"Big brother, let's go home together~"
Zhou Han walked behind Wang Ye with her hands behind her back, looking at him sweetly as she smiled.
Wang Ye's mouth twitched slightly as he remained silent.
Zhou Han grinned as she circled around Xiao Si and sidled up to Wang Ye's side, her expression indicating she was going to stick to him no matter what.
And so...
On the street, there was a gloomy-looking young man, an energetic, bouncing girl who looked almost like a young maiden, and a somewhat strange combination with Xiao Si wearing a pink bunny eared hat...
It inevitably drew some curious glances from passersby.
Upon returning home, the first thing Wang Ye did was shut the door and heave a faint sigh of relief.
"This crazy woman!" Wang Ye couldn't help but curse under his breath. Seeing the expressionless Xiao Si, he swallowed back the rest of his words.
There didn't seem to be much point in talking to this unfeeling ghost...
Thinking this, Wang Ye heaved a soft sigh, feeling the exhaustion in his body. He went back to his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep.
...
In the living room, Xiao Si, who had been standing motionless in the corner like a statue, slowly moved her stiff body and sat down on the sofa.
A long, soundless shadow silently extended across the floor, reaching all the way to the door of Wang Ye's bedroom.
But just before it touched the bedroom door, the shadow mysteriously halted.
Gradually...
The shadow receded, reappearing at Xiao Si's feet and returning to normal.
As night fell, a trace of color appeared in Xiao Si's eyes, and a bizarre smile emerged at the corner of her mouth as she leisurely reclined on the sofa, crossing her legs in a posture identical to Wang Ye's earlier in the day.
Gradually, she got up and looked towards the door...then suddenly recoiled, her gaze fixed intently on the doorway.
...
She was actually mimicking Wang Ye's actions from that afternoon.
After a long time...
The color in Xiao Si's eyes gradually faded away as she returned to her original position and resumed standing motionless.
In the bedroom, Wang Ye's eyes had opened silently at some point, though it was unclear for how long.
A bone-scraping dagger exuding a cold aura was gripped tightly in his hand.
Hearing the sounds from the living room gradually quiet down, Wang Ye closed his eyes again, but the bone-scraping dagger remained clenched in his hand.
...
Daylight gradually brightened.
On this rare day off, feeling the tranquil atmosphere, Wang Ye sat down on the sofa as a priority, observing Xiao Si.
After a long while...
Sounds could be heard from outside, seemingly Zhou Han going out. But judging from the sounds of footsteps going downstairs rather than knocking on the door, Wang Ye was visibly relieved.
According to the encrypted website Zhang ZiLiang had sent in a text message, Wang Ye logged in.
Sure enough...
With A-level access privileges, there was more and more detailed information available.
He tried searching for the suburban graveyard, but it showed a blank page. Wang Ye's brows furrowed deeply.
"Nothing, huh..."
"As expected, there are no records."
"Those good-for-nothing slackers in the intelligence department."
With a helpless sigh, Wang Ye turned off his phone.
Then, as if recalling something, Wang Ye went to the coat he had worn when going out with Zhou Han the other day. Reaching carefully into the pocket, he took out a somewhat yellowed, tattered slip of paper.
Due to its antiquity, the writing on the paper slip was now vaguely blurred.
Through the sunlight, only a few legible characters could be made out.
"Suburban graveyard..."
"Grave No. 6..."
"Bottom of grave..."
Looking at those few words, Wang Ye's pupils constricted slightly.
That mysterious suburban graveyard again? The mass grave, the suburban graveyard, and the ten li graveyard he had come across in the wasteland, what connections could there be between them all!
What secrets lay hidden beneath Grave No. 6?
Moreover, this slip of paper had been found on the clothes of a long-dead corpse, suspected to be an Esper.
Could it be...that Espers really existed before the Eternal Night?
These bizarre connections were like riddles, surfacing prominently in Wang Ye's mind.
It was as if there was a thread there, yet he couldn't grasp it.
Wang Ye irritably placed the paper slip carefully away in a drawer, sinking into contemplation.
Beside him, Xiao Si stood silently, a faint, imperceptible gleam flashing through her vacant eyes.
Nightfall...
Lying asleep in his bedroom, Wang Ye heard the sound of the door opening and silently opened his eyes.
Footsteps sounded on the stairway.
After a long while, Wang Ye quietly opened his bedroom door. Xiao Si's figure had vanished from the living room.
Wang Ye's expression was rather serious. He went to the window and looked down through the curtains. Xiao Si's somewhat stiff figure appeared in the housing complex, gradually walking out of the complex's main gate until she disappeared into the night.
His brows furrowing slightly, Wang Ye noiselessly got dressed and followed after Xiao Si in the direction she had gone, keeping a good distance behind her.
As the surrounding buildings became increasingly sparse, a chill rose in Wang Ye's heart as the scenery grew increasingly familiar.
The suburban graveyard!
Wang Ye was certain this was the path to the suburban graveyard!
Sure enough...
Standing not far from the entrance to the suburban graveyard, Wang Ye watched with his own eyes as Xiao Si's figure gradually vanished into the darkness.
Inside the wooden cabin by the entrance, candlelight flickered faintly.
But the cabin was empty, without a single person inside.
That bizarre, mysterious old man had disappeared at some unknown point.
Wang Ye hid himself in the darkness, his gaze fixed intently on the entrance to the suburban graveyard.
After a long while...
Sounds and roaring echoed from within the graveyard.
Ten minutes later, the roaring died down and the noises quieted.
Xiao Si silently reappeared at the graveyard's exit, her clothes slightly tattered. Her eyes were vacant, seemingly soulless.
Wang Ye's gaze shifted subtly as he concealed himself before gradually disappearing, returning home.
In the dim corridor, a shadow seemed to flit past for an instant.
Wang Ye's pupils contracted slightly as he watched closely for a long time without noticing anything amiss. Behind him...
On the stairway, footsteps gradually sounded.
A frosty glint flashed through Wang Ye's eyes. He opened the door and went inside, silently collapsing onto his bed in the bedroom and closing his eyes.
Before long, the door opened again.
Xiao Si strode in stiffly, resuming the standing posture she'd had before Wang Ye went to sleep.
Listening to the sounds from the living room, Wang Ye's eyes opened silently again at some point as he continued to ponder incessantly.
The next few days were tranquil.
Zhang ZiLiang was constantly researching the selection of team members, and Wang Ye heard that many Espers were frantically using connections trying to get into a team.
After all, joining a team meant endless resources.
The threshold of Zhang ZiLiang's office door had been trampled flat.
Some Espers had even somehow caught wind of Wang Ye's phone number.
It was only when Wang Ye could no longer stand it and was about to lose his temper that things gradually settled down.
Of course...
There was a small interlude where Zhou Han dropped by...
And breezily said she wanted a spot on Wang Ye's team.
When Wang Ye was at a loss, Zhang ZiLiang surprisingly agreed readily.
Wang Ye's head hurt instantly even more...
And then, at midnight that very night...the mysterious wooden door once again appeared in Wang Ye's living room.