Chapter 4: Information Bombardment
Two hours later, on the dilapidated rooftop.
Qing Ji supported himself with both hands, lying on the ground, gasping for air, beads of sweat covering his forehead.
The legendary Hundred-Armed Giant is said to be an existence capable of slaughtering the Titan gods. The d*ath caused by its powers is exceptionally painful and truly unbearable.
Not far away, Luxianbei adjusted his state, stood up, and walked over.
“Ancestor, we’ll continue…”
Qing Ji’s pupils constricted slightly as he suddenly looked at Luxianbei, “Wait a moment, let’s call it a day for today!”
As he spoke, he stood up and clasped his hands behind his back.
“The Master said: excess is as bad as insufficiency. Everything should have a measure; combining work and rest is the right path.”
Luxianbei tilted his head and said seriously, “But I think I can still go on.”
Qing Ji’s mouth twitched slightly, and he slowly drew a sword from his sleeve, glancing sideways at Luxianbei, “No, I think you can’t.”
In fact, at the beginning, Qing Ji had doubted whether his great-grandson’s early demise might be related to this girl who calls herself his great-granddaughter-in-law.
But now, he had completely dismissed that suspicion.
If it really fell into her hands, would one d*e so easily?
Luxianbei looked at Qing Ji with a complex expression, hesitating to speak several times, “Alright, Ancestor, then I’ll take my leave.”
After all, such days are still long ahead!
Calculating the time, it was almost dawn. If she missed today’s sunrise, she would have to maintain her urban legend state all day long.
That would be troublesome, as there were some things she couldn’t do in her current state.
For instance, reporting to the Siye Society, or going to the telecom office to replace her SIM card, or going to school to prepare the necessary procedures with Professor Ma…
Ten minutes later.
On the rooftop of Jingyi Apartment Complex, a “mummy” faced the sky tinged with dawn, spreading its arms wide.
As the sun leaped over the horizon, brilliant golden-red light fell on the curvaceous “mummy.”
Responding to the sunlight, a faint glow emerged from her skin through the gaps in the bandages.
Pale thick smoke rose, gradually obscuring her body, and under the cover of the smoke, the outline of a figure grew taller and more upright.
Thus, beneath the scene where the mummy seemed to “collapse” upon encountering sunlight, Luxianbei gradually returned to his original form.
“…”
He raised a hand to gently brush his chest; the cold air from the witch’s egg within him had calmed down, along with the violently agitated power of the Hundred-Armed Giant, which temporarily fell silent.
Perhaps because the Hundred-Armed Giant is rumored to be capable of slaughtering the Titan gods, its power has the strongest destructive capability against the mythological-species urban legend spirit energy fluctuation body, followed by the witch species connected to mythology.
In contrast, as a spiritual ability user whose energy fluctuation originates from spirit patterns, humans are in the safest state.
So, the saying that divinity is a DEBUFF is not incorrect at all!
After stretching his limbs a bit and confirming he didn’t lack any crucial components, Luxianbei rolled his eyes and snorted, “Hmph! It’s just a Hundred-Armed Giant; you think you can k*ll me?”
“Didn’t expect it, huh? I’m a man equipped with three operating systems!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a sudden sharp pain shot through his chest, as if a large hand had tightly grasped his heart, causing it to halt momentarily, and he fell to the ground.
His body convulsed, as if someone had poked him from behind with an electric baton.
The power of the Hundred-Armed Giant seemed to warn him in this way, “I’m still here; don’t get too cocky!”
Luxianbei, “…”
Alright, I’ll count you as DIO!
At worst, I’ll adopt the persona of a melancholy beauty who has suffered from congenital heart disease since childhood; that’s acceptable, right?
If I’m lucky, I might encounter a cheerful beautiful girl and start a romance like in a Korean drama!
At this thought, an image inexplicably flashed through Luxianbei’s mind of Gu Qiqi rushing toward him, shouting “Oppa!” and then tripping on the ground.
d*mn! I meant a cheerful girl, not a silly girl! Luxianbei thought, shaking his head vigorously.
————
10:32 AM.
In Huacheng University City, outside the telecom office.
Luxianbei eagerly inserted the newly purchased SIM card into his new phone, skillfully powered it on, connected to the internet, opened the app store, and downloaded the app “Love and Magical Girls.”
The “Flower of Confusion in Parallel Timelines” exploded; the four-piece set around his home had been stolen. Now, he could only slightly soothe his wounded young heart by gazing at Bai Xiaohua’s “voice and appearance” in the game.
Just like when “the alarm rings in the morning, wanting to snooze, but when he wakes up again, he realizes he’s already half an hour late, as if time had been devoured by something!”
“It’s strange how normally no one ever contacts me, but once my phone is off for over twenty-four hours, there suddenly appears a ton of explosive messages.” This was also a big mystery.
After his phone completed contact synchronization and re-downloaded various social media apps to log in, Luxianbei’s new phone immediately entered bombardment mode with notifications.
Messages from Water Brother, Gu Qiqi, Professor Ma, Jiang Li, Du Sixian, and others, along with notifications from Douban Cloud’s billing center, Youqi Yi member renewal, “Love and Magical Girls” New Year event announcements, and various miscellaneous spam messages totaled over a thousand.
His phone vibrated continuously, like some indescribable adult toy.
Holding his phone, Luxianbei sought a milk tea shop near the telecom office, bought a cup of milk tea, found a corner to sit down, and patiently opened each message one by one.
Just like eating, information needs to be read line by line, and this pile of miscellaneous affairs needed to be handled one by one; there’s no need to rush.
Opening the inbox, the first message Luxianbei saw was from an unfamiliar number, sent over an hour ago.
“Luxianbei, I am your ally, noted but unknown.
I’m in big trouble right now, I need 200 urban legends and 30 million RMB to solve this problem. I’m not in a position to meet with you right now; you can transfer the money via WeChat or ZhiFuBao. The account is my phone number.
After transferring, I will send someone to pick up the core of the urban legend. Once I successfully resolve the crisis and recover the old territory, you’ll get half the benefits!”
“…”
What era is this? Even scammers know to keep up with the times?
Is someone still resorting to this “I, Qin Shi Huang, need money!” type of scam?
Sneering at the message, Luxianbei casually clicked the return button in the top left corner and blocked this number deemed fraudulent by his phone’s security software.
Continuing to scroll through the inbox, Luxianbei saw messages from Gu Qiqi.
That guy, having not seen him for a while, sent messages all inquiring about whether he was alive. Initially, it was relatively subtle; later, it directly turned into “Are you there? Are you dead?” Sent every night at midnight, precisely like clocking in.
These messages seemed to express concern for his well-being, but recalling how Gu Qiqi always secretly tried to harm him, even using vile means like poisoning in an alchemical potion.
So, upon closer look, it became clear from the subtleties of her messages that they were filled with the sentiment “I hope Luxianbei dies early!”
“…”
Given my current state of continuously bleeding from urban legend transformation, about to explode, it’s better not to let anyone discover I’m still alive.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be an issue easily resolved with a pig trotter meal.
Luxianbei thought, directly skipping Water Brother’s unnutritious, whiny messages, and clicked on Du Sixian’s messages.
There were only three in total, yet they stunned Luxianbei for three minutes.
“Du Sixian: Benefactor, can we meet sometime?”
“Du Sixian: Benefactor, I’ve found your secret base! Everyone is very friendly here! I didn’t expect the urban legends to be like this.”
“Du Sixian: Benefactor, your management is so poor; when I return, I’ll have the HR department at my dad’s company help you out with some management plans.”
Luxianbei, “???”
What on earth? Did she somehow find Happy Neighborhood? How did she manage to find it? What did she do once she got there?
After reading Du Sixian’s messages, Luxianbei, who initially didn’t know how to deal with that matter first, suddenly found his direction.
He first needed to head to Happy Neighborhood and see what Du Sixian had done to the urban legends in Huacheng; hopefully, it wasn’t complete chaos.
Further scrolling through messages, after reviewing three not-so-serious messages, Luxianbei finally saw a relatively normal person.
The message was from Professor Ma, mainly notifying him about the publication progress of the paper he had submitted before, as well as the progress of the joint research project on Dongyi culture.
Two messages stood out to Luxianbei, one sent ten days ago and the other yesterday.
“Professor Ma: The project team has approved your joining as my assistant.”
“Professor Ma: The project team has made new discoveries over in Tangcheng and has decided to start the project research early. I plan to depart on the 6th; it looks like I won’t be able to spend the New Year in Huacheng this year; are you alright with that? Please reply.”
After reading Professor Ma’s messages, Luxianbei furrowed his brow and muttered to himself, “The 6th? Isn’t that the day after tomorrow?”
As he spoke, he clicked the input box, typed “Received,” and then hit send.
Less than a minute after sending the message, he received a reply from Professor Ma.
“Professor Ma: You little rascal, where have you been these days? I haven’t been able to reach you by phone; you’ve got everyone worried!”
Luxianbei, “…” Although this message seemed warm-hearted, the term “you little rascal” was questionable.
“Luxianbei: Uh, I went back to visit relatives; there’s no signal in the countryside.”
“Professor Ma: Are you back now? Perfect timing, hurry up and pack your things, I’ve already bought your flight ticket. Research demands efficiency, don’t keep dawdling. Meet at the school gate at eight in the morning the day after tomorrow.”
Luxianbei, “…”
When did I become a researcher? Why do I feel like this old man has trapped me?
“Luxianbei: Understood, see you the day after tomorrow.”
After replying to Professor Ma, Luxianbei then opened the messages from Jiang Li, putting aside Water Brother’s whiny complaints, Luxianbei was curious to see what she had said.
He assumed they were mostly reminders for him to report to the Siye Society, possibly even complaints about how he left her with a mess.
However, after reading Jiang Li’s messages, he fell into a complex silence.
It was as if a heavy bomb had exploded in his brain, making a buzzing sound.
————
January 22, Jiang Li: Are you there? [heart emoji]
January 23, Jiang Li: Thirty-two event report reminders? What’s up with your acting agent during this time? When you come back, I’ll slowly explain this to you.
January 24, Jiang Li: Today I watched the movie you recommended; the ending was terrible.
January 25, Jiang Li: Didn’t expect your sheets to be quite cute; are they from some two-dimensional character?
January 28, Jiang Li: Today I went to the hospital to see Ahua; she’s recovering very well. I’m fine too.
January 30, Jiang Li: I watched that movie for the seventh time; I don’t know if it’s just me, but the ending doesn’t seem that bad anymore.
February 1, Jiang Li: You probably won’t reply to me anymore, right?
February 2, Jiang Li: Are you there? [heart emoji]
————
“Bang——!”
A loud thud reverberated in the milk tea shop, drawing the attention of the other customers.
Ignoring the gazes of others, Luxianbei looked at his phone with red eyes and gritted his teeth, “Sun Zhai! I finally caught you! You’re the one messing with my precious?!”
“Just you wait!”
As he spoke, he quickly opened his contacts, found Jiang Li’s phone number, and dialed it.
“Hello, the number you dialed is turned off; please wait a moment…”
“Beep——!”
Hanging up, Luxianbei left the milk tea shop without a moment’s pause.
Initially, he planned to head to Happy Neighborhood to check things out, but now he changed his mind; he needed to confront Jiang Li at the Siye Society!
————
Twenty minutes later.
On Mudan Street, at the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau.
Wearing a bright red floral padded jacket, a girl squatted in a small garden, gazing up at the last dried leaf on the big tree above, lost in thought.
At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded.
A figure with an energetic stride hastily walked through the door, rushed into the office building, and shortly after stormed out again.
Not finding Jiang Li and Ahua in the office, Luxianbei stood in the middle of the small garden with his hands on his hips, his posture resembling an angry person ready to scold, chewing fiercely on a spicy strip.
As if he wanted to “k*ll” it.
Strange, where did they run off to?
I won’t believe this!
I’ll just wait here today; since it’s Friday, she must show up.
As Luxianbei quietly muttered to himself, Li Xuan entered holding a file.
Upon seeing Luxianbei, Li Xuan raised an eyebrow, smirked slightly, and said somewhat sarcastically, “Oh, isn’t this our dear Luxianbei, the acting agent? Where have you been playing around during this time? Can’t fit in the Siye Society anymore, huh?”
Luxianbei shot Li Xuan a cold glare, “I went to research high-end sports car bumper disassembly techniques.”
Hearing this, Li Xuan’s expression twitched, suddenly reminded of his new car parked at the street corner, hesitating to speak.
“By the way, have you seen Jiang Li?” Luxianbei asked.
“You’re waiting for her?” Li Xuan looked Luxianbei up and down and smirked, “Then I’ll tell you, you won’t be waiting for long! She took a day off today.”
“Tsk! With such leaders, no wonder we get such subordinates!”
Ignoring Li Xuan’s sarcasm, Luxianbei pressed on, “Where did she go?”
Li Xuan rolled his eyes, “How would I know? As her subordinate, shouldn’t you be most aware of her whereabouts?”
Luxianbei narrowed his eyes, looking at Li Xuan, and said softly, “Then as the owner of your beloved car, you must be very clear about its bumper’s whereabouts, right?”
Li Xuan, “???”
————
In Huacheng, on the outskirts, at Lions Mountain Cemetery.
The sky was overcast, the gentle wind seemed to whisper something.
Amid the greenery, in front of a tombstone, a sculpture shaped like Bai Xiaohua stood out conspicuously among the many gloomy tombstones.
In front of the sculpture, dressed in a black formal suit, Jiang Li quietly watched as the stonemason carved Luxianbei’s name into the tombstone.
After the name was engraved, the stonemason turned to Jiang Li and asked, “Miss, should I also carve the words ‘My Love’ in front?”
“…” Jiang Li was silent for a few seconds, shook her head, “Let’s forget it.”
The stonemason looked her up and down and asked, “Are you sure it should be like this?”
“I’ve been doing this for many years, and I’ve never seen something like this. If something goes wrong in the future, don’t come looking for me!”
He had seen lions, tigers, and dragons on tombstones, but had never seen a magical girl.
“Fine, just like this…” Jiang Li nodded slightly and then gently called out, “Ahua.”
As Jiang Li gently called, Ahua came forward holding a crystal urn, placing it in the grave.
Inside the crystal urn lay the four-piece set of Bai Xiaohua taken from Luxianbei’s home, as well as a version of “Flower of Confusion in Parallel Timelines,” which Jiang Li had spent a lot of money on recently from online.
Once the urn was in place, Jiang Li looked at the stonemason beside her and said flatly, “Master, please seal it up…”
The stonemason’s mouth twitched as he looked at Jiang Li and then at the crystal urn in the grave, quickly took out adhesive and tools to start busying himself.
d*mn! This girl is really strange!
After finishing here, he should promptly inform Miss An about what was going on.
Having worked at the cemetery for a long time, the stonemason had learned a few things; any grave with unusual circumstances during burial had a probability of triggering urban legend events ten times higher than other graves.
And as a mole for An Qing, he usually reported odd occurrences up the chain as soon as they arose.
……
Twenty minutes later.
After sealing up “Luxianbei’s Tomb,” the stonemason left without a moment’s delay.
Without watching the stonemason’s retreating figure, Jiang Li took the bouquet handed over by Ahua and placed it before the tombstone, gently wiping the name on it, and sighed silently.
“Ahua, you can go back now?”
Ahua, sensing her thoughts, asked worriedly, “Miss, are you going to his house again tonight? Or should I accompany you? I just got discharged too.”
“No need.” Jiang Li shook her head, “I’m fine on my own.”
“…”
Watching Jiang Li’s silhouette, Ahua opened her mouth but hesitated to speak.
