INHA Chapter 55

Everyone present noticed that something was off with Xu Dongyou. They followed his gaze and saw that he seemed to be looking at something behind Tian Haomiao.

The problem was, there was nothing there.

This realization sent a chill through everyone, especially Tian Ze, who was most familiar with Xu Dongyou’s abilities.

Could it be…?

Zhang Feng adjusted his glasses and scrutinized Tian Haomiao, his brow slightly furrowed, then glanced at Xu Dongyou.

Tian Haomiao, made uneasy by these subtle reactions, instinctively turned his head but saw nothing. Feeling both nervous and a bit angry, he said, “What kind of charade are you playing? Can’t you just say it directly?”

Zhang Feng, Tian Ze, and Yan Jingnan all remained silent, their eyes on Xu Dongyou.

Xu Dongyou tried to calm himself down and soon noticed more details.

Aside from the black mist emanating from the woman, Xu Dongyou observed that she showed no reaction to the changes in the room, similar to the resentful spirit they encountered on the stairs at Hou Mingjun’s place.

She remained quietly perched on Tian Haomiao’s back, the black mist fluctuating, yet not a trace of it clung to Tian Haomiao. This indicated the presence of an “evil source”, meaning remnants of the resentful spirit.

This was exceedingly strange.

The evil source, as Xu Dongyou understood it, was the origin of the danger—like touching a paint-covered basketball; when you throw it, your hand retains the paint. This residue was the evil source.

And that thrown basketball represents an evil object. Finding and sealing this evil source can break the resentful spirit’s rules and help seal it faster to be sent to the bureau for suppression.

Therefore, it was inherently contradictory that there was no evil residue on Tian Haomiao’s body, yet there was a resentful spirit on his back.

However, now wasn’t the time for solitary contemplation. Xu Dongyou temporarily suppressed this doubt and pretended not to see the resentful spirit, addressing Tian Haomiao, “You might find this hard to believe, but we’re from the Anomaly Handling Bureau, specializing in handling supernatural incidents. We’re here today to help you solve a problem.”

Tian Haomiao’s first reaction was to think they were out of their minds.

But for some reason, he felt a vague familiarity with their words, especially the term “Bureau”.

“Brother Zhang.” Tian Haomiao turned to Zhang Feng, “You didn’t bring these people here just to say this, did you? And what is this Anomaly Handling Bureau? It sounds so fake.”

Although he wasn’t very familiar with Zhang Feng, he had researched Zhang Feng thoroughly enough to know he was extremely reliable and capable.

Zhang Feng’s expression was serious as he adjusted his glasses, “You know I always handle things reliably.”

Tian Haomiao’s expression froze for a moment.

“Mr. Tian, I hope you can cooperate with us. You are indeed in great danger right now. The danger of that song far exceeds your imagination,” Xu Dongyou added.

Looking into Xu Dongyou’s pure black eyes, Tian Haomiao surprisingly felt that he was being sincere and not lying.

Moreover, the mention of the word “song” struck a chord with him.

Tian Haomiao remained silent for several seconds before finally finding his voice again, “But it’s still not enough. You need to provide evidence that you can solve my problem.”

Xu Dongyou thought for a moment and immediately used his demonic power to control the water in the cup on the coffee table into his palm. He then asked softly, “Is this enough?”

Tian Haomiao was startled and said, “Is this… magic?”

Xu Dongyou widened his eyes slightly. Oh, magic might be able to do something similar.

But that was okay.

Xu Dongyou stretched the water in his palm into a thin stream and wrapped it around the sofa leg, pulling it forcefully. The heavy sofa was instantly dragged forward by more than twenty centimeters.

Tian Haomiao quickly steadied himself, his expression changing. It was difficult to explain this as mere magic.

Most importantly, he finally remembered why the term “Anomaly Handling Bureau” sounded familiar.

Just before, a live stream had gone viral online and was edited into a documentary that was extremely professional and high-class.

Many people in the industry had posted on social media, marveling at what kind of technology could make it so people couldn’t remember the faces of everyone in the video. It seemed beyond the capabilities of current technology.

They discussed this topic but couldn’t reach any conclusions. Instead, many directors were using various connections to find out which team had created the special effects for the livestream.

But only he himself, the more he looked, the more he felt… that the strange fish, the eerie stuffed bear, the magical talismans, and the mysterious man controlling water in those videos were real!!

In fact, he had no evidence to prove this.

However, he was quite certain. The reason was simple: he had encountered something bizarre half a month ago.

Last year, he had become an overnight sensation. His meticulously crafted songs won every award, and he basked in glory. Yet, along with this success came a profound emptiness.

Then, he discovered that he could no longer create good songs or lyrics.

Perhaps it was because he had once craved success so intensely that it sparked his creativity, allowing him to produce songs that resonated with people and touched their hearts.

Many people said that listening to his songs was like seeing their own lives and inner selves reflected back at them.

Tian Haomiao was delighted and happy with this.

But after achieving success, he lost the ability to crave it.

As a result, he suddenly faded from the public eye, disappearing for almost a year.

Every day, he drank to pass the time or ate to alleviate his inner pain, feeling an immense sense of suffering.

Despite having everything, he felt as if he had lost everything.

Sitting at home, the warmth of the air conditioning relaxed his limbs as he watched the snow fall outside. Suddenly, he felt a deep sense of world-weariness.

He didn’t want to stay at home any longer. He abruptly put on his coat and left the house, wandering aimlessly through the streets. For the past six months, he hadn’t managed his appearance, and his disheveled look prevented anyone from recognizing him as a celebrity.

He didn’t know how long he walked, but as darkness fell, he continued stumbling forward, eventually entering a bar. He ordered more drinks and, gradually becoming more intoxicated, noticed a woman sitting there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that people around her were quietly watching her.

She was extremely beautiful, so beautiful that it made people hesitant to approach her. He suddenly felt his heart racing, and with the alcohol clouding his judgment, he found the courage to walk over. “Hi, can I get your contact information?”

The woman sitting in the corner slowly lifted her head. Under the dazzling lights of the bar, her face appeared extraordinarily beautiful. She extended her hand, revealing slightly pale skin, and showed Tian Haomiao a QR code to scan.

Tian Haomiao was thrilled, quickly scanned the code, and clicked to confirm adding her as a friend. At that moment, he thought he saw the woman give a strange smile from the corner of his eye. His heart tightened, and he quickly looked up, only to find that the woman was gone.

Tian Haomiao hurriedly grabbed a passing bartender, described the woman’s appearance, and asked which way she had gone.

The bartender looked confused. “No one has been sitting there.”

Tian Haomiao was agitated. “The beautiful woman who was sitting there earlier! A lot of people were looking at her.”

A woman with such a strong presence should definitely be remembered by the bartender.

Tian Haomiao grabbed another man, remembering that he had also been looking at the woman earlier. “You tell the bartender, didn’t you see her too?”

The man shook his head, looking at Tian Haomiao as if he were crazy. “You must be drunk. That seat has been empty the whole time.”

“How is that possible?!” Tian Haomiao didn’t believe it. Drunk, he pulled out his phone and showed the two people his recently added friend list.

“Look clearly. I’ve definitely added her as a friend. This is the proof.”

The bartender hurriedly tried to calm Tian Haomiao. “Alright. Could you please calm down, sir?”

Unwilling to argue further, Tian Haomiao stumbled back to his seat and continued drinking. He then sent a voice message to the woman, speaking in a disjointed and incoherent manner. “Hey, do you remember me? We just added each other as friends.”

On the other end, there was only silence.

Tian Haomiao persisted, “Hello? Why aren’t you responding? Talk to me.”

The silence continued.

Tian Haomiao stared at his phone for several seconds, mumbling to himself, “Maybe she didn’t hear the phone ringing on her way home.”

He continued to drink by himself. The next morning, he woke up at home, with no recollection of how he got there.

Rubbing his sore temples, he got up to wash his face but was startled by the haggard face staring back at him in the mirror.

How much did he drink last night to look this exhausted?

After hastily washing up, he lay back down, trying to recall the events of the previous night. He vaguely remembered adding a woman as a friend. Although he couldn’t remember her exact appearance, he couldn’t shake the feeling of his heart racing at that time.

It felt like a heartbeat.

Suddenly inspired, he jumped up and started writing lyrics and composing music. He hurried to the music room to finish the song, but because he was so drunk the night before, his voice was hoarse. He couldn’t record the song and had to hum while listening, giving himself a high score.

This was the first time in nearly half a year that he had created a song that, though not at his peak level, was definitely better than anything he had made in the past year.

He carefully placed the score in a folder and thought about the woman again. He quickly grabbed his phone.

There were still the voice messages he had sent her last night, slurred and incoherent from the alcohol. He couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

If only he hadn’t drunk so much. He wondered if the girl thought he was being rude, and his impression of her might have plummeted.

He had to find a way to salvage his image with her.

Tian Haomiao thought for several minutes before cautiously sending a message.

【Hello. I’m not sure if you remember me. Last night, I asked for your contact information and, having drunk too much, sent two voice messages that were not appropriate. I apologize for that.】

There was still no response from her.

Tian Haomiao felt uneasy. Was she not seeing his messages yet, or was she deliberately ignoring him?

He hoped it was the former.

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