Meeting again, setting out

What followed was a quiet wait.

In fact, the wait was not long. Over those two days, Shi Yu visited Granny Sun and went grocery shopping with Han He. On the afternoon of the third day, while Shi Yu was puzzling over when a jar of unidentified dried leaves had appeared in his home, he received a call from Shen Bai. The message was very simple.

"Your paperwork has all come through. Just meet at the location I sent you at nine tomorrow morning. There's nothing you need to prepare. Relax."

As soon as Shi Yu finished his call, Han He's phone rang. The message was much the same.

Listening to Shen Bai's voice over the phone beside Han He, Shi Yu twisted open the jar.

The instant he opened it, a strange, pungent smell surged unstoppably into Shi Yu's nose. Before he even had time to react, an enormous sneeze burst out.

Achoo!!!

Shen Bai fell silent on the other end, then added, "It's getting cold. Wear more layers and keep warm," before hanging up.

Shi Yu hastily screwed the lid back on. Just as he was about to ask the Hunter living in his home what this stuff was, his phone rang.

It was Hu Zihao.

The three of them had stayed in touch over the past few days. Hu Zihao posted daily updates in the [Concave] group chat. Ever since the Curtain-Caller's attack had been foiled, neither he nor his mother had encountered anyone suspicious again. That was worth celebrating.

Shi Yu answered, and Hu Zihao's excited voice came through the speaker.

"Shen Bai just called me! He said the three of us can report in tomorrow!"

"Yeah, I got a call too. How are you getting there tomorrow morning? It looks pretty close to my place. Want to meet up first and head over together?" Shi Yu replied as he looked at the map, silently muttering to himself.

Why there? I remember that being an abandoned factory... We can get there just by crossing the hill.

"Hey, I was just about to say that! You're really sharp these days, Shi Yu! Then I'll come to your place at eight tomorrow, and we can go together," Hu Zihao said.

Shi Yu checked the map again. Once he confirmed he had not misread it, he replied, "Sure. See you tomorrow morning, then."

"All right, bye!"

Shi Yu said goodbye as well, and Hu Zihao hung up.

After hearing the other end disconnect, Shi Yu turned and grabbed Han He, who was trying to take the jar of herbs off the table beside him, and asked in puzzlement:

"Say, Han He, what exactly is all this stuff, and when did you bring it back? Don't pile things up until you cause an explosion and blow my house apart one day."

After speaking, Shi Yu studied Han He's expression. Over the past few days together, Shi Yu had discovered that Han He actually showed many subtle changes in expression. Ordinary people would struggle to see through them, but with his "Thought" Staircase, Shi Yu could distinguish the emotions behind them by intuition.

For instance, Han He's expression now held a trace of guilt that was difficult to detect.

Seriously? Some of it really can explode?

"Come on, don't scare me. If any of it really can explode, you'd better keep it stored safely. This really is the only home I've got. Don't blow it up."

Han He straightened his back a little and said solemnly:

"I won't."

He picked up the jar of pungent leaves and added:

"I gathered these when I went out at night."

Shi Yu was a little surprised, then asked:

"At night? Don't you sleep?"

Han He opened the door to the small room Shi Yu had barely entered over the past few days, then put the jar of leaves under the bed.

Shi Yu bent down as well and looked beneath it.

Good grief.

Who knew where Han He had found so many jars and bags? Every container held something different. Shi Yu even spotted a dried animal limb in one small bag.

Han He lowered the sheet over the side of the bed again and said:

"Hunters don't need much rest. Especially me. I can store up more stamina during each brief rest."

Looking at Han He, who sat very upright and looked ill at ease, Shi Yu said:

"You don't need to be nervous. It's not as if I can do anything to you. But fine, you're stockpiling things. Why stockpile so much?"

Hearing that Shi Yu apparently would not take issue with his extensive gathering, Han He breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"I don't feel at ease unless I have enough materials around me."

Was that a characteristic of his preparation focus?

Shi Yu frowned slightly, recalling that Han He did indeed seem to have materials on him at all times.

But would someone really need to put new things around themselves every day? Wasn't this way of doing things a little too...

Shi Yu looked beneath the bed, now concealed by the sheet, and tucked his doubts back into his heart. Then he said to Han He:

"All right, stockpile them if you want. But don't keep anything too dangerous... If you do, keep it sealed up properly. Whatever you do, don't blow up the house."

Han He nodded and said:

"Understood."

Shi Yu nodded, then checked the time and decided to take a shower. After all, he would officially be joining the team tomorrow, so he still needed to pay some attention to his appearance.

Meanwhile, Han He selected a hedgehog pouch in his room, then bent down and took several oddly shaped materials from under the bed, carefully beginning to wrap them up.

The next morning.

Shi Yu and Han He were nearly ready. Hu Zihao had just called to say he was almost there, and had also asked whether the two of them wanted him to bring breakfast.

Shi Yu replied that they had already eaten, so Hu Zihao only needed to bring himself.

Before long, there was a knock at the door.

Sitting near the door, Shi Yu quickly turned and opened it.

"Ta-da! I'm here! It's been a few days. Miss me?"

Hu Zihao stood in the doorway, greeting Shi Yu with both hands raised high. The guy was frighteningly quick to make himself at home. Over the past two days, he had already been calling Shi Yu and Han He his brothers in the group chat.

"Missed you, missed you. All right, let's get ready to go. Let me put my shoes on. I checked the map. It's about a forty-minute walk, so we'll arrive neither too early nor too late."

As Shi Yu answered Hu Zihao and called to Han He, he also studied this friend he had not seen for several days.

Today, Hu Zihao wore a red denim jacket with zigzag lines, jeans, and black combat boots. He looked sunny, cheerful, and a little goofy.

Notably, Hu Zihao had visibly bulked up.

With his regular exercise, Hu Zihao had already been in good shape, but it did not compare at all to how he looked now.

"Damn... What have you been eating? It's only been a few days, and you've already bulked up."

Shi Yu put on his shoes and stepped outside. Behind him, Han He, carrying a sports backpack, also took a look when he heard that.

Judging by build alone, Hu Zihao was now actually a size bigger than Han He.

Hu Zihao grinned smugly at that, then showed off his solid biceps and said:

"Talent! You get it? Talent!"

Listening to Hu Zihao fool around, Shi Yu rolled his eyes and said:

"Talent, my ass. You're so wide you're blocking my way. Move."

At the same time, he silently thought, Staircases really do have a huge effect on people.

Without a doubt, if Hu Zihao had been an ordinary person, achieving a physique like this might have required months of training and meal planning, and the results might not even have been as good as they were now.

Yet after awakening his Staircase, he could easily obtain all of this in just a few days.

This kind of power could become an obsession. Once people lost control of themselves, they would become another form of Evil Sin.

Shi Yu glanced back. Hu Zihao was trying to discuss abilities with Han He, chattering away animatedly.

Luckily, the people around me are all good people. Shi Yu smiled and said to the two of them:

"All right, let's get moving. Don't be late."

Hu Zihao answered and hurried a couple of steps to catch up, with Han He following close behind.

Seeing the two keeping up, Shi Yu reached out and pushed open the stairwell door. Just as he was about to step outside, he stopped short, looked at them, and said:

"I'm not walking in the middle."