Free Web NovelIn silence, Lu Yibei frowned at the caller ID on her phone, not answering the call for a long time.
She felt a little guilty.
Even without answering, she could guess what Inspector Xing Yuan would say to her.
It would be nothing more than telling her that Jiang Li was abducted by a high-level Psychic from the Eclipse Society, that acting alone was too dangerous, and advising her to calm down.
But in fact, she was very calm; she had submitted the application for solo action after careful consideration.
First, she was temporarily unable to dispel her urban legend transformation, so she couldn't act with the Night Watch agents involved in the investigation. Second, underhanded methods like Directional Soul Summoning, Charm-induced dream reading for memories, and using Void and Lin Nian's intelligence network for investigation were only convenient when acting alone.
After a moment of hesitation, Lu Yibei finally answered the call just as the ringing was about to end.
Although she had already decided to act alone, and no one's persuasion would work, if she didn't explain herself clearly to Inspector Xing Yuan, Inspector Xing Yuan might take measures she didn't want to see to stop her from acting recklessly, becoming an obstacle to her tracking Dai Lin.
“Hello... hello?”
Hearing the soft, gentle voice, Inspector Xing Yuan on the other end of the phone was clearly stunned for a moment before asking in a strange tone, “Why is your voice like this? Wait, have you already started acting?”
Although Inspector Xing Yuan didn't know much about Lu Yibei's urban legend state, she roughly knew that Lu Yibei would only transform into a Calamity when she was about to cause a big sensation.
Of course, she didn't know that it could also be Wang Bu Liu Xing, or Gu Qianqian...
And Lu Yibei in this state might directly attack the Eclipse Society's stronghold. At that time, either she would die, or the stronghold would be destroyed, and a large number of Eclipse Society members would scatter and flee, disrupting social stability.
It was like disturbing an entire herd of cattle to hunt one wild ox, causing the panicked herd to rampage into human settlements.
Although the Night Watch would also try to destroy Eclipse Society strongholds if given the chance, those were organized and planned operations, almost never allowing Eclipse Society members in the stronghold to escape, which was fundamentally different from a reckless act of rage for a beauty.
“Listen to me, I understand how you feel right now, but you first...”
“I guess you're going to tell me to calm down first?” Lu Yibei interrupted, “Don't worry, I'm very calm and not trying to cause trouble. The reason you're hearing this voice now is due to many complex factors. Anyway, I can't revert to the voice you're familiar with for a short period.”
“You'd better be very calm!” Inspector Xing Yuan said, “That way, it won't be so difficult for me. Do you know...”
“Are you trying to say that the opponent is a high-level Psychic from the Eclipse Society, and if I act alone, I might not only fail to rescue Jiang Li but also get myself caught?” Lu Yibei interrupted again.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a soft chuckle.
“Heh, not at all!”
“Calamity Miss, I wanted to talk to you about the Moonlight Plan. I remember, according to our previous agreement, you should be staying obediently in Hua City, not stirring up trouble in Mountain City. I tolerated you once before in Taoyuan; how do you explain this time?”
Trying to interrupt me repeatedly to gain the upper hand and make me vaguely agree to your unauthorized actions? No way! I'm not Bai Kai, so easy to fool... Inspector Xing Yuan thought.
In her opinion, to make someone like Lu Yibei, who responds to firmness but not softness, obey, one could only deal with her officially.
Although she temporarily didn't know the reason for Lu Yibei maintaining her urban legend transformation, she had official ways of dealing with Agent Lu Yibei, and official ways of dealing with Calamity, the urban legend.
“Additionally, recently near Yumen Pass, a group of bandits specializing in plundering Psychic has appeared, claiming to be Calamity's people, and some have claimed to have witnessed Calamity's appearance and taken video footage...”
“Calamity Miss, I am now informing you that I will arrive in Hua City in twenty-four hours. If you wish to maintain a good relationship with the Night Watch, please make sure to return to Hua City within this time and cooperate with our investigation. This is also for your own good; several plundered Spiritual Energy organizations are now targeting you.”
Pausing, Inspector Xing Yuan added, “Of course, among these plundered Spiritual Energy organizations, the Night Watch is included.”
Although it was still highly doubtful whether the bandit organization recently active near Yumen Pass was actually Calamity, and logically she shouldn't have told Lu Yibei, to get Lu Yibei to cooperate, Inspector Xing Yuan still said it, and even embellished it a bit.
For someone like Lu Yibei, who acts out of self-preservation, only a sufficiently serious situation could deter her.
After listening to Inspector Xing Yuan, a string of question marks appeared in Lu Yibei's mind.
They even dared to rob the Night Watch? What kind of black-and-white-eating organization is this? Are they sure they're talking about me?
Although she had already guessed that Inspector Xing Yuan would find some ridiculous reasons to prevent her from acting alone when Inspector Xing Yuan started seriously bringing up old grievances, she didn't expect the reasons Inspector Xing Yuan found to be so absurd.
Yumen Pass? She had never been there at all, and didn't even know its exact location on the map. How could she be linked to the bandit group that appeared there?
It was simply malicious defamation!
Would a dignified Night Watch Superintendent not feel ashamed using such underhanded tactics?
Besides, if I really intended to become a bandit, how could I leave survivors to report me? Lu Yibei thought secretly.
Just as she was grumbling inwardly, Inspector Xing Yuan's voice sounded again, “I know you're confused right now and feel wronged. My invitation for you to assist in the investigation is also to clear your name.”
“Hmm? So you want me to say thank you?” Lu Yibei asked.
“...” Inspector Xing Yuan was silent for a moment before continuing, “If you still don't believe me, I can send you the video footage I have so you can have a rough idea.” freewēbnoveℓ.com
“...” Lu Yibei pondered for two seconds, then calmly said, “Then let's # Nоvеlight # take a look first?”
I want to see which scoundrel dares to cause trouble under my banner!
Besides, just agreeing to watch the video doesn't mean I'll return to Hua City and cooperate with the investigation, right?
In short, I'll just fool Godmother for now... Lu Yibei thought.
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“Okay, wait, I'll send it to you in three minutes.”
Inspector Xing Yuan didn't think much of it, simply said a few words, and hastily hung up the phone. Exactly three minutes later, an unknown number sent two photos and a video to Lu Yibei's phone.
Lu Yibei opened the message, glanced at the photos, and frowned.
The background of the first photo was a vast Gobi Desert, with some figures vaguely visible on the undulating sand dunes that resembled a dragon's spine.
They were riding some kind of fat, robust urban legend with twin wings on their backs, dressed in black robes, with their faces completely covered by dark veils.
A very professional desert bandit look.
The second photo was very blurry and dark, likely taken during a chaotic attack on a Spiritual Energy organization at night.
And when Lu Yibei, from that blurry photo, discerned the weapon in the bandit's hand, taken at close range, her pupils trembled slightly.
The weapon held by that bandit was precisely the Spiritual Energy item she had personally participated in developing, based on the blueprints from Da Chunyang Palace.
“...”
How many days had it been since Du Sixian sold the products? How did they end up in the hands of bandits?
But how did the bandits know that these Spiritual Energy items came from me?
If they didn't know, they probably wouldn't be plundering under my banner, would they?
Lu Yibei thought, patiently, and clicked on the video.
And then...
Began to doubt life.
“Listen up, everyone, we are here today only for wealth, not for lives. If you hand over your things obediently, I, Calamity, can spare your lives!”
In the video, a petite girl in a black robe sat expressionlessly on the back of a robust, fanged urban legend, softly calling out. The fierce wind of the Gobi Desert howled at night, sweeping her fiery red hair, which fluttered in the wind along with the blazing bonfire in the dilapidated camp.
Under the firelight, that familiar face was tinged with a rosy hue.
Lu Yibei, “...” What the hell, someone is imitating my face! Where did this imposter come from?
If it weren't for the fact that she knew very well she hadn't had time to go to Yumen Pass to cause trouble recently, she would have suspected that she had indeed, unconsciously, organized a band of Gobi Desert bandits.
————
In the Bamboo Scroll Illusion, on the open ground in front of the small mountain cabin surrounded by the black forest.
“One B Level Spiritual Energy item, seven C-level Spiritual Energy items, three C-level urban legend cores, and a large pile of common Alchemy materials...”
The ugly, dark Strange Fish circled the small mountain of “treasures,” fluttering up and down, unable to hide the joy in its heart from the harvest.
In stark contrast was Gu Qianqian, standing beside it, her brow deeply furrowed.
After a long while, the system, seemingly finally sensing the negative aura emanating from her, floated over and landed on her shoulder. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
“Gu Qianqian, what's wrong with you? Last night's harvest is worth half a year of our previous earnings, why aren't you happy?”
“System...” Gu Qianqian pouted, “I just feel like what we're doing isn't right. No matter what, robbing people is never a good thing.”
“And, weren't we here for that ownerless God Kingdom? Why have we become bandits?”
“Tsk!” the system spat, comforting her, “Gu Qianqian, why are you so stubborn? Look at the protagonists in those online novels, which one of them doesn't go to extreme lengths to get what they want?”
“You are the protagonist. Those who achieve great things don't bother with trifles. Moreover, aren't we only robbing bad guys? If we rob bad guys, then we're doing good deeds, just like those knights-errant.”
“As for that God Kingdom... logically, it should have opened by now. Who knows what accident happened, there's no news at all. Let's just wait and see. If it really doesn't work out, having these gains means we didn't come for nothing.”
“...” Gu Qianqian thought for a moment, then asked worriedly, “What if Calamity finds out we're impersonating her and comes after us?”
“That is a serious question.” The system said solemnly, “However, with the strength we've accumulated now, even if Calamity appears, we should be able to retreat safely, so there's no need to worry too much.”
“Besides, we'll have to face Calamity sooner or later. Always being so timid won't do. If she comes after us this time, you can take the opportunity to practice!”
In the system's view, it was impossible for them to completely defeat Calamity at their current level, but giving her a lesson was entirely possible.
“Hmm...” Gu Qianqian pouted and didn't speak.
She always felt that something wasn't quite right, but she couldn't put her finger on it, only feeling a vague uneasiness.
She wondered if it was her imagination, but she always felt that the system seemed to have turned “bad” recently...
“Alright, let's not think about these for now!” The system patted Gu Qianqian's shoulder with its fin, “How about we do a big one tonight?”
“Yesterday, villagers scouted and found a larger camp thirty kilometers from the last plundered camp. The leader of the Miracle Order seems to be stationed there; there must be...”
“Gu Qianqian, are you listening to me?”
“Ah?” Hearing the system's call, Gu Qianqian snapped out of her daze and nodded, “Mmm, okay, we'll go there tonight.”
