"Hey!"

After a long discussion with Tang Baona on the rooftop, Yang Zhen'er went back to her room, washed up, and went straight to sleep.

As a result, Tang Baona tossed and turned in bed, unable to stop thinking about Yang Zhen'er's conjectures.

In the past Yang the Third often came up with all sorts of random guesses, some even more logical and imaginative than tonight's. But most of the time, Tang Baona just listened to those ideas as jokes, having a laugh and then moving on.

But tonight, after careful consideration, she realized that many of Yang the Third's words made some sense, and the more she thought about it, the more reasonable and plausible they seemed.

Of course, she didn't completely agree with Yang the Third's theory of "summoning monsters from another dimension," but she suddenly realized that Lao Xia was indeed somewhat special, and some of his behaviors were quite abnormal.

Tang Baona tossed and turned in bed, sometimes lying flat on her back and sometimes on her side, unable to fall asleep. She simply sat up and leaned over to look at Yang Zhen'er, who was on the same bed.

Seeing Yang the Third, the instigator, sleeping so soundly, Tang Baona angrily reached out and pinched her cheek, but then quickly changed her touch to a light pinch.

While fast asleep, Yang Zhen'er took the opportunity to hug Tang Baona's hand and then clung to her.

Knowing her sleeping posture well, Tang Baona quickly broke free, pushed her away, and then got out of bed.

Since she couldn't sleep anyway, she simply went out of her room and onto the rooftop for some fresh air.

They lived on a high point in the village, so from the rooftop, they could basically see most of the village, with excellent views and scenery.

Looking at Chongyun Village, where the roads were still brightly lit even in the dead of night under the streetlights, and at a construction site near the village entrance that was still faintly lit, Tang Baona couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

Not long ago, when they visited Chongyun Village for the first time with Xiang Kun, the roads were still full of potholes. Before entering the village, they were even stopped by the Liu Gaoshang Liu Zhengyi, who staged an accident for them.

Those events are still vivid in my mind, as if they happened yesterday. In the blink of an eye, Chongyun Village has undergone earth-shattering changes. Even those two brothers who used to stage accidents on the road are now helping Xiang Kun with the construction of the Research Base.

Turning her gaze away from the construction site, Tang Baona looked in another direction in the village. There, she saw a building with only a faint light coming from the first floor. That was Xiang Kun's "studio" in Chongyun Village. Judging by his schedule, he should still be working hard right now.

Upon careful reflection, Tang Baona realized that she had never actually seen Xiang Kun for six or seven consecutive days. Indeed, every few days, Xiang Kun would disappear for a period of time for various reasons, usually for about a day.

It seems that only Lao Xia had direct contact with Xiang Kun for more than a week at a time.

She now has some doubts. The "Research Base" project that Lao Xia and Xiang Kun are working on might not be simply about combining aquaculture with big data, AI, and the internet. Perhaps there's something more secretive going on. Maybe, as Yang the Third said, there really is some secret hidden in Chongyun Mountain?

She recalled the researchers from the "Taiyu Biological Laboratory," who had once been Professor Li's students, who were also going into the mountains to conduct research. They were also supposed to be studying ants and insects. Could it be just an excuse, and their real purpose was the same as Lao Xia's and Xiang Kun's?

She recalled Xiang Kun's sudden outburst in the KTV corridor on her birthday last year, the scene where they accidentally stumbled upon Xiang Kun, a human trafficker, and got into a fight, the incident at Chang Bin's wedding where a girl being threatened tried to cause trouble by urinating but was stopped by Xiang Kun beforehand, Xiang Kun's behavior after their collision with Liu Feibao and Qi Haoguo on the way to Tongshi Town, and Xiang Kun's composure when they were initially stopped and staged for a car accident by the Liu Gaoshang Liu Zhengyi, Xiang Kun arriving in Chongyun Village.

Tang Baona couldn't help but feel confused. Judging from Xiang Kun's behavior, he really didn't seem like someone who had been a programmer for seven years after graduation!

And then there's Lao Xia. After graduating, she gave up a job opportunity at a top-tier hospital in a first-tier city and went to a mental health hospital in Citong. I'm afraid it wasn't just because her third aunt worked there.

Could it be because of Xiang Kun?

No, Lao Xia was going to work at the Third Hospital of Citong. She had already decided to do so before they met Xiang Kun. It couldn't be because of Xiang Kun.

However, as Tang Baona thought about it, she couldn't help but consider the issue from Xiang Kun's perspective. She then realized that every time Xiang Kun "disappeared" or couldn't be met, he had a perfectly legitimate reason.

Just like now, Xiang Kun is working diligently for their company, and Zhen'er confirmed this by spying in the yard last time. Xiang Kun is indeed working inside the house and hasn't gone off to "carry out a secret mission" as her "unreliable guess" suggested.

The reason Xiang Kun set up a breeding Research Base in Chongyun Village was because he Tongshi Town for a long time when he was a child, and he and his childhood You Meng opened a restaurant in Tongshi Town. In order to solve the problem of food supply, he found a place in nearby Chongyun Village to build a breeding farm. However, he could not get the breeding farm permits. So he colluded with Liu Caifu, the deputy director of the village, and it turned into setting up a breeding-related Research Base in the village.

Before partnering with You Meng, Xiang Kun had been talking about opening a restaurant specializing in rabbit meat back in his hometown while learning to cook, and this wasn't without reason.

She was involved in the entire process of these events, from Xiang Kun learned to cook, how he made "Youlong Restaurant" a success, to how he discussed things with Liu Caifu. She knew a lot about these things and was even a direct participant in many of them.

However, this Research Base seemed to be much larger and more expensive than she had imagined, and Lao Xia's resignation was also unexpected. The development speed of Chongyun Village and even Tongshi Town was also beyond her expectations. She even suspected that Xiang Kun had foreseen the great development of Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village beforehand, which was why he came here to run his business.

Tang Baona couldn't help but laugh. That was close! She almost got led astray by Yang the Third!

She tucked the wind-blown strands of hair behind her ear and was about to turn back when she suddenly paused, stopping the motion of flipping Coin with her left hand.

When she came up to the rooftop, she took the "Lucky Coin" that Xiang Kun had given her with her. Because she envied how skillfully and smoothly Little Chubby Girl, Little Apple, Lao Xia, and Xiang Kun could flip Coin, she now practices whenever she has free time—there's no reason why her slender fingers, which her music teacher praised as being suitable for playing the piano, couldn't learn the Coin- flipping technique that even Little Bell could handle!

Now she suddenly realized that while she was thinking about Xiang Kun, her left hand had been unconsciously practicing flipping Coin, and it was becoming smoother and faster, more fluid than ever before.

Tang Baona quickly flipped the Coin a few more times. By the moonlight, she could see it nimbly moving between her fingers, from her little finger to her thumb after each rotation, rolling rapidly as if it were stuck to the back of her hand.

Tang Baona was very excited. She felt as if the Coin and her hand were one. No matter how fast she flipped it, the Coin would not fall. Unlike before, when she could flip it smoothly on the back of her hand, it would immediately slow down and become shaky after being passed back to her palm.

So Tang Baona, who was originally going to go back to sleep, stood on the rooftop again and started playing with Coin, flipping them with her left hand and then her right, just like a child who had discovered a new toy. She was having so much fun that she wasn't sleepy at all.

However, the Coin eventually fell to the ground because Tang Baona's finger cramped.

Gripping her cramped left hand, Tang Baona was secretly delighted. If it weren't for the fact that it was the middle of the night and everyone was asleep, she would definitely have shown off to Yang the Third few times, wondering how he would react.

After her finger cramp subsided, she bent down to pick up the Coin, playing with the seemingly ordinary one-yuan Coin that she had become incredibly familiar with over time. A question lingered in her mind: how had she suddenly become so adept at flipping it?

Is flipping Coin not a matter of technique, but rather a psychological one? The less you pay attention, the more natural it becomes, and the better you flip it?

Tang Baona flipped the Coin again with her right hand, which wasn't cramping, and walked back while playing with them. But when she reached the entrance of the building, she tripped because she was wearing slippers and didn't notice when she lifted her foot, losing her balance and falling forward.

Seeing the stairs ahead, Tang Baona felt a chill in her heart, and two words popped into her head: It's over.

Suddenly, her thighs tightened, and she felt someone hug her from behind, accompanied by a soft "Hey!"

The force of the grabbing her leg wasn't strong, nor did it last long, so she didn't regain her standing position. Instead, she went from lunging forward to kneeling, instinctively raising her hand to grab the handrail at the top of the stairs to steady herself. The Coin that was on the back of her hand flew out and rolled down the stairs.

Looking down the stairs, Tang Baona felt no relief at escaping death; instead, she was even more nervous than before, holding her breath and cautiously looking back.

Behind me was the rooftop, offering a panoramic view under the moonlight, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

Ignoring her aching knees from kneeling, Tang Baona stood up, supporting herself on the wall and railing. She carefully walked out of the top-floor stairwell, nervously glancing left and right, and quickly checking the blind spot she had just been in, but still didn't see anyone.

What just happened?

Who hugged me?

Before she knew it, she was covered in a cold sweat. The thought of being hugged made her scalp tingle.

In particular, she suddenly realized that the hand that was holding her leg seemed very short and small, like that of a child. Judging from the position and angle, the person holding her was also very short. Coupled with that sweet, coquettish voice, it was basically certain that it was a little girl.

But for a little girl that tall, there was only one other girl in the building Little Bell, and she was certain that the voice she had just heard did not belong to Little Bell.

Who is that?

Tang Baona walked back and forth on the rooftop several times, checking for a long time, but found no trace of anyone hiding there.

"Is anyone there?" Tang Baona couldn't help but ask softly from the rooftop.

There was no response. Only then did she realize that the entire Chongyun Village was unusually quiet; there were no barking dogs, no birdsong, and no insect chirping.

By the way, when they returned to Chongyun Village this time, there was another big difference compared to the time before the New Year. This time, they found almost no insects in their accommodation—which should have been the most abundant creatures in the mountain village.

There weren't even a single mosquito, cockroach, or other insect, not even a fly.

Tang Baona originally thought it was just a natural consequence of the road construction and improved sanitation in Chongyun Village.

But now, standing on the rooftop, Tang Baona looked at the nearest streetlight to their courtyard gate and noticed that there were no flying insects under its light, and realized... this was definitely not normal!

Is there something wrong with this house?

Or is there a problem with the entire Chongyun Village and Chongyun Mountain?

Tang Baona suddenly closed her eyes, took two deep breaths, and then murmured to herself, "It's okay, she saved me. Even if there really is something there, it's kind to me, hmm."

After convincing herself, Tang Baona didn't stay on the rooftop. Instead, she went back to the stairwell and noticed a surveillance camera above it. There were many surveillance cameras in their house and yard, basically in all the public spaces, such as the stairwell, living room, and yard. They were installed by Xiang Kun himself.

If I remember correctly, the surveillance videos should all be in Xiang Kun the first floor?

Tang Baona thought for a moment and decided not to wake Yang Zhen'er or Lao Xia. Instead, she went downstairs alone and tried to open the door to Xiang Kun's room, but found it locked.

She thought for a moment, then took out her phone and sent Xiang Kun a WeChat.

Are you still working?

Xiang Kun replied quickly, "Yes, why aren't you asleep yet?" followed by a surprised emoji.

Tang Baona breathed a sigh of relief and quickly typed, "I can't sleep. By the way, I want to see the surveillance video of the stairs. Are all those cameras on your computer in your room?"

"Why do you need to check the security footage now? What happened?"

"It's nothing, I just have a question I want to confirm." Tang Baona hesitated for a moment, but still didn't tell the whole story. She wanted to check the surveillance footage first, as she didn't want to affect Xiang Kun's work too soon.

Xiang Kun replied, "There's a spare key in a metal box under the TV cabinet in the living room. Look for it; it should be there. My computer password is: ******. You should know how to use it, right? Anyway, just ask me if you have any more questions."

"Okay!" After replying to the message, Tang Baona went to the TV cabinet, found the spare key, opened Xiang Kun's room, and went inside.

Xiang Kun's room here is similar in layout to the bedroom in the house he bought in Shenhai. It has a computer desk, a bed, a cabinet, and a computer chair, but nothing else. Even the style is similar to his old one.

After entering the password and logging into the system, Tang Baona asked Xiang Kun how to view the recorded videos.

But when he followed Xiang Kun's instructions and opened the video feed on the staircase, he found that all the other surveillance videos were fine, but the video from the camera in the stairwell on the roof hadn't recorded anything that day!

Tang Baona stared blankly at the computer screen, feeling conflicted for a moment.

Just as she picked up her phone, intending to tell Xiang Kun about the surveillance footage and find out if the stairwell camera was broken or something else, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure at the doorway out of the corner of her eye.