Free Web NovelThe third floor of the Angel Rose Theater.
Inside the lounge that belonged exclusively to Ms. Ni Miao, the boss, which Vivian had once visited.
In the red-themed room, adorned with many fabrics and possessing a palatial feel, Ni Miao resembled a crescent moon, leaning on a long chair, her eyes languidly appraising the middle-aged Black man before her, who was dressed like an old-fashioned jazz musician from the last century, with a rusty saxophone tucked into his waistband.
"They actually sent someone to come over in person... Are you that afraid of a half-dead guy? Or do you not trust the seal personally set by that Lord?"
"Of course not!" The middle-aged Black man smiled politely, "The Elders are not afraid of him, and they trust the seal set by that Lord..."
"Then what are you here for?" Ni Miao interrupted.
"Simply put, I need your cooperation to carry out a search mission..."
"That's impossible!"
Before the middle-aged Black man could finish, Ni Miao refused without hesitation, "Don't think that just because you provide me with channels to purchase inhibitors, you can dictate to my theater! What do you think the Angel Rose Theater is? The New Elder Council' cotton field?"
The atmosphere of the conversation instantly stiffened.
"But..." Facing Ni Miao's hostile attitude, the middle-aged Black man did not get angry, but merely gave a sheepish smile, "Ms. Ni Miao, you didn't even let me finish speaking. There's really no need to be so agitated."
"Even if I listened, my answer would remain unchanged," Ni Miao said.
The name of the Eclipse Society's New Elder Council, currently gaining prominence, might work elsewhere, but it wouldn't work at the Angel Rose Theater.
Although Ni Miao is the ostensible owner of the Angel Rose Theater, she actually holds less than ten percent of the shares, while the investors behind it are widespread, ranging from mysterious overseas tycoons, to high-ranking officials sent by the Eclipse Society President, to local Black Hand Mafia gangs, and even permanent members of the Black Night Alliance.
If not for the support of these vast and chaotic forces, it would probably not be so easy for a woman like Ni Miao, whose Psychic fluctuations barely reached A-class, to operate a theater of this scale in a place like Free City.
However, fortunately, everyone clearly understood that operating adult entertainment was an excellent way to make money, which gave Ni Miao the opportunity to attract funds and support from various parties.
And these backgrounds also gave the Angel Rose Theater sufficient capital to disregard the New Elder Council' request.
"Is that so? That's truly regrettable." The middle-aged Black man sighed, but said nothing more, merely bowing slightly. "Then I'll take my leave. I hope that after I depart, the Angel Rose Theater and the one beneath the theater won't encounter any mishaps."
In the brief silence, Ni Miao's gaze gradually darkened, and she angrily said, "You son of a bitch, are you threatening me?"
"You've misunderstood." The middle-aged Black man stopped, turned, and shook his head at Ni Miao. "Just a friendly reminder... As far as I know, a very dangerous presence has infiltrated the Angel Rose Theater, and the unrest of the one downstairs might have been caused by her."
"If possible, I hope Miss Ni Miao will thoroughly investigate."
Ni Miao remained noncommittal, her expression still cold, "You may leave."
The Black man shrugged and quickly left the lounge.
——
Two minutes later.
On an empty street not far from the Angel Rose Theater.
The middle-aged Black man stopped in front of a pure white extended Rolls-Royce vintage car, waited for a few seconds, and the car window slowly rolled down, revealing the elegant white-clad man inside, whose gaze fell upon him.
"What did our dear Ms. Ni Miao say?"
"She refused, Mr. Freedom."
"As expected!" Freedom smiled and pursed his lips, "After all, that is her Freedom."
"Let's go, get in the car! We'll go back first. It's fine that she refused us now... The second Deep Space Diamond has already extinguished, and soon she will recognize the situation and come to us on her own."
The middle-aged Black man was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Yes."
——
"Hoo—!"
After finally suppressing the agitation in her eyes, Lu Yibei let out a long breath and raised a hand to wipe away the beads of sweat on her forehead.
It only took her less than half a minute to suppress the agitation in her eyes, yet the chaotic images she glimpsed within that half-minute, and the negative emotions they brought, made her feel overwhelmed.
As a seasoned Human Hell chef, Lu Yibei felt that the negative emotions she had just received could make at least two servings of Human Hell!
One was named "Frozen Bones," gathering the sorrow, humiliation, and anger of countless people who, due to poverty, dropped out of school at a young age, became displaced, separated from loved ones, or watched their relatives starve or die of illness in bed.
The other was named "Wealth Without Benevolence," a collection of the seemingly endless desires of countless wealthy individuals; for more wealth, they would murder, plunder, harm their closest kin, disregard the lives and fortunes of thousands, and even instigate national conflicts and wars.
"......"
Is this what the power of that guy downstairs symbolizes?
What is this? Money is the root of all evil?
That's not right! She clearly saw images similar to a large-scale plague before. Lu Yibei thought, puzzled.
As she pondered, as if a gentle breeze had swept past, her clothes subtly rustled, and then the small notebook she carried for Nanling Yaohua to write in floated before her.
Has Little Flower returned? Lu Yibei's eyes lit up slightly. Her heart, which had been anxious because Nanling Yaohua had risked going down alone to scout, relaxed. Driven by intense curiosity, she eagerly asked, "Little Flower, what did you see down there?"
"【Don't rush, don't rush! I'll write slowly.】"
Nanling Yaohua first responded to Lu Yibei in the small notebook, then buried herself in writing furiously, meticulously recording everything she had seen underground in the notebook.
After reading the entire page of text Nanling Yaohua had written in the small notebook, Lu Yibei pondered for a moment, her brows relaxing.
"I think this counts as good news!"
From where did she deduce that this was good news? Nanling Yaohua tilted her head, raising the small notebook. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"【Good news?】"
"Of course it's good news!" Lu Yibei said seriously, "Firstly, this is the first time any entity has been able to communicate with you verbally. Secondly, it hasn't been long, and you can now write hundreds of characters at once without needing to rest in between..."
"Does this mean that your influence on this world is slightly stronger than before? For me, these are all good news."
"【Smooth talker!】"
Nanling Yaohua rolled her eyes, her lips uncontrollably curving upwards.
"【What do you think of the guy locked downstairs? Should we help him?】"
"No, at least now is not the time to help him." Lu Yibei shook her head, then softly repeated the name Nanling Yaohua had heard, "Tong Fengwu..."
"With this name, and the few words he spoke to you, plus the whispers describing his power that I heard before, we can basically find out his identity."
"Let's deal with the current matter first. Whether or not to help the guy downstairs can be decided after we leave here and confirm his identity."
Lu Yibei's thinking was very clear: she came to the Angel Rose Theater primarily to take away Paper Cicada Immortal, so she should avoid any unnecessary complications as much as possible.
If she were to casually help the guy downstairs just because he asked, what if she released some world-shattering demon? Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?
And wanting to confirm that guy's identity now isn't impossible. After all, anywhere with internet coverage can connect to Nameless Book, and once connected to Nameless Book... given his unclear relationship with Nameless Book, whether mother and son or siblings, it's pretty much the same as connecting to Nameless Book.
However, who knows if the Angel Rose's defense system has any Psychic circuits that intercept or filter information?
At that time, she and Nameless Book would be chatting away, only for everything to be seen by others... It would be like chatting about indescribable things with friends during an online class without muting the microphone. ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) At best, it would lead to expulsion; at worst, not expulsion, but social death for years or even decades.
To be safe, it's better to wait until after leaving the Angel Rose, or even the Garden Street area, find a secluded place, and then directly contact Nameless Book to have her investigate "Tong Fengwu's" identity and then decide whether to help. That would be more reliable.
Reporting problems that are difficult to solve to the Night Watch, isn't that standard practice?
The current problem is, without that Black guy named William, how should she sneak into the theater during the intermission performance? Lu Yibei thought to herself.
As she pondered, there was a sudden, urgent knock on the door.
"Knock, knock, knock—!"
After the knocking, voices came from outside the door.
"Mr. William, are you in there? The boss just informed us that someone with ill intentions has infiltrated the theater, and told us to thoroughly search every room. If it's convenient, could you let us in to take a look?"
Someone with ill intentions? Are they talking about me? What should I do? Hearing the voices outside the door and sensing the strong Psychic fluctuations, Lu Yibei was startled, then immediately saw Nanling Yaohua's small notebook.
"【There are seven people outside, all Psychic. Should we hide?】"
"Hide? Where to hide? This room is only so big. If they come in and search a bit, they'll find me," Lu Yibei said in a low voice.
Hearing this, Nanling Yaohua drew an arrow in the small notebook, pointing towards the wall next to the wardrobe in the waiting room.
"【There's a hidden door on that wall, with a passage behind it. Although I don't know where it leads, I think it's better than getting caught red-handed and causing a conflict.】"
Lu Yibei, "..." You dare to just go in without knowing where it leads? What if you fall directly into the boss room?
"Mr. William? Are you there? If you are, please answer, otherwise we will break down the door!"
After waiting a few seconds, whispers came from outside the door. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"Why is William silent? He should be waiting in here at this time... Did he encounter danger?"
"Forget it, prepare to break down the door!"
Hearing this, Lu Yibei's eye twitched, and she gritted her teeth, whispering, "Alright, let's go in!"
Her main purpose in coming to the Angel Rose Theater was simply to take Paper Cicada Immortal away. If she got into a conflict with the Angel Rose Theater midway, she definitely wouldn't be able to take Paper Cicada Immortal away.
Before, she might have just gone head-to-head, but now...
This cursed place, it can even imprison a guy like the one underground, and it can't deal with a newly ascended natural disaster like her?
Avoid it if possible! Lu Yibei thought.
