Chapter 14: April 16th

The calendar itself was nothing special. What caught Li Chenqiu’s attention was the 16th day, which had been deliberately circled in pen.

“April 16th?” Li Chenqiu muttered softly.

At that moment, a series of hurried, scattered footsteps approached from the stairs outside, drawing nearer to the room where Li Chenqiu was.

When he had barged into this room earlier, he had made no effort to muffle his movements, so naturally, the security officers upstairs had heard.

Unhurriedly, Li Chenqiu picked up the calendar, walked to the window, and precisely tossed it into the trash bin below.

Click!

Just then, the door opened, and bright white light flooded the room. A security officer entered cautiously, gripping a handgun.

Wu Shan looked at Li Chenqiu, who was still standing by the window in a daze, and called out, “Li Chenqiu, what’s going on? Explain yourself!”

Li Chenqiu turned around helplessly. “It’s a long story, so I’ll keep it brief. Ever since I became a Destiny Bearer, my sixth sense has become incredibly accurate.

Earlier, when I was buying something at a snack stall, I suddenly felt an unsettling gaze fixed on me. That’s why I broke into your room through the window. But obviously, I was mistaken; the person watching me must be on the fourth floor—and he’s already fled.”

A flicker of reluctance passed through Li Chenqiu’s eyes.

“Did you offend someone?” Zhu Cheng glanced at the cigarette butt on the table.

“I don’t know, which is why I’m curious why someone would be watching me,” Li Chenqiu shook his head and looked at the cigarette butt. “There should be DNA evidence on this.”

“Leaving a cigarette butt here probably means this person’s genes have mutated. The one watching you might be one of those… special types,” Wu Shan said as he walked to the window and gazed down.

No matter how humans become “Prohibited,” their genes inevitably mutate. Li Chenqiu was well aware of this.

“Just my luck, getting targeted for no reason,” Li Chenqiu put on a frustrated expression, sat down on a bench with a bitter smile, and looked at Wu Shan. “Uncle, was what I just did against the law?”

“Destiny Bearers aren’t under the jurisdiction of our Security Department. Whether you’ve committed a crime is up to the Special Ability Bureau,” a female security officer said.

“Am I going to jail in the Special Ability Bureau?” Li Chenqiu feigned anxiety.

“No one’s filed a complaint, so no,” Wu Shan turned and fixed his gaze on Li Chenqiu. “If you’re truly innocent, we won’t report it.”

“What do you mean?” Li Chenqiu furrowed his brow slightly.

“Since you’re a Destiny Bearer, why haven’t you reported to the Special Ability Bureau? Or is reporting inconvenient for you? And what’s your connection to the multiple disappearances that have occurred this past month?” Wu Shan demanded.

As his words fell, everyone in the room raised their handguns, aiming them at Li Chenqiu.

“Disappearances?” Li Chenqiu suddenly realized—so these security officers were here because of that.

---

“What, you think being a Destiny Bearer makes you bulletproof?” Wu Shan sneered coldly.

Li Chenqiu smiled wryly. “I haven’t reported because I only recently became a Destiny Bearer—I didn’t have time. As for those disappearances, I have nothing to do with them.”

“Your family—”

Before Wu Shan could continue, a crackling came from the walkie-talkie on his chest, followed by a voice: “Suspect apprehended on Dongping Street, disband the team!”

For a moment, an eerie silence fell over the scene. The security officers exchanged glances, their hands wavering on their guns, unsure whether to lower them.

“Hold your fire. I’ll go check,” Wu Shan instructed the others and walked alone into the restroom.

A few minutes later, he emerged and gestured to the group, “Lower your weapons.”

Relieved, the others holstered their guns and stepped aside.

“Sorry. As more and more Resurrected appear in the city, the Security Department’s fatality rate has risen. Being overly cautious is sometimes the only option. My apologies,” Wu Shan said, bowing slightly before Li Chenqiu.

This gesture surprised Li Chenqiu; he hadn’t expected these security officers to be so decent.

If it had been the Special Ability Bureau, forget apologies—they probably wouldn’t have even verified anything and would have opened fire immediately.

“No worries,” Li Chenqiu waved his hand. “Being cautious is normal. If it means having a better chance against the Resurrected one day, that’s fine. If there’s nothing else, I’m heading out.”

“Wait, little brother, what’s your phone number?” Wu Shan called after him. “We’ll need to contact you about the DNA test results.”

Li Chenqiu nodded, “895…”

“All right. The test results should be ready by tomorrow afternoon,” Wu Shan put away his phone. “My people will contact you in the morning and take you to the Special Ability Bureau to report.”

“Ah?” Li Chenqiu raised an eyebrow but waved his hand. “No need to trouble you. I’ll go report myself.”

“That’s no trouble. Assisting Destiny Bearers with reporting is the Security Department’s duty.”

Though reluctant, Li Chenqiu eventually agreed.

…

After bidding farewell to the security officers, Li Chenqiu rode his bike alongside Li Qingxia along the road.

---

“So you’re really going to report to the Special Ability Bureau tomorrow?” Li Qingxia wrapped her arm around Li Chenqiu, shocked.

“What else? Either pretend you’re not a Destiny Bearer or run away—any fool knows which choice to make!” Li Chenqiu snapped irritably.

“Why aren’t you more careful? A Resurrected under the Destiny Bearer banner—that’s just asking for trouble!”

Li Chenqiu sighed. “I chose the blind spots on the stairs, and I changed my fingerprints with Absolute Control. What else can I do?”

“You should ask if I really saw everything clearly.”

Li Chenqiu: “…”

“By the way, do you know if anything big is happening on April 16th?” Li Chenqiu asked casually.

“April 16th?” Li Qingxia looked up, as if pondering.

After a while, he said, “Oh right, Bei Huangshan has been hiring a lot of daily-wage part-timers recently. The work seems to start on April 16th.”

“Why so many daily-wage part-timers?”

“How would I know? Probably for some big event!”

“What kind of part-time jobs?”

“Hey, you still have time to worry about this? Think about how you’re going to explain things to the boss when you get back!” Li Qingxia teased, a mischievous grin tugging at his lips.

Hearing that, Li Chenqiu’s scattered thoughts instantly snapped back to reality, his expression visibly darkening.

…

This was a cozy fried rice shop. Soft light filtered through the glass door, casting a warm glow on the damp, cold pavement, adding a touch of life to this sparsely populated street.

A few cats and dogs lounged on the shop’s steps, licking each other’s fur, warming the chilly night air a bit.

Suddenly, a beam of light fell on the door as Li Chenqiu rode his electric bike to the entrance.

“Good luck to you!” Li Qingxia said with a cheerful smile, patting Li Chenqiu’s shoulder before rushing inside with a bag of skewers.

After parking his bike, Li Chenqiu took a deep breath, then pushed open the door with a heart full of apprehension.