Chapter 29: The Price of Curiosity

Stepping out of the changing room, Su Qianyu was waiting at the door.

“Let’s go.”

Pretending to be unaware of anything, the two of them walked out of the swimming pool area amicably.

The sun cast slanted shadows along the roadside, while the early moon stirred a gentle breeze that brushed against their hair.

The afterglow lingered, and the street buzzed with activity.

A fragrant scent wafted through the air, tempting one to sneeze.

For a brief moment, it almost felt as if she weren’t the online friend across from her, and Su Qianyu had no intention of rebelling.

Truly, a harmonious scene.

Perhaps.

However, such scenery did not last long.

Still on their way home, Illo quietly broke the frozen silence with a soft voice.

“Hmm, what’s this?”

A missing person poster floated slowly down from above.

Several black-and-white photos of children on it were eye-catching, clearly designed to leave a strong impression.

“A missing person poster? Aren’t those at every street corner?”

Su Qianyu shrugged, not particularly concerned.

Child traffickers existed in every era.

But Illo held the paper, her gaze fixed on the utility pole by the street.

It had been plastered with various missing person photos, and Su Qianyu looked up, noticing the thickness of the stack—it was alarming.

Some were missing pets with generous rewards, others were missing children or adults.

All the papers were new, clearly recent.

Just as Su Qianyu was beginning to feel suspicious, Illo suddenly pulled her away from there.

“Hey, hey, hey…?”

Gripped by surprise, Su Qianyu yelped in mild pain.

Illo, however, seemed completely oblivious and continued walking on her own.

As they neared their home, Illo unexpectedly veered off instead of heading straight upstairs.

She turned toward the alley and disappeared into the shadows.

Worried, Su Qianyu clutched her mouth, about to call out, when footsteps sounded behind them.

A few masked figures with some sort of cylindrical headgear came into view, clearly following them.

“Boss, where are they?”

The leader, dressed in black, squatted to examine footprints on the ground, then slowly stood and replied,

“They spotted us.”

“Retreat!”

Listening to their conversation, Su Qianyu felt a twinge of panic, but Illo discreetly poked her.

“Grab their wallets.”

With the brief command, Su Qianyu immediately responded, using her skill to snatch the wallets from the pursuers.

She activated a skill card—easy pickings!

After watching them completely leave, Illo emerged from the shadows.

She took the wallets, opening them to retrieve their business cards.

Staring at the unfamiliar logos, Illo’s eyes showed clear confusion.

Seeing Illo’s expression, Su Qianyu also checked the other cards.

Reading the information, her face quickly mirrored Illo’s bewildered look.

A home service company…?

What kind of company sends people to follow them?

Looking at the text on the cards, Su Qianyu’s mind briefly froze.

Recalling the equipment the pursuers had, her confusion deepened.

It was high-tech gear, definitely not something a typical home service company would use.

Just as Su Qianyu was about to question it, she noticed Illo’s troubled expression, clearly lost in thought.

Better not disturb her.

After checking the remaining contents of the wallets and finding nothing valuable, Su Qianyu tucked them into a cement wall—hidden so well they wouldn’t be discovered unless the wall was dismantled.

Leaving no trace was a good habit.

Interestingly, there was quite a bit of cash inside the wallets.

In an era of digital payments, cash was indeed rare.

While Illo was still thinking, Su Qianyu discreetly pocketed the money.

Considering she was going to meet the Sub-Moderator, Little Fox Girl nodded approvingly.

Going out without money was unthinkable.

Soon, Illo snapped out of her thoughts.

Seeing Su Qianyu waiting patiently, she chose to head home first.

During her brief reflection, Illo recalled all she could about this mysterious company.

Unfortunately, in her previous life, her enemies were too many, and there was little information available.

At most, the logo slightly resembled a company related to the Qincai family.

But Illo didn’t believe they were behind it.

If it had been the Qincai family, she knew they would never use such gentle methods.

Just thinking about it gave her a slight headache, recalling unpleasant memories.

Thankfully, she had a perfect way to relax.

After this little incident on the way home, the two quickly returned to their small nest.

Once home, Illo didn’t rest immediately.

Her gaze shifted to Su Qianyu, a mischievous smile appearing on her lips.

“You… want to see something interesting?”

“What? See what?”

Startled by Illo’s sudden suggestion, Su Qianyu hurriedly replied.

Illo simply gestured toward the room.

“You’ll know when you come to my room.”

“I can even teach you how to act like an adult, like me.”

With that, Illo began leading Su Qianyu inside.

Before she could finish her drink, Su Qianyu was pulled into the room.

Elbow! Into the room!

Then came the loud thud of the door closing.

Su Qianyu had once seen an amusing illustration.

Normally, interactions between girls were considered playful.

Without firsthand experience, she would have thought the idea a joke.

Unfortunately, she and Illo were not just friends.

And she didn’t usually play along.

Great people once said that things should be seen dialectically.

Most situations had both pros and cons.

So while Illo gained, Su Qianyu experienced the downside.

“My… back hurts.”

“It’s not your back hurting—it’s the bed supporting it.”

If she had three days of strength, Su Qianyu would have taken her revenge immediately.

Forget it, no need to remember—all is already noted.

When they reunited afterward, it was already after the fact.

The fox girl remained powerless, and the magical girl competent—but this time, Su Qianyu was different.

Compared to previous feelings of frustration and despair, her eyes now sparkled with hope.

The fox girl had hope; Ai Cao had strength.

Soon, soon…!

As she imagined the day the Sub-Moderator would help her get revenge, Su Qianyu barely felt the previous pain.

She had always believed in the principle of extremes reversing.

After hitting rock bottom, any step forward was progress.

She refused to believe things could get any worse!