How Does a Good Mood Come From?

The tall, thin man and Bob exchanged a glance, both seeing astonishment and absurdity in each other's eyes.

What's this kid up to? Wants to buy ice cream? Wasn't he ignoring me just now?

"Hey little girl, would you like some ice cream?"

Bob the Clown suppressed his strange feeling, crawled out of the carriage, forced a smile back onto his face, and reached out to open the back door as he spoke.

Aresa didn't answer, nor did she look at his face; she simply extended her hand—

He was holding a heavy, dark green cylindrical object in his hand!

Defensive grenade!

Alessa remained expressionless, skillfully flicking the safety lever with her thumb before tossing the grenade through the crack in the door.

Immediately afterward, while Bob was still in a state of extreme shock, Alessa reached out her little hand, grabbed the cargo box door, and pulled it back sharply!

"Clang!"

The metal compartment door was slammed shut!

What terrified Bob even more was that as Alessa closed the door, she twisted it with her little hand and actually locked the simple rotating latch on the outside!

The speed was unbelievable!

"No--!!!"

The tall, thin man let out a piercing, desperate roar, turned, and charged towards the driver's seat. The man in the striped shirt, realizing what was happening, immediately tried to jump out of the car...

However, it was all too late.

Boom! ...

A deafening, terrifying roar suddenly erupted from inside the tightly closed carriage!

The massive shockwave instantly ripped apart the thick metal box like an inflating balloon!

The rear half of the ice cream truck disintegrated instantly amidst flames and thick smoke! Countless shards of metal and debris from inside the truck rained down in all directions!

Although the striped shirt and Bob the Clown were standing on the side of the front of the car and were not directly blown to pieces, they were still violently thrown away by the violent shockwave generated by the explosion that was so close at hand!

The two screamed and fell to the ground several meters away like broken sacks, covered in blood, their clothes torn, with small metal fragments stuck in their bodies, and they lay on the ground convulsing.

The smoke and dust from the explosion, along with the acrid smell of gunpowder, filled the air.

Just moments before the explosion, Aresa, clutching her doll, calmly turned around and took small steps back the way she had come.

The blast wave lifted her black skirt and silver hair, but she didn't even turn her head.

She walked more than ten meters before stopping, turning around, and calmly looking into the distance at the burning wreckage of the ice cream truck and the two people on the ground, covered in blood and convulsing involuntarily.

Looking at the billowing black smoke and listening to the pitiful screams, the frustration and sense of alienation that had accumulated at school seemed to dissipate considerably with the explosion and the scene before my eyes.

She felt like her mood had improved a little?

She tilted her head and thought for two seconds. Then, she made a decision. She took her phone out of her bag and dialed Qin Jin's number.

The call connected quickly, and Qin Jin's voice came through, tinged with doubt and a barely perceptible hint of worry:

"Alessa? What's wrong? Didn't you go home?"

Aresa's voice was still flat, but if you listened carefully, there seemed to be a slight, almost imperceptible, lightness.

"Qin," she said, "I'm going back to class."

Qin Jin on the other end of the phone was clearly stunned, remaining silent for several seconds:

"...Huh? Back to school? Now?" His voice was filled with incredulous confusion.

"You...you just came out, didn't you? What happened? What happened to you?" He instinctively felt that this turn of events was too strange.

Aresa, clutching her doll, gazed at the still-smoking wreckage and the wailing kidnappers in the distance. A near-innocent joy flickered in her grey-blue eyes as she spoke in a matter-of-fact tone:

"I met two people on the way, it was quite amusing. I think it made me feel better."

Putting down his phone, Qin Jin was still in a state of utter bewilderment, completely unaware of what had happened...

The team leaders waiting for him to make the call exchanged glances, and Bruce asked with concern:

"Qin! What's wrong?"

Qin Jin snapped out of his daze, forcing a helpless smile mixed with a hint of "don't wash your dirty linen in public" as he waved his phone.

"It's nothing serious, Bruce. It's my sister Alessa... Ugh, so childish and unpredictable. She called earlier saying she didn't want to go home, but now she suddenly wants to go back to school. What a nuisance."

Bruce nodded understandingly, chuckled twice, and clearly took it as just a normal child's tantrum:

"Haha, little girls are all like that. My girl is just as hard to please."

The topic returned to the case files of the team leaders. By this time, Qin Jin had read through almost all the cases and confidently told the team leaders:

"I've reviewed all the case files. The good news is that none of these cases show any signs of supernatural intervention; they're all just ordinary murders. You can all rest assured for now."

The group leaders all breathed a sigh of relief. After the incident involving Group Two, everyone had been somewhat paranoid, and they were only completely at ease after receiving confirmation from Qin Jin.

Just then, Bruce's phone rang. He picked it up, said a few words, and immediately started cursing:

"Shit! Something's happened, I have to go out right away!"

Bruce waved to everyone and hurried back to the group office. Only then did the others realize what was happening, and one of the group leaders casually asked:

"Bruce, what case is it? Don't you want Qin to help you analyze it?"

Bruce paused, turned around, and smiled wryly.

"Explosion! An ice cream truck was blown up with a grenade, and the injured are all habitual gangsters. This... Qin, could it be a supernatural event?"

"This is definitely not it!" Everyone agreed, and Qin Jin also asked casually:

"It has nothing to do with supernatural forces. By the way, where did the bombing happen?"

"Prince Charles Street..." Bruce said as he walked out of Group Two and began to return to Group One to organize the manpower.

Qin Jin's heart skipped a beat at that moment!

Prince Charles Street is located on the way home from school, could it be...?

Thinking it might be Alessa, Qin Jin inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a strange sense of weight lifted from his shoulders.

Thankfully it was just a grenade, not that bottle of nitroglycerin!

It seems Alessa is quite obedient, that's great, really great! I'll have to praise her properly when we get home!

However, since this had happened, Qin Jin thought about it and decided to go and see. So he said goodbye to the group leaders, got into his Dodge, and sped off to the school.

As soon as I entered the teaching building, I ran into the principal and was immediately invited into his office.

"Officer Qin, Ms. Kate came to see me this morning to discuss Alessa's situation. We feel that..."

The principal's face showed obvious apology and embarrassment. After carefully choosing his words, he slowly said:

"Alessa seems to be reacting... well, a bit slower than the other students, so the teacher suggested that she start school again from second grade, or even first grade, as the third grade curriculum is still too difficult for her."

"Basic learning shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Qin Jin was somewhat confused: "Alessa has been to school, she should know how to do these questions!" He thought for a moment: "What exactly are the questions? Could it be that the teacher made a mistake?"

"I can give you an example," the principal quickly said:

"For example, this question: Jack walks from home to school at a speed of 50 meters per minute. After 10 minutes, Jack's sister rides her bicycle to catch up with him at a speed of 150 meters per minute. How long will it take for the sister to catch up with Jack?"

Qin Jin: "..."

The principal, receiving no response, continued:

"And this one: Amusement park tickets cost $8 for adults and $3 for children. A teacher and his students spent a total of $65. There were 15 people in total, including the teacher and the students. How many adults and how many students were there?"

Qin Jin felt a dull ache in his head...

These questions may be a bit challenging for the children, but to say that Alessa doesn't understand them at all... how is that possible?

There must be a mistake! Could it be that Kate did this on purpose?

"Headmaster," Qin Jin's voice deepened, "could you please have both Ms. Kate and Alessa come here? I'd like to see for myself what's going on!"