Free Web NovelAfter discovering a message potentially sent by Qinan Bamboo on Old Dad's phone, Lu Yibei initially thought she could find more information related to her.
However, after Lu Yibei patiently read through all the messages, she found that, just as Qinan Bamboo's message said, that time might truly have been the last time she and Lu Ming met.
Among the over five hundred messages on Lu Ming's phone, there was only this one message from the person whose contact name was "Zhu".
About half of the remaining messages were casual chats with Shui Ge.
In this version, Shui Ge is still dominating!
Of the remaining half, some were rejection notices for various novels, and the rest were various work-related messages.
Before seeing these messages, Lu Yibei had thought that Old Dad, in order to raise her, had immediately opened a Sichuan restaurant after giving up his dreams and choosing survival, but the truth was not like that.
Before that, he had tried all sorts of jobs.
He had taken the civil service exam, but didn't pass the political background check.
He had wholesaled small appliances, but unfortunately encountered a batch of smuggled goods and lost everything.
He had even worked as a typist, handed out flyers, and moved bricks, but the wages from these temporary jobs weren't even enough to buy milk powder.
As Lu Yibei read, her nose felt a little sore. She vaguely remembered asking Old Dad before if he really liked cooking.
And Lu Ming's answer was that the thing he hated most was cooking.
At the time, Lu Yibei thought it was just a joke.
She didn't expect Old Dad to truly hate cooking.
It was clear that in order to raise him into an Adult like any ordinary father, Old Dad had truly worked very hard and was ultimately forced to do the job he disliked the most out of necessity.
"Was I really that big of an eater when I was a kid? I was almost catching up to Gu Qianqian." Looking at a message between Lu Ming and Bai Kai, Lu Yibei frowned slightly.
【Lu Ming: Xiao Bai, this kid eats too much, three cans of milk powder in a week. I don't mean anything else! I just want to tell you to be careful when you're out and about in the future, and whatever you do, don't get some Miss pregnant!】
【Bai Kai: Don't worry, every time I use Spiritual Energy to... never mind, I won't say it. I've transferred five thousand to you, check if you've received it.】
Seeing this, Lu Yibei instantly understood why Shui Ge always freeloaded food and drinks at her house when she was a child.
Given Old Dad's personality and his relationship with Shui Ge, he definitely wouldn't repay borrowed money. Shouldn't Shui Ge find a way to recoup some losses?
Ancient medical texts say one drop of essence is ten drops of blood.
That was proper hard-earned money!
"Tsk tsk, as expected, those two brothers are the real love, right?" Lu Yibei muttered, shook her head, put away her phone, and left the mall.
She hailed a taxi by the roadside.
"Master, please take me to University City, Jingyi Apartment Complex."
After telling the taxi driver the destination, Lu Yibei leaned against the window, watched the scenery outside, and fell silent, pondering matters related to Qinan Bamboo.
Qinan Bamboo sent the message to Old Dad eighteen years ago in December. At that time, I was almost one year old. Could I have also interacted with her?
Although a child that young doesn't have clear memories, it's possible I imprinted her name in my subconscious, isn't it?
That's why, after encountering her name again through Hu Yue and Suolang Baima, her name would occasionally pop into my mind...
Thinking this, Lu Yibei slowly closed her eyes.
The sunlight shone through the car window onto her eyelids, showing her a hazy, indistinct scene. In a daze, it seemed as though a woman's figure appeared before her eyes.
It was a woman with good height and appearance. She had once done something earth-shattering in Hua City and had a fierce conflict with Purple Maiden because of it.
She had an ambiguous relationship with Old Dad and eventually went their separate ways for some reason.
But when she left, she must have left something particularly precious for Old Dad, so much so that someone was willing to pay a huge price to hire dozens of Psychic and urban legend, including Suolang Baima, to seize it.
She might have also interacted with me, perhaps even held me. I might have heard her name too, but I was too young at the time and don't remember at all.
Now, she has gone somewhere unknown, her fate uncertain, as if she vanished from the face of the earth, leaving almost no trace in this world.
Judging only by the clues currently available, Qinan Bamboo's life experience can be said to be quite rich, so...
Since Old Dad knew her, why didn't he use her story to write a novel?
It would be a bit more reliable than strange things like "Rouxun's Drifting Journey" or "The Fantastic Voyage of Young Runtu," right?
Thinking this, Lu Yibei shook her head, casting aside the unreliable thoughts in her mind, and refocused her thoughts.
Banshan Elementary School, how have I never heard of this elementary school's name?
It's not even on the list of schools in Hua City provided by the Leader. Is it within the Hua City area?
If so, it's highly likely it's been abandoned for a long time.
...
The scenery outside the car window changed several times, and before Lu Yibei could figure out all the questions, the taxi stopped in front of the gate of Jingyi Apartment Complex.
After paying the fare, she got out of the car and walked quickly towards home.
Although she had found some clues about Qinan Bamboo and learned the address of Banshan Elementary School, she didn't plan to go look for it right away.
In broad daylight, under the bright sky, what if she ran around in a place she had never been to and encountered a Strange Tale?
When it's night, after turning into a Strange Tale, she could go. If she encountered something, couldn't she at least run away if she couldn't beat it? Lu Yibei thought.
----
In a underground warehouse less than ten kilometers from the border of Hua City, in the distant suburbs of Yue City.
This cold storage facility, originally used as a seafood transit station, had become exceptionally damp and cold after being abandoned, with a nauseatingly strong fishy odor lingering in the air.
In the depths of the cold storage, the shadows cast by the candlelight on the stone walls flickered as if struggling in their death throes.
A man with pathologically pale skin and a hunched figure was hunched over the operating table once used for cutting fish, writing furiously, immersed in the text on the parchment scroll, his eyes flickering with a faint light of excitement.
Before long, someone pushed the door open and entered.
A figure in a black robe stumbled to a halt behind Berses, then swayed twice and fell to the ground.
"Adult, the other members of the Beta team who went to Hua City with me, they... they all disappeared the night before last..."
Hearing the weak voice behind him, Berses's body stiffened slightly. "Snap!" he slapped the quill pen in his hand onto the rusty operating table and slowly turned around.
"Disappeared? Why did they disappear? Didn't you do as I told you?"
Berses said in a flat tone, his eyes scanning the black-robed person back and forth, his gaze like a venomous snake examining its prey.
Feeling the cold malice in Berses's gaze, the black-robed person swallowed hard and quickly explained.
"Reporting, reporting Adult, after we infiltrated Hua City and mingled with the forces hunting Gu Qianqian, we acted strictly according to your orders. Everything went smoothly at first, but just as we were about to successfully capture Gu Qianqian, something went wrong..."
Taking a minute or two, the black-robed person recounted to Berses in detail the entire process, from when they infiltrated the forces hunting Gu Qianqian, to how they cornered her, and then how a strange Spiritual Energy fluctuation appeared without warning in the dilapidated hut where she was hiding, which subsequently evolved into a massive turbulent vortex of Spiritual Energy.
"...The vortex triggered a violent explosion. After the explosion, over ninety percent of the Psychic and urban legend who participated in the encirclement disappeared..."
An explosion? That does match the style of action "Gu Qianqian" displayed in Taoyuan... Berses nodded thoughtfully and pressed on, "What about Disaster?"
"Didn't she always have people keeping watch? What was she doing that night?"
"She..." The black-robed person hesitated, "Since entering Hua City, the members of the Alpha team haven't seen her with their own eyes yet. They tried to infiltrate her lair, but... but..."
"But what? Just say it." Berses frowned.
"But they were distracted by a cute little kitty, then knocked unconscious by Disaster's subordinates, stripped naked, and thrown out."
Who could refuse a little kitty? She was simply too cute!
Berses, "..."
----
Jingyi Apartment Complex.
Lu Yibei sat at her desk, resting her chin on one hand, staring blankly at the computer screen in front of her.
Half an hour ago, after returning home from the Union Communications City, he first grabbed the Little Freaks at home and asked them about the situation of the urban legend in Hua City monitoring Gu Qianqian.
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He breathed a sigh of relief after learning that Gu Qianqian had once again defeated a group of Psychic and urban legend who were besieging her two days ago.
He had initially suspected that the black night disease that had recently appeared in Hua City might be related to those guys who were chasing Gu Qianqian.
But...
From the current perspective, it seems to have nothing to do with them.
They all evaporated under Gu Qianqian's hands, what kind of trouble could they still cause?
As for Gu Qianqian, who would occasionally disappear and appear out of thin air during the chase, as if she had a flash skill with no cooldown, Lu Yibei was not surprised.
He possessed the knowledge of the Great Serpent God, so he could naturally guess that Gu Qianqian had mastered the bamboo slips leading to the illusion.
However, he was still a bit envious of Gu Qianqian's bamboo slips.
That was a life-saving artifact. If he had that thing, wouldn't he just hide inside until he was invincible before coming out? Being second in the world wouldn't even be acceptable!
After briefly asking about Gu Qianqian's situation and confirming that those Psychic and urban legend who had infiltrated Hua City were temporarily not a threat, Lu Yibei turned on his computer and searched for information about Banshan Elementary School.
However, he found nothing.
There were at least eighty to a hundred elementary schools with the name Banshan Elementary School, scattered all over Z Country.
If the exact location where Lu Ming and Qinan Bamboo met could not be determined, visiting them one by one would probably take at least three to five years.
"No, this line of thinking is wrong. I should assume that Banshan Elementary School is in Hua City, and after searching carefully, gradually radiate outwards to surrounding cities."
However, is there really a Banshan Elementary School in Hua City?
Entrusting such a small matter to the Monster Story Chat Group for investigation is very uneconomical.
Although they are more professional than the most professional private detectives in investigating information, at the same time, their fees are also more professional than the most professional private detectives.
Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, Lu Yibei did not want them to investigate.
"It would be great if I could contact Uncle Zhang Shan," Lu Yibei muttered to himself.
As a native of Hua City who has lived there for decades and is also a taxi driver, it would be difficult to find anyone who knows Hua City better than Uncle Zhang Shan.
Unfortunately, after experiencing several dangerous incidents, Lu Yibei had lost Uncle Zhang Shan's contact information.
"Or..." He looked at the gradually darkening sky outside the window, "Try it after dark?"
With this thought in mind, Lu Yibei temporarily stopped looking for Banshan Elementary School and turned to find the three boxes of Lu Ming's belongings that he had brought back yesterday, and continued to search through the remaining items.
However, this time, besides a photo torn in half and a deformed copper key, he did not find anything particularly useful like an old cell phone.
"Ah, Old Dad is too serious. Can't you write something like a diary?" Lu Yibei muttered to himself.
Then...
The sky darkened, and in just over ten minutes, the sky was completely plunged into darkness.
A familiar chilling aura, accompanied by a fierce heartbeat, surged from his chest, gradually intensifying and spreading to his limbs and bones.
Having become accustomed to the changes in his body during the urban legend transformation, Lu Yibei showed no signs of abnormality, simply lying on the sofa with a blank expression, relaxing his mind and silently enjoying it.
----
Eleven o'clock sharp in the evening.
After browsing a certain pink APP for two or three hours, Lu Yibei summoned his Coat, put on the metal box containing the Alchemy Dirty Bomb and Lingtai Pure Karma, and went out.
According to past experience, at this time, as long as he stood on the street and waved, the taxi driver he hailed would definitely be Uncle Zhang Shan, just like some midnight taxi urban legend.
Although Lu Yibei's conjecture had no scientific basis, in this day and age, it is said that the Newton's coffin lid urban legend have appeared in Europe, so what is there to talk about science?
As for why he would meet Uncle Zhang Shan every time...
Don't ask, just say it's quantum entanglement!
So, ten minutes later, in [N O V E L I G H T] front of the gate of Jingyi Apartment Complex, Lu Yibei waited for a moment and reached out to hail a taxi.
He opened the door and looked.
Yep, it was Uncle Zhang Shan, no doubt.
With this terrifying tacit understanding, Lu Yibei really suspected that there was quantum entanglement between him and Uncle Zhang Shan.
"Yo, long time no see! I missed you so much! What story are you going to tell this time?"
Just as Lu Yibei was not surprised to see Uncle Zhang Shan, Uncle Zhang Shan was not surprised to see her either, and even seemed a little excited.
Recently, his stock of material was running low, and the content of his live broadcasts was gradually becoming a bit boring. His listeners had already given him feedback several times.
Some irritable Elder brothers even threatened that if he couldn't tell an interesting story next time, they would visit him and take him to find urban legend material.
Lu Yibei, "..."
Uncle, are you being a bit too arrogant?
You are a night shift taxi driver, constantly thinking about me, a urban legend. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?
What if, one day, the person who gets in the car isn't me? Are you really not afraid of something happening?
After complaining to himself for a couple of sentences, Lu Yibei tilted his head and said, "Uncle, before asking me what story to tell, shouldn't you first ask me where I'm going?"
"Oh, where are you planning to go?" Zhang Shan asked perfunctorily.
"Banshan Elementary School."
Lu Yibei did not ask Uncle Zhang Shan if he knew where Banshan Elementary School was, but directly stated the address.
"Huh? Banshan Elementary School?"
Looking at this reaction, he really knows! As expected of a veteran Hua City driver... Lu Yibei's eyes trembled slightly, then he asked calmly, "Uncle, you know that place?"
"How could I not know?" Zhang Shan said with a smile, "I went to elementary school there before."
Good heavens, he's even a party involved! Lu Yibei's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That was the staff elementary school of the former Hua City Cement Factory, built on the mountainside of the cement factory's lime mine, to facilitate workers picking up and dropping off their children. However, not long after I graduated, it closed down a long time ago with the reform and relocation of the cement factory."
"..."
No wonder it wasn't on the list given by the Leader and couldn't be found online.
Uncle Zhang Shan looks to be over fifty years old, and the elementary school that closed down not long after he graduated must have been abandoned for at least forty years. Lu Yibei thought, and then heard Zhang Shan speak again.
"But, what are you going there for? There are no urban legend there, only a pile of broken houses."
Lu Yibei, "..."
Can't I go if there are no urban legend?
It makes me seem like some strange death-seeking person.
However...
"No urban legend? How could that be? That place should have been abandoned for a long time, right?" Lu Yibei pressed. freewёbnoνel.com
"Really not!" Zhang Shan pouted.
"I have a few old buddies who live near there. When we were drinking together last week, I wanted to ask them if there were any urban legend incidents nearby, but after decades, nothing has happened."
"So, are you still going? Or should I take you to the abandoned campus of the Medical University? I heard that place has been haunted recently."
"No need, I'm just going to Banshan Elementary School," Lu Yibei said indifferently.
An elementary school that has been abandoned for decades and has never had any urban legend incidents, that's what's strange!
There must be a big problem with that place.
What's more, the urban legend incident at the Medical University... I arranged it.
Lu Yibei thought, and through the rearview mirror, he glanced at Uncle Zhang Shan's uninterested and somewhat disappointed expression, and shook his head.
Or, should I arrange a few urban legend for his house another day?
Listening to stories is not as good as experiencing them firsthand!
