Free Web NovelThe pitch-black vortex silently spun on the gray-white sand dunes, countless grains of sand falling along its edge, disappearing, and then falling again from the sky, connecting a thin gray-white line between heaven and earth.
"Miss Jiang, please wait a moment!"
Just as Jiang Li arrived before the vortex, about to leave the Wu Hui Land, the Big Boss's voice suddenly came from behind. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"What?" She frowned and turned around, looking at the man who had come not far behind her, her expression indifferent, "Didn't the gamble already end? Do you still have something?"
"No, no, Miss Jiang misunderstood," the man said, waving his hand, "I just wanted to remind you, you should know that the stakes in our gamble are not equal, right?"
Hearing the man mention this, Jiang Li's eyes trembled slightly, then she nodded with a complicated expression.
Within this Entertainment City, there were vast amounts of treasure hidden. Putting aside these treasures, there were also unimaginable magical powers.
Accumulating the top three chips indeed gave the opportunity to gamble with the Big Boss, but that was only one opportunity.
The Big Boss of the Entertainment City was a very fair person, whether to others or himself, so the stakes of a gamble had to be at least equivalent.
The stake Jiang Li proposed was to close this Entertainment City. The value of this stake obviously far exceeded the chips she brought each time.
Therefore, for these fourteen gambles, each time she had to pay a price, either a precious memory, or a period of lifespan, or something else very important.
"How much is left?" Jiang Li asked coldly.
"What's left are your memories regarding your mother, maid, and engagement..." Speaking of this, the Big Boss paused, and asked in his extremely seductive voice, "Are you really not considering using these memories to complete this gamble?"
"Especially the memory of the engagement. Anyway, you haven't met that person, so it doesn't matter if he disappears from your memory, right?"
"Absolutely not considering it," Jiang Li replied without hesitation.
This was her last insistence.
Ever since being lost as a stake by her father and falling into the hands of the Eclipse Society, her world had fallen into a deep darkness.
The reason she could persevere was entirely supported by the memories of her mother and A Hua.
And the memory of that benefactor was like a ray of light, shining into the dark world that trapped her.
Although it was just a very faint ray, it was enough to awaken her, making her chase that light forward, tearing open bigger gaps, and finally seeing the world bathed in golden sunlight.
"Alright then, if Miss Jiang insists," the Big Boss shrugged, "Then I will take this gamble's stake as agreed."
"But I have to remind you, after you walk out of here, you will probably only live for about fifteen days. I hope you can quickly achieve the 【Head Prize】 and come here again."
Hearing this, Jiang Li tilted her head expressionlessly, wondering, "Strange, why would you deliberately remind me of such a thing? You don't seem that kind and good-hearted, do you?"
Something abnormal is always due to something strange.
"Hahahaha!" The Big Boss laughed heartily, "Miss Jiang is overthinking. Don't always think of me as so bad, okay? I also have feelings, and I also have interests in certain things."
"And people or urban legend like you, who can gamble with me for a long time, are not many now. I am still looking forward to you being able to resolve this crisis and live."
As he spoke, the Big Boss's hand wearing a white glove raised a finger and shook it.
"Personal suggestion, after you achieve the 【Head Prize】 next time, you can first find my manager to exchange for some lifespan, and then come here."
"Hmph!" Jiang Li didn't speak, just let out a cold snort, then turned around and continued walking towards the pitch-black vortex leaving the Wu Hui Land.
A malicious Strange Tale who treats other people's lives as a game, even if he has high expectations for her, she didn't feel happy or honored at all, instead, there was an inexplicable anger.
The Big Boss watched Jiang Li's figure being swallowed by the pitch-black vortex until she disappeared, muttering, "It's a pity, I originally thought she could win."
After a long time, a faint sigh echoed across the dead silent sand dunes.
"Alas! How long has it been since then? I really want to lose completely again!"
----
In the darkness, ethereal things with indescribable forms flew past, thick, rich colors overlapping, slowly moving, extending all the way to the Void.
There, confused murmurs came, the final wails left in this world by the mad gamblers forever sinking and unable to leave the Wu Hui Land.
Being in such an environment, Jiang Li felt a sharp pain in her brow, and instinctively mobilized her Spiritual Energy to resist.
The next moment, accompanied by a feeling of weakness from Spiritual Energy depletion, the sharp pain in her brow finally eased.
Soon, the bizarre images before her eyes dissipated, and the magnificent hall in front of the Entertainment City's gate appeared before Jiang Li's eyes.
She narrowed her eyes for a moment, and after adapting to the light, she took out her phone from her handbag, marked a reminder on her memo fourteen days later, then put away her phone and took out the only chip left.
Just then, as if some strange force had drained her life force, a strong sense of weakness swept over her. Jiang Li's face turned pale and she almost couldn't stand steady.
Leaning against the cold wall beside her, she rested for a moment before gradually recovering, gripping the chip in her hand, and quickly walked towards the depths of the Entertainment City.
----
In the early morning hours.
Deep within the Lanruo Inn Brothel.
A woman in a black dress stood on the wide terrace, looking out. In the dead silent darkness, fleeting gray-white energy drifted with the cold wind.
In the darkness, various strange and blurry shadows floated, but when one tried to look closely, they disappeared.
As far as the eye could see, nothing was visible except the buildings of the Lanruo Inn Brothel.
From afar, the sound of wings flapping came from high in the sky. Following the sound, a snow-white parrot flew over, landed steadily on the terrace, and transformed into the appearance of a young girl.
"Master, I have confirmed that the Disaster is indeed related to the young girl who has been continuously challenging the Wu Hui Land in the Entertainment City recently. I saw her meet with that young girl's attendant at the Dan Sha Gu Shi Pharmacy's station."
"Oh?" Black Peony narrowed her eyes, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her mouth, "What did they say?"
"The Disaster said..." Embroidery Ball paused briefly for a few seconds, then bowed slightly, "She wants to challenge the Big Boss of the Entertainment City for that Miss, and then disband the Entertainment City on the spot."
Although Lu Yibei had carefully whispered this matter into A Hua's ear, Embroidery Ball, as a Strange Tale with the 【Parrot Mimicry】 talent skill, could easily repeat what she had said just by looking at her mouth shape.
"For a Miss, she wants to disband the Entertainment City on the spot?" Black Peony smiled meaningfully, "How romantic and arrogant! However, it wouldn't be young if not arrogant."
Embroidery Ball frowned, cupped her fists and said, "Master, do I need to stop her?"
"Did I say I wanted to stop her?" Black Peony's eyebrows raised slightly, "Go, Embroidery Ball, continue following them. Report any situation to me at any time. If necessary, it's fine to give them a little help secretly."
"This place has long needed a little change."
Hearing this, a strange look flashed in Embroidery Ball's eyes, but she quickly suppressed the doubt in her heart and replied, "Yes!"
After all, even if the Master's orders were difficult to understand, she only needed to obey.
Amidst the soft sound of flapping wings, Embroidery Ball spread her wings again and flew into the darkness.
Black Peony watched Embroidery Ball fly away, revealing a bitter smile.
"Meeting at the Dan Sha Gu Shi Pharmacy, that's really unwise! After all, that guy is the only one among the three of us... Forget it, if she can't even solve this little crisis, I don't need to have any expectations for her."
Talking to herself, Black Peony drew the golden silk curtains on the terrace and turned to enter the room.
----
Deep within the Dan Sha Gu Shi Pharmacy, in the only complete, even luxurious building in this gravely ill city.
This was a factory built against a mountain. On the rugged rock face, gray-white metal walls were stacked into a grim and massive building. Unlike the city not far away, there was no noise or sign of life here, only giant machinery roaring and thick smoke drifting.
The integrated structure made the entire building look like a war machine that could be activated at any moment, exuding a cold and ferocious aura from the inside out.
From a distance, one could smell a pungent medicinal odor that was extremely irritating to the respiratory tract drifting from the factory, spreading throughout the entire city.
Passing through the factory gate, a pitch-black swamp came into view. Countless thorny vines like poisonous snakes grew on the swamp, wriggling and slowly dragging the swollen, pale corpses into the muddy sludge.
On those strange thorny vines, blue-purple flowers shaped like lilies bloomed, emitting a faint glow and bearing patterns of strange human faces.
Deep within the factory, hot and dazzling magma, like a waterfall, surged from a huge opening carved into the mountain, guided to flow beneath the giant Alchemy furnaces connected to chimneys.
Emaciated workers, wearing thin coarse cloth clothes and carrying heavy baskets, moved through the simple metal channels nearly a hundred meters high, climbing to the top, and orderly pouring the medicinal materials from their baskets into the Alchemy furnaces through the feeding openings.
During this time, workers occasionally collapsed from exhaustion. The workers behind them immediately swarmed forward, scrambling for the things on him, like vultures discovering a decaying corpse.
Soon, the body that had been stripped clean was dragged into the deep darkness by the overseer like a broken sack.
At the highest point of the factory, there was a huge platform overlooking the entire operation. The platform was surrounded by thick one-way glass on all sides. The workers couldn't see what was inside, only knew that the owner of the Dan Sha Gu Shi Pharmacy would occasionally appear inside, using his strange power to monitor everyone.
At this moment, on the huge platform, behind the one-way glass.
A bloated and massive Strange Tale sat on a throne cast from black iron.
It had gray-green skin covered in large and small pustules, looking like a distorted giant toad. In its hand, it held a giant pipe, occasionally bringing it to its huge face with three mouths, taking a small puff, and then slowly exhaling thick black smoke.
If Lu Yibei were here and saw this Strange Tale, she would definitely shout, "Plague Tai Sui! Someone is imitating your face!"
Although its twisted style was different from Plague Tai Sui, its ugliness was equally hideous.
This was the Master of the Dan Sha Gu Shi Pharmacy. It had a pleasant name that didn't match its appearance, called Jade Palace Immortal. It is said that long ago, he was also a handsome gentleman with a refined demeanor.
“Puff—puff—puff—!”
Accompanied by a series of light sounds of flesh and blood breaking, the festering sores on Jade Palace Immortal's body burst open, turning into dense eyes all over his body. Those eyes kept shaking, surveying the factory through the one-way glass.
“Damn it, someone is slacking over there!”
“Come here, come here! Go drag the person from C-level Work Area Line 3 No. 1756 down for ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) me and chop them up to be used as flower fertilizer!”
As Jade Palace Immortal let out a loud shout, two supervisors who had been quietly waiting behind him, dressed in dark blue work clothes, hurried forward, bowed to him, and then left the giant platform, quickly running towards the direction of the C-level Work Area.
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After the two supervisors left, on the black iron throne, Jade Palace Immortal's thousands of eyes simultaneously rolled back. “I’ve told them many times, slacking is stealing my money. Why don’t they learn their lesson? Unforgivable!”
Just as he was speaking, the light and shadow flickered, and a thin Little Freak wearing red work clothes suddenly appeared in front of him, kneeling on one knee, and emitting a hoarse voice through the metal mask.
“Adult, we have found the whereabouts of the Huacheng Monster King.”
Upon hearing this, Jade Palace Immortal tilted his body slightly forward and said indifferently, “Oh? Then have you prepared the things I asked you to prepare?”
“It is already prepared, right outside the door. Please take a look, Mr.,” the red-clothed supervisor said with cupped fists.
“No need!” Jade Palace Immortal waved his swollen palm. “You just handle it. In short, no matter what method you use, you must make her have a good taste of the Dan Sha Gu Shi Pharmacy's most peak masterpiece.”
“A King of Weird Tales, if she can become our customer and be squeezed dry, that will be a huge fortune. You understand, right?”
The red-clothed supervisor's body trembled slightly and he said hurriedly, “Understood! This subordinate will do his best!”
After speaking, he got up and hurriedly walked out the door as if fleeing. Just as he was about to push the door open and leave, Jade Palace Immortal called him back.
“Wait a minute, if it fails...” Jade Palace Immortal said, “Don’t let those idiots reveal that this matter is related to me.”
“You should know what to do, right? After all, those poor wretches, for a little money, can do anything, can't they?”
“Yes!” the red-clothed supervisor replied.
—-
The red-clothed supervisor climbed down the long metal ladder, leaving the giant platform. As soon as he reached the bottom of the platform, a group of black shadows swarmed up and blocked his path.
Among the black shadows blocking the way, there were urban legend and humans, but without exception, their figures were very thin, their pupils were scattered as if they were mentally confused, and their appearance looked no different from the workers in the factory. The only difference was that they were all wearing silver shackles.
“Adult, give it to me, quickly give it to me!” A man with hair as withered and yellow as wild grass knelt in front of the red-clothed supervisor and begged, “Please, as long as you give me the treasure, I am willing to do anything for you!”
“Is that so? You are really willing to do anything?” The red-clothed supervisor smiled meaningfully.
“That’s right, I’m willing to do anything!”
“Alright, then go help me kill a urban legend. If you succeed, you will be red-clothed.”
The so-called treasure is an addictive substance added to almost all medicines and food within the scope of the Dan Sha Gu Shi Pharmacy. It has no definite name, not even a definite form. The name “treasure” is just what the Liu Min in the city call it.
And as long as one becomes a red-clothed supervisor of the Dan Sha Gu Shi Pharmacy, they can enjoy the treatment of unlimited supply of “treasure.”
The surrounding people and urban legend who were gathered and hesitating, upon hearing the red-clothed supervisor say this, immediately became agitated, and cries and pleas rose from all directions.
“I’m willing to do it too, as long as you give me the treasure.”
“Leave it to me, I can do it!”
“...”
Looking at those poor wretches who had no dignity whatsoever, the red-clothed supervisor sneered, “Since you all want to go, then go! Whoever brings that urban legend back, or makes her take the treasure, will be the new red-clothed.”
“However, I must remind you, that urban legend is currently at the station.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the scene immediately fell silent for a few seconds.
As property jointly owned by the three families, it is strictly forbidden to commit murder within the station.
However, soon those poor wretches started crying out again.
Their minds clouded by desire, they didn't care about the so-called prohibition. Even if they feared the power of the other two families and didn't dare to kill their way into the station, they had countless ways to launch attacks outside the station.
Seeing this, the red-clothed supervisor showed a satisfied expression, and with a fierce wave of his hand, a stack of papers with a portrait of a red-haired girl fell to the ground in front of him.
Immediately after, amidst a crisp sound of metal breaking, those people and urban legend whose shackles had been removed, like hungry beasts freed from their restraints, picked up the papers from the ground, and with wailing and howling, turned into black shadows and galloped towards the outside of the factory.
Watching those black shadows disappear into the distance, the red-clothed supervisor curled the corners of his mouth.
King of Weird Tales?
Among these poor wretches, many of them used to be that too!
—-
The sky gradually darkened.
Within the Dan Sha Gu Shi Pharmacy after the giant train had left, there was a deathly silence. Some ominous aura seemed to have awakened in the darkness, gradually surrounding the station.
Liu Min hidden in the darkness and shadows, using the dim yellow lights of the station, peeked at the two outsiders.
Lu Yibei sat on the ground, wrapped in the sleeping bag transformed from her Coat, only her exquisite little face and small hands exposed.
She had a spicy stick in her mouth, her head lowered, and she was thinking about something with a serious expression. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of A Hua looking at her with a strange look in her eyes, so she turned around and fumbled out half a pack of spicy sticks from her sleeping bag.
“Want some? Don’t be shy, have some!”
A Hua shook her head helplessly and said faintly, “Wang Bu Liu Xing, I don’t think you’re here to cause trouble for the Entertainment City’s Big Boss, you’re more like you’re here for a self-guided tour.”
Facing A Hua's indifferent attitude, Lu Yibei retracted the spicy sticks dejectedly and pouted, “Correction, what I told you was that I was here to negotiate with that guy.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Of course there is!” Lu Yibei straightened her back and said, “The key to causing trouble is to create trouble, and the key to negotiation is to talk. If it’s just talking, if it doesn’t work out, I can always come back next time!”
“Honestly, when it comes to running away, I’m quite confident.”
“...”
You haven't even met the Big Boss of the Entertainment City yet, and you're already considering the possibility of negotiations breaking down and running away?
At this point, should I say, this is indeed Lu Yibei?
A Hua was silent for a few seconds, adjusted her glasses, and said with a serious expression, “I advise you not to have such thoughts. If you relax your vigilance in this kind of place...”
“Boom—!”
Before she could finish speaking, she heard a loud noise from outside the station.
The ground was shaking, the rusty metal frame of the awning above her head was violently swaying, and dust was falling like snow. The old station seemed like it could collapse at any moment.
What did I say? Before I could finish speaking, something happened!
Seeing this, A Hua was startled and was about to pull Lu Yibei to find a place to hide, but she saw that the sleeping bag on her body had turned into a Qingyi at some point, and she walked swaggeringly to the long chair, pointing to the tip of her nose.
“Don’t be afraid, it’s a landmine. I buried it.”
The Liu Min secretly peeking in the station, “...”
A Hua, “???”
Seeing A Hua's confused expression, Lu Yibei explained expressionlessly, “You said you were going to spend the night here before, so I was worried about danger while sleeping, so I went out and took a little safety measure in advance.”
“After all, the local customs here don’t look very friendly, and I’m a heavy sleeper. Now that I see it, the preparation was indeed not in vain.”
A Hua, “???”
When Lu Yibei said she had diarrhea after eating beef noodles and kept running out, A Hua thought it was strange. She hadn't eaten a single bite, so how could she have diarrhea?
So she went out to do this kind of thing? A Hua thought angrily.
“Next time you do something like this, can you please tell me beforehand? You’ll scare people to death!”
“Aren’t I worried about eavesdroppers? What if some despicable scoundrel is listening?” Lu Yibei pouted, “Laying landmines is all about concealment, understood?”
As soon as she finished speaking, in the dark, a certain parrot clenched its wings fiercely.
A Hua rolled her eyes and pressed on, “Speaking of which, why do you carry landmines with you?”
This is too strange! What on earth did Lu Yibei experience during the time we were away? A Hua thought.
“You’re overthinking it. Why would I carry something like that?” Lu Yibei said, “I just brought a little bomb for self-defense.”
As she spoke, she leaned towards A Hua and whispered something in her ear, then raised her eyebrows slightly. “Understand?”
“Earth Fire Lotus...triggered by a trigger-type Spell? So that’s... wait a minute!” Halfway through her sentence, A Hua’s pupils suddenly constricted slightly. “Damn it, something’s not right!”
“What’s not right again?” Lu Yibei frowned. “Can you stop being so startled all the time? Are you a screaming chicken?”
A Hua ignored Lu Yibei’s trash talk and explained seriously, “The condition for triggering Earth Fire Lotus is contact with Spiritual Energy fluctuations higher than C-level, but the area around the station is the worst area in this city. Any Psychic or urban legend with some strength are unwilling to stay here...”
Lu Yibei's eyes became serious as she looked at the night sky outside the station.
“In other words, high-level Psychic or urban legend from the depths of the city have gathered near here for some reason?”
“Yes!” A Hua nodded.
“Did you do something annoying and offend someone?” Lu Yibei asked abruptly.
“You, you’re always offending people when you speak, aren’t you?”
A Hua, “???”
I wanted to ask you that!
Before you appeared, everything was fine!
What’s more, when it comes to offending people, you are probably much better than me, aren’t you?
Just as A Hua was frantically complaining internally, a dazzling pale white stream of light suddenly shot out from the gap in the station's awning and flew directly towards them...
