Free Web NovelWith a loud bang, Unit 7 of Minhe Community collapsed.
Crushed stones and twisted rebar, like falling leaves, flew in all directions as the Spell was activated.
Like a castle built of fine sand being pushed over, the building disintegrated in mid-air. The flesh and blood hidden within, attempting to resist, all turned into bloody sludge under the firelight, splattering onto the solidified defensive Spells arranged near the unit building. freēwebnovel.com
A moment later, when the smoke and dust cleared, the Special Operations Team finished clearing the ruins.
Gan Yuan Jiang and the Night Watch members from Mountain City stepped forward to inspect, their expressions gradually turning solemn.
They had originally thought that blowing up this unit building would be enough, but with the collapse of the unit building, the intricate cave system, like an ant's nest, that appeared beneath it, told them that the unknown flesh and blood had spread much further than imagined. Blowing up one unit building was far from enough!
"Void, what should we do?" a Night Watch member from Mountain City asked Zhong Huai blankly.
Blowing up a unit building was within the scope of what the Night Watch could properly handle, but from the situation on-site, the unknown flesh and blood had likely spread beyond a single street, perhaps even wider.
They couldn't just blow up everything, could they? What if it had already spread throughout the entire Mountain City?
Zhong Huai was silent for a moment, then replied, "Let's leave it at this for now. Those who should stay, stay. Those who should report back to the higher-ups, go report. Gan Yuan Jiang and I will escort Tan Qiuming to the mental hospital first. Hopefully, we can get some useful information out of him."
Guanyin Bridge Pedestrian Street, Mountain City.
Lu Yibei stopped in front of a cafe, slowly raised her head, her gaze lingering on the cafe's sign for a few seconds, then slowly moved down to the life-sized character standee dressed as a maid at the cafe's entrance. A tipsy-like intoxication appeared in her eyes.
The sign was mainly pink with a light blue border, bearing the large characters "Angel D Oolong Tea Story." The colors of the seven characters corresponded to seven different colored flowers. Below the sign, there was also a small line of text—love and magical girls and Dessert Coffee.
And the life-sized standee was, of course, the maid-dressed game characters—White Little Flower and Mi Qiu.
That's right, this was the only "love and magical girls" offline experience cafe in the entire Southwest region, a holy place Lu Yibei had long yearned for.
Before, although she knew such a place existed, she had always been too embarrassed to visit, play, or drink a cup of coffee personally brewed by a Miss cosplaying as White Little Flower.
In this world, some things are like having many empty stalls in a restroom, but you insist on urinating next to someone else, and doing so will attract strange looks.
But now, she wasn't afraid at all. What's wrong with a girl liking cute things? She could even apply to work at the cafe without any problems!
Resisting the urge to pick up the life-sized standee at the entrance and run, Lu Yibei walked into the cafe. A girl cosplaying as White Little Flower's Rose form immediately greeted her with a sweet smile.
"Miss Captain, welcome back! What mission do you have for White Little Flower today?"
"Excuse me, are there any themed private rooms available? I'd like a themed room..."
"Yes, there are! Captain, please follow me." The girl said as she led the way forward.
Lu Yibei surveyed the interior decor, a cafe that almost perfectly replicated the game, finally settling her gaze on the girl's back.
Although her personality didn't perfectly match White Little Flower, her cosplay was quite accurate.
What a great place!—
Ten minutes later.
Angel D Oolong Tea Story, Qingcheng Mountain Auto Repair Shop themed private room.
Dorees held a freshly made "Evolution Liquid" and stared at Lu Yibei opposite her for a long time, then whispered, "Teacher, I didn't expect you to have such a hobby."
"What hobby?" Lu Yibei said expressionlessly, "It's just that meeting in a place like this is safer, and I don't have to worry about eavesdroppers."
As she spoke, she subtly moved the limited edition gifts she had acquired from this offline experience, including but not limited to stickers, posters, badges, and art books, out of Dorees's sight.
Upon hearing this, Dorees looked enlightened.
I understand, as expected of Teacher!
Who would have thought that a powerful urban legend capable of defeating the Big Boss would appear in such a cute-styled place?
This is like two leaders of Spiritual Energy organizations negotiating on a carousel at a children's amusement park; no one would ever imagine it! Most likely, they would just be seen as parents who suddenly felt childlike.
"Cough." Seeing Dorees looking thoughtful, to prevent her from continuing to think in a strange direction, Lu Yibei quickly coughed twice to interrupt her thoughts. "Should we get to the point?"
"Okay, Teacher!" Dorees nodded. "So, where should we start?"
"Hmm, let's start from the beginning?" Lu Yibei thought for a moment and said, "Just now, through the Paper Cicada Immortal, there were many details I didn't fully understand. Now, tell it again, and I'll help you analyze as you speak."
"This time, you don't need to rush. Speak slowly, it's fine."
"Mm-hmm." Dorees responded twice, recalled briefly, and then recounted her observations at Longmen Tea House as meticulously as possible.
"Wait a moment, those three paintings were once in Zhang Yu's hands, and they were something the Elder Council strongly desired, correct?" Hearing Dorees say that Zhang Yu had previously taken Tan Qiuming's paintings and destroyed them, Lu Yibei interrupted, "Isn't that leverage right there?"
"But, Teacher..." Dorees frowned slightly, puzzled. "I heard from their words that those three paintings weren't particularly important to the Elder Council. It was just Zhang Shuisheng using the Elder Council's name to seek benefits for himself."
"What does it matter?" Lu Yibei spread her hands. "It doesn't matter if the Elder Council truly wanted them; what matters is that Zhang Yu knew those were things the Elder Council wanted, yet he defied the Elder Council's will."
"This time, although Zhang Shuisheng was using the Elder Council's name to act arrogantly, what about next time? And the time after that? Who can guarantee that when something the Elder Council truly cares about appears in Mountain City, Zhang Yu won't cause trouble?"
"When necessary, you just need to find a way to let the Elder Council know that Zhang Yu is a very unstable factor and that it's necessary to eliminate him."
Although when Zhang Yu truly has a conflict with the Elder Council, he might not act as decisively as he did this time, once the seeds of doubt and suspicion are planted, it's like a biological invasion; it's not that easy to eradicate.
This is the power of baseless accusations! Even a hero like Yue Wumu was framed to death, let alone a mere Zhang Yu?
After a pause, Lu Yibei changed the subject. "As for Zhang Shuisheng, that's even easier to handle. From the information currently available, using the Elder Council's name to seek personal gain is enough to get him into trouble, especially since he's also dying."
"Do you know what a dying person wants most?"
Dorees thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "To fulfill some unfulfilled wishes? For example, to see someone?"
"No!"
Dorees shook her head.
"Silly girl, of course, they want to live!" Lu Yibei said. "As you said, if he has someone he wants to see, if he can live and meet that person, and spend more time together, isn't that better than a hurried meeting and then dying immediately?"
"From Zhang Shuisheng's actions, he definitely wants to live. And as long as he has that thought, he will be like a drowning person; he will try to grasp even a straw."
"So, when necessary, you just need to let him know that you have a way for him to live, and then you can use him."
"Oh, right!" Dorees's eyes lit up, then she seemed to remember something, frowned, and muttered softly, "But Teacher, why do I always feel that your methods..."
"...are like what villainous characters in books would do." Dorees said the unspoken latter half of her sentence in her heart.
Seeing Dorees's hesitant expression, Lu Yibei tilted her head and asked, "Do you think Teacher's methods are not upright enough?"
Dorees looked at Lu Yibei, hesitated, and nodded.
"Silly child, if possible, Teacher would certainly want to teach you some upright methods, but often..."
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"...upright methods just don't work!" Lu Yibei said helplessly.
"What's more, these methods are like a knife. Whether you use this knife to cook, or to kill
people, or to rush into a rapeseed field and wreak havoc, it all depends on you. It has nothing to do with whether the knife is good or bad."
Upon hearing this, Dorees had a glimmer of understanding.
Does Teacher mean that these seemingly despicable methods are like guns and cannons—they can both cause slaughter
and maintain peace?
She thought, collecting herself, and ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) nodded to Lu Yibei, "Teacher, I understand!"
"However, there's still one problem: I can't even get in touch with the Elder Council. If it comes down to a crucial moment, how
can I let them know about Zhang Yu and Zhang Shuisheng?"
"Lu Yibei thought for a moment and said, "Zhang Shuisheng's side is easy to solve. You just need to hint to him that you have a method that can help him cure his illness, and you don't even need to take the initiative. I think his people will contact you privately very soon."
"As for the rest, leave it to me!"
"Didn't I tell you last time? I have a friend named Blue Yi. To be honest, she has some connections with the Elder Council, and she should be able to smoothly convey the message to the Elder Council."
However, the prerequisite is that I have to first get in touch with someone from the Elder faction, preferably that simpleton Suo E.
Otherwise, if I only spread rumors through Lin Nian, it will take too long for them to reach the Elder Council. Lu
Yibei thought.
After finishing her conversation with Dorees, Lu Yibei did not leave the Angel Office Tea Story immediately, but instead
stayed alone in the coffee shop until Dorees had walked far away.
She told Dorees that leaving one after the other would better avoid the possibility of being secretly spied upon.
The truth was, in order to collect all the White Little Flower merchandise, she had ordered more than half of the drinks in the coffee shop, and in addition to receiving all the White Little Flower merchandise, she also got a lot of "useless fashionable junk."
What if Dorees saw through her carrying large bags and small bags out?
Does Teacher's dignity still matter?
After Dorees had walked away, and after confirming with the coffee shop staff that the life-size standee at the entrance was not for sale, Lu Yibei returned to the private room dejectedly and began to pack up all the merchandise, preparing to return to Tao Hua Family Inn.
Smelly Girl also likes "love and magical girls" quite a bit. Although she's not that fanatical, she should be very happy to receive a bunch of merchandise.
Of course, the White Little Flower merchandise cannot be given away!
A moment later, as she finished packing up the large and small bags of merchandise and was about to leave, she suddenly felt a subtle sensation from a Paper Cicada Immortal used for communication.
And the corresponding Paper Cicada Immortal was held by Lin Nian, who was far away in Shizhou City.
Taking out the Paper Cicada Immortal, infusing it with Spiritual Energy, and establishing a connection, Lu Yibei heard Lin Nian's voice in her ear.
"Boss, the information you asked me to investigate earlier, I have a lead."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
"Last night, I spent a little money at Moon Smearing, Wind Criticizing and bought some information from an Eclipse Society member. He said that the Elder faction of the Eclipse Society in Mountain City has always been recruiting talents, and it's actually very simple to get in touch with them; you just need to contact a guy named Zhang Yi."
"I've already sent you his contact information."
Zhang Yi? Isn't that the guy Leader mentioned earlier who sent urban legend organizations for inspection? Lu Yibei nodded, "Hmm, I know."
"Also..." Lin Nian suddenly added, "The helper you found for me, who behaves very pervertedly, asked me to tell you that if you want to infiltrate the Eclipse Society, you can contact their Void."
Void? Where did it get connections with the Eclipse Society? Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment, temporarily suppressing the doubt in her heart, and said calmly, "What else? Is there any lead on the other matter?"
Compared to the Elder faction of the Eclipse Society in Mountain City, she was more concerned about the information she had entrusted Lin Nian to investigate, with the cooperation of the Monster Story Chat Group, by infiltrating the X Heavenly God's offspring's followers.
Yes, after discovering the altar under Hanye Studio and that recording, she had added this additional commission to Lin Nian.
Judging from the altar and the content of the recording, the number of X Heavenly God's offspring's followers is not small, and once the number increases, it's easy to find some clues, and then follow the trail to blend in.
What method of obtaining information is faster than having the other party tell you personally?
"I found a little..." Lin Nian responded, "To be precise, I found a copy of what they call their bishop's network log, which is circulating among those followers."
"That network log is widely circulated among those followers. They seem to enjoy reading the bloody and cruel things that bishop did."
Lu Yibei,
They're really stupid enough to upload that kind of thing online?
Isn't that like streaking in front of Void, completely exposed?
Something so easily obtainable, and yet I have to pay the Monster Story Chat Group for it? I feel a bit ripped off!
No, I need to find an opportunity to fleece Void!
Just as Lu Yibei was pondering, Lin Nian's voice rang out again.
"Besides that, I also found something very strange."
"Oh?" Lu Yibei pulled her thoughts back and asked, "What did you find?" freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"I found that the number of X Heavenly God's offspring's followers used to be very small, and the frequency of that bishop's appearance was pitifully low, appearing only once every few years. And at that time, the logs he published were quite obscure, completely daring not to mention X Heavenly God."
Lin Nian paused and continued, "From about eight months ago, that bishop's appearance frequency suddenly increased, appearing several times a week on average, and the number of followers also exploded."
"At the same time, in his logs, he frequently mentioned X Heavenly God and disparaged him without mercy, as if..."
"It's like a rebellious son grew up overnight and dared to hit his father, right?" Lu Yibei said.
If that's truly the case, it would be strange. X Heavenly God has not successfully given birth to an offspring. Logically, its offspring should currently be in a state of both existence and non-existence.
A state of superposition?
In that state, how could it have already made moves to resist X Heavenly God?
This sounds as absurd as an embryo already entering rebellious adolescence. Lu
Yibei thought.
"Lin Nian was silent for a moment and said, "Yes."
"I see. Send me those logs later." Lu Yibei thought for a moment and added, "Also, investigate what happened eight months ago that caused X Heavenly God's offspring to become such a freak."
"Understood." Lin Nian said, "Also, I most..."
"Want a raise?" Lu Yibei interrupted, "Didn't you just get a raise last month? Xiao Lin, you know we're still in the startup phase, facing difficulties everywhere. You should think more about our faction. When we eventually step on Night Watch and punch Eclipse Society, you'll have a share of the credit too!"
"I don't want a raise." Lin Nian said faintly.
"Not a raise? You should have said so earlier!" Lu Yibei rolled her eyes, "As long as it's not a raise, everything is negotiable."
"Lin Nian sneered, "Heh heh, when you walk on the street at night and see the streetlights, don't you feel scared?"
"Seriously, I mean, the things you've been asking me to investigate recently are making me increasingly scared. They even involve Calamity level urban legend. Shouldn't you think of a way to ensure my personal safety?" Lu Yibei thought for a moment and said, "You have a point. I'll give you a contact method later. If you feel you're in danger, contact that Hua..."
Lu Yibei originally wanted Lin Nian to find Hua Sang if she encountered danger, but then she thought, with Hua Sang's procrastinating and lazy nature, by the time she slowly went to assist Lin Nian, she might not even make it in time for the hot food at the funeral.
"Forget it, I'll give you Fu Xinyi's phone number instead. She's the next candidate for the Da Chunyang Palace's teaching position. You can contact her then, and she'll take you to Da Chunyang Palace for refuge."
Upon hearing Lu Yibei say this, Lin Nian's tone immediately became cheerful, "Okay, then I'll go help you investigate!"
If Da Chunyang Palace can't protect her safety, then there's no absolutely safe place in this world.
