Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Observed Jingyi Apartment
At midnight, with thin clouds shrouding the moon, Huacheng under the sky seemed to be in a deep slumber, tranquility enveloping the city.
Suddenly, a strong spirit energy fluctuation soared into the sky, rippling through the clouds, even the moonlight was tinted with a hint of emerald green.
In an instant, countless whispers filled with fear echoed from the dark corners of the city, numerous gazes, some bright and some dull, were fixed upon Jingyi Apartment.
……
At Huacheng University of Science and Technology, in the girls’ dormitory.
Lin Yiqi was hiding in the last stall of the restroom at the end of the corridor, cradling a crying ghost baby. With no other options, she had no choice but to cut her finger, using her own bl**d to soothe it.
The undeveloped purple little mouth greedily sucked on her finger, her slender fingertips began to wither at a visibly rapid pace, wrinkling upward, spreading across her arm.
A sharp pain throbbed in her finger, but Lin Yiqi seemed completely unconcerned as she gazed out the window, murmuring softly.
“It’s that esteemed person. Didn’t she go to find the one who created the Initial Scene Spring Breeze incantation? How could such a strong spirit energy fluctuation be released?”
Lin Yiqi was worried about the girl’s safety, yet she did not dare to investigate. The enemy capable of troubling the girl was far beyond her reach.
……
Under the Huacheng River Crossing Bridge, in the third tunnel.
The bonfire in front of the shack had already died down. Gu Qiqi wrapped herself in a blanket, still indecisively choosing a dress to wear for the school anniversary ball.
“System, how is the quality of this dress? Can you take a look for me?”
“……” The system glanced at the long dress Gu Qiqi was selecting, falling silent. The dress, exuding an aura of low quality even from the photo, was priced at nineteen dollars and ninety cents, clearly not a good item.
“Gu Qiqi, can you stop being so stingy? If you want to attract a guy, you have to invest a bit, you know?”
“I know, I know!” Gu Qiqi nodded, “But I was thinking, Cinderella’s dress became beautiful because of magic. With my limited budget, I can’t buy anything good anyway, so it’s better to get the cheapest one and have you cast a spell on it!”
The system, “……”
I… I can’t believe I’m dealing with such nonsense!
Why should I help you with something that seems so foolish? Am I your slave? Aren’t we supposed to be equal here?
As the system pondered, it was about to retort to Gu Qiqi when a wave of dangerous spirit energy fluctuation caught its attention, drawing a cold sneer from within.
It seemed that the course of fate wasn’t so easily altered; even a small deviation would be corrected in its own way.
Though it was a little earlier than expected, it should mean that calamity was meeting Jumang.
Next, she would probably be chased for quite some time, right?
This was the best period for my growth! Hehehe——!
“System? System?” Gu Qiqi’s voice interrupted the system’s thoughts.
“Uh? What did you just say?”
“Seriously! What were you daydreaming about? I asked you how this dress looks, if it’s fine, I’ll place the order!” Gu Qiqi complained.
The system looked at Gu Qiqi’s hands and feet, fell silent for a few seconds, then solemnly replied, “Gu Qiqi, have you lost your mind or your eyes? This is a dress for a doll.”
“I know! Am I not cute enough to wear a doll dress?”
The system, “……”
This isn’t a matter of cuteness; the issue is whether you can even fit into it.
Even if your head fits, your bust will surely rip that dress apart on the spot!
“Forget it, as long as you’re happy!”
At most, when she buys it, I’ll reluctantly cast a spell on it for her! the system thought, wondering how it ended up with such a thrifty host.
……
On Mudan Street, at the Lu Family Manor.
A girl in a white dress with long black hair cascading down her shoulders leaned against the window ledge of the attic, resting a long sword on her knee, sipping the goat milk wine she had brought with her while gazing at the sky towards University City, a playful smile appearing on her lips.
“The spirit energy fluctuation intensity of this urban legend isn’t bad; it can barely be given to Luxianbei as a spirit pattern, as a gift for our first meeting. It’s just a shame…”
“It’s a wooden attribute.” The girl recalled the few poplar trees at her cave entrance that nearly left a shadow on her childhood, grimacing, “I don’t like wooden attributes.”
“Well, I’ll wait a bit longer.”
Being together is a lifelong commitment; having incompatible spirit pattern types will surely lead to problems in the long run, the girl thought.
……
On the other side, at the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau, in the office marked “No. 2”.
The room behind the door was decorated like a hermit’s thatched cottage from ancient times, with bamboo mats spread over the kang, and the shelves against the walls were filled with various exquisite ceramic crafts.
In the center of the room, a gentle-looking man, dressed in a waterproof apron, sat before a pottery wheel, carefully sculpting his creation.
After a moment, a series of urgent knocks echoed at the door.
He furrowed his brows, turned off the wheel, and stood up, wiping his hands with a clean towel as he walked to the door.
As soon as he opened the door, a panting member of the special action team stumbled in, accidentally scattering documents all over the floor.
“Ah! No. 2 operative, I’m sorry, I thought you…”
Li Xuan glanced at the documents dropped on the ground and smiled gently at the panicked member of the special action team, saying softly, “It’s okay, just clean it up later! Now, tell me, what’s the emergency that has you in such a rush?”
“Emergency alert! Um, the reconnaissance team just detected a suspected cataclysm-grade spirit energy fluctuation near University City. Duration: 2.31 seconds, Night Erosion level: 12.6, spirit energy fluctuation valley value: B grade, peak value: S grade, source individual count: 1, calamity response: 23.33%…”
“Alright, I understand. I’ll send someone, or maybe I should go personally to check it out,” Li Xuan said, taking off his waterproof apron and grabbing the coat hanging by the door.
“I’ll scout the area first. You go notify Teams One and Four, tell them to gather urgently. We’ll meet at University City soon.”
“Yes!”
The member of the special action team replied and hurriedly dashed down the corridor, while Li Xuan headed toward the courtyard.
His steps were slow, leisurely, like he was taking a post-meal stroll.
“Cataclysm-grade, what a hassle! University City, huh? Luxianbei seems to live around there; could this relate to him? Maybe I should check his place first.”
Talking to himself, Li Xuan walked into the courtyard. As he passed by the girl, he felt an eerie gaze from the darkness, causing him to frown slightly, quickening his pace, his figure flickering a few times before disappearing into the courtyard.
Just as Jiang Li disliked Gu Xiliu’s nonchalance, Li Xuan also detested being watched by Tang Tang from the shadows.
