Chapter 13

On a hot summer evening, it's always bustling.

As night fell, the scorching heat of the day seemed to be scared away. A gentle breeze blew across Lin Fei's face, sweeping away the heat from the ground, and he instantly felt a cool sensation.

Looking around, Lin Fei saw that every building in the neighborhood was lit up. In the pavilions and on the benches under the trees, there were groups of women chatting after their evening meals.

There were also clusters of children playing happily, some on skateboards, some roller-skating, and some playing hide-and-seek. The summer night was more lively than the day.

Leaving the neighborhood, Lin Fei hailed a taxi by the roadside. The driver was a novice. After Lin Fei gave him the address, the driver took out his phone and operated it, and then a voice navigation system guided him. Technology makes life convenient, indeed!

Driving and stopping, this time was exactly the rush hour for going to and from work. There were quite a few vehicles on the road. At 6:45 PM, Lin Fei arrived at the entrance of Uncle Niu's Hot Pot Restaurant.

Uncle Niu's Hot Pot Restaurant has been in business for over 40 years. In the hearts of the older generation, it is filled with childhood memories.

Lin Fei went to the front desk and reported the private room number to the server. Following the server's guidance, he arrived at the door of the private room. With a click, Lin Fei pushed the door open, and the aroma of hot pot immediately hit him.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to be here already!" Lin Fei chuckled.

"Which time haven't we been here first?" Zhou Yue said expectantly, "Quick, give me the birthday gift you prepared for me."

"What's the rush!" Lin Fei laughed, "The gift won't fly away. Let me sit down and have a drink first. The traffic was jammed for a long time just now. I should have ridden a shared bicycle."

Lin Fei handed her the box he was carrying and poured himself a cup of tea.

Today, Zhou Yue was wearing a white off-shoulder chiffon dress with a cute bow at the waist. Layers of lace adorned the beautiful dress, and her long hair flowed over her shoulders.

Wang Xiaoru was wearing a black dress that revealed her shoulders, clean and elegant, with no embellishments.

Zhou Yue happily took the birthday gift from Lin Fei and eagerly opened it. What caught her eye was a green object that looked like a hand, with thorns on it.

"A cactus?"

"Yep, it's a cactus. Last year, I gave you a cactus ball, and you seemed to like it. This year, I specially picked a sister plant for you. How about it, surprised? Unexpected? Happy?"

"Surprised, unexpected, happy." Zhou Yue smiled at Lin Fei, pulling the corners of her mouth.

"Yep, I knew it." Lin Fei nodded.

"Alright! Zhou Yue, you've received the gift. Let's start eating! Everyone is hungry." Wang Xiaoru smiled, covering her mouth.

Looking at the table, they had ordered lamb, beef, pig intestines, pig brain, chicken hearts, winter melon, white radish, bamboo shoots, yams, taro, mushrooms, black fungus, kelp, coriander, lettuce, pea sprouts, broccoli, green leaf lettuce, fish balls, meatballs, fried dough twists, fried dough sticks, fried dough puffs, braised meat, spring rolls, and pumpkin cakes.

"Did you order too much?" Lin Fei said, looking at the mountain of food.

"Not really! It's not much. Since we won't finish it today, you won't be going home." Zhou Yue took her eyes off the cactus and gave Lin Fei a glare.

"Alright, let's start eating! Don't just talk. Here, Lin Fei, these are your favorite fish balls. They're already cooked. Pass me your bowl, and I'll serve you some." Wang Xiaoru smiled at Lin Fei.

"Hey, I'm the main character today! I should be served first." Zhou Yue said, eyes wide.

"Alright, alright! We know! Here, this pig brain is your favorite. I'll serve you some to nourish you." Lin Fei said to Zhou Yue.

"My favorite is beef. Why did you put all the beef in your bowl? Give it to me." Zhou Yue said.

They passed the food back and forth, and Lin Fei and Zhou Yue enjoyed their meal.

"Full!" Lin Fei burped.

"Me too. It's all your fault for competing with me, making me eat a lot." Zhou Yue blamed Lin Fei.

"I only competed with you a few times at the beginning. After that, you were the one eating a lot." Lin Fei threw the blame back.

"You two, stop arguing. You're so full, save some energy to digest." Wang Xiaoru shook her head, looking at the two bickering.

"By the way, I have something to tell you. I awakened my spiritual energy last week, and my psychic power came with it."

"Cough, cough, cough" Zhou Yue choked on her tea.

"What? Say it again, I didn't hear clearly." Zhou Yue said, disbelieving.

"I just awakened my psychic power! What's the big deal?"

Lin Fei, feeling full, squinted his eyes and said, "Didn't the government announce on TV and the internet that everyone on Earth will awaken their spiritual energy, and the number of people with psychic powers will increase? There's nothing strange about it."

"Congratulations, Lin Fei." Wang Xiaoru asked curiously, "What psychic power did you awaken?"

"It's not a powerful one, just a small fireball." Lin Fei casually demonstrated his psychic power, summoning a small fireball the size of a ping-pong ball in his palm.

"You, you really awakened a psychic power! I only have spiritual energy, no psychic power. Now, among the three of us, the weakest one isn't me anymore, right?" Zhou Yue said, looking at Lin Fei's small fireball enviously.

"What do you mean the weakest? What are you thinking! Even if I didn't awaken a psychic power, the weakest one is still you."

Lin Fei sneered, "What use is this small fireball? To light candles? We don't have power outages now, and even if we did, the flashlight on my phone is brighter."

"Regardless of its use, I just feel that you all have it, and I don't, so I'm not happy." Zhou Yue pretended to be upset.

"Then you can continue being unhappy!" Lin Fei continued, "My college class president encountered two animals with psychic powers in the wild, in the Wangyue Mountain forest. This is not an isolated case. In the future, there will be more, and the wild will become very unsafe. If your fitness club organizes outdoor activities, it's best to cancel those in remote areas to avoid danger."

"Right, but it's really happening!" Wang Xiaoru said in surprise, "Today, a colleague who went on a trip to the Xing'an Forest told me that the local residents said there are many animals with psychic powers in the forest, and several hunters have gone missing. Now, the local psychic power management bureau has sent people to camp outside the forest. I thought he was joking, but now it seems to be true."

"During yoga class today, I chatted with a few students after class, and they mentioned similar things." Zhou Yue added.

Lin Fei sighed, "With the surge in spiritual energy, the concentration of spiritual energy in the air is increasing, promoting the evolution of both humans and animals, leading to the awakening of spiritual energy. Even without psychic powers, the awakening of spiritual energy alone can continuously enhance physical attributes. Animals are naturally stronger than humans, and after awakening, their strength becomes even more powerful. In the future, the wild will become even more dangerous."