Chapter 12

Before Feng Yi went home, he first went to Wu Ji's place.

Wu Ji's house was free of rats at this time, but who knew about the middle of the night? After all, the holes in the house hadn't been sealed, and pest control was still on the waiting list.

After Wu Ji learned that Feng Yi had the skill to catch rats, he insisted that Feng Yi stay overnight at his place.

"We must get rid of them to prevent future trouble!"

Wu Ji was quite enthusiastic about the rat extermination, "I've prepared the guest room. It's convenient to stay in the same building. If you're not used to the pillows here, you can bring your own. Brother, my sleep depends on you!"

Feng Yi thought it was just a favor, so he agreed and spent the night in the guest room on the 5th floor that Wu Ji had prepared.

The 5th floor apartment belonged to Wu Ji's parents, while Wu Ji's own place was on the 29th floor. Due to the more severe rat infestation on the lower floors, the elderly had temporarily moved to the 29th floor.

Since Wu Ji moved to the 5th floor, he hadn't had a good night's sleep. He hated the rats but couldn't do anything about them. They couldn't be caught or trapped. If Feng Yi could catch a rat tonight, it would be like avenging him.

However, that night, from the 1st to the 10th floor, the rats seemed to have suddenly disappeared. Even if there were rats in the houses, they were unusually quiet that night. The higher floors weren't as quiet, but they were much better than before.

The revenge wasn't taken, but Wu Ji had a rare good night's sleep.

"Could it be that the community's rat extermination efforts are working?"

The homeowners' group was also discussing this. The situation in the entire neighborhood seemed much better than the past few days. Although other buildings weren't as peaceful as Feng Yi's, the improvement was noticeable.

The community's rat extermination staff indeed eliminated many rats every day, so everyone didn't think much about it, speculating that the rats might have fled the area due to the increased extermination efforts.

"The dark days are finally over!" Wu Ji was excited.

"This time, I didn't see you in action. If rats come again, I'll find you. It's a waste not to use your skill. Are you really not going to start a pest control company? If you have the idea, I'll definitely invest!" Wu Ji looked at Feng Yi.

"No." After a moment's thought, Feng Yi asked, "What do you think of snakes?"

Wu Ji's face instantly changed.

"No way, I can still fight the rats, but snakes would make my soul leave my body!"

"You're a snake sign, and you're this afraid?" Feng Yi asked.

"Who says snake signs can't be afraid of snakes? I'm the most afraid of snakes! When I was a kid, I stepped on one. Its color was similar to the surrounding grass, and I didn't notice until I stepped on it. If I had jumped away any slower, it would have bitten me. Since then, I've had a psychological shadow!"

Even after so many years, recalling it still made Wu Ji shudder. "Thinking about it, I'd rather face the rats."

Feng Yi didn't bring it up again.

When he got home, he carefully examined his face in the mirror to see if there were any changes.

After a night, Feng Yi felt that his perception range had expanded significantly. If he were the center of a sphere, the radius of the space he could perceive was about five floors high.

If he wanted to, he could even sense how many people were upstairs and downstairs and what they were doing. It wasn't clear, just a general perception.

He didn't deliberately sense the neighbors, as that would be an invasion of privacy. He would try it in the park next time.

Over the next two days, the rat infestation in the neighborhood improved significantly. The residents' complaints at night decreased, and the dog barking seemed to have disappeared.

After dinner, the residents strolling in the neighborhood smiled more, and the atmosphere in the homeowners' group became more peaceful.

However, compared to the improving mood of others, Feng Yi was feeling depressed.

He felt something was off these past two days!

Everything was off!

For breakfast, he fried a pancake and, while eating, accidentally stuffed the whole thing in his mouth, choking before he came to his senses and spit it out.

When eating an egg, he didn't even peel the shell before putting it in his mouth. Although he realized it later, he was still scared.

Once or twice could be attributed to carelessness, but this kept happening, and it couldn't just be a simple distraction!

Also!

During lunch, the sauce smelled particularly pungent, making him sneeze several times.

At first, Feng Yi suspected the sauce had expired, but the packaging date was new.

Thinking it might be a defective product, he tried other sauces, but they still smelled pungent!

Everything he ate tasted strange.

His head ached, and he felt feverish, but his temperature was normal.

No matter which thermometer he used, it showed his temperature was normal.

Feng Yi couldn't stay calm.

He didn't want to go to the hospital, remembering the old butler's words. If he were diagnosed with something non-human, he might be sent to a research institute.

So, was he sick, or had something strange happened, as the old butler said?

Feng Yi didn't know.

Should he ask a doctor or the butler?

He wondered if it was due to too much mental pressure and stress, unrelated to what the old butler said.

Even his previously clear perception was now fuzzy.

After some thought, Feng Yi came up with a plan.

He searched online and found a platform with good reviews for 24/7 online consultations.

Feng Yi briefly described his symptoms.

Soon, an online doctor replied:

[Hello! Based on your description, you show signs of delayed reaction and hypersensitivity, which may indicate some cognitive impairment...]

A long paragraph followed.

Feng Yi, trembling, asked, "How can I improve it?"

The online doctor replied:

[We recommend you come to our psychiatric department for a detailed examination.]

Feng Yi's heart sank.

He switched to another page and searched the phrase "cognitive impairment" from the doctor's reply, seeing:

[Schizophrenia patients have cognitive impairment... Delayed or hypersensitive reactions to external information may be signs of psychotic symptoms and cognitive decline...]

Feng Yi felt a chill.

After much thought, he decided not to scare himself and called the old butler.

The old butler's voice sounded a bit hopeful: "Don't worry, it's normal. This is just an early reaction. Your genes are changing, and your body is adapting to these changes. Don't stress too much. Take this time to relax and go out. Once this adaptation period is over, you might not have the mood to go out."

After hearing this, Feng Yi wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried.

He was relieved that he didn't have a mental illness.

But he was worried about the old butler's last words, "Once the adaptation period is over, you might not have the mood to go out." What kind of "small changes" were these?

With this complex feeling, Feng Yi still joined Wu Ji's weekend fishing trip.

They set off on Saturday morning.

Their destination was the Yueshan Ecological Tourism Scenic Area, about a two-hour drive from Rongcheng.

Wu Ji drove with his parents, while Feng Yi drove, with Qian Feiyang as the driver.

Since Feng Yi had "cognitive impairment," it was safer not to drive.

The weekend traffic was heavy, and they encountered several traffic jams. At one red light, Qian Feiyang checked the camera feed on his phone.

"Did you leave Bayjiao at home?" Feng Yi asked.

"Just for two days, we'll be back tomorrow. No need to take it to a pet shop. There's an automatic feeder and a litter box cleaner at home, and the camera is on. I can check its movements on my phone anytime," Qian Feiyang said.

Feng Yi glanced at the screen, where Bayjiao was lying on its back on the living room sofa, sleeping.

Qian Feiyang continued driving. "Wuji said this place has a lot of fish to catch, but I don't know if it's true. I don't want to end up like last time, fishing all day and getting nothing. I'll only try for two hours. If I don't catch anything, I'll take photos instead."

Feng Yi asked him, "What do you think of snakes?"

Qian Feiyang didn't show any aversion: "You know, as higher beings, humans have preferences. Some like warm-blooded animals, some like cold-blooded animals..."

"So?"

"I choose to pet cats."

Feng Yi didn't ask further.

After about two hours, they arrived at their destination.

There were many farmhouses near the Yueshan Scenic Area, and the business here was better than the five-star hotels in the center. Wu Ji had booked a room a week in advance.

After settling in, Wu Ji's parents, being older, needed to rest, but the three of them were full of energy.

"Let's go fishing!"

Wu Ji pulled out the guide he got from Uncle Liu, the fishing enthusiast in their neighborhood.

They rented or bought the necessary tools and materials, and Wu Ji led Feng Yi and Qian Feiyang to find a spot.

Uncle Liu had marked several locations, but they arrived a bit late, and the closer spots were already taken. However, it wasn't a problem, as Uncle Liu had marked many spots, and the fishing area was large, even on a busy weekend.

This area was part of the ecological scenic area, and the other side was a nature reserve where visitors were not allowed to enter freely.

They chose this farmhouse because it had the best scenery and was closest to the fishing area.

After living in the city for a long time, they wanted to get closer to nature. Spending a weekend here was comfortable, and they might even encounter cute animals like squirrels or foxes.

Some internet celebrities and video bloggers occasionally came here to try their luck.

The weather was nice that day, cloudy with a breeze, and the temperature was comfortable. Children were running around the farmhouse, but there were fewer at the fishing spots. People in their twenties like Feng Yi were not common.

Feng Yi had bought a fishing hat and was wearing a mask, which wasn't unusual here. Many people had their own ways to protect themselves from the sun, and some were covered head to toe.

Finally, they found a spot, and Wu Ji was eager to start.

"Let's have a competition, see who catches the first fish!"

Qian Feiyang was less enthusiastic and lazily responded.

Wu Ji was excited: "Guess how many fish I'll catch today?"