There were limits to the testing. The investigation bureau in Whale City was not the largest bureau, so it could not possibly bring out a Level 0 Object for testing.
Likewise, Class 1 objects were not so easily brought out to assist with tests.
Thus, Big-Faced Cat was provisionally designated a Class 1 classified object. No one knew the upper limit of its knowledge.
Ke Meng tapped "1-0528" and saw a full-body image of Big-Faced Cat. Below it were rows of physical data covering its height, weight, fur color, body temperature, abilities, and more.
A red exclamation mark appeared in the upper-right corner of each data field. When Ke Meng tapped one, a line of small text immediately appeared.
"Level A clearance required"
Ke Meng did not have Level A clearance, but as the original owner, he had permission to view the actual object directly.
At the very bottom of Big-Faced Cat's file was an additional note:
"Note: 1-0528 may possess knowledge of Class 0 objects. Untested. Provisionally assigned Class 1 classification."
"Captain Luo, when will we do the Class 0 tests?" Ke Meng asked.
"There won't be any further Class 0 testing. For now, it'll remain a Class 1 classified object." Captain Luo turned his head and tapped the Bluetooth earpiece in his ear, showing it to Ke Meng.
This was not his decision alone. It was what the higher-ups wanted.
Cameras recorded the tests here, uploading the entire process to headquarters.
Headquarters had already instructed Captain Luo not to conduct Class 0 tests.
"They can do that?" Ke Meng asked in surprise.
"You're External Staff. Right now, none of the higher-ups are willing to let you near Level 0 Objects. Besides, your Big-Faced Cat isn't an offensive object. We can just leave it alone."
Captain Luo explained, then added quietly, "Level 0 Objects are terrifying. It's not worth bringing them out for testing. And you wouldn't want to hand Big-Faced Cat over anyway, would you? Then all we can do is leave it alone."
Ke Meng nodded. Of course he did not want to hand over Big-Faced Cat.
After Captain Luo's explanation, Ke Meng gradually began to understand how the Special Affairs Investigation Bureau handled things.
"Headquarters has already checked your records from childhood to the present. There's no record of anti-human activity. You can take your things home now." Captain Luo had just received another order and relayed it to Ke Meng.
Ke Meng caught the higher-ups' veiled warning. If they found a record of anti-human activity, they would launch a very strict investigation. If it proved true, the consequences went without saying. If there were no anti-human tendencies, everyone could live together in harmony.
No one liked a fractured society where life held no hope.
With that, Captain Luo escorted him out and gave him a ride home. After all, Tangyuan was far too large a pet, and as a Class 1 classified object, Big-Faced Cat should not be openly displayed in public either.
By the time he arrived home, it was already 9:50 p.m.
The convenience store downstairs was still open, but no one was shopping anymore. The mother and daughter inside were preparing to clean the floor and close up.
The car stopped downstairs at Ke Meng's place, and the dog and cat were brought back inside.
Captain Luo left, and Chen Momo received word at that moment that Ke Meng had returned home safely.
[Momo]: "You went out. Are those two ants still there?"
"They are," Ke Meng typed back.
In Ke Meng's home, the two ants were still confined in a small box. Human shadows lay beneath them, confirming that it was indeed the two women.
Once a shadow species parasitized a host, changing hosts was not easy. After switching, it needed to go dormant.
The dormancy was necessary because the shadow needed to reach a balance with the original host, which took a great deal of time.
Mi Jingyun had previously left Mrs. Chen's body to move around outside precisely to train her ability and shorten that dormant period.
But Ke Meng had extracted the ants' original shadows, so the women had no need to compete, eliminating the dormancy stage.
Now both women were huddled beneath the ants, lying motionless on the ground.
Only when Ke Meng poked them with a finger did the two ants move, and their movements were very slow.
"Afraid to leave?" Ke Meng asked.
Honestly, Ke Meng could not watch them all the time. In this house, he was the only one who knew the Shadow-Grasping Hand.
Ke Meng had also asked Captain Luo how they would deal with that fugitive. Unfortunately, Captain Luo had not told him. That was a bureau secret, unless he joined as an official member.
If these two ants wanted to run, they could simply wait until he fell asleep at night. There was nothing he could do about them.
Crushing the ants would not help either. The women could switch bodies, while Ke Meng's Shadow-Grasping Hand could only grasp shadows, not tear them apart.
Could Ke Meng keep holding them with the Shadow-Grasping Hand forever? He could not. He was human and needed sleep.
As soon as Ke Meng fell asleep, these two shadows would have a chance to escape.
They were two-dimensional entities and could squeeze through any gap. In theory, things like them were very difficult to contain.
Only by blocking their escape with a special item that burned dark powers, as Captain Luo had done, could one imprison a shadow species.
The two ants wrote on the ground:
"Can't get out."
"Why can't you get out?" Ke Meng asked.
"Don't know," the two ants wrote again.
They were ants, and writing was too cumbersome, making communication difficult for both sides. The ants could only keep their messages as short as possible.
Ke Meng did not have a lie detector either, so it was difficult to sense what they were thinking.
Did they really not know, or did they lack the strength to escape?
Speaking of perception, at present, Ke Meng could only use Synesthesia to understand Tangyuan's language.
This might have had something to do with recognizing him as its master. After all, the first person Tangyuan had seen upon opening its eyes was Ke Meng himself, establishing a strong, invisible connection.
"Then let's run a test," Ke Meng said.
There was no reason they could leave shadows before but could not do so now.
The two little ants grew a little nervous. How was he going to test that? They couldn't get out, plain and simple. Otherwise, they would have escaped long ago.
"The current problem is with the ants you're parasitizing. I already stripped away their original shadows and transferred them to other insects."
"You might be unable to leave because they have no shadows."
"So let's test what happens when I throw you into bodies with other shadows."
Without waiting for either woman to protest, Ke Meng reached out and grabbed Mi Jingyun's shadow-the one that had previously possessed Mrs. Chen.
Ke Meng had no particular fondness for these two shadow beings.
Although he had not seen them do anything evil, their parasitizing other people's shadows made him uncomfortable.
Besides, he had not forgotten the explanation Big-Faced Cat had given him earlier.
"This is a creature invaded by a shadow species. At present, the primary personality is in control, while the secondary personality is dormant. Some unpredictable events may occur in the future."
The key points were "in the future" and "unpredictable events." Ke Meng pondered whether a shadow species might eventually erode the primary personality, seize control of the body, and live again through its host.
They were also very difficult to kill. Ke Meng could not stay awake forever, holding them until they died. He could only first figure out their properties, then find a way to deal with them.
He flicked his right hand, installing Mi Jingyun's shadow inside the shadow of a seven-spotted ladybug. The shadow beneath it swelled, vaguely sprouting several tentacles before they quickly vanished, returning to the ladybug shadow's original shape.
"Mi Jingyun, can you hear me?" Ke Meng asked. "Move your left leg if you can."
The seven-spotted ladybug stood quietly on the ground without making any new movements. It seemed the ladybug's primary insect personality was in control, while Mi Jingyun's shadow, which liked leaving its body to take walks, had fallen dormant.
On the other side of the tabletop, Wen Yushan's little ant trembled.
This man was truly terrifying.
Please vote!
Are there any reading-list curators here? Please give this book a spot on your list.
Before you continue