Chapter 32: The First Snow of Huacheng
Dark clouds piled up, the sky dimmed, and snowflakes fell silently from an invisible source.
Each flake was unique, irregular hexagons resembling lace, most melting into droplets before hitting the ground, pooling into a muddy sludge in small, dip-like depressions.
Huacheng once was a sun-drenched city; even though the days have grown shorter in recent years and the climate turned colder, it still held onto its final stubbornness.
Typically, the first snow in Huacheng during winter does not accumulate.
…
University City.
In the early hours, a taxi slowly pulled over in front of Jingyi Apartment.
The passenger inside hurriedly paid the fare and got out just as a gust of cold wind blew by, carrying the chill of melting snow, forcing its way into the gaps of the collar, cuffs, and hem of their clothes. The cold pierced to the bone, making one wish to retreat back into the warm taxi.
Facing the biting wind, Lu Yibei gritted his teeth, shut the car door, and quickly headed toward the tranquil apartment complex, splashing through puddles that made a wet, squelching sound underfoot.
As he walked, he cursed under his breath, “d*mn, this cursed weather!”
Being a person who hates heat and fears the cold, under normal circumstances, facing such weather, Lu Yibei would have activated his talent for severing social ties and burrowed under his covers at home.
Once he got inside, he shut the door and, looking at the empty, dark room, shouted, “Mafun, Eye, False Teeth, Sleep Dress!”
“Where are you? Stop hiding! I know you’re all at home!”
“Hurry out! I have some matters regarding the Hundred Demons Walk that I want to discuss with you!”
After a moment of waiting, just as Lu Yibei parted his lips to shout again, whispers came from the corner of the room. Following that, in a flurry of rustling sounds, several furtive figures crawled out from the gap underneath the sofa and lined up in front of him.
They looked as if they were pets waiting for their owner to punish them.
“Speak up!”
In the awkward silence, Mafun spoke first, “Lady Witch, please let us explain! What we’ve done, while it may seem reckless, was all for you!”
“Exactly!” Eye chimed in, “Woman, I hope you won’t be ungrateful!”
“Enough! It’s k*ll or be killed!” False Teeth said gloomily, “To this day, all the consequences are my fault alone, they’re not involved. If you want to punish someone, punish me!”
Lu Yibei rubbed his slightly swollen forehead and said irritably, “Who told you to say that? Besides, did I say I wanted to blame you?”
“You see? I don’t even know why you’re all being chickens!” Eye said, glancing around at the others with a smug look, “This woman has obviously been conquered!”
“……”
Could you talk a little less?!
Thinking this, Mafun, False Teeth, and Sleep Dress shifted to the side as if to distance themselves from Eye.
Lu Yibei clenched his fists, stepped on Eye, and continued, “What I want to ask is, how many urban legends have gathered? After last night’s chaos, can we still bring them together?”
The events from last night had already reached the Lady Witch?! The little urban legends trembled.
“Lady Witch, do you mean…” Mafun probed.
Lu Yibei stood tall, narrowed his eyes, raised his chin slightly, and said in a tempting tone, “I’m preparing to do something big, will you follow me?”
Is there an enticing vibe here?
For those few seconds, I seriously studied the highlights of “Emperor Wu of Han,” “The Prosperity of the Tang Dynasty,” and “The Kangxi Dynasty” in the taxi! Lu Yibei thought secretly.
“An honorable man dies for someone who knows him! Willing to follow the Lady Witch, even if this road leads to d*ath.”
Being born as an urban legend, False Teeth thought without a second thought and agreed. After all, dying dramatically is better than just dying quietly.
Lu Yibei, “… Can we say something more auspicious?”
“Man, I’ve already been the Lady Witch’s ghost.”
Sleep Dress said weakly, and just as she finished, Eye struggled to wriggle out from under Lu Yibei’s foot.
“Lady, is this your attitude when asking for help? When asking, you should show some cleavage…”
“Gulp—!”
Before Eye could finish, Lu Yibei shifted his foot.
With force, he stepped down.
Eye’s figure came to an abrupt stop.
Realizing Lu Yibei’s intentions, Mafun felt a rush of excitement at the possibility of embarking on a major shocking mission in the Huacheng urban legend realm.
“Reporting to Lady Witch, aside from the small areas around the school where you hide, all urban legends around University City have been gathered under my command!”
“Seventy-seven D-Rank urban legends, twelve C-Rank urban legends, and B-Rank urban legends…”
Hearing Mafun half-way through, Lu Yibei’s gaze involuntarily ignited with fervor.
If the number of B-Rank urban legends is sufficient, and there are even A-Rank urban legends, then it might just be possible to confront Mu Se head-on with a chance of victory, let alone ambush from the side.
“… There are no B-Rank urban legends, about four hundred fifty-seven others, all of which are unranked urban legends.”
Lu Yibei, “…”
Okay, after all, they’re just a group of little urban legends with average spirit energy fluctuations of less than 0.1 rabbits, what was I even expecting?
However…
The quality might be lacking, but the quantity has indeed exceeded the conditions mentioned by Water Brother.
With this in mind, Lu Yibei looked seriously at Mafun and said, “Well done. I’m entrusting you with gathering them.”
“But…” Mafun hesitated for a moment and said, “Lady Witch, after last night, those little urban legends are terrified, I can’t guarantee I can gather them all.”
“Is that so?” Lu Yibei held his chin in one hand and pondered for a few seconds, “That’s understandable; after all, challenging an A-Rank urban legend like the Hundred Demons Walk carries a significant risk.”
“By the way… if there are little urban legends unwilling to come along, you can’t force them, understood?”
As long as we find a way to gather a hundred little urban legends, that’s all that matters, right? Lu Yibei thought.
Originally, Mafun planned to abduct all the little urban legends and gather them, but at that moment, his body twitched, and he weakly said, “Understood.”
“By the way!” Lu Yibei suddenly recalled how Mafun and the others had a procession-like arrangement last night, and reminded them with a serious tone, “Those white banners, black-and-white photos, gongs and suona instruments, you need to deal with them quickly. What you had didn’t look like the Hundred Demons Walk at all? It was like the soldiers of the underworld borrowing a path!”
It looks like the Lady Witch’s aesthetic style is somewhat distorted! Mafun thought, and then asked Lu Yibei, “So, Lady Witch, what do you think we should…”
“Simple!” Lu Yibei rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you always using my computer to download movies online? Can’t we use it for something productive?”
“For example, search for keywords like parade or campaigning!”
“Got it!” Mafun exclaimed, “We’ll get right on it!”
“Okay, hurry up!” With that, Lu Yibei headed upstairs.
As he reached the staircase, something struck him, and he suddenly stopped, turning to the little urban legends in the living room and asking, “By the way, what’s the name of the organization you guys set up?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, four shadows in the living room darted past, and several little urban legends gathered, posing in a very embarrassing manner like a group photo of middle-aged women.
“Our organization is called, the Messengers of Love and Peace…” Mafun spoke first, but before he could finish, False Teeth took over.
“The Model of Morality and Conscience…”
Next, Eye, struggling beneath Lu Yibei’s foot, squirmed and whimpered, “Handsome guy and beautiful girl…”
“… The Witch Warriors!” Sleep Dress weakly concluded, wrapping things up.
Goodness, now even the organization name is a collective effort? Lu Yibei facepalmed, covering his eyes, the scene was too beautiful for him to bear.
“……”
—
After Lu Yibei’s figure disappeared from the apartment living room, the little urban legends quickly sprang into action, rummaging for his laptop, starting it up, and typing “parade campaigning” into the search bar on Bilibili.
Following Lu Yibei’s usual search preferences, a bunch of videos titled “XX Annual Bai Xiaohua Cute Battle Campaign Live,” “Magical Girl Festival Float Parade,” “Support Live for Z Country Heroine” appeared.
One couldn’t help but marvel at the power of big data, it’s terrifying!
After spending several minutes watching a dozen videos, Mafun pondered, “So, the Lady Witch likes this style, huh?”
“Understandable, every girl has a princess dream, right?” False Teeth mumbled.
“Tch! Women!” Eye scoffed disdainfully, “She only likes the flashy, superficial stuff!”
—
Having entrusted the task of gathering the Hundred Demons Walk crew to the little urban legends in the apartment, Lu Yibei dove into his makeshift alchemy lab.
Even though Water Brother had solemnly instructed him to prepare for the imminent battle when he left the underground human club, this was his first time doing such a thing, and he had no real idea of what to prepare. There were no detailed records in the Great Serpent God’s knowledge.
After all, beings like Him, with innate strength, belong to a rare few and are particularly confident in their abilities.
In His prime, when He whimsically wanted to initiate the Hundred Demons Walk without any preparation, He charged straight through the mountains of urban legends, creating a bloody path.
Lu Yibei did not consider himself that type of reckless genius; following blindly was a dead end.
However, the lack of precedents to reference did not mean he shouldn’t prepare.
If he didn’t know what to prepare, then why not prepare everything he could?
Previously, when he was making the Complete Potion, a small amount of raw materials and byproducts remained, some of which could be used to refine pure silver, the conventional injury treatment potion of the Siye Society.
With some pure silver prepared, he could barely count that as having a healing skill.
As for the rest, they would have to be made into “bombs.”
As a bomb lunatic renowned for making even Huacheng’s urban legends tremble in fear, how could he be without dozens of bombs around him?
Initially, Lu Yibei intended to keep those byproducts for making talismans later.
However, he coincidentally discovered a little secret about these byproducts.
These byproducts, rich in fire-type spirit energy, could be melted into shape at once and, when triggered by spirit energy, could release heat comparable to a tenfold amplified Red Flame Flash, consuming only a small amount of spirit energy. If mixed with some mischief beforehand…
Ever heard of homemade alchemy dirty bombs? Just imagining it is thrilling!
With these “bombs,” he could also barely manage situations where he wouldn’t have time to cast spells, and both swordsmanship and agility would be restricted.
As to how he discovered this little secret, the explanation is quite complicated; in one sentence, it’s just that mischief finds youth.
Anyway, the fat guy upstairs called the cops, and the police knocked on the door five times in one day…
From a little past five in the morning to two in the afternoon, nearly eight hours, Lu Yibei was immersed in his makeshift alchemy lab.
Ultimately, he successfully refined twelve portions of pure silver and twenty-seven homemade alchemy dirty bombs, along with three portions of the Complete Potion and a bunch of miscellaneous items, filling up his guitar bag to the brim.
Finally zipping up the guitar bag, holding it in his embrace, Lu Yibei felt like he was holding an armory, filled with a sense of safety.
Outside, the snow that had just stopped falling began to fall again, and Lu Yibei sighed silently, taking out his phone to send a message to Professor Ma.
Lu Yibei: “Professor, are you at school? I have a small matter I’d like to discuss with you in person.”
Professor Ma: “I’m in my office, free until four, you can come over anytime.”
After receiving Professor Ma’s affirmative reply, he stuffed the guitar bag under the bed, stretched his stiff joints, curled a finger at the coat on the bed, and it flew over, lightly draping across his shoulder, then he turned up the collar, nuzzling against his cheek.
Just as Lu Yibei was about to leave the apartment to confront the urban legends, he suddenly remembered something, getting up and going to the storage room to retrieve all the urban legend core he had unintentionally gained from his previous power-letting, summoning Mafun.
“Mafun, come up here!”
“Thump thump thump—!”
With a sound like a bouncing rubber ball coming down the stairs, Mafun appeared in front of him.
“Lady Witch, what can I do for you?”
Lu Yibei glanced at Mafun, placed the urban legend core on the ground, thought for a moment, then took back a small portion into his upper pocket and pushed the remainder forward, saying, “These are for you; you might find some use for them.”
“I have matters to attend to and need to head out for a bit, you all continue with your tasks.”
With that, he hurried downstairs toward Professor Ma’s office.
“Woman, go early and return early! You can’t stay out all night!”
From downstairs came Eye’s arrogant voice.
“Shut up!” Lu Yibei snapped, slamming the door shut.
—
Light snow fell, and a gray ribbon-like mist lingered in the sky, reluctant to leave, casting a gloomy hue over Huacheng University of Technology, with most corners of campus lifeless on this icy day.
Lu Yibei walked under an umbrella along the main path of Gate Four, brows furrowed, feeling somewhat downcast, until he saw the silhouette of the Decapitated Senior under her red umbrella, pulling a reluctant smile from his stiff features—one even more painful than crying.
“Tch, what’s there to be gloomy about? Didn’t I already predict this outcome? At least it’s not completely hopeless!” he comforted himself.
Lu Yibei’s main purpose for visiting Professor Ma was to borrow the 【Blessing God Copper Coin】 for divination.
Although he had a coin himself, it seemed that Professor Ma’s coin had been spiritualized, trending toward evolving from a spirit energy item into an urban legend, clearly higher in accuracy.
However, after throwing the copper coin three times to inquire “Will I successfully challenge Mu Se?” the unease in Lu Yibei’s heart was not alleviated in the slightest.
Each time, the coin stood upright on the desk, and the results were obviously not optimistic.
So, Lu Yibei secretly used his own coin to divine whether “Professor Ma’s copper coin divination was accurate,” receiving a positive answer.
The copper coin’s bizarre upright position combined with Lu Yibei’s frostbitten expression immediately raised Professor Ma’s suspicions. However, he did not press too much but talked for a long while about the East Yi culture research project.
Finally, before Lu Yibei left, Professor Ma solemnly said, “Have a good New Year, come report to me early after the break.”
And Lu Yibei self-deprecatingly joked, “I’ve been too busy lately; if I’m not careful, I might fail the final exam, and then I’ll have to make up for it and won’t be able to report early.”
Professor Ma, after hearing that, flared up, slamming the table and scolding, “Then get back to studying! Are you here to mess around with these superstitions? Can you even divine in the exam?”
“…”
Under a barrage of scoldings from Professor Ma, Lu Yibei sheepishly fled the office, and before he knew it, he had walked to the main path of Gate Four, nearing the old warehouse where the Decapitated Senior and a group of curious school urban legends were hiding.
Before the Decapitated Senior, Lu Yibei rummaged in his upper pocket for a moment and pressed the remaining core of the urban legend into her hand, “Here! Take it! I might not be able to deliver food to you for a long time after this, so this should be enough for several months of rations.”
With that, he continued walking forward along the main path of Gate Four, where the cold wind swept.
“……” The Decapitated Senior hesitated, suddenly gripping the urban legend core tightly and took a few steps to follow, asking, “Are you about to do something dangerous?”
“Of course not!” Lu Yibei didn’t turn, waving a hand dismissively, “How could I do anything dangerous after seeing you almost scare me away?”
“By the way, if possible, please allocate a bit more to ‘Mr. Lu Xun,’ I’m really looking forward to the day it can speak, and then I could have a high-intensity debate with it!”
“Pfft!” The Decapitated Senior chuckled, then adjusted her tilted head, “But you can’t give it too much, or the students at school will suffer!”
“Last week a student went to ask it for a blessing for exam success and got pinned down, receiving a hundred spanks with a ruler.”
Lu Yibei, “…” The ruler of Mr. Lu Xun’s statue is pure copper, right?
“Two days ago, a couple snuck off to the grove, pretending to study together and ended up getting hit too.”
“And…”
The Decapitated Senior chattered away about the interesting tales of urban legends at school, lost in her own words, and when she finally came to herself, she found Lu Yibei had walked far away.
On the desolate main path of Gate Four, a cold wind stirred the unmelted snowflakes in the air, accompanied by a long-gone evening study bell, that slightly slender figure suddenly transformed into the shape of a small girl.
The pale pink hair swaying in the breeze became the only bright color on this gray street.
“No skirts, no skirts! It was acceptable normally, but wearing a skirt in this cold weather, even with cotton leggings, is no good. Are you trying to give me chronic leg pain?”
From afar came a voice like wind chimes, and the Decapitated Senior wore a smile…
—
As night fell, Lu Yibei snuggled in his unlit apartment, waiting with his Ling Tai Purification.
Because Bai Kai speculated that Mu Se might start the Hundred Demons Walk at any time in the next few days, she didn’t dare enter the dream realm to study “Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustration” with Qing Ji.
Thus, he remained sleepless throughout the night, without incident.
When he deactivated his urban legend form on the rooftop and returned home, he received two messages from Bai Kai.
Bai Kai: “Xiao Bei, I’ve prepared everything here.”
Bai Kai: “Yesterday, none of the water sources were attacked.”
Holding the phone in both hands, Lu Yibei typed several lengthy replies, only to delete them all and respond succinctly: “Thanks, Water Brother, I know.”
Bai Kai: “Good luck!”
Looking at Bai Kai’s reply, Lu Yibei felt warmth within, pocketing his phone and digging out his keys to open the door. Right as he entered, he saw a dozen little urban legends neatly sprawled on the floor facing the front door.
“What are you all doing?” Lu Yibei asked in confusion, “Are these all the little urban legend leaders?”
“……”
After a brief silence, Mafun spoke heavily, “Sorry, Lady Witch, this is all the urban legends here, the others…”
Before Mafun could finish, Eye interjected angrily, “Woman, this is all your fault! You said you didn’t want to come, and now look! They all ran away! You’re done for, I will definitely be the first to swallow your urban legend core later!”
Lu Yibei’s face turned slightly pale, brows knotting together.
“……”
Oh no, it seems like the situation is worse than expected… This is going to be troublesome.
But…
Mu Se is already one of the strongest urban legends in Huacheng; now with a group of black-robed figures assisting her, having killed so many urban legends and spiritual ability users, it is natural for the urban legends of Huacheng to fear her.
I can’t force those legends to their deaths, can I?
Lu Yibei thought as he looked at Mafun, keeping an expressionless face and feigning calmness as he said, “No rush, let’s take it slow; isn’t there still time?”
“Additionally, let me say this in advance: if it’s truly dangerous by the time it comes around, you all can run away, I won’t mind!”
“Alright, if there’s nothing else, let’s disperse for now? While it’s still daytime, I need to catch up on some sleep.”
After waking, he still had to visit the Siye Society before dark to check on the detailed information about Mu Se and X Tai Sui.
Maybe he could find some winning details in their information… Lu Yibei thought.
“……”
Hearing this, the little urban legends fell silent, the living room plunged into a deathly quietness.
—
On the other hand, beneath a manhole cover near Huacheng Finance College, in the damp and filthy sewer.
A massive creature resembling a rat but with six legs and long antennae sat on a stone throne. It was the king reigning over the rat and cockroach hordes in this sewer.
It gazed at a nearby sewage pool with fascination.
Melted snow mixed with sewage trickled down through the manhole gaps, plunging down like a waterfall, and a group of creatures resembling it but significantly smaller played joyously in the sewage pool.
Moments later, a little creature swam to the side of the cockroach rat king, poking its head out from the water while balancing a piece of rotting cabbage, blinking six eyes with curiosity, “King, do we not need to participate in that something-something anymore?”
“No need to go; even if Mafun… the commander has the backing of an A-Rank urban legend, she’s also fighting alone! If we follow her, wouldn’t that mean we’re going to d*e?”
Just as the cockroach rat king spoke, a little cockroach rat suddenly fished out a clump of dark green matter from the water, raising it high and cheerfully exclaiming, “It’s rotten meat! Guys, there’s rotten meat in today’s sewage; we can add it to the meal!”
No sooner had it spoken, the dark green matter it was holding burst forth with spirit energy fluctuations, rapidly growing, producing wriggling flesh buds that pierced painfully into its body.
Soon, the entire sewage pool became filled with smooth, viscous dark green matter…
The cockroach rat king fled in panic.
—
Almost simultaneously, nearby a primary school in Huacheng.
A young woman dressed in professional attire and wearing black-rimmed glasses was anxiously searching for something.
She hurried through streets and alleys, finally spotting a student huddled at the end of a narrow alley and paused, gradually approaching, rubbing the student’s head and revealing a bittersweet smile.
“Tong Tong, why are you hiding here? You’ve made it near the school, why don’t you go inside?”
“……” The little girl heard her teacher’s voice and froze; as she looked up, her eyes turned red, “L-teacher, I’m scared to go to school; I’m afraid…”
“Afraid?” The woman’s expression grew serious as she pressed, “Tong Tong, tell teacher if some bad person is bullying you?”
“Uuuu…” The little girl sobbed, wiping her tear-streaked face, biting her lip and shaking her head.
The woman frowned, then caressed the little girl’s head, smiling, “Don’t be afraid, Tong Tong! If a bad person bullies you, just bravely tell teacher; I will help you deal with them!”
As she spoke, she raised her fist, leaning close to the little girl’s ear and whispered, “Tong Tong, I’ll tell you a secret, teacher can do magic…”
Before the woman could finish, she sensed a weak, polluted spirit energy fluctuation coming from the little girl, instinctively taking a step back. It was at that moment that she noticed the pink-and-white skin of the little girl’s ears just slightly reddened, revealing a wriggling dark green bud.
Immediately, the little girl collapsed to the ground, her body began to convulse, her pupils started to cloud over, and her awareness blurred.
It’s an urban legend! The woman’s face turned pale.
This woman, a primary school class teacher during the day and an occasionally hunting spiritual ability user by night, made an instinctive judgment upon witnessing this scene. She swiftly began to silently chant an incantation, warm white light flickering at her fingertips and pinpointing the little girl’s forehead.
“Buzz—!”
As air vibrated with spirit energy, the flesh bud withered and dropped off. The little girl’s consciousness briefly cleared, slowly opening her eyes to look at her teacher, gasping, “Teacher, is Tong Tong going to d*e soon?”
“Of course not, silly! You just have a little illness; I’ll take you to the hospital right away.”
The woman softly said, lifting the little girl up, and just then the little girl whispered in her ear, “Teacher, no one bullied Tong Tong; it was Tong Tong who did bad things.”
“What kind of bad things? Can you show teacher what it was?”
“Tong Tong saw a little pool with many little mushrooms while on her way to school…”
“Teacher, I’m so sleepy; can I sleep for a bit?”
“No! You must complete the task from start to finish!” she replied.
“Mm!” The little girl answered, forcing herself to perk up, continuing, “Those little mushrooms were so pretty; they even moved. Tong Tong thought they were fun, so she didn’t listen to her mom and jumped in the water…”
Upon hearing this, the woman’s face changed rapidly. She hurriedly placed the little girl down and was about to take off her small boots to investigate, only to see that the chubby little legs began to melt like wax, dripping down liquid and spreading into dark green flesh…
The woman stared blankly at the increasingly covered small body, something rolling in her eyes, and she reached into her pocket, pulling out a string of white flowers resembling pearls, gradually tightening her grip…
—
In the old city of Huacheng, near the seafood wholesale market, on a secluded street.
A disheveled old man, resembling a beggar, clutched a foam box filled with seafood, hurriedly making his way toward a low-rent housing area, stepping carefully through the flooded streets.
As he walked, he kept glancing back nervously, as though fearing the original owner of the seafood would catch up and demand it back.
Even though he’d dug the seafood out of a garbage heap, the folks at the seafood wholesale market had always had a disdain for him. Even finding something in their trash heaps and getting away with it wasn’t an easy task.
After a moment, the old man returned to a little room filled with drink bottles and cardboard boxes, locked the door, and sighed in relief.
“Fortunately, fortunately, they didn’t chase me; this full box should last me for quite a few days.”
Talking to himself, the old man lit the coal in the stove, set a rusty pot filled with water on top, and while waiting for the water to boil, began sorting through the foam box.
Although some might be problematic, from his experience, as long as he chose carefully, he could at least salvage half of what was edible.
However, as he opened the foam box and saw it filled to the brim with nearly completely fresh fish, his eyes widened in disbelief.
“This… this… Oh no, I can’t be ‘stealing’ someone’s stuff, right? No, no, I can’t do that,” the old man muttered, his white brows knitting together.
Just as he was pondering whether he should risk a scolding or even being beaten up by the seafood market vendors and return the box of fish, he suddenly noticed the fish gills had sprouted numerous dark green little flesh buds resembling mold.
Seeing those flesh buds, the old man let out a sigh of relief. “Phew, so glad, so glad!”
After confirming he only took away things no one wanted, not things someone owned, he felt significantly relieved.
“Isn’t this a waste? Just this little bit goes bad, and they toss the whole thing? Cut off the spoiled bits, and there’s plenty of meat left!”
Saying this, he pulled a small kn*fe from his waist, carefully cut away the parts of fish with buds, one by one, dropping them into the boiling water, adding a few scallions and a couple of slices of ginger. Before long, he had brewed a simple but aromatic fish soup.
The old man cradled a bowl, treating it like a treasure, blowing on it before sipping, instantly inundated with a smile of happiness.
“So good, so delicious! I haven’t had something this tasty in a long time.”
The old man mumbled, disregarding the scalding hot soup and wolfing it down.
As he ate, he suddenly felt a burning sensation heating up his face and forehead.
His chest tightened, his throat grew uncomfortable, and soon, he found it hard to breathe.
Am I sick? It’s just entered winter, and I’m already ill, what a hassle! The old man thought, followed by an increasing heat in his forehead, feeling dizzy and the world around him becoming blurry.
He heard his own labored breaths, followed by a fit of coughs, and amidst the violent coughs that felt like something was tearing at his lungs, the taste of sweet iron spread in his mouth.
In no time, he weakened, spilling the freshly made fish soup, tumbling over to the ground, the world fading into darkness.
In a daze, he heard a series of rustling noises, as if those accursed rats were scuttling in the dark corners, before his consciousness plunged into silence.
He didn’t know how long had passed when outside his little house, the sound of someone fumbling with keys broke through, immediately followed by a soft voice calling, “Grandpa Zhang, I’ve brought you a good thing, guess what it is?”
“Hey hey hey, it’s your favorite lamb spine!”
“Creak!” The door opened.
A girl named Gu Qiqi, who had previously visited Grandpa Zhang, standing at the door, froze in place, seeing the scene in the room, and the lamb spine she held fell with a “thud” to the ground.
Inside that dim, narrow little house, everywhere was filled with writhing dark green flesh buds, in the sink, in the trash can, scattered in the spilled fish soup, and inside the fallen old man’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose…
—
In the afternoon, at the Siye Society in Huacheng, in a shabby office.
Lu Yibei set down the documents on Mu Se and X Tai Sui he had read countless times, rubbed his slightly swollen forehead, and sighed helplessly.
While everyone was guarding the various water sources, thanks to Bai Kai helping him gain access, he got a chance to thoroughly study these documents.
According to the internal files of the Siye Society, Mu Se indeed had some noticeable weaknesses. Her special abilities relied almost entirely on those corrosive wildflowers and sharp wails for damage.
As long as one could block her hearing with similar spirit energy levels and dodge her wildflowers with sharp movements, all she could do was engage in close combat.
Of course, as an A-Rank urban legend, her close combat capabilities surpassed most B-Rank urban legends and should not be underestimated.
Moreover, she currently wielded a long blade formed from the corrupted spirit energy of Jiang Li.
But…
Lu Yibei picked up X Tai Sui’s file again, glanced left and right, frowning.
As an urban legend topping the Siye Society’s wanted list, according to the reports, it seemed brimmed with weaknesses, yet its division and proliferation speed was astonishing, so one could say it had no weaknesses at all.
“Unless only a Cataclysm Grade urban legend can inflict significant damage?!” Lu Yibei murmured.
Fortunately, all the water sources were under the watch of the Special Action Team. Most importantly, a mushroom girl had “grown” in the Huacheng Reservoir, preventing Mu Se from planting X Tai Sui’s organization.
Otherwise, if I fail, Huacheng would be doomed.
Lost in thought, Lu Yibei suddenly heard the frantic low roar of An Qing coming from the little flower garden outside.
“How could this happen? Didn’t we secure all the water sources?”
Hearing this, Lu Yibei’s heart tightened, he stood up, and in a few swift steps, he reached the window.
Standing opposite An Qing, the reporting Du Sixian caught sight of him, making a bitter face, then continued reporting to An Qing.
“Qing Jie, all the water sources are indeed secured. Even those critical sewage treatment stations have people guarding them, but…”
“But what?” An Qing frowned.
“Those things don’t seem to have sprouted out from any fixed water source, and the outbreaks of Nightfall Syndrome across the whole city are irregular; we currently can’t determine the source.” Du Sixian explained.
If they didn’t emerge from fixed water sources, then where did they come from? Could it be that X Tai Sui evolved the ability to spread through air without the Siye Society’s knowledge? Lu Yibei pondered.
In the midst of his thoughts, Qi Dong rushed in through the front door, stepping on the puddled bluestone slab in the little flower garden, making wet sounds underfoot.
“Pat pat—!”
Hearing that sound, Lu Yibei’s pupils suddenly constricted as he looked to the floor. Upon seeing the water puddles below, he inwardly cursed.
A snowfall in Huacheng typically doesn’t accumulate; the melted snowwater spreads throughout the city.
Those small “water sources” would be scattered across the city’s corners, meaning Mu Se could randomly disseminate X Tai Sui’s organization across Huacheng, and then…
d*mn it, why did I only notice this now?
It’s over, no chance of saving it?
With this thought, Lu Yibei’s face turned pale instantly as he remained silent for a few seconds, suddenly clenching his fists.
No, it’s not over; as long as I succeed, it’ll be fine!
As long as I succeed…
He silently thought and drew out the “Guide to the Perfect Escape in Huacheng” from his pants pocket, crumpling it into a ball with intense force.
