Free Web NovelAlthough the Mahjong Parlor Owner himself suggested paying three times the amount, Lu Yibei felt a little embarrassed when she saw his teary-eyed expression as she asked him to pay.
So, out of sympathy, she expressionlessly patted the Mahjong Parlor Owner’s shoulder and comforted him, “Don’t be sad. How about I round down the amount for you? I don’t really care that much about money.”
She was telling the truth. The Calamity Scare Unaccountable Company was already making some profit after meeting its self-sufficiency, and besides her daily expenses, improving her Spiritual Energy fluctuation level was no longer something that could be achieved simply by spending money.
Although spending a lot of money to buy Alchemy materials and make Alchemy restorative potions had a slight effect, her Alchemy skill was limited. Even if she could buy those materials, she couldn’t make the potions, and those expensive Alchemy materials would most likely end up as raw materials for Alchemy Dirty Bomb.
Wouldn’t that be a terrible waste? freēwēbηovel.c૦m
“Good, good! Adult is merciful!” the Mahjong Parlor Owner said repeatedly.
“Right? Everyone says I’m a kind person,” Lu Yibei said. “Let’s make it fifteen million. If it’s convenient, please exchange it for an equivalent amount of gold or Alchemy materials; it’s easier to carry.”
Upon hearing this, the Mahjong Parlor Owner froze, and tears immediately welled up in his eyes.
The total number of fan he lost to Lu Yibei was over 460, and even tripled, it didn't exceed fourteen million.
Rounding down meant he was losing another million for nothing?
What kind of rounding down was this?
The Mahjong Parlor Owner thought indignantly, then turned his head to cast a questioning gaze at Lu Yibei, and then his heart sank, his face slightly pale.
Lu Yibei sat upright in her chair, as if sensing his thoughts, and made a shushing gesture at him.
Hmm... how is this not rounding down?
And it’s also a form of comfort; at least, obsessive-compulsive disorder patients would feel very comfortable seeing it. Lu Yibei thought.
Although she didn’t need money as much as before, Ju Meng did!
Get as much as you can.
Although the okin rod taken from the great sun mingwang statue was still suppressed in the God Kingdom Prototype and could produce large amounts of gold at any time, she always felt that the gold produced by the okin rod was not quite right, and it was hard to guarantee that no problems would arise in the future.
Perhaps one day in the future, the Power contained in the okin rod would suddenly fail, and the gold would turn back into stone, rebar, or something else.
To be safe, that gold could be used to cover the expenses of the Calamity Scare Unaccountable Company; after all, if problems arose later, others would suffer, but it would be different if Ju Meng suffered.
Mahjong Parlor Owner, “...”
It was pure extortion.
But even knowing it was extortion, what could be done?
Wasn't he at someone else's mercy?
Anyway...
Perhaps, probably, maybe he could ask that person for reimbursement.
————
It was already afternoon when Lu Yibei, delighted, left the Shanxing Mahjong Hall after stuffing over twenty kilograms of gold and various Alchemy materials into her God Kingdom Prototype.
Standing on the street, she looked around, preparing to hail a taxi to return to the Tao Hua Family Inn, when she received a call from Ju Meng.
“You scoundrel, where are you? Why did you run off as soon as you woke up? When will you ever mature a little? Can’t you let your Sister worry less?”
“Didn’t I hear that my good Sister was returning to Taoyuan, so I ran out to prepare a gift for you?” Lu Yibei pouted.
Upon hearing this, Ju Meng on the other end of the phone fell silent for a moment, then asked suspiciously, “You’d be that kind-hearted?”
An uncalled-for display of courtesy suggests ulterior motives, and this perfectly applied to Lu Yibei.
Especially when Lu Yibei called her “good Sister,” it usually meant nothing good was coming.
It was like when a bratty kid suddenly yelled “Mom!” — it always meant trouble.
Thinking back, the first time they separated, the game cartridges Lu Yibei gave her were mixed with unplayable pirated versions, which was quite infuriating.
“How does that saying go?” Lu Yibei thought for a moment. “Seeing is believing! When I get back, won’t Sister know?”
When the huge shadow descended, Ju Meng risked draining Taoyuan to protect her, and Lu Yibei was truly touched.
This kind of emotion definitely couldn’t be expressed with just a phone call.
At least she had to thank her in person, right?
“Alright, then hurry back. If you’re late, Sister will leave!” Ju Meng clicked her tongue. “You know, Sister is busy with a myriad of affairs; I can’t waste time on your small matters.”
“Got it!” Lu Yibei responded, hung up the phone, and looked at the constantly changing city scenery outside the window, recalling the information she had gathered all morning, and fell into thought.
From the information currently available, Dai Lin seemed to have taken Miao Miao Jiang all the way to Yumen Pass.
But... something just felt off, didn't it?
That Mahjong Parlor Owner also seemed off. Although he, as a Psychic, organized gambling games and surely swindled a lot of money, it should have been difficult for him to produce such a large sum at once.
Yet, after I intentionally raised the price, he only hesitated slightly before producing it.
Could this be a smokescreen deliberately released by that guy named Dai Lin, who anticipated that someone would investigate him through the Shanxing Mahjong Hall lead?
Is it possible that the place he’s going to isn’t actually Yumen Pass?
If it were me, wanting to escape pursuit, after releasing a smokescreen, I would probably flee in the opposite direction of Yumen Pass. Even if I couldn't completely shake off the pursuers, it would buy a lot of time...
Thinking of this, Lu Yibei’s mood gradually grew heavy.
If her guess was correct, finding Dai Lin and Jiang Li would become significantly more difficult. After all, the area opposite Yumen Pass was vast, and trying to find a high-level Psychic deliberately avoiding pursuit in that area would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
“I can only prepare for both possibilities first...” Lu Yibei murmured softly.
On one hand, she would go to Yumen Pass to check, and on the other, she would have the Monster Story Chat Group and Lin Nian continue to investigate Dai Lin’s whereabouts. If new discoveries were made, she would immediately leave Yumen Pass and pursue him.
Aside from Shui Ge’s, most of the lost items and letters had been delivered, and the vibrations from ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) the Liao Zhai Tavern had stopped. When the time came, asking Boss Hu for a teleportation should be quick enough...
Lu Yibei thought, then pulled out her phone and began typing a message.
“【Image】【Image】 For a while, help me keep an eye on information about this person appearing in various parts of Z Country. Also, help me secretly spread the word that he holds the secret of how the Calamity rose in just one year, and that he possesses an ownerless Calamity-level Spiritual Energy item...”
She stopped halfway through editing the message, deleted the latter half, and then sent messages to Netizen Laosepi and Lin Nian separately.
When the idea of continuing to track Dai Lin popped into Lu Yibei’s mind, her first thought was how the Calamity had grown from an unknown Little Freak to a major urban legend on the Night Watch’s red wanted list in just over a year—an astonishing growth rate.
And the secret to this rapid growth was something many urban legend or Psychic would want to know.
If she spread the word that Dai Lin knew this secret and possessed a valuable treasure, she could, to some extent, freeload off the labor of those who coveted the secret of Calamity’s rapid growth and the Calamity-level Spiritual Energy item.
But then she reconsidered, realizing that if those greedy individuals targeted him, Jiang Li might also be in danger, so she abandoned the idea.
In the past, when she cared about nothing but her own life, she could have concocted at least seventeen or eighteen highly credible rumors and spread them, turning Dai Lin into a coveted piece of fat that couldn't move an inch.
But now...
This feeling of being at someone else’s mercy was truly so ♦frustrating!
————
Shanxing Mahjong Hall.
Shortly after seeing off the great deity Lu Yibei, the Mahjong Parlor Owner asked his two partners to leave the mahjong room, then locked the door. In each of the four corners of the room, he placed a silver conical metal piece.
Those were Spiritual Energy shielding devices. His Spiritual Energy fluctuation level was limited, so when casting a long-distance Spell for transmitting information, he could only use this method to conceal the escaping Spiritual Energy fluctuations.
After setting everything up, he went to the mahjong table and sat down, taking out a parchment scroll, a quill pen, and a slightly yellowed white candle from his jacket pocket.
In Z Country, many sacrificial activities involve burning prayer texts to the sacrificial object, as if through this method, they could make the object of their worship more clearly understand their demands.
And the Mahjong Parlor Owner was going to use a method similar to burning prayer texts to lock onto the other party’s Power and transmit information.
In a way, it was somewhat similar to how a Calamity-level being senses those who chant its name, but with additional trigger conditions.
Friendly reminder: The Website is about to be revised, which may cause loss of reading progress. Please save your “book shelf” and “reading record” in time (screenshots are recommended). We apologize for any inconvenience caused!
Although this communication method, which resembled burning offerings to the deceased, sounded somewhat eerie, according to that person, it was currently the safest method and was frequently used by high-ranking members of the Eclipse Society when communicating with each other.
To accommodate the Mahjong Parlor Owner's low Spiritual Energy fluctuation level, the parchment scroll was adorned with intricate Spell patterns, and the candles were also made from purified grease extracted by the urban legend organization and wicks woven from various Alchemy materials.
“Adult, just as you predicted, a high-level urban legend indeed appeared at the Mahjong Parlor today.
However, she did not, as you surmised, teeter on the brink of emotional breakdown, nor did she resort to any drastic measures to coerce information from us. Instead, she employed another peculiar method...
Following your instructions, I have fully disclosed Kurban Reheman's information to that high-level urban legend, the woman named Qing Fangyu. She also departed for Kubuqi Desert's Xiangshawan three days ago, as agreed.
The contract is complete. We hope you can swiftly summon a miracle to help us break free from the Spell of the Dream Come True Entertainment City.
Additionally, that high-level urban legend abducted gold and supplies equivalent to 20 million in cash from us today, causing us significant distress. We hope the Adult can generously offer assistance.”
After meticulously writing on the parchment, the Mahjong Parlor Owner slowly exhaled a turbid breath, then checked the content carefully. Satisfied, he nodded.
What he stated was largely true. Although there was some exaggeration in certain figures, that Adult had always been easygoing and generous, so he probably wouldn't mind such a minor detail.
As the old saying goes, even when you get pork, you still want a bit of grease!
He helped that Adult accomplish a major task, so what was wrong with skimming a little something off the top?
After checking the contents of the parchment, he picked up the quill again, dipped it in ink, and then meticulously drew a uniquely shaped Xiao Hua in the bottom right corner of the parchment.
The flower had five petals, pointing in five directions, each with distinct patterns: a crystal cup, a gold ingot, a sword sheath, an ox horn, and an ear of wheat, representing fine wine, gold, swords, livestock, and grain...
After drawing the Xiao Hua, and once the ink had dried, the Mahjong Parlor Owner picked up the parchment, rolled it into a scroll, and then ignited it with the candle until it was completely reduced to ashes.
————
When Lu Yibei returned to the Tao Hua Family Inn, she saw Ju Meng as soon as she entered the door.
She was wearing a T-shirt from a game event, sitting grandly on a rattan chair in the open space behind the screen wall, holding a large slice of watermelon and eating it with relish. A red plastic bucket was placed at her feet to catch the dripping juice, showing no regard for her image.
She looked like a slacking youth, common everywhere now, beaten down and disheartened, with no career, no job, and no culture. When short on money, she could only carry a bucket to the factory, and then immediately run off with the bucket once a month's wages were in hand.
It was truly difficult to associate this person with the lady from a few days ago, who wore a magnificent red robe and looked like a queen.
Seeing Lu Yibei walk in, Ju Meng lifted her eyelids and raised the watermelon in her hand, “You’re back. Want some watermelon?”
“No!” Lu Yibei shook her head.
“Oh.” Ju Meng pouted, bringing the watermelon to her mouth with one hand to continue gnawing, while extending her juice-stained little hand towards Lu Yibei, “Where’s the gift? Didn't you say you'd let me see it with my own eyes?”
Lu Yibei rolled her eyes at Ju Meng, then with a flip of her hand and a flash of golden light, she retrieved the twenty-plus kilograms of gold from the God Kingdom Prototype and placed it in Ju Meng's hand, making her small hand sink slightly.
“Here, for you! With this, it should alleviate Taoyuan’s funding shortage a bit, right?”
“This... How did you know?” Ju Meng said blankly, then as if remembering something, she turned her head to glance at the landlady peeking from the shadows, and chided with some embarrassment, “Damn it! Xiao Tan, why did you tell her?”
“Didn't I tell you to keep it a secret?”
She didn't want this matter to make Lu Yibei's feelings for her less pure.
In this era of highly developed commerce, almost all troubles can be solved with money. Food, clothing, housing, entertainment, work, studies... as long as you pay, everything can be handled. This easily creates the illusion that “money is omnipotent,” but in reality, it is not so.
Among the many marriages she had observed, quite a few had deteriorated because of money. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
She had even discovered the bizarre process by which some people's Red Threads of Marriage, during this process, transferred from their lovers to money.
It was ♦ outrageous!
“You scoundrel, listen to me, I actually...” Ju Meng turned around, just about to explain to Lu Yibei why she had kept it a secret, when she saw Lu Yibei suddenly step forward, pull her into an embrace, and give her a gentle hug.
Clearly feeling Lu Yibei's body temperature, which was slightly lower than that of an ordinary person, her words abruptly ceased.
The watermelon in her hand dropped to the ground with a “splat.”
A blush, like a sunset, spread across her fair face.
The air seemed to be filled with countless pink bubbles drifting around.
In fact, Lu Yibei didn't know why she made such a gesture. She was just a Smelly Girl after all!
However, the thought of not seeing Ju Meng for a long time made her body move on its own. She even leaned close to Ju Meng's ear and whispered softly.
“Smelly Girl, I owe you a lot this time. Thank you, truly.”
“I have some urgent matters to attend to recently, and I know Taoyuan needs you, so I won't try to keep you.”
“But I won't forget what I promised you. The next time we meet, I'll accompany you to the amusement park for a day trip—no, two-day, three-day... In short, you can play for as many days as you want.”
As her words fell, Ju Meng clearly saw that the semi-illusory, unformed Red Thread of Marriage gradually solidified, extended, and swayed as it wrapped around Lu Yibei's body...
Facts proved that “money” did not corrupt the emotion, but rather caused a qualitative change.
Taking advantage of the vulnerability, yet the Power showed no signs of corruption...
Perhaps this was the true way to refute fate with money? Ju Meng thought.
She glanced at Lu Yibei's profile from the corner of her eye, smiled faintly, and mumbled, “Did you forget something?”
“What?”
“What about the five 648s?!” Ju Meng lifted her head, forcefully nudging Lu Yibei's chin.
The amusement park was actually not a big deal; she had already been there once. In comparison, the matter of the five 648s was far more important.
It had to be arranged!
Otherwise, if she went back this time, Turtle Elder probably wouldn't give her any more pocket money for gacha for a long time.
More importantly, the Red Thread of Marriage was already tied, so was she afraid this scoundrel would run off?
Impossible. At most, it would be fifty-fifty with others.
But, given this scoundrel's nature, if she didn't mention it now, those five 648s would most likely be gone.
“...” Lu Yibei paused for a moment, then said expressionlessly, “If you put it that way, how about I give you ten 648s, and you help me with a small favor?”
If you're not righteous, don't blame me for being unjust!
“What favor?” Ju Meng tilted her head.
“Give me some pregnancy luck?” After speaking, anticipating Ju Meng's impending reply, Lu Yibei quickly interjected, “Not to any part of my body, but just a little bit for me to save and use when needed.”
Ju Meng, “...” Damn it, how did that scoundrel know what I was going to say?
How painful it was to have bad words on the tip of her tongue, only to be forced back, probably only the person involved would know.
————
Ju Meng left Mountain City in the evening, departing with great flair. She carried a small backpack borrowed from Boss Tan, filled with snacks, and transformed into a Magpie, flapping her wings and flying into the sunset, without even looking back.
Perhaps she was worried that if she looked back, she wouldn't want to leave, or perhaps she was already content after receiving the five 648s promised by Lu Yibei, with nothing left to linger over.
Lu Yibei stood on the rooftop of the Tao Hua Family Inn, watching Ju Meng leave until her figure completely disappeared into the hazy clouds.
It must be said that while the heavy smog brought by the Maitian God caused serious pollution, it did have a tiny benefit.
At least, when there were more fine particles in the air, there was a chance that the evening glow would be exceptionally beautiful.
After seeing off Ju Meng, Lu Yibei collected her thoughts and quickly focused on the matter of someone impersonating a Disaster.
In her opinion, this matter seemed far from simple.
Then, not long after, as she took the late-night high-speed train and arrived in Hua City, dialing Inspector Xing Yuan's number, things indeed became less simple...
“You finally called back! Do you know? That Disaster near Yumen Pass acted again tonight, and made a big move! Just half an hour ago, Night Watch agents stationed nearby detected five Spiritual Energy fluctuations approaching Calamity level!”
Lu Yibei, “...”
