Chapter 74: Discussing Skin with a Tiger
Seeing Lu Yibei’s reluctant expression, Proxy Player Sister rolled her eyes and said, “Do you feel like you put in all this effort and gained nothing, feeling like you lost out big time?”
“No, not at all,” Lu Yibei replied seriously. “How could I feel like I’ve lost? To feel that way over such a small matter would mean my mindset is too small, right? Striving may not always yield returns, but if you don’t strive, you won’t even have the qualification to be taken down, right?”
Although Lu Yibei knew that using a large amount of spirit energy and earth vein essence to repair a special space wasn’t a loss for her, it could even be considered a gain.
However, as the saying goes, a crying child gets the milk, so what if she could also get some benefits from Proxy Player Sister by acting a little pitiful…?
Uh, I mean, maybe by playing the victim, she could get some perks from Proxy Player Sister?
It can’t always be her scamming me while I get nothing out of it, right?
Even just a couple of discount vouchers for proxy playing would be nice! Lu Yibei thought.
“…”
After listening to Lu Yibei’s strange remarks, Proxy Player Sister was silent for a few seconds and then said with irritation, “Can you watch fewer toxic motivational quotes every day? Looking at that kind of stuff too much will lower your intelligence!”
“Besides, your authority has been restored, and the spirit energy fluctuation, both in quality and quantity, will increase. Although some of that extra spirit energy should be reserved to maintain the operation of the special space.”
“How much should I reserve?” Lu Yibei asked, puzzled.
Proxy Player Sister shrugged. “Forty-sixty split!”
Lu Yibei frowned slightly. “Only sixty percent usable? That’s fine! Better than nothing!”
“What sixty percent? That’s forty percent!” Proxy Player Sister gave Lu Yibei a glare. “The sixty percent is to be kept in the special space to maintain its operation!”
“…” Lu Yibei was silent for two seconds and deadpan replied, “From what you’re saying, I feel like this special space is more of a burden now. If it really doesn’t work, I can just report myself and hand over the special space to the Siye Society. Who knows, maybe they’ll even give me a little banner recognizing me as a Friend of Humanity.”
“Tsk!” Proxy Player Sister spat. “Look at you! You’re only giving up a bit of spirit energy, and temporarily lost the earth vein essence, can’t use it, right?”
At this point, she paused and looked intently into Lu Yibei’s eyes, saying seriously, “Lu Yibei, you need to understand that while the earth vein essence is very convenient, it only allows your power to surge dramatically in the Huacheng area for a short time.”
“You can’t just hide in Huacheng for the rest of your life, can you? That thing ultimately isn’t your own strength. It’s better to break free from dependence early.”
“Moreover, integrating the earth vein essence into the special space is precisely to allow you to use its amplification effect anytime and anywhere in the future, isn’t it?”
Hearing this, Lu Yibei’s eyes lit up. “What? You can even take the earth vein essence with you?”
“I get it, I get it. It’s like changing a fixed power outlet to a portable power bank, right?”
Proxy Player Sister nodded slightly. “Indeed, that’s one of the most common uses in the God Realm.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yibei momentarily imagined a scenario where, while fighting an enemy, she suddenly pulls out a special space from under her skirt, integrates the earth vein essence into her body, and her combat power skyrockets as if she had taken a stimulant.
However, just as she started to feel a bit excited, Proxy Player Sister poured cold water on her like a merciless sprinkler.
“However, that’s not possible right now. After all, this special space is still just a prototype of the God Realm.”
Lu Yibei frowned slightly.
What use is it to me?
A power bank that can’t be taken out isn’t a good power bank, and a hack that can’t be used anytime, anywhere isn’t a good hack… Lu Yibei thought inwardly.
“However…”
“However? Is there a twist?” Lu Yibei said impatiently. “Can’t you just say it all at once?”
“Aren’t I saying it right now?!” Proxy Player Sister shot her a glance. “Even if it’s only a prototype of the God Realm, it’s not completely impossible to carry it around.”
Lu Yibei scratched her head, asking, “What’s the way?”
Proxy Player Sister squinted her eyes and said meaningfully, “Do you remember the Great Serpent God’s Bamboo Slips Illusion?”
“Of course I remember; it seems to be in Gu Qiqi’s hands,” Lu Yibei nodded.
As the king of urban legends controlling the Huacheng earth vein essence, it’s easy for Lu Yibei to gather information about Gu Qiqi having an ancient roll of bamboo slips.
As for what Gu Qiqi did with the Bamboo Slips Illusion, she was unsure.
After pondering for a moment, Lu Yibei pinched her chin with one hand and squinted her eyes. “You mean for me to go get Gu Qiqi’s bamboo slips?”
“Wouldn’t that be a bit unfair?”
Since reading Gu Xinian’s diary and realizing that Gu Qiqi was her fiancée, Lu Yibei felt she should treat her a little better.
“I was just using it as an example! Don’t always think about shady schemes, okay?” Proxy Player Sister sighed in exasperation. “What I mean is, you could also find a spirit energy item strong enough, just like the Great Serpent God, to ‘entrust’ the God Realm.”
A strong enough spirit energy item… Lu Yibei asked, “Like what?”
“For example… didn’t Mrs. Wang Meili leave you many birthday gifts? There should be some reliable spirit energy items among them, right?”
“Actually, no.” Lu Yibei sighed, rubbing her slightly swollen forehead.
Things like mirrors that let you play rock-paper-scissors with yourself, a bracelet that ensures smoke doesn’t drift toward you while eating hot pot, a plush toy that can predict the winning lottery number from the last draw without looking at the results, and shoes that won’t fall over while walking backward…
Aside from a wooden deer for riding and a pair of gloves that prevent mosquitoes from biting her as long as there are two or more people around, the gifts left by Mrs. Wang Meili had no practical value.
Lu Yibei gradually understood during the gift-unwrapping process that her father, instead of abiding by the agreement to give her those strange items, likely realized they were completely useless as part of his intent to keep her away from spirit energy items.
“No?” Proxy Player Sister replied, clearly not expecting this answer. After pondering for two seconds, she said, “That makes it a bit troublesome. The only spirit energy item I can think of that can withstand this special space is the complete Ling Tai Purification.”
“If you can use Ling Tai Purification as the ‘entrustment’ for this special space, not only can you carry this prototype of the God Realm with you at all times, but the Ling Tai Purification will receive feedback and get strengthened too. It’s a win-win, but…”
“But what? Is it difficult?” Lu Yibei inquired.
How long has it been? I’ve already recovered four out of five fragments.
The last piece shouldn’t take too much effort, right? Lu Yibei thought confidently.
“It’s not difficult, not difficult!” Proxy Player Sister shook her head while suppressing a smirk. “As far as I know, the last fragment is in the hands of [Black Emperor].”
“Who?” Lu Yibei tilted her head.
“One of the five disaster-class spiritual energy manipulators in the Siye Society, and the one with the strongest individual combat ability on the surface,” Proxy Player Sister explained.
“You just need to infiltrate his home, find the last fragment of Ling Tai Purification, and sneak it out without anyone knowing. How does that sound? Easy, right?”
Lu Yibei stared at Proxy Player Sister for a few seconds with a blank expression, confirming she wasn’t joking before clasping her fist towards her.
“Speaking of which… I just remembered, it seems I left the gas on at home when I stepped out, so I need to go back first. Otherwise, Gu Qiqi will get poisoned to d*ath. We can talk about this next time.”
You must be joking!
Stealing from the strongest combat power in the Siye Society is no different from discussing skin with a tiger.
Why don’t you let me think of a way to become the president of the Siye Society instead?
As Lu Yibei pondered, she headed straight toward the edge of the rooftop and silently climbed over the railing.
This is absurd!
It’s like wanting to defeat the first boss after leaving the novice village, realizing the power isn’t enough, and needing to enhance it, but the only way to gain strength is to defeat the final big boss to obtain its dropped equipment, or else you can’t leave the novice village.
It’s a complete deadlock.
Just as Lu Yibei climbed over the rooftop railing, preparing to leap down and escape this damned place, Proxy Player Sister suddenly grabbed her wrist and yanked her back.
“Don’t be hasty! I haven’t finished talking yet!” Proxy Player Sister explained. “I’m not saying you have to steal it yourself; we can employ some indirect tactics!”
“Wow, trying to get me killed isn’t enough, now you want me to drag others into it?” Lu Yibei exclaimed. “You bad person, how can you be so cruel?”
Proxy Player Sister rolled her eyes at Lu Yibei. “I’m not asking you to act right now. I’m just providing you with a reference plan. When to act and whether to take action are still up to you.”
Lu Yibei maintained a blank expression while gesturing for Proxy Player Sister to continue. “I would like to hear more!”
I want to see what tricks you can come up with!
“From what I know, [Black Emperor] has a disciple who is a rare genius from Dachunyang Palace in a century…”
“Alright, I don’t want to hear it.” Lu Yibei interrupted. “I choose to do nothing. I’ll just stay in Huacheng for my entire life; there’s no need to go out.”
After saying that, she climbed back over the rooftop railing once again.
Going from the strongest spiritual ability user to the strongest spiritual ability user’s disciple.
The difficulty level barely dropped from facing the final big boss right after leaving the novice village to facing the strongest of the four kings.
Moreover, with words like Dachunyang Palace and century-rare genius… wait, I’ve heard that name somewhere before?
Realizing this, Lu Yibei suddenly turned to Proxy Player Sister, eyeing her suspiciously. “Is the genius disciple you mentioned named Fu Xinyi?”
That’s right! Back in Tangcheng, that girl seemed to have boasted about being a genius from Dachunyang Palace.
“I don’t know about that…” Proxy Player Sister shrugged and casually replied, “I just know that there’s such a person and she has a close relationship with [Black Emperor]. If we can borrow her to bring out the last fragment, the risk would be much lower.”
“…” Lu Yibei contemplated for a while and asked, “By the way, do you know [Black Emperor]’s name?”
“I don’t know.” Proxy Player Sister pouted, her eyes showing unabashed disdain while speaking.
“Do you have a grudge?” Lu Yibei asked curiously.
“Not really!” Proxy Player Sister remarked dismissively. “I just simply dislike him.”
“Why?”
Proxy Player Sister, “…”
Why? He tried to k*ll me for no reason when we first met. It’s not like I could ask for his name while fighting for my life, right?
Even if I asked, he probably wouldn’t tell me either. For urban legends and spiritual ability users, revealing one’s true name to an enemy is tantamount to giving the enemy an additional method of victory for no reason.
Various cursing and killing methods were already quite common between spiritual ability users and urban legends.
Proxy Player Sister grumbled inwardly but didn’t say it out loud.
If she told Lu Yibei, she might just decide to surrender on the spot.
“Let me put it this way! Suppose there’s a girl who smokes, drinks, gets her hair permed, and fights, but she knows she’s a good girl. Then one day, an old man who mindlessly meddles in her affairs suddenly appears, wanting to preach to her to turn good without understanding what she’s gone through. What do you think she would do?”
Lu Yibei gave Proxy Player Sister a sidelong glance and retorted, “Is that girl you?”
Proxy Player Sister shot Lu Yibei a glare, choosing not to reply.
“Uh, I see.”
From the cold glare in her eyes, Lu Yibei nodded decisively.
Despite her lingering doubts about Proxy Player Sister’s words, pretending to understand at this moment was the right choice.
“In any case, if I get the chance, I’ll give it a try.”
If the genius Proxy Player Sister mentioned is indeed Fu Xinyi, then [Black Emperor] as Fu Xinyi’s mentor is likely Zhang Hainan or someone closely related to him.
In that case, leveraging the complicated relationship between the ancestor and Dachunyang Palace offers some wiggle room.
However, before that, I still need to make adequate preparations to ensure that when facing [Black Emperor], I have at least a 120% chance of escaping successfully, Lu Yibei thought.
————
After spending some more time asking Proxy Player Sister about some details, Lu Yibei bid her farewell, climbed over the rooftop railing, and leaped down, expertly letting herself fall into a sea of darkness.
However.
Although Lu Yibei got a lot of useful information from Proxy Player Sister, it was precisely for this reason that she felt puzzled and couldn’t help but ponder.
Did Proxy Player Sister not have any contact with the ancestor?
If she had deeply communicated with the ancestor, then, being meddled with by [Black Emperor] from Dachunyang Palace, she would at least not resist violently.
d*mn it, suddenly feeling quite curious about what happened to her, what should I do?
As Lu Yibei thought this, she faintly felt that if she delved too deeply into Proxy Player Sister’s matters, it might lead to some very undesirable outcomes.
Then…
Just as she was caught in this dilemma, the darkness before her began to dissipate, and dim light filtered into her view.
Her body seemed buoyed up by the water’s lift, and she heard an eerie and mysterious song ringing in her ears.
————
“…~WRYYYYYYYYYY~YEAH!”
Lu Yibei jolted awake, staring at the white ceiling for a while before sluggishly picking up the phone beside her pillow and answering the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey! Xiaobei, when are you coming out?”
“Ah?” Lu Yibei was taken aback for a few seconds before realizing it was Su Mi’s voice on the other end. She opened her mouth, ready to say something, only to hear Su Mi start complaining.
“What do you mean ‘ah’? Look at the time; didn’t we agree to leave early before the graduation dinner starts to go play games at the internet café?”
Graduation dinner? Playing games at the internet café? Lu Yibei frowned and turned to look outside the window.
Outside, the morning sunlight was as bright as if it had been washed clean, fresh and clear.
That light golden glow passed through the branches of the old trees in the courtyard, spilling onto the windowsill. Tiny dust particles danced in the air, refracting into faint rainbow-colored light clusters.
Seeing this scene, Lu Yibei felt a moment of clarity.
The operation of the special space had gotten back on track.
Aside from the part taken by the Solar Eclipse Society, everything has already returned to normal…
