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In a conference room on the 10th floor of an office building, eight people, including Zhang Qian and Tang Baona, are having a meeting to discuss a few problems that came up suddenly.

But everyone seems pretty relaxed since what they’re dealing with is not a major problem and there’s no rush.

Only Yang Zhen’er who’s sitting in the corner of the conference table, looking at her notebook, seems serious as if she thinks the problem is quite serious; she seems unsatisfied with the way Tang Baona and Zhang Qian are discussing the issue.

However, she didn’t say a word until Tang Baona and Zhang Qian finished discussing the problem, and everyone in the conference room started to gather their things. She silently closed her laptop and then followed Tang Baona out, almost as if she was just a meeting secretary.

Zhang Qian and the others took the elevator down to the underground parking lot, whereas Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er stayed in a nearby hotel and could walk there, so they parted ways at the first floor.

Exiting the office building, Tang Baona glanced at Yang Zhen’er, who was still squinting, seemingly deep in thought, and couldn’t help teasing her: “What were you looking at during the meeting? Some heavy, tragic news? Why so serious?”

Fallen into a brief trance, Yang Zhen’er protested: “Pardon? Are you saying I was skimming through news during the meeting? Can’t I look at company documents and think about the issues you were discussing? Maybe I also have unique insights! None of you asked for my opinion!”

“So, ‘Manager Yang’, any opinions?” Pretending to hold a microphone with her right fist, Tang Baona jokingly asked.

Yang Zhen’er paused, leaning back to give her a look, then said: “We’re not in the conference room anymore, and Zhang Qian isn’t here either. What’s the point of telling only you? No, I’m not going to say it!”

“Oh, you’ve got an attitude?” Tang Baona said, hooking her arm around Yang Zhen’er’s neck, and drawing her closer with a laugh: “Come on, I caught a glimpse of what’s on your screen reflected from the glass behind you, you were reading news articles! Scrolling through Weibo! And Zhihu! There was a site with a white background, which was what again?”

“No, I didn’t! You’re wrong!” Yang Zhen’er, also putting her arm around Tang Baona’s neck, playfully denied.

“You won’t even admit it? Let’s check your browser history, that records visit times, you know!” Tang Baona tightens her grip around Yang Zhen’er’s neck, chuckling mischievously.

Caught under the arm of Nana, Yang Zhen’er lost her positional advantage, couldn’t fight back, and could only retaliate by tickling her waist.

Tang Baona chuckled as she pulled away, then made a move to grab her laptop bag.

While dodging, Yang Zhen’er said with a “serious” face: “Stop messing around, I have to tell you about a major thing I noticed!”

“What? The series you follow got cancelled? Or the fan merchandise you want is out of stock? Or maybe your mom wants you to get married, your dad wants you to take over the family business, you’ve used up all your driving license points, or you forgot to get your car inspected annually?” Tang Baona was clearly joking, trying to throw Yang Zhen’er off track.

Ignoring her friend’s remarks, Yang Zhen’er keeps a straight face: “It’s about Chef Xiang, do you remember the news we talked about at lunch about Burma? The one with the riot and monster sighting?”

“Wait, you mean the incident where lots of people in Myitkyina had illusions? What’s that got to do with Xiang Kun?” Tang Baona seemed puzzled.

During their lunch with Zhang Qian and others, Director Lin mentioned this piece of news, but they only briefly touched upon the unrest in Myanmar’s Montamilla, and a giant monster hallucination that scared the rioters and stopped the disorder.

However, since they had other things to discuss at that time, the topic was only brought up casually. Other than Director Lin who didn’t elaborate, no one else delved into it either.

After all, it happened in another country, and to Tang Baona, a monster hallucination or illusion of that sort sounded like some kind of mass delusion, not something she’d be interested in or curious about.

“Do you know what the monster hallucination that appeared in Montamilla looked like?” Yang Zhen’er leaned closer, speaking in a mysterious tone.

“Does it matter what a hallucination looks like?” Tang Baona seemed puzzled.

Yang Zhen’er shook her head: “Many people across several blocks saw almost the same hallucination, so it’s not just a hallucination. Did you know, the monster hallucination they saw all share one characteristic: eight arms, eight eyes! How about it, does it remind you of anything?”

Tang Baona frowned slightly: “Are you talking about the wood carving Xiang Kun made?”

“Yes, exactly, the eight-armed, eight-eyed wood carving he made and gave to your grandpa. Remember yours gave that wood carving to someone else to cast a spell, then you found out and took it back? Didn’t you say, Brother Xiang told you that he came up with the eight-armed, eight-eyed figure himself?” Yang Zhen’er immediately affirmed.

“He did say that, but the image of eight eyes and eight arms, isn’t unique to his wood carving, is it?” Tang Baona wondered.

Yang Zhen’er pulled out her phone, after searching for a moment, she handed it to her: “Look at this, it’s the wood carving Brother Xiang made.”

When Xiang Kun initially gave the eight-armed, eight-eyed wood carving to Tang Baona, she also took several photos and even sent them to Old Xia to have her analyze what led him to create such an image.

Apart from the previously taken photos of the eight-armed, eight-eyed wood carving, Yang Zhen’er flicked another image for Tang Baona to see, a photo she’d just found.

The image was also of an eight-armed, eight-eyed monster, clearly painted by someone with a good artistic foundation. Even though it wasn’t colored, it still looked extremely realistic.

If someone were to first look at the photograph of the wood carving and then at this drawing, they would definitely conclude that these are two different artistic representations of the same thing.

“This was drawn by an eyewitness at the scene in Myitkyina last night. This is what she saw. See how it’s exactly like Brother Xiang’s wood carving! And this…” Yang Zhen Er grabbed her phone back, searched the browser and showed Tang Baona the video she found: “Look at this. This is a 3D representation made by foreign media based on descriptions of other witnesses. Doesn’t it pretty much look the same?”

Tang Baona squinted her eyes while looking at it, “Yes, it resembles a bit… But the wood carving that Xiang Kun made is way cuter… the painting and that 3D image… They must be coincidental, right?”

Yang Zhen Er promptly responded: “While you were having your meeting earlier, I searched online. Generally, statues with numerous arms are either three-eyed, multi-armed or have three heads and six or eight arms. I looked for a while but couldn’t find one with specifically eight eyes and arms together. The only similar figure I found… was a spider.”

“So you’re saying that Xiang Kun created the illusion seen by the spectators in Myitkyina? Why would he do that? And how did he achieve it?” Tang Baona asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s clearly to stop the violence against the Chinese in Myitkyina!” Yang Zhen Er said, lowering her voice and leaning close to Tang Baona, hugging her arm. She whispered, “Nana, remember when I told you last time that I believe Brother Xiang may have joined a secret organization with superpowers? The reason for stopping the violence could be a task given to him by the secret organization! Also, remember when we watched ‘JOJO’ together? Even though you couldn’t accept the particular art style after watching two episodes, if you had carried on watching a bit more, you would have gradually accepted it…anyway, in the third part, the powerful characters have their powers manifested through an imaginary being called a ‘Stand’. What if the monster illusion is Brother Xiang’s ‘Stand’? Maybe every time we see him cooking, carving wood, or doing many other things, it’s actually his ‘Stand’ that’s doing the work, and we’re just not seeing it…”

Tang Baona initially looked serious, because she did acknowledge the fact that the painting from a witness in Myitkyina (depicted by the media as a 3D image), and the eight-armed and eight-eyed wood carving by Xiang Kun seemed strikingly similar, at least structurally. But as she continued to listen, she couldn’t help but bend over laughing. Zhen’er was letting her imagination run wild yet again.

“Alright, let’s go eat something. I’m starving! You can fantasize while we eat,” said Tang Baona, walking behind Yang Zhen Er and pushing her forward.

“Where should we eat? I feel like having soup. Oh wait, the place is quite far away. It’s late now. We should just eat beef noodles… Wait, what do you mean by ‘fantasize’? I was logically analyzing!”

After they settle down in a nearby noodle restaurant and order, Yang Zhen continued to “perfect” her theory.

However, seeing Tang Baona’s smile as she watched her, Yang Zhen Er couldn’t help but ask, “Nana, are you still not believing what I’m saying? Don’t you think my theory makes sense?”

“No, if you want to find out, shouldn’t you just ask Xiang Kun directly?” Tang Baona chuckled.

“He didn’t respond to the dozens of WeChat messages I sent him during your meeting! I also asked Liu Chuang on WeChat who’s in Tong Shi town. He said Brother Xiang hasn’t been to Youlong Restaurant these couple days. I also messaged Old Xia, but he hasn’t replied yet,” Yang Zhen debated.

“Why don’t you just call him?” Tang Baona suggested.

“No way… That would be… That would be tipping him off!”

Tang Baona laughed, “Are you just afraid that Xiang Kun will directly expose your childish musings?” She picked up her phone, found Xiang Kun’s name in the call history and dialed him.

“What?!” Yang Zhen Er got startled, immediately stood up, walked over to Tang Baona, and pressed her head against Baona’s phone to eavesdrop.

“…The number you have dialed is not available at the moment, please try again later. ‘Sorry, The subscriber you dialed…’”

Hearing the female voice prompt from Tang Baona’s phone, Yang Zhen Er chuckled and casually sat back down in her own seat. “See, it happened again. His phone couldn’t be reached and he disappeared. It always happens every now and then for a day or two, sometimes even several days! He must be out ‘conducting missions’!”

Tang Baona thought for a moment, preparing to call Old Xia since he had been helping Xiang Kun with an aquaculture research center recently, and would have a clearer grasp on Xiang Kun’s movements since he’d been either in Tong Shi or Chongyun Village.

However, before she could dial, Yang Zhen Er’s phone suddenly rang.

Yang Zhen Er took a glance at her phone, looked stupefied, then told Tang Baona, “It’s my mom… Odd, why would she call me this late?”

“Maybe, something urgent has happened? Answer it quick!” Tang Baona urged.

After answering her mom’s call, Yang Zhen Er started to look more and more surprised as they spoke. It took quite a while before she finally ended the call.

Tang Baona asked, “Somebody got kidnapped from your house?” From the bits she heard from the phone call, it seemed like someone in Yang Zhen Er’s family was kidnapped. But based on their exchange and tone of voice, it didn’t sound like an urgent situation.

Yang Zhen Er dragged her seat over closer to Tang Baona and whispered, “The one who was kidnapped is my big, gullible cousin, Xia Tianhuo or ‘Blockhead’. But he’s safe now. He’s been rescued. He was actually kidnapped in Burma three days ago…”

Tang Baona caught onto the keyword immediately and asked, “Burma?”

“You thought about it too, didn’t you? Yes, it’s Burma, and more importantly, it was in Myitkyina!” Yang Zhen Er’s voice was just as low, but not her excitement and anticipation.

“We were just talking about the incident in Burma, so naturally, I would make such an association. Who kidnapped your cousin and how he was rescued?” asked Tang Baona, whose curiosity was now piqued by this unfolding event.

Yang Zhen Er answered, “My mom just found out so not much is known about the details. He was kidnapped for three days it seems. But you know what, the first person the kidnapper contacted wasn’t my aunt, uncle, or my cousin himself, it was Old Xia!”

“So… your cousin was rescued because of Old Xia’s help? But Xia is still in China, right?”

“I’m not sure, but if Old Xia was the first one to know about my cousin’s kidnapping, then it’s highly likely that Brother Xiang was also in the loop right away!” Yang Zhen’er became more excited: “And it just so happened that Brother Xiang was in Montamilla on a mission for the organization. So when he got the distress call from Old Xia, he conveniently saved ‘Big Head’!”

Tang Baona gave her a glance: “Here you go again! If, as you said before, Xiang Kun’s phone was unreachable while he was ‘on a mission’, then how did Old Xia contact him? How did he find out about your cousin’s kidnapping? And they just happened to be in Montamilla? Do you think it’s that much of a coincidence?”

Yang Zhen’er paused, then nodded: “Right! Could it be that Brother Xiang was entrusted by Old Xia to run to Montamilla to rescue ‘Big Head’, and then his organization said ‘Hey Brother Xiang, it’s time for you to carry out your mission, what? You’re in Burma, in Montamilla? That’s perfect, there’s also a mission there, finish it while at it’, and so after rescuing ‘Big Head’, he conveniently settled the riot in Montamilla!”

“Why don’t you just call Old Xia and ask where Xiang Kun is, and does he know about this?” Tang Baona suggested.

“That’s reasonable!” Yang Zhen’er then dialed Old Xia’s cell phone, but it went to voicemail after a ring.

“I guess Old Xia is probably asleep, right?”

“That’s not right, when we had a meeting earlier, she didn’t reply to my WeChat messages. She wouldn’t have gone to bed so early.” Yang Zhen’er said and dialed again.

This time the call was answered after a few rings.

…

Xia Libing sat up on the bed, glancing at the ringing phone, and then at Xiang Kun who was sleeping on the floor nearby. After thinking for a while, she answered the call.

“Old Xia! What are you doing?” Yang Zhen’er’s somewhat anxious but excited voice came through the receiver.

“I’m sleeping.” Xia Libing replied matter-of-factly.

“Eh? You usually stay up late, right? I’ve seen you popping up in the group chat at 2 a.m. before!”

“I didn’t sleep well last night.” Xia Libing said.

“Right, I just heard from my mom that ‘Big Head’ was kidnapped? And the kidnapper’s call for ransom was directly made to your phone? Were you the one who informed everyone else?”

“Yes.” Xia Libing replied.

“‘Big Head’ was kidnapped by whom and rescued by whom?” Yang Zhen’er asked eagerly.

“Wait until he returns to the country, and ask him yourself. He knows it better.” Xia Libing said.

“What about Brother Xiang? Where is Brother Xiang right now?” Yang Zhen’er continued to ask.

Without any hesitation, Xia Libing answered: “He went to Nande City the day before yesterday.”

“Nande City? Isn’t it Montamilla?” Yang Zhen’er on the other end of the call seemed very surprised.

“Why would it be Montamilla?”

“Weren’t you the one who asked Xiang Kun for help to rescue ‘Big Head’ in Montamilla?” Yang Zhen’er asked.

“I didn’t ask him for help, why would you think so?” Xia Libing retorted.

“Have you seen the discussions on the internet? Many people witnessed the illusion of an eight-armed, eight-eyed figure in Montamilla last night. A witness drew a picture of it that resembles the original woodcarving that Xiang Kun had before! So, I suspect that what happened in Montamilla was done by Brother Xiang to complete a mission for his secret organization! Remember what I told you last time? I think Xiang Kun might have had a miraculous encounter last year and joined a secret organization…”

As Yang Zhen’er talked, she became more and more excited. She once again described to Xia Libing her previous speculations and the things she just discussed with Tang Baona. While narrating, she also refined her speculation.

Toward the end, Yang Zhen’er asked: “Old Xia, while you’ve been in Chongyun Village these days, have you noticed anything odd about Brother Xiang, like him mysteriously disappearing often, not replying to WeChat messages or being unreachable by phone?”

“I haven’t noticed anything unusual.” Xia Libing said, “It seems like his phone is broken. Wait until he gets a new one and ask him yourself.”

After she ended the call with Yang Zhen’er, Xia Libing sat by her bed, looking at Xiang Kun lying on the floor, sleeping soundlessly. He had not been disturbed at all by the phone ringing or her voice earlier. She was contemplating about something.

At this point, she had only slept for two hours, and naturally that wasn’t enough. However, after being awakened by her cousin’s call, she didn’t immediately go back to sleep.

She wasn’t surprised about why she was on the sofa earlier but was now on the bed—it was obvious that Xiang Kun was indifferent to whether he should sleep on a bed or not. So moving her to the bed was for Xiang Kun to utilize the “resources” most efficiently.

After getting up to get a cup of hot water from the living room and drinking it, Xia Libing came back to the room, recorded some data on Xiang Kun lying on the floor. This was similar to what she had done during Xiang Kun’s several previous blood-drinking sleeps.

Then she returned to the living room, sat on the sofa, looked at the laptop on the coffee table, and was pondering something.

Yang Zhen’er’s somewhat accurate guess did not surprise or shock Xia Libing.

As one blood-drinking period after another passed and the mutation deepened, although Xiang Kun’s appearance hadn’t changed much since they met, his ever-growing abilities have greatly changed his way of understanding the world and his thought efficiency and perspective.

With the continuous expansion and derivation of the “super-connected system”, these changes have been quietly and rapidly strengthening.

He didn’t have many social interactions before, and after the mutation, he intentionally kept a certain distance from most people. Only those with a keen sense of insight would notice his quirks through minimal contact.

However, for those who have a good relationship with him and communicate and interact more, even if they are slow to react, they would still notice his anomalies. This is almost inevitable.

Even if they don’t realize it consciously due to habit, their instincts, their subconscious, will surely have corresponding perceptions. Essentially, Xiang Kun’s existence in this world is vastly different from ordinary humans.

Xia Libing knows that not only Cousin Zhen’er, but also Nana, Zi Cheng, Chang Bin, You Meng, and even Liu Caifu and Chu Xiuwen, who have been frequently interacting with recently in Chongyun Village, have all noticed Xiang Kun’s anomalies to some extent.

It’s just that they have very limited information, which can be explained away and self-persuaded. For people they are familiar with and trust, the human mind will automatically repair and adapt its perception.

Surely, Xiang Kun has thought about these situations as well.

What Xia Libing is pondering now, is a different matter.

She just came to the living room for a drink and noticed that her laptop, placed on the table, was facing towards the door.

If Xiang Kun used the computer while she was asleep, the screen should be facing the sofa. The living room has only one row of sofa and nowhere else to sit on the other side.

Besides that, based on her observation of Xiang Kun’s laptop habits, he would close the laptop whether it’s on or off after using it, like when he’s leaving home or going for a meal.

If it was after blood-drinking and he was going to hibernate, he should have closed the laptop according to his habits, and not left it on facing the door in this odd manner.

The laptop screen was off but the power was still on, connected to the power cord. She clearly remembered that the laptop wasn’t plugged in before Xiang Kun came back.

If it were someone else who saw this, most people wouldn’t think much of it.

But Xia Libing thought of many things, like the abrupt light from the camera indicator in Xiang Kun’s house when she stayed up during his first blood-drinking and hibernation session.

Like now, the laptop appears to be facing the door, seemingly pointless, but the camera above the screen is also facing the door, although the camera indicator didn’t light up at sight.

In recent times in Chongyun Village, she had spent most of her time with Xiang Kun, conducting experiments on “zero one”, “zero two”, and earlier biological samples. She basically knew what Xiang Kun did even when she was asleep and he stayed awake.

She was sure that Xiang Kun hadn’t been sitting in front of the computer writing code, designing, or making modifications as required, but Tang Baona, Yang Zhen’er, and Zhang Qian were still able to receive new game versions with various opinions and iterations. From their discussions, it’s clear that the game has evolved greatly, not just minor functional tweaks.

Xia Libing doesn’t know much about programming and game development, but she does have some basic knowledge on the subject. She had also played the game developed by Xiang Kun and given the richness of features, the version iteration level and speed, the current Xiang Kun simply didn’t have time to achieve that.

So, is there another team helping him out?

But if that’s the case, there’s no need for him to hide it from Zhang Qian, Nana, and others, let alone from her.

Unless that team is very special, they know the secret of Xiang Kun’s mutation and have been providing technical support all along, they might even be monitoring his status, and hence cannot be exposed?

But she soon denied this guess.

First of all, given Xiang Kun’s current economic situation, he definitely couldn’t afford a development or technical support team.

Secondly, recalling the language content, facial expressions and corresponding behavior when Xiang Kun opened up about his mutation, she still believed that she was the first person that Xiang Kun revealed this secret to, she was the first one to understand the secret behind Xiang Kun’s mutation, and as of now, remains the only one.

Otherwise, in many instances, Xiang Kun wouldn’t have chosen the way he did.

So… how did Xiang Kun manage to do certain things?

Xia Libing squinted, looking at her laptop.