Chapter 105: Cooking Begins【4K】
“Of course, it’s good, so good!”
With an expressionless face, Lu Yibei spoke as if responding to the Proxy Player Sister while also engaging in self-questioning.
“Those lost items were originally things discarded by others. If they hadn’t been picked up by the little urban legends, they would almost never return to their owners. From a certain perspective, they are no different from garbage!”
“This could be considered a form of recycling, right?”
“Moreover, I’m using them to create human fireworks, isn’t it also to save Huacheng? Their owners are also part of Huacheng. At such a time, all it takes is a small piece of memory to help prevent calamity and save their own lives. Isn’t that great and fair?”
Hearing Lu Yibei’s unexpectedly decisive response, the Proxy Player Sister sensed a hint of indifference in her eyes and stared blankly at her, feeling an inexplicable mix of both strange and familiar emotions.
It was like locking eyes with one’s reflection in the mirror.
In a daze, some already faded faces floated before her eyes.
Those people had died, died by her hands, and because their deaths were meaningful, she had done it without the slightest hesitation.
Uh, that’s not actually what I meant. What I wanted to say is…
Ignoring the Proxy Player Sister’s stammering words, Lu Yibei moved her lips, “But, doing it this way is actually not right, right? Just because a calamity is about to happen doesn’t mean that the owners of those lost items should inevitably pay; that’s a bit like moral coercion.”
“Forced contributions are entirely different from voluntary contributions. If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t want to.”
The Proxy Player Sister fell silent again. Soon after, it seemed as if a heavy stone had dropped in her heart; her expression gradually relaxed, and she waved her hand with an awkward smile and said, “What the heck! You talked a lot, but still couldn’t make a hard decision, huh?”
Realizing that Lu Yibei was still the same Lu Yibei, she felt glad.
“But if you can’t make a tough decision, this matter could get complicated. Let me think about how to…”
“No need.” Lu Yibei interrupted, “I’ve already thought of a compromise method to deal with those lost items.”
The Proxy Player Sister paused and asked, “What method?”
“Want to know?”
Involuntarily, the Proxy Player Sister nodded.
It was the first time she had seen the Proxy Player Sister show such an expression that seemed like an elementary school student who had just made a breakthrough. A mischievous glint flashed in Lu Yibei’s eyes as she slightly raised her chin and said, “I won’t tell you!”
She enjoyed seeing the Proxy Player Sister being anxious and itching for answers, just like when she used to do this to her!
The Proxy Player Sister thought, “d*mn, am I being teased by this b*stard?”
“Yeah.” Lu Yibei pondered for a moment and asked, “Another question, after I gather the materials for cooking human fireworks, how do I use them?”
“I guess…it’s because I don’t think you can quickly gather enough materials, and Hu Boss hasn’t told me either.”
“It depends on the situation!” The Proxy Player Sister rolled her eyes and said, “If the amount is large, just mix it in when kneading the dough. If the amount is small, to ensure quality, I’d suggest you swallow it first, let those emotionally charged memories soak in, and then start cooking.”
“Got it!” Lu Yibei nodded, “In that case, I know what to do.”
“Since I already know the method to solve the problem, I should hurry up and take action, right? Then I’m off?”
“Get lost!” The Proxy Player Sister rolled her eyes, “Don’t forget to pay me a consulting fee after it’s done!”
“Got it, nag!” Lu Yibei retorted, lying flat on the ground, closing her eyes.
Just as she was about to meditate and let her consciousness leave this dream, she suddenly thought of something important, opened her eyes wide, and looked at the Proxy Player Sister, who was back sitting next to the scarlet soil, playing with mud.
“By the way, if those people lose their memories, if someone tells them again, they should be able to remember, right?” The Proxy Player Sister’s hand holding the mud stiffened slightly, and she turned to look at Lu Yibei, shrugging, “Not necessarily, can only say not necessarily. It depends on how important that memory is and how deeply the obsession runs.”
As she spoke, there was an unusual sparkle in her eyes when looking at Lu Yibei. She felt that she might have guessed what Lu Yibei wanted to do.
Oh, is that so? Alright, I got it. You continue to develop your hobbies!” Lu Yibei said expressionlessly as she slowly closed her eyes.
Just as her vision was about to sink into a darkness, as if a hallucination appeared, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of the already completed “Patrick” beside the Proxy Player Sister, which suddenly moved and made a hopping motion.
???
Lu Yibei’s eyes widened suddenly, staring intensely at that “Patrick.” She waited a few seconds.
Seeing that “Patrick” remained still, she thought she might have seen wrong and closed her eyes again, letting her consciousness leave the dream.
———
Amidst the swirling dark red mist, under the flickering darkness of the sky, on the dilapidated rooftop.
The Proxy Player Sister sat alone at the edge of the rooftop, fiddling with the scarlet clay in front of her. Until Lu Yibei’s spiritual energy fluctuations completely disappeared, she tilted her head slightly, glancing back, the corner of her mouth curving upwards in a meaningful smile.
Then,
She put down the clay in her hands, grabbed the already completed “Patrick,” and casually tossed it off the rooftop.
That round scarlet figure traced a parabolic arc in midair, spinning through layers of mist as it fell to the ground.
What was merely a palm-sized clay figure, upon hitting the ground, made a roaring sound as if a heavy object had crashed down, kicking up swirling dust, rampaging through the streets like a tsunami.
The next second, accompanied by a loud bang, the ground shook violently, and a massive shadow shot up into the sky, casting a shadow that blotted out the sun, engulfing the entire rooftop.
Covered by the shadow, the Proxy Player Sister looked up at the sky, lightly furrowing her brows, and silently sighed, “Failed again? Going hard at it really doesn’t work!”
“Hiss!”
In the sky, a sharp, metallic screech echoed, and a huge humanoid monster composed of scarlet-glazed flesh was plummeting from the rooftop.
On its massive body, numerous eyeballs bulged, and cracks resembling mouths opened and closed, revealing gleaming white teeth, with scarlet, viscous flesh twisting into various distorted shapes, as if mocking its creator.
Watching that which looked like Patrick showing SpongeBob how to eat, the Proxy Player Sister shook her head and lightly snapped her fingers.
Then, accompanied by a series of dull sounds of flesh bursting, it began to rain “bl**d” on the rooftop.
“Starting over, starting over! Tsk, making someone completely devoid of artistic talent do this is nothing short of torture!” The Proxy Player Sister muttered to herself, sitting cross-legged, and began kneading the scarlet clay in front of her again—
4:28 AM.
After brewing herself a cup of strong coffee, Du Sixian returned to her desk and focused her attention on the mailbox displayed on her computer screen.
Having worked here for a long time, she was already accustomed to a life of reversed day and night, although sometimes she needed little gadgets to help keep her awake.
The mailbox icon was a bright yellow, funny-looking icon, with a little insect-like tail dragging at the lower-right corner.
This was the “All-Purpose Urban Legend Mailbox Business Edition” she purchased from Miao Xiaoqi, claiming to be absolutely unhindered from any interception of messages, including but not limited to the Urban Legends Chat Group, the Siye Society, and the Solar Eclipse Society.
After waiting for a moment, the mailbox showed the red icon that indicated a new email has arrived.
She raised an eyebrow and eagerly clicked to open the anonymous email.
As she expected, this new email was sent by the mysterious buyer who had been inquiring about spirit energy items.
Anonymous User 0145: “We have already tried the items, and they are quite good! The conditions you proposed are acceptable to us, and the price is very reasonable. When can we conduct the transaction?”
Du Sixian thought for a moment and smiled as she replied: “Three days later, shipment from Moon City.”
Anonymous User 0145: “Okay, looking forward to the cooperation!”
“Phew—!” Du Sixian let out a long sigh of relief, leaning back in her chair and stretching, “The first business deal is finally settled; I didn’t expect the profit to be much higher than I anticipated.”
“Hehe, doing business with spiritual ability users and urban legends is really stress-free!”
She had seen her parents experience prolonged business negotiations that failed to settle on a final plan many times, and she had initially thought that dealing with spiritual ability users and urban legends would be even more troublesome.
But to her surprise, most spiritual ability users and urban legends were much more agreeable than those merchants, completely indifferent to fancy details, only caring about the quality of the goods, with price being secondary.
Since she started spreading the word, as Lu Yibei said, to find buyers for that batch of spirit energy items, it had only been a few days, and she had successfully secured her first deal. Besides that, there were also another two or three deals that were almost ready.
This gave her an inexplicable feeling of having better business acumen than her father, and the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming. It felt great!
Just as Du Sixian was contentedly pondering, a figure rushed in urgently.
When she recognized the person’s appearance, Du Sixian’s face lit up with joy, “High Person? You’re just in time; I just successfully secured the first deal!”
“So fast? That’s awesome!” Lu Yibei began to speak, but then waved her hand and said, “Wait, wait, now is not the time to talk about this. Quickly help me find a few little urban legends, get those surplus items from the warehouse out, and prepare twenty pounds of self-rising flour, a bucket of water, and a steamer.”
Although she had heard good news from Du Sixian, the time was pressing, leaving no time for praises or thanks.
“High Person, are you trying to stop…” Du Sixian looked at Lu Yibei, puzzled, not understanding what Lu Yibei was planning.
It can’t possibly be making steamed buns, right?
“To explain it in detail is complicated. In simple terms, I’m planning to make steamed buns.” Lu Yibei said.
Du Sixian thought, “Even if High Person is making steamed buns, there must be a deeper meaning behind it!”
“No problem, High Person, just wait a moment; I’ll arrange it right away!”
After saying that, Du Sixian stood up and left the office—
Today is not Tuesday. Most urban legends in Huacheng, apart from staying in their occupied areas, usually go to the underground parking lot of Happy Neighborhood for entertainment.
Two or three urban legends gather to chat about their experiences and funny stories of scaring humans, often enjoying a spirit energy drink produced by Meng Meng, which is a delightful thing.
When these urban legends in the underground parking lot of Happy Neighborhood heard that the Calamity Witch needed help, they all eagerly sprang into action.
Thus, in the underground parking lot of Happy Neighborhood, dozens of either eerie or fierce figures were seen bustling around, carrying boxes filled with miscellaneous items.
For a moment, the entire underground parking lot was filled with chilling laughter. Lu Yibei watched from the side, with a small hand on her hip, occasionally giving instructions to the urban legends.
“That box of trouble over there, yes, that’s the one.”
“Wait? Why can uneaten food also be considered lost items? Don’t take that!”
“Whoa! Where did you guys find this excavation machine? This probably isn’t a lost item, right? Everyone, wait a moment; don’t move objects larger than twenty centimeters in diameter!”
Soon, in an open space in the parking lot, a small mountain of boxes filled with lost items was piled up.
As the number of lost items around her increased, Lu Yibei took out the blue and white porcelain bowl borrowed from Hu Boss, sat cross-legged, placed it in front of her, and according to Hu Boss’s instructions, picked a beautifully shaped strawberry-shaped keychain from the nearest box and placed it into the bowl.
Seeing that the Calamity Witch was finally starting to take action, the urban legends, who had no idea what she was planning and were just innocently enjoying themselves, quieted down and gathered around to watch.
Ding!
With a light sound as the keychain landed in the bowl, a faint pink glow immediately emanated from it.
Then, the pink glow solidified and transformed into tiny “water droplets,” sliding off the keychain and falling into the bowl.
It works! Lu Yibei’s eyes lit up slightly, and she eagerly picked up the second item and placed it into the bowl.
Brooches, hair ties, old mobile phones, dirty figurines, a full bottle of origami cranes…
As various items were continuously placed into the bowl before her, the originally empty blue and white porcelain bowl soon accumulated a full bowl of liquid that radiated a dazzling, multicolored glow.
Seeing that the blue and white porcelain bowl was about to fill up, Lu Yibei’s gaze sharpened. While motioning for the urban legends not to bring more lost items, she lifted the bowl to her mouth and tilted her head slightly.
Down the hatch!
The next moment, massive fragments of memory, filled with complex emotions, surged into her mind, and in an instant, a violent pain as if her soul were being torn into thousands of pieces hit her, nearly sending her consciousness into chaos and madness.
She wanted to open her mouth to scream, but her body felt numb, as if it had lost control.
Beneath her skin, something surged violently, with veins bulging, occasionally revealing shapes of completely different human faces.
A myriad of fragmented sounds intertwined in her ears, as if they were going to overwhelm the entire world.
They were the most ordinary sounds of laughter, silent sobbing, wretched sighs, furious shouts; for a brief moment, she felt as if she had activated a divine perspective, witnessing the entirety of Huacheng.
She saw the bustling crowds on the streets after work, groups of youths rushing toward the cafeteria with their backs to the sunset, children playing under the shade of trees in the courtyard, and old people snuggling together with smiles while watching the kids, and many more.
Lu Yibei faithfully took note of everything she saw.
After a long time.
Sitting on the ground, taking several deep breaths, she gradually adjusted to the emotional turmoil in her mind, stabilizing her state. Lu Yibei trembled as she stood up, staring at the two bags of flour with bloodshot eyes, ripped them open with a tear and poured them into the large basin in front of her.
As the white smoke, faintly fragrant with wheat, wafted up gently, Lu Yibei’s small hands were simultaneously placed into the basin, and cooking began.
