby.

Humans were coming!

The tentacled creature in its belly tensed up. Shi Yu suddenly focused and caught the distant sound of car horns.

Was someone approaching?

Who would come here at this hour?

Earlier when he came in, he’d asked about the closing times for Haolai Shopping Mall—the place was shutting down soon.

Was it someone else like him?

The thought flickered through Shi Yu’s mind, but either way, he had no intention of staying upstairs any longer. He’d just killed a Horror; lingering would only draw suspicion. He needed to leave fast.

After checking his belongings and making sure he left no trace behind, he turned to head downstairs. But after taking only two steps, as he passed the elevator, Shi Yu suddenly paused.

Hmm?

There was a sound from the direction of the restroom?

When he noticed faint breathing near the side of the second-floor restroom, Shi Yu froze.

Someone was still upstairs?

He hadn’t expected anyone to remain on the second floor—it had already become a Horror-infested zone. He hesitated, suspecting the person might be prey captured by the Horror, only interrupted before it could act.

Though time was short, Shi Yu gritted his teeth and made his way toward the sound.

No matter what, he had to rescue them first. If he was wrong and the people downstairs weren’t investigating the Horrors, then whoever was trapped would stay locked away forever.

Near the elevator corridor, beside the restroom, was a storage area for miscellaneous items. Following the barely audible breaths, Shi Yu found that the sound was coming from there.

He flung open the door—and sure enough, there was someone inside.

A woman in a hospital gown lay unconscious on a mannequin rack.

She looked deathly pale, clearly having been trapped there for an unknown amount of time.

Thankfully, he’d heard her.

The room was airless, surrounded by contamination—staying any longer would have been dangerous.

When he heard the guard yelling downstairs about closing time, Shi Yu snapped into action. He helped the unconscious woman downstairs and placed her where she’d be quickly spotted—at the stairwell entrance.

There was a main entrance nearby. Once the guards locked up, they should find her and get her to the hospital.

He sighed in relief, pulled his hat lower, and without lingering, turned and slipped into the crowd. Carefully avoiding the cars below, he disappeared as if nothing had happened.

...

Once they got their orders, Wang Shan and Zhao Wen headed out with their squad.

They split up—Zhao Wen took a team to investigate the "carrion rats" in the residential area, while Wang Shan used tracking gear to locate Haolai Shopping Mall.

They’d come at a bad time. Though it was only just past noon, the recent strange events had caused the ground-floor shops to start shutting down early. The barista from the milk tea shop who had told him about the upstairs incident had already closed up and gone.

Wang Shan entered with the instrument, glanced around, then walked up to the gatekeeper.

"Hey, have all the shops closed up already?"

The gatekeeper stood under the scorching sun outside, as if avoiding something. When he noticed someone approaching, he shouted, "We're closed!"

At first, he didn’t catch Wang Shan’s words. Only after the middle-aged man repeated the question did he nod.

"Yeah, everyone’s gone for the day."

"Come back tomorrow if you need anything!"

Wang Shan cursed his bad luck.

Haolai Mall kept weird hours—while other malls were just opening and bustling with activity, this one was already shutting down.

He’d meant to check every shop, but now with the place deserted except for the elderly gatekeeper, Wang Shan had no choice but to pull out a photo.

"Hey, take a look—recognize her? Seen her around lately?"

The woman in the photo was the clerk who'd first heard the weird sounds on the second floor. After hearing things twice, she figured she was cracking up from stress and quit, checking into the hospital to rest. But last night, she vanished from the hospital—no explanation. Someone spotted her walking alone in the rain down Nanlin East Road, though whether she came to Haolai Mall remained unconfirmed.

The gatekeeper barely glanced at the photo at first. But when he recognized her—the one who’d heard the noises—his face fell, fear creeping in as he recalled that day.

"Yeah, I know her. She quit days ago."

"Did she not come yesterday?" Wang Shan pressed, frowning at the photo.

The gatekeeper snapped back to reality and shook his head. "We locked up at noon yesterday—whole place was closed. How could I have seen her?"

"No way she could’ve gotten in."

Wang Shan had expected as much, but it still made his stomach sink. He suspected the woman had likely already fallen victim.

Meanwhile, Zhao Wen, who had gone to investigate the nearby residential area, sent a message: The ‘scavenger’ rat just picked up some weird Horror energy by accident, causing minor mutations, but it hadn't yet reached the level of a Horror Item.

The creepy body parts? Dug up from a graveyard a few miles out.

No real danger there.

Turns out Ms. Wu’s disappearance didn’t line up with the rat’s sighting—effectively ruling out any connection between the two.

Which left Haolai Mall as the only lead.

When Wang Shan saw shops closing in broad daylight, he knew Haolai's problem was worse than they'd thought.

This was bigger than some mutant rat—it was affecting people. So why the hell hadn’t anyone reported it?

Today’s report barely gave it a footnote. If not for the recent disappearance, this might have continued unnoticed.

Wang Shan shoved his questions aside for now. After parting ways with the gatekeeper, he discreetly turned and headed upstairs while the old man wasn’t looking.

Earlier, while watching the first-floor vendors pack up, he noticed normal people around—ground level seemed safe. The real trouble was probably waiting upstairs.

Wang Shan clenched the device, his expression grim. As he reached the top of the stairs, he felt a faint buzz in his hand.

Just a whisper of vibration—enough to prove he was right.

He moved where the detector pointed, careful not to make noise.

But when he got to the stairs, he froze—staring down at an unexpected figure on the ground.

The missing woman he’d thought was dead—Wu Xiaolian—lay unconscious, still alive!

Minutes later, Wang Shan phoned the Ability User Association. He called an ambulance right away.

The gatekeeper jumped as the plain-faced guy came out hauling a body.

“H-how’d she get here?”

Wang Shan just shrugged. No clue.

They waited until sirens wailed, then rushed her inside.

As they loaded her up, Wang Shan saw she was burning up, out cold, and gasping for air. They got her to the ER fast—thank God, in time.

But staring at the building, Wang Shan couldn’t wrap his head around it: How did she end up in there?

And more importantly—how had she survived?

...

Shi Yu hadn’t gone far when he spotted the Ability User Association’s vehicles pulling up.

Before thirty minutes passed, HQ had cars on-site.

First, Zhao Wen—who was already nearby—wrapped things up and rushed over, followed by Shen Yan.

Still in his scrubs, Shen Yan looked like he’d just finished his shift—he hadn’t even changed. He’d bolted over the second he heard “Haolai Mall.”

If this was mass corruption, the Horror wasn’t top-tier, but it was a slippery bastard. It needed containment fast—otherwise, the source would spread from Haolai Building outward, with unpredictable consequences.

Face set, Shen Yan gloved up and marched inside.

The guard moved to block them—but Zhao Wen flashed the access permit. The guy backed off, baffled.

The second Shen Yan crossed the threshold, his Horror side flared. His psychic senses expanded through every inch of the building—and hit resistance on the second floor.

That’s where the Horror’s presence spiked.

Eyes locked ahead, he climbed…

Half an hour later, Wang Shan and the others watched Dr. Shen descend. They held back—only when the scanners cleared him of contamination and showed normal mutation levels did they approach.

“Dr. Shen, how did it go?”

“Did you catch it?” Wang Shan pushed.

Shen Yan frowned. His face did something weird—a frown, but worse.

“No.”

"Did it manage to escape?"

Did this damn thing sense their arrival and release the hostage before fleeing?

The members of the Ability User Association looked grim. This Horror was different from other Horrors—it clearly had contagious traits. Under no circumstances could they let it get away.

Just as Wang Shan finished speaking, he noticed Dr. Shen pressing his temples, looking weary.

"That's what's puzzling me."

"The Horror on the second floor didn't escape—it's already dead."

When he reached the second floor, he sensed the Horror's presence dissipating, slowly seeping out from a shuttered clothing store.

Thanks to Shen Yan's enhanced psychic senses, he could immediately detect the residual Horror energy, confirming that the Horror on the second floor was likely a Class B special Horror.

But now, the distinct energy signature of that Class B Horror had almost completely vanished. Had he arrived ten minutes later, there might have been no trace left at all.

Despite his confusion, Shen Yan repeatedly verified: this unidentified Class B Horror was indeed dead.

Only the exact time of death remained unclear.

The group exchanged glances, surprised by this revelation.

"A Class B Horror died on its own?"

This sounded like complete nonsense. If it hadn't come from Dr. Shen, they would have thought it was a joke.

Yet, this was the conclusion they had reached.

Zhao Wen hesitated. "Did another Ability User come to deal with it?"

He couldn't think of any other explanation.

Shen Yan shook his head. "I don't know."

"Let's lock down the area first."

"Oh, one more thing." He paused.

"Find out why the manager here only reported this a week after the incident."

"Got it." Zhao Wen nodded and turned to make arrangements.

Meanwhile, Shi Yu, after stuffing himself, was already on his way home.

Due to the unusual circumstances, he had taken a taxi on the way there. Now, with his guard slightly lowered, he took a detour and hopped on a bus a few kilometers away from Nanlin Road.

His black umbrella folded, Shi Yu checked his phone after boarding the bus.

Hmm.

Nothing yet about the Haolai Shopping Mall incident. It seemed the ambulance earlier hadn't caused much commotion among nearby residents, lowering his risk of being noticed.

As for the woman he'd saved, she was out cold and hadn't seen him.

Shi Yu ran through the day's events and breathed a little easier. After running through everything, he yawned, pressing a hand against his stomach as he leaned against the window and closed his eyes.

Hmph, he muttered.

Maybe because he’d been so active today—his first time trying to control the Spirit Threads in his mind—it left him completely drained. He leaned against the window intending to rest for a moment, but he closed his eyes and was out like a light.

It wasn’t until an hour later, when the bus was nearly at its stop, that a familiar honk jerked him awake.

“Ding. Orange Blossom Road Main Street is next.”

“Folks, don’t forget your stuff. Please make your way to the back door.”

The announcement looped repeatedly. Shi Yu stirred slightly, scowling at his own carelessness. How could he have fallen asleep on the bus—and so deeply?

He opened his eyes, lowered his head, and reached for his umbrella.

But as he lifted his hand, he noticed—while dozing against the window, his left hand had drifted to his stomach, almost protectively, as if shielding the Little Monster inside. His face went blank with shock.

There were barely any passengers left on the bus. The driver gave one more reminder since no one stood up.

“This is the last stop! Final destination!”

Shaking himself out of it, Shi Yu took a deep breath, grabbed his umbrella, and stepped off.

Even after getting off, he still felt dazed.

What the hell was that about?

He glanced down at his hoodie-covered belly, his head spinning.

Since when did he baby the Little Monster like that?

He bit down a groan, realizing it was just an unconscious reflex while he slept—not like the Little Monster made him do it. He swallowed his irritation, said nothing to the Little Monster, simply frowned and pulled his hand away, swearing off touching his stomach all day.

Meanwhile, the Little Monster—who had just felt its “mom’s” gentle touch: ???

Totally lost, the Little Monster didn’t quite understand what was going on, but it definitely remembered how warm and comforting Shi Yu’s hand had felt through his skin.

Too bad “mom” snapped out of it. It curled up again, confused.

Back home, Shi Yu washed up and dragged himself to the scale, fighting sleep.

The digits bounced on the screen before settling on the number he used to see before pregnancy.

His weight was back—so those “extra nutrients” paid off.

He logged the number, relieved, compared it to the last entry, and finally allowed himself to get some real rest.

…

The Haolai Mall mess didn’t blow up till morning.

The security guard announced the mall would temporarily close, and from the nearby residential building, shop owners saw the ambulance arrive.

That afternoon, it was Wu Xiaolian being hauled out—again—even though she’d already been hospitalized.

All hell broke loose.

Everyone knew how hard Wu Xiaolian had fought to avoid going back to the second floor. So how did she end up returning—only to be carried out from there?

The creepy noise rumors got even scarier.

However, Haolai Plaza has been sealed off since yesterday afternoon and is still closed. No matter how strange it seems, familiar shop owners can only discuss it in small private groups they've formed.

After waking up in the morning and hearing that Wu Xiaolian had regained consciousness, Shen Yan went to the hospital with Wang Shan and others, piecing together clues during the ride.

Right now, all leads about Haolai Plaza are spotty. They haven't gotten anywhere with the plaza owner yet, so they can only hope the victim who woke up remembers something.

The group drove to the Sixth Hospital and found Wu Xiaolian in the infectious disease unit. After a brief talk with her family, they entered the room.

When Wu Xiaolian was brought in last night, she was in bad shape, shaking from shock. Fortunately, she was treated in time and came to this morning.

But after waking up, her face was pale, and she looked dazed, like she'd seen a ghost—just like every survivor experiencing something horrifying for the first time.

Wang Shan sighed and had Zhao Wen take over—he had a friendlier face.

"Ahem, Ms. Wu."

"My colleague found you unconscious at the stairwell yesterday afternoon and got you into the ambulance."

"Can you think back to why you were there?"

Hearing "ambulance" finally brought Wu Xiaolian back. Realizing these people meant no harm, she tried to focus through her fear despite her mind still being foggy.

She could only shake her head apologetically. "It's all fuzzy."

"Just... some vague pieces."

Zhao Wen looked at Dr. Shen, and after getting a nod, said, "That's fine. Just tell us whatever you remember."

Wu Xiaolian tried hard to remember. "I don't know if you've heard the rumors about Haolai Plaza lately. Because of them, I haven't been right in the head. When alone, I kept hearing a strange voice. I figured it was just work getting to me and had been resting in the hospital."

"But the night before last..."

Like she was remembering something awful, Wu Xiaolian swallowed hard. "I went to the hospital's hot water room to get some water. As soon as I walked in, I heard someone calling me again."

"This time, the voice was much clearer than before. I know I wasn't just hearing things."

Before that night, Wu Xiaolian was sure she was imagining it all. But when her body suddenly moved on its own, like she was being dragged back to Haolai Plaza against her will, she couldn't lie to herself anymore.

She really had come across something science couldn't explain.

She was terrified of that place—how could she possibly go back?

And yet, in the middle of the night, she walked ten kilometers in the rain. Just thinking about it made her skin crawl.

"My mind was still working, but my body wasn't mine anymore. It felt like the plaza itself was drawing me in. I could only watch helplessly as I walked to the second floor, then stepped into the storage room like a mannequin and stood among piles of junk. After that... everything went dark. I don't remember anything else."

A mannequin?

Shen Yan latched onto that detail, recalling what he saw on the second floor yesterday.

The horror item on the second floor had died, and many mannequins were missing. At the time, he thought the plaza closing had led merchants to move things out. But now it seemed the horror item might have been the mannequins themselves, disappearing completely after dying.

"You said you lost consciousness in the storage room on the second floor? Not at the stairwell?" Zhao Wen thought of where Wang Shan had found her and asked again.

Wu Xiaolian was certain. She nodded. "I was definitely in the storage room."

The image of herself standing like a mannequin was too terrifying—burned into her mind forever.

The team now had a general understanding. Since the Horror entity on the second floor of Haolai Shopping Mall had already been eliminated by someone, Ms. Wu might have also been rescued and moved to the first floor by that person. However, Ms. Wu was still unconscious and unaware of it herself.

Wang Shan nodded and explained how she had already been rescued to the first floor before they found her. He then shot Zhao Wen a meaningful look.

Zhao Wen stepped forward and surreptitiously checked the air around Wu Xiaolian.

Perhaps because the Horror Item had been discovered in time or had died too quickly, Wu Xiaolian hadn’t undergone the Horror corruption yet.

She was still a normal person.

They all breathed a sigh of relief. After offering a few words of comfort, they left the hospital room.

"We can now confirm an unknown Ability User was involved in this incident," Zhao Wen remarked.

As for whether it was Horrors turning on each other—if there had been any doubt before, it was dispelled after hearing Ms. Wu say she had been moved from the second floor to the first floor by someone.

No Horror would ever spare a thought for humans, let alone save them. Even the most docile mutated Horrors, like the previously escaped "No. 233" Mimosa, would at most ignore humans without harming them. Saving them was absolutely impossible.

Shen Yan opened his eyes. "He didn’t reveal himself directly and cleared all traces before leaving. He probably didn’t want to be discovered by the Ability User Association."

Although the Ability User Association headquarters had records of nearly all superhumans, some Ability Users remained unregistered.

This time, someone had rescued the victim before they could be transformed. The one involved in the "Haolai Shopping Mall" incident might be an unregistered Ability User living in City B.

Shen Yan massaged his temples and filed a report with headquarters, awaiting further instructions.

...

Word quickly spread through the Ability User Association that an unregistered Ability User had eliminated a B-class special Horror Item.

The higher-ups hadn’t issued any directives yet. After returning from the hospital, Shen Yan immediately entered the meeting room.

The day’s work had left him pale, and his previously subdued headache returned. Ever since Han Chuyi caught him that day, Shen Yan hadn’t watched Shi Yu’s livestream for five days. Now, with his mind utterly drained, thoughts of the other man resurfaced.

Distracted by his thoughts, he didn’t notice the meeting had paused.

Sang Huaiyu, the highest-ranked Ability User attending the meeting, narrowed his eyes and turned his head slightly.

"Dr. Shen."

The quiet voice brought Shen Yan back.

"Apologies, I was a bit distracted from exhaustion just now."

Sang Huaiyu nodded understandingly, his gaze resting on Shen Yan through the white silk. "You don't look well, Dr. Shen. You should rest more."

His composed tone earned some looks.

Han Chuyi, who had just arrived in the afternoon and was assigned another task to contact the owner of "Haolai Shopping Mall," raised an eyebrow.

He and Shen Yan had always butted heads, so he naturally didn’t care about the other’s well-being. Hearing Brother Sang’s seemingly considerate words, he snorted derisively.

Fortunately, the meeting soon resumed. When the higher-ups looked his way, Han Chuyi took out his phone and spoke. "I met with the owner of Haolai Shopping Mall this afternoon. The old weasel was evasive and didn’t tell the truth."

"I suspected he knew something, so I checked his call records. Sure enough, he’d recently been in contact with some bunch of charlatans, who promised to 'bless' the mall to bring in wealth."

"Coincidentally, just a week ago, he had these supposed 'masters' conduct a nighttime ritual at Haolai Mall."

The mutation occurred right after the ritual. Nobody could believe it was a coincidence.

"A ritual?"

Upon hearing the term, even Fu Nanyao looked up, his brows furrowed tightly. A true mystic practitioner would never do such a thing—let alone trigger such severe consequences.

Han Chuyi scoffed. "Of course it wasn’t an actual ritual. Those frauds left blood offerings in the building to attract Horrors."

"With time, it’s no surprise that Haolai Mall mutated within a week, resulting in a contagious B-rank Horror Item."

Silence fell over the meeting room.

No one expected the owner of Haolai Mall to be involved.

"Have you tracked down those frauds?" Shen Yan asked, lifting his head.

At this question, Han Chuyi’s expression darkened slightly, frustration evident.

"Tsk, no."

"They were careful—left no digital traces. They only met the mall owner face-to-face. I found out through the old guy’s chat history with his secretary."

Sang Huaiyu spoke calmly. "It seems these frauds are the key."

"We should find out whether they accidentally created the blood offerings and attracted the Horrors, or—" He paused, his tone oddly ambiguous. "—if it was intentional."

The Association’s higher-ups nodded. "We think so too. We’ll need your help on this matter, Mr. Sang. The Association has been swamped lately, so your assistance would be greatly appreciated."

Sang Huaiyu remained composed as he replied mildly, "You’re too kind, Chairman. I’ll keep an eye on things."

Since Sang Huaiyu had helped the Ability User Association many times before, the chairman finally felt reassured.

Only after the meeting ended did Shen Yan approach him, his exhaustion lessened slightly. "Looks like you’ll be staying at the Association for a few days?"

Sang Huaiyu nodded. "I’ll likely handle company business here."

"But it should be manageable."

Shen Yan was about to ask Zhao Wen to arrange a temporary office with good lighting for Sang Huaiyu when the latter suddenly raised a brow, as if recalling something, and turned toward Han Chuyi, who was spacing out.

"Xiao Han, do you know where to buy flowers nearby?"

"Flowers?"

Han Chuyi snapped back to reality, puzzled by Sang-ge’s question. Automatically, he replied, "Take a left after exiting—there's a shop on West Street. You can also order delivery, which is more convenient."

"But, Sang-ge, are you planning to spruce up the office with flowers?"

His first thought was that Shen Yan had arranged the office and Sang Huaiyu wanted to add some greenery to freshen it up.

Behind his white silk blindfold, Sang Huaiyu’s gaze didn’t change. "No, I just intend to—give them to someone."

Back now, Sang Huaiyu felt a little bored.

The disturbance he expected hadn’t appeared yet, and while waiting around, his thoughts drifted again to Shi Yu—the person he’d claimed to have “fallen in love at first sight” with over a week ago.

The blurry image flickered back into his mind. Realizing it had been more than a week since they last met, Sang Huaiyu considered diverting a bit of his consciousness to the Mimosa.

Unexpectedly, the Mimosa had entered a dormant state. After soaking up heavy rain, it had curled up inside its pot and stayed asleep for days.

Sang Huaiyu’s brow furrowed. He could force the Mimosa awake, but doing so might raise suspicions—given how weak its abilities were, waking up early would seem suspicious.

Though somewhat bored, he hadn't completely lost interest in the game of playing human yet, Sang Huaiyu withdrew his consciousness with slight regret and gave a thoughtful shake of his head. Since the Mimosa was off-limits, perhaps... he should try another approach.

Didn’t he say he liked that human streamer?

Sending flowers would be perfectly normal.

As his silver-white curls swayed, Sang Huaiyu took out his phone and swiped across the screen.

Han Chuyi was still reeling from Brother Sang’s remark about "sending someone flowers" when Sang turned to him again after carefully selecting the bouquet.

"Wang Shan mentioned you’ve been to Shi Yu’s place?"

Shi Yu?

Han Chuyi instinctively didn’t deny it.

But wait… why was Brother Sang asking about that guy?

A bad feeling suddenly crept over him.

Sang Huaiyu chuckled lightly. "Then, could you tell me his home address? The flower shop needs an address for delivery."

With an unreadable expression, he lifted his gaze unhurriedly.

"—I’d like to send him a bouquet I picked out myself."

……

Shi Yu slept like a log, not waking until evening the next day.

Bleary-eyed, he rubbed his eyes and dragged himself up to grab a soda from the fridge when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Shi Yu: ???

Who’s there?

The doorbell chimed three times in a row, followed by two knocks from the deliveryman outside.

"Are you Mr. Shi?"

"There’s a delivery for you."

Delivery?

His delivery?

Shi Yu froze, then remembered he hadn’t ordered anything—where did this delivery come from?

But the knocking persisted, loud enough to disturb the neighbors.

Someone in the building group chat sent a message asking about the noise.

Shi Yu’s lips twitched. He checked the peephole to confirm it wasn’t a Horror incident before opening the door.

In all the Horror encounters he’d experienced, none had been this brazen. The whole floor had heard the commotion—it really did seem like just a delivery.

Had someone sent it to the wrong address?

Just as he thought this, the door opened and he was met with an unexpected bouquet. The deliveryman, visibly exasperated from knocking, gave him a weirded-out look.

"You’re Mr. Shi, right?"

"These flowers are for you—someone sent them. Please sign here."

*Wait, hold on*, Shi Yu said.

"You're *sure* these are for me?" Who would send him flowers?

But the delivery guy was certain: "Shi Yu in 1903, right? That’s you—no mistake." In a rush to get to his next delivery, he hurried off before Shi Yu could ask anything else.

Resigned, Shi Yu took the flowers, eyeing the fresh and beautiful white roses with suspicion. He pulled open the card tucked inside, which read only:

"Monday, sending you flowers. Hope you like it."

A second later, his eyes went wide—shocked by the name signed at the bottom:

"Sang Huaiyu."