My Strange Tale Love Strategy Simulator

The air seemed to freeze, and the originally noisy urban background noise was eerily stripped away at this moment.

Zhang Ying stared intently ahead, cold sweat trickling down his temples.

The old man wearing the seven-point mask was walking towards him step by step.

With each step, Zhang Ying felt as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest, and the tremor that came from the depths of his soul almost suffocated him.

As the old man approached, the invisible pressure increased exponentially. Zhang Ying's fingers trembled slightly, and he subconsciously wanted to call out to Li Ziqing.

That was his last trump card, and the only lifeline he could grasp at that moment.

Just then, the old man abruptly stopped.

The old man spoke from a distance.

His voice was like decades-old cigarette ash stuck in his throat, old and rough: "Relax, I'm not your enemy, and you don't need to call out that little kid behind you."

Zhang Ying's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart skipped a beat. Shock overwhelmed him instantly.

Who is this old man?

How did he know about Li Ziqing's existence?

Before Zhang Ying could recover from his shock, the old man slowly looked around.

Looking around, the old man shook his head helplessly, his tone tinged with disappointment: "Sigh, young people these days are so impetuous. They start fighting at the slightest disagreement, without caring whether the other person is an enemy or not. The world is going to the dogs."

As he spoke, he turned his head, suddenly grinned, revealing a set of broken, yellowed teeth: "Kid, do you know what kind of enemy is the most hateful?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ying's mind jolted violently.

The whole person suffered a tremendous shock, and a chill ran from the soles of the feet straight to the top of the head.

He wanted to question the old man about how he knew those words, but he couldn't move and could only stare at the old man, unable to utter a sound.

The old man slowly turned around, his back to Zhang Ying, his hands behind his back, and his tone became languid: "The most hateful enemy is one who cannot inspire hostility in others."

Then, the old man's voice came again, this time calm and indifferent: "Don't worry, these two are not your enemies. Have a good talk with them, and you might gain something unexpected."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man's figure faded instantly, like ink dripping into water, until it disappeared completely.

hum-

As the old man disappeared, the still space around him seemed to be put on play. The sound of the wind, the distant traffic, and even the floating dust in the air began to flow again in that instant.

Zhang Ying felt a lightness in his body, and the feeling of being pinned to the spot disappeared.

Without thinking, he lunged forward two steps and shouted at the empty space ahead, "Who are you?!"

His shouts sounded particularly abrupt in the empty street.

The man standing not far from him, holding an axe, paused for a moment upon hearing Zhang Ying's shout, a look of bewilderment appearing on his tense body.

He looked around, pointed to his mask, and asked, "Are you asking me?"

The tense atmosphere, which had been on the verge of exploding, became somewhat anxious and awkward after Zhang Ying's inexplicable shout.

Zhang Ying ignored the man's question and anxiously looked around, trying to find even a trace of the hunchbacked old man.

However, apart from the three of them, there wasn't a soul in the alley.

"Hey kid, who are you looking for?" the man asked impatiently, frowning.

Zhang Ying turned her head, looking at the man with a puzzled expression: "Didn't you see an old man here just now? Right there, wearing a mask..."

The man frowned even more, looking at Zhang Ying as if he were a fool: "From beginning to end, there have only been the three of us here. Where did this old man come from? Are you hallucinating?"

Zhang Ying was stunned.

He realized that when the space was frozen, he was the only one who had seen the old man.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Although his mind was filled with doubts, he remembered the old man's words before he left.

"These two are not your enemies."

The old man seemed to have no ill intentions towards him, and what he said had a profound meaning for him. He might as well trust the old man this once.

Zhang Ying slowly lowered his right hand, which was originally preparing to release the "Ghost Domain".

He looked at the axe-wielding man in front of him, his tone no longer filled with murderous intent, but rather with a hint of probing: "Are you here to seek revenge?"

Hearing this, the man was visibly taken aback, then retorted, "Seeking revenge? Why would you think I have a grudge against you?"

Zhang Ying's eyes widened, a surge of anger rising within him: "Then why did you threaten my family? If it weren't for my family, would I be so nervous?"

"When have I ever threatened your family?" The man was also confused by Zhang Ying's words. He straightened up, scratched his messy hair, and looked completely innocent. "Let me tell you, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"

Zhang Ying was completely bewildered: "Didn't your letter clearly state, 'If you don't want your family to get hurt, leave the neighborhood immediately?' What is this if not a threat?"

A vein bulged on the man's forehead.

He suddenly looked up and shouted at the woman standing on the fence, "Hey! 2 o'clock! Go back and tell that 5 o'clock that if he ever writes anything ambiguous again, I'll burn his Taoist temple down!"

The woman on the fence rolled her eyes when she heard the man's roar, clearly used to such farces.

The misunderstanding was cleared up, and the tension in the air dissipated considerably.

The man took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

He put the axe away, scratched his head somewhat sheepishly, and apologized, "Sorry, brother, the letter we just wrote was indeed problematic. But... I only wanted to test your abilities, I didn't expect your physical strength to exceed my expectations, and I accidentally lost control. Now I formally apologize to you, and by the way, which side are you on?"

"Which side are you on?" Zhang Ying didn't quite understand what the man meant. He shrugged and said, "I don't know which side you're talking about. I only know that I'm an ordinary person, at least I was a month ago."

The man looked at Zhang Ying suspiciously. Although the boy looked young, the power he had just unleashed, as well as the strangely shaped arm he had transplanted, made him seem like no ordinary person.

"Ordinary people don't have that ability." The man persisted, "Have you ever been involved in any organization before?"

Zhang Ying thought for a moment and said seriously, "Does being a member of the student council count? I was even a group leader."

"..." The man's lips twitched.

The man realized he had gone a bit too far.

If the person in front of me had truly been a temperamental individual, that probing just now might have seriously offended them.

Seeing that the man before him meant no harm, Zhang Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the old man hadn't lied to him.

But who exactly is that old man?

There is obviously no answer to this question right now, so I can only keep it to myself for the time being.

Zhang Ying stared intently at the man in front of him. If this man wasn't after revenge, then why was he looking for him? And why was he being told to "leave the neighborhood"?

"Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, can you tell me your identity? Also, what exactly do you want?" Zhang Ying asked.

Upon hearing this, the man reached into the inside pocket of his black coat and rummaged around for a moment. His movements suddenly froze, and an embarrassed expression appeared on his face.

He rummaged in his pockets, then in another, before finally shouting in exasperation, "2 o'clock! I forgot my ID!"

The woman on the fence let out a long sigh.

The next second, she leaped off the rooftop. Her black leather jacket fluttered in the wind as she landed gracefully on the ground like a light black cat, without even raising a speck of dust.

She walked up to Zhang Ying, took a black briefcase from the pocket of her tight black leather jacket, and unfolded it with a "snap," leaving it in front of Zhang Ying.

The national emblem in the upper left corner and the stamp at the bottom of the document are clearly visible.

The woman's voice was cold and serious: "Let me introduce ourselves again. We are from the Special Affairs Department of the Chinese government. Mr. Zhang Ying, given the unusual circumstances and events surrounding you, we hope you will come with us."