Chapter 54 She’s so Skilled!
“Bang—bang—!”
In the darkness, Luxianbei heard the loud banging on the door from outside.
In just two or three hits, the door lock let out a “wail,” and the door to the waiting area swung open, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps and conversations.
“Strange, where’s William?”
“d*mn it! It’s only a few minutes until the intermission, shouldn’t he have been here getting ready ages ago?”
“Could it be that guy who mixed into the theater attacked him?”
“You two, go check over by the hallway…”
Hearing that people were coming in, Luxianbei, who was hiding in the corridor and secretly observing, felt a tightness in her chest and hurriedly stopped eavesdropping.
The corridor stretched straight ahead without any forks, leaving no place to hide. To avoid an encounter with those intruders, she had no choice but to walk deeper into the corridor.
The corridor was somewhat narrow; it was a tight fit for two people to walk side by side, and the height didn’t exceed two meters. Perhaps due to the poor air circulation inside, there was always a faint, unpleasant odor of dust mixed with mildew that invaded her nostrils.
With dim light, oppressive space, intermittent footsteps echoing behind her, and the murky whispers that were being distinctly suppressed, along with the beam of a flashlight scouring the area like the cold eyes of a fierce beast… it was hard for her emotions to remain calm.
If it were a year ago, Luxianbei would have already been in a state of panic, but now, accustomed to the storms of life, she remained entirely unflustered. With her nimble movements, predictive thinking, and the cover of darkness, she smoothly navigated through the blind spots of her pursuers.
Sometimes crawling close to the ceiling, sometimes lightly following the sweeping beam of light, her figure swayed, occasionally using the color of her coat to blend into the shadows.
From the perspective of the two pursuers, they vaguely sensed that something was nearby, but they couldn’t see it with their eyes, hear it with their ears, or even catch it with their spiritual senses.
It was as if they clearly felt a mouse in the house, sometimes even hearing the faint rustle, yet they couldn’t see a trace of the mouse.
“Ray, why do I feel a bit scared? There can’t be any urban legends in here, right?”
“Shut up… I’m scared too!”
Luxianbei, “……”
Is that all? With this level of pursuers, I could lead them in circles all day!~
If you want to catch me, please, can you send someone a bit more competent? Luxianbei thought.
However, her pride didn’t last long before it was shattered by the harsh reality.
There was no way ahead. In just a few minutes, she reached the end of the corridor.
“This…” Luxianbei turned around, one hand against the cold wall, looking back toward the direction of the footsteps, frowning and muttering softly, “Am I going to have to resort to violence? Throw them into the God Realm Prototype as well.”
After saying that, she suddenly felt a bit ridiculous.
Their God Realm was either a backup source of spiritual energy carried with them, a special space for nurturing believers, or a great weapon like God Realm Yumen, but what about hers?
Constantly throwing people in there, it was practically like human traffickers stuffing children into a bag!
Dear Mrs. Wang Meili, when constructing her God Realm, never considered her children would one day use Dream City as a real God Realm; she only wanted to give them a happy and fulfilling home.
But what can be done?
Luxianbei couldn’t bring herself to k*ll people over trivial disagreements or wipe out entire families for slight inconveniences; she could only stuff people into the God Realm Prototype and leave them to those members of the Solar Eclipse Society and Lan Yi Party to handle.
“William, are you ready? It’s your turn to go on stage!” Almost at the moment Luxianbei reached the end of the corridor, a voice suddenly came from above.
Before the words even finished, a mechanical roaring sound came from inside the wall beside her.
Immediately, Luxianbei felt a sensation akin to the heaviness of an elevator rising.
At the same time, the shouts of the two pursuers reached her ears.
“There! d*mn it, she took the elevator to the main stage!”
“To the main stage? Could it be that guy William?”
“No way, I saw clearly, it’s a woman! How could William have tits?”
Luxianbei, “???”
What the hell? What’s going on? Is this an elevator to the main stage?
Luxianbei was momentarily stunned, watching as the corridor’s space began to rise, gradually transforming into lines and then disappearing from view.
A few seconds later.
Breathing in air mixed with the scent of alcohol and flowers, feeling the bright white light cast from above, Luxianbei experienced a brief moment of blankness, feeling as if she was ascending to a heavenly realm.
Quickly glancing around, she was suddenly overwhelmed by a surge of panic at the sight of so many heads in the crowd.
“……”
Had I known, I might as well have gone all out!
What to do now? What performance is that guy William doing?
Luxianbei thought, glancing at the metallic pipe beside her that was exactly the right size and tilting her head.
How about… I perform a pole dance for everyone?
————
On the first floor of the [Angel Rose] theater, at the edge of the dance floor.
Vivienne stared intently at the woman on the lift, gradually frowning.
When the woman first appeared, perhaps due to the lighting and makeup effects, at first glance, she thought the woman was a new host. But after looking a few more times, she increasingly felt that the woman looked exceedingly familiar.
Had she seen her somewhere before?
Vivienne thought, like a hallucination, as blurry memories flashed before her eyes…
The distant Arctic Circle, an unnamed island covered in lifeless gray forests, and a lonely and eerie small wooden house built by unknown hands on the island.
In front of the small wooden house on the snowy ground, a man dressed in a white cloak, radiating a brightness like the Morning Star, appeared with a frail, ragged little girl.
“Her name is Lan Yi; her spiritual potential is very good, and it’s highly likely she will become my [Satellite] in the future.” The man said.
The young blue Yi, who seemed as if she would fall over with just a gust of cold wind, timidly bowed to her, “P-please take care of me.”
As the images from her memories surfaced, Vivienne desperately tried to recall the man’s face beneath the cloak, but it remained shrouded in gray mist.
After several attempts to forcibly remember, her consciousness grew erratic and confused, as if overwhelmed by a massive influx of incomprehensible and unmanageable information, her brain couldn’t function normally.
“Vivienne, do you know that guy?” Nimo’s voice rang in her ears, pulling Vivienne back from the brink of confusion.
She shook her head, grabbing an ice-cold drink from the table beside her that belonged to an unknown guest, and took several large gulps.
Once she felt somewhat better after downing the ice-cold beer that was like a cure-all potion for her, she turned to Nimo, who had appeared next to her at some point, and pouted, “Of course, I know her, Lan Yi! The powerful owner of [Angel Rose], have you never heard of her?”
“She’s the boss!” Nimo corrected Vivienne, rubbing her chin in thought, then shook her head and asked, “Am I supposed to know her?”
“It’s normal if you don’t; after all, many people think she’s dead.” Vivienne explained, “Even when I first recognized her, I felt like I was witnessing a living dead person rising from the grave!”
Yes, Lan Yi should have been dead!
Was she hiding before?
Now, having heard that the Elders’ Council was attacked by the New Elders’ Council and went silent, she has reappeared? Vivienne thought.
“Oh?” Nimo tilted her head, confused, “How can you be so sure she should be dead?”
Vivienne shot a glance at Nimo, annoyed, and said, “Up to now, have you ever seen any spiritual ability user or urban legend survive intact after betraying the Elders’ Council of the Solar Eclipse?”
“What about the New Elders’ Council?” Nimo asked.
Who knows? Maybe they just haven’t retaliated yet… Vivienne fell silent for a moment, shaking her head and avoiding answering Nimo’s question directly. Instead, she changed the subject, saying, “By the way, why are you here? You usually don’t appear on the first floor, right?”
“Because of her!” Nimo pointed at the “Lan Yi” on stage, “Half an hour ago, someone told me that a very dangerous guy has mixed into my theater, so of course I had to…”
Before she could finish her sentence, the slightly anxious voice of the security personnel she had sent to search came through her earpiece.
“Boss, we found the intruder! She took the elevator to the main stage…”
“I know.” Nimo said with a dark expression.
“Hmm? How do you know?”
“I’m standing right next to the main stage!” Nimo growled, clenching her fist.
Seeing this, Vivienne couldn’t help but burst out laughing and quietly handed her a bottle of ice-cold beer.
————
Luxianbei took about half a minute to understand the situation; the African American guy she had stuffed into the God Realm Prototype was the warm-up host, so she didn’t need to do a pole dance to cope with the current predicament.
And as she surveyed the surroundings, she keenly spotted the figures of Zhipianxian and Vivienne, along with a strong woman beside Vivienne, followed by a few security personnel with their heads lowered, looking like they had erred.
Was that the person in charge of the [Angel Rose] theater?
Why isn’t she coming to catch me?
Could it be… that she doesn’t want to affect the experience of other customers? That’s easy! Luxianbei thought to herself.
Though she was just a slightly socially anxious girl.
But since the person in charge is indifferent, warm-ups are nothing difficult!
If not for the fear that these Free City guys wouldn’t understand her act and wouldn’t get into the flow of it—rap and dance, she would put on a show for them.
However, the performance spells she had learned a little bit about, alongside the alchemical prosthetic’s banquet mode, should come in handy, right?
Taking a deep breath, slightly adjusting her state, Luxianbei spread her arms wide and boldly let out a shout to the guests, a scream akin to heavy metal rock.
“Good evening, my lovely cowboys, gentlemen, and handsome guys!”
The guests waved their hands and whistled.
“Our angels, have you felt the love yet?”
As her voice fell, another wave of excitement swept through the crowd.
Jennifer, Jessica, Little Wildcat… calls for dancers with various names surged, and one person shouted especially loudly.
“Annie! Annie!”
Glancing at the figure dancing in the crowd who looked like the original Zhipianxian, Luxianbei quickly rolled her eyes at him at a speed that was hard for others to notice, then continued to shout.
“Very well, your cheers prove you have felt their love, evidently, you love them too! So… wandering souls, are you willing to offer the roses in your hands for your angels to stay by your side?”
Having frequented the underground world to find Water Brother, she understood the routine here, and after a brief “warm-up,” she quickly got into the groove.
“The first performance is just an appetizer; I know you’re craving more excitement! Next, present the roses in your hands, let the angels stay and accompany you in song throughout the night!”
Accompanied by screams, she silently activated her spirit energy, releasing the performance spell.
Suddenly, a stream of light shot up from behind her, bursting into a series of dreamlike patterns beneath the ceiling of the main stage.
Vibrant roses, trumpeting angels, alluring women, and gushing champagne… all fitting the atmosphere of the [Angel Rose] theater.
At that same moment, the alchemical prosthetic’s [Banquet Mode III: Music Festival] activated.
The hall, which had been completely dark except for the main stage, instantly came alive with stirring electronic music, with dazzling laser beams twisting around as if defying the laws of physics, echoing a deep voice in rhythmic dance.
And at that time, her lively little coat quickly underwent a transformation.
The fitted black suit instantly turned into a fiery red asymmetric-cut tight mini dress.
The metal tassels at the hem swayed gently.
Coat: <(￣︶￣)> I did great!
“Yes! I’m willing!”
Amidst the shouts, the stunned waitstaff stood still for several seconds before realizing that the roses likely referred to the colored tickets. They then began walking between the various booths carrying trays filled with tickets and boarding passes.
On the other side, the lighting technician and DJ exchanged glances, both seeing deep confusion in each other’s eyes—“What on earth are we doing here tonight?”
On the outskirts of the crowd, Vivienne watched the “Lan Yi,” who appeared drastically different from her vague memories, her mouth twitching violently.
It felt as if she were seeing the pure and charming school belle with excellent grades secretly indulging in cigarettes and alcohol.
Could it be that I remembered it wrong? Or has she changed? Vivienne wondered.
And just as she prepared to reach for another ice-cold beer to sober up, Nimo’s voice floated over.
“That Lan… uh, Ms. Lan Yi, has she always been like this? She’s so skilled! Can you ask her later if she’s interested in coming to work at [Angel Rose]?”
Vivienne, “……”
