Hunger and the First Step Towards Trust!

Lin Mo stared at that window for a full ten seconds.

The space behind the curtain gap was pitch black, making it impossible to tell if anyone was there. But that gap definitely existed; he had a habit of drawing the curtains tight before leaving, and he always made sure they were sealed shut.

Ning Rongrong hid behind him, her fingers gripping the hem of his shirt tightly. She could feel her heartbeat accelerating, but she bit her lip, forcing herself to remain silent.

Lin Mo took a slow step forward.

The stinging sensation in his right eye had eased slightly, and the system was still flickering:

[Danger Level: Unknown]

[Recommendation: Proceed with caution]

Proceed with caution. What a load of nonsense.

He glanced back at Ning Rongrong and lowered his voice, "Wait here."

Ning Rongrong shook her head immediately, "No."

"What if there's someone up there..."

"Then I definitely can't let you go alone." She let go of his shirt hem, only to grab it again a moment later, "Didn't we agree? You protect me, I help you. If you die, who am I supposed to help?"

She spoke with righteous indignation, but the fingers clutching his shirt were trembling.

Lin Mo looked at her for two seconds, said nothing more, and turned to head upstairs.

Ning Rongrong followed closely behind him, refusing to fall a single step behind.

The stairs still creaked. With every groan of the wood, Ning Rongrong's breathing grew shallower. It wasn't as if she hadn't faced danger before; back on the Douluo Continent, she had gone on training missions with the Shrek Seven Devils and seen all sorts of situations. But that was when Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone were around, when Boss Dai and the others were there.

Now, there was only Lin Mo.

An ordinary person who didn't even have soul power, who didn't even know what his own martial soul was.

She looked at Lin Mo's back, suddenly unable to understand why she had followed him up. She clearly should have hidden, clearly should have let him go scout the path alone.

But when he looked back at her and said "Wait here," she just wanted to follow.

She couldn't say why.

They reached the second floor.

Lin Mo stood at the door of his studio and reached out to push it open.

The door was unlocked.

He had clearly locked it when he left.

Ning Rongrong noticed this as well, and her grip on his shirt tightened further.

Lin Mo took a deep breath and shoved the door open.

The room was empty.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a patch of light on the floor. The curtain was indeed pulled open, but there was no one by the window. The tools on the workbench were still arranged neatly, and the noodle bowl from last night remained on the coffee table.

Everything looked exactly as it had before he left.

But Lin Mo noticed a detail: the position of the noodle bowl on the coffee table had changed.

He had pushed the bowl further in before leaving, fearing he might accidentally knock it over. Now, the bowl had been moved outward by a dozen centimeters, and there was a smudge of uncleaned grease on the rim.

Someone had touched it.

Lin Mo walked to the window and pulled back the curtain to look down. Below was a small alley piled with debris, currently completely deserted. He checked the window—an old-fashioned sliding type with a broken latch he had never bothered to fix. If someone wanted to climb in from the outside, it would be easy.

Ning Rongrong stood at the doorway, not daring to enter. She watched Lin Mo check the window, the space behind the cabinets, and the small inner bedroom, waiting until he had finished searching everything before asking in a low voice, "Is there anyone?"

Lin Mo shook his head, "They're gone."

Ning Rongrong let out a sigh of relief and walked in, but immediately frowned, "How did you know someone had been here?"

Lin Mo pointed to the bowl on the coffee table.

Ning Rongrong looked at the bowl, then back at Lin Mo, her expression becoming complex.

"You... you're very observant."

"It's a habit," Lin Mo said. "When restoring artifacts, you notice if something is off by even a millimeter."

Ning Rongrong didn't respond. She walked to the window and tried to look out just as he had, but she saw nothing. She suddenly asked, "Could it be Shi Nian?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment and shook his head, "The system says he won't descend for another twenty-plus hours. Besides, if he came, there would be no need for him to be sneaky."

"Then who was it?"

"I don't know." Lin Mo paused, "It might be someone from around here. Only elderly people live in this building; maybe someone just walked into the wrong room."

He spoke calmly, but Ning Rongrong could tell that even he didn't believe it.

After a few seconds of silence, Ning Rongrong's stomach suddenly growled.

It was very loud.

It sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

Her face turned red instantly, and she covered her stomach, glaring at Lin Mo, "What are you looking at!"

Lin Mo couldn't help it; the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Ning Rongrong was embarrassed and angry: "What are you laughing at! I... I had steamed buns for breakfast, so what if I digest them quickly!"

Lin Mo stopped laughing and turned to walk toward the kitchen: "Wait here."

"Waiting again?" Ning Rongrong followed behind him, "Besides cooking, what else can you even do?"

Lin Mo didn't look back: "I can fix things."

"Fix what?"

"Cultural relics. Antiques, that is."

Ning Rongrong was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered something: "You mean those bronze, porcelain, broken, and ragged things?"

Lin Mo had already started washing the pot; he nodded upon hearing this: "Mm."

Ning Rongrong leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching his skilled movements as he turned on the stove, poured oil, and cracked an egg. The oil sizzled, and the egg liquid quickly solidified, its edges turning a crispy golden brown.

She suddenly asked: "Is that... worth money?"

"What?"

"The things you fix."

Lin Mo thought for a moment: "Some are valuable, some are not."

"Then why do you fix them?"

Lin Mo didn't answer immediately. He plated the fried egg and started boiling noodles. Once the water boiled, he dropped the noodles in and stirred them with chopsticks before speaking:

"Because those things were meant to be broken. If no one fixes them, they'll be gone forever."

Ning Rongrong didn't quite understand, but she didn't ask again.

Watching Lin Mo cook the noodles, she suddenly remembered the kitchen maids back at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; they were just as skilled and methodical. But the maids prepared delicacies from land and sea, while Lin Mo was only making clear-broth noodles.

She thought of the bowl of noodles from last night.

Clear broth, thin noodles, a few leaves of greens, a poached egg, and a sprinkle of vibrant green scallions. It was a very simple dish, yet she felt it tasted better than many of the meals at the sect.

It wasn't because of the flavor.

It was because...

She couldn't quite put it into words herself.

The noodles were ready. Lin Mo brought the bowl to the coffee table and handed a pair of chopsticks to Ning Rongrong.

Ning Rongrong took them and lowered her head to eat.

After a few bites, she suddenly said: "Where I come from, cooking is a servant's job."

Lin Mo sat opposite her, not saying a word.

She continued: "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is one of the Upper Three Sects; I've never stepped foot in a kitchen since I was a child. If I want to eat something, I just say the word and someone brings it to me."

Lin Mo still didn't speak.

Ning Rongrong looked up at him: "Why don't you ask what I'm trying to say?"

"If you want to say it, you will."

Ning Rongrong was stunned, then lowered her head to continue eating. After two more bites, she whispered:

"What I wanted to say is... the noodles you make are pretty good."

After saying this, her ears turned red again.

Lin Mo looked at her reddened earlobes and suddenly said: "If you want to eat them in the future, I'll make them for you anytime."

Ning Rongrong's chopsticks paused.

She didn't look up, but her voice sounded muffled: "Who asked you to make them anytime? It's not like I can't live without your noodles."

Lin Mo smiled, choosing not to call her bluff.

After finishing the noodles, Ning Rongrong took the initiative to carry the bowl to the kitchen. Lin Mo tried to stop her, but she glared at him: "Who are you looking down on? Who doesn't know how to wash dishes?"

Lin Mo didn't stop her again.

He heard the sound of water in the kitchen, the clinking of dishes, and Ning Rongrong's soft muttering: "Why is this stuff... so slippery..."

He got up and walked to the kitchen doorway, seeing Ning Rongrong looking troubled by the bottle of dish soap. She squeezed a bit onto her hand, sniffed it, frowned, and then looked at the bowl in the sink, unsure of what to do.

Lin Mo walked over, reached out from behind her, took the bowl, and demonstrated: "Rinse it first, then squeeze this on, rub it evenly, and rinse it clean."

Ning Rongrong watched his movements and nodded: "Oh."

She took the bowl and followed his lead. She squeezed out too much soap, and the sink filled with bubbles. She scrambled to rinse it, but the water pressure was too high, splashing all over her.

Lin Mo watched from the side, the curve of his mouth growing wider.

Ning Rongrong turned to glare at him, her face still covered in foam: "What are you laughing at!"

Lin Mo suppressed his smile and handed her a rag.

Ning Rongrong took the rag to wipe her face, but the corners of her mouth curled up involuntarily as well.

After washing the dishes, the two returned to the living room.

Ning Rongrong sat on the sofa and suddenly asked, "That training you mentioned, when are we going?"

Lin Mo checked the time. "This afternoon. It's too conspicuous to go now."

"Conspicuous?"

"Even though that construction site is abandoned, people still pass by during the day. Going at night is more convenient."

Ning Rongrong nodded. After a moment of silence, she asked again, "Shi Nian... he specializes in illusions. Do you know what an illusion is?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment. "Making people see things that aren't real?"

"It's more than that," Ning Rongrong said. "It makes you see what you fear most. The person you fear most, the event you fear most, the ending you fear most. Then, you become trapped inside, unable to get out."

She paused, her voice dropping lower. "When I was at Shrek, I heard stories about him. A powerhouse at the Spirit King level was dragged into his illusion. When they were found three days later, they had gone insane, constantly screaming things like 'Don't kill me' and 'It wasn't me.'"

Lin Mo remained silent.

Ning Rongrong looked at him. "Aren't you afraid?"

Lin Mo thought about it and said, "I am."

"Then why are you still going to fight?"

"Even if I'm afraid, I have to fight," Lin Mo said. "What else? Wait for him to come and kill you?"

Ning Rongrong stared at him and suddenly asked, "If one day, an enemy comes that you can't beat, will you run?"

Lin Mo didn't answer immediately.

He remembered how Ning Rongrong looked while asleep last night, the way she clutched the token, and the way she turned her head when she said, "I don't even know you."

He said, "If I run, I'll take you with me."

Ning Rongrong was stunned.

Then she looked away and whispered, "Who asked you to take me? I can run on my own."

Lin Mo didn't speak.

The sunlight outside the window grew brighter. The morning streets began to bustle, and the sounds of cars and people drifted in faintly.

Ning Rongrong leaned back against the sofa, suddenly feeling her eyelids grow heavy. She hadn't slept well last night, and after walking so much this morning, the relaxation brought a wave of drowsiness.

She struggled to keep her eyes open, but her lids grew heavier and heavier.

In her haze, she heard the sound of Lin Mo standing up and felt something being draped over her. She wanted to say "I'm not sleepy," but her lips only moved without making a sound.

Then, she fell asleep.

Lin Mo looked at Ning Rongrong, who was curled up asleep on the sofa, and gently pulled the blanket that had slipped down back up.

Her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she were having a dream.

The sunlight outside the window moved slowly, shifting from her feet to her waist, and then to her face. She frowned and turned over, burying her face into the sofa.

Lin Mo sat nearby, watching her back, and suddenly recalled the question she had asked earlier:

"If one day, an enemy comes that you can't beat, will you run?"

He hadn't told her that after his parents passed away when he was seven, he had never run again.

It wasn't because he was brave.

It was because there was nowhere to go even if he did run.

He withdrew his gaze and looked out the window.

In the distance, toward the outskirts of the city, the sky seemed a shade darker than elsewhere. It was very faint, barely noticeable unless one looked closely.

But he saw it.

Lin Mo stared at that patch of darkness, his right hand tightening involuntarily.

He had to check that construction site this afternoon.

He had to prepare in advance.

He glanced back at Ning Rongrong, who was still asleep, and said softly:

"Don't worry. I'll take you with me."

At two in the afternoon, Lin Mo woke Ning Rongrong, and the two left the house.

An hour later, they stood before the abandoned construction site on the outskirts of the city.

The rusted iron gate was half-open. Inside lay piles of construction waste, a few rusted excavators sat crookedly in the corners, and the ground was covered in broken bricks and concrete blocks. As the wind blew through, the metal roof groaned with a creaking sound.

Ning Rongrong looked at the place and frowned. "This is it?"

"Yes."

"What can you train here?"

Just as Lin Mo was about to speak, a sharp pain suddenly pierced his right eye.

The purple light screen flickered frantically:

[Warning! Warning!]

[Target aura detected!]

[Locating...]

[Location complete.]

[Target "Shi Nian" has arrived ahead of schedule.]

[Current location: Inside this abandoned construction site.]

[Distance: Less than 500 meters.]

Lin Mo's entire body stiffened.

Seeing his expression, Ning Rongrong's face changed as well.

The next second, a cold, sinister laugh drifted from the depths of the construction site.

The laughter sounded as if it were coming from very far away, yet also as if it were right beside their ears.

It was erratic and made one's scalp tingle.

Then, a hunched figure slowly walked out from the depths of the construction site.