Let Me Show You Something

Xie Jun recounted this story because Tan Lulu and Peng Xiao had just been pressing him about what was fun in the car review industry, and he suddenly remembered this memorable experience and blurted it out unconsciously. He hadn't even figured out a coherent explanation himself, so naturally he wouldn't try to convince them; he'd just treat it as a hearsay story.

But Xiang Kun was driving, had a vague guess in his mind after hearing this "story" that what Xie Jun and the others saw and experienced might be related to Mutated Creature.

It has several characteristics:

1. That wolf had horns on its head, and its appearance was different from that of normal creatures;

2. Possesses high physical strength, allowing them to quickly escape after being hit by a car;

3. Residual body tissue mysteriously disappears without leaving a trace.

If that horned wolf really exists, then it's highly likely that it's Mutated Creature.

Based on Xiang Kun's previous understanding of non-humanoid Mutated Creature, whether it's Giant Owl or a mutated spider, they all have high intelligence, know how to stay away from human settlements, and know how to actively avoid people. Clearly, they all know how powerful humans are.

Mutated Creature typically possess stronger sensory abilities than ordinary creatures, and are unlikely to be foolish enough to rush in front of a convoy and get hit.

Therefore, Xiang Kun guessed that if the long-horned wolf was Mutated Creature, then its sudden rush out and being hit, followed by its stumbling escape, likely indicated that it was either hunting or being hunted. The target it was hunting or being hunted by was also likely Mutated Creature, since vampires and Mutated Creature have an instinct to hunt and devour each other.

Based on Xie Jun's description, it is more likely that the animal was the one being hunted.

Later, all the footage from Xie Jun's convoy's dashcams, as well as the content captured by their photography and video equipment, was lost, most likely also by the Mutated Creature that was chasing the "long-horned wolf."

Based on this result, if the pursuers are vampires, they should also be descendants of humans who have mutated.

Because Mutated Creature derived from wild beasts and insects also possess the awareness to prevent relevant information from being disseminated, their methods are more often "killing to silence," just like the mutated spider that killed the Host Xue and his two companions. Asking them to specifically erase videos and images captured on various electronic devices would be asking too much of them.

Xiang Kun asked a few questions seemingly casually, but actually with a specific purpose. Judging from Xie Jun's answers, the people who hunted the longhorned wolves or the vampires must have taken advantage of the time when their vehicles broke down and stopped for repairs on their way back to camp to sabotage their electronic devices.

As for how to make the move, Xiang Kun guessed there were two possibilities: one was that the other party had some kind of ability or equipment that could directly operate those electronic devices remotely; the other was that they could sneak up on them without alerting anyone, take the devices, and operate them.

Considering the difficulty, Xiang Kun is more inclined to believe that the other party will use the second method.

Xiang Kun thought of "Shenxing Technology"—could they be behind this?

If it were them, that "long-horned wolf" should already be in their hands, right? I wonder if it's already been "eaten" by some vampire, or locked up in some laboratory as a research subject.

Of course, it's not yet 100% certain that the "long-horned wolf" is Mutated Creature; everything is still in the speculative stage. But at least based on the cognitive model he has built up regarding Xie Jun hasn't deliberately exaggerated or fabricated anything; what he said is what he truly believes.

Perhaps we could go back to that place? But according to Xie Jun, that was two years ago, so there probably wouldn't be any trace of it.

After taking the three to the hotel and settling them into their rooms, Xiang Kun left immediately. There were still many things to do the day before the wedding, especially since he was driving Chang Bin's car.

Xiang Kun then spent the day as a driver, constantly taking people around. Sometimes he would go to check out locations and make arrangements, or buy things. Other times he would pick up relatives and friends of Chang Bin or Wang Han who had just arrived.

During this time, Chang Bin was also a little worried that Xiang Kun might not be able to handle it, and wondered if he should take a break and replace him with someone else.

Xiang Kun, however, said he was perfectly relaxed and had no problem. Chang Bin, seeing that he indeed looked energetic, realized that there was no suitable person to help at the moment, so he would have to continue to work hard. After all, many things involved more than just driving; it also included helping with reception and confirming details, and no one else was as suitable Xiang Kun.

Around 9 p. m., Xiang Kun was still driving Chang Bin's Magotan through the city, but this time Tang Baona was sitting in the passenger seat.

As Wang Han's bridesmaid, she and her sister are also helping out today. Now she's going with Xiang Kun to a store to pick up the things needed for the wedding tomorrow morning.

Because she had been busy during dinner time and only ate a little, Tang Baona was now sitting in the passenger seat, taking small bites of a tuna sandwich.

The tuna sandwich was actually bought by Xiang Kun. When he saw Tang Baona at Wang Han's house, he sensed through his cognitive model that she wasn't full, so he went to the bakery next door and bought this tuna sandwich for her. At that time, someone needed to go to the store to pick up some customized items, so Xiang Kun directly asked Tang Baona to go with him.

"How did you know I like tuna sandwiches?" Tang Baona asked, somewhat puzzled, as she ate a small bite.

"Who doesn't love to eat?" Xiang Kun laughed. Of course, he didn't just buy it randomly. He knew better than anyone else in the world what Tang Baona liked to eat and what her tastes were like. Even Tang Baona herself might not have as systematic and comprehensive an understanding as he did.

"That's not necessarily true. Zhen'er doesn't like tuna sandwiches; she says she hates the taste."

"You don't need to eat so slowly. I've seen you wolf down your food before. There's no need to maintain a ladylike image!" Xiang Kun joked as he drove.

Tang Baona rolled her eyes at him, then stopped pretending and started to eat heartily, though she still carefully used the packaging bag to protect the bottom to prevent crumbs from falling into the car.

After finishing his sandwich, Xiang Kun casually handed him a bottle of mineral water. He took it, drank a couple of sips, and then the car came to a smooth stop.

"Are we there?" After putting the bottle cap back on, Tang Baona paused, looking at Xiang Kun with some surprise. "Why do I feel like you were driving with a stopwatch on? Did you plan for me to finish eating by this time?"

"Of course, I'm a master strategist," Xiang Kun said truthfully. He had indeed deliberately calculated the speed and arrived just in time.

Tang Baona didn't believe it and snorted, "Bragging."

I checked with the shop assistant and learned that the customized item was still being made and would take another 30 to 40 minutes to complete.

Since they needed it first thing tomorrow morning, they naturally stayed to wait for the shop to make it.

They sat down to rest on the sofas in the store. Originally, one of them sat on the long sofa and the other on the single sofa, but as soon as they sat down, Tang Baona thought of something. She took out her phone and smiled as she asked Xiang Kun to sit next to her, "Come here, I want to show you something."

Xiang Kun sat down and looked at Tang Baona's phone with some curiosity. If Zi Cheng had said this, Xiang Kun would have known with his hair... even with his leg hair, that she had found some kind of short video. However, although he knew Tang Baona very well and had built a highly complete cognitive model, he still couldn't deduce what this "thing" she was talking about based on this information.

Tang Baona opened an audio file, intending to play it directly, but after thinking for a moment, she took out her earphones from her bag and handed them to Xiang Kun: "Listen to this."

Is this a new cover or a song she wrote herself? Xiang Kun took the headphones and glanced at Tang Baona, but immediately judged that the audio was probably not her singing, otherwise she wouldn't be acting like this—it was a feeling of anticipation and smugness, as if she was deliberately showing off to Xiang Kun.

Seeing Xiang Kun put on his headphones, Tang Baona turned on the audio and asked, "Isn't it too quiet? Can you adjust the volume yourself?"

The volume was only at level one, but it was enough for Xiang Kun. He even had to deliberately shut down most of his hearing, otherwise it would have been far too loud.

"Shot through the heart, And you're to blame, You give love a bad name..."

Upon hearing the opening, Xiang Kun knew it was an old song by Bon Jovi, "You Give Love a Bad Name," but the singer was indeed Tang Baona, which contradicted his previous assumption.

Of course, Tang Baona sang quite well, with a lot of flavor, a kind of domineering and fierce feeling. If Xiang Kun Kunguang didn't know her, when he heard this song, he would have imagined a tall, aloof, rock queen in a performance outfit studded with steel nails, singing and tossing her long hair. He could even imagine what the comments would say after the song was posted on Bilibili.

When the first chorus came on, it suddenly wasn't Tang Baona's voice anymore; it became a cute female voice. The words "Shot through the heart" seemed to pop out one by one, but they were all in tune, like a little girl jumping around, which was very adorable.

Xiang Kun was slightly taken aback, then immediately realized whose voice it was.

Judging from the audio progress, Tang Baona estimated that he should have heard the chorus by now. She kept staring at his face, and when she saw the surprised expression on his face as expected, she smiled smugly with satisfaction.

After Xiang Kun listened and took off his headphones, Tang Baona immediately asked, "So, did you recognize who sang it?"

"You and Little Apple," Xiang Kun said.

Yes, the cute female voice in the chorus is the voice of Little Apple.

Before going to Qicheng City, he first took "Gold Glitter" to stay with Little Apple. After obtaining the consent of Tang Baona and the others, he added Little Apple to WeChat group of four, including himself, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen'er, and Xia Libing. He realized from Little Apple's attitude towards the "eight-armed monster" she thought she knew that the child was too lonely and longed for friends.

Under Xiang Kun's guidance, Tang Baona and the other two quickly accepted Little Apple. During the few days he was in Qicheng City, they chatted happily in the group chat.

Unexpectedly, Little Apple was even "coaxed" into singing by Tang Baona.

To be honest, Little Apple's singing voice is quite different from her usual speaking voice. When she speaks, her tone is noticeably lower and her speech is slower, making her sound more composed. Xiang Kun knew that this was because she was deliberately trying to appear more mature and sensible.

When she sings, her natural timbre becomes impossible to fake. Her natural, unrestrained voice is far more pleasant to listen to than one that's deliberately strained. Even her endearing, slightly goofy quality is very distinctive.

Moreover, judging from the few lines she sang, her musical literacy is quite good, and she must have some talent. Of course, Tang Baona must have contributed a lot to this as well.

The choice of this song is also quite interesting. Tang Baona's fierce and aggressive voice, paired with Little Apple's earnest and adorable voice, creates a unique contrast, yet it's strangely harmonious and a little comical, making Xiang Kun want to laugh.

"When did you record this?" Xiang Kun asked curiously.

"Just a couple of days ago, this version still had some flaws. I'll send some of my old recording equipment to Little Apple and re-record it; the effect will be much better," Tang Baona said with some pride.

"Amazing! I've known Little Apple for so long, and I never noticed her singing voice... It's so interesting. Mr. Tang has a truly discerning eye," Xiang Kun said with a smile.

"Of course!" Tang Baona said, then asked somewhat curiously, "By the way, I heard from that General Manager Zhang that their company's project with you didn't require you to travel on business. So, were you going out of town for other reasons?"

Xiang Kun casually said, "Going to confirm some things isn't too important."

"Oh."

"You and that General Manager Zhang have a pretty good relationship?"

"She's asked me and Zhen'er out several times," Tang Baona nodded, then paused, adding hesitantly, "But I don't really like her."

"Oh? Why?"

"I always feel like she's been trying to find out about you through me and Zhen'er, and she even said she wanted to invest in you and asked if I wanted to join in..." Tang Baona frowned and said, "I think there's definitely something wrong if she doesn't tell you herself about this."

Xiang Kun laughed. He knew why Zhang Qian did this. Some time ago, he had held several online meetings with Director Lin, Ma Hongguo, and the main members of the team that Ma Hongguo had built. He had sent them almost everything he had done, and the project was progressing rapidly, already in internal testing.

Undoubtedly, this outcome would surprise Zhang Qian. She probably wanted to pursue other collaborations with Xiang Kun. However, due to Xiang Kun's various bizarre demands during their last collaboration, she wanted to take a roundabout approach and bring his friends along.

"It's okay, you don't have to pay attention to her if you don't want to," Xiang Kun said to Tang Baona.