Driving Home

Seeing Xia Libing craning her neck to look at the contents of the bag in her tattered T-shirt, Xiang Kun took the initiative to show her the contents:

My phone exploded.

Yes, what he wrapped in his tattered T-shirt was his phone, which he had placed at his feet on the mountaintop to play music. It exploded after he triggered the thunderstorm.

He had anticipated this, but this time it happened so suddenly that he didn't have a chance to hide his phone beforehand. Moreover, the area affected by the thunderstorm was very large, and it originated from the ground. Even if he threw the phone far away, he couldn't avoid its doom.

Anyway, this phone is just a budget model, and it's already been "battered and worn out," so it's time to replace it.

Alice helped back up all the data on my phone before today, so there's no need to worry about losing it. So, if it's gone, it's gone.

However, even if the phone is broken, it's still important to bring the wreckage back. Otherwise, leaving it there might pose a potential hazard.

A heavy rainstorm following the thunderstorm washed away most of the other traces he left in the mountains, such as footprints, leaving little to no trace.

After seeing the wreckage of the phone, Xia Libing nodded. "Was that thunderstorm caused by you?"

"It's me. I'll drive first, and we'll talk on the way," Xiang Kun said.

Seeing that he was shirtless, Xia Libing decided to take off the jacket he had left in the car and give it to him.

Xiang Kun waved his hand, "No need, I'm not afraid of the cold."

However, he quickly realized that sitting shirtless in the passenger seat of Lao Xia's car was fine in the mountains or in deserted places, but it wouldn't look good once they entered the city, especially in residential areas.

But now I'm all dirty. If I put on a coat, what will I wear after I shower?

And the fact that Lao Xia is wearing these clothes proves she's cold.

So Xiang Kun thought for a moment, opened the door and got out of the car. He went to the back seat and continued to sit shirtless.

Xia Libing didn't say much, turned the car around, left Purple Huan Mountain, and headed towards the city.

On the way, Xiang Kun began to recount in detail his experience after entering Purple Huan Mountain last night, mentioning his unexpected discovery of the "mutated giant bird" he had encountered in Wushu Mountain, and the bird's "invisibility" state.

Then he talked about his attempt to sneak up on the "mutated giant bird" and launch a surprise attack, but he was discovered and warned by the small bird controlled by the "mutated giant bird". He had to change his strategy at the last minute. When he got to the top of the mountain, he attracted the giant bird and triggered a thunderstorm through "Super-Linked Object". He then "Electric Flight" and engaged in aerial hand-to-hand combat.

Finally, the giant bird was unexpectedly struck by lightning and engulfed in flames, but it still didn't die. It struggled and flapped its wings. Xiang Kun had already used the "Super-Linked Object" sphere to coerce the giant bird and thought he had it firmly captured. The "Mutated Creature" laboratory that he and Lao Xia were about to start building finally had its first "Mutated Creature" research sample besides himself.

This small-scale lightning storm, forcibly triggered by Xiang Kun, was extremely fierce, but it lasted only a few minutes from its inception to its end.

As a result, after the lightning's energy was released and the thunderstorm ended, Xiang Kun was unable to completely suppress and subdue the "mutated bird" before he could no longer maintain his flight in the air. The long, electric hair behind his head disappeared instantly, and the bird found an opportunity to create distance between them.

Having experienced falling from the sky, Xiang Kun used the magnetic field generated by a part of his "Super-Linked Object" to slow down his fall and control his direction. He also used the branches of trees in the forest to cushion his fall, so he didn't get hurt too badly.

The "mutated bird" was also traumatized by Xiang Kun's beating and did not dare to retaliate, but instead flew further and further away.

Once the distance was far enough, Xiang Kun could no longer control those "Super-Linked Object beads," and they were expelled from his body.

Although they failed to capture the "mutated giant bird" alive this time, they still gained something. At least Xiang Kun took this opportunity to find a better way to use natural conditions and "Super-Linked Object" for "Electric Flight".

He believes that as time goes on, the more "Super-Linked Object" he controls and the stronger the electromagnetic fields he generates, the less demanding the natural conditions will become for "Electric Flight," and perhaps he will be able to fly even on a sunny day in the future.

Of course, this ability might be further developed into a powerful tool for manipulating the weather and influencing overall environmental changes.

On the other hand, he also learned more about the characteristics of that "mutant bird," and believed that he would have a much greater chance of capturing it next time they met.

Actually, if Xiang Kun hadn't aimed to capture it alive and had instead focused on killing this "mutated giant bird" from the very beginning, the chances would have been quite good.

But compared to devouring "Mutated Creature," Xiang Kun would rather obtain a "living sample" for long-term research.

"Do you think it appeared here because it was after that 'insect'?" Xia Libing finally asked after hearing the large bird run away.

"It should be. As for how it knew that the 'Mutated Parasite' was in Purple Huan Mountain, and why it was guarding that place, I was also very curious. So later I went to check the area near where the big bird was guarding for a while, and then I found out the reason."

At this point, Xiang Kun's expression became somewhat solemn, and his tone became somewhat low. "Not far from where that big bird was guarding, I found a very secluded cave with several corpses inside. Judging from their state of decomposition, they should have been dead for about a year."

"Although I didn't smell the 'Mutated Creature' because of the long time that has passed, I deduced from the condition of the corpses and bones that one of them had been parasitized by a 'Mutated Parasite'."

"It's very likely that the 'Mutated Parasite' lured the previous host into Purple Huan Mountain to kill and drink blood. Originally, it might have continued to parasitize that host and left Purple Huan Mountain with the host. But the 'mutated bird' discovered it and also appeared in Purple Huan Mountain. So, in order to avoid being hunted by the bird, it chose to kill the host and lie dormant in Purple Huan Mountain until it later parasitized the 'vampire patient' along the stream."

"But the big bird may not know that it has found a new host and left Purple Huan Mountain. It may not even know its habits. So it still waits and ambushes near the cave, thinking that this is the insect's habitat and that it will come back."

"Judging from the large bird's previous hunting of 'mutant ants' in Wushu Mountain, this bird is very patient. I estimate it has come here to stake out quite a few times over the past year."

Xia Libing nodded and said, "I probably won't dare to come again."

Clearly, after being beaten up by Xiang Kun, the "mutant bird" was still shaken. Having gone from hunter to prey, it probably wouldn't dare to come and guard the "Mutated Parasite" again.

"I suspect its habitat is somewhere in the mountains of Haixi Province. I'll think about how to find it later. But this bird... is harder to catch than a parasite," Xiang Kun said.

"What about that cave?" Xia Libing asked again.

"I've been thinking about this problem since I came down the mountain. No matter what, now that I've found them, I can't let their bodies stay there. I need to think of a way to notify the police," Xiang Kun said with a sigh.

Xia Libing asked, "Did you leave any traces in the cave?"

Xiang Kun said, "Don't worry, I didn't even go into the cave; I was just observing from outside. The traces outside won't be visible in the heavy rain."

Xia Libing nodded, then asked, "How do we report it to the police? An anonymous call? Or online?"

Xiang Kun shook his head. "No, I want to use a rather special method to 'notify' the police, and I'll need your help with that."

Judging from the scene, setting aside the "Mutated Parasite" as the "culprit," from a normal person's perspective, the murderer and the victim should both be in the cave, and there are no other perpetrators.

Regardless of the method used to anonymously report the crime, the police will definitely search for the person who reported it after finding the body, since it is a murder case involving human life. If Xiang Kun and his group's method of "anonymity" is too strong and the police cannot track them down, it will only attract more attention and suspicion.

Therefore, Xiang Kun planned to use a special method to make the police "actively" find the bodies.

Thanks to the following readers: Wild Vegetables, Mu Su, Henry Yuan III, Old Ancestor Boer, Weiweiweiweiwei, _Sleep Sleep One More Summer, Crimson Chaos, Lenfer, Carrying Pot 12139, Kalassie, Dan Zi, Bencong 157, Qingjin's Lifelong Wish, Big Cat 007, Smash En's Glass, Old Wu of the Deep Mountains, Reader 20200227063321779, Clouds Born to Be Dusty, The Streetlight at the End of the Blue Alley, and Bit-Player Bro 66 Cat food cans, JerryWMF, Lee299, God's Star Radiance, Ether Sea, HighLe, Lingling Seven Strings, Divine Text Enters the World, In Those Years of Being There or Not, Book Friend 20190704102437382, Ming Cult Left Envoy Shen Lian, Prinia, What a Big Cute Thing, llwxj, Zhenyu City, Right White Mouse, Book Friend 20190206093127550, Compound Eye Bookworm Reading with Compound Eyes as a Reward.