Oh no! I'm surrounded by female ghosts!

coffee shop.

With a heart full of trepidation, Zhou Zhengyang cautiously pushed open the door.

Su Ming and Yu Mengnian sat quietly in their usual spot by the window.

The two remained silent, each lost in thought with their eyes lowered.

Upon closer inspection, Su Ming's lips were slightly red, as if he had secretly eaten some strawberry cake.

Let's look at Yu Mengnian again.

Her expression remained calm and composed, but her gaze kept drifting towards Su Ming, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

It's unclear what happened between the two of them.

But the once aloof and otherworldly fairy seems to have been dragged down to earth by mortals and tainted by the mundane world.

Zhou Zhengyang coughed twice to indicate that he was about to arrive.

But in reality...

He didn't need to cough; it was completely unnecessary.

Su Ming and Yu Mengnian noticed him as soon as he appeared nearby.

Su Ming looked up and called out, "Old Zhou."

Zhou Zhengyang immediately stepped forward, standing ramrod straight and with a respectful attitude: "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

Su Ming frowned slightly.

He didn't mention what had happened between him and Yu Mengnian, but simply asked, "Check if Tang Tang is an Awakened One?"

He believed Yu Mengnian's feelings.

Just by establishing a personal relationship with Tang Tang, a slight spatial fluctuation actually occurred.

This is clearly not right.

Either it was their doing.

Either it's some kind of ability of Tangtang.

Zhou Zhengyang immediately began to investigate.

Tang Tang's name was not on the register of awakened individuals.

A thorough review of Tangtang's entire life trajectory over the past twenty years reveals a clean and impeccable resume.

Everything speaks for itself.

She was just an ordinary girl, as ordinary as could be.

Her family background is quite good; they belong to the middle class.

As an only child, she was extremely doted on by her parents.

From childhood to adulthood, I have had a smooth and carefree life, never experiencing any hardships. It is precisely because of this that my nature appears exceptionally innocent.

Su Ming turned his head to look at Yu Mengnian.

An extremely absurd idea quietly took root.

Could Tangtang be a fake?

If it really is a disguise, then that's terrifying.

Even Wen Qi, Shen Wanyu, and Xu Qinghe couldn't see through the deception.

wrong.

Su Ming suddenly remembered that when Tang Tang and Xu Qinghe were vying for a position, Wen Qi had said, "Don't underestimate Tang Tang."

This "Don't underestimate Tang Tang" refers to either Tang Tang's abilities or her personality.

Thinking about it now, it's quite intriguing.

But the problem is.

Yu Mengnian did not notice the slight spatial fluctuations in the Tangtang candy from 2003 and 2012.

It wasn't until 2019 that she realized it.

The more Su Ming thought about it, the more his head ached.

He genuinely didn't want to think about it in that direction.

Zhou Zhengyang lowered his voice and asked softly, "Your Majesty, do you think there's something wrong with Tangtang?"

Before Su Ming could answer.

Yu Mengnian, who had been silent, spoke first, her tone firm: "There's a problem."

She firmly believed that there was something wrong with the sugar.

As for what the problem was, she didn't know.

By now.

The only solution is to bring in Chen Zhiwei, a powerful figure in the industry.

Have you told Chen Zhiwei about my situation?

Zhou Zhengyang shook his head: "Dr. Chen is currently conducting a very complex experiment and forbids anyone from disturbing her, otherwise she will throw a tantrum."

"She's terrifying when she gets angry; nobody dares to mess with her."

"Or, we could..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yu Mengnian called Chen Zhiwei.

You couldn't hear Chen Zhiwei getting angry at all through the receiver; all you could hear was her happiness.

"Niannian, you've finally shown some humanity, you actually took the initiative to call him."

"I miss you so much."

Zhou Zhengyang stood awkwardly to the side.

I tried to speak for a long time, but couldn't utter a single word.

Su Ming raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.

"Tsk tsk."

People's joys and sorrows, their partings and reunions, are not shared.

Just like the relationships between people, they are not the same.

Before Chen Zhiwei could finish speaking, Yu Mengnian interrupted her directly, saying only three words, crisp and decisive: "Come find me."

After saying that, she hung up the phone.

Seeing the look in Su Ming's eyes.

After a brief pause, Yu Mengnian explained, "She will come."

After thinking for a moment, she added, "She'll check the location."

Zhou Zhengyang stared wide-eyed, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

Yu Mengnian actually explained?

This incident further shattered his worldview.

At that moment, Su Ming's phone vibrated.

I picked it up and saw it was a message from Tangtang.

She invited Su Ming to go out for a nice meal tomorrow.

Su Ming's brows relaxed slightly, and his fingertips quickly tapped the screen to reply.

He still believes that Tang Tang is just an ordinary girl.

The strange spatial fluctuations might just mean that Tangtang has been targeted by those unknown beings.

As for why they targeted him...

How could Su Ming know?

All he knew was that 2019 was Tangtang's year.

It took less than an hour in total.

Chen Zhiwei arrived before Xu Qinghe and Cheng Yao did.

26-year-old Chen Zhiwei hasn't changed much from before; she's still bright and radiant.

However, upon closer inspection, one can discover that deep within her eyes lies a lingering pessimism, which is usually perfectly concealed by her cheerful exterior.

The moment Chen Zhiwei pushed open the door, Yu Mengnian was all she could see, and she pounced on her without hesitation.

"Niannian, I've missed you so much."

Don't think about it.

By the time she lunged forward, Yu Mengnian had already vanished.

Chen Zhiwei, as if it were a common occurrence, patted her clothes, got up from the ground, and still looked at Yu Mengnian with a smile.

Su Ming actually saw some characteristics of a pervert in her.

Those eyes... they look so lecherous.

Is this guy a lesbian?

Chen Zhiwei raised her hand, as if wiping the corner of her mouth, and said with adoration in her eyes, "Niannian, you're getting more and more beautiful."

After saying that, she lunged forward again.

As expected, they missed their target again.

As Chen Zhiwei prepared for his third attack, a cold light flashed, and an invisible chill swept across the entire area, causing the temperature in the coffee shop to plummet.

In contrast, Chen Zhiwei's expression immediately turned serious, even her eyes became solemn, and she asked in a very formal voice, "Director Meng, what brings you here?"

Zhou Zhengyang was not surprised.

Su Ming was not surprised.

Very normal.

Yu Mengnian is normal, and Chen Zhiwei is also normal.

Everyone is normal.

The little incident ended quietly.

After Chen Zhiwei listened quietly to Su Ming's account, her first reaction was to stare at him, then she frowned and reached out: "Let me see the notebook."

Her tone was more serious than before.

She wouldn't say a word until she saw the notebook.

Su Ming knew.

She probably already guessed that she was once one of them.

really.

Every time they met for the first time, Chen Zhiwei would immediately notice.

It's not that I don't want to say it, but that I can't say it.

This is an unspoken understanding among everyone.

In the adult world, there's no need to ask so many questions or understand so much.

Sometimes, being oblivious is a form of wisdom.

He took the notebook that Su Ming handed him.

She looked down and read it word by word.

There are a total of 4 notebooks.

Third-tier university in 2003.

One book from 2012.

Two fairy tales.

This is all that Su Ming gained from the two doomsday scenarios.

After Chen Zhiwei finished reading all the content, she breathed a sigh of relief.

When she looked up again, her gaze suddenly became intense, fixed intently on Su Ming.

This heat was more dazzling than ever before.

"Do…"

She had barely uttered a single word when a chill swept over her, and she instinctively shivered: "As a professional scientist..."

"Su Ming's appearance in 2019 was the most dangerous sign."

"It is certain that some kind of apocalypse will occur in 2019, and Tangtang (a type of sugar company) is of paramount importance."

"Regarding the line on Tangtang's head."

"This King Su guessed correctly; it's the interpersonal relationship line."

"This kind of relationship is invisible to us humans, but it actually exists."

"The essence of interpersonal relationships is the overlapping memories and bonds between two people, which in turn give rise to emotional resonance."

"And this resonance is nothing more than the stages of first acquaintance, familiarity, intimacy, and estrangement."

As expected of Chen Zhiwei.

As soon as he opened his mouth, he untangled all the messy issues.

This is the rigor of scientists.

"So," Chen Zhiwei said, raising her eyes, her tone heavy, "after hearing your story, the first thing that came to my mind was the Law of Six."

Su Ming was taken aback.

This was the first time he had heard of this law, and he wasn't quite clear on it.

Chen Zhiwei explained at the opportune moment: "The so-called six-person rule refers to the fact that any two people in the world who do not know each other can establish a connection through a maximum of six intermediaries."

"Simply put, if you want to get to know any stranger on Earth, you can strike up a conversation through a maximum of six intermediaries."

Before Su Ming could process this, Chen Zhiwei continued, "This is what's called a network of interpersonal relationships."

"It is a giant, invisible net that covers all of humanity."

"Every node in the network can reach any location in the entire network through layers of connections."

"In other words," Chen Zhiwei held up a finger, "that one point, Tang Tang, can locate all of humanity."

"You, her girlfriends, and family are the first and most direct layer of Tangtang's interpersonal network."

"The second layer is the family and friends of the Tangtang sisters."

"The third floor is for the friends of Tangtang's friends' family, and the family of Tangtang's friends' family."

"And so on."

"A network of relationships with a maximum of six layers would cover all of humanity."

"This diffusion grows exponentially; the more layers there are, the wider the coverage becomes, and there are no so-called boundaries."

After listening to Chen Zhiwei's story.

Everyone present felt a chill run down their spines.

Su Ming and Tang Tang established the first layer of their interpersonal network.

Tangtang didn't recognize any of the people present.

However, through Su Ming's network of relationships, they can be categorized into a second layer of relationships.

Pushing down another layer makes my scalp tingle.

Su Ming raised his hand and asked, "What about the villages that are isolated from the world?"

Chen Zhiwei explained, "It will not be affected in any way."

"As long as you've been there, even if it's just a fleeting glimpse, a weak interpersonal connection will be formed between you and them, and you'll be drawn into the network."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be human; animals and plants count too."

"Not all relationships need to be defined by human cognition."

"For example, if you walk past a tree today, that tree will become part of your network of relationships."

"You may not remember it, but it really exists."

"As far as the tree is concerned, it has seen a person today."

"To a person, he saw a tree today."

"In this way, the network of relationships can be determined, and there must be a connection between the two, only the connection is weak."

Taking a deep breath, Chen Zhiwei slowly said, "What we cannot be certain of right now is..."

"Is Tang Tang's network of connections her ability, or theirs?"

"If it's the former, then the terror of Tangtang will far exceed our expectations, and may even be no less than that of the unknown ones."

"If it's the latter," Chen Zhiwei quietly breathed a sigh of relief, "it's understandable, and might even be a good thing for us."

"Because, since the ability of the network of relationships comes from Him, there must be a relationship line connecting Him."

"If we find that thread, we can find Him."

"Now," Chen Zhiwei glanced at everyone present and asked softly, "can anyone tell me definitively whether Tang Tang is normal or not?"

This problem seems simple.

Even Su Ming hesitated at this moment, unable to give an answer immediately.