The mascot of the wishing shop is a cat.

"Well..."

"boom--"

"Ouch! (つД`) Why did you hit me?!"

Ling Miao had barely uttered three words when Ling Jiu smacked him on the head. He clutched his head and groaned in pain, making it seem as if Ling Jiu had hit him hard.

"boom--"

"Ouch!?"

Seeing his reaction, Lingjiu punched him again. If this were in a comic book, Lingmiao's head would probably be skewered like candied hawthorns, and might even be steaming hot.

"Let me tell you."

Seeing Ling Miao's unreliable behavior, Ling Jiu couldn't help but decide to negotiate himself. He was afraid that if Ling Miao continued like this, he would be kicked out when he left, and he couldn't bear the shame of that.

"Your request is very simple. I'll send you a form in a bit. Just fill in the basic information and send it back to me. You should be able to find the information on the official website in three days at most. Then you can go and buy the device."

Lingjiu first looked at the very nervous An Qing reassuringly and said softly.

"Ah! Thank you! Thank you! (｀?w?′)ゞSalute!"

An Qing bowed repeatedly in disbelief to express her gratitude. After all, this thing was very simple for some people, but for someone who had always lived in the slums, it was as difficult as climbing to heaven.

This either requires you to become a superhuman yourself, or your immediate family member to be a superhuman and willing to mentor you. Another possibility is that someone vouches for you, and that person has made significant contributions to the government.

All three are incredibly difficult, as the first requires both ability and luck, and the second is purely a matter of fate. This is why people in slums try to have as many children as possible—they gamble with their lives to see if any of their children will awaken superpowers, since it's highly unlikely that they themselves will.

Therefore, only one child in the family like An Qing is an anomaly in the slums. However, this may also be the reason why An Qing has such a well-behaved and cheerful personality. She grew up in a loving family. Her parents gave her the best they could, and her mother even taught her to read and write.

The third requirement is even more difficult. Most people look down on the people in the slums, let alone those who have made significant contributions to the government. They are heroes, fighting for the entire race, but they don't pay much attention to the people in the slums who are at the very bottom of society.

In reality, the government does pay attention to people in slums, but it's impossible to let them all in; the risk is too great. It would easily lead to an influx of people with different faiths or those parasitized by other groups. In the end, they can only open up a limited number of slots. After all, it's certain that people with superpowers won't be parasitized, while their faith is uncertain but can be observed over a period of time.

"Huh?! You're welcome! You're welcome! o(*////▽////*)q"

When An Qing expressed her gratitude to Ling Jiu and Ling Miao, Ling Jiu simply waved his hands repeatedly, while Ling Miao jumped up like a cat that suddenly saw a cucumber behind him, almost falling behind the sofa. His face turned red and he looked completely flustered, leaving everyone present stunned.

"Ahem, I meant it's nothing! It's nothing! No need to thank me! It's not a big deal!!!! (*′?皿`)"

After attracting everyone's attention, Ling Miao paused for a moment, then sat down as if nothing had happened, her tone still somewhat fierce.

"Ok?"

Lin Xiyue looked at Ling Miao carefully and found that the roots of his ears were so red that they looked like they were about to bleed. She realized that he was just a paper tiger.

"Okay, let's change the subject. Xiao Qingkong, go and turn off the 'open' sign at the door. We're temporarily closed today."

Lin Xiyue gave the instructions.

"Huh? Good, good."

An Qing was somewhat reluctant. During this time, she discovered that she loved doing handicrafts and also loved the feeling of making money, which made her feel very secure.

"Don't worry, these two are our big clients. (＜ゝw?)☆"

Lin Xiyue gave An Qing a wink.

After An Qing returned from closing the door, Lin Xiyue handed over the task of filling out the forms to her, since it was her own application, and then discussed with Ling Jiu the reward for helping this time.

"Tell me, what do you need me to do this time?"

Lin Xiyue had a premonition that this was going to be a troublesome matter.

"You know about the citywide sirens a while ago, right?"

Lingjiu organized her thoughts and then spoke.

"I know, you haven't caught them yet, have you?"

Lin Xiyue was somewhat shocked. Some time had passed, and everyone's lives seemed to have returned to normal.

"Yes, we investigated for a long time and found that the news stopped in the most chaotic slum. Our people were ostracized as soon as they went in, and we couldn't find any clues at all. According to a superhuman with mild precognitive abilities, he sensed that the longer it went on, the more dangerous it would be, and the key to breaking the deadlock was in the southeast."

Lingjiu felt somewhat helpless. This class antagonism made it extremely difficult for them to find anything in the slums. Even if they offered high prices, some people would try to deceive them for money. This mixture of truth and falsehood made the progress even slower, but time was becoming increasingly tight.

"You're not going to say it's from here, are you?!"

Lin Xiyue was shocked. How could she not seem like someone who could be a savior? She was just a nobody.

Well—if I had to say what makes it like a savior, it would be the system.

You agree, right, system?

[→_→ Yes, you really are the savior.]

Cough cough, huh?

[......]

The system didn't continue speaking, but Lingjiu spoke on its own.

"Yes, this is the place. We need your help to investigate the slums. Don't worry, we'll definitely pay you according to the information we get, okay?"

After saying this, Lingjiu looked at Lin Xiyue with anticipation in her eyes.

"Ahem, you... to be honest, you're not usually the one in charge of negotiations, are you?"

Lin Xiyue was stunned. This guy practically had a sign plastered on his face during the negotiation that read, "Foolish and rich, come and scam me."

"Yeah, I'm socially awkward. I only feel better around people I'm familiar with. Usually, someone else is in charge of negotiations, but everyone's been really busy lately, and since I'm quite close to you, they asked me to come. Everyone says they trust you a lot and told me to just tell you everything directly."

Lingjiu is very sincere, and sincerity is truly an eternal killer move!

"Aren't you the strategist of your team? Shouldn't you be shrewd and calculating?"

Lin Xiyue was astonished. This strategist... could this even be acceptable?! Σ(☉▽☉“a

"Ah, he's our strategist, but he's only really good at combat or military matters. He's a complete novice in everyday life. That's why we never let him go out alone. And just between you and me, he's terrible with directions! He can read a map, but he still gets lost! Hahahaha (?????)"

Lingmiao seemed to have recovered and leaned closer, whispering loudly in a voice that could be heard throughout the room.

"boom--"

Lingmiao has another bump on her head, now she has three.

"So, besides paying the monthly rent, we also wanted to ask if you have any leads."

After Ling Jiu hit Ling Miao again, she acted as if nothing had happened and asked Lin Xiyue a question.

"Let me think about it..."

Speaking of slums, Lin Xiyue thought of the day she brought An Qing back.

That was her first encounter with a slum, and she witnessed many unimaginable things—things that no one would believe even if written into a novel, yet they actually happened. Sometimes, reality is more surreal than fiction.

For example, on their way to An Qing's house, she and Mo Luos encountered a child who was being prepared to be killed by his parents because he was ten years old and had not yet awakened his supernatural abilities, and they were out of food. At this time, his mother was even pregnant and preparing to give birth to another child.

Lin Xiyue initially intended to save the child, but was stopped by Moros. In that short moment, when Lin Xiyue looked back, she saw that the child had killed his mother with a blade hidden in his hand. His father, upon seeing this, only paused for a moment before preparing to eat the corpse of his pregnant wife.

It seems that for him, anyone could eat meat as long as there was meat to eat.

Lin Xiyue vomited for a long time after witnessing this scene. If Molos hadn't shielded her from the surroundings and hadn't held her and comforted her for a long time, she probably would have been killed even if she hadn't been discovered. She would have also suffered a mental breakdown because she couldn't bear to see this.

……

After thinking for a while, Lin Xiyue remembered.

"Little Sunny Sky, it's almost time. Go make some food. Our two big bosses are having dinner here today."

Lin Xiyue didn't speak immediately, but instead sent An Qing away first.

"Okay! Then I'll make two more dishes."

An Qing has also enjoyed cooking lately, since food is a form of hard currency in the slums.

After An Qing left, Lin Xiyue spoke up, "The strange things are also related to An Qing. I've met An Qing's father; he's mutated. Not parasitized, but mutated. His upper body is human, and his lower body is a giant rat. Moreover, after he died, that rat showed signs of growing a head, but it was killed before it could fully grow."

Lin Xiyue concealed the existence of Molos. Although he knew, and they certainly knew, that Molos existed, she simply didn't want to say it.

"Hmm? It's a lab product? Are there any stitching marks?"

Lingjiu quickly grasped the key point.

"No, he's like the deer-man in fairy tales, completely integrated. Except, he's a rat."

Lin Xiyue shook her head.

"This is troublesome. Could you tell me which slum area it's in?"

Lingjiu unfolded the light screen and opened the map of the slums. The slums surrounded the safe zone, and the slums were divided into different areas of varying sizes, ranging from A1 to Z15. The smaller the number or letter, the closer it was to the safe zone and the safer it was.

"It's probably around here, because I crossed from this bridge and then made a lot of turns, so I can't be completely sure."

Lin Xiyue pointed to the bridge they had passed earlier, roughly marking out a circle around the area.

"Okay, thank you so much, Mr. Lin. The payment will be transferred to your account once it's verified. If you receive any strange news later, please let me know, and we will definitely pay you according to the rules and regulations."

Lingjiu sincerely thanked Lin Xiyue. It seemed that he had indeed sensed the crisis. He didn't know whether he believed the prophetic ability or if his sixth sense had told him the same thing.

"It's alright, it's alright, I'll help. After all, if something happens, I'll probably be in trouble too. Come on, I'll go help with the cooking, you can at least eat at my place before you go back."

Seeing that the discussion was almost over, Lin Xiyue got up and told everyone to prepare dinner.

……

After finishing her meal and seeing Lingjiu and the others off, Lin Xiyue felt like she had forgotten something, and she was in a daze throughout the rest of the day.

"Sister Yue, be careful, isn't this supposed to be painted white?"

This is the fifth time An Qing has reminded Lin Xiyue this afternoon that she made a mistake in coloring.

"Huh? Oh, oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Lin Xiyue then realized this and reluctantly put down the unfinished necklace she was working on.

"Sister Yue, why don't you go and rest first? Brother Mo will worry about you if you're like this."

An Qing was genuinely worried about Lin Xiyue, and in her eyes, Lin Xiyue and Mo Luosi were already a couple, she just didn't know why they weren't living together. She even thought it would be so wonderful for her to be their younger sister.

"!"

Upon hearing An Qing mention Moros, Lin Xiyue suddenly snapped out of her daze and remembered what she had forgotten.

The letter! That letter!

She hadn't read the letter that An Qing had helped deliver to Molos.

She did want to watch it at the time, but too many things happened afterward, causing her to completely forget about it in the end, so she still doesn't know what she really felt.

Her intuition told her that what was written in that letter was important, and might even be the key to this incident!

Thinking of this, Lin Xiyue couldn't sit still any longer. She stood up and said to An Qing, "Xiao Qingkong, I'm leaving the shop to you. I'm going upstairs to rest for a bit. If you're too tired, you can close the shop early, okay?"

"Okay, Sister Yue, go and rest now! (*?′╰╯`?)"

"Ah."

Lin Xiyue turned and went upstairs; she was too eager to know what the letter said.

(Me: Moros, I remember now, can I see the letter that An Qing's father gave you?)

After a while, Meros's reply came.

(Dream: What's wrong? That letter is with me, I can't give it to you right now. What do you want to know? I'll tell you.)

(Me: Um... okay. Here's the thing, the law enforcement officers came to my place today to pay my monthly rent and told me something. The whole city on alert thing isn't over yet; they haven't caught the killer. They said they hope I can provide any clues, as their last lead went cold in the slums. They told me...)

Lin Xiyue briefly recounted what Lingjiu had told her that day, and then she expressed her opinion.

(Me: My intuition tells me that there must be a very important clue in that letter.)

This time, Meros remained silent for almost half an hour before replying to her.

(Dream: Yes, it is indeed very important. Anqing's father became the way we see him because he was contaminated, but because it was passive, it caused a distortion that made him weaker and weaker, but he maintained his rationality.)

Upon seeing Meros's reply, Lin Xiyue was startled, as it meant that more people would surely suffer disasters.

(Me: Then we...)