Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Because the Little Monster had immediately broken the medical robot, Shi Yu’s eye twitched as he ultimately failed to complete the checkup.

A vein pulsed in his forehead as he took a deep breath and glared down at his belly—absolutely! He couldn’t keep letting things go like this!

He definitely needed to sign this little monster up for prenatal classes.

A few minutes later, Shi Yu filed a repair request for the robot.

The customer service rep at the robot company had barely had time to celebrate receiving the purchase notification before being hit with a repair request: ……

Wait a second—could it be that they bought the robot *after* breaking it?

No wonder their medical robots never sold well; most people who tried one never came back. How could some poor sap suddenly show up wanting to buy one?

Convinced they’d figured out the reason, the repair department cleared his throat and professionally texted back:

"Dear VIP customer, don't worry. Since this is your first repair, there’s no need to rush after-sales support. Our company offers free repairs for first-time customers."

"Please send over your delivery address, and we’ll send someone to pick it up for repair this afternoon."

The medical robot company, known for its excellent service, quickly resolved the issue, leaving Shi Yu absolutely no room to back out.

Shi Yu picked up his phone and stared at the word "free" for a while before finally exhaling in relief.

That was scary. At least it’s free—if repairs actually cost money, he’d be eating ramen for months.

Little brat.

Today, he was definitely going to teach it what’s off-limits.

He moved the small robot outside and left a note on it before waiting for the repair company to come collect it.

After checking his bank balance, he pursed his lips and searched for nearby baby product sections.

Perfect—a large infant area was located in a mall about a kilometer away. He could go shopping and still make it back in time for his live stream.

Shi Yu bundled himself up head to toe and took the elevator out.

Inside his belly, the Little Monster remained blissfully unaware of what had just happened. All it knew was that after scaring that weird machine twice, it had stopped moving completely.

Wow, did it break?

What a piece of junk.

Unlike me—I can never break.

The Little Monster scoffed, retracting its tentacles.

Still, it shook its head—why did Mom seem kinda weird today?

Shi Yu headed straight for the mall’s infant section. However, a lone guy showing up in the baby zone felt kinda out of place.

On the second floor, where most shoppers were families or husbands accompanying pregnant wives, someone like Shi Yu stood out.

The clerk at the counter was surprised to see a young man walk in. She hadn’t expected him to be the actual buyer and assumed he was running errands for a pregnant relative.

"Can I help you find something today?"

A soft, professional voice spoke near his ear.

The only thought that crossed Shi Yu's mind when making the decision earlier was to correct the little monster's frightening habits today.

However, it wasn't until he actually walked into the infant and toddler section that he finally noticed how awkward this was.

Crap... It seemed like he was the only young guy around.

Shi Yu fidgeted with his face mask, his gaze shifting uneasily.

Startled back to attention when the saleswoman approached, he replied awkwardly, "No need, I'll just browse on my own."

"Go help someone else."

Seeing that Shi Yu wasn't comfortable with being followed, the saleswoman said, "Alright, sir, take your time browsing. Let me know if you need anything."

Shi Yu nodded. After a while, when another couple entered and the saleswoman went to assist them, he finally relaxed and turned his attention elsewhere.

To be honest, this was Shi Yu's first time visiting an infant products store, and he wasn't quite sure what to look for.

After glancing over the tiny human baby clothes and little shoes displayed on the shelves, his gaze landed on a small dog toy on the table.

Regardless of whether babies would like it, purely from Shi Yu's aesthetic perspective, this fluffy little dog toy looked weirdly cute.

Though kinda ugly, it had a natural, dopey charm.

The white puppy circled around a small tray, able to run and jump on its own via remote control, and even barked like a real puppy.

Without thinking, Shi Yu picked up the remote and tested it out, watching as the goofy-looking pup bounced around, chasing its own tail in circles.

Huh. For some reason, Shi Yu found himself imagining the little monster playing with the dog toy... But since he still had no idea what the little monster's true form looked like, his imagination fell short. Instead, his mind conjured up various monster images from horror movies, which was kinda creepy.

Shi Yu rubbed his arms (as if cold) and was about to put the remote down when he heard footsteps behind him.

At the junction between the regular shopping area and the infant section, Fu Nanyao had just finished interviewing the mall manager and was heading downstairs when he spotted a familiar silhouette in the distance.

Because of the distance, he wasn't entirely sure at first and held back from calling out.

Only when the person ahead slightly turned and withdrew his hand did Fu Nanyao confirm his guess.

"Shi Yu?"

The low voice called out hesitantly, and the person with his back turned immediately whirled around.

—It really was him.

The young man opposite was wearing a light blue thin hoodie and a mask, standing at the entrance of an infant store, looking lost. He looked stunned upon seeing Fu Nanyao.

Fu Nanyao walked over and stopped in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

Shi Yu: ...

When his name was called, he froze for a second. Only when he looked up and saw the tall figure before him did it sink in.

Fu Nanyao?

What's he doing here? Wasn't the captain of the Ability User Association usually either at headquarters or on missions?

Shi Yu's expression was one of shock. By the time Fu Nanyao approached, he realized something even worse.

Hold on, he saw that?

Saw himself shopping in the infant section?

Shi Yu forced himself to stay calm, tightening his grip and steadying his heartbeat before putting on a normal expression. He said casually, "A relative back home is expecting, so I figured I’d get some stuff to send as gifts. Hence the shopping."

"Captain Fu, what are you doing here?"

He lowered his voice and glanced sideways, wondering if he could really be this unlucky—did trouble follow him every time he walked into a mall?

Fu Nanyao caught his meaning. Though he knew better than to share details, he hesitated briefly before explaining, "Relax, nothing’s wrong. I'm just here asking questions."

This mall had some connection to the Haolai Building case. They'd traced the group of con artists who'd performed their 'ceremonies' at Haolai Mall to this location—they’d even contacted the manager here—so he came to check things out.

Coming back to the present, Fu Nanyao looked at Shi Yu’s innocent face and slowly relaxed his hand. Somehow, from the moment he first saw this young man, he felt this weird pull toward him.

His body moved before his mind caught up. By the time he came to, he was already standing here.

His face gave nothing away as he studied Shi Yu. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was only their third meeting—the last time being in the elevator at Beishan Hospital.

His memory skipped a beat. Fu Nanyao lifted his gaze and saw Shi Yu looking away, then asked, "Find what you're looking for?"

"What?"

Shi Yu blinked.

The man across from him frowned. "Thought you needed baby products? Picked anything out yet?"

Shi Yu gave a clueless headshake, only to hear Fu Nanyao say flatly, "I'll tag along."

Shi Yu: ???

His brain short-circuited.

What did that mean?

Tag along? Was Fu Nanyao the kind of guy who randomly tags along with strangers he's only met a few times while they shop?

Or was this some new mission from the Ability User Association—to have this top-tier Ability User interact more with people, lower his corruption meter?

Even so… From what Shi Yu remembered from the novel, Fu rarely gave anyone the time of day besides Sang Huaiyu.

At first, Shi Yu thought he must’ve misheard, but Fu didn’t leave. After checking his watch, sending a quick message, and slipping his phone back into his pocket, he simply stood beside Shi Yu, watching him off in his own head.

Truthfully, Fu himself was surprised by what he’d just said. The words just tumbled out, bypassing logic entirely—an uncharacteristic move.

Still, he went with it.

And honestly, he wasn't exactly kicking himself over it.

He had time to kill anyway, and the Association had been on his case about getting out more, so... sticking around the mall a little longer couldn't hurt.

Besides…

His brow twitched slightly, then smoothed as he looked at Shi Yu.

This person smelled good. So that scent Han Chuyi noticed last time—it came from him?

Fu Nanyao pressed his lips together and suddenly spoke under Shi Yu's wary gaze, "Sorry, apart from that time at Beishan Hospital, have we met elsewhere?"

"What?" Shi Yu turned around, looking puzzled.

Fu Nanyao paused. He was also puzzled by his own question. Seeing Shi Yu’s surprised expression, he didn’t elaborate further.

Shi Yu turned his gaze away, his mood complicated as he realized: this captain was actually tailing him.

Wherever he went, the other man stood not far behind.

The broad-shouldered, long-legged, cold-faced handsome man standing there made the salesgirls up ahead sneak glances.

Shi Yu weirdly drifted over to the prenatal education device section. Seeing Fu Nanyao’s expression remained unchanged—as if he genuinely thought Shi Yu was shopping for a relative’s child—he relaxed and casually picked up a prenatal education device.

Yet the next second, the device in his hand was stopped.

Fu Nanyao took the other end of the device and glanced at it.

"Even for a gift, you can still choose carefully."

"There's no rush."

Shi Yu: "..."

*Oh.*

Who cared whether he was in a hurry or not?!

He just couldn't take the tension anymore.

Expressionless, Shi Yu put back the randomly picked device and forced himself to read the instructions carefully. His brows furrowed as he did.

The functions of each model were explained in detail. After reading, Shi Yu saw that the pricier models were clearly superior, with more comprehensive features.

Especially the highest-priced model—not only could it provide prenatal education for the baby, but the content could also be customized. It was pretty smart and user-friendly.

But the price tag… was downright ridiculous.

Shi Yu felt a twinge of desire, but after considering his budget, he noped right out.

Forget it.

Not happening.

He looked away, ready to scope out a mid-tier model, but Fu Nanyao noticed his earlier glance and reached for the model Shi Yu had just examined.

"I think this one is good."

The typically tight-lipped man was uncharacteristically chatty today, his tone cool. Yet after saying that, he added, "Asking you about Beishan Hospital earlier was my fault."

For ordinary people, suddenly bringing up a past encounter with the Horrors was like salt in the wound. Fu Nanyao paused, then said calmly as Shi Yu looked at him strangely, "Ring all this up."

"Call it an apology."

"Don't bother."

"It's really not a big deal..."

Shi Yu started to protest, but Fu Nanyao was already handing over his card. And while paying, he nonchalantly added the little white dog toy he’d been eyeing for the Little Monster.

Shi Yu: Ughhh, this is so embarrassing!

Goddammit, why did he have to go out today!

Gripping his mask, Shi Yu watched as Fu Nanyao paid for the items with natural ease before turning to look at him.

"Done."

"Here."

Shi Yu had no choice but to take the bag, forcing out a thank you stiffly.

Fu Nanyao nodded slightly and glanced at him one last time before walking away when his phone rang.

Downstairs, a teammate from the Ability User Association was waiting. Seeing that Fu Nanyao had been gone so long, he scratched his head in confusion. "Captain Fu, was there something going on upstairs?"

Why did it take so long? Could the mall manager be mixed up in something? His expression grew serious as his mind raced with possibilities—even imagining the manager colluding with the owner of Haolai Mall.

Fu Nanyao came back to himself and looked at him. "No."

Qian Lin: ???

Then... what?

Faced with his quiet captain, Qian Lin tried to figure out what was going on.

"Did the manager provide any useful leads that needed verifying?"

Fu Nanyao hesitated. "No."

Seeing his subordinate about to guess again, Fu Nanyao had to interrupt. "I just met someone and talked for a bit."

After saying that, he fell silent.

Qian Lin looked stunned at these words, glancing at Captain Fu hesitantly, as if wanting to say something.

Was this really something Captain Fu would say?

If it were any other team member—like Dr. Shen or the Han eldest young master—he wouldn’t have been surprised. But this was Captain Fu, who hardly talked to anyone besides Mr. Sang. Today, he actually stopped to talk to someone and even took so much time.

His face full of complex emotions, Qian Lin tightened his grip on his phone. Only after getting into the car did he finally spill the beans in the group chat, frantically typing: "Guys, guess what huge secret I just found out!"

The small group chat included almost all members of the Ability User Association. The chat had been quiet during lunch, but now, seeing Qian Lin’s triple exclamation marks, everyone chimed in.

"What’s going on?"

"@everyone? If this isn’t worth it, you’re getting silenced."

Qian Lin’s fingers moved furiously across the screen as he told them what went down, unable to contain his curiosity.

"Who do you think Captain Fu ran into?"

"Who?"

"Definitely not Mr. Sang—he’s still at the Ability User Association."

The chat blew up with theories. Even Shen Yan got pulled in, checking the messages and wondering who Fu Nanyao could have met upstairs.

Meanwhile, Shi Yu remained completely unaware that, in just half an hour, the Ability User Association had already started going wild with theories.

After Fu Nanyao left, Shi Yu looked at the items in his hand with a peculiar expression, deciding to carry them back for now. They were already bought—might as well keep them. Well, he might as well consider it a lucky break today.

Still, it felt utterly surreal.

Shi Yu’s eyelid kept twitching. The captain of the Ability User Association buying maternity supplies for the Little Monster in his belly—who could’ve imagined that?

If anyone found out, he’d be lucky not to get captured and taken out.

Shi Yu twitched his lips and instinctively glanced down at his abdomen.

Fortunately, the lively discussion in the group chat died down after a few minutes. A high-ranking leader from the Ability User Association, seeing everyone going completely off the rails, finally cleared their throat pointedly.

At the sight of the higher-up’s intervention, the members immediately quieted down, pretending nothing happened as they got back to business and resumed their serious discussion about the case.

The investigation into the "Haolai Building" incident had now confirmed it was no accident but a premeditated scheme by a group.

They had learned that after striking a deal with Mr. Zhu, the owner of Haolai Building, the self-proclaimed "fortune-altering" con artists had approached the manager of Cloud Sky Mall in the northern district. However, the manager there didn’t believe them, so the attempt failed.

Earlier that day, Fu Nanyao had gone to investigate this very matter. Though he lingered in the mall for a while, he had already gathered the necessary information.

The con artists’ targets were clear—high-traffic commercial venues like malls and clubs—indicating a deliberate motive.

And their proposed method was always the same: blood sacrifice rituals.

One instance might be dismissed as coincidence, but two? That was undeniably suspicious. Especially since the con artists had approached the Cloud Sky Mall manager after rumors of Horror incidents had already surfaced following the Haolai Building accident.

Fu Nanyao sorted through the documents in his hand. Unlike the greedy Mr. Zhu of Haolai Building, who had been blinded by greed, the Cloud Sky Mall manager had been wary of these dubious con artists and kept his guard up during their meeting, managing to remember the appearance of one of them.

Around 5'10" tall, short hair, square face, very ordinary features—clearly an attempt at disguise.

The only distinctive trait? His arms were of unequal length.

This was something the manager noticed only after careful observation.

The charlatan, who claimed to wield mysterious powers, had a left arm 20 cm longer than his right—far beyond the normal human range. Just one glance had made his skin crawl.

After compiling all the key details, Fu Nanyao picked up the sketch pad and turned to Han Chuyi beside him:

"Run a nationwide search based on this description."

Han Chuyi had just returned from class and hadn’t even had time to rest before being assigned work. Frowning, he took the information from Fu Nanyao and leaned back in his chair, furiously typing away on the keyboard.

About ten minutes later, Han Chuyi had narrowed it down to ten individuals matching the height and facial description. However, the arm length discrepancy couldn’t be verified online.

Both Han Chuyi and Fu Nanyao knew such an unnatural asymmetry had to be the result of fusing with a Horror Item. Without an in-person meeting, confirming it would be nearly impossible.

Han Chuyi pointed at a few photos on the screen. “These are the ones. Investigate them one by one—it’s got to be one of them.”

"Tch. This group is clearly causing trouble on purpose. They won’t lay low for long."

True to Han Chuyi’s words, the *Ember Gu* organization had no intention of lying low.

After the Haolai Building incident, they quickly realized the Ability User Association would investigate them. Without delay, they immediately started planning their next move, aiming to strike again before the Association caught on. Unfortunately for them, the Cloud Sky Mall manager hadn’t taken the bait, leaving them to come up empty-handed and waste precious time.

In a basement hideout somewhere in City B, Wang Chenghe, seated at a table, glanced at his phone.

"Huh? Got a call from an unknown caller. Caller ID showed it was from a carrier number, but I bet… it was the Ability User Association probing us."

The middle-aged man with asymmetrical arms arched a brow. “What should we do?”

“We’re on the verge of being caught.”

A stocky, raspy-voiced elder beside him coughed. “Let’s split up and hide for now. Once things cool off, they’ll give up on their own.”

They all knew how the Ability User Association operated—when a Horror outbreak occurred, the group would prioritize resolving the threat over chasing fugitives. After all, they put civilians first no matter what.

The horse-faced man at the front, standing in shadow, wore an unreadable look as his smile widened.

“In that case,” he mused, “to cause them some trouble before we make our escape…”

“It looks like it’s time to let one of our little treasures out.”

The man, his face eerily reminiscent of a horse’s, grinned. “I just picked up a new pet recently—haven’t had the chance to test it yet.”

He reached out and gently shook the bottle containing the monstrous moth inside.

As the creature revealed itself, its true form finally became visible.

—It was a terrifying insect with rotting wings but no head.

Foul-smelling ichor dripped from its decaying wings, corroding the glass bit by bit with every drop.

As the moth shrieked and stood upright, its silhouette grew increasingly human-like…

Opposite him, Wang Chenghe momentarily spaced out, snapping back to reality under the Rotten Butterfly’s hypnotic influence. He hadn’t expected that in just a few days—after absorbing part of the Horror energy nurtured within Haolai Building—the moth had grown so alarmingly fast. In only a week, it had jumped from B-class to A-class.

If it were fed more live prey and Horror energy of its kind…

Wang Chenghe’s fingers trembled at the thought, his excitement surging. They should have dealt with that mannequin in Haolai Building sooner. Otherwise, the Ability User Association wouldn’t have snatched it up and stolen their bait.

Unaware that others had visited Haolai Building, Wang Chenghe and his group still believed it was the Association who had disposed of the immature mannequin, robbing them of the perfect food source for the Rotten Butterfly.

The hybrids exchanged uneasy glances.

The horse-faced man gritted out, “Go.”

“Tonight, we divert their attention.”

As they swiftly retreated, the specimen jar containing the Rotten Butterfly finally shattered minutes later, crashing to the ground with a loud *bang*.

Then, the creature—looming at human height—emerged from the fragments, slowly growing, its wings unfurling with a sound like tearing meat.

...

After finishing his evening livestream, Shi Yu turned his attention to the Prenatal Education Device he’d brought back earlier, intending to tinker with it. But then, he noticed something wrong outside.

Around 8 or 9 p.m., the sky should have been normal—but suddenly, the entire area darkened, as if something had swallowed the sky.

Then came a gag-inducing reek drifting from somewhere far away.

Shi Yu’s nose twitched—and he nearly vomited from the gut-churning stink.

“Jesus—”

“What the hell is that smell?!”

He rushed into the bathroom, heaving for a while before covering his mouth and stepping out again. The thick, choking rot seemed to drown the whole block.

Not only did he smell it, but the entire neighborhood—and even street vendors outside—had noticed the foul odor: "What is this smell?"

"Whose meat has gone bad?"

The property manager couldn't help but ask in the group chat.

Shi Yu came to his senses, feeling that this didn’t quite smell like rotten meat, but rather… He hesitated, his brow furrowing.

*A rotting corpse?*

Shi Yu had never seen a real corpse before, so he couldn't be certain, but the stench was so overpowering that he felt compelled to warn everyone in the chat to wear masks.

"Not sure what's causing it, but everyone should wear masks for now."

Unit 1203: "Thanks, man. Already got mine on."

"What should we do now? Should we send the security guards out to check?"

The homeowners buzzed with questions, and the property management quickly dispatched a team of guards to investigate.

Shi Yu looked up at the sky outside, a growing sense of unease settling over him.

Just then, the little monster curled up inside him suddenly stirred awake.

With a *wala!* it wriggled its tentacles inside him, making incomprehensible noises—*wawa*, *yiyi*—as if trying to say something.

Shi Yu: …

He really should’ve taught this weird little thing how to speak human language earlier.

Still, sensing the movement in his belly, he managed to grasp its meaning: *"Are you saying there’s a presence of Horrors ahead?"*

*Horrors?*

The little monster tilted its head, processed what its mother meant, and nodded excitedly.

Food… food is coming right to us. It pressed against its mother’s belly, opening its partially-formed mouth full of needle-like teeth, drooling with anticipation.

*Wala!*

Mom, can I eat it?