After losing the signal from Luo Bing and the others again, Geste hacked into all the cameras in the Lilac Shore Apartments to monitor Luo Bing's movements. As soon as Luo Bing left the room, she would be immediately locked onto.
It sent the footage to Josiah and then, as instructed by Josiah, checked the background information of Luo Bing's mobile service provider. The result showed that her phone was shut down normally.
Most phones, while turned on, will send bi-directional location information to nearby base stations at a millisecond frequency. When turned off, the base station receives a message. However, if a phone is forcefully shutdown or its battery is removed, the base station will default it to a "no signal, but turned on" mode.
Geste was capable of easily accomplishing what only top-tier hackers could do - stealing various information through the network without being detected by anyone. If it was only Josiah, he wouldn't dare to do this, as any careless mistake could lead to his specific location being tracked and even the exposure of his important information.
"Gu Xi shut down her phone but didn't destroy it, indicating that she knows you can't eavesdrop on messages with a turned-off phone," Josiah said as he leaned against his computer, looking at the screen displaying the camera angles.
"How did she know? I've never told her about my abilities," Geste said somewhat annoyed.
"Very easy, just ask the customer service of that website," Josiah replied.
"That's too unfair! Have all my abilities been exposed?" Geste could sense a trace of the author's terror.
"The chances are small unless she has a lot of points. Generally, it only takes 10 points to get an answer from the customer service, but they will try to make you spend 100 points or even more to find out. And they won't indicate the price of the question. She wouldn't dare to ask too many questions, that's one reason," Josiah explained.
"The second reason is that I'm on your side. To protect my interests, the website will never reveal too much information to her; otherwise, my interests will be harmed, and it will violate the concept of fairness on the website."
"Ah, so the website won't reveal your existence either. If it does, it will damage your interests. Of course, it won't disclose too much information about Gu Xi either, or her interests will be harmed," Geste chuckled, "Interesting website, I'm starting to like it more and more."
"Geste, send me the footage of Gu Xi and Luo Bing leaving Juchuan Corporation and arriving at Lilac Shore Apartments. Can you do that?"
"I can do it, but what do you need the footage for? It's very time-consuming."
"Watch Gu Xi's movements again."
"It's not necessary, isn't your memory good?" Geste remarked.
"This is a necessary step," Josiah said with a serious expression. "We might be facing the 'Author,' so it's never too careful."
"Fine."
Josiah watched the footage repeatedly until he stopped at a certain moment and stared at the screen, where the expression of the blonde man was extremely complicated.
So that's it.
The statement that Gu Xi is the author was just speculation before, but at this moment, Josiah was completely certain. Gu Xi is indeed the author, as he had found decisive evidence.
"We need to take action. Should we continue as we discussed before? I don't need Luo Qingyuan's money, and we can keep his body until we eliminate Gu Xi. We will only maintain remote contact," Josiah stood up, his tall figure blocking the light.
"What about his money?"
"It's up to you."
"Then, my partner, let the hunting begin!"
"Good luck."
------------------------
Gu Xi's appearance did surprise Luo Bing. He had thought that the other party was an alien or someone who looked similar to the villagers in the Ghost Village. He even doubted if Gu Xi was a ghost. But now, all his concerns were resolved.
However, Luo Bing was more curious about Gu Xi's background, but he wouldn't actively ask about it.
Magic, ghosts...
He keenly felt that behind Gu Xi, there was a complex world that an ordinary affluent second generation like him could never touch. He had accidentally come into contact with a small part of this unknown iceberg in the world.
Ambitious people might try to find ways to join them, but Luo Bing didn't have such great ambitions. Being reborn into a wealthy family with a strong foundation was already a stroke of luck that saved the galaxy - except for being cursed.Luobing remembered encountering a fraudster years ago and even buying a talisman at a high price, holding onto the hope that "it might be useful." Compared to Gu Xi, those fraudsters claiming to be "ghost masters" seemed so laughable.
Gu Xi really should be a human, although it's a bit strange...
Luobing, lying on the sofa in a lazy position, comforted himself. However, his beautiful imagination lasted only a moment, as the next second he saw Xu Fang pick up a beaker and drink concentrated sulfuric acid.
His eyes bulged out, and the beautiful imagination shattered instantly.
...
Xu Fang's experimental steps were straightforward.
First, he tested the tolerance of the chemical reagents with a strand of hair, observing the rate at which the energy dissipated. Then, he tested it with a hair that was connected to the body.
After testing the hair, if the chemicals were harmless, he would proceed to test on the body, from fingers to arms, and finally, internal consumption.
Unless the chemical reagents caused damage to the energy body, Xu Fang wouldn't activate his energy shield under normal circumstances.
Gussy's body didn't react to sulfuric acid, nor could it directly absorb the chemical energy in the sulfuric acid. However, when concentrated sulfuric acid comes into contact with water, it produces a large number of bright spots, which can be absorbed as heat.
Gussy couldn't absorb the chemical energy of inanimate objects but could absorb that of living beings. After testing it on insects, Xu Fang found that even if their body temperature wasn't lowered, they would die due to some sort of energy extraction.
Two insects of the same temperature and size, one alive and one dead, absorbed different amounts of energy, with the live one absorbing slightly more.
Gussy only absorbed a portion of the energy. If the insects were burned, it would be able to absorb even more. So, what exactly did Gussy absorb that caused the insects' deaths?
Xu Fang speculated that it might be the "life energy" extracted from living organisms, similar to the energy of ripples.
Unfortunately, the insects were too small, but there was a larger organism on the sofa - ever since seeing Xu Fang drink sulfuric acid, he has looked dejected.
In Xu Fang's eyes, Luobing's body was healthy, at a slightly above-average level. The younger and stronger a person is, the higher their energy level, while patients and the elderly have lower levels.
...
The chemical experiments went smoothly.
Whether it was highly toxic reagents like PMSF, neurotoxins like acrylamide, or toxic reagents like SDS and methanol that damage the eyes and skin, they had no effect on Gussy, the energy creature.
Corrosive substances like sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and hydrofluoric acid also lost their lethality. Radioactive substances did have a positive effect on Gussy, as the weak radiation could be converted into absorbed light spots, but it was so weak that it could be ignored.
The conclusion was that Gussy was invulnerable to poisons and didn't undergo chemical reactions, so...the most significant threat would be from the physical aspect.
Time unknowingly passed until noon, and the sunlight outside shone straight down. As the curtains were not drawn, the study was brightly lit.
Luobing hadn't eaten breakfast and was starting to feel hungry. However, his phone was still turned off, preventing him from contacting the chef.
"Do you want to eat something?" Luobing asked for suggestions. "How about going to a five-star hotel..."
"I don't need to," Xu Fang promptly refused. "I'll give you my phone later, and you can call the chef or order takeout."
Xu Fang gestured to the liquid petroleum gas behind him. "Also, this is my food."
"...So that's what it's for."
-------------------
The story rewinds to a day earlier.
USA, Boston, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Established in the early 19th century, this comprehensive hospital is one of the oldest in the United States and gathers medical elites from around the world, having received over a dozen Nobel Prizes.
However, this powerful hospital was helpless when faced with a patient from China - although hardly anyone believed in the patient's illness.
Luoxiaoming had been here for a week, and besides daily examinations, she had nothing to do. The hospital had thoroughly examined Luoxiaoming from head to toe, yet no one understood why she had changed from male to female.
Although having a healthy patient occupy a VIP ward was troublesome, since the family insisted on it, it wasn't necessary to refuse the money that was being handed to them.And so, from the digestive center to the heart center, then to the transplant center, vascular center, neurosurgery, neurology... she visited them all and couldn't find any abnormalities in her body.
It seems that the transformation has gone beyond the scope of human medicine. Therefore, Luo Qingyuan, who was here a few days ago, said she would return to China in early November.
However, just three days before early November, Li Xin hurriedly rushed into Luo Xiaoming's hospital room.
There was only Xiaoming in the room, and he was troubled by the slow internet speed across the border - the connection always dropped when he played mobile games.
"Luo Xiaoming, pack your clothes and get ready to leave the hospital!" Li Xin gasped heavily, and her tone was somewhat terrifying.
Xiaoming had never seen Li Xin in such a panicked state. In his impression, Li Xin was a mysterious, elegant, and friendly strong woman. Even Luo Qingyuan had some fear of her.
What happened exactly that made her so panicked?
"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
"Xiaoming, let me explain something first. Don't be afraid, stay calm - your father may... have already passed away."
Xiaoming thought she must have misheard, until Li Xin repeated it again for her to react.
"You... you're lying... I just talked to him on the phone this morning."
"The person who spoke to you on the phone was not your father!"
"Then who was it? Why would you say that?"
Li Xin took out a metal box and opened it. Inside was a black stone. "Touch this stone, browse through your memories again, and see if you have forgotten something."
"What is this...?"
"It would take too long to explain. You'll understand once you touch it."
Gently, Xiaoming reached out her hand. As soon as her nails touched the stone, her eyes widened, and an indescribable fear surged in her heart. It was as if she woke up from a nightmare and found herself in hell.
"Do you remember what you forgot?" Li Xin stared at Xiaoming intently.
Xiaoming shook her head in confusion, her expression pained. "I don't know, my memories are all jumbled."
"I see." Li Xin was somewhat disappointed. "Let's leave this place first, then we can talk."
