Having thought of a solution, Brian Clark finally turned his attention to the peacock man who had suddenly appeared in front of the subdistrict office. He and Eric Webb rushed to the police station and used an internal account to look up the peacock man’s personal file.

His name was Laura Hayes, 23 years old this year, living in Xuyang District under Brian Clark’s jurisdiction, a native of Xuyang District. He had just graduated from Xuyang University this year, and all his identity, household registration, and academic information were genuine.

“Seems like there’s nothing wrong. Could it be that we were just distracted and didn’t notice him at the time?” Eric Webb asked.

Brian Clark shook his head as he stared at all the information in the file. “Laura Hayes’s parents died in a car accident when he was a junior. After the funeral, he sold the house, moved out of the university dorm, and rented an off-campus guesthouse. He found the place through an agent and didn’t have much contact with the landlord. His academic performance was average, and he rarely interacted with classmates. The advisor didn’t have a strong impression of him either. Here’s a photo of him from his student days.”

The photo showed a person wearing black-rimmed glasses, with decent looks but a plain and low-key appearance—completely different from the peacock man they had seen.

“But this is the ID photo on his student card,” Eric Webb said. “ID photos are usually plain. Also, the file shows that not long after his parents passed away, he started frequenting nightclubs, rarely interacting with classmates but partying hard at clubs. There are even records of him checking into various hotels. With experiences like that, it’s normal for the photo not to match the person.”

“I’m not questioning his personality change,” Brian Clark said, looking every bit the elite. “What concerns me is that since his junior year, he hasn’t had anyone close to him. His parents died, friends stopped contacting him, he’s estranged from classmates, his advisor barely remembers him, and he rarely interacted with his landlord. The only people he’s had close contact with are those who, like him, frequent nightclubs. Look at the people he checked into hotels with.”

Eric Webb examined the list closely. Among more than a hundred records, Laura Hayes’s companions were male and female, old and young, and not a single name was repeated.

Eric Webb pondered, “He changes partners every night. That means these people probably don’t have a deep impression of him.”

“If he drinks until he blacks out, he might not even remember checking into a hotel,” Brian Clark said with certainty. “This is someone who, even if he disappeared, no one would file a missing person report for. This file allows him to come and go without a trace.”

Eric Webb agreed with Brian Clark’s assessment. “He’s definitely suspicious. Should we arrest him?”

Brian Clark said, “Let’s wait a bit. Follow him for a while, confirm his identity, and investigate his motives.”

Eric Webb stared at Brian Clark.

Brian Clark: “What?”

Eric Webb shook his head. “Nothing, just realizing your IQ is actually pretty high.”

“What else did you expect?” Brian Clark widened his eyes. “How do you think I became the leader of the Xuyang District Guardians? Wasn’t it through a public exam?”

Eric Webb: “……”

When you’re in love, you really don’t seem this smart. Can you spare just a little bit of that IQ for your love life?

-

While Brian Clark and the others were tracking and investigating the peacock man Laura Hayes, Helen Grant was struggling to do housework.

Xuyang District’s same-city express service was very efficient. In less than two hours, the new furniture and kitchenware had all been delivered. The courier brought everything to the door, set the table where Helen Grant specified, put the bowls on the table, and left, leaving Helen Grant staring blankly at the items.

Even with new things, they still needed to be cleaned and tidied up.

It took Helen Grant ages to rewash the bowls, dry them, and place them on the shelf. During this time, he held his breath and focused all his energy, afraid that even a single breath might shatter the dishes.

After finally finishing the dishes, Helen Grant realized that he hadn’t breathed at all during the entire process.

After his strength kept increasing, he had awakened another ability—turtle breathing.

Helen Grant had once carried out a mission in a completely oxygen-free world, with a breath-holding record of thirteen years and six months—the exact duration of his mission. Helen Grant even suspected that if he had taken longer to complete the mission, that time might have been extended.

After wiping the table, Helen Grant sighed. So tired, really so tired.

With his current strength, washing dishes without crushing them and wiping the table without breaking it was like a normal person walking across eggs but having to control their strength so the eggs remained intact. The mental focus and control required were unimaginable for ordinary people—it was just too hard.

After finally finishing everything, Helen Grant still had to go out to pick a new phone.

He looked at the remains of his phone and sighed. This phone had been bought for him by Brian Clark, who had saved up four months’ salary. It had only been used for less than two months before it was destroyed. Helen Grant felt terrible—this was Brian Clark’s hard work.

Helen Grant longed for an ordinary person’s life. He couldn’t imagine how Brian Clark, with a monthly salary of only 2,500, had managed to save up so much money to buy him such an expensive phone. It was such an ordinary yet precious experience, worth cherishing for a lifetime. Now that it was ruined, he felt very sad.

After feeling down for a while, Helen Grant found a metal box, put the phone’s remains inside, and secretly hid it under the bed. Once he awakened the ability to restore things, he was determined to fix the phone!