The spider girl's awakening put everyone at the scene on guard. Only Xiao He remained unmoved. The spider girl's name was still "Lin Tiannan" and had not changed back to her original name, so his ability was still active. No matter whether she could soar a hundred thousand miles or transform seventy-two times, she could not escape his grasp.
"W-why am I here?!" Xia Yu looked around, backing away in terror. Then she looked at the coat draped over her body. "Am I on a helicopter? Why am I not wearing any clothes?"
"If you don't mind, wear mine first." Ye Wanqing handed her the clothes she had been wearing earlier, then shot Xiao He a glare. "So certain people don't get any improper ideas..."
Xiao He curled his lip, too lazy to argue with her. To be honest, he had already seen almost everything before carrying the girl back. There was no need to ruin what remained of his reputation now, though he did not have much of one left anyway.
"So, you don't remember what happened before?" Cui Man asked curiously.
"I don't know..." Xia Yu shook her head, looking confused and frightened. "I went to the warehouse to get some clothes in a customer's size, and then something seemed to bite my hand. After that... the world around me changed. I couldn't see anything clearly, only make out some blurry shadows. But I could sense a lot of things, like tiny vibrations..."
"Ma'am, I think even her senses may have turned into those of a spider," one of the accompanying researchers explained. "Spiders' senses differ from humans'. Their vision is poor, and they basically rely on sensing vibrations to search for prey."
"So even her physical structure was altered, turning her into a complete spider?" Cui Man suddenly understood. "That was why she couldn't communicate with the people around her... Her ability to receive sound was affected too, and without human vocal cords, she couldn't speak."
"I was so scared. I could only run somewhere quiet and wait for it all to pass..." Xia Yu said fearfully, clutching her head.
"You should have a Superpower. As for what triggered it, we still don't know." Cui Man took her hand and smiled kindly. "If you're willing to come back to the Special Response Department with me, I can help you figure it out. Perhaps you can consider working with the Special Response Department in the future. We'll offer you generous compensation, just like these two here..."
As Cui Man spoke, she turned toward Xiao He and Ye Wanqing. In truth, Xiao He wanted to tell the girl not to get involved in this mess, especially since she would only end up replacing him as cannon fodder to stall for time, just as she had today.
Making a girl who was practically middle-school age do something like this... was simply too cruel.
But he could not bring himself to say that in front of Cui Man.
"I-I don't know... My mind is still a mess right now." Xia Yu looked extremely nervous.
"It's all right, it's all right." Cui Man put an arm around her shoulders and drew her into an embrace, comforting her softly. "We won't force you. If you don't want to, we'll help you research what triggered your Superpower, then help you return to an ordinary life, all right? You don't want what happened today to happen again, do you? Once we understand how it works, we can prevent it."
"Mm..." Xia Yu nodded gently, finally calming down somewhat.
"Want something to eat?" Xiao He raised the half piece of compressed biscuit in his hand and asked.
"...Yes." Xia Yu stared at the compressed biscuit in his hand and swallowed.
Xiao He was instantly embarrassed. He had only been making a polite offer, but he did not have any extra compressed biscuits. Even this one had been given to him by Ye Wanqing. So he turned to Ye Wanqing, pointed at Xia Yu, and said, "Baby, give her one too."
Ye Wanqing muttered something, then grabbed a pack of compressed biscuits and a bottle of water from beside her and handed them to Xia Yu.
Using her Superpower had clearly left Xia Yu starving. After changing into her clothes, she wolfed down the compressed biscuits and drank half the bottle of water before finally settling down and falling asleep against Cui Man's shoulder.
"This child... She must have been terrified today." Cui Man stroked Xia Yu's head and sighed.
"She did shatter every bone in my body..." Xiao He muttered quietly from the side. Cui Man replied, "You worked hard today too. She seems like an honest child. Once you escort her to the research institute, you can go home."
The return trip was not as urgent as the trip there, so the helicopter did not fly particularly fast. After two hours of flight, it finally landed at the military base in Beichang City.
Since Xia Yu was still weak and emotionally unstable, they settled her down for the time being and planned to begin the research after she had rested for the night.
After confirming that her condition was stable and that she would not transform again, Cui Man sent someone to drive Xiao He and Ye Wanqing home.
"Today is finally over..." Xiao He complained as he entered, rubbing his shoulders. "What a long day."
"Yeah." Ye Wanqing frowned and sighed. After changing her shoes, she collapsed onto the sofa. "Home is still better..."
"What do you want for dinner? I'll order for you. Sister Man said we completed a mission today, so we can reward ourselves a little." Xiao He said excitedly. "How about McDonald's? Or do you want KFC? Pizza Hut?"
"I'll pass. I didn't really exercise much. Just get me a salad," Ye Wanqing said weakly.
"You..." Xiao He frowned. "There's no need for that. You're not fat."
"Just do that. I'm going to rest for a bit." Ye Wanqing turned over as she spoke, facing away from him.
Xiao He shrugged, picked up his phone, and started ordering food nearby.
Ye Wanqing was actually a little angry with herself. She felt that although she was Xiao He's partner, she could not do anything at crucial moments. Even when Xiao He had been in danger, all she could do was watch from afar and wait for the technicians to provide her with an ID bearing a name. She felt that she was, at best, support staff—not a partner.
To put it plainly, she felt that she was holding him back. It made her unhappy, but there was nothing she could do about it. So at the very least, she wanted to firmly carry out the checklist given to her by the Special Response Department. That made her feel like she was doing something meaningful.
"Food's here, darling." Grinning cheekily, Xiao He set her salad beside her. "I got you a salad, then added chicken breast, tuna, steak, and a yogurt purple sweet potato mash. Even a fitness meal can be a bit more lavish, right? Today's mission was so exhausting. We should reward ourselves."
"You, honestly..." Ye Wanqing sat up and glared at him. "What's the point of a fitness meal like that?"
"Come on, people should let themselves be happy once in a while." Xiao He unpacked his McDonald's meal with a smile. "Watch a show, drink some soda, pair it with junk food..."
"Your happiness is way too simple." Ye Wanqing could not help laughing. "What are you watching?"
"The Haunting," Xiao He replied. "Want to watch? I can cast it to the TV, and we can watch together."
"No... I hate horror movies the most." Ye Wanqing refused. "Who watches a horror movie while eating? If we're watching something, it should be a food show."
"All right then, The Solitary Gourmet?" Xiao He asked tentatively.
"That sounds good." Ye Wanqing nodded. After a pause, she continued, "Tomorrow morning, let's go for a run."
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