Chapter 18: To Make Them Perish, One Must First Drive Them Mad
The pale stream of light fell onto the midnight platform, and in an instant, the thought of premonition flashed through Luxianbei’s mind.
Within the stream of light, there was actually a faint breath of life!?
Luxianbei’s expression changed slightly; without time to ponder, she stepped forward and lifted Ahua, immediately applying her movement techniques to sprint ahead.
Accompanied by a slight air explosion, she darted across the platform like a low-flying bird, quickly hiding her figure behind a stone wall.
The next moment, a strong light silently erupted, turning the entire station into a ghastly white.
It was as if a group of invisible beasts lurked within the strong light, grinding their teeth and sucking bl**d, tearing apart the ground, stone pillars, and the ceiling, leaving deep and shallow ravines.
However, before Luxianbei had a moment to catch her breath, a new wave of attacks began.
The assailants outside the station caught the air disturbance caused by her movement.
More streams of light pursued her moving trajectory, descending from the sky.
White frost spread, a cold and fierce windstorm swept through, flames erupted, scorching waves of heat spread, along with unnamed malicious rays and grotesque insects rampaging.
It was as if a high-intensity earthquake had occurred; the entire station shook violently.
Carrying Ahua, Luxianbei, relying on the continuously flashing premonition thoughts in her mind, navigated through the streams of light that kept falling down.
After a long time, they found a relatively safe hiding spot between the grocery store and the restroom, where Ahua quickly enacted a defensive and soundproofing spell, spreading a golden glow that enveloped the narrow alley.
Having already taken up residence there, the homeless people who had spread out their beddings were about to flee when Luxianbei yanked one back and pressed a hand firmly onto the ground.
“Don’t move, just sleep!”
The homeless person, “……”
Luxianbei and Ahua found a temporary hiding place, evading the chaotic bombardment of spells and abilities, but others on the platform were not so fortunate.
On the platform, many homeless individuals who had no time to conceal themselves were caught in the dazzling light that devoured life, their skin torn and bl**d spilled, a thick smell of bl**d mingling with rising smoke.
It was as if thin sheets of paper were being shredded, one life being easily torn apart after another.
A series of spine-chilling wails erupted from the brightest part of the strong light.
On the platform, in the narrow alley between the grocery store and the restroom.
Luxianbei withdrew her gaze from the metallic framework above the station’s canopy and frowned.
Ever since Xiuyao had returned, her premonition thoughts had been constantly reminding her that someone was observing her from the ceiling.
This kind of stalking behavior made her uncomfortable; since the individual had not made any overt moves, she had merely been cautiously on guard without any further reactions.
However…
Not long after that, an ambush was launched outside the station.
Could this be related to the person who was spying on her? Luxianbei thought to herself.
In deep thought, she turned to Ahua, her expression serious. “Speaking of which, what kind of shady business have you two been up to? You’ve certainly made some powerful enemies!”
Faced with Luxianbei’s accusation of being a troublemaker first, Ahua’s mouth twitched. “Don’t put that on me. I haven’t interacted with those guys since arriving here; how could I have any grievances?”
“Aren’t you the one posting missing person notices everywhere?”
Ahua was stunned for a moment. “What kind of grievances could arise from that?”
“Destroying the city’s environment, affecting its beauty? You’ve posted so many that it falls into the realm of urban blight,” Luxianbei said seriously.
Ahua, “……” Does this city even have such a thing as beauty?
Those assorted small advertisements plastered on the walls were already as bad as it gets; am I the one making it worse?
“Why does it have to be me who makes enemies? Can’t you look for the reason within yourself?” Ahua said angrily.
“Because it can’t possibly be me!” Luxianbei shrugged, “Before I met you, I hadn’t even left the train. The only urban legend I interacted with, I got along particularly well with; to be honest, when we parted ways, she was reluctant to let me go and even cried.”
“Just think, how could someone as kind as me, who treats others well, possibly make enemies? Are enemies falling from the sky?”
“……” Ahua felt that Luxianbei had a point, nodded, adjusted her glasses, and pressed on. “Does that mean it’s possible that someone you offended outside has followed you here?”
“Uh…” Luxianbei was briefly taken aback, then shrugged. “I don’t know. There are plenty of people who want me dead; how could I know who it is?”
“Ah? You have many enemies?” Ahua asked dazedly.
In her impression, Luxianbei was still that cowardly temporary operative from the Siye Society, or the Wang Buliu sneaking around beneath their noses; she never imagined someone like her could have any enemies.
“Wow, that’s a lot!” Luxianbei clapped her thigh. “What with Haze God, Pestilence Taijie, the Ship God, Solar Eclipse Society, and let me think…”
Ahua facepalmed, raising her hand to interrupt. “Alright, just stop talking.”
If you keep going, it’s giving me the creeps.
It’s a miracle you’re still alive!
But…
“Those guys you mentioned, if they wanted to k*ll you, they probably wouldn’t use this kind of method,” Ahua said.
“Why?” Luxianbei asked suspiciously.
“……” Ahua rolled her eyes at Luxianbei. “Do I really need to explain this?”
“Leaving aside the rest, the Haze God and Pestilence Taijie are both urban legends that give the Siye Society a headache; if they truly wanted to deal with you, wouldn’t it be as easy as crushing a small chicken out there?”
“Why send a bunch of scattered soldiers to take risks and ambush you in Dream Come True? Why not just handle it directly?”
Ahua had already sensed using her special spiritual awareness that those spiritual ability users and urban legends outside the station had no similarities in spirit energy fluctuations, nor was there any coordination whatsoever.
It felt entirely like they were hastily gathered from various places, not showing any signs of coming from the same faction.
Scattered soldiers? Luxianbei repeated in her mind, her eyes spinning briefly before looking at the stinking homeless person beside her. “Not me, not you… Could it be him?”
“Uncle, be honest with me, are you some sort of underground party leader rebelling against the tyranny of the Alchemy Big Pharmacy?”
The homeless person, “？？？”
Seeing the homeless person silent, Luxianbei crouched down, leaned closer, handed him a spicy stick, lowered her voice, and clenched a fist, roaring, “Workers of the world unite…”
Halfway through the slogan, she raised an eyebrow at the homeless person, indicating he should complete the phrase.
Accompanied by the continuous sound of explosions outside the station, the atmosphere suddenly heated up.
“……”
The homeless person didn’t speak, but still awkwardly accepted the spicy stick Luxianbei offered, popping it into his mouth.
Living in the city dominated by the Alchemy Big Pharmacy, being homeless had long turned sustenance into a luxury; they had always had enough to eat for the moment, so as long as food was offered, the homeless would refuse nothing.
“Looks like he’s not one of us.”
Watching the silent homeless person, Luxianbei shook her head, ripped the spicy stick from him, and used her talent ability to blow it to dust.
Not our good comrade, why should I feed you!?
The homeless person, “……”
Ahua, “……” Luxianbei, please act like a human!
Muttering under her breath, she shot Luxianbei a glance and said softly, “Wang Buliu, stop fooling around and figure out what to do now?”
“Those guys outside are clearly well-prepared. If we’re going to fight, we should at least…”
While she was speaking, several streams of light flew in through the gaps in the station’s awning, exploding violently, as the flames shot out, heavy airwaves rolled, and scorching winds fanned out in all directions.
The storm struck against the defensive spell, causing web-like cracks to spread inch by inch, the spell teetered on the brink of collapse, and Ahua hurriedly summoned her spiritual energy to repair it.
Luxianbei shrank her neck, looking at Ahua. “What fighting!? Can’t you sense the spirit energy fluctuations outside?”
“At least there are seven or eight A Grades and a whole bunch of B Grades; wouldn’t going out just mean handing ourselves over? You go out, I’m staying right here at the station, not going anywhere!”
“But…” Ahua hesitated to speak.
“Don’t but me!” Luxianbei patted Ahua on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, as long as we don’t leave the station, they won’t have any good way to deal with us.”
“I had nothing to do on the way here, so I thoroughly read through the brochure on the Giant Number train.”
Luxianbei felt that understanding the local regulations in a new place was necessary, this way, she could find loopholes in the system to exploit whenever.
“It said in the brochure about station regulations that the station is a neutral safe zone, no conflict involving the use of spirit energy is allowed inside the station; otherwise, it would attract joint sanctions from three parties.”
“Look, they’re only launching random skills outside, like playing a lottery, without any clear targets. They certainly don’t dare come in; that’s why they’re doing it like this.”
“Am I wrong?” As Luxianbei spoke, she raised her eyebrows at the homeless person beside her.
The homeless person, “……” Can you stop dragging me in when you talk? We really aren’t that close!
Ahua shot a glance at the bewildered homeless person and turned to Luxianbei, her expression serious. “If we don’t go out to fight, do we just hide here? That’s too passive! How about we strike back?”
“Absolutely not!” Luxianbei countered.
“We’re still inside the station; if we strike back while inside, that would definitely involve the use of spirit energy, and those guys outside might have aimed for this very point with their attack strategy.”
“But…” Ahua frowned, paused, and continued, “Should we just wait here and do nothing? The nights here are quite long…”
Luxianbei straightened her back, slightly lifting her chin. “Of course not! Do I look like someone who would just sit and do nothing?”
Ahua gave a sideways glance at the smug Luxianbei, “I don’t think you’re someone who would just sit and do nothing; you seem more like someone who escapes at the last minute to save yourself.”
“If it weren’t for the fact that this station only has one exit and no other way out, you would’ve fled already, right?”
“Let’s be honest, that is true…” Luxianbei nodded in agreement.
Before nightfall, while she was setting up landmines, she had studied the surrounding terrain.
This station was almost an independent existence, separated from the dilapidated city controlled by the Alchemy Big Pharmacy, with deep black abysses on three sides.
It was like a lonely peninsula, with only a narrow road leading to land.
After a brief contemplation, Luxianbei sighed quietly. “Oh! That was a miscalculation!”
“I thought the locals would follow the rules and wouldn’t attack the station, but I didn’t expect them to just throw skills into the station from outside.”
“It seems that locals are indeed more adept at exploiting loopholes in regulations.”
“What time is it, and you’re still in the mood to compliment the enemy?” Ahua said angrily.
“Don’t panic!” Luxianbei patted Ahua on the shoulder, her expression serious. “They can exploit loopholes, and so can I! I’ve already thought of a way to deal with this situation.”
Staying in a place with obvious security flaws in the Alchemy Big Pharmacy, how could Luxianbei not have prepared an escape route for herself?
“Thought of a plan?” Ahua asked blankly.
“Yup!” Luxianbei shrugged. “What do you think I’ve been doing all afternoon?”
“……”
Ahua seriously recalled and looked into Luxianbei’s eyes, saying solemnly, “Eating spicy sticks, sleeping in, chatting with the homeless, flipping through the station brochure, oh, and running to the restroom a dozen times.”
Luxianbei, “……” Can’t I do something serious in your eyes?
“The correct way to put it would be, replenishing energy, conserving strength, gathering information, and setting traps,” Luxianbei corrected.
While speaking, she noticed that the sounds of explosions outside and the attacks within the station had quieted down, the surroundings once again falling into silence. After waiting a moment, confirming that the ambushers outside had paused their attacks, she stood up.
“It’s about time.” Luxianbei muttered to herself, then turned to Ahua. “I’m going out to check the situation; stay here and don’t move.”
“……” Ahua opened her mouth but hesitated to speak.
“Don’t worry; I won’t leave you behind.”
Unless the situation is particularly dangerous… Luxianbei secretly added in her heart, then left their hiding spot and walked towards the platform.
————
At the Alchemy Big Pharmacy station, under the ceiling supported by interwoven metal frames above the platform.
Having already transformed into a flower parrot-like Xiuyao, hiding in the highest beam of the metallic framework, she looked outside through the station’s ventilation opening.
Within a hundred meters outside the station stretched barren land covered with dry yellow weeds, devoid of any light.
It seemed the planners of the distant city deliberately wanted to keep a distance from the station.
At this moment, the originally dark wasteland was ablaze, the ignited weeds igniting sparks, fluttering in the night sky like swarms of insects.
Luxianbei had already set traps with triggering spells, leaving various-sized pits in the ground, surrounded by incomplete corpses scattered around the pits.
“Setting traps in advance? That’s interesting.” Xiuyao muttered. “However, I fear that alone won’t be enough…”
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward the depths of the wasteland.
On the desolate land, shadows surged densely, gradually approaching the station.
After suffering heavy casualties, they had finally opened up a relatively safe route for movement.
These pathetic souls deeply addicted to drugs, whose souls had been corrupted, would never easily give up such an opportunity for a one-time solution.
Seeing this, a trace of disdain flashed in Xiuyao’s eyes.
The three forces along the Dream Come True journey, although colluding with each other on the surface, operated independently internally, and their methods diverged greatly.
To deal with someone, the Orchid Inn general stores typically used “seductive tactics,” the Dream Come True Entertainment City advocated fair games with absolute chips, while the Alchemy Big Pharmacy, as Black Peony would say, was completely different from the other two.
Severe illness require fierce medication; Yuguangxi is someone who enjoys using heavy handed tactics, usually employing straightforward, simple, and brutal methods in crisis situations.
However, with fierce medication comes the inevitable side effects.
As far as Xiuyao knew, every time Yuguangxi took action, it was accompanied by a substantial amount of d*ath.
In his view, killing some homeless was no big deal.
After all, they had long been living a life worse than d*ath.
“Using fierce medication? How crude and rough!” Xiuyao scoffed.
As she spoke, her gaze shifted to the concealed Luxianbei, her narrowed eyes indicating her curiosity. “I want to see how you, the one valued by the master, will deal with Yuguangxi’s ‘fierce medication’…”
As her words fell, a loud shout echoed from within the station.
“Dead! That guy is dead! Awesome! Hahaha, it’s all mine, it’s all mine!”
Following that, the voice softened, sounding sinister. “Hehe, a group of idiots, waiting to enter after it’s over, you still want to eat meat? Hmph! You won’t even get warm soup.”
The one shouting, though deliberately lowering their voice, still carried hints of a childish tone, sounding somewhat familiar.
Upon hearing, Xiuyao, now parrot-like, squinted her little green bean-like eyes.
But how did they know who Yuguangxi wanted to k*ll and what he wanted?
Wait, no, they never said anyone was dead, nor did they say anything was theirs…
Heh, interesting!
Xiuyao chuckled in her heart and turned her gaze back to the station; those ambushers gathering outside, upon hearing the shout from inside, clearly became restless.
Indeed, before them, there had been some spirit ability users and urban legends who either had been forced to pave the way with their bodies and survived by fortune or used their strong spirit energies to proceed first through the densely trapped area, nearing the station.
It didn’t rule out the possibility that some took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the station and search for their target.
In fact, given the opportunity, everyone present or any urban legend would do the same.
After all, there was only one spot for the Red-Robed Overseer!
At this moment, the call from within the station sounded again.
“Wait, wait, don’t attack!”
“Boom—!”
Immediately after the call, a loud explosion reverberated from within the station.
“That’s something you got right! I’ll split it with you, what… what? You want it all? Don’t be too… ah——!”
Before the voice could finish, accompanied by a scream, another explosion roared within the station.
“Boom—!”
Through the station’s roof vent, faint blue-purple electric light along with flames flickered.
After the two explosions and one scream, the station fell silent once more, but the restless emotions within the gathered ambushers on the barren ground outside were rapidly escalating.
“Did someone start a fight inside the station? How dare they…”
“Wasn’t it said that it’s best to capture someone alive?”
“You just said ‘best’; doesn’t the bounty say? Bringing back the core of the urban legend is fine too.”
“How about we sneak in and take a look? There might still be an opportunity.”
“Forget it, it’s probably too late.”
“……”
Although the ambushers expressed their intentions to give up verbally, each individual or myth quietly distanced themselves from the others, then…
“Whoosh—!”
With a burst of air, a shadow shot like an arrow out of the crowd, darting toward the station.
Thus, after a brief silence, all ambushers shed their disguises, tearing off their masks, revealing their most ferocious forms, and the curtain was raised for the battle to seize the Red-Robed Overseer’s slot.
————
Inside the station.
Luxianbei concealed in the shadows, wearing a black robe transformed from her coat, her long hair and most of her face covered by the hood and high collar of the robe, with only her pair of eyes visible.
In her hand, she held a brochure she had taken from the Giant Number train, currently opened to “Appendix Three. Guidelines for the Use of Spirit Energy in Stations.”
【1. No conflicts involving the use of spirit energy are allowed inside the station (Note 1: This does not include defensive counterattacks made by travelers who were attacked with spirit energy without having used any spirit energy themselves first.)
(Note 2: Accidental accidents caused by personal items of travelers are excluded, but we reserve the right to request compensation within a reasonable limit…)
……
5. Anyone who destroys the station’s transportation facilities will be dealt with severely…】
“Perfect, an accidental explosion from a personal bomb doesn’t count as using spirit energy in a fight; if they make the first move, things will be simple!”
“Ha! Isn’t it just finding loopholes? Who can’t do that!”
“Besides, everything I did was within the rules! I even have witnesses,” Luxianbei spoke to herself, her peripheral gaze drifting toward the approximate location where Xiuyao was hiding.
Just then, a series of explosive sounds came from outside the station as the remaining “landmines” were triggered.
At the sound, Luxianbei’s pupils slightly constricted; she quickly stashed away the brochure and focused her spirit on the entrance passage.
Like a beast waiting for prey, she quietly lay in wait, coiling her power.
To bring about their downfall, one must first drive them mad. Now, those ambushers outside, influenced by drugs, were already going mad!
Soon, a faint sound of footsteps echoed in the empty entrance passage, followed by a flash of premonition thought in Luxianbei’s mind.
【It appeared at the entrance passage.】
The next moment, as a shadow emerged at the entrance, a strong wave of spirit energy suddenly erupted from Luxianbei’s body, and she let out a low growl.
“Want to rob me? No way! d*e!”
However, she merely stirred her spirit energy and emitted a low roar without making any attacking moves, just following her premonition, she swiftly dodged to the side.
The urban legend that was the first to enter the station heard the growl, sensed the wave of spirit energy approaching, and was alarmed; it had no time to think. Opening its mouth, it sprayed a large amount of foul-smelling acidic liquid toward the direction of the sound and energy wave.
However…
The girl who had let out the low growl seemed to have already anticipated its “counterattack,” dodging to the side and watching it with an expressionless face. She calmly said, “Oh, oh, you made the first move! Everything I do next counts as self-defense!”
As she spoke, the broken sword in her hand burst into flames in the dark.
Urban Legend, “???”
