Chapter 27

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Chapter 27: Can’t Afford This Loss

The landlady had only one bed in her home. She didn’t make any sacrifices—she simply squeezed under the same blanket with Mi Xiaoliu, who had fallen asleep right after drinking the soup.

Mi Xiaoliu was petite, so even a single bed was big enough to fit the two of them.

“I’m sorry, Master! It’s all my fault! I totally forgot to tell you about menstruation, QAQ.”

Sasha even read out the last string of letters aloud.

“Since it was your first time, I thought with your abilities, it wouldn’t happen… and now someone’s seen your real face…”

Her ability only aimed to restore to a perfect state, but menstruation was a natural biological function…

But Mi Xiaoliu didn’t have the energy to worry about Sasha. Wrapped in only a blanket from the waist down, clutching a warm pad, she sat upright before the landlady, enduring a test.

“How about this one?” The landlady picked up a card from a stack of color samples and held it in front of her.

It was an actual color sample.

“White.”

“No, it’s yellow.” The landlady frowned and pulled the card back. “Were you born colorblind?”

Only being able to distinguish black, white, and gray—that was pretty severe.

“Try these.” She took out a pair of colorblindness-correcting glasses she had just spent two hours making herself.

They looked like sunglasses and at least looked better than the thick glasses Mi Xiaoliu normally wore.

The only downside was that wearing them in public might get her mistaken for a powered individual like Lu Mingxue. Nowadays, aside from beachwear, no normal person wore sunglasses in the street.

Not every sunglasses-wearer had mind-reading powers—some might have laser eyes—but usually, those who wore them couldn’t control their abilities well.

“Any difference?”

“No.”

“Not even a little?”

“Mmm.”

The landlady looked dejected and took the glasses back. After her solar-powered flashlight, this was the second invention she’d made that had been flatly rejected.

“Can you see colors when you wear those colored contacts?” she asked.

It wasn’t hard to guess that Mi Xiaoliu normally wore them—her lenses were thick, but they didn’t hide the brown-black of her eyes.

“Yes.”

“Can I take a look at them?”

Mi Xiaoliu consulted Sasha. She usually stored the contacts in her personal space while sleeping.

“If the Master doesn’t mind, it’s fine. The Demon Eye Killer (Lenses) came as part of the system’s newbie gift pack—she won’t be able to figure anything out or take them away.”

The girl handed over the contacts.

Just as Sasha said, the landlady studied them for a long time and still couldn’t make sense of them.

Second failure.

Mi Xiaoliu tugged on the landlady’s sleeve and handed her a few banknotes. “Rent.”

“You found someone hiring child labor?” Though she said that, her hands honestly accepted the cash. She turned to glance out the window. “Your little boyfriend is here.”

She meant Yiwen. After ringing the doorbell and getting no answer, Yiwen stood at the stairwell, holding a closed umbrella and seemingly muttering to his Bluetooth earpiece.

“He went to a different place last night? Which one?” Yiwen asked, puzzled.

Since this was surveillance, there was no way they’d just slack off after one day. He wouldn’t be tasked with only monitoring during the daytime, either.

“Bottom floor, corner unit. The owner’s name is Heli Aumann. She owns the entire building. Last night, the boy went straight to her door in a panic. I couldn’t see clearly from the angle, but I’m certain he hasn’t come out since—unless there’s a secret exit or something.”

The undercover officer, disguised as a street vendor selling pancakes, whispered into his phone.

All undercover officers working with Yiwen were chosen specifically because they knew his identity.

“How long have you been making these?” His customer asked, staring at the pancake, which now had two holes in it.

“Seven, eight years.” The undercover cop gave a confident smile and flipped the pancake.

It fell apart.

“What was I supposed to do next again?” The officer’s smile turned awkward.

“Add oil?”

“Oh yeah, yeah, just testing you.”

“…”

The customer looked around, wondering who the criminal this officer was supposed to be watching might be.

Yiwen thought it over and decided to go knock. Even if she technically had no reason to know Mi Xiaoliu was inside, if there was a secret here…

She’d been perfectly normal yesterday. Why the sudden suspicious behavior today?

Yesterday she’d been frustrated over the lack of leads. Now she was frustrated again for no clear reason. Maybe this was just the period debuff acting up.

“Hi, miss! I heard you’re the landlady here—have you seen the guy in the west-side room on the second floor? I’m his friend.” Her opening line came out sweet and friendly.

“I’m thirty-three. Call me auntie.” Heli replied with a blank face.

She wasn’t taking this hit lying down.

“Auntie?”

“Mmm.” Heli snorted with satisfaction. “he’s not feeling well.”

“Huh? But doesn’t he have a self-healing—”

Heli didn’t wait for Yiwen to finish. She shut the door in his face.

“…”

(0-o)?

Aren’t women that age supposed to love delicate pretty boys like him? What happened to that pretty boy charm bonus?

And anyway, aren’t you the one who’s unwell? You look like you’re about to collapse, and you’re short of breath even when you talk!

Annoyed. Period still ongoing and now this nonsense.

But there was nothing else to do. She couldn’t just keep knocking and shamelessly beg her to let “him” out.

Yiwen sat down in a surveillance car parked under the student dorm, keeping an eye on Heli’s door like last night’s team had.

“I fed your cat for you. Rest today if you’ve got cramps. Don’t run around. If you try to leave, go naked—I’m not giving you clothes.” Heli said without looking up.

Mi Xiaoliu’s pants from last night were a lost cause.

“The Wi-Fi password is 1w7le0piq, easy to remember.”

With that, Heli stopped responding to her and went into the kitchen, where she tinkered with her jars and bottles like a modern-day witch.

Only this time, she wasn’t cooking—she was doing a proper experiment.

Mi Xiaoliu stood up, looking like she genuinely intended to leave half-naked.

Fortunately, Sasha stopped her in time.

There was no television in Heli’s home. In an era when everyone had a phone or a laptop, TVs served mostly to show off wealth or provide a way for families to watch something together.

Living alone, she naturally had no use for such things—it probably hadn’t been turned on in over a year.

For almost the entire morning, Mi Xiaoliu sat quietly on the bed, spacing out. Until Heli noticed something was off.

“Didn’t I give you the Wi-Fi password? Play on your phone or something to pass the time.” Heli looked puzzled at the girl zoning out.

“I don’t know how.” Mi Xiaoliu had no idea what Wi-Fi was. She took out her old keypad phone and tried to figure it out.

The phone only had one contact: Heli.

According to Sasha, Heli had given her that old phone.

“Use mine. Unlock pattern is an M.” Heli pulled her phone out and tossed it to her, not caring if she could catch it or not.

Mi Xiaoliu caught it but still didn’t move.

Heli assumed she didn’t want to disturb her experiment.

She tried starting a conversation to show she didn’t mind: “That boy doesn’t know you’re a girl, huh? No one else knows either?”

“I’m a girl?” Mi Xiaoliu blinked, then nodded.

“You’re really beautiful. No need to dress like a boy. Why not start wearing skirts and growing your hair out? I have wigs in my closet—you can try one on.” Heli suggested.

“No way!” Sasha suddenly bubbled up in Mi Xiaoliu’s mind. “Master, you mustn’t let anyone see your normal, girly appearance!”

“Mmm, I know.”

“No, you don’t know. Even if it’s during a mission, avoid letting anyone see it!” Sasha’s tone was unusually firm.

“Why?” Mi Xiaoliu asked, puzzled.

“Uh… because… you’ve made a lot of enemies in the past. If they find out you’re in this city… really bad things will happen.”

Sasha suddenly turned vague and evasive.