The story returns to the moment after Hong Guoguo left.
Cipher tucked the gold threads away, then turned to Hyacine and said:
"The lie detection is finished. Next, I'm going to take a secret look at that little girl, Hong Guoguo. Oh, by the way, once the medical clinic is ready, I'll come by to watch."
With that, a flash of purple light signaled her disappearance from Hyacine's room once more.
"Alright, Little Ica. Now that everything is handled, we just have to wait for Song Lin to set up our clinic. Let's get some rest in the meantime."
"Doo-doo."
Beside her, Little Ica let out two cries. After hearing her words, it flew into the bedroom to start on a morning nap, while Hyacine went back to scrolling through her Terminal.
"Bartholos, have you noticed any abnormal behavior?"
Having crept into Hong Guoguo's bedroom, Cipher questioned Bartholos, who had been keeping an eye on the girl.
Bartholos shook his head and said, "Not sure, Big Sis. From what I've seen, other than frequently checking her Terminal—it looks like she's chatting with someone—I haven't seen anything else out of the ordinary."
"But why does this girl look so nervous? I clearly haven't been discovered, have I?"
As he spoke, Bartholos pointed at Hong Guoguo ahead of them.
Cipher followed the direction of Bartholos's finger. She saw Hong Guoguo sitting with her back ramrod straight, though her shoulders were slightly hunched, betraying a forced stiffness. Her hands gripped the Terminal tightly against her knees, her fingertips turning white from the exertion.
Furthermore, her head was twitching in small, rapid movements from side to side. Her wary eyes scanned every corner of the room—the ceiling, the gaps in the curtains, the shadows of the cabinets, behind the door... Her gaze was filled with unease and alertness, as if an invisible threat were permeating the air.
However, her eyes never focused on the position where Cipher and Bartholos stood.
"Could it be... perception?"
Watching this, Cipher's purple feline eyes narrowed slightly. She murmured thoughtfully to herself, "She feels our gaze, but she can't find us?"
She suddenly remembered that some people with strong perception could sense a gaze if it remained fixed on them for a long time. With this in mind, Cipher turned to Bartholos.
"I suspect she realized someone is watching her but can't find the source of the gaze, which is why she's acting so panicked."
"Oh? Is this girl's perception really that sharp?" Bartholos scratched his head, finding it quite unexpected.
"We'll know if we test it. Let's move our eyes away and stop staring at her; then we'll see if that's the reason."
After saying this, Cipher stopped looking at Hong Guoguo and shifted her gaze elsewhere, beginning to observe the girl's belongings. Bartholos followed Cipher's lead and obediently looked away.
Sure enough, a moment later, just as she had predicted, Hong Guoguo's body gradually relaxed. She let out a sigh of relief and muttered to herself:
"The gaze is finally gone... Are there hidden cameras in this room? Why did I feel like I was being watched the whole time..."
At this point, Hong Guoguo shivered. She immediately opened the room door and walked out.
"This won't do, I have to tell Hyacine about this..."
Listening to the sound of Hong Guoguo's departure, Cipher caught a brief glimpse of her retreating back and felt a bit helpless.
"Forget it, let's stop monitoring her. Leaving aside the risk of being discovered, monitoring a person like this is just too boring."
"Let's leave. We've just arrived in this Chaos Capital and don't know the local specialties yet. Besides, I remember Lu Zhaoran's destination was also the City of Chaos. I wonder if we'll run into her."
After waving to Bartholos, Cipher opened the room window. With a few leaps, she vanished from the area.
"Big Sis, wait for me!" Bartholos hurriedly flew after her, remembering to close the window as he flew out of the room.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
Hyacine set her Terminal aside, sat up, and spoke toward the door.
As soon as Hong Guoguo entered, she began anxiously explaining what had happened in her room, suspecting that Song Lin had installed hidden cameras.
Hyacine, of course, knew exactly what was going on. However, she couldn't explain it yet, so she thought about how to brush it off. But before she could speak, a slightly irritated voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Miss Hong, let me remind you beforehand: it is absolutely impossible for the rooms I arranged for you to have things like hidden cameras." Song Lin said with dissatisfaction. "If you're not at ease, you are welcome to inspect the room; I have absolutely no objection."
"But... I was clearly alone in the room. Why did I feel like someone was staring at me, and I couldn't find the source!" Faced with Song Lin's statement, Hong Guoguo grew unusually assertive, directly refuting his claim.
"Miss Hong, it's likely because you've just arrived here and are a bit too tense."
"I—"
"Alright, alright~"
Seeing that the two were on the verge of a heated argument, Hyacine—the actual culprit—hastily stepped in to stop them.
"At worst, Guoguo can go back and stay for a while longer. If the feeling persists, we'll check the room. If it's still no good after checking, we'll just switch rooms. What do you two think?"
Don't worry, there definitely won't be a next time, Hyacine grumbled inwardly.
Hearing Hyacine's suggestion, the two thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. Seeing the matter settled for now, Hyacine turned her gaze to Song Lin and asked curiously:
"By the way, Leader Song, did you come over for a specific reason? I assume you weren't just passing by?"
"Oh, of course not!" Song Lin shook his head, then placed a shop transfer agreement on the table in front of Hyacine. "Miss Hyacine, the clinic you mentioned is ready. As long as you sign this, the shop belongs to you."
With that, Song Lin pulled a pen and a stamp pad from his pocket.
"That fast?" Hyacine was pleasantly surprised. She had thought she would have to wait at least several hours to get the clinic, not expecting it to take less than an hour.
After taking the contract, she scanned it. Confirming there were no hidden traps, she signed the name "Hyacine" and added a thumbprint for good measure.
"Good. From now on, that shop is yours, Miss Hyacine." Song Lin smiled at the sight. "Do you want to head over and take a look now?"
"Yes, let's go right now!"