Chapter 47

Feng Yi had no idea what this kid was "yelling" about.

A kid around 10 years old, who usually had no fear in the neighborhood and could always run wild, was now looking at him with a face full of terror, as if he were seeing a monster that suddenly appeared at night.

Am I that scary?

Feng Yi touched his face and even checked his reflection in the window glass.

Nothing had changed, and he had worn colored contact lenses to cover his eyes. From his appearance, there was absolutely nothing unusual.

The lights in the front yard were now on, and he could be seen clearly from outside.

Seeing the kid's expression, Feng Yi thought he must have changed without making a sound.

"Are you afraid of me?" Feng Yi was puzzled.

It was understandable for infants and small animals to be afraid of him, but could a 10-year-old kid's vomeronasal organ still be active?

The kid trembled when Feng Yi spoke, and he didn't say a word, just making some strange sounds as if he were frightened.

"What are you doing here?" Feng Yi asked again.

After a while, the kid finally spoke in a trembling voice, "I... I just wanted to... borrow a ladder..."

Feng Yi followed his gaze.

There was indeed a folding ladder in the corner of the front yard. Feng Yi had moved it out a few days ago when he was cleaning the backyard and had left it in the front yard ever since. The three kids must have seen it when they came over during the day.

Seeing the ladder, Feng Yi remembered that when he was cleaning it, he had indeed smelled something, which belonged to these kids.

Xue Lin probably never thought that the ladder he bought for himself would end up being used by these kids to climb over the wall, using the tree outside the backyard to get in and then stepping on the ladder to get out.

"What do you need the ladder for? Are you going to climb over someone's wall again?" Feng Yi asked.

The kid shrank his neck, didn't say a word, and didn't look at Feng Yi.

"Alright, if you don't tell me, I won't lend it to you."

Feng Yi checked the time; it was already past 11 PM, and this kid was still wandering outside!

If he had the time to cause trouble, he must not have enough homework!

Feng Yi sat on the steps in front of the door and took out his phone, "You really won't tell me? Then I'll call the property management and tell them you're climbing over my wall again."

"I didn't climb!"

"Then they did." Feng Yi dialed the property management's number. These kids were always hanging around, and his nose couldn't ignore them. He wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully until he dealt with them.

Seeing Feng Yi really about to call, the kid panicked, "They didn't climb today! They went..."

Feng Yi raised an eyebrow, "Where did they go?"

The kid didn't say anything again.

Feng Yi glanced at him, stood up, and walked out of the yard. Under the kid's anxious gaze, he took a deep breath and captured enough scent molecules from the air.

There weren't many people moving around in the neighborhood, and Feng Yi could smell the elderly, children, and pets who had walked by during the day, even analyzing their movements roughly.

As for the night, the scents were even clearer. People in the neighborhood wouldn't walk this way because it was close to the river, and there were many mosquitoes at night. Sometimes, they might even encounter snakes.

The clearest scent information came from the three kids, who had even sprayed mosquito repellent.

These scents converged, and like a time reversal, they appeared in Feng Yi's mind in another form.

Just as the kid was puzzled, he saw Feng Yi walk in a certain direction.

And that direction was...

The kid shivered for no reason.

"Amazing! Now you don't climb over the owners' walls, but the neighborhood fence?" Feng Yi said.

He "saw" the three kids run to the fence closest to the river, pause for a moment, probably discussing how to climb over. In the end, one of them served as a human ladder, and the other two stepped on him to climb over the fence.

Their coordination was so默契 (fluent) that it was clear they had done this more than once, even if not here, somewhere else.

The one left behind was the kid who had been lingering in Feng Yi's front yard for half an hour.

After Feng Yi said this, the kid's gaze changed from puzzled to terrified.

Feng Yi ignored the kid's monster-like stare and looked at the neighborhood fence. It was equipped with sensors and alarm controllers. How did these kids manage to climb over without being detected?

Feng Yi didn't hesitate this time and directly called the property management, explaining the situation. He also learned that the gate had been under repair recently, but it was usually during the day. However, there was a malfunction in the control center, and the repairman came at night, needing about an hour to fix it. During this hour, even if someone climbed over, the alarm wouldn't go off.

The property management didn't think it was a big deal and hadn't informed the owners, but they didn't expect these three kids to take advantage of the opportunity!

With such enthusiasm, why not do something better, like studying at midnight!

They didn't show such enthusiasm even during exam reviews!

After calling the property management, Feng Yi looked at the kid nearby.

Realizing he couldn't run away, the kid had given up on arguing and was squatting on the ground, dejected.

Feng Yi was about to say something sarcastic when a gust of wind blew from the river, and he paused.

Feng Yi looked at the river nearby.

Although the fence blocked his view, he could imagine the river's appearance. He had stood on the attic the night before to enjoy the river's night scenery.

The weather tonight was the same as last night, with no clouds and moonlight. The river's surface rippled in the wind, reflecting the moonlight, and the usual frog and insect sounds were the only things out of the ordinary.

Feng Yi took several deep breaths, analyzing the strange earthy smell in the air.

It was the first time he had smelled such an earthy smell, but instinctively, he felt a hint of threat from it.

And the direction of this unknown threat was the same as where the two kids had gone.

"Stay here and wait!"

Feng Yi left a message and quickly ran to the fence, almost sticking to it, and in a blink, he climbed over to the other side.

The kid squatting on the ground was confused, not understanding why Feng Yi suddenly climbed over.

Right, how did this guy climb over just now? If I learn it, I won't need to rely on others...

He tried to recall how Feng Yi climbed over, but it was too fast to see clearly... How did he do it?

After struggling for a while and still not figuring it out, he gave up. As for Feng Yi's "stay here," that was impossible. Although he didn't know why he was afraid of Feng Yi, seeing him for the first time made him scared, but that didn't mean he would listen to Feng Yi!

If he hadn't lost the rock-paper-scissors, he wouldn't have been left behind as a human ladder.

He remembered that Feng Yi's house had a folding ladder, but he was also afraid of Feng Yi. That's why he had been lingering for half an hour without taking action.

After seeing Feng Yi during the day, he said he wasn't afraid, but he was inexplicably terrified of Feng Yi, unable to speak and wanting to cry. But saying this would be too embarrassing, so he couldn't let others know.

Now that Feng Yi was gone, his stubborn courage returned!

It was impossible to stay put. Not only would he not stay, but he would...

He got up and ran to Feng Yi's front yard, huffing and puffing as he carried the folding ladder, planning to follow and climb over.

But he didn't have the chance. Soon after he brought out the ladder and before he reached the fence, he was caught by the property management.

Three people from the property management arrived first. One held the kid, while the other two looked around.

"Where is the person who called?"

The kid, resigned, put down the ladder, "They climbed out! I don't know what happened, he suddenly rushed over and climbed over in a flash."

The three property management staff looked at each other.

"Even if our neighborhood can't install many things due to its location, is the perimeter fence so easy to climb?"

Not only these three kids, but the owners could also easily climb over?

"Our neighborhood's perimeter fence is indeed a bit old and needs an upgrade!"

"Alright, let's not talk about that now. Have you contacted their parents? Have the kid's parents come to pick him up, and the parents of the other two should go with us to look for them. It's dangerous by the river at night!"

On the other side, Cao Xing and his companions, who had climbed out of the neighborhood, had already reached their destination, one hand holding a flashlight and the other a wooden stick, searching the grass.

Cao Xing's little follower had overheard the property management's plan to repair the fence and sensors and told him.

Knowing that the sensors would be out of service, Cao Xing temporarily contacted two friends and sneaked out to collect wild bird eggs by the river.

He had heard a few days ago that there were wild bird eggs in a certain area of the riverbank and had been thinking about it. It was just that it was inconvenient during the day with people walking, running, and walking their dogs, and it was hard to sneak out of the neighborhood at night. So, he had only been eyeing Feng Yi's house, but didn't expect to be caught by Feng Yi.

They didn't plan to sneak out tonight, but the "intelligence" was too tempting, and they were curious about the wild bird eggs. Despite being warned by their parents during the day, they still sneaked out at night.

Their preparation was hasty, and they were bothered by mosquitoes and other insects as soon as they got close to the river.

"Brother Xing, should we go back?"

"What? Are you scared?"

"No... who's scared! But there are too many mosquitoes here. Just now, some flying insect landed on my head, and I swatted it. My scalp is a bit itchy now."

"Just a bit longer. We'll grab a few bird eggs and go back. I remember it's around here."

They had grown up by the river and were familiar with this section. Although their parents had warned them many times not to go near the river, they couldn't resist the curiosity and had secretly gone into the water a few times. Last year, they were caught swimming in the river and almost got their butts beaten.

But there's a saying, "Once the wound heals, the pain is forgotten," especially for mischievous kids of this age. If they weren't disciplined for three days, they would do something crazy. They were more active than 7-8-year-olds and grew up wildly without any constraints. You never knew what foolish things they would do.