Chapter 9 Countdown Nine
In the early morning hours.
Inside the circular mountains imprisoning members of the Solar Eclipse Society, it was brightly lit and bustling with activity…
The Lan Yi Party, holding a reading session, had gathered around a campfire, studying “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.”
Members of the Lan Yi Cooking Enthusiasts Association were freely distributing various trial dishes.
In the flat area of the circular mountains, transformed into a sports field using spell formulas, figures sweating profusely were everywhere.
These members of the Solar Eclipse Society had long since become accustomed to nighttime activities. After undergoing initial modifications through torture methods by Luxianbei, Ji Yunpei took the initiative to conduct further modifications based on records of the preferences of most employees who had worked at Sunrise Biotechnology Company for many years, left to her by her father.
She called this transformation method “starting from hobbies and driving ideological transformation,” and after implementing it among the Solar Eclipse Society members imprisoned in the circular mountains, she achieved considerable success. Almost everyone, with very few exceptions, found something they wanted to do…
In recent days, the vast interior of the circular mountains had been lively every night, resembling a festive night market, filled with a joyful and warm atmosphere.
It’s hard to imagine that not long ago, these individuals were all villains. If someone stumbled into the circular mountains without prior warning, they might even mistake these people for reclusive hermits enjoying themselves every day.
Ji Yunpei even naïvely believed that if they were released now, they might change their ways and start anew.
…
At this moment.
A small, frail girl, who appeared as if she could be bullied by anyone, flitted ghost-like among the Solar Eclipse Society members active at night, and whenever she encountered someone, she would chatter like muttering a spell.
“What should I do? What do you think I should do? Miss Lan Yi is coming back soon… Wait, you have typos in your book notes; I suggest you revise them!”
“The major criminal has escaped from my grasp. She definitely won’t let me off easily, right? EMMM, your creamy shrimp isn’t seasoned well; I suggest remaking it!”
“I don’t even know why she captured that guy. If it’s for some cruel experiment, will she use me as a substitute? Your specimen-making technique isn’t bad… Wait, will Lan Yi turn me into a specimen? Perhaps using these guys is also a possibility?”
“Oh no, what should I do? What now?”
“…”
The Solar Eclipse Society members being pestered by Ji Yunpei were at a loss, “……”
At first, they thought this guard lady would return to normal soon, but it turned out they were mistaken.
This guard lady had been incessantly putting pressure on herself whenever she was awake these past few days, which only grew more intense until it overflowed and spread to them.
They really couldn’t understand why Old Ji would feel at ease leaving this girl to take over at Sunrise Biotechnology.
However, looking at it from another angle, perhaps this was a new “transformation” method devised by that Lord Lan Yi…
The guard lady told them they could freely explore within the circular mountains, seeking what they wanted to do; Miss Lan Yi would do her best to accommodate reasonable requests. Then, once they developed an interest in something and gradually grew fond of it, Ji Yunpei would begin the torment.
It was like when you plan to game with friends; as soon as they start talking about unfinished papers, chores undone, and their mom’s health issues while fixating on your every mistake, it weighs on you like a pressure cooker, along with telling you your worst horror story.
For those with slightly weaker psychological resilience, they might break down in just a few minutes.
For these Solar Eclipse Society members, who had developed strong psychological fortitude through killing and looting, tolerating it a time or two was manageable. However, they could not withstand Ji Yunpei’s constant droning in their ears!
Her overflowing “negative energy” was enough to send chills down their spines.
And all of this might just be part of Lan Yi’s plan!
Otherwise, how could a normal person have such weak psychological resilience, so easily thrown off balance like Ji Yunpei?
So this was all part of the plan! First, instill something positive in their hearts, then gradually destroy it before their eyes with the negative energy perpetually being spread by Ji Yunpei.
As for the purpose of this, it was probably to thoroughly hollow out their autonomous consciousness, turning them into a group of mindless zombies who only followed the commands of the Lan Yi Party… in short, brainwashing!
Anyway, those few who opposed the guard lady’s transformation analyzed it this way, claiming it was Lan Yi’s conspiracy.
Whether that was true or not was unclear.
In any case, aside from those few who had decided to join the Lan Yi Party from the beginning, the rest of the Solar Eclipse Society members felt an unsettling undercurrent rising in their hearts.
———–
【”Calamity’s d*ath” Countdown, 104H10M39S】
Using the power of the God Realm Prototype, Luxianbei, along with Nanling Yaohua, was transported to the circular mountains. However, she did not see the two people she wanted to meet right away.
After asking several shaky members of the Solar Eclipse Society, she followed the direction of their trembling fingers and found Ji Yunpei in an inconspicuous wooden house.
When she found Ji Yunpei, the latter was crouched in the darkest corner of the small house, covering herself with a cardboard box found somewhere, leaving a small hole for breathing as she cautiously observed the situation in the room.
She looked like a frightened snail retreating into its shell.
Luxianbei, “……” What’s wrong with this girl? In my absence, did she get bullied by those Solar Eclipse Society members and fall into a state of depression?
She suddenly felt a bit regretful. Those vicious Solar Eclipse Society members had been so obedient to Ji Yunpei because she had been backing her up. Now even though they still appeared submissive, it was unclear what dark currents lay beneath the calm.
Such a defenseless little girl like Ji Yunpei, if fallen into the hands of those guys, would be akin to a young maiden left among a group of single thirty-year-olds!
Not to mention a young maiden; even a voluptuous lady could fall prey to them!
Lost in thought, Luxianbei stepped forward, straining to take control of the cardboard box from Ji Yunpei’s hands and flung it open.
Once she saw Ji Yunpei, now unshrouded in cardboard, Luxianbei and Nanling Yaohua, who was following her, both had their eyes twitch in unison.
As Ji Yunpei lost the box but remained wrapped in a large synthetic urea weave, she squatted, hugging her head with her back against the wall, crying out in a panic, “Don’t k*ll me, please, Miss Lan Yi! I didn’t mean to let that guy go. It was Wang Ying…”
“No, no, no, I’m not blaming it on the child; please don’t be mad. I admit my oversight allowed that guy to escape, and I need to take primary responsibility. But the escape route was really told to her by Wang Ying!”
Luxianbei, “……” Wang Ying? I think I sort of understand what’s going on now.
She clearly remembered that when she tried to open the God Realm Prototype portal inside the God Realm Yumen, she indeed told Wang Ying the escape route to leave the God Realm Prototype.
Nanling Yaohua, “……” Who is Miss Lan Yi again?
———–
【”Calamity’s d*ath” Countdown, 103H12M19S】
After explaining to Nanling Yaohua that Lan Yi was one of her many pseudonyms, Luxianbei spent nearly an hour just to barely convince Ji Yunpei that she would not harm her and managed to sit down for a serious conversation.
Using a spell to illuminate the handmade oil lamps created by the Solar Eclipse Society members in the small house, the dim yellow light filled the room.
At the square wooden table, Ji Yunpei sat anxiously, sweat beads glistening on her forehead in the light. Her small hands gripped her pants tightly on her knees, her pupils shrunk to the size of rice grains, trembling in her eye sockets, hardly daring to look at Luxianbei opposite her.
“Basically, it’s like this. I kindly gave that girl a bit of food, and somehow, she suddenly restored completely from a weakened state, even shattering Qing Ji’s with sheer brute force… Uh, it was completely by sheer force; it was terrifying!”
Terrifying brute strength? Didn’t someone mention this back when we were at Yumen Pass? Luxianbei tilted her head.
She felt like she was about to grasp something critical. It was like a thread floating in her mind; with just a bit more information, she could connect all the dots.
“Is there anything else? Any other information about that girl? For example, what spells she has used or her fighting techniques, or how did the spirit patterns affect the environment when they unfolded?”
“I… I…” Ji Yunpei, under a heightened state of mental strain, stuttered while trying to recall, whispering, “N-no, I don’t know. When she was escaping, she rushed into a sports goods store and snatched a dozen metal bats. Does that count?”
“By the way, when she fought with Sister Yingzi, she also unfolded spirit patterns. The spirit pattern… um, if I’m not mistaken, emitted a thick, earthy-yellow strong light.”
Metal bats, astonishing brute strength, and a thick earthy-yellow strong light… That’s right! Luxianbei’s eyes lit up.
The scattered thoughts in her mind sparked tightly, like a resilient and sharp steel wire, leading a series of minor details to connect and piece together a complete sequence of events.
Although she had speculated about this before, it was now largely confirmed that the Imposter Calamity was indeed Gu Qiqi.
That’s why she suddenly appeared in the God Realm Prototype without having passed through the Yumen Pass gates and ambushed Fang Ji, shamelessly robbing the treasure hidden beneath the stone lion. Water Brother had also mentioned that Gu Qiqi’s brute strength was astonishing, only slightly weaker than Huaiyuan Jun in a rampaging state…
It must be right!
But if Gu Qiqi is the Imposter Calamity, then what does she have to do with the twin-tailed girl?
She shouldn’t be the twin-tailed girl; her clumsy and reckless personality is entirely different from the twin-tailed girl. If anything, Ji Yunpei resembles her more…
Could it be that strange fish beside her?
Luxianbei had seen that ugly black fish near Gu Qiqi more than once, the first time being on the playground of Huacheng University, where that fish swallowed a pen spirit urban legend in one bite.
After that, every time she saw that fish, it was usually when her eyes were experiencing external stimuli, passively utilizing its special abilities.
At first, she thought it was just an urban legend kept by Gu Qiqi, similar to the little ghost maintained by Lin Yiqi, but much stronger and more clever.
However, after the Yumen Pass incident and acquiring extensive information, her thoughts began to shift slightly.
If that strange fish is the twin-tailed girl, or if it has some close connection with her, this bizarre situation becomes troubling yet somewhat reasonable!
My betrothed, leading the proxy player’s lover, constantly opposing “calamity”…
Perhaps to take revenge on “calamity”? Yes, for all the troublesome things the proxy player has done, if it were me, I would want to retaliate against the proxy player too!
But if that were the case, wouldn’t that make me the scapegoat?
At this thought, Luxianbei discreetly glanced at Nanling Yaohua, letting out a silent sigh.
Both being betrothed, why is there such a vast difference?
Next time I see Gu Qiqi, I can’t go easy on her; I must teach her a lesson.
Unless she willingly hands over that half-token!
Luxianbei didn’t really care about whether that half-token Gu Qiqi took had the legendary power to summon the Longxiang Army’s undead; what she cared about was that it was something entrusted to her by Long Bang, and she failed to protect it properly.
“…”
Additionally, there was another crucial matter.
The twin-tailed girl had also been exiled by the proxy player to the fringes of the world, and now that strange fish appeared beside Gu Qiqi… perhaps the fish knows some method to bring Xiao Hua back?
That’s right, if possible, I need to extract some information from that fish… Luxianbei thought.
On the opposite side of the wooden table, Ji Yunpei was staring at Luxianbei as if awaiting a d*ath sentence, not daring to blink, waiting for a moment before confirming that Luxianbei really didn’t intend to punish her; only then did she subtly breathe a sigh of relief.
She is truly a good person!
I work for her, and I made such a huge mistake, yet she…
“By the way, Ji Yunpei, you let that girl go, so technically, you should be punished. You don’t have any objections, right?”
Ji Yunpei was secretly relieved, but Luxianbei’s voice suddenly pierced her ears, sending her thoughts soaring to the clouds.
“W-what~ punishment~?”
Ji Yunpei’s voice trembled violently, as if someone were using a jackhammer in her throat.
“Just punish you by…” Luxianbei deliberately prolonged her words, winking at her, “For the next period, do a hundred sit-ups, a hundred push-ups, a hundred squats, run ten kilometers, and learn more than three spell formulas from the ancestor!”
“Don’t worry; I will have the ancestor keep a close watch on you, ensuring you won’t have any chance to slack off.”
Ji Yunpei, “…”
Eh, it doesn’t seem that difficult, does it?
Luxianbei, “…”
It’s indeed not hard, but for some reason, I just couldn’t help but want to scare her a little!
———–
【”Calamity’s d*ath” Countdown, 103H05M23S】
In front of a small house surrounded by dense dark forests in the Bamboo Slips Illusion.
Gu Qiqi sat atop a tall pile of firewood, cradling her chin with her hands, gazing at the moonlight emitted by the Silver Moon Jade Bi in the sky, deep in thought, her little mouth slightly pouting.
Earlier, she had taken the half-token inscribed with unreadable text to Huacheng University to consult Professor Ma about its content. She learned that this half-token belonged to the Nanling County King and that Luxianbei had the other half. Since returning, she had remained sullen.
As for why she sought out Professor Ma…
Perhaps it’s because he was the most knowledgeable person she knew?
It was a lucky guess, after all.
She had heard countless stories about the Nanling County King Long Bang and the calamity from the residents of God Realm Yumen. Even she, no matter how slow-witted, could draw some connections.
Although her head felt itchy, as if she had to put her brain to use, and she couldn’t piece together the scattered bits of information, she vaguely sensed that she might have done something wrong.
And those indescribable misdeeds perched in her mind kept her from being truly happy these past few days.
“System, I don’t feel well…” sensing the system drifting beside her, Gu Qiqi murmured.
As she spoke, the system, unable to stand seeing her in such a lost state, instinctively replied, “If it comes to that, why don’t we go find… find Luxianbei?!”
She initially wanted to say “find Calamity,” but as the words reached her lips, the memory of Calamity saying, “Can I ask you to try believing in Luxianbei?” made her change her mind.
But perhaps, even she hadn’t realized when she began to prioritize her concern over whether she was happy over the question of when she could k*ll the calamity.
“Huh?” Gu Qiqi’s eyes suddenly brightened, and she excitedly asked, “Really? Are we going to return that half-token to Luxianbei?”
“…” The system instinctively wanted to say “yes,” but before the words could leave its mouth, it changed its mind under its awkward personality, “How could that be? Gu Qiqi, such thoughts are dangerous! You are trying to boost the enemy, you know?”
“But Calamity didn’t cause any destruction this time!” Gu Qiqi tried to argue. “She saved the God Realm Yumen and got rid of the Shaman Queen. Those should count as good deeds, right? If she did good deeds, shouldn’t we reward her a little?”
“If it really comes to that, I won’t take my reward for completing this task; you can give it all to Calamity.”
Doing good deeds should earn even the biggest of villains some reward… this is the theory Gu Qiqi believed in.
You can’t honestly think Calamity wants a McDonald’s kids’ meal, right? The system rolled its eyes, “Let me tell you! Generally, when Calamity does good deeds, she is plotting something even more terrifying, do you realize that?”
“Such as changing the fate of God Realm Yumen, triggering a [Non-Conventional Cataclysm Grade Event – Time]… this could very well cause immeasurable destruction.”
Although it could also be induced by the Nightmare…
d*mn! Why am I even trying to make excuses for Calamity? The system thought angrily.
“But if it’s not to return the token, then why are we going to find Calamity?” Gu Qiqi asked, looking confused. “Since she came out of God Realm Yumen, even though she’s down a hand, it seems like she’s become stronger. We might not be able to defeat her, right?”
“Surveillance!” the system said in a somewhat panicked tone, “Of course, we need to monitor her! She’s grown stronger; who knows what destruction she might cause? We have to keep an eye on her!”
After hearing this, Gu Qiqi seriously thought for a moment and nodded.
Monitoring Calamity and returning her something don’t seem to conflict?
———–
【”Calamity’s d*ath” Countdown, 100H00M00S】
Departing from the Yumen Pass, after a full twenty hours, Luxianbei met Zhang Hainan at the “stage” she had constructed using the power of the God Realm Prototype exactly on time.
But she wasn’t alone…
Alongside her, besides Nanling Yaohua, were eight employees from Sunrise Biotechnology Company.
She learned from Ji Yunpei that these were the ones who still remained obstinate after a series of intentional or unintentional “modifications.”
They were even spreading rumors behind the scenes, undermining her and Ji Yunpei’s “hard work”!
Miss Calamity absolutely despises those who don’t respect the fruits of others’ labor.
Thus, she decided to arrange a shocking journey for these guys—under conditions where most spirit energy was sealed, their limbs bound, eyes covered, and ears stuffed, relying solely on their spiritual awareness to observe a fierce battle between two cataclysm grade entities.
They wouldn’t be able to see when the two cataclysm grades would come close, wouldn’t hear the sounds of their movements, and even more so couldn’t escape, yet they could feel the spirit energy fluctuations easily capable of turning them to dust zooming around them, occasionally catching the residual waves they had to endure…
Just thinking about it already felt exhilarating!
While Luxianbei felt secretly pleased with her brilliant plan, she caught sight of Qing Ji, who had accompanied Zhang Hainan from a distance, and suddenly her heart dropped, sensing an ominous premonition.
What was Ancestor doing here?
He couldn’t possibly be here to watch, right?
He’s not the type to just obediently stand by and watch! Luxianbei thought.
In her mind, Qing Ji was the kind of person who, upon seeing two cats fighting by the roadside, would rush over and throw a stone at them…
As Luxianbei carefully surveyed Qing Ji, Zhang Hainan noticed the spell rope in Luxianbei’s hands, which bound members of the Solar Eclipse Society who looked like a collection of bizarre balloon figures, and frowned.
Zhang Hainan, “……” She seems to be getting more twisted by the influence of urban legends? This is too over the top!
“Ancestor, what are you doing here? It’s already getting late; why aren’t you resting?”
“No rush, no rush! I’ve heard everything from Zhang Hainan about what you need to do…” Qing Ji cracked his knuckles, “I’m here to help!”
Luxianbei, “……” Help? Is he here to help beat me up?
Looking at the excited flames dancing in Qing Ji’s eyes, she almost instantly understood his intent.
