“Time replay” had been blocked by the natural law power. Yu Hua didn’t rush to chase after Cen Xiao and You Zhengping. Instead, he strolled to the dining table and lifted of the lid off the pot of crayfish. A strong smell of crayfish hit him in the face. 

Before coming through the door, Yu Hua had smelled hot and spicy crayfish, but he had thought that it was floating from upstairs or downstairs through a range hood. He hadn’t expected it to be coming from his own home. 

There was a note stuck next to the pot, written in You Zhengping’s handwriting: After my patrol ended, I came back early to make you dinner. Cen Xiao taught me how (I’d have blown up the kitchen on my own). I was planning on giving you a pleasant surprise, but unfortunately I got another last minute assignment, so I’ll probably only be able to come home tomorrow. Sigh. 

There was a little sighing person draw at the end, adorably ugly. 

Yu Hua lifted the other lids. There were hot fried clams, crabs in clear soup, fresh oysters in minced garlic…

Everything You Zhengping liked to eat. 

They had left less than ten minutes after making everything. The food was still steaming hot. Yu Hua took off his jacket, tied on his little bear apron, slowly put on a pair of single use gloves, peeled the crayfish and ate them. 

“Tastes all right.” Yu Hua smiled faintly. 

When he ate out or ate his own cooking, Yu Hua couldn’t taste any flavor. He could only judge from You Zhengping’s enjoyment level whether food was all right, good, or very good. Today, he unexpectedly tasted flavors. 

Heat, spice, sweetness, and the particular flavor of crayfish exploded in his mouth. It was so good he couldn’t stop eating. 

So this was how the crayfish Xiao You liked tasted. It really was good. 

Yu Hua, who never had much appetite, thought of You Zhengping busily cooking while slowly and elegantly eating up the whole pot of crayfish. 

While he was still wearing the gloves, Yu Hua also ate all the crab. Then he threw away the single use gloves, cleaned up the kitchen waste on the table, used dishwashing liquid to wipe away the grease stains on the tabletop, then at last served himself a bowl of white rice and ate the hot fried clams and fresh oysters in minced garlic with it. 

You Zhengping had made a lot of rice. He hadn’t measured out the water well, so the rice was only partially cooked. But there was just the right trace of sweetness when Yu Hua chewed it. 

Saliva in the oral cavity breaks starch down into maltose. Maltose is faintly sweet. Chewing rice or flour for a while lets you taste a faint sweetness. But Yu Hua couldn’t taste anything even when eating man-made fruit drops. Today, he could suddenly sense this bit of sweetness. 

With the bitterness of the chili peppers, the sweet pungency of the onions, the flavor of the garlic, accompanied by the sweetness of the maltose in the rice, Yu Hua ate all the dishes on the table without noticing. 

There was still quite a bit of rice left. You Zhengping hadn’t known how much to make and produced an entire big pot of half-cooked rice. Yu Hua covered the leftover rice with freshness preserving wrap, planning to make congee out of it in the morning. It would be a pity to throw out such good half-cooked rice. 

He took out another pair of single use gloves and cleaned up the leftover clam and oyster shells. He carefully wiped the table and the kitchen range three times, until they were bright and clean as new, without a trace of grease. 

He scrubbed the dishes and the pots, washed the cleaning rag, and rearranged the messy cupboards. When he had pretty much cleaned everything up, Yu Hua opened the fridge, saw the vegetables that You Zhengping had messed up, laughed lightly and closed the refrigerator door, letting the vegetables remain disorderly. 

He cleaned the floor rather cheerfully and arranged You Zhengping’s slippers by the door, so Xiao You would be able to change his shoes as soon as he came home. 

After finishing the housework, Yu Hua took off his apron and went into the bedroom. He looked up and saw the suitcase on top of the wardrobe. 

He raised his hand and pointed. The suitcase floated down. It was completely empty. His black cloak and mask had vanished without a trace. 

Yu Hua sat on the bed, closed his eyes, reviewed everything in the apartment, and attempted to piece together what had happened. 

He could work out the general outlines: Xiao You had received his lovingly made cakes and had brushed past him on patrol without saying anything. He had wanted to do something for him and had finally decided to cook a meal for him. With Xiao You’s cooking skills, he knew he wouldn’t be able to make anything relying solely on himself, so he had arranged it with Cen Xiao, who had decent cooking skills and was willing to make his friend look better. The two of them had bought groceries and come home to cook. 

After making the food, they had suddenly learned of something urgent, so You Zhengping had written the note and left. 

Finally, there was the missing black cloak in the suitcase, and “time replay” being sealed. 

Yu Hua’s finger fell on the suitcase. He tapped with his fingertip. 

After “time replay” had failed, he hadn’t rushed to chase the two of them, but had instead enjoyed the dinner Xiao You had personally prepared. This was because he didn’t want to behave too impulsively. 

Even if his identity really was revealed, that was all right. If the Protection Organization was willing to trust him, they would give him You Zhengping as a hostage to form an alliance. If they weren’t willing to trust him, then…

Yu Hua pressed his long, slender fingers against his forehead. If they didn’t trust him, that was easier. There were many ways to control an organization. 

While Yu Hua was considering how to negotiate with the Protection Organization, if Yuan Luori had by coincidence taken off his glasses, he would have seen that the whole Xuyang District was enshrouded in black, without a sliver of light leaking out. 

No, no, no, he hadn’t come to the point of thinking about his final step. There were still some questions he hadn’t resolved. Yu Hua told himself to calm down, keep recalling and analyzing. 

There were two questionable points here. One was who had used the natural law power, and the other was where the black cloak and mask that symbolized his identity had gone. 

Based on Yu Hua’s understanding of natural law power, the power in his home wasn’t intended to harm anyone. It hadn’t been deliberately left here. It had manifested unconsciously. The natural law power was confused and disorderly, without clearly formulated rules. It lacked the power to restrain. The method was crude, as if it had been done by someone who had just grasped natural law power. 

Even among levelers, there were very few people who had grasped natural law power. Most of them had obtained their little world at the five hundredth level and used it to pass. Otherwise, the difficulty of levels over five hundred would be too much for ordinary levelers to pass. Either they would set foot on the path to godhood, or else this would be the end of the line for them. There was no third road. 

Up to the present, Yu Hua hadn’t found anyone among the Protection Organization who could grasp natural law power, because in a situation where the world law was entirely intact, people living within the rules couldn’t attain natural law power. 

In a complete world, no one could possess natural law power. This could only be someone the System had sent, or something that had awakened with the tacit approval of the world law. 

Yu Hua said heavily towards the air, “Tell me your rules.” 

The wild flow of power in the room gradually became regular. Yu Hua seemed to hear a flustered voice say into his ear, “No, it can’t be discovered… It can’t be seen!” 

The voice was familiar, and moreover, the natural law power clung affectionately to Yu Hua. 

What couldn’t be discovered? What couldn’t be seen? Yu Hua’s gaze fell on the suitcase, and he understood. 

The first question had been resolved, and the solution to the second question also seemed easy to reach. 

Yu Hua had left his imprint on the black cloak and mask. No matter where they went, he could summon them. Before, Yu Hua hadn’t known what he had run into, so he hadn’t hastily summoned those things. Now he could. 

He snapped his fingers lightly. Nothing happened. 

No, something had appeared, though it had been disintegrated to atoms. The naked eye couldn’t see it. 

At this point, even without using “time replay,” Yu Hua could guess what had happened in the apartment. Xiao You had destroyed the things in the suitcase before Cen Xiao could see them, and he had inadvertently left behind his just awakened natural law power. 

His natural law power had awakened at a time like this. What was the world law thinking? 

Yu Hua asked, “Are you trying to display your good faith?” 

No one answered him. The world law didn’t possess the ability to think. It only ceaselessly calculated according to certain patterns. Its goal was to keep calculating forever. When it encountered a power that could make it stop calculating, the law would go into action. 

It would select loyal, staunch protectors willing to sacrifice themselves according to its measured reasoning. It would awaken their special abilities and have them disregard everything to fight the external force of the levelers. It had tolerated the arrival of Yu Hua with his sealed powers, and at this stage of events, it had chosen You Zhengping, giving Xiao You a sliver of natural law power. 

All of the world law’s activities showed that the time for Yu Hua to make a choice was coming closer and closer. 

Yu Hua closed his eyes. He seemed to hear the hands of a clock ticking, minutes and seconds pressing forward step by step. 

He simply lay down on the bed, hugged You Zhengping’s pajamas folded neatly by the pillow, and quietly said, “Xiao You…” 

Xiao You had chosen to trust him. 

—

At the Protectors’ base, everyone was listening to Zhen Li convey the black-cloaked man’s words. You Zhengping suddenly felt as though something had left his first space without his control. He let his thoughts drift slightly. 

Just then, Director Xiao suspiciously said to Zhen Li, “Within half a year, the System will send fighters who posses natural law power and can open their own little spaces to make us use our trump card… When did the black-cloaked man contact you?” 

Zhen Li calmly said, “I’m not certain. A piece of paper suddenly appeared in the office with the information I just told you printed on it. I brought it.” 

Zhen Li got a wrinkled piece of paper out of his pocket and put it in front of Director Xiao. He had used the office printer to print this without connecting to the internet. It hadn’t left any traces. 

Director Xiao seriously read the contents of the paper. “All the information we currently have about the black-cloaked man has come from you. It’s all your doing. We can’t completely believe it. We need to take some precautions. Please excuse us.” 

Director Xiao nodded to Luo Huai. Luo Huai went up in front of Zhen Li. “I’m sorry, I need your memories. When I’ve reported to my superiors, I’ll request to return them to you.” 

Zhen Li was flustered. He was worried that Luo Huai would see the great master’s true identity. 

You Zhengping was just as flustered. He wanted to prevent Luo Huai from taking Zhen Li’s memories, but he wasn’t in a position to do that. 

Instead, Lian Yufan, who had been urgently called back in the middle of negotiating business, said, “Is it absolutely necessary to use these means? Zhen Li has obtained approval from the world law, and he’s helped us deal with Destroyers many times. Is there any need to treat our companion like this?” 

“Director Lian…” Zhen Li looked gratefully at Lian Yufan. He hadn’t thought that this man, who had been the most rational and unfeeling at first, would be able to speak for him. 

“Don’t thank me too much. I just hate the conduct of casually touching others’ memories.” Lian Yufan looked coldly at Luo Huai. 

Luo Huai gave Lian Yufan a hollow look. “I have my duty. Please understand.” 

He put his hand on Zhen Li’s forehead and attempted to absorb Zhen Li’s memories of the black-cloaked man. Seeing his movements, You Zhengping licked his lips nervously. 

Luo Huai tried a few times to take the memories, but he couldn’t touch them. He drew back his hand and wiped sweat from his forehead. He shook his head. “His memories are protected by a tremendous mental energy. I can’t take them.” 

It must have been the great master clearer. Zhen Li relaxed. 

---

Author's Note

Yu Hua: Another attempt to open the dark little room block failed. 

You Zhengping: Another blocked path leading to a bad ending.