Chapter 578: Chapter 412: The Strange Curio_2
Under the attack of the flying needles, the balloon behind Dong Tianyu burst in an instant, and that annoying, sneering voice that used to reach his ears from time to time also completely disappeared at that moment.
After the balloon burst and vanished from the mirror, no matter how Dong Tianyu tried to adjust the angle of the mirror’s reflection, he couldn’t see the fragments that had fallen to the ground after the explosion.
After several unsuccessful attempts, Dong Tianyu casually sent the mirror back into the storage space.
The clown-headed balloon was rampant in the camp, its place of origin, randomly attaching itself to the victims’ backs. Therefore, in Saxon County Camp, when you see someone stopping to look in a mirror, don’t think they’re just being vain; they might genuinely be troubled by something filthy clinging to them.
Upon learning that the source of the annoying voice behind them was a clown-headed balloon, many speculated it was a curio, as it never caused any physical harm to anyone, so it was very likely to be a prank by some Awakener.
However, there was no commonality among the victims, and the perpetrator’s randomness was too strong, so until now, there was not much useful information that could be discerned.
The reason for suspecting an Awakener’s prank was that once the victims left Saxon County Camp, they didn’t have to go far, even just a trip to Pengcheng, and the annoying voice behind them would quickly disappear.
Under normal circumstances, that filthy thing rarely troubled the same person twice, and even if they heard the annoying voice behind them again, another trip to Pengcheng would make it disappear, and so far, no one had been possessed a third time.
After Dong Tianyu used the flying needles to dispose of the clown-headed balloon that appeared behind him, he stood at the door a while longer to make sure nothing else happened before he used his key to open the door and enter the home he hadn’t returned to in a long time.
At this moment, the house was empty, and Dong Tianyu went straight to his own room to see that even though he had been away for a long time, his room was still spotless, indicating that someone had been cleaning it regularly.
He casually tossed his backpack onto a bench and then lay down on the bed, using his Divine Sense to check for changes around the camp.
Dong Tianyu and Ye Liuyun had come back riding an underground shuttle car, so they hadn’t seen the situation above ground.
Through Spiritual Sense Scanning, Dong Tianyu discovered that Saxon County Camp had begun laying the foundation for a fifth city wall, which seemed to indicate that the original four walls could no longer accommodate the living space required by the survivors, prompting a new expansion.
To be honest, the area of Saxon County Camp at this time was almost comparable to the area of a district in Pengcheng before the disaster, yet the population living there was much smaller.
The main reason for this was that the residences in the camp were mostly only two or three stories tall, and most of them were connected villas with courtyards. Moreover, and importantly, the Main Avenue in the camp was very wide.
First, Dong Tianyu located his mother using his Divine Sense. At that moment, Mrs. Thompson was playing badminton with other women in a large indoor stadium.
Don’t dismiss the stadium as being shabby or subpar. If you saw where it was located, you’d realize that the owner who managed to run this venue was no simple character.
Although the stadium wasn’t inside the first-ring area of the camp, it was still situated in the middle section of the second ring. Given that the location was now enormously valuable, it was not simple to maintain a stadium there, let alone prevent it from being transformed into some other facility.
Having confirmed his mother’s safety, Dong Tianyu didn’t pay much more attention to the situation there but continued to expand his Divine Sense to look for his father.
When Dong Tianyu expanded his Divine Sense to its fullest, he still couldn’t find his father, which made him somewhat anxious.
However, this anxiety only lasted a moment before he directly used his Divine Sense to scan his home. Finding that his parents’ daily-use items were present and bore frequent-use marks, he was reassured, knowing his father should be fine.
Just as Dong Tianyu was about to retract his Divine Sense, he unexpectedly sensed several gazes directed at the villa area. Following these gazes with his Spiritual Sense, Dong Tianyu found their owners. Despite their diverse attire, they occasionally glanced towards his home, and he knew he was being watched.
Zachary understood who was watching, but such matters could be done in secret, and bringing them to light would benefit no one, so he didn’t pay it much attention and simply lay on the bed and fell asleep.
When Mrs. Thompson came home in the evening and saw a pair of unfamiliar shoes at the door, she was initially baffled and wondered if she had entered the wrong house. Then, it suddenly dawned on her that her son might have come home. Without changing her shoes, she ran to her son’s room.
After pushing open the door and seeing Zachary sleeping on the bed at an angle, she was initially eager to wake him, but seeing how soundly he was sleeping, she gently closed the door. Then she went into the kitchen to prepare a sumptuous dinner for her son.
In fact, the moment Mrs. Thompson entered the house, Zachary had already awakened with full alertness, but after seeing his mother’s figure, he relaxed once again and instantly fell back into a deep sleep.
It wasn’t that Zachary lacked vigilance. It was just that he was at his own home, and after recognizing the person as his mother, he allowed himself to relax. If he had been in an unfamiliar environment with strangers, he would have definitely been on high alert.
When Zachary woke up, he noticed it was already past seven in the evening. After a sweep with his Divine Sense and finding his parents in the living room, he immediately got out of bed, went downstairs, and entered the living room.
Hearing the sound of Zachary coming downstairs, Mrs. Thompson was about to reheat the already cooled dishes, but upon seeing her son coming down, she first glanced to make sure he was alright physically before heading back into the kitchen to busy herself.
Zachary saw his mother entering the kitchen and the table full of dishes; he then said to his parents, "Mom and Dad, you can go ahead and eat dinner without waiting for me in the future."
Hearing Zachary’s words, Mrs. Thompson, who was in the kitchen, did not respond, while Mr. Thompson, seated on the sofa, gestured to the sofa beside him, signaling Zachary to come and sit first.
Once Zachary had taken a seat, Mr. Thompson finally spoke, "Son, how is it going for you in Kyoto?"
It seems like the first question parents ask when their children return home is always similar, "Child, how is life treating you in XXX?"
And most people usually respond similarly, either saying it’s quite good or it’s fine, mostly meaning the same thing.
Just as Mr. Thompson was about to continue inquiring, Mrs. Thompson had finished reheating the cooled dishes, so she called out to the father and son, "We can talk about everything after dinner, come eat now."
At the call of Mrs. Thompson, both rose from their seats in the living room and moved to the dining area. As the three sat down, Mr. Thompson pointed at a bottle of white liquor and asked Zachary, "Care for some?"
Before Mr. Thompson finished speaking, Zachary had already picked up the wine cups and poured liquor for his parents, and then poured a cup for himself as well.
The Thompson family didn’t have a rule of silence during meals and sleep. Before the disaster struck, the family of three would only sit together during meals, so many matters were communicated during these times.
After taking a sip of liquor, Mr. Thompson asked Zachary, "I heard that Kyoto has suffered several bug swarm attacks. How are the casualty numbers over there?"
Zachary did not directly answer Mr. Thompson’s question but instead said, "Dad, the situation in Kyoto is different from here. Hunting groups rarely join forces with the officials there, and many issues are directly resolved by the officials.
After all, Kyoto is the Capital City. Whether it’s the number of stationed troops or the aspect of weapons and ammunition, it far surpasses other cities, so there’s no need to worry about the safety there.
By the way, Mom and Dad, when I left last time, I told you that once I settled down and bought a house in Kyoto, I would bring you two over to live with me.
Look, I’ve now bought a house in Kyoto and have settled down. What do you think about moving over to live with me sometime soon?"
