Chapter 68: The Lucky Ability

"Sure."

Lu Nian’an nodded, and Xia Jiuwei immediately leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words.

Lu Nian’an fell silent for several seconds.

"...Are you sure?"

"Oh, come on. It's perfectly fine. Then it's settled!”

The two immediately quickened their pace, continuing up the hillside.

The route grew increasingly winding as they weaved through one narrow alley after another, constantly changing paths as they climbed higher.

Along the way, they deliberately skipped many of the famous photo spots, simply making their way toward the highest part of the village, their pace growing faster and faster.

Behind them, Shen Yanqing followed closely, never once losing sight of them despite Gamcheon Village's complicated terrain and the winding, twisting route they had taken.

Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian’an turned into an empty narrow alley one after another.

The walls of the buildings on either side were almost pressed against each other, leaving barely enough room for one person to squeeze through sideways.

Once the two emerged from the narrow passage, Lu Nian’an glanced to either side and, after confirming that there was no one around, suddenly pulled Xia Jiuwei in front of her.

She raised her left hand, gently supporting the back of Xia Jiuwei's head before drawing her slightly closer.

Their foreheads touched as they embraced, and their lips naturally met.

After only a few seconds, a mischievous smile appeared at the corners of Xia Jiuwei's lips.

"Got him."

In the next instant, the two of them vanished from Shen Yanqing's perception.

Early the next morning, Shen Yanqing woke up very early.

Yesterday's mistake had kept him from getting a good night's sleep.

After reporting the situation to the organization and confirming that he hadn't completely lost the target, he was relieved to learn that he wouldn't be disciplined.

The moment he saw the two people in the neighboring room leave the hotel, he immediately changed his appearance and quietly followed behind them once again.

When the two got into a taxi, he hailed another one and instructed the driver to follow them, eventually arriving at Gamcheon Village.

The moment he stepped out and saw those two familiar figures on the hillside, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as he was about to begin following them, the hidden earpiece in his ear suddenly transmitted the voice of his superior.

"Temporary Monitor assigned to Subject 0. We've reviewed your report from yesterday. We'll overlook losing the target once. It won't happen again."

"You already know the objective: confirm whether the target exhibits any abnormalities. If she does, you are to identify her Ability.”

"Understood."

Shen Yanqing frowned, put away his phone, and hurried after them.

He followed the two of them uphill, turning corner after corner, and before he knew it, his pace had become so fast that he was practically running.

But running would make him far too conspicuous.

He could only force himself to slow down and maintain a brisk walk.

The muscles in his calves gradually tightened, his breathing became increasingly labored, and his forehead was already covered in sweat.

Meanwhile, the two people ahead of him continued walking as leisurely as if they were out for a casual stroll, neither hurried nor slow.

For a moment, Shen Yanqing was completely speechless.

No.

Something was wrong.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to keep going with the last of his strength.

Finally, at a corner, he saw the two of them stop.

Through the narrow entrance of the alley, he could vaguely make out their figures standing at the other end.

After adjusting his breathing, he pretended to be an ordinary tourist and squeezed sideways into the narrow alley.

However, before he had even made it halfway through, he saw the two of them embracing and kissing.

He instinctively turned his head away.

Too much.

But when he turned back a moment later, the alley ahead was already completely empty, and an ominous feeling instantly surged through him.

He desperately tried to squeeze his way out, but the alley was simply too narrow. In his panic, his foot slipped, sending him crashing heavily onto the ground, one leg caught against the wall, leaving him sprawled there in a thoroughly undignified heap.

"Fuck!"

By the time he finally managed to crawl out of the narrow alley and look around, the two of them had already disappeared without a trace.

This is bad.

Shen Yanqing collapsed onto the ground, his mind racing.

Maybe... they had simply happened to leave the alley while he was delayed by the fall, which was why he had lost them again.

But...

This was already the second time.

How was he supposed to explain this to the organization?

Throughout the entire journey, the two of them had never even looked back, nor had they shown any indication that they had noticed him.

And yet, every single time, they somehow managed to shake him off.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

Right.

Luck.

Could Subject 0's Ability possibly be "Luck"?

The thought sent an involuntary shiver down his spine.

"Nia, you didn't go too hard on him just now, did you?"

"Of course not! I didn't do anything."

Walking beside Xia Jiuwei, Lu Nian’an spread her hands, looking completely innocent.

"I clearly saw you use your shadow to trip him right when he was about to rush out of the alley, and then..."

"All right, all right. Let's not talk about that."

Lu Nian’an immediately cut her off and pointed ahead.

"Look. Didn't we just happen to reach a café? I heard the view here is pretty nice. Let's go inside and sit for a while."

She changed the subject while pulling Xia Jiuwei into the café.

The café had three floors. The first and second floors were seating areas, while the third floor offered clothing rentals and photography services.

Located high up in Gamcheon Village, the café offered an expansive view. Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian’an chose seats by the window on the second floor.

Through the large glass windows, the densely packed houses could be seen layered one above another, stretching along the hillside all the way to the coast and forming the village's distinctive landscape.

"After seeing it in person, though, I can only say that filters really can be deceiving."

Xia Jiuwei rested her chin on her hand and sighed.

"Gamcheon Village isn't nearly as dreamy as it looks in the photos, but it really is impressive how densely all these houses are packed together."

"True. Do you want to take some pictures later?"

Lu Nian’an nodded.

"There's not much point."

Xia Jiuwei shook her head.

"But I can add filters afterward. Come on, let's take a few."

Seeing how unusually serious she was about it, Xia Jiuwei eventually gave in.

"...Fine."

After finishing their coffee, the two slowly made their way down through Gamcheon Village.

Compared with the hurried pace they had maintained while climbing uphill, they were much more relaxed now.

"Let's take one there."

Lu Nian’an pointed toward a Little Prince statue beside one of the buildings and pulled Xia Jiuwei over.

"Three, two, one. Click."

"I wasn't even ready!"

Xia Jiuwei hurriedly raised her hand to block the camera.

But Lu Nian’an didn't stop. Within just a few seconds, she had captured Xia Jiuwei making all kinds of wildly different expressions and poses before efficiently syncing everything to the cloud.

"Lu Nian’an! How many times have I told you not to take pictures of me without warning?"

"Mm. I'll record videos instead now."

Lu Nian’an nodded with a perfectly serious expression.

The two continued fooling around as they walked, their laughter never seeming to stop.

They even passed Shen Yanqing several times along the way, sometimes close enough to brush shoulders, yet whenever his eyes swept over them, he simply regarded them as unfamiliar tourists and continued walking without the slightest suspicion.

When they passed a particularly interesting little shop, Xia Jiuwei stopped.

"Flipbook making?"

Her eyes immediately lit up.

"Want to go inside and take a look?"

"Sure."

The moment Lu Nian’an agreed, Xia Jiuwei immediately snatched her phone away, expertly entering her own birthday as the passcode and quickly deleting every single unflattering photo and video Lu Nian’an had secretly taken along the way.

Lu Nian’an silently held out her hand, palm facing upward.

"Phone."

"No. It's your own fault for always taking ugly pictures of me."

"None of them are ugly. You're adorable in every single one."

Lu Nian’an smiled faintly.

"You're still not getting it."

Xia Jiuwei kept hold of her phone while pulling her into the shop.

The shop was small, divided into a souvenir sales area and a photography area toward the back.

When they entered, another group of customers happened to be experiencing the flipbook-making process, making the already cramped shop feel even more crowded.

About five minutes later, the customers in front of them completed the final step and left, and it was finally their turn.

After paying, the two began making their own flipbook.

A flipbook was made up of a series of consecutive photographs, with backgrounds that could be replaced with photos of various famous sights around Gamcheon Culture Village.

The shop attendant asked the two to stand in front of a green screen and pose in different ways according to the instructions. Their photographs were then composited onto different landmark backgrounds before being printed, cut, and bound into a small flipbook.

Once they received the finished product, Xia Jiuwei happily flipped through a few pages, an involuntary smile appearing on her face.

"Now that we've got our souvenirs, I think it's about time we leave Gamcheon Village."

"Let's go."

Lu Nian’an smiled as she took her hand.

"On to the next stop."