20: Who is the Nightingale? It's so hard to guess.

That night, Su Ke Ke experienced the height of absurdity.

She slept in the soft guest room.

On the wall hung a happy family photo of Gu Tiancheng and his family of three.

She drank juice made by Zhang Wei’s mother.

And on the living room TV, local news was being broadcast.

The host reported in a serious tone:

“An abnormal energy fluctuation has been discovered in the back alley of Chengnan; the Soul Suppression Bureau has intervened in the investigation. Citizens are advised to stay away…”

And the highest person in charge of the case, Gu Tiancheng,

was sitting opposite her at this moment, calmly drinking tea.

He was dressed in simple casual clothes.

While watching the morning news, he answered a call from his subordinate.

He spoke sternly, “Any new developments in the Nightingale case?”

Gu Tiancheng swallowed his bread and loudly reprimanded his subordinate.

“What? No leads? Continue to intensify the search. A dangerous individual who has awakened ‘Calamity’ powers is at large, we absolutely cannot let our guard down!”

And the “dangerous individual” he spoke of, Su Ke Ke,

was sitting opposite him, slowly sipping the porridge Zhang Wei’s mother had served her.

She lowered her head, her long bangs covering her eyes.

She tried to keep her breathing steady.

On the way to school with Zhang Wei,

Su Ke Ke once again saw those familiar faces—

those who once enjoyed bullying her.

They gathered in twos and threes, their gazes still full of disdain and malice towards her.

But now, it was different.

The corner of Su Ke Ke’s mouth curved into a cold arc.

She didn’t even need to do anything.

Just a thought.

That fragment of the Calamity Authority began to operate silently.

The girl who had pulled her hair yesterday,

suddenly tripped over her shoelace while walking.

She hit her head on a step, her front tooth broke off on the spot, and her mouth was full of blood.

The boy who used to steal her lunch money,

was proudly showing off his new sneakers.

Suddenly,

a basketball, as if it had eyes, descended from the sky.

It accurately hit the back of his head.

Making him roll his eyes and fall straight down.

For a time,

“accidents” frequently occurred on campus, causing chaos.

Su Ke Ke blended into the crowd, watching everything indifferently.

A never-before-felt, morbid pleasure surged in her heart.

And this was just the beginning!

When Li Na saw Su Ke Ke walk into the classroom unharmed,

and the thugs sent to teach Su Ke Ke a lesson last night,

had not returned all night, with no news.

Li Na, the leader of the bullies, didn’t know they had already died.

She naturally assumed Su Ke Ke had called the police.

New and old grudges combined, making her furious.

During a break,

she led a few of her followers, aggressively cornering Su Ke Ke and Zhang Wei in the corridor.

“Su Ke Ke, you’ve got guts! How dare you call the police and frame our people?”

Li Na’s face was distorted, “And you, Zhang Wei, what are you, daring to meddle in our business?”

Zhang Wei bravely shielded Su Ke Ke behind her and angrily retorted:

“Li Na, don’t go too far!”

And behind her, Su Ke Ke’s performance began.

Her eyes instantly filled with tears, and her body trembled.

That pitiful appearance was exactly the same as when she was bullied in the past.

However,

under her lowered eyelids was a bone-chilling killing intent.

The silent power of Calamity quietly operated.

Li Na grinned and reached out, trying to grab Su Ke Ke’s hair.

Just as her hand was about to touch her,

a ballpoint pen suddenly rolled under her foot, causing Li Na to slip.

She fell to the ground in a very undignified posture.

“Sister Na!”

The follower next to her was startled and quickly went to help, but felt a chill on her head.

A heavy Oxford dictionary “accidentally” slid from the locker on the upper floor.

It accurately hit the follower’s hand, making her scream in pain.

Another follower, seeing this, took a step back, stepped on a bar of soap, and hit her head hard against the wall.

A series of “accidents” stunned everyone.

And Su Ke Ke just cowered further behind Zhang Wei, appearing even more “frightened”.

The tears in her eyes fell perfectly.

The surrounding classmates saw this scene.

Their gazes towards Li Na and the others were full of contempt.

And they showed more sympathy for Su Ke Ke.

No one knew, in the unseen corner by the crowd,

Su Ke Ke’s lips curved into a cold, satisfied arc.

However,

just as she was enjoying this secret pleasure of revenge,

she inadvertently glanced, her gaze passing through the crowd, landing on the other end of the corridor.

There,

a young man in casual clothes, with a buzz cut and eyes as sharp as an eagle, leaned against the wall.

He wasn’t looking at the disheveled Li Na, nor at the “pitiable” Su Ke Ke.

Instead, he was thoughtfully staring.

Staring at the ballpoint pen that had rolled into the corner, and the dictionary that had fallen to the ground, and that unexpected bar of soap.

There was no expression on his face, only an extreme calmness of analysis and scrutiny.

Su Ke Ke’s hairs stood on end.

It was the feeling of a prey being targeted by a hunter… That night.

Gu Tiancheng, after a day of official duties, leaned tiredly on the sofa.

The secretary handed over a “Summary of Community Low-Priority Abnormal Incidents”.

He had intended to casually flip through it and toss it aside.

But his gaze was caught by one of the reports:

“Jiangcheng Seventh Middle School, in the past 12 hours, has had 7 accidental injury incidents, all related to habitual campus bullies… A probabilistic anomaly?”

Gu Tiancheng’s eyes instantly sharpened.

He recalled the scene of the Nightingale incident.

Those eerily clean traces.

Then he remembered the girl across the breakfast table that morning.

The quiet, seemingly harmless girl.

A dangerous individual who had awakened Calamity powers… A school suddenly plagued by frequent accidents… An orphan who had conveniently run from this school to seek refuge.

He put down the report, his fingers lightly tapping the table.

His eyes gleamed with thought.

Hmm… Who is Nightingale? So hard to guess.

After evening self-study,

when Zhang Wei pulled Su Ke Ke back to her home in the upscale community,

a warm current, mixed with the fragrance of food and the fresh scent of shower gel, wafted towards them.

“You’re back? Come quickly, Auntie heated milk for you two and made some small pastries.”

Zhang Wei’s mother, that gentle auntie, walked out of the kitchen, smiling.

In the living room,

Gu Tiancheng was sitting on the sofa, reading a newspaper.

The warm yellow floor lamp illuminated his profile softly, like an ordinary, kind father.

This scene,

was a family warmth Su Ke Ke had never dared to hope for in her life.

However, at this moment,

this warmth was like a magnificent cage.

Every wisp of fragrance carried invisible shackles, leaving her nowhere to escape.

“Thank you, Auntie.” Su Ke Ke thanked timidly.

Then she took the warm cup of milk, but the warmth couldn’t dispel the chill in her heart.

“Ke Ke, come, sit here.”

Gu Tiancheng put down the newspaper, patted the sofa beside him, and smiled kindly.

Su Ke Ke’s heart skipped a beat.

She could only steel herself and sit down, maintaining a distance that was neither distant nor overly close with the Soul Suppression Bureau’s Chief Commander, who held the power of life and death over a city.

“At school today… you weren’t scared, were you?”

Gu Tiancheng spoke seemingly casually, “I heard from Wei Wei that there were quite a few accidents at school during the day. It’s good that you’re alright.”

Here it comes!

Su Ke Ke’s internal alarm bells rang loudly.

She immediately magnified her fear and lingering apprehension onto her face.

Then she nodded, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s:

“Mm… it was a bit scary, Li Na and the others… they were too unlucky.”

She skillfully characterized the incidents as “unlucky” rather than any supernatural phenomenon.

Gu Tiancheng subtly observed her micro-expressions and continued:

“Yes, there are many strange things in this world. I’ve handled cases for so many years and seen too many coincidences. Some people are naturally unlucky; they even choke on cold water. While others…”

He deliberately paused, his gaze deepening, “seem to be able to transfer their bad luck to others.”

He’s testing my knowledge of supernatural powers!

A layer of cold sweat had already seeped from Su Ke Ke’s back.

She couldn’t show that “I know”.

But she also couldn’t act like an idiot.

She showed an expression that was both scared and curious, as if hearing an urban legend:

“Is… is there really such a person? Like in the movies?”

Seeing her “perfectly timed” reaction,

the smile on Gu Tiancheng’s lips remained unchanged, but the scrutiny in his eyes grew sharper.

He picked up his teacup, blew on the hot steam, and delivered the most fatal blow:

“Of course there is. For example, the criminal we are currently pursuing with all our might, codenamed ‘Nightingale’. Her ability is related to ‘bad luck’. She’s very tricky, because anyone who opposes her will encounter all sorts of bizarre ‘accidents’ during the process of apprehending her.”

“Clang—”

The milk cup in Su Ke Ke’s hand “accidentally” shook, and the warm liquid spilled onto her trousers.

She seemed to be frightened by the word “Nightingale” and the description of her terrifying ability.

Her face instantly turned pale, and she hurriedly stood up to apologize:

“S-sorry! Uncle Gu, I-I didn’t mean to…”

I gambled correctly!

A normal girl, upon hearing such terrifying secret news that could overturn her worldview,

would only react with panic!

She roared frantically internally.

Grateful that the “flaw” she designed was so seamless.

“Oh dear, this child, so scared.”

Zhang Wei’s mother quickly brought tissues and lovingly helped her wipe it.

Zhang Wei also complained, “Dad! Why are you telling her all this! Look how scared Ke Ke is!”

Gu Tiancheng looked at Su Ke Ke, who looked like she was about to cry, and the sharpness in his eyes slowly faded.

He showed a slightly apologetic smile, and his tone became exceptionally gentle:

“My apologies, my apologies, it’s my occupational hazard. Don’t be afraid, with Uncle here, Jiangcheng is the safest place. No Nightingale or Dayingale can fly in.”

The more he spoke like this, the more bone-chilling the coldness in Su Ke Ke’s heart became.

She felt like a white rabbit, being played with by a lion.

The other party had retracted his claws, only to enjoy her dying struggles.

This warm living room, in her eyes now,

the patterns on the walls resembled distorted human faces.

The crystal chandelier on the ceiling, like a giant compound eye, monitored everything.

And only Gu Jianghan knew that these were the manifestations of unspeakable beings.

The appearances found this situation amusing.

Even, in order to make the story reach its climax faster,

they “rewarded” the protagonist of the story with a forbidden spell.

Su Ke Ke, completely unaware, was helped by Zhang Wei.

Finally, using “tired” as an excuse, she escaped back to the guest room.

With a “bang,” the door closed.

She slumped down, leaning against the cold door, gasping for air.

That short ten-minute conversation just now,

was a hundred times more dangerous than when she was fighting for her life with thugs.

Just then—

Buzz.

Her phone, placed on the bedside table, suddenly lit up.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

The content was suffocatingly short:

“Miss Nightingale, you wouldn’t want this matter to be known by the Soul Suppression Bureau, would you?”

“I know who you are. School building rooftop, midnight twelve o’clock, come alone.”