Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The atmosphere felt slightly off.

Just as Shi Yu started to feel uneasy, he caught himself.

Wait, why was he feeling uneasy? What was with this guy’s stare?

So what if he’d put on some weight and had a slightly bigger belly?

Had this jerk never seen a dude with a gut?

His expression darkened as he tried to intimidate the man the same way he usually did with the Little Monster.

Hmph. If it weren’t for wanting to know what exactly the leader of “Gu Ember” had seen about the Little Monster on the Surveillance Stone, he wouldn’t have bothered showing up at all.

Currently, even the medical robot couldn’t detect the Little Monster’s exact form. Shi Yu could only get a rough idea based on occasional sensations and the feeling when he placed his hand on his belly.

But he still had no idea what this little weirdo actually looked like.

In any case, as the Little Monster continued to grow, he needed to get ready.

He took a deep breath, reached up to check that his mask and hood were still secure before stepping forward.

"What are you staring at? You asking for another round?"

At the mention of another round of slaps, Ma Wuyang’s eyes gradually cleared, resentment flashing in them.

But his gaze remained wary when looking at Shi Yu.

"The hell are you?"

"Do I know you?"

"Skulking around with your face hidden, disguising yourself as a pregnant woman to come here."

His eyes burned into Shi Yu as he kept guessing, assuming Shi Yu was some fusionist he knew—too chickenshit to face him directly, so he'd deliberately disguised himself.

From the looks of it, this bastard definitely wasn’t from the Ability User Association.

Ma Wuyang was certain.

Shi Yu: The hell?

What did he mean, skulking around and pretending to be pregnant?

He was actually pregnant—well, a pregnant male!

Shi Yu’s gaze at Ma Wuyang grew even more dangerous.

Not wanting to waste time on this human garbage any longer, he coiled more threads around the man and commanded directly, "Shut up."

"You’re in my hands now. From now on, you do exactly what I say."

After speaking, Shi Yu steadied himself, coldly sneered, and said, "Now, look at my belly."

Ma Wuyang wanted to sneer about why he should listen, but under the control of the Spirit Threads, he couldn’t move. His expression twisted as he glared at Shi Yu.

Yet, after who knew how long, his thoughts began to blur.

Instinctively, he felt a strange pull seeping out from the mysterious figure’s abdomen across from him. As if something… was calling to him.

His mind felt torn in two, his body completely out of his control.

Through his clothes, Ma Wuyang fought it as long as he could—before his eyes snapped toward it uncontrollably.

The next second, his eyes bugged out in horror!

This couldn’t be real.

No, no, no!

Why did that same creepy stare come from this human’s belly?

No, no—it must be his mind playing tricks.

An illusion…

Yet his head stayed locked in place. Through the dark raincoat, he could almost feel it—the moment his gaze landed there, the eerie presence he’d accidentally made eye contact with before latched onto him again.

Something unspeakably awful had noticed him…

It was awake!

Ma Wuyang thrashed like a wild animal.

The Little Monster perked up, sensing someone watching it, and slowly woke up.

“Blurgh?”

That gross human again?

Curious, it looked over like before—only to see the human suddenly freaking the hell out.

“Stop staring—AHHH!”

“What is that thing?! Don’t look at me—AHHHH!”

“Get away! Get away!”

Shi Yu blinked.

Weren’t you the one who kept whining about finding it?

Now you don’t even want to look?

He was ready to strangle him. You drag your ass out here at midnight searching for this thing, and now you won’t even glance at it.

The Little Monster cocked its head, utterly confused—when its mother instinctively pulled it tight against her.

“Blurgh.”

Probably because that rotten human screamed way too loud.

Mom even gently murmured, “Shh, baby.”

The Little Monster, who loved Mommy most, lit up like a firecracker, blushing to its tiny ears.

Which, of course, made Ma Wuyang shriek like a banshee.

The desolate park seemed to echo with the blood-curdling screams.

Shi Yu never expected this guy to lose his mind completely after just one glance at the Little Monster, like he'd seen a ghost and been reduced to sheer madness.

Can't handle his fear at all.

Frowning, Shi Yu was about to press him for answers before he passed out when Ma Wuyang's voice died in his throat. In an instant, his eyes rolled back as if trying to check out entirely, just like those before him. Shi Yu quickly used Spirit Threads to anchor him, preventing full unconsciousness.

"Stay with me! Tell me what you saw first—then you can pass out all you want."

Seeing Ma Wuyang trembling uncontrollably, Shi Yu had no choice but to apply a more brutal incentive.

"If you don’t talk, I’ll make you look again."

"No no!"

Ma Wuyang immediately opened his eyes, his face twisted in horror, as if he’d met the devil himself.

Yes, he was the devil.

What else but a devil would have something like that... inside them?

His pupils shrank to pinpricks as he struggled to stay conscious, the searing afterimage burned into his brain: "T-tentacles... endless writhing tentacles!"

"No no no! Don’t meet its gaze!"

With those final words, Ma Wuyang couldn’t take it anymore and completely lost consciousness.

Tentacles?

Those words echoed in Shi Yu’s skull as he couldn’t help but speculate:

Could the Little Monster be some sort of tentacled horror?

Then… which category of Horror did it belong to?

He ran through the catalog of Horrors from the original novel, but nothing matched.

Most Horrors in the story were corrupted versions of everyday objects. Even among the most frequently appearing SSS-Class Horrors, there were no tentacle monsters.

So what exactly is this thing?

Shi Yu had originally thought that when he first transmigrated into the book, he might have unknowingly come into contact with something, causing him to unexpectedly become pregnant with the Little Monster.

But according to Ma Wuyang’s description, if the Little Monster has a tentacled form…

Shi Yu was certain he'd never encountered any tentacled Horrors before.

B City was an inland city to begin with—such things were practically unheard of here. If he had seen one, it would've left an impression.

He lowered his head, unable to resist staring down at his swollen belly.

The little creature tilted its head up innocently, babbling “wala wala,” completely unaware of the heavy thoughts running through its mother’s mind.

Shi Yu sighed.

No point overthinking it—it clearly knows nothing itself.

Shi Yu's mouth twitched. Now that he roughly knew what Little Monster looked like, he glanced at the man opposite him and had to figure out how to handle the current situation.

This was the only guy who'd seen his stomach.

Considering how covered up he was, plus the fact that this guy had been acting deranged before blacking out, he likely wouldn't remember anything when he woke up.

At this thought, Shi Yu relaxed slightly. This time he decided against sending the man to the Ability User Association, opting instead to just tie him up near the supermarket mentioned in the intel—the place where Ma Wuyang would meet someone during the day.

Yeah, that should work.

After confirming the guy was securely bound and completely harmless, Shi Yu finally stopped, looking down at the piece of trash whose face was swollen like a pig’s head. He couldn't help it... and slapped him again.

Little Monster: ???

Note to self... next time!

Protect Mama... hit evil Horror... use slaps.

Hiding its eyes behind its tentacles, Little Monster witnessed this scene and, in its eagerness to learn from Mama, innocently filed it away for future reference.

Only after handling everything did Shi Yu dust off his hands, finally relax, and holding his belly, leave the West District.

...

The next morning, as members of the Ability User Association waited for Ma Wuyang near Xilai Store, they were just blending in as civilians and preparing to hide when they spotted a tied-up figure on a tree not far from the grass.

The man was in tatters, his face bruised and swollen—enough to scare the hell out of anyone at first glance. It wasn’t until Wang Shan approached that realization struck… wait.

This person reeked of Horror Item energy!

"Be careful!"

Minutes later, the team rushed to the scene.

Fu Nanyao pulled the man up, frowned, then suddenly turned to look beside him.

"Send the photo over to double-check—is this Ma Wuyang?"

"Ma Wuyang?"

Wang Shan was startled.

The leader of "Gu Ember"?

But why was he here? They hadn’t even made a move yet!

The team exchanged confused looks but quickly ran the scan.

The scanner pinged a match.

"It's Ma Wuyang."

It really was him!

Just as Fu Nanyao secured him and was loading him into the vehicle, Ma Wuyang’s reflexes took over upon hearing the commotion—and his eyes suddenly snapped open.

His own Horror’s backlash was severe, and the moment his eyes opened, the team instantly went into combat mode.

Fortunately, it was early morning, and the remote corner was deserted. After blocking the area with their vehicles, no one noticed what had just transpired.

Ma Wuyang's face twisted, yet his mouth was muttering under his breath.

Fu Nanyao strained to listen and realized the man was repeating—"I messed up."

"I messed up."

"I messed up."

He never should’ve gone after it.

As he spoke, his corruption level skyrocketed, and the backlash from the Horror Item within him grew increasingly severe.

The two-headed doll he had deliberately fused into his brain, now that its host could no longer control it, began furiously devouring him in return.

Within the few minutes it took to drag Ma Wuyang into the car, the man let out a twisted grin and was completely consumed by his own Horror Item’s corruption backlash.

A heavy silence fell over the scene.

No one had expected the leader of Gu Ember to meet such an end.

This dangerous figure who had disrupted B City’s safety, evading capture and causing chaos for years—just like that, he was gone?

So easily destroyed by his own Horror Item’s backlash?

The blood-soaked two-headed doll crawled out.

"Fall back!"

Fu Nanyao reacted swiftly. Before the doll could expand, he stepped back and slashed it apart with a blade formed from his left hand.

The corrupted Tang sword neutralized the two-headed doll, preventing it from seeking another life form to fuse with.

Letting out a dying shriek before going limp, the doll collapsed. Fu Nanyao turned, grabbed an isolation box, and quickly contained the doll inside.

"This doll is SS-level, with potential to evolve into SSS."

"It must be destroyed immediately."

Fu Nanyao's tone turned grim. Based on intel from Wang Chenghe, they had predicted Gu Ember’s leader would be SS-level, and their preparations proved correct.

But they hadn’t expected the raw viciousness of the Horror Item he’d fused with. Within just minutes of Ma Wuyang losing control, it devoured him entirely before anyone could intervene.

"These Gu Ember people are complete madmen—who dares fuse something like this?"

Wang Shan gave a full-body shudder.

Some members of the Ability User Association had fused with Horror Items by accident, unable to return to normal lives. Upon hearing about this paranormal organization offering jobs and salaries, they signed up.

Others, like Han Chuyi, were drawn to the Association from the start and voluntarily fused with Horror Items.

Yet regardless of how they joined, the unwritten rule among them all was to choose more stable Horror Items, to avoid situations like this backlash.

Still, within their association, the person suffering the most severe corruption spikes was probably Captain Fu, wasn’t he?

Thinking this, Wang Shan shot a glance at Captain Fu.

Did he go through this too every time his corruption spiked?

Fu Nanyao remained silent. His corruption surges were nothing like Ma Wuyang’s.

He had noticed earlier that Ma Wuyang had repeatedly exhausted his Horror Item, losing control over it and allowing it to turn against him, which led to his complete corruption.

When his mutation level rose, he could still maintain control. Though the outcome was the same—fully turning into a Horror—there was no real difference now.

Fu Nanyao snapped out of his thoughts, unable to help but recall the incident at Beishan Hospital.

Thinking back... he had almost lost control back then too. But how did he snap out of it?

Even now, he couldn't remember. It just seemed familiar, as if he had overlooked something. Especially after encountering Ma Wuyang.

The two-faced doll was quickly sent back to the Ability User Association to be tested and destroyed.

Come to think of it, the Ability User Association didn’t originally have the ability to destroy Horror Items. It was only after Mr. Sang pointed out a certain substance that could counteract them that they developed the instruments to destroy these horrors permanently.

Because of this, whether they had interacted with Mr. Sang or not, those who knew the terror of these unkillable Horrors were all deeply grateful to Sang Huaiyu.

Fu Nanyao pushed the thoughts aside. The priority now was handling the current situation.

"Search the entire area. Focus on checking surveillance—see if you can find anything."

"Yes, Captain Fu."

The members of the Ability User Association nodded and dispersed toward the direction of Xilai Supermarket, erasing any residual Horror effects along the way.

Meanwhile, Shi Yu had gone home and fallen asleep. It wasn’t until noon that he woke up, yawning as he casually grabbed some paper and a pen from the nearby table to doodle the image of the Little Monster in his mind.

Hmm.

Maybe it was because he had just woken up and was still groggy—that had to be why!

Otherwise, why would he have drawn a chubby, white, chibi-style little octopus the moment he lifted his pen?

His mind snapped awake. Staring at the adorable little octopus on the paper, Shi Yu hid his face in embarrassment, feeling like he was seeing things.

No way. The Little Monster could never be that cute!

That thing was always shrieking "wah-la wah-la," so ugly it could terrify anyone—how could it possibly be adorable?

He lowered his hand, took a deep breath, and studied the drawing, ready to scribble over the chibi octopus.

But as he gripped the pen, he hesitated for a moment and didn’t destroy it completely.

After a long internal struggle, he gritted his teeth and stuffed the ridiculously ugly but cute chibi octopus doodle into a drawer.

Fine, he’d keep it for now. Even if it was impossible… just in case?

Unaware of his mother’s silent criticism, the Little Monster pressed its eyes close in curiosity when it saw him drawing. But the paper was quickly tucked away before it could catch even a glimpse.

After scribbling for a while, Shi Yu highlighted [Deep Sea Species] as a key point and asked, "Since you’re a deep-sea species, do you ever feel dehydrated?"

Dehydrated...?

The Little Monster tilted its head, not quite understanding.

"Wala."

Mommy not thirsty... me not thirsty.

Shi Yu: "...Alright, at least he's easier to care for when it comes to food."

He rubbed his slightly sore waist, feeling that the pregnancy discomfort had gotten worse since Little Monster had started growing. Even sitting for a short while left his back achy.

No more lying in bed!

Supporting his waist, he sat up, planning to check the fridge for something quick to eat while moving around a bit.

Just then, his phone pinged again.

The unexpected "ding" made Shi Yu instinctively open the notification, only to see a message from the big boss appearing right on cue.

"Ordered breakfast for you this morning."

"If you're sick, you don’t have to push yourself so hard."

Standard boss-like concern, but it left Shi Yu genuinely surprised.

Did this big boss have nothing better to do? Ordering breakfast for a subordinate?

He thought the medicine last night was already generous enough, but now there was even a breakfast delivery?

Still suspicious, Shi Yu opened the door and found a fancy-looking takeout bag placed outside—no idea when it had arrived.

"Wah!" Little Monster tilted its head curiously.

"Quiet."

Shi Yu chided gently before picking up the bag.

This time, it was a regular-sized portion. He had expected just plain porridge and side dishes, but instead... it was luxury seafood congee, along with ingredients completely foreign to him.

Shi Yu gaped at the takeout bag, acting before thinking as he opened an app to search.

To his shock, it was from a high-end restaurant, and this breakfast set went for a whopping 5,000 yuan?

What the hell was in this thing, that it was so expensive?

Shi Yu was floored.

"Boss, isn't this a little over the top?" He sent the price over, hesitating.

Sang Huaiyu gave it a cursory look.

Over the top?

He had just randomly picked a place.

His platinum curls falling slightly, Sang Huaiyu rested his chin in his hand and typed lazily.

"It’s fine."

"If you like it, I’ll order something different this afternoon."

Such an offhand remark instantly gave Shi Yu a taste of real wealth!

Now *this* was what being rich looked like!

Was this the legendary "money to burn"?

He took a deep breath and glanced at the meal box beside him. Today, he was going to give it a proper taste—just how good could it be to justify this price?

Shi Yu opened the box ready to nitpick.

Second glance—he thought the presentation and arrangement looked pretty decent. Third glance—he took a small bite.

The next second: Holy crap!

This is amazing. So damn fresh.

An unidentified fish was incredibly flavorful; one bite made him feel like his eyebrows might fly off from how tasty it was. Shi Yu had already taken two more bites before taking back his earlier doubts.

Guess there’s a reason it’s pricey.

A 5,000-yuan breakfast might actually be worth it—not a waste of money, just spotting the real deal.

“It’s really, really good.”

He couldn’t stop raving about it. Only after finishing the meal with genuine satisfaction, his ears burning a little, did he turn his attention to his phone.

Well. Just moments ago, he’d thought the boss was overselling it—but now, it didn’t seem exaggerated at all.

Still, shouldn’t he say something?

Not saying anything after eating it felt kinda rude.

Now that he’d talked himself into it, Shi Yu paused for a moment, then looked at the empty, fancy meal box and picked up his phone.

“Thank you, boss. Just finished eating.”

“It was delicious.”

The clean bowls and chopsticks were neatly placed on the coffee table, with only a spoon still in hand—proof of just how much he’d liked it.

Sang Huaiyu had simply ordered based on online ratings, never expecting the food to actually look this good.

The otherworldly being, who rarely indulged in human cuisine, actually felt a little hungry. Maybe he’d try it himself at lunch—after all, he occasionally had to keep up his human act.

But reading Shi Yu’s message, Sang Huaiyu arched a brow.

“No problem.”

He paused, then typed again: “You really go to town on your food. I enjoy watching you eat.”

That wasn’t a lie.

Shi Yu was surprised by the boss’s praise, and the message made him suddenly understand.

So the boss was into the way he eats? That made things a little more reasonable.

Still, he couldn’t help feeling a little sorry: “Next time, if you have time, you can watch my livestream.”

“Too bad I was too hungry just now and ate too fast—I didn’t record it. Otherwise, I could’ve saved it for you to watch while you eat.”

Too bad?

Sang Huaiyu thought of the meal box he’d just seen… and narrowed his eyes.

"Not a pity."

It was already surprising that he could stir his emotions.

He really was different from other people.

Huh???

Shi Yu didn't understand what the boss meant at first, thinking he was referring to the seafood congee from earlier, and instinctively touched his ear.

Talking to the boss was actually kind of interesting?

Not as stiff or hard to talk to as he'd expected. Aside from keeping snakes, the boss seemed like a perfect boss. And since the snakes weren’t even kept at his place, it wasn’t really his problem anyway.

Shi Yu nodded slightly, starting to see the guy in a slightly better light.

Sang Huaiyu didn’t know what Shi Yu was thinking. At lunchtime, when ordering takeout, his gaze naturally drifted to his phone—and without thinking, he ordered from the same shop Shi Yu had gone to that morning.

"Mr. Sang is getting food from here?"

Wen Jingjing, the receptionist, looked pretty surprised.

Sang Huaiyu stepped out, took the takeout bag, and gave a small smile upon hearing her words.

"Got a recommendation. Thought I’d try it."

A recommendation?

From who?

Her inner gossip queen immediately perked up. She grabbed her coworker’s arm, buzzing with excitement.

"A friend?"

"Do we know who it is, Mr. Sang?"

Just then, Fu Nanyao and Shen Yan came back with some others. Hearing the commotion, they instinctively glanced over, only to see Sang Huaiyu hesitate for a second before looking their way too.

"Probably."

"Like I said before, the person I like."

His voice was gentle. "Shi Yu said this place's congee isn’t bad."

An offhand comment, as if the two were already close. Sang Huaiyu didn’t say anything else, just looked away and left with the food.

In the lobby, Shen Yan stopped paying attention and went upstairs.

Only Wen Jingjing remained, staring at Captain Fu while fighting the urge to squeal.

Once they were gone, she finally turned to her colleague, gripping her hands tightly and whispering excitedly, “Oh my god!!”

“Did you see Mr. Sang’s expression just now? That smile was so soft!”

“He’s definitely in love.”

“All those people who said it was impossible should come out and see this!”

“My OTP is totally going to happen!”

The colleague was also super excited. The two of them seemed to have made some huge discovery, gleefully taking a deep breath and immediately posting about it in the group chat.

Sang Huaiyu returned to his office, knowing full well that the humans had misunderstood, but he made no attempt to explain. After glancing at the takeout box beside him and recalling Shi Yu’s message from earlier that morning, he suddenly narrowed his eyes with interest and shot him a DM.

He wanted to see Shi Yu’s reaction.

Shi Yu had just gotten ready to go live when he noticed a notification come through.

From the big boss?

He glanced over and clicked it open.

After having three square meals delivered daily, he was feeling pretty warm toward the big boss these days—curious to see what he needed.

But when he opened the message, all that came up was a photo.

An unexpected hand hovered over the takeout box, poised to open it.

The big boss’s hand?

Shi Yu paused for a moment, only to see in the next image that the hand had already lifted the lid and picked up a spoon, ready to drink the porridge.

A quick flash of knuckles appeared in the photo, and Shi Yu blinked as he watched the other person type:

“Like this?”

“Just tried a sip—it’s actually pretty good.”

It read like a totally normal conversation, like a buyer who’d taken his recommendation and placed an order. But something felt off because of those crazy elegant hands.

They looked like museum pieces—somehow making it seem strange for them to be holding utensils.

Just as Shi Yu was about to reply, he inexplicably found himself clicking back on the photo again, unable to resist another look at those hands—he really liked the way they looked.

But the next second, he did a double take and leaned in for a closer inspection—

Wait. The way the big boss held the spoon… looked exactly like how he had when he posted a picture of himself finishing his porridge earlier?

Even the finger placement was identical. The tip of the pinky rested lightly on the handle, as if they were gripping the same spoon—feeling weirdly intimate.