The Intruder Who Came Up Empty

Fang Xiaozhu finally cheered up when she heard there would be cat food tomorrow.

She walked over to the windowsill and talked to the two stray cats.

Fang Yuan reminded her, "They carry lots of germs. No touching-that's the rule. If you get sick because of them, there won't be any cat food."

"Got it."

Fang Xiaozhu answered, then whispered to the two cats, "There won't be any cat food until tomorrow. There's none today. Be good..."

The two stray cats meowed a few times, as though saying goodbye, then jumped off the windowsill and left.

Remembering the Triangular Star Core, Fang Yuan used his ability to inspect Fang Xiaozhu's attributes, hoping to see whether her illness was connected to it.

Name: Fang Xiaozhu

Star Power level: None

Attributes: Strength 3, Agility 5, Constitution 3, Spirit 10

Superpower Trait: None

Skills: None

Nothing had changed. Her attributes were those of a thoroughly ordinary person, with only her spirit slightly higher. There was nothing unusual.

Her attribute panel showed no connection between Fang Xiaozhu and the Triangular Star Core, and he did not know whether that was good or bad.

If there was no connection, then the cause of the little girl's fainting spells remained unknown.

After dinner, Fang Yuan gathered Fang Xiaozhu into his lap, pulled over the rolling table, and supervised her homework.

Although she could not attend school while hospitalized, she still needed to study on her own.

While Fang Xiaozhu worked on her homework, the television in the ward was showing Donghai Television Station's evening news.

"In local news: At 6:20 on the 26th, an animal escape occurred at Donghai Wildlife Park. The escaped animals reportedly included gray wolves, golden snub-nosed monkeys... After an overnight search, most of the animals have been recovered, but some wild animals remain at large. Residents who spot any of the following wild animals in the city should call Donghai Wildlife Park or the police..."

The report also displayed pictures of some wild animals.

When Fang Xiaozhu saw the pictures in the report, she suddenly pointed her pencil at the television and said, "It's Bear Hegemon!"

Fang Yuan had been watching her do her homework. At her cry, he looked up at the television and saw a photograph of a giant panda.

Fang Yuan had come up with the name "Bear Hegemon" the previous year.

Of course, only the siblings knew that name.

During the previous summer vacation, Fang Xiaozhu had been discharged from the hospital once after her condition stabilized.

To celebrate, the whole family had visited Donghai Wildlife Park and adopted a giant panda there.

Of course, this so-called "adoption" was really just a sponsorship. The giant panda still lived at the zoo.

Put simply, they paid the zoo to cover the giant panda's meals.

At the time, the whole family had wanted to do a good deed and accumulate merit for his little sister, so she would be blessed with freedom from illness.

Fang Xiaozhu had said she wanted to give the giant panda a new name. Only then would it be their family's baby.

Fang Yuan had casually offered, "Bear Hegemon of the World."

He had meant it as a joke, but Fang Xiaozhu had taken it seriously and had called that giant panda "Bear Hegemon" ever since.

All giant pandas looked the same to Fang Yuan.

With their black-and-white fur and dark eye patches, they all looked much alike.

He had no idea whether the one pictured on the television news was the one his family had adopted.

Besides, the giant panda on television seemed particularly big. Even lying on the ground, it stood half a person's height.

Fang Xiaozhu pointed at the television and said, "Big Brother, our fluffy panda ran away from home."

"Don't worry. The people at the zoo will find him," Fang Yuan reassured her casually.

"Big Brother, should we go look for Bear Hegemon? What if he has nothing to eat out there?" Fang Xiaozhu looked worried, as though her own little darling had run away.

"He won't. Bear Hegemon is so cute, he'll get fed wherever he goes."

That was what Fang Yuan said, but inwardly he grumbled, A naturally adorable creature like a giant panda going hungry in a city? That would really be something.

The real concern was the giant panda hurting someone, because that fellow was a bear, not a cat.

One swipe of its paw could knock a person in two.

That night.

On his way back from covering a shift at the martial arts school, Fang Yuan stopped by the hospital to see whether his little sister was asleep.

When he entered the ward, both his parents were there.

"Why are you both here?"

Li Shuhua grumbled, "It's your dad. I told him I could come alone, but he insisted on tagging along. His arm's in a cast, yet he still insisted on coming, and he's acting all jumpy. Good timing. Take your dad home."

Neither father nor son had told her about the overseas Awakened organization, not wanting to worry her.

Fang Yuan could more or less guess why his father had come along. He was probably worried someone would follow her on the way.

The family waited until Xiaozhu fell asleep, then Li Shuhua stayed at the hospital to keep her company.

Fang Yuan took Fang Zhenguo home.

When the two arrived home, Fang Yuan took out his keys to unlock the door.

Fang Zhenguo suddenly reached out to stop him, then swiftly drew the Glock from his waist.

Seeing his movement, Fang Yuan knew something was wrong. He immediately channeled Star Power into his eyes and began surveying their surroundings.

Fang Zhenguo walked up to the door and crouched down. He ran a hand over the threshold and whispered, "Someone opened the door."

Clearly, Fang Zhenguo had set up something on the door before leaving, allowing him to detect whether it had been opened.

The whole family had just been at the hospital. Who would open the door at a time like this?

Someone had clearly sneaked into their home.

Fang Yuan unlocked the door. Once it opened, he first scanned the living room, then switched on the lights after spotting nothing unusual.

The two exchanged a glance, then went inside to check every room.

After checking the kitchen and bathroom and confirming no one was there, Fang Yuan looked at Fang Zhenguo.

Fang Zhenguo motioned for silence, then went into the master bedroom and brought out a device to check for radio signals in the house. Only after finishing did he say, "No bugs."

Then the two entered the master bedroom and stood before the hidden wall compartment.

The safe was inside that compartment.

Fang Zhenguo opened the compartment's cover and said, "Don't touch the safe. Give me a moment."

As he spoke, he rummaged through a drawer and took out a flashlight. When he switched it on, it emitted blue light.

He shone the blue light on the safe, immediately revealing a jumble of handprints.

"Someone tampered with the safe."

Fang Yuan leaned closer and said, "There don't seem to be any fingerprints."

"They probably wore gloves. Very professional work. If I hadn't prepared beforehand, I never would have noticed." Fang Zhenguo pulled over a chair and sat down.

Fang Yuan studied the jumbled handprints on the safe. Although no fingerprints had been left behind, there was still a small clue.

"Look at these handprints. The fingers are fairly slender. This person was probably thin, or a woman," Fang Yuan speculated.

"Skilled thieves are all thin. Their craft depends on their fingers." Fang Zhenguo switched off the flashlight as he spoke.

As soon as the flashlight went off, the blue light vanished, and the handprints on the safe disappeared with it.

Clearly, the safe had been coated with some kind of reagent that reflected blue light.

Although the intruder had worn gloves, as long as he touched the safe, he would inevitably rub off some of the reagent.

That was why the jumble of handprints appeared under the blue light.

"Open it and take a look. My guess is nothing's missing." Fang Zhenguo turned and switched on the bedroom light.

Fang Yuan entered the code and opened the safe.

Inside were some cash, a watch, and a few inexpensive pieces of jewelry.

Just as expected, nothing was missing.

"Not a single thing is missing. Then whoever sneaked in wasn't a thief. Looking at it that way, they were probably sent by the Spear of God," Fang Yuan analyzed thoughtfully.

"Good thing we prepared ahead of time. If they'd found that Star Core, things would have gotten difficult." Fang Zhenguo slowly let out a breath.

Seeing how tense he was, Fang Yuan said lightly, "Old Fang, don't worry too much. Since the Spear of God's people sneaked in, that means they don't want to make too much noise either. We successfully moved the Triangular Star Core. They came in and didn't find it, which instead proves it isn't in our home."

Although he said that, he still felt a sense of urgency.

This overseas Awakened organization remained a threat. To protect his family, he had to improve his strength as quickly as possible.