**Chapter 31: Request for Help**
At exactly 8:30 AM, after a busy night and just over two hours of sleep, Jiang Li woke up in the temporary accommodation prepared for her by the Shancheng Siye Society.
Her high-level spirit energy allowed her to recover quickly from fatigue with just a short rest, but discovering her mother’s name in Tan Qiuming’s transaction records last night kept her awake.
Opening her eyes, she stared at the ceiling for a minute, letting her body “wake up,” and then, as if indifferent to the soft and comfortable bed, she quickly got out of the covers and headed to the washroom.
Five minutes spent brushing her teeth, ten minutes washing her face, meticulously combing her long hair, dressing in a skirt, adjusting her prosthetic limb, and cleaning the silver handle of her cane…
By the time she left her accommodation to head to the Xiyangyang Hotpot Restaurant, and excluding the few seconds of timing error, the clock showed exactly 9:00 AM.
With a cup of soy milk and a portion of multigrain cake, Jiang Li stopped by for breakfast before arriving at Xiyangyang Hotpot Restaurant, where it was eerily quiet, with only Zhong Hui, who arrived early to open, busily sweeping.
Jiang Li was not surprised by this scene. After standing at the door for a few seconds, she walked over to a table, placed her cane down, and went straight to the kitchen.
After working for a while, operatives of the Siye Society often became like nocturnal creatures with habits resembling those of urban legends. The discovery from last night at Han Ye Studio left the Shancheng Siye operatives worn out. By just past nine, aside from Zhong Hui, everyone else was naturally still deep in sleep.
In fact, seeing operatives other than Tang Tang in the Huacheng Siye Society in the morning was also quite difficult.
Of course, outside of the morning hours, the only operative she often saw was Li Xuan.
Seeing Jiang Li come to the hotpot restaurant so early surprised Zhong Hui. When Jiang Li boiled water and brewed tea, and then sat down in the main dining area, he immediately put down his broom and approached her.
“Jiang Li, you’re here quite early!”
As Jiang Li poured the brewed tea into two cups in front of her, she calmly replied, “Yes, I’ve gotten used to waking up early. Once I’m awake, I come over to take a look.”
After saying that, she handed one cup of tea to Zhong Hui.
Zhong Hui blankly took the teacup from Jiang Li’s hand, and as the slightly warm temperature of the cup registered, he sighed silently.
As the first person of the Shancheng Siye Society, he often bore the responsibility of managing other operatives and coordinating actions. Naturally, as a “leader,” he hoped that his subordinates would be as diligent as Jiang Li.
Unfortunately…
Just thinking about those operatives in the Shancheng Siye Society, who clock in on time and are strictly required to arrive no earlier than twelve-thirty on their assigned days, made Zhong Hui feel a headache.
Strictly speaking, this was all the fault of the previous first person of the Shancheng Siye Society, who was excessively laid-back.
“By the way, how do you manage to get up so early every day? Can you teach me some method to make that bunch of slackers come in earlier too?”
Jiang Li took a small sip of tea, tilted her head in thought, glanced around the hotpot restaurant, and looked at Zhong Hui, “Yes! Turn the hotpot restaurant into a breakfast place and have them come daily to help out.”
Zhong Hui frowned upon hearing this, deep in thought.
It was indeed a method, but why did it sound a bit torturous?
Is this girl always speaking in such a manner?
As he pondered, he suddenly noticed that Jiang Li’s lips were silently moving, seemingly muttering something, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Are you…?”
“Reviewing spell formulas…” Jiang Li calmly responded, “The higher level spell formulas are quite complex. If not reviewed regularly, there’s bound to be errors during actual use.”
Zhong Hui, “…”
Wow, what kind of exceptional operative is this?
I remember she was in the same batch as Lin Kule… How did I not notice her when selecting operatives?
It turns out that excellent kids are usually from other families.
Who wouldn’t want an all-around operative like Jiang Li, capable of facing combat directly, investigating urban legends alone, and managing files?
No, I need to think of a way to transfer her from Huacheng to Shancheng!
While Zhong Hui was thinking, a sudden idea popped into his head, “Jiang Li, the Shancheng Siye Society is organizing a social gathering soon. There will be many excellent…”
“Thank you for your kind offer…” Jiang Li interrupted Zhong Hui and, after giving him a peculiar look, added, “I already have an engagement. My partner is someone I can rely on, and I have no intention of changing that.”
Upon hearing this, Zhong Hui fell silent, feeling so awkward inside that he wished he could slap himself for what he just said five seconds ago.
Noticing Zhong Hui’s embarrassment, Jiang Li smoothly changed the subject.
“Zhong Hui, how is Lin Kule…?”
Seizing the opportunity, Zhong Hui hurriedly picked up the thread, “She woke up! Just after you returned, she woke up.”
“She told me all about yesterday, saying you discovered some verifiable clues by chance and decided to go to Qixinggang Alley for verification by yourself. She couldn’t rest easy, so she secretly followed you…”
At this point, Jiang Li’s eyes lit up slightly.
This is what good friends’ tacit understanding is about. Without any coordination, Lin Kule managed to spin a complete lie that aligned with what Jiang Li was thinking.
After a pause, Zhong Hui added, “Sorry for misunderstanding you yesterday.”
Although Lin Kule wasn’t injured yesterday, he had still suspected Jiang Li’s true intention in going to Qixinggang Alley.
After all, he had read Jiang Li’s file and knew about her experience as an experiment subject for the Solar Eclipse Society.
And anyone with a bit of knowledge about various illegal spirit energy organizations would know that the Solar Eclipse Society, Miracle Cult, and Wandering Poets Society are organizations with special “totems.” Once marked by them, it’s very difficult to shake off their influence.
“You’re too kind.” Jiang Li politely responded to Zhong Hui, then changed the topic and asked, “Is there any work available now? Since I have free time, I want to find something to do.”
“By the way, have you investigated the list extracted from Tan Qiuming’s ledger last night? Can I take on this task?”
While she did want to find something to work on, it was also a self-serving choice.
What if she could meet someone with the same name and age as her mother during the investigation?
“Oh?” Zhong Hui pondered for a moment before nodding, “Then wait a moment, I’ll go get the list.”
If it had been last night, he would never have given the list to Jiang Li, but after hearing what Lin Kule said and observing Jiang Li over the past few days, he had gained more trust in her.
“Thank you, senior…”
After saying this softly to Zhong Hui, Jiang Li took out her phone, found “Wang Buliu’s” contact information, hesitated for a moment, and typed in a message.
Although she could go on the investigation by herself, she wanted to drag Lu Yibei along!
A date could be work, so why can’t work be a date?
————
After being coerced by Wang Ying with her cuteness to take her to kindergarten, Lu Yibei left the God Realm Prototype and returned to the Tao Hua Family Inn.
Recalling Wang Ying’s tearful expression as she reluctantly entered kindergarten, her feelings were quite complicated. On one hand, she didn’t want to send Wang Ying to school anymore; on the other hand, she wanted to see that expression on Wang Ying’s face a few more times.
Should she… just beat her up the next time she wants to see it?
Lu Yibei pondered secretly, opening her eyes when the unique warm and humid air of Shancheng registered on her skin.
Leaning against the sofa in the tea room, letting the first ray of morning sunlight bathe her side face, after waiting for a moment and realizing she couldn’t bask in the morning sun to restore her usual self today either, she sighed helplessly.
“Ah—!”
Standing up from the sofa and stretching, she used the floor-to-ceiling window as a mirror, quickly tidying up her clothes, then sent a message to her coat through her bonded mark.
“Change my clothes to something new!”
“Okay, my Witch! (^_−)☆”
Although Lu Yibei hadn’t worn human clothes in a long time since acquiring a coat, she still had the coat change styles every couple of days.
It was necessary; otherwise, she would be seen as someone who never changes clothes!
After changing her outfit, just as Lu Yibei was about to muster her courage to go upstairs and find Jumeng, her phone suddenly vibrated.
Taking out her phone, she glanced at it—it was a message from Jiang Li.
Miaomiao Sauce: “Are you awake? I found some useful clues last night and plan to investigate further today. Will you come with me?”
Lu Yibei looked upstairs, then glanced at her phone, typed a reply.
Wang Buliu: “Sure! See you there?”
Since she had already promised Stinky Sister that she would do whatever she wanted during the day and play with her at night, leaving like this should be fine, right? Lu Yibei thought.
Miaomiao Sauce: “Let’s meet at the entrance of the Shancheng Central Hospital?”
Wang Buliu: “Okay, we’ll meet at the hospital entrance!”
After replying to Jiang Li, Lu Yibei picked up the Ling Tai Purification, equipped herself, and with a nimble movement from her coat seamlessly wrapping around her, she stepped out of the Tao Hua Family Inn.
On the way to Shancheng Central Hospital, she also solved her breakfast issue.
A cup of soy milk and a portion of multigrain cake.
Previously, Jiang Li had asked her to bring breakfast; this was what she had brought.
————
At 9 AM, Shancheng, Ignis Hotel.
After waking up, Dorethea quickly freshened up and hurried to the hotel’s buffet restaurant to enjoy her first meal of the day.
Although the buffet breakfast at Ignis Hotel was not strictly gourmet but merely varied, for her, tasty food was sufficient to be considered gourmet, and she couldn’t miss a single meal.
She wasn’t like Lu Yibei, who had the God Realm Prototype, the aura of the terrestrial veins, and almost the entire Huacheng’s urban legends following her, providing spirit energy replenishment.
In fact, before participating in the combat competition at Dream Come True Entertainment City and consuming the first urban legend core for assimilation, she had not tasted any flavor due to lack of spirit energy.
If she weren’t a hybrid type of urban legend, she probably would have gone mad from hunger due to spirit energy depletion. As for urban legends of her level around Dream Come True Entertainment City, they wouldn’t even qualify to participate in rampaging hunts.
However, since digesting the first urban legend core and regaining her sense of taste, it was as if she had unlocked a new world. She tried to eat as much as possible every day, which might also be another significant reason for her rapid transformation in less than a year, aside from her increased spirit energy fluctuation.
Overabundant nutrition and excellent development, indeed…
Arriving at the buffet restaurant, overwhelmed by the variety of breakfast items, Dorethea eagerly grabbed two full plates of food and found a corner to sit down. Just as she picked up her fork and prepared to dig in, she noticed a figure walking toward her, making her somewhat uncomfortable as he sat down opposite her.
“Good morning, Miss Hathor.”
Looking at Zhang Yu’s smiling face, Dorethea took a deep breath, trying to appear as natural as possible, “Morning.”
Ever since accidentally overhearing Zhang Yu’s words last night, she developed a strange aversion to this man.
It wasn’t fear, but she just didn’t want to have too much contact with him.
It was like knowing that being around someone might lead to disaster, so she chose to keep her distance.
Zhang Yu smiled at Dorethea, ate a few croissants from the plate, and after sipping some black coffee asked, “Miss Hathor, I have an important negotiation later. Would you join me?”
To him, Dorethea was merely an intern who wouldn’t refuse an opportunity to learn and see the world.
However, before he could clarify what kind of meeting it was, he unexpectedly received a negative response.
“I won’t go!” Dorethea blurted out.
Important meetings and negotiations can be avoided if possible. If something falls apart, the other party can’t retaliate against the big boss who attended, but they can vent on a small fry like her? This was what Lu Yibei had taught her.
Pausing for a moment and realizing her reaction was a bit too extreme, Dorethea hurriedly added, “Uh, I read your collection yesterday and found several books I was very interested in, so I want to finish them soon.”
“Ha!” Zhang Yu didn’t realize anything was off, chuckling lightly, “The books are still there, they won’t run away. You can join me for the negotiation; you won’t take long, and you can come back and read afterward.”
“…” Dorethea opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but was interrupted by Zhang Yu’s hand.
“Miss Hathor, please don’t decline anymore. Mr. Adelaide specifically instructed me to bring you to see the world more. I dare not go against his orders.”
Bringing up Phoenix, Dorethea showed a pained expression, lightly biting her lip and remaining silent for a few seconds before reluctantly nodding.
“Fine, let’s go see.”
After saying this, she stood up.
“Sorry, I need to go to the restroom.”
“Go ahead.”
Avoiding Zhang Yu, Dorethea hurried to the restroom, locked herself in a stall, and immediately took out the small paper cicada that Lu Yibei had given her last night, sending a request for help.
“Teacher, help! The person in charge here wants me to participate in some very important negotiation. What should I do?”
