Chapter Five: Almost Missing Out on a Billion
Not long after nightfall, in the outskirts of Huacheng.
Tonight, the Amber Hall remained eerie as ever.
Inside the large mansion, only the study on the top floor was still lit.
Jiang Li sat in front of an old-fashioned desk, diligently flipping through the stacked documents under the light. Occasionally, she picked up a fountain pen and noted something in a nearby notebook.
“Clatter—!”
[Urban Legend Incident Number 1624
Legend Alias: Unknown
Spirit Energy Residue Level: C-1
First Incident Date: July 5.
Case Summary: Mysterious ghostly figures observed multiple times by late-night workers near the Huacheng Qingshikou tunnel.]
After skimming through one of the documents, Jiang Li picked up the pen and wrote a neat line of characters in her notebook.
[Incident 1624 likely involves a malignant spirit species, specific strength unknown; danger level too high, excluded.]
After writing this, she set down the document numbered 1624 and randomly picked up another file from the desk to study closely.
“Clatter—!”
[Urban Legend Incident Number 0784
Legend Alias: Moving bl**d House
Spirit Energy Residue Level: B-1~B+
First Incident Date: January 1, 1999
Case Summary: An eerie building that randomly appears in Huacheng and surrounding cities, rumored to be a living house that asks passersby for help.]
After reading just the beginning of this file, Jiang Li put it away and made a note in her notebook.
[Incident 0784 has remained unresolved for a long time, unsuitable for newcomers.]
“Clatter—!”
[Urban Legend Incident Number 1105
Legend Alias: Female Body Coin-Operated Box
Spirit Energy Residue Level: B-1
…]
“Clatter—!”
[Urban Legend Incident Number 0994
Legend Alias: Bandage Monster Group at the Villa
Spirit Energy Residue Level: C+
…]
After reviewing seven or eight files, Jiang Li paused, leaned back in her chair, and rubbed her slightly throbbing temples with one hand, ready to dive back into her research when the study door suddenly opened, and Ahua entered with tea and snacks.
Seeing the mountain of files on the table and Jiang Li’s exhausted face, Ahua pouted.
“Miss, why are you still at it? It’s been seven or eight hours. Do you really need to be so concerned about that Lu Yibei?”
Jiang Li looked at Ahua and gently shook her head, “Ahua, you don’t understand. Now that he is my subordinate, ensuring his safety is my responsibility. You should also know how high the d*ath rate is for new operatives in the early stages of task execution.”
Lu Yibei’s situation is different from Du Sixian’s. Du Sixian’s spirit patterns lack special abilities and will require a long learning period after acquisition.
However, Lu Yibei’s spirit pattern has already been confirmed, and according to internal documents from the Siye Society, he can gain special abilities after drawing spirit patterns using energy-type urban legends, almost certainly related to one of three types: body energyization, attribute spell amplification, or his inherent spirit pattern spell.
Of course, a few lucky ones might obtain more than one.
Thus, by convention, after Lu Yibei completes his spirit pattern drawing, he will have about a week of acclimatization before diving into simple urban legend investigations.
Through continuous battles with urban legends, they aim to eliminate their fear of them and gradually master their special abilities, which the Siye Society has determined over the years to be the best plan for training newcomers.
However, while this approach allows newcomers to grow more quickly and comprehensively, it is accompanied by relatively high risks.
A small part of this risk comes from the newcomers facing their initial fear of urban legends, while more of it stems from mistakes made by their superiors in selecting initial tasks for them.
Hunting urban legends has always been a cruel task.
In fact, within the Siye Society, many newly awakened spiritual ability users perish or are severely injured in the first three tasks due to their superiors’ misjudgments.
Although Jiang Li understood that Lu Yibei, that coward, would undoubtedly abandon a task and run away without a second thought if faced with life-threatening danger, what if the opponent was too strong to escape? She didn’t want her misjudgment to expose Lu Yibei to excessive danger in the early stages of his tasks.
“Alright, Ahua, just put it down and go rest early, okay?”
“But Miss…” Ahua hesitated.
Jiang Li gently shook her head at Ahua, her tone softening, “Go on now.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Ahua replied and set down her tea and snacks, leaving the study. Jiang Li turned her attention back to the documents on the desk.
…
At 2:55 AM.
In a small park near University City, a figure stealthily approached from the shadows, stopping in the brightest area under the streetlamp.
Lu Yibei had arranged to meet Bai Kai at 3 AM here before heading to the Ghost Market.
However, due to the noise at home, he left early to wait at this location.
Juemeng’s game recently released a new version, and she had somehow found two dupes to help her with in-game purchases. Her online gaming addiction was worsening, lasting over twenty hours each day.
Lu Yibei looked at her in that state and felt that the descriptions of fallen deities in “The Book of Siye” might be outdated. Beyond faith-based distortion and excessive consumption of urban legends’ cores, perhaps they should add an obsession with the internet.
He needed to think of a way to help Juemeng collect enough cores from urban legends early on, or else she’d ruin her prospects as a righteous deity… Lu Yibei thought to himself.
While he was pondering, the sound of tires rolling over asphalt reached him from a distance, growing clearer in the quiet night.
Looking toward the sound, he spotted a flashy Volkswagen Beetle approaching, stopping right in front of him.
Bai Kai rolled down the window and waved at Lu Yibei, “Xiao Bei, get in! It’s almost time, the Ghost Market’s about to open.”
“Got it.” Lu Yibei replied, opening the door and getting in.
Soon, the car drove out of University City, heading towards the eastern district of Huacheng.
…
In the eastern district of Huacheng, there was an old street that had gained a reputation for being a night market even before the long nights began.
However, this night market, though famous, had no fixed name and its scale was somewhat uncertain.
During the off-season, it only had a few scattered food stalls, but in summer or around the Spring Festival, it expanded significantly, stretching for miles with a constant flow of people.
Yet after the nights grew longer, the market’s scale shrank greatly, with most stalls closing before midnight.
However, there was a saying: the night market quiets down until the early morning, while the ghost market reopens at dawn. As a place for entertainment, it never truly ends.
After the night market disperses, some vendors do not leave; they pack up their food stalls, change their signs, and dive into a new wave of business.
And Gu Qiqi was one of those unwilling to leave.
Just past 3 AM, she quickly packed up her cheap masks, darted into a nearby dark alley, and pulled out a worn bamboo slip from her backpack.
As she muttered a few phrases, a soft glow flickered on the bamboo slip, followed by two large wicker boxes appearing out of thin air, crashing heavily in front of her.
She grabbed one in each hand and scampered back to the street, moving like a nimble kitten through the crowd. Soon, she found a spot, set down the boxes, set up her stall, placed down a small stool, and sat at the roadside.
As soon as she sat down, a voice from the system spoke in her ear.
“Gu Qiqi, I must remind you once again, the startup capital is already sufficient. The renovation of the Bamboo Slips Illusion has entered the next stage; what we need now is materials, do you understand?”
“You act like you’ve never seen money before! Just bump up the price a bit, and you sell the stuff right away; you have no business sense at all!”
“But, system…” Gu Qiqi frowned slightly, “I have seen money, but I’ve never seen so much money in my life!”
“Like that guy yesterday, he brought a whole box of gold bars; I…”
“Stop, stop! Look at your ambitions!” the system interrupted, “What happened yesterday was still somewhat acceptable; at least the materials could be used in making the [Solar Copper Ball]…”
“What? You used my gold to refine something?” Gu Qiqi’s eyes widened.
“What did you think? You said you wanted to be the protagonist of a farming story; I didn’t force you!” the system said. “That shabby place is expensive to renovate.”
“In any case, remember this one thing: starting today, only materials, no money, understood?”
“Got it.” Gu Qiqi said dejectedly.
As soon as she finished speaking, she looked up and saw a flamboyantly dressed lady with rabbit ears standing in front of her, accompanied by a fair-skinned man.
“Little girl, is this bamboo slip for the [Clear Spirit Potion] real?” the lady smiled at Gu Qiqi.
“Of course it’s real. If you’re genuinely interested in buying, you can try reading half of it first.” Gu Qiqi nodded.
Upon hearing this, the lady smiled, cupped the bamboo slip with both hands, opened half of it, and studied it closely under the dim streetlight.
She focused on the content of the slip, sometimes frowning, sometimes sighing, and after a moment, she closed the slip and signaled to the man beside her.
The man glanced at the slip and said in a low voice, “It’s real.” The lady’s face instantly brightened with a smile.
Unexpectedly, in such a rundown place, she could actually find a formula to eliminate side effects. Although it’s a bit basic… the lady thought for a moment and raised the slip, shaking it at Gu Qiqi.
“Little girl, how much do you intend to sell this bamboo slip for?”
As she spoke, a wave of bloody spirit energy fluctuations quietly enveloped Gu Qiqi.
Feeling the strange energy fluctuations, Gu Qiqi frowned and slightly trembled, using her own overwhelming spirit energy to push it away.
The two energy fluctuations clashed imperceptibly for a moment, and the lady’s complexion shifted between green and white, stepping back a couple of paces.
The lady thought, “…… Why are all the young people so powerful nowadays?”
“Gu Qiqi, tell her to demand ten Spirit Light Mushrooms.”
Gu Qiqi nodded slightly, raising three fingers at the lady. “Ten Spirit Light Mushrooms.”
Does this girl have poor math skills? The lady looked at Gu Qiqi’s three fingers, frowning slightly, “Isn’t this a bit too expensive? Spirit Light Mushrooms are…”
Before she could finish, the man beside her suddenly spoke, “No Spirit Light Mushrooms, but how about trading for copper-shelled firefly tails?”
As soon as the man finished speaking, Gu Qiqi heard the system praise in her mind.
“This person is an expert! He must have guessed what we are going to refine and suggested alternative materials. Gu Qiqi, tell him that based on the quality, you need at least two.”
Gu Qiqi nodded slightly and extended five fingers toward the man.
“Five? That’s reasonable.” The man nodded, reached into his overcoat, rummaged around, pulled out a silk pouch, tossed it in front of Gu Qiqi, then turned and walked away with the bamboo slip, patting the lady on the shoulder as they headed out of the ghost market.
Watching the man and woman walk away, the system fell silent.
“System…”
“Was I just scammed? I was going to say two, and he directly gave five!”
“Gu Qiqi…”
“Yes?”
“You truly are a business genius!” the system remarked, its tone dripping with sarcasm.
To think that Gu Qiqi’s random transactions over the past days had actually allowed her to trick two fools; could this be the legendary connection between simpletons?
The system continued, “Alright, that’s it for today! Let’s hurry back and refine the [Solar Copper Ball]; then we can barely start planting crops from the bamboo slip.”
…
Moments later, in a remote alley not far from the ghost market.
Miss Rabbit looked strangely at the man beside her, who was studying a bamboo slip with his head down, and said in a deep voice, “Why did you help me?”
“Help you?” The man tilted his head at her. “No, I’m just helping the organization collect some useful things, and…”
As he spoke, he shook the bamboo slip in front of Miss Rabbit, “And I never said I would show it to you right away; if you want to see it, you’ll first need to lure or obtain the core from that urban legend at the Qingshikou tunnel.”
“…” Miss Rabbit bit her lip and silenced her thoughts for a few seconds, then nodded, “Alright, I’ll take care of it in three days.”
As long as she could get that formula, the cores accumulated over time could be absorbed.
Although this informal formula isn’t as effective as the Siye Society’s, if it could raise her power, she’d have to make do with it, Miss Rabbit thought.
…
Not long after Gu Qiqi finished packing up and left the ghost market, Bai Kai brought Lu Yibei to the area near the ghost market.
In the late autumn season, the weather was already quite cold by 3 AM, and a faint mist enveloped the air.
The dilapidated streets were lined with various stalls that dazzled the eyes, but those items were mostly ancient artifacts of dubious origin.
After watching for a while, Lu Yibei lost interest, patted Bai Kai on the shoulder, “I say, Water Brother, you’re not trying to fool me, are you?”
“This place looks no different from the ghost market at the entrance of Mudan Street!”
“Why the rush? We haven’t even arrived yet!” Bai Kai smiled meaningfully at Lu Yibei, pointing ahead to a narrow, deep alleyway, “Once we pass through there, that’ll be the real ghost market.”
Lu Yibei looked in the direction Bai Kai pointed and tilted his head, “That way? Isn’t that where they sell snacks?”
Including those cheap plastic masks… Lu Yibei added silently in his mind.
He had previously found Gu Qiqi selling her wares there.
“Just follow me.”
…
Once they entered the alley, it quickly fell silent. The dim lights created a surreal feeling, as if stepping through time.
After walking a few dozen meters, the path suddenly opened up, revealing a bustling street, and the noise returned.
This street looked no different from the one they had come from, but the items being sold at the stalls were bone-chilling.
There were corpses of people who had recently died, lower-class malignant urban legends trapped in glass bottles, uniquely shaped spirit energy items, and even stalls displaying signs that read “Request for Offspring,” “Curse,” and “Poison.”
As soon as Lu Yibei stepped into the market, he was drawn to a peculiar stall.
The stall was filled with large, jar-like objects, covered in bizarre inscriptions that looked quite impressive.
However, the most eye-catching item was a sign prominently displaying the words “Fate Exchange” in bright red—strikingly eerie.
Behind the stall squatted a frail old man, his emerald-green eyes locking onto Lu Yibei as he grinned.
“Want to exchange your fate? Come take a look.”
“How… does this exchange work?”
Honestly, Lu Yibei felt him having bad luck was the reason he had encountered so many troublesome events. If he could really swap it out, that would be a good thing.
The skeletal old man looked left and right before moving closer, speaking mysteriously, “This so-called exchange of fates is quite simple—it’s just a matter of exchanging one life for another. All you need is…”
Before the frail old man finished speaking, Bai Kai suddenly stepped in to interject, blocking Lu Yibei, “Old man, you should just shut up! Want to exchange his life? The combined value of those jars and your old life isn’t enough!”
Finishing his words, Bai Kai dragged Lu Yibei further into the depths of the ghost market, leaving the skeletal old man chuckling awkwardly behind.
“Water Brother, I’m a bit touched.”
“What?”
“I didn’t expect that I held such importance in your heart.” Lu Yibei replied with a straight face. “But don’t think that saying things like this will move me.”
Bai Kai shot Lu Yibei a glance, displeased. “I’m just speaking the truth…”
Because your life really is valuable… Bai Kai silently added in his heart.
…
Bai Kai led Lu Yibei through half of the ghost market, and soon they stopped in front of one of the few establishments with an actual storefront.
The shopkeeper was an exaggeratedly fat man who immediately greeted Bai Kai with a smile as he walked in, but the layers of fat piled high on his body made it difficult for him to stand up.
Seeing this, Bai Kai stepped forward, pressing him back into his chair and turning to Lu Yibei, “You go check it out first; I’ll have a chat with Fat Second Grandpa.”
Lu Yibei glanced at the portly man, looking like an urban legend himself, nodded, and walked deeper into the shop.
The fat man squinted at Lu Yibei, then suddenly widened his eyes, leaning closer to whisper in Bai Kai’s ear, “Is he… that one’s child?”
“Yeah, just as long as you know.” Bai Kai patted the fat man on the shoulder, “So make sure to give him a bigger discount today!”
“Of course, of course…” the fat man replied hastily, “Eighty percent off, no, no—seventy percent off, seventy percent!”
…
Delving further into the store, Lu Yibei stopped suddenly after walking just a few steps.
As he passed a shelf, an unbidden chill rose within him, causing him to shiver instinctively. Confused, he scanned the dusty shelf and felt his pupils slightly constrict upon seeing a dirty crystal bottle.
Gently brushing the dust off the bottle, he discovered it contained a full bottle of black liquid.
The texture of that liquid was nearly identical to the black liquid seeping from his body daily.
Could that black liquid have some special use? Lu Yibei pondered.
The thought of nearly throwing away that black liquid filled him with disbelief—he felt like he almost missed out on a billion.
