002 Picking Up Momentum (Everyone, Hurry and Invest—Contracts Have Been Signed)

Zhang Su’s home is in the Shengqin Garden, located nearly three kilometers away from the Irene Convenience Store. The twelve-story building plan keeps the population density of the entire complex quite low, and with its low floor area ratio, it qualifies as mid-to-high-end in terms of apartment living in Qin City.

Building 3, 801. As Zhang Su opened the front door, a thick, pungent odor rushed out to meet him.

"You're back? I just finished my stream and cooked a huge bowl of river snail rice noodles. Are you hungry?"

In the living room, a girl wearing a loose T-shirt sat cross-legged on the sofa. On the coffee table sat a steaming bowl of rice noodles, with an empty white porcelain bowl and a spoon beside it, clearly intended for Zhang Su.

Zhang Su noticed these details and shook his head with a smile. "I already ate at the shop. Also... Xinyu, don't be in such a hurry to turn off the exhaust fan after you finish cooking those noodles next time."

"Oh!" Zheng Xinyu replied with a hint of disappointment. Suddenly remembering something, she hurried to say, "Right, Brother Su, what about the things I bought? Didn't you say you'd bring them back for me tonight?"

Zheng Xinyu is the streamer Zhang Su mentioned who plans to challenge herself to stay in her room for a month, though Wu Lue has no idea that this beautiful streamer is Zhang Su’s roommate.

The apartment is over eighty square meters with two bedrooms; everything outside the bedrooms is a common area, clearly demarcated, so there is no impact from a man and a woman living together.

Having just finished her stream, Zheng Xinyu still wore her makeup, making her look moving and cute. At barely twenty years old, she exuded a vibrant, youthful aura. Her long legs stretched out from beneath the oversized T-shirt, looking exceptionally fair under the lamp’s glow—a very pleasing sight.

Zhang Su changed his shoes, sat by the bay window, and lit a cigarette. He said coolly, "It's hundreds of pounds of stuff; did you really expect me to carry it all up for you? I'm a shop clerk, not a porter. It’s generous enough that I brought it back for you for free!"

"You work out every day, though. Honestly..."

Zheng Xinyu slurped her noodles, muttering to herself. She couldn't understand why she could never capture Zhang Su’s attention. If it were any other young guy living with her, he would have been head over heels, hanging on her every word. He was nothing like this unromantic, middle-aged-at-heart man.

When she first moved in, Zheng Xinyu had set down ground rules and conditions, but after a while, she realized she had been completely overthinking it—Zhang Su had zero interest in her. Sometimes, she even doubted if Zhang Su’s orientation was normal.

"Uh..."

Seeing that Zhang Su remained lukewarm toward her, Zheng Xinyu tried to start a conversation. "Did the landlord tell you? The rent is going up by ten percent next year!"

Zhang Su took a deep drag of his cigarette, stubbed it out in the ashtray, and looked out the window, indifferent. "Of course I was notified. Let it go up. Prices go up every year; an increase in rent is no surprise."

"I think there’s something suspicious about this! Two days ago, I was just telling you that I’d gotten used to living here and didn't plan on moving even if the rent got higher, and the landlord immediately announced a hike. Don't you think it’s possible that..."

Zheng Xinyu put down her bowl and looked at Zhang Su with a mysterious expression.

"Possible what?"

Zhang Su felt a jump in his heart at her eccentric gaze, but he showed no reaction on the surface, asking nonchalantly.

"Could it be that the landlord installed a wiretap in here?"

Zheng Xinyu narrowed her large eyes, scanned the room, and furrowed her small brow, acting as if it were a serious matter. "A streamer friend of mine in Shanghai dealt with this. She ended up suing the landlord and won eight hundred thousand in damages!"

"Brother Su, I think we should thoroughly check the place. It would be best to use one of those professional detection devices like in the movies. It’s really necessary—we might just strike it rich!"

As she talked, Zheng Xinyu grew more convinced of the possibility.

A wiretap?

It wasn't just a wiretap; it was surveillance! Highly advanced technology, composed of over three billion base pairs, capable of intelligently detecting, identifying, and analyzing all sorts of useful information...

"Paranoia? Haha..."

Zhang Su laughed. He stood up, took off his T-shirt, and shook his head as he walked toward the bathroom. "If you want to look, go ahead. I don't have the time for that. I’m going to shower. Clean up the living room when you're done; don't leave the smell behind!"

"Oh, okay..."

Seeing the powerful muscle definition on Zhang Su’s body, the refusal Zheng Xinyu had wanted to utter died in her throat. Besides, the common area followed the principle of "whoever makes the mess cleans it up."

"Wait!"

Seeing Zhang Su about to enter the bathroom, Zheng Xinyu couldn't help but call out again. When she saw his questioning look, she said with a hint of embarrassment, "The weather forecast said there's a cold snap coming. Remember to wear more clothes; don't catch a cold."

Feeling her concern, Zhang Su smiled and nodded. "You stay warm, too."

"I know, I know. Go shower. I’m full, I'll clean up!"

With that, Zheng Xinyu stood up and stretched comfortably. More than half a bowl of rice noodles remained.

...

Zhang Su dawdled for half an hour before coming out of the bathroom. The pungent odor had dissipated significantly. Zheng Xinyu had already returned to her room, her door adorned with a half-meter-tall "Melancholy Bear" plush toy. Faintly, the *clack-clack-clack* of a mechanical keyboard could be heard from inside; she was likely gaming.

Accustomed to a life of living by night, even after her streaming work was done, it was hard for her to calm down and fall asleep quickly.

*Whoosh...*

A draft blew in from the window that hadn't been closed, and Zhang Su, still damp from his shower, felt an immediate chill.

"It really did get colder. The weather forecast is rarely this accurate..."

Muttering, Zhang Su walked to the window and looked out. Since the floor wasn't very high, the night view wasn't spectacular. In the residential complex, security guards were patrolling with flashlights, and the landscape lights illuminated a corner, soft and tranquil.

Closing the window and drawing the curtains, Zhang Su went back to his room, turned on his computer, and launched CS:GO, diving into a hearty battle. It wasn't until after three in the morning that he threw down his headset and collapsed into his bed, falling sound asleep.

He liked this structured life—not the "early to bed, early to rise" routine of office workers or students, but a rhythm that belonged to him.

He slept from two or three in the morning until eleven or twelve the next day. Eight or nine hours of sleep left him feeling energetic. However... this time, Zhang Su did not wake up naturally as he had hoped!

"Ah!"

A shrill scream pierced his dreams, followed by the *bang, bang, bang* of someone pounding on his door.

"Su, Brother Su, are you up? ... Zhang Su, open the door!"

Frantic, panicked cries came from outside the door, and the terror in the caller's voice was evident.

Zhang Su grabbed the G-Shock watch on his nightstand and checked the time: 10:30!

"Zhang Su, hurry up and get up! Something happened, something terrible happened..."

The pounding and panicked shouting continued.

"What is this crazy girl doing?"

Zhang Su frowned and threw off the quilt, clearly feeling that the temperature had dropped significantly since he had gone to bed. He called out, "Coming," and pulled on his pants.

He threw the door open. Before he could question Zheng Xinyu, she pointed toward the window, her chest heaving, her expression terrified. "Mur, murder, dismemberment! There's been a killing downstairs, and they're dead—no, there's more than one!"

After saying this, Zheng Xinyu didn't even stop to admire Zhang Su’s abs; she grabbed his wrist and dragged him toward the living room window.

"A murder?"

Zhang Su’s heart skipped a beat. The public security in the Celestial Empire was generally good, and with the excellent security system at Shengqin Garden, how could a murder happen, let alone one with multiple victims?

Suspecting that Zheng Xinyu was playing a prank, he followed her to the window without pausing and peered down.

From the eighth floor, about twenty-five meters up, and in the bright daylight, Zhang Su quickly saw the scene and couldn't help but curse, "What the hell..."

In the garden below, blood stained the white cobblestone path, and severed limbs and what looked like internal organs were scattered about. Someone was crouched over a victim, performing what looked like CPR.

A moment later, Zhang Su dismissed the ridiculous thought from his mind!

That wasn't CPR; the person was clearly gnawing on the body...

The person hunched over the corpse had their head buried in the victim's neck; with every rise and fall of their head, large chunks of flesh were torn away.

"Woke up too fast..."

The look of horror on Zhang Su’s face vanished, replaced by a smile. He turned to the panicked Zheng Xinyu and shrugged comically. "Woke up too fast—I actually hallucinated someone eating another person. I'm going back to nap for a bit!"

With that, he turned and headed back to his bedroom, silently wondering if he had been too immersed in the zombie mode of CS:GO last night, which had caused him to see this absurd scene.