"Don't overthink it. The most urgent thing is to confirm whether the range of people named 'Huang Tian' has expanded..."
Huang Tian suppressed his excitement and followed another completely unfamiliar voice:
The gentle morning sunlight streamed through the windows in the hallway, casting several bands of light of varying lengths across the floor. A faint smell of cooking oil mingled with the scent of milk and bread in the air.
The hallway was especially quiet just then. The only sound was the faint honking of cars in the distance.
"Tap, tap~"
Light footsteps sounded as two men, one thin and one burly, walked through the stairwell.
The thin one wore a dusty gray hoodie, its hood pulled over his head and face as he walked with his head down.
The burly man wore an oversized delivery uniform, a black cap, and a mask. He held an empty cardboard delivery box in his arms, his burly frame a silent threat that was enough to make the occasional resident coming or going avert their eyes without thinking.
The two reached the third floor and stopped in front of room 306.
The thin man quickly crouched at the door. The burly man naturally turned to the side, conveniently blocking him from view as he warily listened for any movement on the floors above and below.
"Huang Tian, hurry it up," the burly man said in an extremely low voice.
"Relax. I've already checked the place. At this time, people on the three floors above and below are pretty much all at work."
The wiry man named Huang Tian pulled a strange tool from his pocket and inserted it into the keyhole.
His movements were incredibly practiced and deft, making almost no metallic sound. In the quiet hallway, the only thing audible was his faint, cautious breathing.
The burly man held the delivery box and rocked it slightly, as if impatiently waiting for the recipient to answer the door.
A mere twenty-odd seconds later, a barely audible click came from the lock cylinder.
The corners of Huang Tian's mouth lifted slightly. He gently pressed down on the handle with his right hand.
The door opened soundlessly, just a crack.
The two slipped inside as nimbly as eels. The burly man gently pulled the door shut behind them, making almost no sound.
The apartment was utterly quiet.
Morning light streamed in through the balcony window, revealing tiny specks of dust floating in the air. The living room was fairly tidy, but it was clear the homeowner had left in a rush for work that morning: a cushion had fallen onto the floor, and the dishes on the dining table had yet to be cleared away.
"Split up and search."
"Got it."
Huang Tian headed straight for the bedroom. He looked around, his gaze settling on the vanity and bedside table, then hurried over to search for jewelry and small items that looked valuable.
The burly man took care of the living room and the study. He quickly searched the TV cabinet drawers and the compartments in the desk, stuffing the laptop, mobile phone, and cash he found into the empty delivery box they had brought.
The whole process was quiet, swift, and highly efficient.
The only sounds were the faint sliding of drawers as they were pulled open and pushed shut, and their suppressed breathing.
A few minutes later, Huang Tian came out of the bedroom, a few pieces of jewelry and a small stack of cash in his hand. He quickly put them into the cardboard box, which was already half full.
He gestured to the burly man, who nodded and gave the place one last look to make sure they hadn't missed anything particularly conspicuous or valuable.
Huang Tian went to the door, first pressing his ear carefully against it to listen for any movement outside.
Once he was sure it was safe, he slowly turned the handle, opened the door a crack, and peered out.
The hallway was still empty.
He immediately slipped out sideways, and the burly man followed close behind, holding the now-heavy "delivery box."
From outside, Huang Tian held the doorknob and gently pulled the door all the way shut. Then the two of them walked downstairs one after the other, looking perfectly natural. They left the apartment building and quickly disappeared into the growing morning traffic of people and cars.
"Bold, skilled thieves. Too bad for the people who got robbed—they've lost a considerable sum..."
Back in his apartment, Huang Tian silently considered whether to call the police and have the two thieves arrested, but he abandoned the idea in the next instant.
It was simple: from the license plates of the cars on the street he'd seen from a third-person perspective, he had figured out that the theft had taken place in Su Province.
He was in Gan Province, a thousand miles away. How could he possibly know that a burglary had taken place in some ordinary neighborhood in Su Province?
There was no way to explain it.
"If the surveillance cameras in the hallway and the neighborhood are working, there's a pretty good chance those two thieves will be caught."
Huang Tian thought no more of it. He picked up the bottled water on his bedside table and gulped down a few mouthfuls. After resting for a moment, he continued following the other voices:
He saw a boy named Huang Tian dozing off in class until his teacher woke him. Looking utterly bewildered, he stood up and answered the question at random, drawing loud laughter from his classmates.
He saw a retired old man named Huang Tian sitting in a pavilion in the park, utterly absorbed in playing the erhu. Its melodious, lilting music drew a crowd of onlookers who took photos.
He saw a girl in a white dress named Huang Tian sitting before an easel, quietly painting with a brush in hand.
He saw a young man named Huang Tian on the other side of the ocean, leaning over a motorcycle as it tilted slightly to the left and swept through a bend. The tires screeched against the ground, setting his teeth on edge. Then he shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow, piercing the heavy air of the city night...
Men and women, old and young... Every Huang Tian led a completely different life, each with its own brilliance.
For the entire day, aside from taking care of his basic needs, Huang Tian spent his time using his supernatural ability to watch other people's lives.
It gave him a surreal, dreamlike feeling.
Of course, the mental strain also made him sleep exceptionally deeply.
The next day, when Huang Tian opened his eyes groggily, he instinctively switched on the "signal." But this time, what came through his ears was no longer a voice calling out.
Instead, it was a crackling sound.
Like an old-fashioned radio malfunctioning.
"Is it stuck?"
"Bad signal?"
He woke up in an instant.
This supernatural ability concerned his future. Even the slightest change drew his intense attention.
Yet the crackling persisted throughout the entire day, leaving Huang Tian somewhat gloomy.
He suspected this might be another evolution of his supernatural ability, but worried that it was slowly failing. The conflicting thoughts left him restless and uneasy.
It wasn't until eight that night, when the streetlights outside the window came on with a warm, dim yellow glow and a few old men in undershirts strolled leisurely along the street, that Huang Tian drew the curtains and leaned back against the bed. He closed his eyes slightly, and at last the sound in his ears changed.
"Crackle... Thick Earth Sect... small lecture on the Dao... you..."
Huang Tian's expression shifted as he listened intently.
"Crackle, crackle... My name is Mo Qiu. I'm the instructor for you outer disciples, responsible for explaining the first chapter of the Yellow Heaven Mountain-Suppressing Spirit Scripture..."
"Wait, is this also Huang Tian?"
In the pitch-black night, his bright eyes shimmered with a mix of astonishment and delight.
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