Chapter 5: Chapter 5 The Culprit
“Xu Mo, Yaoer, it’s time to get up.” In the early morning, Mia knocked on the door and then pushed it open. She saw Xu Mo was not asleep but sitting there with his eyes closed.
Xu Mo opened his eyes, revealing a sharp gaze as if a strange light was shining from them.
A beautiful figure entered his sight. Mia had very fair skin, wore a dress, had clear and bright eyes with long eyelashes, and smiled with an innocent purity, making her very pleasant to look at.
However, Xu Mo glanced at her and then closed his eyes, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have…
“What’s going on?” He shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, he could no longer see through the dress.
“What’s the matter?” Mia noticed Xu Mo’s strange reaction.
“Nothing, good morning, Miss Mia,” Xu Mo said with a smile.
“Good morning. I have prepared breakfast and your toiletries are ready too. Wash up with Yaoer and come down to eat. I have to go out for a while,” Mia instructed before closing the door and leaving.
After Mia left, Xu Mo took a deep breath, feeling the changes in his body. He faintly felt entirely different, not just in terms of spiritual perception—the physical qualities of his body seemed to be transforming too. When he clenched his palm, he could clearly feel some changes within.
“Just now…” Xu Mo thought about the earlier scene, where his spiritual power focused on his eyes. Looking at his arm, his eyes penetrated the sleeve, and the skin underneath came into view. It was evidently not an illusion.
His eyes had developed a penetrative ability, although it couldn’t yet pierce through skin.
X-ray?
Its intensity wasn’t very strong, but did this mean his eyes could release penetrative energy waves?
“Brother.” Yaoer interrupted Xu Mo’s thoughts. She opened her sleepy eyes, then sat up and nestled into Xu Mo’s arms.
Xu Mo gently stroked Yaoer’s hair, ruffling her head, and sighed silently. Although he had merely inherited the original owner’s identity, he still saw the girl as his own sister. Besides being influenced by the original owner’s memories and emotions, there was also perhaps an innate human compassion.
“Sister Mia has prepared breakfast. Let’s get up and eat,” Xu Mo said softly.
“Okay.” Yaoer nodded gently, then climbed up and kissed Xu Mo on the cheek, before dressing herself obediently, which was heart-wrenching to watch.
Xu Mo looked at the girl and smiled. From now on, they would depend on each other in this unfamiliar world.
After washing up and having breakfast, they went downstairs. Miss Mia had gone out, and Master Batu had not yet risen, so Xu Mo took Yaoer to mind the shop.
“Brother, are we going to live in Sister Mia’s house forever?” Yaoer asked innocently, looking up.
“Do you like it here, Yaoer?” Xu Mo asked back.
“I do. I like Sister Mia, and the breakfast is very tasty,” Yaoer said, her small body slim, but her eyes exceptionally bright, smiling innocently.
“Silly Yaoer.” Xu Mo felt a pang of sadness. Before, they barely had breakfast, at most just some compressed biscuits to share.
“In the future, brother will take you to live in a big house and have delicious food every day,” Xu Mo said with a smile.
“Bigger than Miss Mia’s house?” Yaoer asked.
“Bigger than here,” Xu Mo replied.
“Hehehe…” Yaoer laughed foolishly, her small head seemingly filled with a bit of hope for the future.
“Xu Mo, come help me.” A voice called out from a distance, and Xu Mo looked up to see Mia returning with a stack of books so large she could hardly move.
Xu Mo hurried over to her side, and Mia’s hands unloaded the books onto him as if her arms could no longer hold on. Xu Mo caught most of them, though some books still fell to the ground.
“So sore.” Mia shook her arm with a bright smile, then squatted down to pick up the fallen books.
“Why did you buy so many books, Miss Mia?” Xu Mo asked, looking down at Mia, his eyes catching a beautiful scene, causing him to awkwardly shift his gaze.
“To let you get familiar with the writings here. You can read them when you’re bored,” Mia said with a smile, and, noticing Xu Mo’s reaction, seemed to realize something. She glanced down and a blush swept across her face before standing up, hugging the books, and walking forward.
“Indeed, I still don’t recognize many characters. Could you teach me, Miss Mia?” Xu Mo asked. The original owner had never attended school. In the Underworld, only a very few had the privilege of schooling, and there were hardly any schools. Xu Mo wanted to familiarize himself with this world, and reading books was undoubtedly a way to do so. Mia had surprisingly helped him with it.
“Of course, if you want to,” Mia responded, smiling. She didn’t pay much attention to what had just happened. After all, she saw Xu Mo as young and had bought the books to divert his attention, fearing he might dwell on his parents.
Xu Mo noticed that this world had many similarities to his previous one. The writing had traces of Chinese characters but was more concise, and Latin letters and Arabic numerals also existed. The clocks here had twenty-four hours.
Even while reading, Xu Mo found many terms identical to those in his past life.
This made Xu Mo wonder if this was another cosmic civilization or a parallel universe.
During his studies, Xu Mo discovered that his memory had greatly improved. He guessed that his brain might have undergone some unknown changes. His perceptual ability, memory, and computational skills had all significantly enhanced, as if his brain region was evolving.
This made Xu Mo increasingly curious and somewhat expectant about this unfamiliar world.
…
These days, Xu Mo was very diligent. He studied at the shop during the day, practiced the Breathing Technique at night, and sometimes trained his body. Both mentally and physically, he was far beyond his former self, clearly feeling these changes, his entire demeanor renewed. Yaoer was also gradually adapting to the new life.
One day, while Xu Mo was reading, Mia walked up behind him and noticed his serious profile. She felt that Xu Mo had changed. Previously, his eyes were dull, but now they were deep and spirited, as if he were a different person.
“Xu Mo, have you grown taller?” Mia asked softly.
“Miss Mia,” Xu Mo said, smiling, “I didn’t notice.”
“Stand up and let’s compare,” Mia laughed. She was 1.7 meters tall, and Xu Mo had previously been shorter than her.
“Okay.” Xu Mo nodded and stood in front of Mia. She measured their heads with her hand and found they were almost the same height. Her bright eyes revealed a smile of surprise. “Xu Mo, you’ve grown so much.”
Xu Mo had overlooked his height, not realizing it was also changing.
“You’re only fifteen; you should grow more and soon surpass me,” Mia said happily.
“Mia.” As they spoke, a voice came from outside. Looking out, they saw a carriage with a coachman and a beautiful young girl in a white dress sitting inside, wearing thin white transparent gloves, appearing elegant and noble.
“Elsa,” Mia called out with a smile.
“I want to stroll around West Street. Mia, do you want to join me?” Elsa invited.
Mia glanced at Xu Mo and asked, “Xu Mo, are you interested?”
Xu Mo shook his head. He didn’t look at Elsa but instead focused on a figure in the distance. The person wore a vest and long pants, revealing solid muscle lines and exuding a fierce aura, a temperament formed from long-term experience in certain environments—a tough character by any look.
It was one of the assailants who had intruded into his home that day.
“Elsa, you go ahead. I’ll join you next time,” Mia replied with a smile.
“Alright, next time then,” Elsa said, looking at Xu Mo, puzzled about why Mia would seek his opinion. The carriage began to move away, and the tough-looking assailant walked quickly, ahead of the carriage.
“Miss Mia, I want to go out for a while. Could you look after Yaoer for me?” Xu Mo asked, looking at Mia.
“Of course,” Mia nodded. “Where are you going?”
“I saw an acquaintance,” Xu Mo replied.
“Go ahead, I’ll take care of Yaoer,” Mia said with a smile. Xu Mo walked out and followed the assailant. With his powerful vision, even maintaining a significant distance, he could still easily track him.
The assailant walked swiftly, and Xu Mo matched his pace. Approximately twenty minutes later, the assailant turned into an area.
Xu Mo glanced around outside. There was a door at the corner, with the word “black market” carved on it!
The order in the Underworld was very chaotic, but on the surface, it adhered to some rules.
But in the black market, there was no order at all. It was a haven for criminals, with most people engaged in illegal trades.
Xu Mo’s perceptual power infiltrated inside, and he followed it into the black market without any hesitation.
After he entered, Elsa’s carriage slowly approached. She glanced inside, feeling puzzled, and wondered if she should tell Mia.
If there was a chance, she should remind Mia, Elsa thought as the carriage passed by!