Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

Which genius had the bright idea to send him this thing?

Shi Yu’s eye twitched. He was just about to set the *Coding Tutorial* aside when he suddenly remembered—wait, wasn’t his bachelor’s degree in computer science?

His eyes drifted back to the book. His first guess was Han Chuyi.

Could it have been him?

Pretty sure that guy was in the same program.

Thinking this, Shi Yu testily sent a photo of the book to Han Chuyi.

The *ping* came just as Han Chuyi returned to the Ability User Association.

*The Coding Tutorial*???

Why’s he sending me this? Did he need help with something?

The idea made him grin, and he couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face, though he tried to suppress it.

“So… what’s up?”

When there was no reply right away, he added, “You reading this now?”

“I’ve actually read that one before.”

He stared at the book cover on the screen, trying to think of something to say, when the message disappeared—recalled in three seconds flat.

“My bad, wrong chat.”

Han Chuyi: ???

The moment Shi Yu saw the reply, he knew Han Chuyi wasn’t the sender. If it really had been him, given his personality, he’d have cracked immediately after seeing the photo.

But judging from Han Chuyi’s response, he clearly didn’t know anything about it either.

That left only one answer—it wasn’t Han Chuyi.

Then who the hell was it?

Shi Yu slumped back on the couch in frustration, his mouth quirking. After a while, just as he was starting to think it was some kind of prank, someone finally fessed up—way later than he'd expected.

“Did you receive the package?”

During lunch break, his phone gave a quiet buzz.

Wait… the boss?

He froze for a second, still buffering, then slowly turned to look at the *Coding Tutorial* beside him.

Wait, so—this was from the boss?!

Sang Huaiyu hadn’t thought Shi Yu would be this slow. After asking the question, he texted again without looking up:

“You said you were having some trouble studying recently, right?”

“There are notes I made in that book. Might help you get it.”

Shi Yu absentmindedly opened the book he had dismissed earlier, only now realizing he’d been too distracted by the title to even look inside.

—Wait, there was actually stuff inside.

Crisp, bold handwriting lined the pages beneath the text, clearly the reader’s margin notes left behind after reading through. It blew his mind.

Shi Yu took a deep breath and carefully flipped forward a few more pages, stunned to find every. single. page. had notes. The person who wrote them had gone through the entire book.

“So, Boss Sang,” Shi Yu couldn’t help but ask, “is your major computer science?”

The sight of these meticulously organized study notes was just too damn impressive.

Computer science?

Sang Huaiyu checked his phone and thought for a moment.

“Not exactly.”

“I studied—anthropology.”

Anthropology? Shi Yu blinked in surprise. He never expected someone who looked so loaded, a straight-up business mogul, to have majored in something totally random like anthropology. Since when do business bigshots go for niche majors?

But wait—if Boss Sang studied anthropology, then what about all these books and notes…

Before he could finish thinking, a reply came through.

“Had some downtime and got bored a while back, so I picked up coding. These are the notes from that time.”

Back then, to pass as more human, Sang Huaiyu really did read through the whole thing.

Yesterday when he heard Shi Yu struggling with school, this popped into his head. Well, it should be helpful for that human, right?

Shi Yu: ???

Downtime and boredom… picked up coding… and nailed it.

Who even says that?

A low-key brutal flex landed right on his heart. Was this guy seriously not showing off?

He hesitated, then figured a heavyweight like Boss Sang probably didn’t need to brag to him. If he wanted to flex, he could just wave around fat stacks—it wasn’t like brain flexing was necessary.

Maybe he really was just saying it casually.

But hell if it didn’t sting!

Shi Yu was completely short-circuited.

Sang Huaiyu waited a bit, watching the screen flash "typing…" then nothing. A moment later, it happened again. Then again. Like the other person was trying to say something, then hesitating.

"Gotta balance grind and chill."

"If you're stuck, maybe carb-load with fancy tea snacks."

Just as Shi Yu was still fuming, Boss Sang sent a screenshot.

It was from that insanely overpriced pastry spot in City B!

"How about this berry cake?"

"With a cup of coffee, it'd be perfect."

Shi Yu was speechless...

The photo alone is mouthwatering, okay?

He glanced at the most popular pairing from this luxury dessert shop and immediately folded:

"You're the best, boss."

All his thoughts boiled down to this. Shi Yu quickly deleted what he had just typed and sincerely praised.

Where do you even find a boss like this?

Honestly, bosses who casually treat you to afternoon tea—bring 'em on. He wouldn’t complain.

His 180 was way too obvious, and even Sang Huaiyu noticed something was off. So, was Shi Yu actually disliking him earlier?

But... he hadn’t said anything offensive, had he?

For the first time, interacting with a human didn’t result in flattery but instead left him guessing the other’s meaning—a weirdly interesting feeling for Sang Huaiyu. Yet, strangely, he didn’t dislike it. Compared to the repetitive, dull observations of human life before, this seemed... a bit more fun.

He curled his lips, soft curls cascading over his shoulders, his eyes gleaming with amusement under the white silk.

"I thought you’d be talking some smack behind my back."

After all, it seemed like Shi Yu had already been doing so earlier.

Shi Yu: ?!!!

Who actually says that to someone's face?! This is way too awkward. Sure, he’d talked some smack earlier, but he never intended to send it!

Shi Yu backpedaled hard to save face.

"Boss, how could you think that? I was just too shocked earlier, really," he thought, hoping to talk his way out of it.

He blinked, praying things would smooth over, and after a second of self-reproach, fully denied it.

Sang Huaiyu stared at the words on the screen, could practically see Shi Yu squirming. Chin in hand, he chuckled lightly. "Glad to hear it."

"HIT me up if you have questions tonight after finishing the book. I’ll be around."

"Roger that, boss. No worries."

"I’ll study hard." After making this promise, Shi Yu finally breathed easy.

That's what you get for jumping the gun—no more typing and deleting from now on! Shi Yu swore he’d never do it again.

God, this is mortifying!

Seeing the boss drop the matter, he relaxed and finally put his phone down, waiting for the afternoon tea.

But the moment he flopped down, Shi Yu suddenly realized: Wait a minute...

He’d bought all those things to teach Little Monster the basics.

What was *he* doing reading *Advanced Coding*?

How did I end up getting dragged into that chaotic conversation?

Sharing a look of mutual disgust with the book in his hand, Shi Yu decisively shoved the thick volume to the bottom of the box. Just looking at it made his hair hurt.

Stay buried where you belong!

Little Monster watched blankly as Mom unpacked the box, unsure what she was doing. Just as it was about to let out a "wala" giggle, it saw her glare down suddenly.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Your turn's coming."

Little Monster: ???

"Wala."

Yesterday's struggle repeated itself. Shi Yu had all the tools ready, but this time he only managed to teach Little Monster three whole characters.

Two whole hours, and only three characters learned—Shi Yu was ready to lose it.

Forget it. He tossed the book aside and leaned back on the sofa, convinced this little monster would never get smart in this lifetime.

Teaching Little Monster words was even harder than learning coding himself. In that same time, he could've read several pages of code!

Shi Yu took a deep breath, suddenly realizing coding didn't seem so bad after all.

But that evening, to his surprise, someone actually followed up.

"How was your reading today?"

Sang Huaiyu sent the message before driving home from work.

Shi Yu, who had just finished washing up and was about to go to bed, gaped at the message on his nightstand.

Wait, had the boss actually meant it at noon? Wasn't that just polite talk?

He was really tracking his progress?

After staring at the new message on his screen for a few seconds, Shi Yu wanted to throttle the version of himself from two hours ago who'd said, "Learning coding is easier than teaching Little Monster."

Did he have some kind of self-own curse lately? Why did every statement backfire on him?

"Boss, haha, just wrapped up my stream. I'm beat today—I'll get serious tomorrow."

"No need to check on me, boss. You focus on your work."

Sang Huaiyu, who immediately caught Shi Yu's dodge: ...

Hmm, so this is what humans call procrastination?

He glanced at the screen but didn't press further. Instead, he pictured Shi Yu hesitantly avoiding studying.

Weirdly... he found it kinda cute.

His expression softened briefly. His assistant, leaving work, happened to see Mr. Sang checking his phone in the parking lot. For some reason, his expression suddenly relaxed, making the assistant curious.

But it was just a fleeting moment. After putting away his phone, any trace of softness disappeared from Mr. Sang's demeanor.

The two assistants exchanged glances, not daring to gossip further, and suppressed their curiosity. A while later, they saw Mr. Sang drive away.

...

Shi Yu finally got to sleep after being exhausted all day!

Teaching and dealing with his boss had wiped him out—half his brain cells were dead. As soon as he hit the bed, he passed out almost instantly. Before the Little Monster could even babble a "goodnight" to its mother, Shi Yu was already deep in dreamland.

Late at night, the warm yellow glow of the bedside lamp flickered faintly. After who knows how long, just as Shi Yu was half-asleep, he actually dreamed about that "Horror Photo" that had forced him into a picture before?

The familiar hallway, the familiar scene—the memories from that day replayed again. In the dream, after exposing the Horror hiding inside the deliveryman, the other party still maliciously decided to imprint him onto the photo.

The sound of the camera clicking rang in his ears.

Shi Yu rubbed his ears and saw a sudden flash of white light. The camera suddenly let out a creepy sound.

This kind of sound, unique to Horrors, was something Shi Yu normally couldn’t perceive—but somehow, he understood it in the dream.

This Horror was afraid.

Afraid of what? Of the Little Monster?

He was mildly confused, but the next second, the creepy sound came again, in bursts, like it had seen something incomprehensible—terrified but unable to put it into words.

"Impossible... no... possible..."

A static-like "zzzt" noise echoed through his head, repeating the memory over and over.

In the dream, he was pinning down the "Horror Photo," preparing to feed it to the Little Monster.

But just as Shi Yu watched himself effortlessly use the Spirit Threads, the Horror Photo’s fear went through the roof.

Everything seemed to speed up.

The camera whirred frantically before cutting off mid-scream. The last thing Shi Yu heard was the Horror Photo’s final words before fading away.

"You... are not!"

Shi Yu: …???

Not what?

Completely baffled, he groggily opened his eyes, still groggy from sleep in the morning.

Strange—why would he suddenly dream about that already destroyed "Horror Photo" at night?

Hadn’t it been wiped from existence completely?

Shi Yu rubbed his temples, his gaze drawn to the nearby drawer.

Luckily, when he opened it, the "photo" he had placed inside earlier was still there—nothing strange had happened.

He took it out and looked it over again but still couldn't figure it out.

Yet the dream's terrified voice still echoed in his mind.

He stared at the strange see-through static pattern in the photo and twisted his mouth—was this a case of "daytime thoughts become nighttime dreams"?

Had he been thinking about this earlier, so he dreamed of it again?

...

At the Ability User Association:

The entire city had been searched for a full day and night, but Wang Shan and the others still couldn’t find that creepy Horror Item photo.

They were thinking about putting out an alert or something similar to warn passersby. Just as they were about to check with Captain Fu, they ran into Mr. Sang arriving at the Association.

“Mr. Sang.”

Sang Huaiyu, who had just pressed the elevator button, paused upon hearing Wang Shan’s voice and saw the group standing there looking uneasy.

They went ahead and explained what happened yesterday.

He glanced away, thinking it over.

“So you’re saying a Horror Item photo with replication abilities has gotten loose?”

“Yeah, Mr. Sang.”

“That photo should be SS-Class. Do you think we should issue a notice?”

Because of the secrecy required around Horror incidents, issuing public notices was always kind of a big deal, involving a ton of red tape. This time, Wang Shan wasn’t sure they should go through with it.

But they couldn’t find the thing, and leaving it out there indefinitely wasn’t an option—what if something happened…

Since Mr. Sang happened to be heading upstairs, Wang Shan figured they might as well ask his take.

Sang Huaiyu just shut his eyes for a second before opening them again and saying, “No need for a notice.”

No need?

Wang Shan was still wrapping his head around that when Mr. Sang added, “The photo you’re looking for has probably gone inert.”

A Horror Item going inert meant it was already dead. Wang Shan just stood there blinking, totally thrown by the news that the thing had already died.

They’d been searching all day, worried that this Horror—which had gotten smart—might hurt people again. Turns out it bit the dust.

Sang Huaiyu said thoughtfully, “Maybe someone helped you out.”

Interestingly, he couldn’t quite pin down exactly how the Horror had died. But after scanning the area with his mind just now, he realized that when it perished, it hadn’t been SS-Class as the Ability User Association believed—it had upgraded to SSS-Class.

It evolved… and still died.

That was unexpected. But remembering previous cases where Horrors had been dealt with before the Ability User Association even arrived, Sang Huaiyu wasn’t completely shocked.

There were others working under the radar of both the Association and Him—something he had long suspected.

After that, he clammed up again. Seeing Wang Shan and Zhao Wen trade confused looks, he turned and walked upstairs.

The lobby fell silent once more. Only after Mr. Sang left did Wang Shan turn to his old buddy.

“Who do you think it was?”

“You think Mr. Sang means it might be the same as those other times?”

Zhao Wen shook his head. “Beats me. But Mr. Sang’s never been wrong before. If he says so, then that’s probably what happened.”

“Whoever they are, thank them,” Wang Shan muttered. “Never shows their face, but always comes through in the clutch—saved who knows how many lives across all these incidents. In the Association, they’d get a medal for that.”

Wang Shan nodded along, finally coming back to earth.

"But if that's how it is, how do we write up the report?"

If they reported that the Horror Item was dead just because Mr. Sang said so, was it really okay to put that straight in the report?

Zhao Wen: "Forget it."

"Let's just go with this for now."

The two drafted the report and went to see Captain Fu.

Fu Nanyao had taken charge of searching another street after pointing out the characteristics of the "Horror Photo" the previous day, but he'd come up empty so far.

Right then, he was massaging his temples, looking exhausted, when Wang Shan and Zhao Wen came in with the paperwork.

"Captain Fu."

"This is the final report regarding the 'Horror Photo.'"

"We ran into Mr. Sang outside the elevator just now, and he said the 'Horror Photo' has already died."

Wang Shan and Zhao Wen nudged each other as they recounted what had happened, sheepishly handing over the report.

Fu Nanyao didn't say anything at first. He listened to them finish before taking the report.

"It lost activity?"

"Yes, Captain."

"That's according to Mr. Sang."

Since Sang Huaiyu possessed wide-range detection abilities—especially his unique precognition—nobody really questioned him.

Yet Fu Nanyao slightly frowned. Ever since he'd sensed a danger from Sang Huaiyu that day, he'd been wary of him, though there was no need to share this with anyone else in the Ability User Association.

Maybe it was just his imagination. He paused briefly, then looked over the report before saying, "Understood."

"Still, have teams monitor all routes during this period, in case anything pops up."

"Yes, Captain."

Neither of them was surprised by the captain's instructions. After all, with how the numbers kept growing in recent years, even if this one was dead, others were still out there needing patrols in case something popped up.

Thinking about it, no one could figure out why. Although Horrors had secretly existed for who knew how long before they became aware of them, they hadn't been nearly this active until recently.

Especially in the past two years—those Horrors had been popping up like crazy, making life hell for everyone.

The office went quiet again. After receiving permission, the two left.

Fu Nanyao sat in his chair, staring at the report on the desk, and found himself looking down as he thought about Sang Huaiyu.

Why did he feel this way?

He'd never felt suspicious toward Sang Huaiyu before—only trust, especially after being rescued by him.

Back when his abilities were still incomplete, he'd been cornered by the "Men's High Heels," and the one who saved him was Sang Huaiyu.

Even after suffering severe post-traumatic symptoms that made him cautious around everyone, he had still trusted Sang Huaiyu.

This trust had gone unquestioned for years, and Fu Nanyao had never once doubted it.

But now... He closed his eyes, feeling somewhat lost.

Ever since that incident at Beishan Hospital when his mutation level broke the critical threshold and he came to again, Fu Nanyao knew something wasn’t right. The fog that had clouded his vision had thinned a little, making everything look different from before.

This was also why he was so determined to uncover the truth behind "mutation level reduction."

He didn’t even know whether the problem lay with him or with others.

After a while, Fu Nanyao took out the half-completed research notes from the drawer again.

...

Shi Yu had no idea that the captain of the Ability User Association was doggedly hunting him down.

Because of last night’s dream, he woke up with slight shadows under his eyes. Fortunately, he didn’t need to go out, so no one could see them.

Shi Yu sighed softly, washed his face, and put the photo away in the study.

For such inexplicable things, he figured the only one in this world who could help him was the evil god—after all, that being was the only seer in the world.

But seeking out the evil god for dream interpretation?

Was he tired of living, or did he just find life too easy?

His mouth twitched. The mere thought of that evil god greeting him and deliberately sending white roses to intimidate him made his skin crawl. He immediately dismissed the terrifying idea.

Stop, stop, stop!

Ignorance was bliss—it wasn’t affecting his life for now. If he actually sought out the evil god, if he’d make it out "alive" was anyone’s guess.

He shook his head, wishing he could hang a "hex-warding charm" on his forehead.

Forget it. Might as well get something done.

After leaving the living room, Shi Yu recalled the casual question his boss had asked before bed last night. Reluctantly, he dug out the dusty old "Advanced Coding Tutorial" and placed it on the coffee table.

Then he made a cup of coffee and sat on the carpet, intending to read.

But after just a couple of glances, his head started spinning.

Shi Yu: "..."

How was he already wiped out right after waking up?

The black printed words on the pages wriggled like ants, swirling uncontrollably before his eyes.

Shi Yu held out for two seconds before blinking and giving up again.

Screw this!

Who could possibly read this stuff? Especially since he’d been out of the game this long—how was he supposed to understand it now?!

Taking a deep breath, after battling the text-crawler from hell for what felt like ages, a devilish idea popped up in his mind. He lowered his eyes and just went and woke up the Little Monster.

The drowsy Little Monster had just finished its "preschool education" yesterday. Even with its endless stamina, it inexplicably felt like a wrung-out rag.

So... sleepy...

"Wah—" The Little Monster, feeling oddly drained, wrapped its tentacles around its head, still groggy from "mom’s" rude awakening.

Shi Yu: "..."

Since he'd already woken it up, he might as well double down as the villain.

His voice had never been so gentle before—so gentle that he felt like a bad parent. After only a fleeting moment of guilt, Shi Yu quickly silenced his conscience.

"Hmm, I woke you up because I actually wanted to say you did really well yesterday."

"Given how satisfied I was with your test results, I've added an extra lesson today—'Coding Tutorial.'"

"This is a very popular subject among humans."

Shi Yu pitched it like an infomercial host, then smiled gently, deploying his go-to tactic for supernatural creatures.

"Daddy wasn't a good student back then, and life's been really hard. I've always regretted it. If you study hard, you can become an excellent programming monster in the future—benefiting humanity. I would be so proud."

"Wala... is... Mama?"

The Little Monster corrected in confusion. Shi Yu's expression darkened.

"...Fine... Ma—ma!"

He gritted his teeth repeating the word, instantly feeling no remorse anymore.

"Alright, starting now, we're going to learn this."

"I'll read a line, and you repeat after me."

"Wala!" Okay!

Though the Little Monster didn't understand what "Advanced Coding Tutorial" was or why it needed to become a "genius programming monster," it understood the word "proud."

It often appeared on the Prenatal Education Device... a good word?

Even though its mind was completely blank at this point, the Little Monster still burst out with an excited "Wala!" rubbed its eyes with its tentacles to wake itself up, and began learning eagerly with Mama.

Wala, it would... become a programming monster, become a genius, become Mama's pride!