Free Web NovelTwo forty-four AM.
On the road from the Yongjie City Municipal Solid Waste Treatment Plant to Bu Ye Street, a taxi drove along the empty highway.
Inside the taxi, which smelled faintly of tobacco, Lu Yibei sat in the back seat with her hands in her jacket pockets, her eyes closed, leaning against the window, pretending to be napping. While focusing on communicating with Paper Cicada Immortal, she also skillfully avoided the taxi driver's small talk.
However, after a brief exchange with Zhang Huainan, she noticed some unusual details and quickly came up with a rather perfunctory excuse to cut off contact with Zhang Huainan.
“Uh, something came up on my end, I’ll tell you later... That’s it for now, bye!”
After a pause, she added, “Oh, before I contact you, you can’t peek at me, you swore!”
After getting Zhang Huainan’s response, Lu Yibei frowned and quickly began to analyze.
Listening to what he said just now, he seemed to know about the existence of the Secret Society? Since he knows, why doesn't he take action to clean up this tumor?
Are even his methods unable to deal with the Secret Society?
Or... is he also connected to the Secret Society? Lu Yibei thought.
Zhang Huainan was an old acquaintance of Qingji, so she subconsciously regarded him as someone she could trust. Therefore, as soon as she made a discovery, she immediately thought of notifying Zhang Huainan.
When she was talking to Zhang Huainan just now, as soon as the Secret Society was mentioned, his attitude changed significantly, making Lu Yibei suddenly realize that something seemed wrong.
Although the change in Zhang Huainan's attitude could be because he also found the Secret Society suspicious, it is temporarily impossible to rule out the possibility that he is also related to the Secret Society.
Although this possibility is extremely small, if it really happens, facing Zhang Huainan plus the terrifying unknown urban legend behind the Secret Society, she can be said to be certain to die.
In fact, so far, besides her dependents, the only people Lu Yibei can absolutely trust unconditionally are Jiang Li, Qingji, and Bai Kai.
Ju Meng counts as half.
Lu Yibei believes that Ju Meng will not harm her life, but whether she will harm her wallet and her physical health is hard to say.
“...”
If Zhang Huainan is really related to the Secret Society, what I said just now was already very dangerous. If I continue talking, I might be silenced?
Is there any way to determine if he is trustworthy? If I ask him directly, or ask him to swear or something, he will definitely not admit it.
How about... ask Chatterbox Girl first?
After some analysis, Lu Yibei decided that it would be more appropriate to spend some time confirming whether Zhang Huainan was trustworthy before continuing to communicate with him.
Anyway, waiting for a while won't kill him!
But if I rashly reveal everything I know and really encounter the melodramatic plot where the Sect Leader is the mastermind, my life might be over.
Lu Yibei thought, and then loudly called out “Chatterbox Girl!” in her heart, and skillfully let her consciousness fall into a boundless darkness.
At this moment, the Lingtai Pure Karma hidden under her wide coat trembled slightly, and then fell silent...
——————
Her body felt like it was falling into water, light and airy, or like floating in the clouds.
As the sound of wind blowing past her ears like a faint whisper rose, Lu Yibei opened her eyes.
After steadying herself and seeing the scene before her clearly, her pupils trembled slightly.
She saw a very small, dilapidated archway. Under the broken green tiles of the archway, on the plaque that showed signs of decay, the words “Peony” were faintly visible.
Below the archway, a shallow and narrow clear stream in the center of the street, running from north to south, meandered and twisted, dividing a street paved with bluestone slabs.
The entire street was dark and seemed uninhabited, exceptionally quiet, with only the thick fog that wouldn't disperse drifting around.
“What the ♦... kind of ghost place is this? Why does it look so much like Peony Street?”
“Be confident, remove the words ‘so much like’. I just walked around and saw it all, this is Peony Street!”
A familiar voice sounded. Lu Yibei looked in the direction of the voice and saw Chatterbox Girl in a fiery red long dress.
She appeared on the archway at some point, sitting on the beam, her tender white little feet dangling and swinging gently, her body leaning slightly forward, showing a smile at Lu Yibei.
“No, what’s going on?” Lu Yibei looked around. “How did it change from urban ruins to a retro version of Peony Street? Did it change skins?”
“Damn it, you didn’t use the money you earned from me for power leveling to go and spend it on in-game purchases, did you?”
Chatterbox Girl rolled her eyes at Lu Yibei, sat up straight, and said testily, “Even if I wanted to spend money on in-game purchases, I’d need a way to do it!”
“What’s more, the power leveling fee is my labor income. How I use it shouldn’t be your concern, right?”
“That’s true...” Lu Yibei pouted. “Even if you use the power leveling fee to buy two cups of milk tea and pour both of them out for fun, it has nothing to do with me.”
Although there was a bad feeling of being treated like an ATM, it was a mutually agreed transaction.
“Well, it’s good that you have this level of understanding.” Chatterbox Girl nodded in satisfaction.
“...”
Looking at her mischievous appearance, Lu Yibei opened her mouth to complain, then quickly remembered her purpose, and changed the subject, “Wait, that’s not right! How did I get into this with you... Can you do me a favor?”
“Oh, you’re out having fun all day, not a single call, and you remember me when something goes wrong?” Chatterbox Girl pouted. “Tell me! Who do you want to deal with? You wouldn’t look for Sister me unless something was wrong.”
As she spoke, she gently waved her slender arm, and a long sword wrapped in fiery red flames appeared in her hand. Even from a distance, one could feel the terrifying Spiritual Energy contained within the long sword, ready to burst forth.
Why is she acting like a thug? Lu Yibei muttered inwardly, and said calmly, “Zhang Huainan...”
Chatterbox Girl, “???”
She tilted her head, stood up, put away her long sword, and cupped her hands towards Lu Yibei.
“Sorry to bother you, I’m leaving now!”
Although she couldn't defeat that Old man, trying to defeat the Black Emperor at his peak would probably require draining all of Lu Yibei's lifespan, and it still wouldn't be enough.
Seeing this, Lu Yibei hurriedly said, “No, I didn’t say I wanted to kill him!”
Chatterbox Girl’s figure froze, and she tilted her head, saying, “Then you want to cripple him?”
She propped her chin with one hand, pondered for a moment, and said, “That’s feasible. There’s a plan that requires seventy years of lifespan, and one that requires ninety years of lifespan. Which one do you want to hear first?”
Lu Yibei was stunned and said in surprise, “Seventy years... ninety years... so I can live at least over a hundred years? Then why am I working so hard now? Wouldn’t it be better if I just went home and stayed put?”
Being able to live over a hundred years was already very satisfying for her. If during these hundred-plus years, most of the time, regardless of poverty or wealth, illness or health, Jiang Li was by her side, then she would have no other desires.
“...” Chatterbox Girl looked at Lu Yibei expressionlessly, “Little brother, your focus is a bit off, isn’t it?”
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Even if you have such a long lifespan now, you won’t die of old age... Chatterbox Girl added in her heart.
“Uh, then I should say...” Lu Yibei tentatively said, “Just crippling Zhang Huainan requires such a huge price, it’s a bit unreasonable?”
“What did you think?” Chatterbox Girl rolled her eyes. “The price for power leveling in King tier and Bronze tier games is naturally different!”
What's more, crippling Zhang Huainan, in a sense, is equivalent to messing with a teammate... Playing as an actor in a King tier game means the price has to double. Chatterbox Girl added in her heart.
“Then to determine if he is trustworthy?” Lu Yibei asked further, “In fact, I recently discovered something about the Secret Society, and I’m hesitating whether to tell Zhang Huainan.”
“Free!” Chatterbox Girl said seriously and with a solemn tone, “Although I really dislike that preachy Old man, I can tell you that when it comes to matters involving the Secret Society, you can always trust Zhang Huainan.”
After speaking, a cloud of doubt rose in Chatterbox Girl’s heart.
That’s strange, why is she coming into contact with the Secret Society at this time?
Logically, shouldn't the Secret Society gradually gain momentum only after two years? Why has it happened earlier? What happened that caused this chain reaction?
Damn it, if Yagn Nie also wakes up early, it will be a big trouble! If possible, it must be prevented from waking up! Chatterbox Girl thought uneasily.
She knew that the previous plan to have Lu Yibei come to Da Chunyang Palace was indeed a bit risky, and there was a possibility that she would be caught by Zhang Huainan and properly disciplined behind closed doors.
But if she didn't take the risk, by the time Yagn Nie woke up, the difficulty of retrieving the fragments of Lingtai Pure Karma would increase to a level that was almost impossible to complete.
Although there are other alternative methods to complete Lingtai Pure Karma, the original is always better.
“Are you so sure?” Lu Yibei narrowed her eyes slightly, suspiciously.
Chatterbox Girl collected herself and nodded, “Absolutely sure.”
As she spoke, she seemed to see again the white-haired Old man, standing on Zixiao Platform with his eyes wide open, summoning thunder until his Spiritual Energy was exhausted and his body was shattered. Even though the area within dozens of miles was covered by never-dissipating thunder, he still wanted to imprison Yagn Nie within the range of Zhenwu Mountain, and her expression was momentarily in a trance.
Zhang Huainan is a very annoying Old man, but he is also worthy of respect. However, unfortunately, the impact of Yagn Nie's awakening is far more than just Da Chunyang Palace... Chatterbox Girl thought.
“Alright, I believe you!” Lu Yibei smacked her lips, and then changed the subject, asking, “By the way, I have another question about the Secret Society. When I was using items from the Secret Society to summon spirits before, I accidentally caught a glimpse of an unknown urban legend...”
“Stop!” Halfway through Lu Yibei's sentence, Chatterbox Girl interrupted her with a slightly nervous expression. “Don’t inquire about any information related to that guy. The less you know about it, the better!”
“You mean...” Lu Yibei sized up Chatterbox Girl and tentatively said, “Tell me to pack up and leave quickly?”
Chatterbox Girl looked at Lu Yibei with a look that said “My child, I am very disappointed in you”, “What I mean is, it’s fine to oppose it, even great! But the less you know about it, the better.”
“Not knowing its name, or even ignoring its existence, can ensure that you are not affected by it.”
The Power of Yagn Nie is born from the negative rumors of “things”, representing “distorted material desire”.
Although the survival of all living beings cannot be separated from material support, excessive indulgence in the pursuit of material desires will lead to spiritual degeneration and being led by material things.
But in fact, items are just items. Using them at the appropriate time is not wrong. If something really goes wrong, it is only the user who has a problem, or others have prejudice and define the item.
Blaming fried chicken and happy water for gaining weight, blaming mobile phones, videos, and games for wasting time... Not only will they blame this and that, but they will even compare them to floods and beasts, ferocious demons, and spiritual opium.
It is a very irresponsible behavior to attribute the user's mistakes to the item.
As a sufficient number of people believe that items will cause harm, then the items will really cause harm...
Due to the special nature of its Power, Yagn Nie can corrupt and create almost all items.
Once you know of its existence and come into contact with items corrupted by it, you will sense its aura and be subtly influenced by it, until you become a slave to “things”.
This is its terrifying aspect.
Lu Yibei glanced at Chatterbox Girl sideways, “That spooky?”
“It’s that spooky.” Chatterbox Girl nodded.
Otherwise, what do you think makes it one of the factors of destruction?
“But...” Lu Yibei frowned, “I’ve already glimpsed its existence.”
“Don’t worry, just leave this to me!” Chatterbox Girl’s face showed a meaningful smile. “Just let Sister help you transform, and it will be fine.”
“After the transformation is complete, you will not be affected by it.”
Since Yagn Nie likes to twist concepts so much, let me use its own methods against it! Chatterbox Girl added in her heart.
The reason why the Secret Society can spread the “gospel” of Yagn Nie so widely is precisely because it has twisted the concepts of “using items” and “relying on items”.
As long as the concepts of Yagn Nie and a specific thing are twisted, the impact can be minimized.
“What do you mean?” Lu Yibei looked at Chatterbox Girl warily and said, “What do you want to do? Are you going to persecute me again?”
“Have you heard of thought imprint?” Chatterbox Girl smiled.
Lu Yibei, “???” frёewebnoѵēl.com
Just as she was confused, Chatterbox Girl suddenly flew down from the archway, her fingertips carrying a faint pink glow, and heavily tapped the center of her forehead, causing her body to lean back.
The next moment, her vision suddenly went black.
In the darkness, a strange and extremely firm thought gradually grew in her mind—after telling Zhang Huainan the information about the urban legend behind the Secret Society, it will be = Pink Fluffy Rabbit!
——————
Three oh-five AM, Bu Ye Street was still lively.
Standing at the intersection, looking out, the neon signs were bright, the shouting rose and fell, and there were faces and backs everywhere. However, compared to when night first fell, there was clearly more fatigue and hoarseness in the shouting, and the faces of the passers-by showed more drunkenness.
The aroma of food and wine mixed together, lingering in the air for most of the night, so thick that it was difficult to breathe.
The siren of an ambulance came from a distance, and it was unclear whether someone had drunk too much and needed to be taken to the hospital for a stomach pump, or whether someone had caused trouble after drinking and injured someone.
Lu Yibei woke up amidst the siren, saw the scene outside the window, was stunned for a moment, and muttered, “Are we at Bu Ye Street?”
“We arrived early.” The driver smiled. “You wouldn’t wake up no matter how I called you, so I stopped here and waited for a while!”
Waited for a while? Lu Yibei's gaze inadvertently swept over the taxi meter, and her face immediately darkened.
The meter showed a travel time of 1 ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ hour, 43 minutes, and 57 seconds, with a charge of 278.5 yuan.
Lu Yibei, “???”
You ♦ call this a while?
