Chapter 148: Disappearance |
[Eye Seed]
[Effect: Water with 'gaze' to harvest an eye.]
[Description: Plant one today, harvest many tomorrow.]
With some rare free time, Guan Shan took out the item that had been gathering dust in his backpack.
He opened his palm, revealing two objects resembling walnuts, similar in size but much heavier, with hard shells and a distinct seam in the middle.
The seam was pitch black and silent, appearing empty at first glance. However, after staring for about a minute, one could see an eye inside, slightly wriggling and making eye contact with the observer.
Hmm... not scary at all!
Thinking this, Guan Shan angrily buried the two seeds in the flowerpots with soil.
Although they required "gaze" to water them, the seeds seemed to be a type of plant needing soil to grow. He wasn't sure how it worked.
As long as Guan Shan stared at the flowerpots, the progress bars would move slowly. However, if he looked away, the bars would quickly regress...
This was why Guan Shan hadn't planted the seeds earlier.
He estimated that he needed to stare at them for at least three days to fill the progress bars. With his busy schedule investigating cases, he never had the time to sit and stare at them.
But now, trapped in the base with nothing else to do, and with the simulator likely inactive...
He didn't believe the simulator could spring a horror game on him in such a safe environment!
Having figured out the simulator's patterns, Guan Shan was confident that staying in one place would prevent any sudden attacks.
So, for the whole day, Guan Shan sat by the flowerpots, posing as "The Thinker," and stared at them blankly.
A female support staff from the Wuhao base visited once to inform him that the Lu family and the three support staff members were recovering well and wanted to thank him if he had time.
Guan Shan, maintaining his deep pose, replied, "Mm-hmm, got it..."
The support staff, puzzled, glanced at the flowerpots, wondering if staring at them was this Esper's quirk.
Just then, Guan Shan noticed a significant increase in the progress bars.
"!"
Seeing the support staff about to leave, Guan Shan quickly stopped her. "Wait, I need a favor."
The support staff, smiling, said, "Just let me know what you need."
Guan Shan pointed to the flowerpots. "Can you keep staring at them like I am?"
"???"
The support staff was now certain this was indeed a peculiar habit of the Esper before her.
However, staring at flowerpots wasn't an unreasonable request, so she nodded and started staring at them.
"......"
But this time, the progress bars only moved slightly.
An awkward silence filled the room.
Guan Shan pondered, "Is it a one-time thing?"
He waved the support staff away, asking her to bring the Lu family over.
Touching his chin, he speculated, "More eyes mean faster progress, but each person can only accelerate it once?"
He then called Lin Shuman from next door, finding that the progress bars did increase significantly and continued to grow.
And so...
They both sat staring blankly at the flowerpots.
Lin Shuman, now used to chatting with Guan Shan and less afraid of him, asked curiously, "What's growing in the flowerpots?"
Guan Shan shook his head. "I don't know."
Although they were [Eye Seed], he didn't know what would grow from them. After all, who plants "eyes"?
"Oh." Lin Shuman then asked, "It's almost noon. Aren't you hungry?"
Guan Shan paused, realizing he rarely felt "hungry" or "tired" anymore. Since reaching level 10, he had almost abandoned normal human physiological needs, only feeling a bit hungry after three days without food or water.
If compared to a cultivation stage, he was in the fasting phase, eating mainly to satisfy cravings.
About to say he wasn't hungry, Lin Shuman handed him a chocolate bar. "Here, eat this. It's a Special Security Group energy bar. One can last a day, so you can keep staring without leaving."
Why are you so adept at pulling out chocolate?!
But Guan Shan wouldn't refuse a kind gesture.
As he unwrapped the bar, Lin Shuman pulled out more chocolate bars, biscuits of various flavors, and even long strip-shaped jelly, looking like a primary schooler on a field trip.
That jelly can't have any energy; it's definitely personal stash!
Embarrassed, Guan Shan asked, "Do you always bring so much food on missions?"
He had noticed earlier that she wore a tight black combat suit under her loose white dress, with a special storage belt around her waist filled with food, like she was carrying C4 explosives.
Clearly, the belt wasn't originally for snacks.
Realizing she had exposed her habit, Lin Shuman quickly denied, "No, not always, and not this much..."
She gestured nervously, "Just a bit."
Guan Shan's gaze was skeptical: "..."
Lin Shuman explained, "I often have to go on long-term surveillance missions. To avoid exposure, I can't move much and act as a human bug. So I need enough food to avoid starving."
She scratched her face, embarrassed, "Once, I stayed hidden too long for an important mission, keeping my ability active... but maybe it was too effective."
"In the end, even my Special Security Group colleagues forgot about me until the mission ended. They didn't notify or retrieve me."
Guan Shan asked, "What happened then?"
Lin Shuman, more embarrassed, whispered, "I... fainted from hunger, my ability weakened, and the support team found me later. Since then, I've always carried extra food, but not usually this much."
Before her ability upgrade, she couldn't exceed 50kg in total weight, mostly weapons and essential rations. Now she had more leeway, up to 70kg.
Feeling sympathetic, Guan Shan said, "Don't worry, I'll try not to forget you."
When the Lu family and support staff arrived, Guan Shan had them stare at the flowerpots to "assist."
Only when their eyes grew sore did he release these free laborers.
The next day.
Hoping to gather more people, Guan Shan opened his door to find Sun Han standing there with a serious expression.
"Qi Xingyu is missing."
She said slowly.