Chapter 98: Special Investigation Officer, Lu Qingyi is Ready
Uncle Zhang Shan’s first reaction after hearing Lu Yibei’s destination was that she wanted to go to a place in Huacheng with the three characters “Yumen Pass.”
He quickly searched his mind for various place names in Huacheng and confirmed there was no location related to “Yumen Pass”, feeling that Lu Yibei was joking.
However, soon after, he glanced at the girl in the back seat through the rearview mirror and began to frown.
Who was this girl, the material for a radio drama?
It was an urban legend!
From Huacheng to Yumen Pass, thousands of kilometers apart, a normal person would definitely not choose to take a taxi there, but an urban legend might not care.
What kind of trick would an urban legend not pull?
After a brief silence, Uncle Zhang Shan rolled down the car window, lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, and then, fueled by the stimulation of nicotine and tar, gathered the courage to say, “I’m sorry, but at this point, I’m about to finish my shift and I’m not taking any out-of-town fares.”
It is well-known that although taxis are part of the service industry, drivers have the right to refuse fare requests from unreasonable customers!
“Is that so?” Lu Yibei tilted her head, thinking for a moment, “Then why don’t you finish your shift? I’ll provide the vehicle, and you can drive me there, how does that sound? The price is negotiable, I can get you any car you like.”
The thought of soon using the ability she had obtained from Zhang Yu to show off for the first time made her eager to rub her hands together in excitement.
“Girl, you can’t just talk big!” Uncle Zhang Shan snorted, “What if I say I want to control the Nine Dragons Coffin and fly you there?”
“……” Lu Yibei’s eyelid twitched, her expression deadpan, “Uncle, you’re old enough, can you read less novels?”
“Ha!” Uncle Zhang Shan scoffed, “If it’s not possible, just say it, no need to talk nonsense…”
“If I really find it, can you control it? If you can, I’ll go look for it right now.”
From a certain perspective, the Nine Dragons Coffin could also be considered a vehicle; it wasn’t impossible to give it a try.
To be honest, Lu Yibei wanted to see how far Zhang Yu’s spirit patterns [Hero Spirit Seed Spirit Pattern: Roland’s Horn] could go.
If Zhang Yu could summon the subway, and her spirit energy fluctuation level was stronger than Zhang Yu’s, who knows what she could summon if she gave it her all!
“Ah? What are you talking about?”
Hearing Lu Yibei’s voice from behind, Uncle Zhang Shan froze in his driving seat, parting his lips and unable to speak for a while. A thought began to leap in his mind, but before it could take shape, he extinguished it without hesitation.
Some things really should not be thought about in detail…
—
In the end, Lu Yibei did not press Uncle Zhang Shan, who she hadn’t seen for a long time, but instead had him drop her off near an old residential area about two kilometers from the Jingyi Apartment Complex.
This place was where she first accessed the Liao Zhai Tavern.
After thinking for a while, Lu Yibei decided to go through the Liao Zhai Tavern to reach Yumen Pass.
Although, sincerely, she still hoped that Uncle Zhang Shan would take her; otherwise, she wouldn’t have made such jokes with him.
Besides Uncle Zhang Shan, she didn’t trust any driver she encountered during her journey.
After all, any driver could potentially be that man!
However, given how chaotic Yumen Pass was right now, aside from the major spirit energy organizations like the Siye Society, Solar Eclipse Society, and Miracle Cult, there were several small-to-medium organizations of unclear origin trying to take advantage of the situation. Sending Uncle Zhang Shan, an ordinary person, to such a place was no different from sending him to his d*ath.
Even if Uncle Zhang Shan agreed to take her to Yumen Pass out of their “relationship,” she would probably find an excuse to make him turn back by the time they arrived in Longxi Dunhuang City.
Lu Yibei still “cared” about Uncle Zhang Shan. She hoped he could be healthy and happy, live a long life, and whenever he returned to Huacheng, he could simply wave down his taxi.
Thinking this way, it felt like something indescribable was touched inside her, and her mood lifted inexplicably as her steps became lighter.
“If it really doesn’t work… I’ll just drive myself.”
“Even though I don’t have a license, in a place like the Gobi Desert, where driving in one direction for half an hour might not even hit an obstacle, what does having a license matter?”
As Lu Yibei muttered to herself, she followed the path that led to the Liao Zhai Tavern, and before she knew it, she looked up and saw the tavern’s sign.
The Liao Zhai Tavern was closed today; the large red lanterns hanging on both sides of the sign were not lit. Inside, the lights were bright, but there were no customers, and the waiters were also absent; only the Yishu in the tavern were scurrying up and down carrying various tools and construction materials.
In the center of the hall, Hu Boss had changed from his usual lazy demeanor, donning a safety helmet and rolling up his sleeves, perched on a folding ladder, with a few wooden wedges in his mouth and a hammer in hand, banging on the main beam.
It seemed the repairs for the Liao Zhai Tavern were nearing completion.
“Hu Boss…”
Hearing someone call him, Hu Boss did not turn around but replied, “We’re not open today. If you want to eat, come back in three days!”
After saying that, he seemed to remember something and frowned.
No, today clearly wasn’t a business day. Where did that customer come from?
Typically, he, the owner of the Liao Zhai Tavern, had no intention of opening; no customer could find the tavern in any way.
Suddenly, Hu Boss turned back, and upon seeing Lu Yibei’s deadpan face, his body trembled, nearly causing him to fall from the folding ladder.
After steadying himself, his emotions rapidly shifted three times.
b*stard, how dare you appear in front of me?
Seeing the culprit who had caused the Liao Zhai Tavern to undergo a major repair appear before him, Hu Boss instinctively wanted to throw the hammer in his hand at her face.
What a mystery! How did she get in? Who allowed her in?
In the moment before he threw the hammer, Hu Boss squinted his eyes.
Unbelievable.
It felt like logging into a game account that had undergone security key verification and SMS verification, only to be logged into by someone else from a different location without explanation.
Isn’t this also a kind of…
Wait!
Could it be that because she had cooked the human world’s smoke and fire, she had gained a certain degree of recognition from the Liao Zhai Tavern, allowing her to bypass certain restrictions?
After realizing this, Hu Boss looked around the tavern, then turned back to “Second Manager” Lu Yibei, only to feel even more frustrated.
Who was responsible for collapsing the tavern?
It was her!
Who took the time and effort to fix the tavern?
It was him!
Now, he had repaired the tavern, yet he couldn’t prevent this annoying person from entering.
Was there anything more infuriating than this in the world?
This was like completing a design with significant effort, only to have to include someone who solely slacked off or even held back at the time of signing.
“What you want to learn, haven’t you already learned it? Why come back here?” Hu Boss asked coldly.
Although he initially wanted to leave the Liao Zhai Tavern to Lu Yibei and utilize the limited time he had left to search for his benefactor, now that Lu Yibei had cooked up the human world’s smoke and fire, helping him catch his breath, he felt he could afford to wait a couple more years as previously agreed before setting off again.
“Umm…” Lu Yibei scratched the back of her head, speaking weakly, “I’ve encountered some issues recently and have to go to Yumen Pass, so I’d like to ask Hu Boss for a favor and take me there.”
Upon hearing this, Hu Boss’s expression darkened, and he growled, “Why does everyone keep saying that?! This is a tavern, not a relay station!”
“Actually, a relay station often also serves as a tavern…” Lu Yibei sneaked a glance at Hu Boss and murmured softly. Before she could finish, a rush of wind sounded in her ears.
A hammer came whistling toward her.
She slightly leaned to the side and caught the hammer in one motion, subsequently putting it away.
A hammer that could be used to repair the Liao Zhai Tavern could not be ordinary.
Would an ordinary hammer have patterns similar to a solidification spell on it?
Though she didn’t know what its purpose was, it was something offered to her for free; why would she refuse?
Hu Boss already held a poor opinion of Lu Yibei, and seeing her act like this made him even more furious to the point where he pressed his forehead, saying grimly, “You’re going to Yumen Pass, right?”
“Yes, that’s right!” Lu Yibei nodded.
“Fine, I’ll take you there. Now get moving!” Hu Boss ground his teeth and let out a low growl, waving his hand to conjure a wild gust of wind.
As if on a small boat being thrown into the sky by a storm, Lu Yibei found herself swept up by the wind, feeling dizzy.
After a long time, when Lu Yibei felt her insides twisting and her brain nearly jumbled, dry and cold air rushed in, and the next moment, her back suffered a sharp pain.
As if thousands of blades were slicing through her back.
In the Gobi Desert, there is a unique landform known as saline crust land.
This forms when lake water evaporates, leaving salt and alkaline deposits to harden.
Under the scorching sun during the day, high temperatures cause these unusually hard salt crusts to gradually rise, reaching heights between thirty centimeters and a meter, resembling sharp long knives. Sometimes, vehicles crossing the Gobi can inadvertently damage their undercarriage or puncture tires if they travel over saline crust land without caution.
The Gobi Desert was so vast, yet Hu Boss had thrown her into such a ghastly place. Lu Yibei had reason to suspect Hu Boss was doing this on purpose…
What goes around comes around; the misdeeds she committed at Xing Yuan were finally catching up to her from Hu Boss.
Or perhaps… she was disliked in both places?
“It’s just a hammer! Is it necessary to act like this? How petty! Ouch—!”
Lu Yibei twisted her body, sitting up from the ground, and took a look at the hammer she had taken from Hu Boss, and her grievance dissipated considerably.
After all, getting a spirit energy item of unknown function for free and enduring a bit of physical pain was no big deal.
If every time she suffered such minor physical pain she could snag a spirit energy item, many spiritual ability users and urban legends would probably become rich.
The night was deep, and beneath the night sky lay the endless Gobi, everything seeming silent—yellow sand, broken stones, and withered wood, as if they had experienced a disaster, or perhaps they hadn’t, merely reaching the end of their lifespan and gradually decaying.
Lu Yibei stood up and looked around briefly before… starting to daydream.
Although, with Hu Boss’s “help,” she had reached her destination in just a few minutes.
It hardly seemed like she had traveled from Huacheng to the Gobi but rather that she had walked next door from her home.
But upon arrival, what now?
The Gobi Desert was so vast; where should she go first? To find Nanling Yaohua, or to confront the imposter?
In silence, she took out the Gray Owl Badge and infused it with spirit energy to send a message to Xing Yuan.
“Hello, is this the Inspector General?”
“……” Xing Yuan paused for a moment before coldly saying, “Speak, what is it this time?”
“Ahem!” Lu Yibei cleared her throat, straightening her back, “Special Investigation Officer, Lu Qingyi is ready, I am at Yumen Pass, please give instructions, Inspector General!”
After her voice fell, Xing Yuan was momentarily stunned.
Only an hour had passed since she left, and she had already reached Yumen Pass?
How was it so fast?
Were you modifying the IP address with me here?
After a brief pause, she then realized that Lu Yibei might have borrowed the power of the Liao Zhai Tavern. Gathering her thoughts, she calmly said, “Wait there, I will send you the necessary information shortly!”
—
Twenty minutes later.
The phone rang, and Lu Yibei received an email from Jin Jiao via the Siye Society’s internal network.
It must be said that the efficiency of the Siye Society’s logistical support was indeed high; her Baihua Girl caricature had just completed a set of double ponytails…
Opening the attached files of the email and quickly browsing through them, she soon found the satellite positioning link to Nanling Yaohua’s stationed area.
The location was near a mountain called Kulongliang, about ninety kilometers from here…
“Just a mere one hundred and twenty kilometers, that’s not too far!” Lu Yibei scoffed dismissively.
In the Gobi Desert, as long as the weather was good, there was a suitable vehicle, and the direction was right, driving ninety kilometers wouldn’t take long, let alone flying a jet.
That’s right, a jet!
Since she could summon vehicles, why not summon a faster one?
Therefore, Lu Yibei confidently waved her hand, channeling the spirit pattern ability she borrowed from Zhang Yu, and called out softly, “Jet come!”
Upon finishing her words, she noticeably felt a slight drain of spirit energy.
Then.
Nothing happened.
“Uh, a jet is indeed a bit too much; let’s keep it normal, just summon an SUV.” Lu Yibei muttered a bit awkwardly, waved her hand again to use spirit energy.
Then.
Still nothing happened.
Looking at the empty Gobi, Lu Yibei immediately became displeased. She angrily used her ownership mark to send a questioning message to Zhang Yu.
“Hey, big brother! What’s going on with your spirit pattern ability? Why can’t I summon anything?”
Clearly, her spirit energy had been consumed, but nothing had been summoned; this was the same as purchasing a blind box and finding it empty!
Soon, Zhang Yu replied, “My lord, you may not know, but the prerequisite for my spirit pattern ability to summon a vehicle is that you must have driven it at least once.”
“Huh?” Lu Yibei tilted her head, “You mean you’ve driven the subway?”
“Yes.” Zhang Yu said, “I used to drive Line 1 for half a month.”
“……” In silence, Lu Yibei’s eyes lost their light.
Her mecha dream had suddenly been shattered.
After all, the Banshee and Unicorn were definitely not something she could summon in this lifetime.
Ten minutes later.
A girl who had lost her dream was driving an old truck towards Kulongliang.
She drove recklessly, as if someone owed her money…
