Chapter Fourteen Countdown
[“d*ath of Calamity” Countdown: 0H35M14S]
After Zhang Hainan left the Moon Chamber, Luxianbei pulled out her mobile phone again, eagerly tapping on the message sent by Miaomiao Sauce. Floating behind her, Nanling Yaohua was also reading the message.
Although she didn’t know who sent the message, her expression gradually turned resentful as her eyes scanned the lines of text.
The message was undoubtedly from that lame girl; even if Luxianbei didn’t say it, she could tell.
That long string of text didn’t contain a single “sorry” or “my apologies.” It felt cold and distant, subtly expressing regret, and just looking at it made one imagine that girl, who seemed to keep people at arm’s length and appeared devoid of human emotion.
It was as if an apology was just a formality, which was quite infuriating!
What if she didn’t really like Luxianbei that much? Nanling Yaohua thought begrudgingly, but soon realized she was wrong.
When sharing her journey and experiences, that lame girl spoke in great detail but embellished the most dangerous moments…
The news about the Miracle Cult’s main forces being nearly wiped out at God Realm Yumen had just spread, and that evening, she and her mother were attacked by an unknown illegal spirit energy organization.
After breaking through the encirclement of a dozen formidable spiritual ability users, she entrusted her mother to the protection of Siye Society and prepared to investigate the illegal spirit energy organization that attacked them. Before she could take action, she faced heavy resistance.
Investigation requests were intercepted, field visits fell into traps, and just when she managed to contact the inspector, and her investigation request was approved, as she was about to board a cruise ship, an insider backstabbed her, almost resulting in a severe shipwreck…
It seemed as if an invisible hand was manipulating everything, setting up numerous obstacles to prevent her from continuing to seek the truth. Even for Nanling Yaohua, who had minimal external contact, the danger was evident, and there were moments when her life was jeopardized.
It was like a thrilling police chase film filled with bloodshed, violence, and terror.
However, that lame girl somehow transformed it into a ghost story version of “Lost on a Long Journey.”
Between the lines, it almost whispered, “I’m not in danger, and soon I’ll appear before you in one piece and give you a hug,” and “I’ve heard about your recent news, and I’m very worried; you must take good care of yourself.”
Finally, she included several well-taken photos of scenic spots, as if she were a tourist.
That should be it; there can’t be any mistakes.
Nanling Yaohua, being a girl herself, found it easier to read another girl’s thoughts.
Only a guy like Luxianbei would believe that the other party was safe and would read the message with that blank expression, smiling foolishly afterward.
“…”
Does he really trust that lame girl’s abilities without fearing that she might d*e?”
Not happy… Nanling Yaohua thought, furrowing her brows and pouting.
During this time, after seeing the women around Luxianbei, she thought she could tolerate that lame girl’s existence.
But after sensing the faint atmosphere of “mutual respect, sharing the same table” between Luxianbei and that lame girl, she felt an overwhelming sense of crisis she had never experienced with other women.
Terrifying; no wonder she is the number one enemy! Nanling Yaohua thought, and the next moment, upon seeing Luxianbei’s reply, her mouth couldn’t help but twitch.
[Luxianbei: I didn’t expect you to have such an awkward and embarrassing moment; you’re killing me, hahahaha!]
Nanling Yaohua, “…”
Unbelievable! In such a situation, he isn’t thinking about comforting her or checking on her safety, but instead mocking her?
What kind of absurd operation is this?
Does he really think that girl’s heart is made of iron?
Nanling Yaohua suddenly felt that there was nothing to be afraid of regarding that lame girl.
Although she had strong competitive power, she couldn’t help but think that Luxianbei was a pig!
While Nanling Yaohua was thinking about this, she saw that lame girl’s reply and was even more confused.
[Miaomiao Sauce: Seeing you can still laugh reassures me a lot [heart emoji]. It seems those spirit organizations haven’t put too much pressure on you?]
Nanling Yaohua, “…” Wait, this girl was just mocking you! Aren’t you angry? Why give him a heart emoji?
[Luxianbei: Don’t worry! I’ve always been lucky and blessed; I absolutely won’t have any issues. Even if everyone in the world and the ghost stories d*e, I will definitely be the last one left!]
————
[“d*ath of Calamity” Countdown: 0H25M43S]
After chatting with Jiang Li for a while and subtly informing her that the upcoming video release does not mean that “calamity” will really d*e, Luxian Yaohua’s gradually intensifying resentment finally triggered Luxianbei’s predictive thoughts, pulling him out of the joy of confirming Jiang Li’s safety.
[She is behind you, squeezing your neck]
Sensing the predictive thought flash through his mind, a slight breathlessness hit Luxianbei. His heart skipped a beat.
After a moment’s contemplation, he expressionlessly closed Jiang Li’s message interface and opened the garbled message that had been sent.
Nanling Yaohua was almost attached to his back; he was sure that if she wanted to, she would have already gotten the gist of his chat with Jiang Li.
Otherwise, her desire to attack wouldn’t have surged to trigger predictive thoughts.
But according to Water Brother, in such moments, one must not exhibit panic; panic signifies guilt, while being forthright and confident implies safety, which could even make the other suspect if their paranoia is too intense.
Luxianbei originally didn’t believe Water Brother’s words until he saw Water Brother calmly pull out his phone and respond to client messages with Xing Yuan sitting right beside him…
As the message interface switched, the weak breathlessness disappeared, and Luxianbei quietly breathed a sigh of relief, refocusing his attention on the mobile phone screen.
“Hmm? How did this happen…”
Hearing Luxianbei’s confused voice, Nanling Yaohua’s resentment dissipated somewhat as she pouted and leaned over his shoulder to see the smartphone screen, frowning after glancing at it.
She had also seen the mysterious garbled message sent to Luxianbei and had spent quite a while figuring out that Luxianbei was actually Lan Yi through his replies.
However, when the so-called Miss Lan Yi replied to the unidentified “friend,” asking for the specifics of their cooperation, over an hour had passed, and the other party had not responded.
Could it be…
“Did something unexpected happen?” Luxianbei murmured softly, and Nanling Yaohua nodded in agreement while looking at his profile.
After all, opposing the Solar Eclipse Society’s Elders’ Council, it wouldn’t be surprising for accidents to occur at any moment.
————
[“d*ath of Calamity” Countdown: 0H05M03S]
In the Free City, on an unnamed country road near the Chestnut Steel Hill.
The sky was filled with dark clouds, with weeds on both sides of the road rising above a person’s height. In the distance, outlines of farms could be faintly seen, their lights extinguished, as if long abandoned, asleep.
Footsteps were chaotic.
A tall, hot-bodied woman was running along the country road on all fours, at an astonishing speed. With her white rabbit ears protruding from the gaps between her limbs, she looked like a panicked rabbit darting around.
A rabbit that had already suffered an attack and was severely injured…
She was indeed badly hurt.
One of her white rabbit ears was broken, the cut uneven, as if someone had yanked it off. The bl**d gushing out soaked that side of her golden curls, mingling with sweat, and stuck to her face.
One of her arms was twisted, as if its bones had shattered, changing shape with each exertion.
The fitted dress appeared to have been slashed by countless blades, torn into several pieces of cloth that barely covered her sensitive spots.
However, what was exposed beneath the ruined clothing wasn’t tempting, snow-white skin, but rather gaping wounds, or purplish, rotten flesh, seemingly poisoned.
Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind roared.
Accompanied by the wind, a tall, burly black middle-aged man appeared behind the woman.
He wore a white ceremonial hat with a black satin ribbon sewn onto it, a pristine white suit paired with a deep blue floral silk scarf and suspenders, and old brogue shoes, looking like an old-school jazz musician.
With piercing eyes locked onto the fleeing woman, the man raised the saxophone in his hand and gently played it…
The sound waves suddenly gathered into a torrent, roaring like a tsunami.
Within the sound waves, countless silhouettes collided and scraped against each other, sparking fires, sweeping across the woman, and wherever they passed, flesh and bl**d rolled over, swiftly healing, leaving behind a scene of bloodshed.
Suddenly in pain, the woman lost her balance and fell heavily to the ground, her body sliding across the gravel-packed country road, leaving behind a crimson trail.
The next moment, eerie shrieks erupted from both sides of the road, amidst the high grasses that nearly obscured vision.
Something approached quickly, concealed by the grass, with unusually long limbs. If it weren’t for the surrounding references, one might even mistake it for two insects hiding in the grass.
Before the woman could struggle to get up, two vast pumpkin-headed silhouettes, carved with terrifying designs and glowing with faint green flames from deep within, dressed in burlap, sprang from the towering wild grasses, pinning her arms down forcefully, pressing her to the ground.
“My dear Miss Rabbit, I didn’t expect our first meeting to be in such a manner; it’s truly regrettable…” the black man remarked, hovering above, looking down at the struggling woman below. “Now is your last chance: cooperate or d*e!”
“Hmph, cooperate? With you? Ridiculous!” Miss Rabbit scoffed.
“Why not?” the black man shrugged. “Cooperating with the Lan Yi Party is no different from collaborating with our New Elders’ Council. Night will ultimately fall, and the era belonging to humanity has already passed. In the not-so-distant future, we shall…”
“Do you know anything about the culture of Z Country?” Miss Rabbit interjected suddenly. “If you have even a little knowledge, you should know there’s a saying: ‘A cunning rabbit has three burrows…’”
As she spoke, a surge of spirit energy erupted within her, azure flames coursing beneath her skin, glowing brighter. By the time she finished speaking, the blazing moon shadow fire completely engulfed her body.
The pumpkin-headed creatures, tainted by the moon shadow fire, emitted agonizing shrieks.
Accompanied by the screams, the black man descended from the air, swiftly extending his hand, and withstanding the highly corrosive moon shadow fire, ripped open Miss Rabbit’s chest.
The squelching sound of crushed flesh echoed incessantly.
That shell of a body was hollow and contained no core of the ghost.
After a long while, the black man straightened up, took out a handkerchief to wipe the bl**d from his hands, and muttered to himself, “Did she escape again? What a pity.”
“Do you know? Repeatedly exhausting your powers to escape will only render you worthless. When we meet next time, perhaps I’ll have to hunt you down.”
“However, to thank you for teaching me a term from Z Country today, I will ensure you d*e without pain…”
————
[“d*ath of Calamity” Countdown: 0H00M00S]
It was an ostensibly ordinary evening, but at 17:00, at the very moment when day and night transitioned, a shocking message was delivered into the hands of various spirit energy organizations by the secretary of the Siye Society, stirring up waves for the impending night.
The White God Group, Assassins, Spring Day Great Society, APTYA… even the Holy Society and Night Alliance, which rarely interacted with the Siye Society, simultaneously received a video sent by the Siye Society, informing them of [Black Emperor] successfully hunting the newly promoted calamity—Calamity.
Not long after the Siye Society disseminated this information, an old man hurriedly rushed through the door of Chunfeng Residence Cottage in Tangcheng, headed straight to the inner hall, and found the girl lounging on a lazy sofa, one hand cracking sunflower seeds while the other fiddled with a game console.
“East Master! It’s bad, East Master! Calamity….” Bursting into the inner hall and seeing Jumeng, Yuan Ye paused for a moment before continuing, “East Master, Calamity is dead, killed by that person from Siye Society.”
“Oh.” Jumeng nodded, “If she’s dead, then she’s dead! Do you want me to help avenge her? That’s the Black Emperor! I can’t mess with him.”
“But East Master…”
“Alright, I understand, nothing more to say; Yuan Ye, you can rest now, alright?” Jumeng said without lifting her head, “For the sake of our Peach Source, don’t worry about Calamity.”
“…” Yuan Ye hesitated several times, in the end not saying anything, angrily waving his sleeve as he left.
He couldn’t understand why, even though Calamity was dead, Jumeng remained so calm.
When did she become so cold-blooded and emotionless?
Could it be because he said a few words after coming back from Shancheng that she wasn’t thinking about Peach Source?
Moments later, after Yuan Ye left Chunfeng Residence Cottage, Jumeng finally shifted her gaze away from the game console, glanced at her own hand, and rolled her eyes.
“Old fool, do you really think I would be unaware of whether that girl is dead or alive? Tch!”
As the goddess of marriage, no one knew better than her that the dead ghosts have no ties of red threads for marriage; even in ghost marriages, they’re nothing but white threads…
