94: Reality

Shi Yan got up to answer the phone.

A sweet voice rang out from the phone.

"Is this Shi Yan? Why haven't I seen you around lately? What have you been up to?"

The owner of the voice seemed very concerned about Shi Yan, continuously asking about his recent situation.

Is she a friend of the original owner? Or someone else?

Shi Yan fell silent for a moment, his mind quickly searching through old memories, a chaotic jumble of the original owner's past, from which he needed to find the owner of the voice.

A name from the depths of his memory gradually surfaced.

Su Lan.

This person was the original owner's childhood friend; her mother and Shi Yan's mother were best friends, which led to her and the original owner getting along quite well, their relationship being decent.

So, was she really calling out of concern, or for some other reason?

Although he thought a lot, Shi Yan instinctively didn't remain silent for too long and spoke casually.

"It's me. I haven't had much time lately because of some things."

Shi Yan spoke evasively, not wanting to reveal too much.

"Oh, I thought something happened to you. It's good that you're fine."

The Girl's tone gradually softened, seeming relieved, showing that she was indeed quite concerned about Shi Yan.

"Thanks, how have you been lately?"

Shi Yan said in a gentle tone, responding in a basic manner.

"After all, Auntie told me to look after you more, so it's what I should do."

"I've been doing great too."

The Girl smiled, very pleased with Shi Yan's words.

The two chatted for a while before ending the conversation.

Since the other party was connected to Shi Yan's mother, Shi Yan couldn't deliberately distance himself and could only use the original owner's usual conversational tone.

It seemed the original owner wasn't completely friendless; after all, in a social society, few people have no friends at all.

But this was increasing the difficulty for him.

Although he could now completely ignore all these social interactions in normal society.

Why complicate a problem that could be solved with a few words?

Shi Yan put down the phone, a strange expression on his face.

He didn't expect something like this to happen?

While searching the original owner's memories just now, Shi Yan discovered something not particularly strange.

The former Shi Yan had never examined that memory, but at that time, he didn't have the experience and strength he possessed now.

It was when the original owner was very young, so young that the original owner himself didn't remember that memory very clearly.

It was only because of Shi Yan's current powerful mental strength that it was unearthed.

It was during the day; the original owner was playing alone in a sandbox when a strangely shaped black shadow flashed across the manhole cover in the corner of his vision.

The original owner thought he had seen wrong and didn't pay attention.

Shi Yan closed his eyes.

He froze that memory, zoomed in, and zoomed in further.

A bizarre-looking humanoid creature entered his vision.

The humanoid creature was covered in messy black curly fur, and its body was very small, roughly the size of a Teddy dog.

Most striking were its two strange eyes; unlike ordinary human eyes, they were made up of countless red gemstones.

Dense red gemstones were crammed into two tiny eye sockets, giving off a chilling sensation.

The reason Shi Yan paid attention to this memory was because the sandbox felt very familiar to him, seemingly similar to the small sandbox beneath the building he lived in.

He tried to observe more of the surrounding scene in the memory, but unfortunately, apart from the sand and the nearby manhole cover, everything else was a white light.

Shi Yan opened his eyes.

This memory was just a small interlude; perhaps he would go and examine the small sandbox near the building more closely later.

He recalled the Girl's words just now.

The other party's tone was a bit inexplicable at the time.

Shi Yan keenly sensed the feeling of relief in her words after she learned he was fine, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart.

It seemed she was confirming whether any danger had befallen him.

What danger could befall me?

No! If he had to say, there was indeed a period of danger.

That was the person he encountered at the very beginning of his path to becoming stronger.

It was the Girl who gave him the love letter.

At the time, he felt that the Girl's approach was very inexplicable, and she insisted on eating him.

However, the previous Shi Yan merely thought that the Girl was a player, and perhaps due to some skill, she needed to consume specific members of the opposite sex.

Now that he thought about it, it was indeed a bit strange.

Take Shi Yan himself, for example; whenever he wanted to go on a killing spree, he would always feel a faint sense of fatal danger.

He didn't know the source of the danger, only guessing that it might be related to the Security Department.

But when he killed passively, he wouldn't have this feeling, just like when he killed that unknown female player before.

Shi Yan suddenly realized something.

That is, perhaps others don't have that sense of danger, which is why those people can actively kill.

Then that sense of danger isn't related to the Security Department personnel.

However, it's also possible that killing between players doesn't trigger the sense of danger.

And the female student he first encountered wasn't a player.

This could also explain everything.

Now it seems there's more to the story.

That Su Lan also has a secret.

And in the last instance, the Talented Person that Zhang Jing mentioned.

Too many thoughts, too few usable clues.

Shi Yan finally decided to first go and look around the previous school.

But before going...

He quickly entered a string of numbers on the phone.

The call connected almost instantly; the person on the other end seemed to be always near the phone.

"Shi Yan, do you need something?"

A mature female voice came from the other end.

That's right, the person on the other end was Wang Jing. Shi Yan thought for a moment and decided to first figure out what a Talented Person was.

From the name, Talented Person makes one feel as if they are individuals born with extraordinary abilities.

He licked his lips; if a Talented Person was really as he imagined, perhaps...

"Do you know about Talented Persons?"

Shi Yan cut straight to the chase, without any preamble.

He didn't think it was something that couldn't be discussed.

"You know about them too? Given your progress, you should indeed know by now."

Wang Jing's tone showed a moment of surprise, then returned to normal.

"Were you also astonished by the Talented Person's amazing strength?"

Wang Jing's tone was teasing.

No, I was mistaken for a Talented Person.

Shi Yan remained silent, but he seemed to have been misunderstood by Wang Jing.

"Oh, relax."

"I was like that too the first time I met a Talented Person!"

"Talented Persons are favored individuals who spontaneously awaken various supernatural abilities."

Wang Jing began to explain in detail.