Chapter 35: The Revelation of God
“Is there anything else you want to say?”
Luxianbei sat up straight and obediently on the stool, shaking her head.
“Nothing.”
She had already tried very hard to pry information from Gu Xiniang’s mouth.
From “currently available public information,” she extended the conversation to the daily lives of the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society members, then pivoted to their romantic situations, and from there to “What did you eat this morning?” and “Are you full?” She was on the verge of asking Gu Xiniang for his ID number.
Along the way, she successfully showcased a naive underage girl who stumbled into a wrong path, with an insatiable curiosity about a mysterious cult, with no flaws.
But Gu Xiniang was not Gu Qiqi—he was very tight-lipped and always adept at dodging important matters while casually dismissing with unimportant ones.
Aside from discovering that he was a highly disciplined monster who could get up immediately when the alarm rang, the only information Luxianbei managed to obtain was that he seemed to have a sister complex.
What if I tie up Gu Qiqi later and threaten him to tell me what I want to know?
Tsk, had I known Gu Qiqi was such a gem, I shouldn’t have let her get away!
Wait a minute, is my approach becoming increasingly similar to that of the dream memories? Something’s not right! Luxianbei thought.
“Can I go now!?”
Luxianbei waved her hand expressionlessly.
Seeing this, Gu Xiniang was about to leave when he suddenly noticed Luxianbei’s hesitant expression, which caused his heart to tighten.
“Don’t talk. If you have any questions, ask next time!”
Luxianbei opened her mouth and then nodded listlessly.
“Ahh—!”
It was as if a great weight had been lifted, and Gu Xiniang turned around and quickly walked out of the library.
When Luxianbei introduced herself, Gu Xiniang wasn’t quite convinced that the girl had psychological issues; her calm appearance seemed harmless—how could she possibly have any problems?
Now, he believed it.
Dealing with her alone was more tiring than managing dozens of mutual aid society members. If it weren’t for Gu Xiniang acting as the president’s proxy over the years and helping his uncle deal with various difficult members, he would have probably been able to handle it by now.
Maybe it was precisely because she was attractive that she had made it this far?
Otherwise, she should have been beaten to d*ath long ago.
Gu Xiniang thought, and just as he stepped out of the third floor library, he heard a long sigh behind him.
“Ahh—!”
Gu Xiniang, “…”
He didn’t know what was going on with his uncle but he needed to hurry back—it would be unwise to deal with her nonsense any longer.
“Ahh—!”
As he stepped out of the third floor library, the sigh echoed again.
That sigh, filled with helplessness and regret, felt like hundreds of cat paws crawling into his body, playing with his heart like a ball of yarn.
“d*mn it, if you have something to say, just say it. Don’t be so strange!”
Luxianbei stared at Gu Xiniang for two seconds, then her gaze drifted to the chair opposite her, softly saying, “You kept taking out your phone and forgot to take it when you fell off the chair…”
Gu Xiniang’s lips twitched, and he rubbed his forehead, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“Eh! You told me to ask next time if I had anything!” Luxianbei responded innocently.
“…”
What the hell…
Today it was obviously supposed to be Luxianbei, how did a girl end up here?
Gu Xiniang frowned and went back to pick up the phone from the chair, placing it back in his pocket. In the moment he turned, it was as if he was trying to sweep away the bad luck, giving his sleeves a hard slap.
“Puff—puff—!”
With a soft sound, a layer of fine dust floated through the air.
Luxianbei watched as the white dust danced in the sunlight, a trace of disgust flashing in her eyes.
What the heck was that falling off him?
Had he not washed his clothes in months? Was it falling apart? Or was it some indescribable powder targeted at beautiful girls?
She felt a sense of dread, better to be cautious!
Muttering to herself, she shrank her neck and slowly raised a hand to cover her mouth and nose.
————
In the evening, the sunset spilled over the sky, painting the city streets rose-colored.
On the third floor of the Huacheng Library, Luxianbei was still sitting by the window, engrossed in her phone.
After a long wait, confirming that there were no Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society members secretly watching, she put her phone away, sat up straight, and began flipping through the “Huacheng Rural and Urban Construction Local Chronicles” on the table.
“Big idiot, if you don’t tell me, won’t I find it myself?” Luxianbei muttered quietly to herself.
What is the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society? A cult! How can you trust their nonsense?
Even teammates could potentially backstab each other, let alone a cult with no connection among its members!
Trusting them was less believable than the 5% drop rate from the “Love and Magical Girls” Autumn Limited UP pool!
Luxianbei felt that, when necessary, she might very well backstab a teammate. As for temporarily being unsure whether someone was a teammate, that made it even better!
If the enemy is weak, suppress them with artillery fire and grind them into dust; if the enemy is strong, use surprise attacks and poison—do whatever it takes.
Given all these factors, Luxianbei felt it was necessary to investigate the abandoned factory that appeared in her dream.
From Gu Xiniang’s performance, it seemed that place was very important to the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society.
If she could pinpoint the specific location of that abandoned factory, determine which escape routes were suitable, identify where to fight without being surrounded, and so on, then in case she unfortunately encountered some difficult danger in the future, she would be able to escape smoothly.
After all, in her dream memories, the scene of the vague figures sending a little girl resembling Gu Qiqi into a giant chimney had left a very unfriendly impression on her.
She always felt like they were trying to throw Gu Qiqi into the boiler room below the chimney to make a dish of “Charcoal Grilled Gu Qiqi.”
Without even adding scallions or salt, their methods were exceedingly cruel.
Thinking of this, Luxianbei suddenly found herself missing her alchemical bombs.
If only she had a few alchemical bombs on her when she found that abandoned factory, she could set them up in the chimney beforehand, and if the situation went awry, just a little tug of her finger would turn that danger into the most brilliant fireworks.
While contemplating, Luxianbei quickly flipped to the table of contents in the book.
She had previously been troubled; even with the visual aids, sifting through dozens of abandoned factories with huge chimneys to find the one that matched her dream was an enormous task.
The Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society ripping out pages surely helped narrow down the range.
This turned the analysis question into a straightforward one, warm and reassuring.
When Luxianbei reached the part of the table of contents referencing pages 336 to 343, she frowned.
Blacked out? d*mn, are you even human?!
Books are the ladder of human progress; how can you just rip them apart so carelessly? Don’t you have any conscience?
I’m different; I’m an urban legend, and I don’t have a conscience…
Luxianbei thought, planning to tear out the directory to take home for detailed study, but then suddenly felt a twinge of conscience, pulled out her phone, and took a complete picture of the directory.
I refuse to be complicit in their wrongdoing!
Luxianbei angrily swung her little fist in the air and secretly glanced at the camera in the corner.
“That should do… Time to go home. I can find a list of abandoned factories in Huacheng online. I just have to compare it and see which ones are missing, then track them down one by one to find the factory from my dream.”
Muttering to herself, she put her phone away and quickly left the library.
————
Just after six in the afternoon, Luxianbei returned home and drew the curtains in her study.
Though she didn’t know if this would prevent the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society from secretly spying on her, at least she needed some basic precautions.
She opened her laptop and entered “Huacheng Abandoned Factories” into the search engine, gently hitting enter. Soon, she found a list of factories that had been demolished or relocated over the past fifteen years, and then she took out her phone…
In a moment of distraction, she was devoured by Bilibili and her phone for nearly an hour.
When she finally came back to herself, Luxianbei glanced at the time on her phone showing 19:07, frowning, “Wait! What was I going to do? Oh right, compare the directory and the list.”
Then…
Short video apps stealthily stole another half hour of her time.
“Bang—!”
Half an hour later, Luxianbei slammed her hands down on the table, producing the sound of frustration, “d*mn! Luxianbei, how can you be so degenerate? This can’t go on!”
“Eh, the ‘Love and Magical Girls’ event notification… Oh right, I haven’t finished today’s daily grind yet.”
Thus, nearly two hours after returning home, she finally lazily opened her phone’s album, following the photos of the directory and the list of relocated factories, and began comparing.
Am I not doing serious work, just playing around? No!
I’m trying to throw people off! What if the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society is still secretly monitoring me?
Surely no one would be bored enough to watch someone play with their phone for more than two hours, right? Luxianbei thought.
————
Time passed slowly, and over two hours later, as the city outside gradually fell into tranquility, Luxianbei finally completed her comparison.
The Foundry, Xujiagou Brewing Plant, Hongxing Aluminum Alloy Factory, Zhaojiatang Leather Factory, and West City Lime Factory.
These few abandoned factories were mentioned on the pages missing from the “Huacheng Rural and Urban Construction Local Chronicles,” and combined with the feature of having huge chimneys, she could eliminate the brewing and leather factories.
“So that leaves just the foundry, the aluminum alloy factory, and the lime factory… which one to check out first?” Luxianbei murmured to herself.
With four choices, it was rather troublesome for someone like her, who would hesitate even over which sweet soda flavor to choose, whether to pick the blue bottle with a sweet taste or the red one with more fizz, only to end up grabbing a sugar-free Sprite instead.
As she pondered where to go first, a detail flashed through her mind.
The “dirt” Gu Xiniang had dropped!
Although it was just a thin layer of white dust that was only visible under sunlight, what if that was lime powder?
Could it mean he had been to a place with lime?
Luxianbei thought, her gaze falling on the words “West City Lime Factory.”
Could it be here?
Although the West City Lime Factory had been abandoned for almost twenty years, based on the information she could find online, it hadn’t been demolished due to its remote location, and there might still be leftover lime in there. It seemed reasonable for Gu Xiniang to have been in and out of the West City Lime Factory, getting some white dust on his clothes.
“Then… let’s go check it out?”
————
Half an hour later.
After a simple dinner at a small noodle shop near the faculty staff dormitory, Luxianbei stood by the roadside, waving to an approaching taxi.
As she got in, she stole a glance at the driver, seeing the rugged stubble and a little potbelly that told a story, she nodded in satisfaction.
Indeed, the “Causality Law · Exclusive Driver Summoning Method” certainly worked, here you are!
Seeing that his passenger had gotten in and had been silent for a while, Zhang Shan couldn’t help but ask, “Girl, where to?”
“To the West City Lime Factory,” Luxianbei replied expressionlessly.
“West City Lime…” Zhang Shan repeated in a low voice, as if remembering something, his brow furrowing, but he said nothing and started the car, driving forward.
Fifteen minutes later.
“Uncle, do you like listening to urban legend stories?”
Peering through the rearview mirror, Zhang Shan observed Luxianbei and replied blandly, “Are you trying to say a friend told you that if you tell me an urban legend story, you won’t have to pay for the fare?”
“Uh…” Luxianbei pondered for two seconds and stated seriously, “Absolutely not! I don’t have friends who like to freeload!”
“I just thought it was too quiet and a bit boring.”
This was the truth.
“Oh, I see?” Zhang Shan nodded, “Then go ahead and tell it!”
“Uh, let me think…” Luxianbei pondered for a moment and began, “Let me tell you a story about ‘Hide and Seek for One Person’…”
“It starts with a man trying a strange game at home…”
————
As night deepened, at the West City Lime Factory.
The old factory buildings stood silent under the night sky, the broken windows looking like pairs of vacant, lifeless eyes from a distance.
Below, the small warehouse, originally used for storing clutter, was illuminated bright by several high-wattage light bulbs.
Sweating profusely, Gu Weibing panted heavily, holding a gleaming chainsaw, his gaze fixed on the parka secured to the operating table, his expression grave.
Earlier, he had showcased this “divine gift” to the members of the Seek Truth Mutual Aid Society, claiming that he would soon decipher the “divine revelation” contained within it, which had the members cheering with excitement.
But…
How could he possibly decipher “divine revelation” from this ragged garment?!
Although he firmly believed that he had indeed made a transcendental contact with a great being in his dream and received a gift from that great existence upon waking, he still did not know what that great being wanted him to do.
The reason he boasted in front of the Society members was that for nearly twenty years, he had always acted this way.
Only by doing so could he maintain an enigmatic image, solidify the faith of the members, and continuously receive generous sponsorship from various elites.
Yes, this was very materialistic, uncomfortably so.
However, he did not want to end up like his brother, destroying his own life for an ethereal dream.
Some people cannot live without dreams, but some simply want to “live.”
Here, he had everything he needed; why risk his life to venture into a world full of uncertainties?
Nevertheless, as the president of the Mutual Aid Society, he still respected the members’ dreams. If he truly grasped the method to reach the “real world,” he would be more than willing to help those members leave and conveniently assist in safeguarding everything they left behind in this false world.
However, reality was always contrary to expectations.
He had thought that this time would be like usual, displaying a miraculous object in front of the members and earning their reverence and a significant sum of wealth.
Today, after witnessing the bizarre parka, the Society members seemed to have gone mad, causing the situation to spiral beyond Gu Weibing’s control.
The few members who held the economic lifeline even pressured him, declaring they would cut off funding until he deciphered the “divine revelation.”
This left Gu Weibing feeling powerless and angry.
Thus, shortly after the day’s meeting had disbanded, he came to this small warehouse to study the unexpectedly obtained miraculous parka.
Yet, in the last few hours, he had yielded nothing.
After multiple failed attempts, Gu Weibing angrily threw the chainsaw aside, his expression dark, “d*mn it, I can’t communicate, can’t wear it, and even the chainsaw can’t cut through…”
“What the hell do I do with this piece of junk?”
Just then, as he was getting anxious, the lights above flickered several times, and the surrounding area fell into silence.
In this silence, the faint rustling coming from the parka became exceptionally clear.
Accompanying that soft sound in the stillness, the first abnormality manifested in his vision, becoming momentarily blurry before gaining a faint dark red hue.
Soon, the semi-transparent dark red flesh attached to the parka seemed to grow wildly, invading every corner of the small warehouse.
They clung to the walls, ceiling, desks, and chairs… slowly squirming.
In an instant, he felt as if the entire small warehouse had suddenly come to life, exuding a terrifying pressure that rushed towards him.
Countless strange sounds penetrated his ears—whispers of wind, sounds of thunder, a woman’s soft laughter, the roar of beasts, melodious tunes, and the shrill cries of weapons.
Fear clawed at his heart, causing him to tremble all over.
Gu Weibing felt his body ensnared by the wall, which seemed to morph into some strange cavity, his eyes rolling back as he went into spasms.
Finally, all sounds ceased abruptly.
Almost entirely losing awareness, a happy and sweet smile quietly surfaced on Gu Weibing’s face.
At this moment, his mind was filled with the happiest and purest thoughts, akin to the bliss of first love, the joy of achieving a result, or the beauty of a childhood toy.
————
He didn’t know how long it had been.
Gu Weibing emerged from that indescribable state of bliss, dazed for a couple of seconds, before hurriedly checking his body.
“Ahh—!” After confirming he was physically unharmed, he exhaled a relieved breath.
At that instant, an overwhelming thought flashed through his mind—disseminate those “divine creations” to the members of the Mutual Aid Society.
At this moment, he suddenly experienced an epiphany—this was the revelation from God!
Suddenly, the lights flickered again, and amid the alternating brightness, a faint sound like pebbles dropping came from the operating table.
Gu Weibing was momentarily stunned, looking towards the source of the sound, his gaze falling on the dark red crystal that had appeared on the table, his attention growing deeper…
