Chapter 90: Someone Is Imitating My Face!
“……”
In silence, Luxianbei frowned at the caller ID on her mobile phone screen, hesitating for a long time before finally answering.
She felt a bit guilty.
Even without answering, she could guess what Xing Yuan would say to her.
It would be nothing more than to tell her that Jiang Li was abducted by a high-level spiritual ability user from the Solar Eclipse Society, that acting alone was too dangerous, and to urge her to stay calm.
But in reality, she was very calm; she had submitted her application for independent action after serious consideration.
First of all, she couldn’t lift the urban legend state at the moment and couldn’t act alongside the Siye Society operatives involved in the investigation. Secondly, methods like targeted soul summoning, enchanting dreams to read memories, and using the information networks of the Void and Lin Nian—those not-so-glamorous tactics—could only be conveniently used during solo operations.
After hesitating for a moment, Luxianbei finally answered the call just before the ringing time was about to end.
Although she had decided on independent action, and no matter who tried to persuade her, it wouldn’t work, she thought that if she didn’t explain clearly to Xing Yuan, she might take measures that would hinder her from tracking Dailin.
“Hello… hello?”
Upon hearing the soft and sticky voice, Xing Yuan was clearly taken aback and then asked with a strange tone, “Why does your voice sound like this? Wait, have you already started acting?”
Although Xing Yuan didn’t know much about Luxianbei’s urban legend state, she had a rough idea that Luxianbei would only transform into a calamity when preparing to create a major event.
Of course, she didn’t know it could also be Wang Buliu or Gu Qiqi…
And in this state, Luxianbei might directly rush to attack a Solar Eclipse Society stronghold, leading to either her d*ath or the destruction of the stronghold, scattering a large number of Solar Eclipse Society members, thus disrupting social stability.
It was like disturbing an entire herd of cattle in order to hunt a wild buffalo, causing the panicked herd to stampede into human settlements.
While the Siye Society would also try to destroy Solar Eclipse Society strongholds if given the opportunity, it would be organized and planned, ensuring that the members in the stronghold would not escape, which was fundamentally different from acting recklessly out of anger for a damsel in distress.
“Listen to me, I understand how you feel right now, but you need to…”
“Let me guess what you’re about to say: that I should calm down first?” Luxianbei interrupted. “Rest assured, I am very calm and not looking to cause trouble. The reason you hear this voice now is due to many complicated factors; it simply means that I can’t return to your familiar voice in a short period.”
“You better be very calm!” Xing Yuan said. “If that’s the case, I won’t be so difficult to handle. Do you know that…”
“Aren’t you trying to say that the other party is a high-level spiritual ability user from the Solar Eclipse Society, and that my acting alone might not only fail to rescue Jiang Li but also lead me into danger?” Luxianbei interrupted again.
On the other end of the line, there was a moment of silence, followed by a light laugh.
“Ha, not at all!”
“Ms. Calamity, I wanted to talk to you about the Moonlight Plan. According to our previous agreement, you should be obediently staying in Huacheng, not causing chaos in Shancheng. I already tolerated you once in Peach Source; how do you plan to explain this time?”
You think I’m going to let you dominate the conversation with your interruptions and make me agree to let you act on your own? Not a chance! I’m not Bai Kai, easy to fool… Xing Yuan thought.
In her opinion, if she wanted someone like Luxianbei, who only responded to strictness and not softness, to listen, it could only be done through formal means.
Although she was currently unclear about Luxianbei’s reasons for maintaining the urban legend state, she had methods to deal with operatives formally and also had formal methods to deal with calamities.
“Additionally, recently near Yumen Pass, a group of robbers specifically targeting spiritual ability users has appeared, self-proclaimed as Calamity’s minions. Some people claim to have witnessed the Calamity and recorded video evidence…”
“Ms. Calamity, I am now notifying you that I will arrive in Huacheng in twenty-four hours. If you still want to maintain a good relationship with the Siye Society, please be sure to return to Huacheng within this time and cooperate with our investigation. This is also for your own good, as several spiritual organizations that have been robbed are now keeping an eye on you.”
After a pause, Xing Yuan added, “Of course, among those robbed spiritual organizations is the Siye Society.”
Although there were still many doubts about whether the active robbers near Yumen Pass were indeed the Calamity, logically speaking, she shouldn’t have told Luxianbei but said it anyway, even embellishing it a bit.
Someone like Luxianbei, who was driven by her feelings, could only be deterred if the situation was serious enough.
After listening to Xing Yuan’s words, a series of question marks appeared in Luxianbei’s mind.
Even the Siye Society dares to rob? What kind of all-eating scheme is this? Are you sure this is about me?
Although she had already guessed that Xing Yuan would come up with some absurd reason to stop her from acting alone when she started reciting past debts, she hadn’t anticipated that the reason could be this ridiculous.
Yumen Pass? I’ve never even been there, nor do I even know its exact location on the map. How could I possibly be related to the robbers appearing over there?
This is outright slander!
As the Siye Society’s inspector, using such underhanded tactics—doesn’t she feel ashamed?
Plus, if I really intended to turn to banditry, how could I leave witnesses to give them a chance to report me? Luxianbei thought angrily.
Just as she was grumbling internally, Xing Yuan’s voice rang again, “I know you’re confused now and feel wronged. I invited you to assist in the investigation also to restore your innocence.”
“Hmm? So you want to hear me say thank you?” Luxianbei said.
“……” After a moment of silence, Xing Yuan continued, “If you still don’t believe it, I can send you the video evidence I have so you can see for yourself.”
“……” Luxianbei pondered for two seconds, then calmly said, “Let’s take a look at it first.”
I want to see who dares to make trouble under my name!
And just because I agreed to take a look at the video doesn’t mean I will return to Huacheng to cooperate with the investigation, right?
In any case, I’ll just play dumb with my godmother for the time being… Luxianbei thought.
“Okay, wait for me. I’ll send it to you in three minutes.”
Obliviously, Xing Yuan said this simply and hurriedly hung up the call. Just precisely three minutes later, a strange number sent two photos and a video to Luxianbei’s mobile phone.
Luxianbei opened the message and glanced at the photos, frowning.
The background of the first photo showed a vast Gobi Desert. On the undulating sand dunes, like a dragon’s spine, some figures could faintly be seen.
They rode on a certain type of fat, stout urban legend with wings, dressed in black robes, their faces covered with dark scarves.
A very professional desert bandit appearance.
The second photo was very blurry and dimly lit; it looked like it was taken during an attack on a spiritual organization at night amidst chaos.
When Luxianbei discerned the weapon in one bandit’s hand from the blurry photo, her pupils slightly trembled.
The thief was holding the spirit energy item that she had personally helped develop according to the blueprints from Dachunyang Palace.
“……”
Du Sixian had only sold the product a few days ago—how did it end up in the hands of robbers?
But how did the robbers know that these spirit energy items originated from me?
If they didn’t know, they shouldn’t be robbing under my name, right?
Luxianbei pondered, exercising patience as she clicked on the video.
And then…
She started questioning her life choices.
“Listen up, everyone! We are here today to make money without harming lives. If you obediently hand over your stuff, I, Calamity, can still give you a way out!”
In the video, a petite girl in a black robe sat expressionlessly on the back of a monstrous urban legend with fangs. The fierce winds of the Gobi Desert at night whipped her fiery red hair around, dancing with the flames of a bonfire burning at the disheveled camp.
Illuminated by the firelight, her familiar face was tinted with a rosy hue.
Luxianbei, “……” This is insane—someone is imitating my face! Where did this impostor come from?
If it weren’t for the fact she clearly had no time to run to Yumen Pass and create chaos lately, she would seriously suspect she had unconsciously organized a gang of desert bandits.
————
In the Bamboo Slips Illusion, on the clearing in front of a small cabin surrounded by the black forest.
“One B-class spirit energy item, seven C-class spirit energy items, three cores of C-class urban legends, plus a ton of common alchemical materials…”
A hideous-looking, completely dark fish creature fluttered around a small mountain of “treasures,” unable to hide its joy from having reaped bountifully.
In stark contrast stood Gu Qiqi, who had a frown etched on her face.
After a long while, seemingly aware of the negative energy emanating from her, the system floated over and landed on her shoulder.
“Gu Qiqi, what’s wrong with you? The haul from last night equals what we used to gather in half a year, why aren’t you happy?”
“System…” Gu Qiqi pouted, “I just feel that what we are doing is wrong. After all, robbing others isn’t a good thing.”
“And we are here for that unclaimed God Realm, right? How did we end up acting like robbers?”
“Tsk!” The system spat disapprovingly, trying to soothe her. “Gu Qiqi, don’t be so rigid. Look at the protagonists in those online novels, which one doesn’t go to great lengths to get what they want?”
“You’re the protagonist! Great achievers don’t sweat the small stuff. Besides, we’re only stealing from bad people, right? If we are robbing bad guys, then it’s doing a good deed, just like those heroic figures.”
“As for that God Realm… logically speaking, it should have been opened already. I don’t know what went wrong, but we haven’t heard anything. Let’s just wait a little longer; if all else fails, these gains mean it wasn’t a wasted trip.”
“……” Gu Qiqi thought about it and anxiously asked, “But what if Calamity finds out we’re impersonating her and comes after us?”
“That is indeed a serious issue,” the system said solemnly. “However, with the strength we’ve amassed, even if Calamity appears, we should be able to retreat unharmed, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
“Besides, we will eventually have to confront Calamity, and we can’t always be so timid. If she does come after us this time, it’s a good chance for you to practice your skills!”
In the system’s view, it was unlikely they could completely defeat Calamity with their current level, but they could definitely teach her a lesson.
“Umm…” Gu Qiqi pouted and didn’t speak.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it—she just felt inexplicably uneasy.
She didn’t know if it was just her impression, but she felt as though the system had recently become… “bad”…
“Alright, let’s not dwell on this!” The system patted Gu Qiqi’s shoulder with its fin. “How about we pull off a big haul tonight?”
“Yesterday, villagers reported that thirty kilometers away from the last robbery site, there’s a larger camp occupied by the head of the Miracle Cult. There must be…”
“Gu Qiqi, are you listening to me?”
“Huh?” Hearing the system call her name, Gu Qiqi snapped back to reality and nodded, “Yeah, let’s go there tonight.”
