The Old Man Appeared

"If I suddenly asked you to find Zhang Jianmin right now, are you confident you could find him quickly?"

After peering around the corner for a while, Xia Xu turned to look at Yang Bowen.

Yang Bowen chuckled smugly. "Of course. I know his address, and I even got his phone number and everything from the property management office. Worst comes to worst, I can just call and bluff my way through."

"Good, then. Head home early, and come back tomorrow to keep following him. For the time being, try not to go out at night, and stay away from secluded places."

Xia Xu nodded slightly and gave Yang Bowen a warning.

"Why?"

Yang Bowen grew a little uneasy. "Boss, we haven't gotten ourselves into some kind of trouble, have we?"

"Someone was killed near Star City No. 3 High School today. A classmate of mine was mauled to death by some kind of wild beast. The police are doing everything they can to find it. I'm only telling you to stay indoors because I'm worried you might run into it too. I don't want my right-hand man getting bitten to death by some animal out of nowhere."

Xia Xu shot him an exasperated look.

Tang Hao's death was no secret. Plenty of people knew about it, so there was nothing to hide.

"Oh. Heh, yeah, I'd better be careful, then."

Yang Bowen rubbed the back of his head and gave a couple of awkward chuckles.

"All right, hurry home."

Xia Xu waved him off.

"You're not leaving, boss? Oh... I get it. I get it."

Yang Bowen asked reflexively at first, then broke into a knowing grin.

"Don't assume I'm as dirty-minded as you. I'm still an innocent high school student, a budding flower of our nation..."

Yang Bowen left with a smile as Xia Xu protested.

As for Xia Xu, who stayed behind... he really did turn around and book a room at the hotel beside the KTV.

Of course, there was no need to get the wrong idea. He wasn't doing anything unspeakable. It was purely a safety precaution, and one of the main reasons he had come looking for Zhang Jianmin.

The monster from "Hunter" had appeared near the school, and both Tang Hao's home and his own were nearby. In all likelihood, that area was where the plot of "Hunter" would unfold.

The school itself could actually be ruled out. Tang Hao had died off campus, and he and Tang Hao were the only two supporting characters at school. No one else was "involved," so the chances of the unknown creature attacking the school were relatively low.

Following that logic, if he appeared in the original plot too, it would have to happen somewhere he-or rather, the original owner of his body-frequented. The area around his home was the likeliest candidate, so he had no intention of staying there for the time being.

Zhang Jianmin was the protagonist of "The Dying Man." In theory, his surroundings were also a setting for a plot, and specifically the plot of "The Dying Man."

Since it was almost certainly an absurd comedy, its tone was worlds apart from "Hunter." If both stories followed their normal trajectories, crossovers or intrusions should be unlikely. In other words, the area around Zhang Jianmin might actually be a safe zone.

He had no way to confirm that, and the odds might not even be good, but it was still something worth trying. It was much better than simply sitting around waiting to die.

As Little White Flower had said, he couldn't rely entirely on luck to "cure" his problem.

If he couldn't afford a bodyguard, he would earn money. If he couldn't find a suitable bodyguard, he would keep looking. Even if avoiding the monster's attacks was difficult, he would still do his best to avoid them. He had to do everything he could before leaving the rest to fate.

And as his thinking broadened, Xia Xu realized he wasn't entirely helpless. All he needed to do was look beyond the confines of the "Hunter" plot. There were ways he could prevent, or even resolve, the danger it posed.

Blue Ocean Star was, after all, a real world, and one containing numerous "plots" at that. If there could be "hunters" and "prey," couldn't there also be other powerful individuals and stories featuring formidable fighters?

For example... another story about "biological mutation"?

Or perhaps a story about awakened superpowers, an elite special forces soldier, a Dragon King son-in-law, or gang warfare?

If he could find plots and characters with enough fighting power, couldn't he find a way to bring those people into the plot of "Hunter" and have them hunt down and kill the monster?

That seemed to be the proper way to "draw on outside help."

Over the next two days, Xia Xu continued attending classes as usual during the day, then stayed at the hotel beside the Golden Sun KTV after school. Apparently, Zhang Jianmin's idea of decadent living amounted to drinking and singing there.

Since he wanted to look for other plots, talented people, or powerful fighters, Xia Xu also liked to inspect people's attribute panels in busy places such as the Golden Sun KTV before turning in for the night. As a result, he personally witnessed Zhang Jianmin's gradual transformation over those two days.

At first, he had been lonely amid the revelry. Then he gradually loosened up and joined in, before finally drinking and making merry with women on either side, howling away like a madman. It was hard to believe someone could change so much in just two short days.

Maybe it won't be much longer...

On Thursday, Xia Xu sat in class, his thoughts wandering.

Speak of the devil-a phone started ringing inside his desk.

"Whose phone is that? Turn it off!"

At the front of the classroom, Liu Xiulan's expression immediately darkened at the interruption.

"Ma'am, could I take this call? It's really important. I mean it."

Xia Xu raised his hand.

Liu Xiulan was fairly reasonable. Her expression softened a little at his words, and she nodded. "Take it outside. Don't disturb the other students."

Xia Xu thanked her, jogged out of the classroom, and answered the call.

"Boss, that old man at the construction site you mentioned has shown up!"

Yang Bowen's loud, excited voice came through the phone.

"Okay, got it."

Xia Xu was pleased, though he had more or less expected this.

The plot description for "The Dying Man" said Zhang Jianmin encountered the old man at the construction site after spending some time indulging in a life of excess.

Whether or not Zhang Jianmin was still following the plot's trajectory, he had been doing those things, and that stretch of time had passed. By Xia Xu's reckoning, it was about time for the old man at the construction site to show up for "work." That was precisely what he had been considering just now.

Unfortunately, unlike the gambling scene, this one hadn't happened to fall on a weekend.

He could go a little later, but he was worried about unexpected complications. If the old man only made a brief appearance, or Zhang Jianmin went over as soon as he appeared and continued the bargain-hunting plot, all Xia Xu's efforts would have been wasted.

"I've got it. Yang, sorry for the trouble, but could you come over to my school?"

An idea suddenly struck Xia Xu.

Getting leave himself was inconvenient, but nothing stopped a "relative or guardian" from requesting it for him!

Yang Bowen was already a burly middle-aged man. With those looks, he wouldn't even need to act. People would believe him no matter what kind of relative he claimed to be. A long absence might be difficult, but getting the homeroom teacher to approve half a day or a full day off should be no problem.