Free Web NovelAt midnight, the bright moon hung high.
On the outskirts of Hua City, in front of a flower nursery near a barren mountain and wilderness. freewebnøvel.com
The Officer from the police station, holding paper and pen, looked tiredly at the plainly dressed middle-aged man in front of him.
"Name?"
"Wang Defa," the middle-aged man replied, his eyes somewhat unfocused as he spoke, seemingly not yet fully recovered from his state of shock.
"How old?"
"Forty-eight."
"Occupation?"
"Berserker."
"Huh? Wait!" The Officer was startled, his gaze drifting towards the rusty shovel in the middle-aged man's hand, which seemed to come with a tetanus-inducing attack special effect. He immediately perked up and said seriously, "What did you just say?"
The middle-aged man noticed the Officer's strange look and quickly corrected himself, "Oh, oh, sorry, I was just playing a game and my brain didn't switch over right away."
"My name is Wang Defa, I'm forty-eight this year, and my occupation is flower planting."
Why did he rhyme? But a flower farmer carrying a shovel is reasonable... The Officer frowned and muttered to himself, then patiently continued to ask, "You said on the phone that someone nearby was illegally blasting the mountain? Tell me about it? What exactly is going on?"
"Okay, okay, here's what happened. Tonight, I had originally arranged with my brothers to run a raid dungeon together, but a main DPS waited for a long time and didn't show up..."
"Get to the point!"
"Oh, oh, the point is that even though this is a 40-person raid dungeon, it can't proceed without a main DPS! We could only wait, and then..."
"What about the mountain blasting? What's the deal with the mountain blasting?" The Officer interrupted with a darkened face. Receiving a call in the middle of the night, responding to the scene at the risk of encountering urban legend, and now meeting such a middle-aged internet addict...
Officers are people too, okay?! They have emotions too!
"Oh, oh, right, the mountain blasting!" The middle-aged man slapped his thigh and said, "I waited from past five in the afternoon until past ten at night. We finally finished the raid, and the boss dropped golden light all over the ground. One of the items was even a divine artifact I'd dreamed of, one I could sacrifice ten years of my life for..."
Good heavens, not only is he a middle-aged internet addict, but also a lifespan warrior?
The Officer muttered to himself, just about to interrupt the middle-aged man and steer the conversation back on track, when he heard him continue, "Just at that moment, I heard a loud bang from outside the window!"
"Man, I felt like the whole house was shaking, dust was falling from the walls like snow, the light bulbs kept flickering, and most importantly, the internet went out!"
Speaking of which, the middle-aged man's emotions suddenly became agitated, "I didn't even have time to pick up my gear! That's gear with a drop rate lower than mobile game gacha pulls! How could I tolerate this?! I called the police right away, grabbed my tools, and came out."
"The situation at the time was like this: I went outside, heard a booming sound from the back mountain, and saw flashes of fire from time to time, so I figured I'd go take a look."
"That place in the back mountain, when I was a kid, the elders said there were ancient tombs there, and a few years ago, there were even ghosts. I thought to myself, maybe some criminals are blasting the mountain here and digging up people's ancestral graves. How unethical is that! As a righteous person like me, how could I not do something about it? And then..."
The Officer was taking notes, and seeing the middle-aged man suddenly pause mid-sentence, he looked up and pressed for details, "And then what happened?"
"Gulp—!" The middle-aged man swallowed hard as if recalling something terrifying, his pupils trembling slightly as he said, "Uncle Police, what I'm about to tell you is a bit unbelievable. Please don't be scared when I say it!"
"No, I won't. I'm a professional. No matter how bizarre or strange something is, I won't be scared," the Officer said seriously. "Go on!"
"Then, I went to the back mountain, and I saw..." The middle-aged man paused, then continued, "In that mountain gully, there was a little girl..."
"Little girl? What was she doing? Grave robbing?" the Officer interjected.
"She was holding a fireball in her hand, damn it, just like a fire mage casting Pyroblast in a game, just throwing it at the mountain! I clearly remember there was a small hill in that area, but when I went there, I couldn't find it at all. She definitely flattened it."
"Uncle Police, my lord, you must uphold justice for me! My divine artifact was just ruined like that, my heart is bleeding!"
"..."
The Officer remained silent, sizing up the middle-aged man in front of him, who had heavy dark circles and a clearly unstable mental state. He suspected that the man might have played too many games, causing problems with his mind and making it hard to distinguish between games and reality.
He had been an Officer for some years and had seen many people like this. The case that left the deepest impression was one he handled personally.
There was a teenager who had gone insane from playing a certain MOBA game. He came out of the internet cafe early in the morning, grabbed a steel pipe, and jumped into the roadside green belt. When a person exercising in the morning passed by, he shouted "Demacia!" and jumped out, splitting the person's head open.
Suspicion aside, the Officer professionally continued to press for details, "Can you tell me in detail where you saw that Miss, and what her physical characteristics were?"
"No problem, no problem!" The middle-aged man said while gesturing with both hands, "That little girl was about this tall..."
The Officer glanced at the height the middle-aged man indicated and silently wrote "Height 150 to 160" in his notebook.
"She looked to be about the age of someone who just graduated from junior high and started high school, quite pretty, but didn't look like a good person. Her hair was red in some parts and white in others..."
"Around fifteen years old, white dyed hair with red highlights," the Officer continued to make a note.
"Oh, right! She was also wearing an oversized red and white Coat!" the middle-aged man added.
After finishing his notes, the Officer pressed on, "Can you take me to the place where you saw her to take a look?"
"I can, but..." The middle-aged man looked troubled, pondering for a few seconds before saying, "But we can't get close to that area. Just take a look from a distance. That thing is too scary!"
"Okay, lead the way?" The Officer nodded.
A few minutes later.
On a mountaintop about two kilometers from the flower nursery, the Officer looked in the direction the middle-aged man pointed, his brows tightly furrowed.
Looking ahead, as far as the eye could see, the barren mountain under the night sky was quiet, as if asleep, peaceful and calm.
Where was there any sign of an explosion?
"That's not right! It was in that direction just now..." The middle-aged man saw the Officer's ashen face and was startled, saying, "Uncle Police, listen to my explanation!"
"Ah—!" The Officer sighed helplessly, patted the middle-aged man's shoulder, and said, "Alright, Uncle, let's stop here for today? If you find anything else later, you can contact me anytime."
After speaking, the Officer returned to the flower nursery and drove away.
Watching the Officer's retreating back, the middle-aged man stood rooted to the spot for a while, scratching the back of his head, and muttered to himself, "What's going on? I clearly..."
"Could it be that I really played too many games?" he muttered to himself, and quickly descended the mountain.
After the middle-aged man left, the surrounding mountain forest, except for the chirping of birds and insects, fell silent once again. After a long time, a rustling sound suddenly came from the canopy above, and a slightly petite figure quickly swept down from the treetops, landing steadily on the ground.
It was a girl who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a slightly petite figure and a rather youthful face.
Her long snow-white hair, along with a few strands of fiery red hair on her forehead, was simply tied back into a ponytail. Although her loose windbreaker Coat just managed to cover her body, it couldn't completely hide her long, slender legs.
The girl was Lu Yibei.
Only after she woke up and looked in the mirror did she realize that, as she had suspected, something had indeed gone wrong when she took the completion potion and caused her body to undergo urban legend transformation.
When she was undergoing the urban legend transformation, there seemed to be a tendency to revert to her previous youthful appearance, but perhaps because the dosage of the potion was insufficient, it stopped halfway.
Suddenly, she was neither cute nor sexy. It was like that awkward age where she was still childish, wanted to be sexy, but lacked enough life experience.
"Whew—!"
Lu Yibei glanced in the direction the Officer and the middle-aged man had left and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Damn it, Jiang Li's urban legend event catalog isn't completely accurate either! Didn't it say that this area was plagued by urban legend and no one had lived here for a long time?"
"As a result, not only were there no urban legend, but there were also people living nearby, which almost caused a big problem!"
If she hadn't learned a couple of illusion techniques from the Ancestor, she would have been caught.
Although Qingji hadn't seriously taught Lu Yibei consciousness intervention type Spells, and she hadn't seriously learned them, she had just read them a few times and remembered some superficial knowledge. However, it was still enough to deceive the eyes of ordinary people.
Muttering to herself, she turned her head towards the place where she had just unleashed her power...
Huh? Where exactly was it?
Looking at the barren mountain area that had been completely flattened and was still occasionally flashing with sparks, she suddenly couldn't remember exactly where she had just blown up.
Forget it, it doesn't matter. Anyway, it's either this mountain or that mountain, or maybe both...
Besides, of course, you have to use a slightly higher-level Spell to vent power, right? How was I supposed to know that a few shots of Chi Huang Fire would turn it into this?
If I had known, I would have used the Four Beasts Bright Sky Cannon. That thing only kills urban legend and doesn't blast mountains.
Muttering to herself, she shook her head helplessly, fumbled out a piece of A4 paper covered in writing from her Coat pocket, and studied it carefully using the light from her phone's built-in illumination.
As she looked, she took out a pen from her Coat pocket, crossed out the location "Outskirts, Wangfa Flower Nursery Back Mountain", then bit the pen cap and continued reading down.
【Bai Niu Town, Hongqi Reservoir. Note: Good place, lots of water!】
【Hua Yu Sunshine Resort Hotel (crossed out) Note: Acting under the nose of others, too arrogant, I even want to report myself.】
【Zhemu Long Black Bear Nature Reserve (crossed out) Note: Setting fires on the mountain will land me in jail for life. Leave a way out for the Black Bear, do something humane.】
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【Hua City Ceramics Factory. Note: No one around, can consider.】
【Sunshine District, Yuelang Street Abandoned Buildings. Note: Too many urban legend, risky.】
...
After a long while, Lu Yibei finally selected a relatively safe location and quickly left the "crime scene."
----
The night was dark, the sky was starless and moonless, and somewhat gloomy.
The tall buildings lining Yin Street were pitch black, like colossal, towering tombstones, with only two or three points of light occasionally visible.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, so much so that it wouldn't make one doubt that something strange was hidden in the shadows.
This street, located five kilometers from University City towards the suburban crematorium, was not originally called Yin Street, but rather Yuelang Street, an ancient street that had existed for a long time.
Over ten years ago, taking advantage of the renovation of University City, it was re-planned and renovated, and for a time, it was a peaceful and harmonious street.
It wasn't until a few years ago, when a couple who worked in archaeology retired and returned here to live out their old age, that a series of strange events occurred, causing it to decline and become desolate.
At first, it was just rumors that people heard the sound of horses running on the street at night, but they were just rumors, and few people heard them with their own ears, so no one paid too much attention.
But as time went on, more and more strange things appeared, and people realized the seriousness of the problem.
Following that, people successively encountered strange individuals dressed in ancient costumes on the street, discovered strange symbols in their homes, and even narrowly avoided being beheaded by a headless ancient general when returning home late...
In the end, a female university student who rented a room nearby committed suicide by jumping off a building, and several young boys mysteriously disappeared, finally pushing the urban legend events here to a climax.
Consequently, various frightening encounters spread, causing panic among the residents of Yuelang Street.
Before long, the residents who could move out did, leaving only those who still lived in old houses and hadn't received demolition and renovation benefits, gritting their teeth and toughing it out.
Even the second phase of the Yuelang Street renovation project had to be put on hold due to these strange events, leaving a large area of unfinished buildings.
All of this was caused by a high-quality imitation ancient painting brought by that elderly couple.
Before long, various rumors about Yuelang Street spread throughout Hua City, and as they spread, Yuelang Street became Yin Street.
Of course, after such an event occurred, it was impossible for the Night Watch not to intervene.
Although the number of urban legend on Yin Street was once very high, their overall strength was not strong. After several cleanups by the Night Watch, living here was no longer life-threatening. The staff of the street office also put in a lot of effort to promote it, but with little effect.
Once bitten by a snake, one fears the rope for ten years. For places where urban legend have occurred, no matter how much they are promoted, most people will stay away.
In fact, this is a situation that is very troublesome for the Night Watch in various places. In places where large-scale urban legend incidents have occurred, even after they have cleared the urban legend, very few people will move back there.
As time goes on, vacant houses and abandoned construction sites become breeding grounds for new urban legend, and the Night Watch has to send out manpower and resources to clean them up again. This repeated cycle becomes a vicious one.
To this day, two or three years have passed since the last Night Watch cleanup. The urban legend that escaped from the high-quality imitation ancient painting have long been completely eliminated. Although urban legend sightings still occur on Yin Street from time to time, there have been no serious incidents of missing persons or deaths for a long time.
"So, Gu Qianqian, there's a reason why I told you to instigate them to come here for the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons!" the system said confidently.
"Really?" Gu Qianqian muttered softly, "But your recent predictions seem to be getting less and less reliable. What if something goes wrong?"
As she spoke, she looked at Maotuan (Hairball) leading the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons ahead and the Little Freak drumming beside him, then her gaze fell on the few human mannequins dragging the banners behind them, and she frowned.
The banner "belonging" to Lu Yibei was too long, and the more than a [N O V E L I G H T] hundred urban legend were generally small in size. When the long string of large characters was unfurled, it almost covered the entire Night Parade of One Hundred Demons procession.
From a distance, Gu Qianqian and the few human mannequin urban legend walking among them looked like kindergarten teachers taking children on an autumn outing.
"Absolutely not! Based on my experience, this place is large, has many urban legend, and the overall strength of the urban legend is not strong. It's a strategic location for Night Parade of One Hundred Demons." the system said.
"If they occupy this place through the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, they will sooner or later clash with that group of black-robed people causing trouble in the dark. Trust me!"
"Oh, speaking of which, where did those two black-robed people go last time? Did you really sell them?" the system asked.
"Yes!" Gu Qianqian nodded, "They were very valuable. One deal earned more than I make in a day of live streaming sales. I wish I could meet a few more."
"Really? Who did you sell them to?" the system pressed.
"Hmm..." Gu Qianqian thought for a moment and said, "What was it, the Black Sun Brothers Technology Association? I think that was the name."
"..."
Of all the people you could sell them to, you sold them to them? Gu Qianqian, you are truly a devil! the system thought to itself.
The name of the organization Gu Qianqian mentioned was one that the system had some impression of. It was a terrifying research organization under the Eclipse Society that was disguised as a biotechnology company.
Although the various branches of the Eclipse Society were secretly conducting anti-social experiments, the one Gu Qianqian mentioned was not the strongest in terms of combat power, nor the most technologically advanced, but it was definitely the one with the most disgusting, perverted, and torturous research projects.
Those two black-robed people who were causing trouble in Hua City would have been better off in the hands of the Night Watch. At least that way, they would have died more quickly.
The main research direction of the Black Sun Brothers Technology Association was the hybridization and breeding of urban legend and Psychic...
While the system was contemplating, the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons procession had already arrived in front of Building 14 on Yin Street. This was the rumored location where the current strongest urban legend on Yin Street haunted. As long as it was subdued, using it as an example, the other urban legend would likely surrender without a fight.
According to legend, Building 14 on Yin Street was inhabited by a urban legend formed from a female university student who committed suicide by jumping off the building. Every midnight, she would be seen appearing on the roof of the building, screaming and leaping down, following the trajectory of her death, hitting the wall heavily and leaving a hideous and terrifying human-shaped imprint.
When she first appeared, the few remaining households in Building 14 were terrified out of their wits and called the police every night. After the Officer came, they could not find a body or even a trace of blood.
As time went on, the Officer stopped responding to calls from this area and only offered comfort over the phone.
This was like the story of the boy who cried wolf. After saying it too many times, no one believed it anymore.
However...
When Gu Qianqian followed the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons procession into the abandoned apartment building, which was built in a square shape, she was stunned by the sight before her.
The apartment building, which should have been gloomy and terrifying, with dirt and grime everywhere, now looked as if every inch had been meticulously cleaned. The tiled wall, rumored to be covered in human-shaped bloodstains, was so white it reflected light.
Even the accumulated dust on the ground had become crystal clear, like decorative silver powder.
"Damn it, where are the urban legend? Where's that big urban legend? Wait, are these the remnants of the Four Beasts Bright Sky Cannon?"
"Who in the hell has nothing better to do than run to a C-level urban legend haunting place that only scares people, not harms them, and randomly cast such high-level Spells? Are they sick?"
The well-thought-out plan was suddenly disrupted, and the system couldn't help but complain repeatedly, fuming with anger.
Gu Qianqian's head was buzzing as she listened to the system's complaints, and she couldn't help but interrupt, "System, stop talking. Now that the strongest urban legend on Yin Street is gone, how are we going to kill the dog to warn the monkeys?"
"It's kill the chicken!" the system said irritably, "The strongest is gone, but aren't there others?"
"Let's go! We'll knock on every door and bring warmth! I don't believe it!"
----
In the early hours of the morning, before dawn, during the deepest part of the night.
In the dark warehouse of Hua City Ceramics Factory, a sharp shout rang out.
"What? So many of your urban legend went out in three groups, targeting twelve locations, but only five were successful? The efficiency is not even as high as when you acted in pairs before? I expect a reasonable explanation!"
Looking at the woman sitting on the divine statue, raging furiously, the urban legend below were silent.
After a long while, a urban legend finally mustered the courage to step forward and say, "You can't blame us. There were several places marked as having urban legend, but when we went there, they were empty. Some places were even just ruins, like, like..."
"Like what?" Twilight Woman pressed.
"Like they had just been attacked."
"Oh?" Twilight Woman narrowed her eyes slightly, pondered for two seconds, and muttered to herself, "Could it be someone from the Night Watch?"
"No, it wasn't. It was a urban legend, I can be sure of that!" came the reply from the darkness, sounding somewhat weak. "I was attacked by that guy, that's how I got these injuries."
"Did you see what that urban legend looked like?"
"No!" came the reply from the darkness, "I was knocked out by a fireball before I could even see clearly, and that guy threw two Spells and then ran away. How could I see him?"
"..."
"Useless!" After a long time, she spat out two words faintly, then said in a deep voice, "However, based on what you said, I can probably guess which urban legend did it."
She knew very well that in Hua City, there were at least more than ten urban legend with strength comparable to hers. The reason the black-robed people and the urban legend they had subdued were able to act so smoothly before was because those urban legend had not yet made a move.
However, what happened tonight showed that some of those guys couldn't sit still anymore.
And the success or failure of this Night Parade of One Hundred Demons largely depended on whether those guys could be subdued.
"Heh, interesting. The real hunt has just begun!"
In the darkness, Twilight Woman let out a cold laugh, and in that cold laugh, there was an inexplicable excitement.
