He Li got out of the car in his pajamas and stood by the window, looking out.
A middle-aged man in a coffee-colored trench coat, stout, with short hair and round-rimmed glasses, stood under a lamppost, looking up. Their eyes met.
"Who is he?" He Li was sure he didn't recognize the man, but he was certain the man was looking at him.
Yan Ping glanced at He Li and said, "You don't recognize him, and you're asking me?"
Unfazed by Yan Ping's retort, He Li opened the window, leaning his body lazily on the windowsill, his eyes filled with thought.
"A vacant, expressionless gaze lacks focus, making people easily overlook it. But Jin Fang once said that such people are precisely born killers. I don't think he's a killer.
So,
Yan Ping, do you think he's a 'hunter'?"
Yan Ping pondered for a moment, then shook his head and chuckled, "I don't know. I'm not good at that kind of discernment." He paused, then asked, "Since you're suspicious, why don't you just go down and ask him?"
He Li shook his head, pointed to the intersection on the right where a car with flashing hazard lights was parked, and said, "If I make a move, that car will come and pick this man up. If I do anything rash, will they call the police?"
"See, I just pointed my finger, and that car came."
The car slowly drove up and stopped in front of the man. The man opened the door, didn't even glance at He Li, got in, and the car drove away.
Yan Ping spread his hands and said, "I have to admire your cleverness, but this makes you too passive."
He Li smiled, turned around, leaned against the windowsill, his expression gradually turning cold. He paused, then turned to look at Yan Ping and said,
"Passive?"
"I don't feel passive at all. I see them now as if they were a bunch of children playing hide-and-seek, both childish and amusing. They think they're so clever, so confident,
But,
In reality, they're just a bunch of fools."
Yan Ping looked at He Li in silence, waiting for his next, more astonishing words.
He Li continued, "Jin Chuan is a fool. He couldn't hold back and ran out. But I'm sure he's just cannon fodder to test Captain Susan's strength.
Guess what the hunters will do next?"
Yan Ping was silent for a moment and said, "They will lure Susan out of Binjiang City."
"Correct!"
He Li sat on the bed and smiled, "They will create chaos in a city about a hundred kilometers from Binjiang, prompting the neighboring city to request reinforcements from Binjiang. The only one who can provide rapid support is Captain Susan, who can instantly kill a seventh-tier gene-locked esper."
"Then... this hunting feast will officially begin."
He Li lay down, resting his hands behind his head, looking at the ceiling, and murmured,
"Yan Ping, I've been waiting for this moment.
I don't know who the hunters are, I can only wait for them to expose themselves.
But Captain Susan is here, and they won't expose themselves easily.
What to do?
I'll just play along with these guys who have dung in their heads, pretending to be a timid little sheep hiding behind Captain Susan,
Waiting for them to finalize their plan, lure Captain Susan away, and then one by one, point their guns at me.
Heh heh...
But they don't know that not only will they draw their hunting rifles, but this little sheep will also show its horns."
Yan Ping let out a long sigh, looked at He Li lying on the bed, and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "You are a truly terrifying person. You've always been wary not of those coming for you, but of... Susan."
He Li's eyes flickered towards Yan Ping, and he winked playfully.
"Yan Ping, it's always good to be careful. I don't have that big a heart. Suddenly arriving here and being given the identity of an 'Enlightener' – do you think I'll accept it obediently?
To hell with it!
I'm just schizophrenic, not mentally retarded!"
...
...
A sturdy SUV drove up to the Spirit Management Association building and smoothly backed into a parking spot.
He Li didn't get out of the car immediately to enter the Spirit Management Association building. Instead, he checked WeChat.
Min Liang: "Egg sandwich + soy milk, extra sugar."
Sister Jiang: "Hot coffee, extra milk, extra sugar + bacon and eggs + whole wheat bread."
Seeing no replies, He Li replied with "Received," then got out of the car and headed straight for the coffee shop to buy breakfast for these two technical gurus.
Their breakfast was usually bought by whoever arrived first, and no money was requested from them.
After all, they were technical gurus. Being awesome was its own justification, no explanation needed.
After buying the breakfast, he went upstairs and delivered it to the two with panda eyes. An hour later, at 10:17 AM, Tao Xue arrived fashionably late.
He Li found it strange that Bai Fei usually lived in the Spirit Management Association building. Why didn't he see him today?
"Sister Jiang, where's Brother Fei?" He Li craned his neck towards the monitoring room.
Sister Jiang replied without turning her head, "He seems to have gone to buy alcohol."
Alright, Captain Susan could really drink.
...
Bai Fei was mixing drinks, working hard because he was practicing multitasking, mixing drinks while practicing his breathing techniques.
Susan was drinking, propped up on the bar counter, her eyes hazy with drink, her face supported by her cheeks.
Tao Xue was holding a tablet, browsing something, her face beaming.
One bought alcohol, another drank, the mascot acted like a mascot, and the two technical gurus in the monitoring room occasionally argued heatedly.
He Li lay on the sofa, smiling as he watched it all, thinking... things weren't so bad.
"Yes!"
Tao Xue suddenly cheered, put down her tablet, and announced loudly, "We're all going to a fashion gala tonight! I got invitations!"
"Huh?"
Everyone was drawn by Tao Xue's voice.
"Fashion... gala?"
This was everyone's second thought.
Bai Fei, impatient with Susan's demands for more alcohol, placed the half-bottle of base liquor, tequila, in front of Susan and asked Tao Xue, "Are we fashionable?"
He Li couldn't help but tease, "Brother Fei, shouldn't our focus be on... the gala?"
"Exactly," Min Liang walked out of the monitoring room and said, "We have nothing to do with fashion. Little Xue means they'll handle the fashion, and we'll handle the gala."
"That's right!"
Tao Xue snapped her fingers and said, "Tonight's fashion gala is a small-scale promotion by Xu Corporation to warm up their new generation of products. Only the wealthy in Binjiang City are invited. I asked my dad to get an extra invitation. Let's go. They can talk about their things, and we'll eat our things."
Everyone exchanged glances, their gazes finally falling on Susan.
"My God! That's the base liquor, how could you drink it all!" Bai Fei exclaimed, snatching the bottle back from Susan's hand.
Susan wiped her mouth, "Then let's go. Ah Liang and Sister Jiang can bring the early warning devices." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Hooray!"
Tao Xue cheered and jumped off the high stool, beckoning everyone to go buy clothes for the gala tonight.
...