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However, he heard Old Xia’s stomach rumble – she probably woke up from hunger…

Old Xia, whose hair was disheveled, sat up from the bed. After spacing out for two seconds, she got out of bed and put on her shoes.

Xiang Kun, seated in front of his computer, swiveled his chair around to face Xia putting on her shoes, and said, “When you had just fallen asleep, Zhen’er called you. I guess she wanted to have a meal and play games with you. She also called me later.”

After Xiang Kun fell asleep, Old Xia’s phone was continuously on silent mode, so she couldn’t have been awakened by the ringtone. Xiang Kun guessed that Yang Zhen’er didn’t need to urgently reach Old Xia — otherwise, she would’ve called a second time.

Xia Libing picked up her phone to look, then sent Yang Zhen Er a WeChat sticker of a panda sitting up drowsily from bed, sporting an evil grin.

About a dozen seconds later, Yang Zhen Er sent a shocked emoji, following up with a message: “Did you sleep until now? Don’t tell me you slept all afternoon?”

But she didn’t wait for Xia Libing’s reply, and continued texting: “If you had woken up earlier, you could have had dinner with me and Nana. But now, we’ve already finished eating, and there’s no share left for you!”

Yang Zhen Er sent over a photo of the dining table, with several empty takeout boxes.

Almost immediately, another message: “How about we play the voice-based game developed by the chef? He said he’s still busy—apparently, he’s making some modifications per our feedback from the night before last. Come over, we can play a five-player game with Sister Baoting and her husband on board!”

Xia Libing responded with a sticker of a panda buried in ramen.

Yang Zhen Er quickly caught her drift: “Come over after you finish eating?”

Xia Libing then sent a sticker of the panda shaking its head.

Yang Zhen Er: “You’re forbidden from sending this emoji anymore! Or else, watch out for when we meet next time, I will totally beat you up!”

Xia Libing then sent a sticker of the panda nodding.

Yang Zhen Er was exasperated for a few seconds, then she sent a meme of Jacky Cheung’s face, with a caption added: “You’re about to lose your sister.”

Xiang Kun waited until Old Xia’s face-off with her cousin over emojis to ask, “Stick to the previous plan?”

Old Xia nodded: “Stick to the plan.”

When she decided to return with Xiang Kun, she had already arranged the next few days’ itinerary. According to the plan, after Xiang Kun awoke from his deep sleep today, they would conduct some basic tests and analyses. Then they planned to review and investigate his experiences from the night of July 11 the previous year.

For Xiang Kun, July 11 marked a turning point in his life. Before that day, he was just an ordinary office worker. But after July 11, he became a “vampire,” a “mutant”.

All the changes began on the night of July 11, 2019.

Since his mutation, Xiang Kun had been ceaselessly investigating and searching for the cause of the mutation, tracing back to what had happened on the night of July 11 that led to such drastic changes in his body when he woke up on July 14.

But from his investigation results, there seemed to have been nothing unusual at home or elsewhere that night — at least, nothing that he found.

Especially with the increase in blood consumption, through his deliberate training, his memory became increasingly sharp. He was able to retrace the details of what had happened as if they were playing back surveillance footage, computing various possibilities, and analyzing various points of doubt. Although due to the limitations of his unevolved senses, his ability to retrace memories before his mutation was relatively limited, it was enough for him to make basic judgments.

He was confident that he hadn’t overlooked anything. He had investigated everything that should be investigated and paid attention to all the necessary details. However, he had no objection to Old Xia conducting a further investigation. This was precisely why he had sought Old Xia’s help—to offer a different perspective and help him think.

Before stepping out, Xia Libing glanced at the webcam on the computer table, which had been turned back into its correct position, and said, “This webcam turned on by itself last night.”

Xiang Kun replied, “Oh, it’s nothing to worry about. That’s just a setting I made. At a certain time, it will automatically turn on. You don’t have to worry about my computer being invaded. My home network is very secure.”

“You’re running some very important things on your computer, so you need to make sure it doesn’t lose power?” Xia Libing pointed towards the corner of the living room, where a small generator was set up and connected to the power supply.

Xiang Kun nodded and affirmed, “Yes, very important things.”

Xia Libing seemed thoughtful as she nodded in response.

Since Xia Libing wanted to physically retrace Xiang Kun’s route from that night, they took a taxi directly to the roadside food stall where Xiang Kun had gone to drown his sorrows on the night of July 11th.

However, they did not get off the taxi directly at the food stall but near the exit of the subway. From there, they walked to the food stall, retracing Kun’s route from that night.

During the journey, Xiang Kun briefly described to her the circumstances of him going to work on July 11th, learning of the company’s bankruptcy, his feelings on the subway, and the situation of other passengers.

At the food stall, Xiang Kun ordered the same dishes and even the same beer as that night. Of course, neither he nor Old Xia intended to drink the beer—they planned to return it when they settled the bill.

Additionally, Old Xia ordered soup noodles for their dinner.

As Old Xia slurped her noodles and ate her side dishes, Xiang Kun described his state while drinking that night. Although he had already vaguely told her about falling into a drunken stupor and then sleeping for two days, after which his body started mutating, he had not yet detailed many specific aspects.

During the initial stages of his mutation, Xiang Kun didn’t have a clear recollection of what happened after he got drunk on the night of July 11th. But now he could accurately remember every detail. Any image he saw, sound he heard, smell he perceived, and taste he experienced can be recalled, even though these sensory experiences were not enhanced by the mutation.

Old Xia occasionally put down her chopsticks to ask questions, and Xiang Kun answered based on his memories.

Xiang Kun understood that one of the main purposes of Old Xia’s “field investigation” was to help him retrace his memories and explore potential doubts from various angles and directions.

They didn’t stay at the food stall for long. Once Old Xia finished her noodles, they returned the beer, settled the bill, and left.

Xiang Kun then hailed a car using a ride-hailing app to go to his previous rental place.

“What about that driver’s situation?” Old Xia asked while they waited for the car.

“I checked—nothing suspicious,” Xiang Kun replied. He knew she was referring to the driver who had driven him home on the night of July 11th. He had later secretly investigated the driver and concluded that he was just an ordinary ride-hailing driver with no links to mutants or any other suspicious elements.

With that, Xiang Kun detailed his investigation of that driver to Old Xia, simultaneously helping himself to review and confirm the events.

The room Xiang Kun previously rented was let out by the landlord after he moved out. However, the tenant moved out before the Spring Festival, so the room was currently unoccupied.

Xiang Kun had contacted the landlord and, under the pretense of having a friend interested in renting the room, asked him to bring the key and open the door for them to see.

When the landlord saw the tall and striking Xia Libing beside Xiang Kun, he asked, puzzled, “Mr. Xiang, is this young lady your friend who wants to rent my room? She’s so tall and beautiful. Is she a model?” Despite Xia Libing wearing sneakers, cargo pants, and a dark down jacket, her tall stature, exquisite features, and unique indifferent demeanor still made her stand out—a sight people would find hard to ignore.

“No, she’s not a model. She’s just a poor student who’s just started working and is tight on money. I told her this place has a good location, it’s cheap, and the landlord is nice. So I brought her to have a look,” replied Xiang Kun casually.