Chapter One: A Day in the Life of Luxianbei, a Corporate Drone
Inside the “V” Office of the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau.
Luxianbei locked eyes with Jiang Li across a desk, immersed in a sweet atmosphere. It only took a moment for him to snap back to reality. “Wait, did you just say there’s a new mission assigned to me?”
So quickly assigning tasks to me—do you think I’m a workhorse? You didn’t even provide me with grass!
Upon hearing Luxianbei’s question, the hint of affection in Jiang Li’s eyes immediately faded, and she nodded slightly. “Yes, that’s right! It seems your hearing has reached the human average.”
“That’s not…” Luxianbei ran a hand through his hair, lamenting, “Boss, you know what I’ve been doing these days!”
Where’s that heartwarming Miaomiao Sauce? Where has it gone? Give it back to me, you b*stard!
While he grumbled internally, Luxianbei shot Jiang Li a series of exaggerated glances, but…
【Luxianbei initiated a non-verbal communication with Jiang Li.】
【Jiang Li rejected Luxianbei’s invitation and blocked his information.】
Jiang Li rolled her eyes at Luxianbei, adopting a serious expression, as if it were all business. “I know. You mean when you sent that girl home last night? Almost held her hand, right?”
Luxianbei, “…” Was that what happened? No way! She was following me! It turns out she was not letting me go without worry but was secretly watching, planning to settle the score later, huh?
Seeing Luxianbei fall silent, Jiang Li maintained her impassive expression and said, “If that’s not the case, then you should have been doing something heroic and got injured by a thug, ending up hospitalized for a week.”
As she spoke, she leaned over and pulled out a hospital medical record and a police report from the desk drawer, placing them on the table and sliding them toward Luxianbei.
“Here! When you have time, remember to take these to the school and give them to the counselor. Huacheng University has strict management; if you miss classes for 10 days without reason, you might have to retake some subjects.”
The corners of Luxianbei’s eyes twitched, “…” Why is it again about being heroic? Can’t you come up with a new excuse? People at school are even calling me Luxianbei the Eighteenth now!
Watching Luxianbei’s intense concentration on the medical records and police report, Jiang Li raised an eyebrow. “If there are no other issues, I’ll give you the mission instructions?”
Without giving Luxianbei a chance to refuse, she quickly bent down and pulled out a thick stack of documents from the other side of the desk, placing them on the table and pushing them towards Luxianbei.
“These are the relevant documents regarding the Huacheng Nightfall Syndrome epidemic, and the files about the spatial anomaly of Qin Nanzhu. You are tasked with writing an investigation report. After completing it, send it to my internal email before 2 PM tomorrow.”
【Alright, I’m doing this for your own good! [Heart emoji]】
Seeing the message from Jiang Li, Luxianbei paused for a moment, then realized.
So it wasn’t about persecuting me; she was worried that someone else might leak too much information while writing this investigation report, putting me in danger?
If this investigation report is handed to me, I can just make things up, right?
As if sensing Luxianbei’s thoughts, Jiang Li reminded him, “You’d better write this investigation report carefully and ensure there’s no fictitious content.”
“The person responsible for auditing the Siye Society database is a Disaster-Class Spiritual Energy Manipulator with special spirit patterns. They can detect whether the uploaded electronic document content is genuine and reliable in a very short time.”
Luxianbei, “…” What kind of spiritual manipulator is that? With such a manipulator existing, asking me to write an investigation report is like asking me to write ‘The Sinful Life of Mine’!
“However…” Jiang Li paused and added, “That spiritual manipulator only audits the authenticity of the content; they don’t verify its completeness.”
In fact, the abilities of urban legends are strange and often illogical. Even if the urban legend events have been handled by Siye Society operatives and the dangers eliminated, there may still be unresolved questions.
“Only responsible for authenticity, not completeness…” Luxianbei contemplated Jiang Li’s words and suddenly lit up. “Oh! Now I get it, I completely understand!”
Even if it’s the truth, with missing content, rearranging it can yield completely different results.
With such a mechanism in place, I just need to ensure that every sentence in the investigation report is genuine and reliable; as for things that need to be concealed…
The operatives of the Huacheng Siye Society are either fools or rogues; if nothing else, they are just slackers. Even if there are hard-working individuals like Li Xuan, they are just a drop in the bucket.
If I ignore certain details during the investigation, isn’t that reasonable? Luxianbei thought to himself quietly.
At the same time, he felt a deep sense of guilt for having misled Jiang Li, leading her down the path of treachery.
“Creek—!”
Just as Luxianbei was lost in thought, the office door swung open.
Right on cue, Li Xuan burst in, looking agitated. Upon seeing Luxianbei in the office, he paused and asked in surprise, “What are you doing here? Have you been here all this time?”
As he spoke, his expression showed a mix of someone who bravely tasted a canned herring, only to find it surprisingly tasty.
“Yeah!” Luxianbei, looking confused, asked, “Do you need something from me?”
Li Xuan scrutinized Luxianbei with suspicion and probed, “So you’re saying I’m not the one who got my tire slashed?”
“Are you crazy?” Luxianbei rolled his eyes and threatened, “You better watch it if you keep slandering me; I’ll slash your tires!”
Li Xuan’s mouth twitched as he muttered, “If it wasn’t you, then it must’ve been that b*stard Bai Kai.”
Upon hearing this, Luxianbei frowned and questioned, “What reason would he have to slash your tires? Did you go to his clubhouse and take advantage of him without paying?”
“How the hell would I know!” Li Xuan shouted in frustration, “Enough chatter. I’m out of here.”
With that, he stormed out of the office, just as he had entered, filled with energy.
Judging by his demeanor, he was probably busy fixing his flattened tire.
I know… Watching Li Xuan leave, Jiang Li squinted her eyes and muttered to herself before scanning past Luxianbei.
If I don’t find something for Li Xuan to do, how would the task of writing the investigation report be successfully handed to you?
“…” Luxianbei read something between the lines from Jiang Li’s expression and suddenly fell silent.
A moment later.
After listening to Jiang Li’s brief instructions on the investigation report, Luxianbei left her office and returned to his temporary office.
He pulled out the creaky chair, sat down, opened his laptop, and created a new DOC document…
Thus, after experiencing a tumultuous day without a moment’s rest, Luxianbei once again plunged into the hard life of coding.
————
Late at night.
Inside the temporary office of the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau.
Luxianbei sat upright at a shabby wooden desk, where a thick stack of documents was piled up alongside a steaming cup of coffee. The sound of his fingers tapping the keyboard resonated, presenting the image of a squeezed corporate drone.
Aside from the hour he spent earlier that evening leaving Mudan Street to find a quiet place and interrupt the urban legend transformation, he had been sitting there for a total of eleven straight hours.
【”Investigation Report on the Huacheng Nightfall Syndrome Epidemic”
1. Basic Disaster Situation: In early April this year, the first case of Nightfall Syndrome was confirmed in Huacheng. Three days later, it developed into 12 cases, and over the following 20 days, it increased to 271 cases. By the end of the epidemic, a total of 352 people were infected, with 289 deaths.
…】
After a long while.
After forcefully typing the last period at the end of the investigation report…
Luxianbei pulled his hands away from the keyboard, looked at the screen, released a sigh of relief, and nodded in satisfaction.
“Ah—! Done!”
The lengthy investigation report, composed of thousands of words, detailed how Gu Qiqi was pursued by several illegal spiritual organizations due to personal grievances, leading to her being swept into a special space with members of the Solar Eclipse Society carrying Inheritance Beasts’ bl**d and flesh, resulting in the epidemic of the Nightfall Syndrome.
The latter part expressed gratitude to the Silver Horn secretary who made outstanding contributions to controlling and eliminating the epidemic and acknowledged Huasang, a disciple from the Dachunyang Palace, who arrived in time to support and reestablish the anchor of the special space, recognizing their crucial roles in the incident.
As for how the bl**d and flesh of the Inheritance Beasts that invaded the special space were resolved…
It’s nothing concerning it; the investigation report isn’t baseless. I can’t just write nonsense about things that haven’t been clarified! Luxianbei smirked slyly.
“This is great; I assure you there’s not a single lie in this!”
“Clocking out, clocking out!”
After talking to himself for a while, Luxianbei logged into the Siye Society’s intranet, sent the completed investigation report to Jiang Li’s email, then shut down his computer, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked out of the office, completing his day as a corporate drone.
————
“Creek—!”
Luxianbei pushed open the door of the “V” Office without treating himself as an outsider and leaned halfway in.
He scanned the room but couldn’t find any trace of Jiang Li and sighed softly, scrapping the thought of inviting her to grab a late-night snack and watch a movie, and if possible, to spend the night.
He had always wanted to have a good date with Jiang Li, yet…
It was impossible to be proactive about it, so he could only look for an opportunity to “conveniently” ask.
With a spring in his step, Luxianbei walked out of the office building, kindly greeting the girl, Mushroom Sauce, who was daydreaming while staring at an ant nest. He turned left as he exited, heading into the garage near the Special Action Team gym, where he found his beloved small motorcycle.
Ever since the Hundred Demons Walk, he had been endlessly submitting requests to the supply department for vehicle replacements, citing all sorts of strange and numerous reasons.
The supply department finally got tired of him and, just the other day, took advantage of discounts from a shopping site and personally funded him to acquire a brand new motorcycle, like the one from “Ghost Rider.”
Spending money for peace and quiet is quite worth it.
Inserting the key, he hopped onto his beloved little motorcycle, humming a tune as he exited through the back gate, leaving the Huacheng Folk Culture Research Management Bureau.
“Riding my beloved little motorcycle~ It never gets stuck… huh?”
With a sudden gasp, Luxianbei abruptly slammed on the brakes, pulling over to the roadside, as he spotted a girl lying motionless at the alley’s entrance, squinting his eyes.
In the narrow alley cloaked in darkness, the girl facedown on the ground, if matched with a sharp kn*fe and pools of bl**d, would make for a perfect crime scene.
Yet, Luxianbei was sure the girl was alive.
He recognized her; Jiang Li mentioned she was Li Xuan’s junior sister, and she was the one who replaced the legendary [Black Emperor] to reestablish the special space—her strength couldn’t be underestimated.
Even though a spiritual manipulator of her level might not possess the same vitality as an urban legend of the same rank, it was still not easy for her to kick the bucket.
Still, lying there on the roadside for so long, that surely can’t be normal, right? Luxianbei mused.
She had been lying there since early morning when he checked into Jiang Li’s office. During his brief departure from Mudan Street in the evening to halt the urban legend transformation, she was still there. Now several hours have passed, and it was deep into the night. He couldn’t believe she had remained in the same position.
Yeah, definitely has not changed! Normal people don’t just lie on the ground without moving; who does that?
Speaking of which, this girl looks a bit messy, but her bottom is quite round and shapely…
Cough, cough, that’s not the point. The point is, how come no one is checking on her? Where’s her senior brother? Off fixing his tire? Well, that’s nothing to worry about, Luxianbei thought.
After a brief internal monologue, adhering to the principle of “If no one cares, I might as well not care either!” Luxianbei pushed his beloved little motorcycle and carefully maneuvered around Huasang.
After bypassing Huasang, he didn’t linger a moment, quickly mounted his small motorcycle, revved the engine twice, preparing to accelerate and depart when suddenly an anomaly occurred.
The Ling Tai Purification in his backpack seemed to be triggered by something, gently vibrating. Before he could notice its peculiarity, a wave of dizziness washed over him.
It was as if an illusion appeared before his eyes: patches of grayish-black mixed with mossy green, an inexplicable chill spreading throughout his body, and an overwhelming wave of hunger hitting him—his stomach churned.
That kind of hunger wasn’t the same as the feeling of hunger when the core of an urban legend needed energy replenishment, with erratic spirit energy fluctuations and a fierce burning sensation. It was just plain hunger, akin to the feeling of not having eaten all day. Luxianbei hadn’t experienced that in ages.
But… why am I suddenly feeling this way? Luxianbei, who had long ceased to be fully human, mused with confusion.
Meanwhile, Huasang seemed to convulse like some seizure, abruptly awakening from a state of dormancy. She opened her eyes wide, glancing at Luxianbei, then extended her hand to tightly grasp his ankle.
Perhaps due to her long duration in a dormant state, lying motionless on the ground, her hand felt as cold as a corpse. Her five fingers slowly tightened, resembling five cold, lifeless snakes wrapping around his ankle without a sound.
Feeling the coldness around his ankle, Luxianbei startled and shivered, instinctively twisting the throttle on his little motorcycle.
There’s a saying: when the engine roars, it’s like being raised by someone who didn’t mean to.
With a growl from the engine, the small motorcycle accelerated from 0 to 50 KM/H in just a few seconds.
Thus, the sound of fabric scraping the ground mixed with weak cries echoed through the narrow alley.
“Ah…”
“Ow…”
“It hurts…”
Hearing the pitiful cries ringing in his ears, Luxianbei was alarmed, and he abruptly slammed the brakes, bringing the motorcycle to a halt by the roadside.
However, though his motorcycle stopped, Huasang didn’t. Her body remained glued to the ground without any resistance, allowing her to slide forward for several meters before colliding with the stone wall at the alley’s corner, coming to a stop with a dull thud.
Seeing this, Luxianbei’s eyes twitched. He cautiously stepped forward and asked, his voice trembling slightly, “Um… are you alright?”
Huasang seemed to ignore Luxianbei’s question. Slowly raising her head, she met his gaze for two seconds before lazily uttering two words, “I’m hungry.”
In the past, Li Xuan had delivered her three meals a day, but today, something happened, and he disappeared after buying breakfast, leaving her waiting until late at night with an empty stomach.
Luxianbei, “…” What do you mean? Are you trying to con me? You were the one who grabbed my ankle first; the security camera at the alley entrance has it recorded!
“Well… I can treat you to some food? However, it’s hard to find something to eat at this hour; I think the 7-22 convenience store at Mudan Street is still open.” He cautiously suggested.
Such things happen unintentionally for everyone; let’s both take a step back. I’ll treat you to a cheap meal; you should refrain from extorting me!
Don’t ask why there’s a convenience store operating at this late hour; it’s because of Du Sixian. In recent times, she had leveraged her identity as the inheritor of the King of Urban Legends in Huacheng, establishing over a dozen similar shops that operate at night.
“Mm.” Huasang responded lazily, turning over to lie flat on the ground in a starfish position. Her old robe was tattered, with her pants torn, revealing a delicate, pale calf that sported HELLOKITTY flip-flops.
“Alright! Let’s go, pick whatever you like,” Luxianbei said.
Anything belonging to Du Sixian is mine, and it shouldn’t be an issue to take advantage of that.
After finishing his sentence, he turned around and brought his little motorcycle closer to the roadside, but he noticed Huasang still lying there, immobile.
Seeing Luxianbei fail to understand her intentions, Huasang shot a sidelong glance at him and said coolly, “Three jellies, two cups of plain yogurt, please.”
Jelly and yogurt were the easiest snacks she could think of from the convenience store.
Luxianbei stared at Huasang’s dirt-streaked face, awestruck for a moment, then regained his composure and pointed to himself in surprise. “You mean, you want me to go buy those for you?”
“Yeah.” Huasang responded apathetically.
“Wait…” Luxianbei opened his mouth, about to make a sarcastic comment about her somewhat shameless behavior, but upon hearing her words, he swallowed down the insincere retort.
“I can’t move.”
Luxianbei, “…”
Can’t move? Are you hurt?
That makes sense. Given the way things unfolded just now, a normal person would probably need to be rushed to the hospital.
Even a high-level spiritual manipulator would be reasonable to sustain some injuries.
With that thought, Luxianbei pursed his lips. “Then just stay put here; I’ll be back shortly.”
As he spoke, he maneuvered around Huasang and walked toward the convenience store at Mudan Street.
However…
He had barely taken a few steps outside when a sharp pain shot through his head, as if someone had violently struck his crown from above.
His brain rattled as a powerful sense of dizziness assailed him, causing Luxianbei to weaken and fall to the ground.
Gu Qiqi
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“Hey, let’s seriously battle against calamities today!” @@
