Chapter Thirty-Eight: Open the Door, Delivery

Once he got busy, it was easy to lose track of time. Only when his stomach growled with hunger did Zhou Shu realize it was already past one in the afternoon. He counted the hours—barely four since breakfast—and was astonished that the heap of food he’d eaten that morning had been completely digested.

Cooking for himself was out of the question; he hadn’t even bought groceries yet. He could only order takeout. He browsed for a nearby restaurant with fast delivery and good reviews, then ordered a large set meal of spicy hot pot.

In the past, he’d always ordered more than he could eat just to get the discount, but he was “growing” these days, so he figured it wouldn’t be a problem this time.

Reality, after all, was not a game, nor a virtual battlefield where leveling up instantly yielded 100% results. After using source energy, there was always a “burst” effect at first; the instant effect might reach 130%. In that moment, he felt invincible, but it was all illusory—a short while later, it faded.

Last night, when he returned home, his muscles were only faintly visible, showing clearly only with certain movements. But when he woke up this morning, his muscles were sharply defined. That was the difference time made.

In truth, his muscles were still somewhat hollow, like forged steel: a glowing red ingot looked intimidating, but it couldn’t become a fine sword until it was hammered, folded, and hammered again, growing tougher with each strike—only then would it become a blade of true steel.

Another day would pass, his muscles would become more refined, and then the results of his training would be perfectly revealed.

There was also the matter of his height—he’d measured himself four centimeters taller that morning, but in fact, due to Earth’s gravity, there’s always a difference in human height between morning and evening, sometimes as much as two centimeters.

Once gravity had its effect, once he’d been tempered a bit, his actual increase might only be two centimeters. That was a safer bet.

After placing his order, he dove back into his research. He was absorbed in his work when his phone rang.

“Hello, Mr. Zhou? Your takeout has arrived. Please open the door to collect it.”

“Alright.” He hung up, his mind still preoccupied with his research. Out of habit, he rose from his computer desk and walked to the living room, opening the door to find a person standing there with his order. The man wasn’t wearing any delivery company vest.

Zhou Shu didn’t think much of it, assuming he was someone from the restaurant—maybe no delivery staff had taken the order, or perhaps it was after the lunch rush, so the shop sent him over directly. He said offhandedly, “Thanks.”

The man smiled. “No need to thank me. We just wanted to have a chat with you, Zhou Shu.”

As he finished speaking, another person appeared—a woman.

A man and a woman, both with kindly expressions. The woman seemed oddly familiar, but the man’s words caught Zhou Shu off guard.

As Zhou Shu hesitated, the woman took off her backpack and handed it to him. “This should be your backpack, Zhou Shu?”

He looked closely—sure enough, it was his own backpack.

If she hadn’t brought it, he would have completely forgotten leaving it halfway home. If these two hadn’t come by, he probably wouldn’t have remembered it until he tried to do homework and couldn’t find it.

Now that his backpack was here, he immediately guessed which side these two belonged to, and why they’d come.

After all, he’d witnessed last night’s events. Zhang Peng had made a single phone call and summoned two vans of national team professionals. He wasn’t surprised they’d found his backpack.

The fact they hadn’t contacted him immediately, but instead showed up at his door today, meant they’d collected plenty of information about him.

Those who’d watched him this morning were likely from their group as well.

The “counter-surveillance” maneuvers he’d performed last night and this morning were probably just unnecessary theatrics in their eyes.

And now, he remembered where he’d seen the woman—the well-built lady who had passed him in the residential complex earlier.

They really were all in the same group!

Fortunately, he’d anticipated their anticipation. He’d also gathered information and had his own theories, plans, and trump cards, so he wasn’t nervous in the slightest.

In fact, he felt a certain “better now than never” attitude.

He took his backpack and food, politely inviting them inside.

“Come in, please. Have a seat. I’ll pour you some water.”

“Thank you so much. I was getting worried—if I can’t hand in my homework on Monday, I’m doomed.”

He tossed his backpack onto the corner of the sofa, set the takeout on the dining table, and went into the kitchen to pour water.

As Zhou Shu left the living room, the two guests remained seated, but quickly took in their surroundings. They glanced at the shoes by the door, noted the simple decor, and eyed the display cabinet filled with fossil “ornaments.”

A family of three—his parents were paleontologists, often away on field teams, so Zhou Shu was typically alone.

But Zhou Shu didn’t spend much time here; if his parents were away, he usually stayed with his grandparents in the countryside.

This time, he hadn’t gone to the countryside, but instead came here while his parents were away—a small anomaly.

Other unusual points included not taking the bus home as usual, but walking; not choosing well-lit, crowded paths, but instead venturing into a dirty, dark, and supposedly dangerous demolition area, where he’d forgotten his backpack.

Soon, Zhou Shu returned with two cups of hot water, and the guests stopped their observations, stood to accept the drinks, and sat down together.

Everything was proceeding smoothly. Just as the man was about to speak according to his plan, Zhou Shu unexpectedly spoke first.

“What did you want to talk to me about? Is it about last night’s… monster?”

Now it was the man and woman who were stunned.

But Zhou Shu continued, “Yesterday was truly shocking—it turned my worldview upside down. I never realized the special police had such a broad range of duties.”

He looked at them. “Were you two at the scene last night? And this lady looks familiar—have we met before? Oh, that’s right, we met this morning.”

“And Zhang Peng, Teacher Zhang—my goodness, he jumped from the third-floor rooftop and only bent his knees a little. Is he a superhuman?”

The man and woman were not only stunned—they had no idea how to respond. They’d undertaken several contact missions and studied plenty of internal materials, but they’d never encountered someone like him.

It was as if, in a game of poker, he skipped the small cards and played his king first, leaving them unsure how to proceed.

Zhou Shu already knew so many deep secrets, yet all the information they’d gathered on him seemed almost useless.

Still, it wasn’t all frustration. From another angle, their mission had made a great leap forward.

They’d definitely found the right person!

Whether Zhou Shu was just a witness or an actual participant would have to be determined as their task continued.

Zhou Shu had laid down a card, so they dropped all pretense and played their ace.

During the pause in Zhou Shu’s speech, the man signaled to the woman, and both took out a small booklet from their pockets.

“Zhou Shu, since things have come to this, let’s get straight to the point. Due to certain special reasons, before we officially confirm your identity, we can only show you this.”

“This can represent a portion of our identity, and help establish a foundation of trust for our conversation—so you know we’re not some evil organization or scammers, and you don’t need to be unnecessarily wary.”

Zhou Shu looked—it was a certificate from the Police Guard. The man was named Zhuang Yong’an, and the woman, Qiu Ling.

“So they did use the Police Guard’s name.”

He returned the booklets and said, “No problem. Compared to private organizations, I trust you more. If you can answer my questions, I’ll be very pleased.”

“Haha, of course. We’re very curious about you as well,” Zhuang Yong’an replied cheerfully.

He glanced at the takeout and added, “You haven’t eaten yet, and we haven’t either. You’re still growing—just spicy hot pot won’t do. I’ve ordered some dishes; let’s… eat and talk?”

Eat and talk? Zhou Shu was surprised again—this traditional method had been deployed, clearly well-prepared.

No wonder they’d come under the pretext of delivering food.

Still… it would be a waste not to eat.

PS: Thanks to Master Yang for the generous reward~