CHAPTER 1619: CHAPTER 1619: NUMBER 172

At this moment, the little doll was gazing at the street opposite, at the place where the orphanage once stood.

One of her hands was tightly clutching He Ao’s hair, while the other hand firmly held onto the fried chicken.

Seeing her expression, He Ao asked gently, "What’s wrong?"

"Big guy," the doll’s body trembled uncontrollably, "I don’t know, it’s just that..."

"Afraid?" He Ao finished her sentence.

"Yeah," Sui nodded, trembling, "Big guy, can we go home? Let’s not get close to that side."

He Ao could vaguely see fine cracks emerging on the little doll’s white porcelain skin, along with the restorative power surrounding He Ao, showing signs of instability.

He Ao pondered, reached out, picked her up, and looked back.

At this moment, besides the four of them, quite a few Abnormal Association staff were present, and the off-road vehicle Reid drove earlier was also parked here.

He Ao walked over, placed Sui in the off-road vehicle, and handed her the fried chicken, "Will you wait for me here for a bit? Let me take care of some matters, and then we’ll go home together?"

"It’s raining." Just then, Chen’s voice came from behind him.

"Big guy," Sui pinched the chicken bag, stretched out her small hand, and grabbed He Ao’s sleeve, "Can we not go?"

"I’ll be back," He Ao said with a smile, "Remember to save me some fried chicken, don’t eat it all."

Sui raised her head, gazing at He Ao.

After a brief hesitation, she released her hand, "Then you must come back."

"Okay." He Ao nodded lightly.

He turned around and walked back to Reid.

"She can’t go in?" Reid asked softly.

"Her state is unstable," He Ao shook his head slightly, "Have your people protect her."

"Alright." Reid nodded slightly.

"Then let’s prepare to set out," He Ao opened a box and took out Vestara’s Spear from inside.

He then tied the long spear with straps Reid had just given him and slung it over his back.

He glanced at the remaining three, and the four crossed the street, reaching the other side.

Raindrops began to fall from the sky, and the four raised umbrellas as they moved forward slowly in the rain.

He Ao gripped the long spear on his back, faintly sensing a certain Qi spreading in the space but it was not very strong.

After walking back and forth four or five times, they hadn’t made any discoveries.

"It looks like the probability of triggering this anomaly is a bit low." Chen looked at the wall shared between numbers 171 and 173 and shook his head.

"It might also be that the conditions aren’t met," the man with the square mustache spoke in a deep voice, "After all, those missing cases happened in summer during heavy rain."

He Ao turned his gaze towards the edge of the street, deep in thought.

He turned to Reid, and softly asked, "Were those missing cases all solitary disappearances?"

Upon hearing He Ao’s question, Reid paused momentarily, then thought for a while, and nodded, "Yes."

He looked at He Ao, "Are you suggesting separation?"

"Yes." He Ao nodded slightly, glanced at the group, "Maybe we have too many people; perhaps one person should try first while the others stay outside."

Then he said directly, "I’ll go first and try."

"I’ll go," Reid bit on a cigarette, his voice hoarse.

He Ao looked at him, hinted, "You might not succeed."

Reid raised his head and glanced at the Vestara’s Spear on He Ao’s back.

Returning his gaze to He Ao’s determined eyes.

After a brief silence, he nodded slightly, "Alright, be careful."

"Not just like that, you two planned this," Chen looked at the two with some speechlessness, "What about us? We’re not your subordinates, are we?"

"I think Loren’s suggestion is correct," Reid turned his head to look at the two behind, "We can’t all go in; someone must remain outside to maintain Order, just in case some Abnormal Sect personnel outside cause trouble, we can react in time."

He turned back to He Ao, "I’ll go in with you; I have extensive exploration experience in anomalies, while you entering might not adapt quickly to the rules inside."

He Ao paused for a moment, nodded slightly, "Alright, but if both of us go together, we might not be able to trigger the entry rules of the anomaly."

"You start from the head of the street, I’ll start from the tail, and try not to meet?" Reid quickly thought, "Whether you get in will depend on luck."

"All right." He Ao nodded slightly.

Reid turned his gaze to Chen and the mustached man, "What about you two?"

"You’ve already planned it; why ask us?" Chen sighed, "Okay, I agree."

The mustached man, who had been silent, raised his head, looked at He Ao, then at Reid, "No problem?"

"No problem." Reid shook his head, affirming.

"Then I’m good." The mustached man lit a cigarette and nodded his head.

"Alright, you two head to the other side of the street first," Reid quickly instructed, "Loren and I will split up."

The four immediately separated, Reid headed towards the tail of the street, and He Ao walked towards the head.

Standing at the street head, for a moment, he looked back.

From a distance, the prosperous city and streets faintly reflected in his field of view.

Years ago, Loren ran away from the orphanage, seemingly departing from here, leaving the street and the orphanage behind, venturing towards the distant city.

And now, he came back from the city, returning to this street.

He raised his head and watched the blurred raindrops ahead.

He lifted his foot, walked towards the orphanage.

The long gun he held, after he became alone, the invisible Qi dancing around grew increasingly apparent.

As he approached the original direction of the orphanage, that dancing Qi became more apparent.

Ahead, Reid also gradually approached.

But he was a bit slower, intentionally avoiding reaching the orphanage at the same time as He Ao.

The phantasmal dancing Qi grew stronger.

Upon reaching number 169, He Ao grasped the long gun and attempted to unleash its power.

The capability of ’Enhanced Rules.’

In fact, he tried it once at that Endless Corridor entrance in the Three-in-One Building.

This rule enhancement indeed impacts ’entry rules’ as well.

The effect seems to be ’boost probability,’ or ’increase sensitivity to rules.’

Making rules that are difficult to trigger become easier to activate.

And in the instant He Ao ’enhanced’ the rule, he felt the surrounding void seem to change.

As He Ao progressed, the rain around intensified suddenly.

He couldn’t see Reid’s figure ahead, nor the personnel blocking the street.

The streets around seemed to blur as if through frosted glass, resembling a Dream.

He Ao continued forward, passing shop after shop on the side.

Number 170, 171.

Number 172.