茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

“My phone, blew up.”

Yes, what he wrapped in his T-shirt was the phone he’d been using to play music at the top of the mountain. After triggering the lightning storm, the phone had exploded.

He had anticipated this, it’s just that everything happened so suddenly that he didn’t have a chance to hide his phone in advance. Moreover, the impact of the lightning storm was so large that even if he had thrown his phone far away, it would not have escaped its fate.

Anyway, it was an inexpensive phone that was already well-worn, so it was time for a replacement.

All the important data on the phone had been backed up by Alice before today, so he wasn’t worried about losing anything. The phone exploding really wasn’t a big concern.

Though the phone breaking wasn’t an issue, he still needed to take the wreckage back with him. Leaving it behind could potentially cause trouble down the line.

The downpour that followed the storm had also washed away many other traces he left in the mountain, like footprints, so he didn’t leave much evidence behind.

Upon taking a closer look at the phone wreckage, Xia Libing nodded and asked, “The lightning storm earlier, was that you?”

“Yes, that was me. Let’s get in the car, we can talk on road,” Xiang Kun replied.

Seeing Xiang Kun shirtless, Xia Libing intended to give him his coat which he’d left in the car.

“No need. I’m not cold,” waved Xiang Kun off.

However, he quickly realized that it might not be wise to sit shirtless in Old Xia’s car once they reached the city, especially the residential area – It wouldn’t make a great impression.

However, he was covered in grime. What would he wear after showering if he wore his coat now?

Moreover, if Old Xia was still wearing it, she must be cold.

So, Xiang Kun thought for a moment, opened the door, got out of the car, and hopped on to backseat – still shirtless.

Xia Libing didn’t say much and made a U-turn, leaving Zi Huan Mountain behind and heading towards the city.

On the way, Xiang Kun began to detail his experience in Zi Huan Mountain the previous night, discussing his accidental discovery of the “mutated big bird” that he had encountered on Wushu Mountain, as well as its “invisibility” status.

He then described his attempt to sneak up and ambush the “mutated big bird”, only to be discovered by a small bird controlled by the “mutated big bird”. Consequently, he needed to change his plans, lead the big bird to the mountain top, and blast a lightning storm using “Super-connected Objects”, followed by a mid-air brawl enabled by “Electric Mastery Flight”.

The big bird was accidentally struck by lightning, burst into flames, and yet wasn’t killed. It thrashed and flapped its wings, but Xiang Kun had already coerced the bird using a “Super-connected sphere”, he thought he had definitely captured it. Their prospective “mutant creature” laboratory, initiated by him and Old Xia, finally had a research sample besides himself.

The small-scale lightning storm initiated by Xiang Kun, though it was quite intense, did not last very long. It was over in just a few short minutes.

The result was that just when Xiang Kun was about to fully suppress and subdue the “mutated big bird”, the storm had ceased. He lost the ability to fly continuously, the fluorescent hair behind his head disappeared instantly. The bird seized this opportunity to gain a distance on him.

Falling from the sky was an experience Xiang Kun was well-acquainted with. As he fell, he used a magnetic field generated by part of his “Super-connected Objects” to slow down his fall and control his direction, using tree branches as buffer. It wasn’t too bad a fall.

The “mutated big bird”, haunted by the beating it received from Xiang Kun, didn’t dare to retaliate and kept flying further away.

Once the distance was big enough, it was quite hard for Xiang Kun to control the “Super-connected spheres”, so they were expelled from his body.

Although Xiang Kun did not manage to capture the “mutated big bird” this time, there were still some gains. At least, this experience had helped him understand how to better use natural conditions and the “Super-connected Objects” for “Electric Mastery Flight”.

He believed that as time passed, with more “Super-connected Objects” under his control and stronger electromagnetic fields being induced, the reliance on natural conditions for “Electric Mastery Flight” would diminish over time. Perhaps in the future, he may even be able to fly on clear days.

Of course, this ability might evolve even further, potentially transforming into a major weapon for controlling the weather and influencing overall environmental changes.

On the other hand, he had also gained further understanding of the “mutated big bird”. He believed that the chances of capturing it would be much higher next time they meet.

If Xiang Kun had not been aiming to capture the bird alive this time, but had been determined to kill the “mutated big bird” from the beginning, the probability of his success would not have been small.

However, compared to devouring the “mutant”, Xiang Kun would rather have a “live specimen” available for long-term research.

“Do you think it appeared here because it was after the ‘bug’?” Only after the big bird had escaped did Xia Libing finally speak up.

“It’s likely. As for how it knew that the ‘mutated parasite’ was on Zi Huan Mountain, and why it was guarding there, I’m also curious. So, I went back to examine the area that the big bird was guarding and then I discovered the reason.”

As he got to this point, Xiang Kun’s expression became grave and his tone somber: “Not far from where that big bird was guarding, I found a very concealed cave. Inside were several corpses that, judging by their state of decomposition, should have been dead for around a year.

“Although the bodies have decayed too much for me to smell the ‘mutant,’ based on the state of their bones, I surmise that one of them was parasitized by the ‘mutated parasite’.

“Most likely, the ‘mutated parasite’ had initially guided its previous host to lure innocents into Zi Huan Mountain to kill and drink their blood. Normally, it would have continued to parasitize that host and leave the mountain. But then the ‘mutated big bird’ discovered it and also appeared on Zi Huan Mountain. To evade the big bird’s hunt, the parasite decided to personally kill the host and lie low on Zi Huan Mountain, until it later found the ‘Vampire Patient’ downstream to parasitize.

“But the big bird probably didn’t know that it had already found a new host and left Zi Huan Mountain, let alone understand its habits. That’s why it still returns to the cave to wait and ambush, thinking it’s the bug’s den and that it would come back.

“Based on its previous pursuit of the ‘mutated ant’ on Wushu Mountain, this bird is very patient. I estimate it has been staking out the area for about a year.”

Xia Libing nodded, saying, “It probably wouldn’t dare to return.”

Clearly, after being beaten so badly by Xiang Kun, the “mutated big bird” should have learned its lesson. It had become the prey instead of the hunter, and certainly wouldn’t dare come back in search of the “mutated parasite.”

“I speculate that it nests somewhere in the mountains of Haixi Province. I’ll have to think about how to find it later. But this bird… it’s harder to catch than the parasite,” said Xiang Kun.

“What about that cave?” Xia Libing asked.

“I’ve been thinking about that problem all the way down the mountain. Since I discovered it, we can’t just leave the bodies there. I have to think of a way to notify the police,” Xiang Kun sighed.

Xia Libing asked, “Did you leave any trace in the cave?”

Xiang Kun replied, “Don’t worry, I didn’t even enter the cave, just observed from outside. Any traces I might’ve left outside wouldn’t survive the heavy rain.”

Xia Libing nodded, before asking, “So how are you going to inform the police? An anonymous phone call? Or through the internet?”

Xiang Kun shook his head: “None of those, I plan on using a unique method to ‘alert’ the police. But I’ll need your help.”

As far as the situation at the crime scene could tell, excluding the “mutated parasite,” the prime suspect, the murderer and the victims appeared to all be already inside the cave. There didn’t seem to be any other culprits.

Regardless of how one would anonymously tip off the police, the police would certainly look for the whistleblower once they found the bodies. After all, this was a murder case involving human lives. If Xiang Kun’s “anonymous” method was too foolproof and the police couldn’t trace them, it would only arouse more attention and suspicion.

Therefore, Xiang Kun planned to use a special method, to facilitate the police to “take the initiative” to find the bodies.