382: Chapter 380 I'm a Gluttonous Kid.

"In that case, let's head out first." Shen Mingyuan put his phone away and waved at Long Qingyun and Qing Lian. "We're leaving. Contact us if anything comes up."

"Alright," Long Qingyun nodded.

The three of them left the residential building and walked back along the street.

Shen Mingyuan looked around as he walked, checking the trees by the road, the buildings opposite, and scanning for any suspicious figures. After walking for a bit, he suddenly turned around and saw Wei Ziqing with his head down, staring at his phone screen and scrolling with his finger.

"Hey," Shen Mingyuan said, "focus on walking, don't play with your phone."

"No, no." Wei Ziqing looked up and held his phone out toward him. "I'm looking at this—look, the animal in this video."

Shen Mingyuan leaned in to take a look.

On the screen was an animal—it was hard to say exactly what it was, but it certainly wasn't an ordinary cat or dog. It was a size larger than its normal counterparts, and its movements had an indescribable sense of wrongness, as if it were deliberately imitating a human. The video was surreptitiously filmed with a shaky camera, but it was clearly an Evolved Animal.

"People online have already discovered Evolved Animals," Shen Mingyuan remarked.

"After all, the news has completely spread," Wei Ziqing said, pulling his phone back and scrolling through the comments. "But this person is really brave; they dared to film it without knowing if it was dangerous."

He paused and handed the screen over again.

"Look at these comments—'There's one of these near my house too,' 'I saw one with my own eyes two days ago,' 'I suggest the uploader run away quickly and stop filming.' Anyway, none of them are in our area."

Shen Mingyuan scanned the comments and was about to speak when a surprised shout suddenly came from nearby.

"Hey! Aren't you Hero Shadow?!"

Both of them turned their heads simultaneously.

A young girl stood a few meters away holding a milk tea, her eyes wide as she stared intently at Wei Ziqing. She had two companions beside her who also looked over upon hearing the shout, and they all simultaneously wore expressions of "holy crap."

"It really is Hero Shadow!"

"silver skeleton! silver skeleton is here too!"

Lu Jianchuan's footsteps faltered. Wei Ziqing was also stunned.

The three girls had already rushed over, and one of them pulled out her phone and started filming. Several passersby nearby noticed the commotion and turned their heads, beginning to gather around.

"Is that the Guardian the The Authorities mentioned?"

"silver skeleton! Can I take a photo with you?"

"Hero Shadow! Can you guys really transform?"

The crowd grew larger, with phones held up like a forest. Shen Mingyuan stood to the side, ignored—he wasn't in the official publicity, so everyone just took him for an ordinary staff member.

Lu Jianchuan reacted the fastest. He grabbed Wei Ziqing's arm and whispered, "Run."

The two turned and bolted.

Shen Mingyuan was dazed for a moment before he also started running after them.

The three of them wove through the crowd, ducked into a side alley, and made a few more turns before finally leaving the shouting behind. They stopped against a wall, panting heavily.

Wei Ziqing rested his hands on his knees and looked up at Shen Mingyuan.

"Too many people... really... a crowd gathers if you're not careful."

Shen Mingyuan caught his breath, straightened up, and smiled.

"That's the price of fame," he said. "Fortunately, I gave it up."

"Yes, yes, yes," Wei Ziqing nodded.

"Yes, yes, yes, exactly right," Shen Mingyuan added.

Wei Ziqing suddenly looked up at him.

"What kind of hunter in the dark were you again? Your eighth-grader syndrome is acting up again."

Shen Mingyuan coughed, his expression becoming serious.

"Got it, got it, no need to keep emphasizing it."

Wei Ziqing smiled and didn't say anything more.

Shen Mingyuan folded his arms across his chest and tilted his chin up.

"As long as you know, as long as you know."

Meanwhile, on the streets on the outskirts of the base, Ye Ouyang was walking slowly by himself.

White Tiger hadn't followed him out. According to the Psychological Evaluator's suggestion, he needed to appropriately distance himself from that silent companion and try independent social activities—even if it was just simply "staying outside," it counted as a form of practice.

He was currently sitting on a bench by the side of the road.

Before him was an ordinary street with several office buildings on either side, and many people coming and going. People in suits, people carrying briefcases, people holding coffee, all walking hurriedly. Occasionally, an elderly person pushing a stroller would pass by; the child in the stroller would look at him curiously before looking away.

Ye Ouyang did nothing. He just sat there, watching these people walk back and forth.

He liked this feeling.

The crowd was like a river flowing past him, each person having their own direction and purpose. He didn't know where they were going or what they were going to do, but just watching was very interesting.

He just sat there, spacing out.

After a while, someone passed in front of him.

It was a young man, seemingly in his twenties, wearing an ordinary shirt and trousers, carrying a paper bag containing a few freshly bought loaves of bread. He wasn't walking fast; his gaze swept casually across the roadside and then landed on Ye Ouyang.

Ye Ouyang also looked at him.

The man slowed down slightly and glanced at him again.

Ye Ouyang didn't move, just continued to look at him.

The man had already walked past, but he turned back and glanced at him once more.

Ye Ouyang also turned his head, watching his retreating back.

The man stopped, looked down at the paper bag in his hand, and hesitated for a moment. Then he turned around, walked back to Ye Ouyang, took out a loaf of bread from the bag, broke off a large half, and handed it over.

"...For you."

Ye Ouyang was stunned.

The man stuffed the bread into his hand, said nothing more, turned, and left, quickly blending into the crowd.

Ye Ouyang looked down at the bread in his hand, then looked up at the back that had already disappeared into the crowd.

"Huh?"

He blinked.

What does this mean?

Ye Ouyang watched the figure disappear into the crowd, then looked down at the bread in his hand, stunned for a good while.

Forget it, it doesn't matter anyway.

He held the bread up and sniffed it; it smelled quite good. He broke off a small piece, put it in his mouth, and chewed; the aroma of wheat spread through his mouth.

He suddenly smiled.

Happy.

Not because of the bread, but because of that person. This showed that there were still good people in this world with a strong sense of morality.

He leaned back on the bench, continuing to munch on the bread while watching the people come and go. The sunlight felt warm on his body.

Today was indeed quite happy.

First, there was that person who called himself "The Forger"—he didn't know how they had contacted him, but they said they would make a set of armor for him. Although he didn't know when it would be finished, at least there was hope.

Speaking of which, should I...

Forget it, it's fine. I'll just keep waiting.

As he was thinking, a delivery tricycle stopped by the road. The courier jumped out, holding a scanner, looked at the slip, and then at Ye Ouyang.

"Ye Ouyang?"

Ye Ouyang was startled for a moment and nodded: "That's me."

The courier stuffed the scanner into his pocket and turned to lift a huge cardboard box from the vehicle—it was truly large, almost as tall as Ye Ouyang himself and nearly as wide.

"Your delivery." The courier placed the box on the ground and caught his breath. "Heh, I was wondering why they told me to deliver it here. They said the person would be waiting right here. I didn't expect you to actually be here."

Ye Ouyang stared at the box that was bigger than himself, his eyes going wide.

"I... I didn't buy anything."

The courier pulled the scanner out again and pointed at the screen: "Look, the recipient is you, right? Ye Ouyang, the phone number is correct too."

Ye Ouyang leaned in to take a look—the recipient was indeed him, and the sender column had two words: The Forger.

He was stunned.

"...Alright then," he said. "I'll sign for it."

After signing, the courier rode away. Ye Ouyang stood there, looking at the box that was bigger than himself, lost in thought.

This thing... I have to carry it back.

He took a deep breath, bent down to hug the box, and tested the weight—it was okay, not too heavy, just too bulky to carry easily. He adjusted his posture, hugged the box, and walked back step by step.

Half an hour later, he finally carried the box back to the base dormitory.

When the door opened, White Tiger came out to meet him, its mechanical tail swaying gently. Its optical lens fell on him, then on the huge box in his arms.

"What is this?"

Ye Ouyang put the box down and caught his breath.

"It's... probably something The Forger bought for me," he said, then paused. "Anyway, it's something I ordered, White Tiger, don't worry about it."

White Tiger's mechanical tail stopped for a second.

"Okay."

Ye Ouyang dragged the box into his room and closed the door. He found a pair of scissors, cut the tape, and lifted the lid.

Inside was a pile of precision parts—various shapes and sizes, like some complex mechanical puzzle. In the very center was a small metal cube, about the size of a palm, with faint patterns flowing on its surface.

Just as he was staring at it, the metal cube lit up.

The parts began to move on their own.

Piece by piece, they rose from the box, assembling, joining, and interlocking in mid-air, like some living mechanical organism constructing itself. A few minutes later, a complete workstation landed on the floor—just the right size to fit into a corner of the room, with a flat surface and several interfaces at the edges, faintly glowing with pale blue light.

Ye Ouyang stared at it blankly.

After the workstation settled, the indicator lights on it flashed a few times, and then it began to operate on its own. A slight humming sound rang out, as if it were performing some initial self-check.

Ye Ouyang walked over slowly and circled around it.

Is this... making an armor Transformation Device for me?

He suddenly understood.

Well, I guess I'll have to wait for a while.

As he was thinking, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me," White Tiger's voice came through the door.

Ye Ouyang walked over and opened the door. White Tiger stood at the entrance, its mechanical tail swaying gently behind it, its optical lens pointed directly at him.

"Is something wrong?" Ye Ouyang asked.