Chapter Nine: The Black Sun Totem
“That’s right, that’s right! Gu Qiqi, you finally have a bit of the protagonist’s aura! A protagonist should be like this, with a bat in hand, charging through everything!”
Gu Qiqi slowly landed, glanced around, and murmured quietly, “But isn’t it too rough for a girl? Will I not be able to get married in the future?”
System, “……”
“System?”
“System? Say something!”
Gu Qiqi called out twice, and immediately she heard a mechanical response in her ear.
“I’m extremely sorry, the signal connection is affected by mysterious forces, your friend [Super Beautiful Girl Demon Slayer System] has been disconnected!”
“Ugh… disconnected again?”
Gu Qiqi murmured to herself, holding the metal bat in one hand. She stepped lightly, and with a loud crack of ground and stone, her figure shot forward several meters towards the urban legend.
She didn’t take the system’s disconnection to heart. In the past, the system would occasionally go silent, and according to its explanation, it was due to “bad signal.”
Gu Qiqi firmly believed this, so she decided to get down to business first!
Gu Qiqi’s earth-shattering return surprised Luxianbei. It was only when Gu Qiqi charged forward, whipping up a fierce wind, that she suddenly regained her senses.
What was that just now? A guardian spirit? A summoned beast? Or a stand user?
Luxianbei sarcastically thought to herself and quickly put on a posture of “I don’t know this urban legend,” stepping back a good distance.
Before leaving, she threw the urban legend a meaningful “expression.”
(≖。≖)✧
Urban Legend, “…… What was that? Why did she give me a cold glare as she left?”
A witch with a high-level spirit energy fluctuation, accompanied by a mid-level spirit energy fluctuation user, appeared in my territory on a moonless night…
Got it! This must be a senior taking a junior or a dependent out for hunting practice to boost their strength! That look of hers was a warning not to act rashly!
With that thought, the urban legend suddenly felt a chill; it didn’t expect that such a small probability event, existing only in rumors, would happen to it one day.
Seeing that the urban legend seemed unable to understand the profound meaning of her “expression” [See? This is what happens when you don’t finish off your prey!], Luxianbei couldn’t be bothered to explain. She confirmed Gu Qiqi’s approximate location with her peripheral vision and turned to run in the opposite direction.
Having encountered Gu Qiqi twice in the urban legend’s territory, coupled with the terrifying combat power she exhibited, Luxianbei couldn’t help but speculate on her identity.
She might also be an urban legend, or someone specifically hunting urban legends.
Who knows if she has a way to recognize me? If she harbored a grudge and sought revenge, that would be troublesome. Moreover, my current state could also be considered as an urban legend, so she might very well attack me.
Luxianbei compared their combat power in her mind. Gu Qiqi was an urban legend hunter with abilities similar to those of a stand user, while she could only produce heat—a demon, uh, a male demon!
It was largely luck that she managed to knock Gu Qiqi out with a sneak attack; it didn’t mean she would have the same odds in a life-and-d*ath struggle.
Given the uncertainty of their power disparity, it was better to keep a distance for now. This way, whether to fight or retreat, she would have enough buffer!
As Luxianbei thought, she walked away from Gu Qiqi, and in a moment of silence, wind and rain surged. Suddenly, an angry roar echoed in her ears, crashing like a tsunami.
In the midst of that roar, her spirit was stirred, unable to resist stopping to turn and look back, and then she saw the scene of Gu Qiqi executing the urban legend.
Yes, executing. That shocking yet solemn scene left Luxianbei momentarily at a loss for a more suitable description.
Gu Qiqi tightly held the metal bat, raised high. In the next moment, a gigantic arm with a dark iron color emerged behind her, exuding an aura as heavy as a mountain, gently supporting her arm as the bat struck down, the tremors grew stronger.
At first, it was only a faint quiver, which quickly turned into a roar!
Like knives and axes splitting, like waves surging, like the earth cracking.
Faced with the terrifying spirit energy fluctuation, from the gaps in the urban legend’s ribs that protruded from its armpit, bl**d and flesh surged for a moment, and then scattered, transforming into a swarm of pale monster fish that flew towards the metal bat.
Thick fog gathered from all directions and, guided by the monster fish, coalesced into a barrier, that grey-white color resembling boiling lime.
Then, the barrier formed from the fog was torn apart.
Under the tremendous force that could move mountains and fill seas, the urban legend began to twist and deform, its bones cracking loudly, and fissures slowly opened on its body surface.
As Luxianbei expected, the bloody scene of flesh and bl**d splattering did not occur.
At the moment the bat made contact, it shattered completely, scattering into dead fish all over the ground, which then turned to dust.
In the blink of an eye, nothing remained of the urban legend but a fish-eye-sized eyeball.
The massive arm’s phantom behind Gu Qiqi gradually dissipated; she appeared to have just undergone intense physical exertion, her face pale, sweat forming on her forehead, breathing heavily.
“Hu—hu—!”
Once her breathing began to smooth out slightly, she took two steps forward, bent down, and picked up the eyeball from the ground. When she picked it up, it struggled a few times like a fish.
She held the eyeball, shook it in the air, and said to herself, “System, this is its main body, right? Does this count as completing the task now?”
Gu Qiqi asked, and right after that, a prompt from the system rang in her mind.
“Congratulations, cough cough, congratulations host for completing the task, receiving 200 points and one Essence of Refinement.”
” ding-dong——! You have a refinement essence waiting to be collected. Would you like to collect it now?”
Gu Qiqi was taken aback, looking at the eyeball in her hand with a confused expression, scratching her head, “System, don’t we need to recover the urban legend’s main body this time?”
“No need.”
“Eh!? So, how do I handle this?”
“Give it to her!”
“Who?” Gu Qiqi tilted her head and looked around, not seeing a single shadow.
Meanwhile, Luxianbei lay prostrated in the bushes, holding the Ming King statue, sneaking a glance at Gu Qiqi through the gaps in the branches.
In the meantime, her fingers inadvertently brushed over the chest of the Ming King statue, and she soon felt a warm current being drawn in from her fingertips into the Ming King statue.
Luxianbei, “？？？” What is happening? I just brushed it, and it’s absorbing me again!
The next moment, the Ming King statue shone brightly, and a deep sound of mantras began to recite from its mouth.
d*mn! Could it be that the Ming King statue is actually an artificial intelligence speaker? Where is the switch for this thing!?
“DUANG! DUANG!” Luxianbei slapped the Ming King statue twice, and its golden light grew even brighter, the mantra becoming more resonant.
Luxianbei, “……”
With the light and sound emitting from the Ming King statue, Gu Qiqi finally found Luxianbei’s “sneaky” figure. Her eyes lit up, and she happily exclaimed, “Ah! We found her!”
Then she glanced at the eyeball in her hand, frowning slightly as she said, “But why do I have to give her something like this?”
“Just consider it being helpful, to form a good connection!” the system replied, treating it as throwing a piece of meat to a starving wolf to gain time to escape!
“Oh, now that you mention it, I can accept that. But, are you very familiar with her?”
After a moment of silence.
Just when Gu Qiqi began to suspect whether the system had disconnected again, it quietly explained, “Do you remember the witch I mentioned to you, Calamity?” Its voice trembled a bit.
“I remember! Luxianbei, I’ll sooner or later exhaust her campus card, avenging my grudge!” Gu Qiqi said fiercely.
You’d take revenge with your head! Why should she give you her campus card? Are you her mom or her wife? The system silently thought, sighing, “She is Luxianbei! We took her—”
“Shut up!” Gu Qiqi interrupted, “Stop lying! We’re not stupid! How could that possibly be Luxianbei? That’s clearly a cute little sister!”
The system was momentarily speechless, “…… Are you stupid? How is she cute?”
It’s not like she is just a bit exquisite in appearance, has larger eyes, an average physique, and a soft and adorable temperament… uh, she does seem rather cute, but that’s all an illusion!
Never judge the danger level of an urban legend by appearance, hey!
Amidst the system’s silence, Gu Qiqi waved her hand and shouted towards Luxianbei, “Little sister! Little sister! Come here for a moment!”
Hearing Gu Qiqi’s call, Luxianbei paused, reluctantly stood up from the bushes, and pointed to her own nose.
Seeing this, Gu Qiqi smiled and nodded.
Luxianbei narrowed her eyes slightly.
It seemed she didn’t have the ability to discern my real identity, but what did she want me to come over for?
Seeing Luxianbei remain unmoved, Gu Qiqi raised the eyeball in her hand and waved again, “Little sister, come over, I’ll give you this! Hehe!”
Luxianbei stared at the eyeball in Gu Qiqi’s hand, feeling a surge of hunger, as if her entire body was uncontrollably craving it.
Could that be the “food” that alleviates hunger? Luxianbei thought.
But…
Why do I feel like that creepy uncle saying, “Little sister, come here, I’ll give you candy!”?
No way! d*mn! You’re the little sister!
She thought angrily and shook her head.
“System, she’s not coming, then I will go over,” Gu Qiqi said, moving towards Luxianbei.
System, “!!!”
Oh my God! What a reckless act!
At this point, Calamity has probably already hunted the three officers of the Siye Society and completed her transformation! Conflict with her now is courting d*ath!
Perhaps we can only wait until “that day” arrives to seize the opportunity and have a slight chance of winning?
“Gu Qiqi, shut up! Don’t be reckless! Run! Throw the urban legend’s core at her! Hurry, it will be too late if you delay!”
“Don’t rush me, don’t rush me!” Gu Qiqi mumbled, “If I give it to her and leave, if it falls, and gets dirty, what do I do?”
System, “……”
[Task: Throw the core of the River Monkey Ghost to Calamity and evacuate the scene within one minute! Complete the task to earn a reward of 500 points.]
To get Gu Qiqi to obediently evacuate the scene, the system gritted its teeth and laid down its savings.
“Eh?!” The task prompt suddenly echoed in her mind, leaving Gu Qiqi taken aback. She looked at the eyeball in her hand with a difficult expression, then glanced at the hesitating Luxianbei in the distance. With a sigh of resignation, she raised her hand and forcefully threw the eyeball towards her.
“Whoosh——!” The eyeball flew straight, producing a sound explosion.
Luxianbei was startled, her pupils contracting sharply as she hurriedly lunged forward, followed by the sound of the eyeball grinding against the streetlamp, producing a nauseating sound.
d*mn! What is this? Are you the inheritor of the “Killer Tennis” culture?
Luxianbei mentally scoffed, getting to her feet and looking at Gu Qiqi with resentment, only to suddenly discover that she had already run a great distance away, her figure becoming a faint dot at the end of the fog-laden long street.
Luxianbei, “？？？”
Why did she run away?
Moreover…
Luxianbei suspiciously looked back at the eyeball embedded in the bent streetlamp.
She even directly handed this to me; it should be quite valuable, right?
But…
How do I eat this thing?
Luxianbei examined the eyeball, her brows furrowed.
It was an eyeball covered in scales and viscous liquid, murky and soulless like fish eyes, bulging with densely packed small holes, within which tiny monster fish could be vaguely seen peeking their heads out and swaying each time.
“Ugh——!”
Just the thought of having to eat such a thing made Luxianbei gag.
Although psychologically hard to accept, Luxianbei couldn’t help but feel her body’s reaction as she stared at the eyeball; it felt as if a sharp claw was scratching her stomach, producing waves of acidic reflux.
Hunger was like a hook coated in anesthetic, grasping at her nerves, gently pulling it to numbness, driving one to lose reason.
“Glup——!” Luxianbei swallowed hard, raising her hand multiple times only to put it down again, the battle between her mental rejection and primal desire relentless.
Just as she raised her hand once more, reaching towards the eyeball, a sudden powerful wind blew through.
Luxianbei turned to look and saw a masked figure in black appearing from the shadows, darting past her side, and as it passed that bent streetlamp, the eyeball vanished without a trace.
“Who are you? Wait, you…”
Realizing the eyeball had disappeared, Luxianbei abruptly came to her senses. Instinctively, she chased after the masked figure, reaching out to grab its clothing.
Feeling the pull from behind, the black-clothed figure suddenly turned around, casting a cold glance at Luxianbei, and then shuddering.
“Rip——!”
The sound of the fabric on its back tearing echoed, and through the gap torn in the fabric, a dark sun totem-shaped tattoo could be vaguely seen on its tanned back.
After staring at the tattoo for a second or two, a sharp pain shot through Luxianbei’s eyes, and her vision instantaneously blurred.
