Yes, I did all of this!

For a moment, Duanmu Mo felt as if his spirit had been torn apart, leaving him feeling quite listless.

Despite having slept, Duanmu Mo felt even more exhausted; this was the first time he had experienced this kind of pain since becoming a cyborg.

He shook his head, looked at the clock, and stood up.

"Two and a half... a little more, is that all the time it took?"

Wearing a trench coat, Duanmu Mo sat back down in his chair, stared at the ceiling, and let out a long sigh.

"However, Cangyuan has made some progress, so doing this shouldn't be a loss."

Recalling what happened in his dream, Duanmu Mo raised his foot and placed it on the table, closed his eyes, and gently rubbed his head.

Only he himself knows how much of it is truth or falsehood.

. . . . . .

Chapter 324: The Fishy Smell

. . . . . .

"For eccentrics, people's negative emotions are an irresistible delicacy. Among them, ancient eccentrics were even able to absorb these negative emotions to enhance themselves... just like delicious food, which can both satisfy their appetite and fill their stomachs."

After a period of slumber, another half month passed. Duanmu Mo sat on his desk, raised his hand, and looked at the strange cards he had collected during this time.

"However, just like there are flavors like sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy, strange people can also sense the differences between negative emotions."

Gazing at the strange cards, Duanmu Mo clenched his fist, and the cards that had been floating in the air instantly returned to his hand and disappeared.

Then he put his feet down from the table and stared at the computer screen in deep thought.

"At the same time, because of the opening of the gate, although the monsters in the seal dare not cross the Cangyuan to come to this world, they can still sense that there are places with strong negative emotions. Although they cannot eat in the seal, it is not a problem to smell them."

On the computer, there was information about history, about what anomalies had occurred and what places had been wiped out by strange people.

This information was all obtained by the archaeologist earlier, and at the same time, the old man's words echoed in Duanmu Mo's mind:

"—Although there is no concrete evidence, looking at this artifact from a certain time period reminds me of information that has been unearthed in the past."

"Please speak."

At that moment, Duanmu Mo was writing in his notebook while listening to the archaeologist's words:

“I have been involved in archaeological work for more than 50 years, and I can call myself experienced. In the archaeological projects I have been involved in, I have also participated in several studies that are basically on the same timeline as these cultural relics.”

"The fall of a country is not uncommon in history, but during that period, whether it was due to the prevailing trend or the deliberate actions of some eccentric individuals, the circumstances of the fall of several places were quite similar."

"Oh?"

"A benevolent king suddenly turned cruel, and a nation that trusted each other suddenly became suspicious... And miraculously, the places that represented these historical events were all by the sea at that time."

Duanmu Mo already had some answers, but he still asked knowingly, "If that's the case, what do you think these things represent?"

"There are two possibilities. Either ships or something similar existed at that time, and sailors spread this bad habit. However, this is unlikely because we did not find any very advanced ships at that time, so it must be the other possibility."

"—There must have been some strange people who could swim across the ocean who did this to the people in these areas, right?"

"Well, we didn't find any possible clues at the time... But if such a weirdo really exists, he's probably a despicable guy who enjoys seeing the collapse of human morality and the self-destruction of civilization."

. . . . . .

—Back to the present, Duanmu Mo looked at the computer in front of him and rubbed his head.

If people have different taste preferences, then this eccentric person is clearly fond of the negative emotions associated with this flavor.

"The taste is quite high-end."

Duanmu Mo smiled, then turned off the computer, stood up, and walked out of the office.

"call......"

As soon as he opened the door, a gust of cold wind blew in from the stairwell, and Duanmu Mo couldn't help but shiver and wrap his trench coat tighter.

Although this level of cold was nothing compared to the physical capabilities of a modified human, Duanmu Mo would always act like a normal person to avoid arousing suspicion.

However, he couldn't keep shivering all the way, so Duanmu Mo thought for a moment, went back to the wardrobe, took out a scarf, and wrapped it around his neck.

Nodding in front of the mirror, Duanmu Mo then left the agency.

Looking at the fallen leaves scattered by the roadside, Duanmu Mo took out his phone from his pocket and looked at the content on it.

"The location is here..."

—A few days ago, someone entrusted him with a task, which Duanmu Mo naturally accepted.

It wasn't for money, nor was it a whim.

Simply put, a certain area of ​​the city encountered trouble, and Duanmu Mo happened to have handled a case for a resident there before, so he called to ask for help.

Originally, Duanmu Mo did not want to agree to his request, but after hearing his description, she changed her mind.

There's a tutoring center nearby that recruits students from elementary to junior high school.

Recently, someone passing by heard an indescribable sound coming from the tutoring center.

At first glance, it sounded like students talking normally, but the voices contained some inexplicable emotions, such as intense ecstasy, angry screams, and extreme sadness.

These sounds didn't sound like normal students would make. Some parents came after hearing the news, but they didn't see anything unusual, and the students didn't show any abnormalities either.

Some people were carefree, while others were worried, so some people pooled together some money to hire Duanmu Mo to investigate.

This is mostly the work of strange people, but it's suspicious that they don't kidnap the children but instead do these strange things. So Duanmu Mo accepted the commission and prepared to investigate.

Brushing the fallen leaves off the motorcycle with his gloves, Duanmu Mo put them on, started the engine, and the motorcycle roared as it sped off in that direction.

After driving for a distance on the road, Duanmu Mo finally crossed most of the city and arrived at the location suggested by the client.

"Looks like this is the place."

It was holiday time, so students naturally came here. Listening to the pleasant reading voices coming from the tutoring center, Duanmu Mo nodded and arrived at the entrance of the tutoring center.

"Stand still—what are you doing here?"

Upon seeing Duanmu Mo, he asked.

"Duanmu Mo, the owner of Duanmu Agency."

Without any attempt to conceal it, Duanmu Mo fanned himself in front of the smoke to clear away the smell, and calmly stated his purpose: "I was sent by the residents of your neighborhood."

"Oh, the principal told me I can't go in," the gatekeeper nodded, then shook his head.

"Don't rush."

Duanmu Mo was still smiling, his tone calm: "I'm just a poor detective. I only do investigations to make money. But my clients are different. If I'm rejected, they'll just hire someone else to investigate. It might be a detective who's even more rude than me, or it might be the police."

Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper's expression turned troubled: "But..."

"They're all neighbors, so let me take a look. I have nothing to hide, and I can go back and report so they won't bother me again, right?" Seeing the gatekeeper wavering, Duanmu Mo added.

"...Sigh, I'll go inform the principal. If he doesn't let us in, there's nothing we can do."

With a helpless sigh, the security guard made a phone call and reported what Duanmu Mo had told him.

A moment later, the security guard hung up the phone and said to Duanmu Mo, "Wait a moment, the principal will come out and take you in."

"This is troublesome." Duanmu Mo nodded, and after waiting for a while, a person came out.

"Ah, the principal is here."

The gatekeeper stood respectfully to one side as he spoke, while Duanmu Mo looked at the man intently.

Duanmu Mo was not a magical girl after all, so she couldn't sense any strange aura from the other party on her own. She only knew that the principal was a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance.

"Hello, Mr. Duanmu."

"Hello."

The two shook hands and then went into the tutoring center.

"Has the security guard made it clear to you why I'm here?"

Following behind the principal, Duanmu Mo looked around the corridor and casually asked.

"Of course." The principal smiled gently. "I also want to clear up this misunderstanding with the nearby residents as soon as possible, so Mr. Duanmu, please don't be shy and ask me anything you want to know."

"it is good."

Under the principal's gaze, Duanmu Mo stood at the back door of the classroom, looking at the students studying inside, and asked, "What are they learning?"

“We’ll take extra classes based on what the school teaches us,” the principal honestly stated.

"Is that all?" Duanmu Mo turned his head and stared into the principal's eyes as he asked.

Faced with his questioning, the principal smiled and said, "Some parents bring their children here not for learning, but simply as a daycare center. We can't just abandon the children to these irresponsible parents, so we teach them some principles of being a good person during breaks."

"Oh?"

Duanmu Mo looked interested: "What's the reasoning behind that?"

"Teach the children to be kind to others and to distinguish between good and evil." The principal smiled and asked, "Would you like to go and take a look?"

"No, never mind." He shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "I'll just take a look around."

So the principal accompanied him on a tour of the entire tutoring center, but soon there wasn't much left to see.

"It seems that you and they just had a misunderstanding."

Duanmu Mo sat in the principal's office, took a sip of tea, and smiled at him.

“That’s right.” Watching Duanmu Mo take a sip of tea, the principal’s smile widened even more: “…I didn’t do anything.”

"In that case, I'll take my leave. Goodbye."

Duanmu Mo drank the tea in one gulp, licked his lips, put down the teacup, and stood up.

"Walk slowly."

The principal stood up, watched Duanmu Mo leave, and narrowed his eyes.

—Duanmu Mo walked steadily past several classrooms, observing the students' postures as they studied.

These are mostly twelve or thirteen-year-old children. Without the supervision of a dedicated teacher, they are still reading so obediently, which is truly heartwarming.

As he left the tutoring center, the security guard greeted him, "How did it go? Did you see anything?"

"It's nothing, it's all a misunderstanding."

Duanmu Mo licked his lips as he spoke, "However, the tea has a slightly fishy taste."