Chapter 93: No Deterioration, But a Transformation
Although the Mahjong parlor owner himself suggested paying three times the amount, Lu Yibei felt somewhat guilty when she saw his almost tearful expression while making him pay.
Thus, out of sympathy, she expressionlessly patted the Mahjong parlor owner’s shoulder and comforted him, “Don’t feel bad. How about I knock off a zero for you? I actually don’t care that much about money.”
She was speaking the truth. Right now, the company “Calamity Shock Irresponsible” was able to make some profit while being self-sufficient, and besides her daily expenses, upgrading her spirit energy fluctuation level was no longer something that could be achieved solely by spending money.
While spending massive amounts to buy alchemical materials and make complete potions had some slight effects, her alchemy skills were limited. Even if she could buy those materials, she wouldn’t be able to produce them, and ultimately, those expensive alchemical materials would likely only become raw materials for alchemical dirty bombs.
Wouldn’t that be a waste?
“Sure, sure! You’re merciful, my lord!” the Mahjong parlor owner said repeatedly.
“Right? Everyone says I’m a kind person,” Lu Yibei said. “Let’s say it’s fifteen million. If convenient, please convert it into equivalent gold or alchemical materials. That would be easier to manage.”
Hearing this, the Mahjong parlor owner was stunned, and tears fell immediately.
When he lost to Lu Yibei, it added up to over four hundred sixty rounds, and three times that didn’t even exceed fourteen million.
Now, with this knocked-off zero, it was over one hundred million out of nowhere!
What kind of a knockoff was this?
The Mahjong parlor owner thought furiously, turning his head to give Lu Yibei a questioning look, and then his heart sank as his face turned pale.
Lu Yibei sat upright in her chair, seemingly aware of his thoughts, and made a shushing gesture at him.
Hmm… How could this not count as knocking off a zero?
And this could be considered a comfort; at least it would make obsessive-compulsive patients feel better, Lu Yibei thought.
Although she didn’t need money as much as before, Jumeng did!
If she could get a little more, she would!
Although that Oujinbang pulled out from the Great Sun Vairocana Statue was still suppressed in the God Realm Prototype, capable of producing large amounts of gold at any moment, she always felt that the gold produced by Oujinbang wasn’t quite right, and there could be problems in the future.
What if one day in the future, the power contained in Oujinbang suddenly lost efficacy, and that gold turned back into stone, rebar, or something?
Just in case, that gold could be used to pay for the expenses of the “Calamity Shock Irresponsible” company. Anyway, if problems arose later, it would affect others, but if it affected Jumeng, it would be different.
The Mahjong parlor owner, “…”
It was pure extortion.
But even knowing it was extortion, what could he do?
Wasn’t he being controlled by others?
Anyway…
Perhaps, he should be able to ask that person for reimbursement.
————
By the time Lu Yibei stashed over twenty kilograms of gold and scattered alchemical materials into the God Realm Prototype and happily left the Shining Star Mahjong parlor, it was already afternoon.
Standing on the street corner, she glanced around and was about to hail a taxi back to the Peach Blossom Inn when she received a call from Jumeng.
“Dumb dog, where are you? Why are you running around right after waking up? When are you going to mature a bit? Let your sister have some peace of mind!”
“Isn’t it because I heard good sister is going back to the Peach Source? I ran out to prepare a little gift for you?” Lu Yibei replied with a pout.
Upon hearing this, Jumeng on the other end of the line fell silent for a moment, then suspiciously asked, “Are you really that kind-hearted?”
Flattery without reason is suspect, and it fit Lu Yibei perfectly.
Especially when Lu Yibei referred to her as “good sister,” it was mostly never a good sign.
It was like a mischievous kid suddenly shouting “Mom!”—it was guaranteed not to be anything good.
She remembered when they first parted, the game cartridge Lu Yibei had given her was mixed with unplayable pirated games, quite disruptive to the mindset.
“What did I say?” Lu Yibei thought for a moment and said, “Seeing is believing! When I get back, you’ll know, sister!”
At the moment when that great shadow descended, Jumeng risked exhausting the Peach Source to protect her safety, and she was genuinely moved.
That feeling of gratitude definitely couldn’t be expressed with just a phone call.
At least she had to thank her in person, right?
“Alright, then you hurry back. If it’s late, I’ll be leaving!” Jumeng said, smacking her lips. “You know I’m busy, I can’t waste time on your trivial matters.”
“Okay!” Lu Yibei responded and, after hanging up, looked out at the ever-changing cityscape, pondering the information she’d gathered after a busy morning.
From the current information grasped, Dailin seemed to have gone to Yumen Pass with Miaomiao Sauce.
However… something felt off.
That Mahjong parlor owner was also off; although he organized gambling as a spirit ability user and must have swindled a lot of money, it should have been difficult for him to take out so much at once.
But when I purposely inflated the price, he only hesitated a moment before producing it.
Could it be that guy named Dailin had anticipated that someone would investigate through the Shining Star Mahjong parlor and intentionally released a smokescreen?
Is it possible that the place he was headed to wasn’t actually Yumen?
If it were me, wanting to escape someone’s pursuit, after releasing a smokescreen, I would probably run in the opposite direction of Yumen. Even if I couldn’t completely shake off the pursuit, I could at least delay for a long time…
Thinking of this, Lu Yibei’s mood gradually became heavy.
If my guess is correct, finding Dailin and Jiang Li will become much more difficult. After all, the range in the opposite direction of Yumen is too vast, and finding a high-level spirit ability user intentionally avoiding pursuit in that range would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
“I can only prepare for two contingencies…” Lu Yibei murmured softly.
On one hand, pursue Yumen Pass to take a look, while on the other, letting the Urban Legends Chat Group and Lin Nian continue to investigate Dailin’s whereabouts. If there are new discoveries, she would leave Yumen Pass immediately and chase after.
Those lost items and letters, except for Water Brother’s, had basically all been delivered. The tremors at Liao Zhai Tavern had also stopped, and by then, getting Boss Hu to help with the transmission should be in time…
Lu Yibei thought, taking out her phone to edit a message.
【[Image][Image] Recently, please help me keep an eye on information about this person appearing all over Z Country. Also, help me secretly spread the news that he possesses the secret of rising from obscurity within a year and holds an unclaimed calamity-grade spirit energy item…】
Just as she finished editing half the message, she stopped, deleted the latter half, and sent messages to the internet old pervert and Lin Nian.
As the idea of continuing to track Dailin popped into her mind, Lu Yibei’s first thought was that “Calamity” in just over a year had transformed from an unknown minor urban legend to a major urban legend on the Siye Society’s red notice list, with an astonishing growth rate.
And the secret behind such rapid growth is definitely something many urban legends or spirit ability users would want to know.
If the news spreads that Dailin knows this secret and possesses a treasure, it should draw in those coveting the secret of Calamity’s rapid growth and calamity-grade spirit energy items as labor force to a certain extent.
But as she thought about it, being targeted by those greedy folks could put Jiang Li in danger, so she dismissed that idea.
In the past, when she didn’t care about anything except her own life, she could easily fabricate seventeen or eighteen highly credible rumors and spread them, turning Dailin into a delicious fat piece that everyone sought after, making him unable to move an inch.
But now…
This feeling of being controlled by others was too d*mn frustrating!
————
Shining Star Mahjong Parlor.
Not long after Lu Yibei left, the Mahjong parlor owner invited out his two partners from the mahjong room, then locked the mahjong room door, placing a silver conical metal at each corner of the room.
That was a spirit energy fluctuation shield. His spirit energy level was limited, and when using a spell formula for long-distance communication, he could only use this method to cover the dissipated spirit energy.
After setting everything up, he sat down at the mahjong table, taking out a sheepskin scroll, a feather quill, and a slightly yellowed white candle from his jacket pocket.
In Z Country, many sacrificial activities involve burning prayer texts for the sacrificial object, as if through this means, the object can better understand their requests.
The Mahjong parlor owner intended to lock onto the other’s power and send information using a method akin to burning a prayer text.
From a certain perspective, it resembled a calamity-grade response to a person reciting its name, only with a few more conditions to trigger it.
Although this kind of communication method, akin to burning things for the deceased, sounded somewhat eerie, according to that person’s words, it was currently the safest method, often used for communication among the higher-ups of the Solar Eclipse Society.
To accommodate the Mahjong parlor owner’s low spirit energy level, the sheepskin scroll was inscribed with complicated spell patterns, and the candle was made from the oils refined by the urban legend organization and a variety of alchemical materials.
【My lord, as you expected, today indeed a high-level urban legend appeared at the Mahjong parlor.
However, she did not, as you guessed, teeter on the edge of losing control of her emotions, nor did she use any extreme means to force us for information, but instead used another strange method…
Per your orders, I have informed the high-level urban legend of Kuerban Rihanman. The woman named Qing Fangyu also set off for the Kubuqi Desert’s Xiangsha Bay three days ago.
The contract has been completed. I hope you can summon a miracle soon and help us break free from the curse of Dream Come True Entertainment City.
Additionally, that high-level urban legend, today took away gold and goods equivalent to twenty million cash from us, causing us immense trouble. I hope my lord can be generous and offer assistance.】
After densely writing on the sheepskin scroll, the Mahjong parlor owner slowly exhaled, carefully checking the content for errors before nodding in satisfaction.
What he recounted was basically true; although there was some inflation on certain numbers, that person was usually easy to deal with and generous, so they would likely not care about such trivial matters.
As the saying goes, when you get your hands on the pork, you also want some grease!
He helped that person accomplish a big task; what’s wrong with taking some grease?
After checking the content on the sheepskin scroll, he picked up the feather quill again, dipped it in ink, and carefully drew a strangely shaped little flower in the lower right corner of the scroll.
The flower had five petals, pointing in five directions, each adorned with patterns representing a crystal cup, a golden ingot, a sword sheath, an ox horn, and wheat, symbolizing fine wine, gold, swords, livestock, and grain…
After drawing the little flower, when the ink dried, the Mahjong parlor owner rolled up the sheepskin scroll, ignited the scroll with the candle until it turned into ash completely.
————
When Lu Yibei returned to the Peach Blossom Inn, she immediately saw Jumeng.
Jumeng was wearing a T-shirt from a gaming event, lounging comfortably in a wicker chair, eating a large piece of watermelon with great relish, a red plastic bucket beside her to catch the dripping juice, completely unconcerned about her image.
She looked like one of those young folks beaten down, having no career, work, or education. When money ran low, they could only take a bucket to work, and when the month’s wages were received, they would leave right away.
It was hard to connect this person with the one from a few days ago, who wore a gorgeous red robe and looked like a queen.
Seeing Lu Yibei enter, Jumeng lifted her eyelids and raised her watermelon, “Back already, want some watermelon?”
“No!” Lu Yibei shook her head.
“Oh.” Jumeng pouted, bringing the watermelon back to her mouth to continue munching, extending her juice-covered little hand toward Lu Yibei, “What about the gift? Didn’t you say you’d show me reality?”
Lu Yibei rolled her eyes at Jumeng, turned her hand, and with a flash of golden light, pulled out the twenty-plus kilograms of gold from the God Realm Prototype and placed it in her hand, causing her small hand to sink slightly.
“Here, for you! With these, it should help ease the funding shortage in the Peach Source a bit, right?”
“This… how did you know?” Jumeng was stunned, and then as if remembering something, she turned to glower at the proprietress who was secretly watching from the shadows and scolded, “d*mn! Why did you tell her, Xiaotan?”
“Didn’t I tell you to keep it a secret?”
She didn’t want Lu Yibei’s feelings for her to become less pure because of this incident.
In this commercially advanced era, almost all troubles can be solved with money—food, clothing, housing, entertainment, work, education… as long as you’re willing to pay, everything can be set, which easily leads people to develop the illusion that “money is omnipotent,” but in reality, it’s not so.
Among the countless relationships she observed, many had deteriorated because of money.
She even discovered that for some individuals, their romantic red line, during this process, bizarrely shifted from their lovers to money.
That’s absurd!
“Dumb dog, let me tell you, I actually…” Jumeng turned her back, ready to explain to Lu Yibei why she had to hide this. But just as she was about to do so, Lu Yibei suddenly stepped forward, pulled her into an embrace, and gave her a gentle hug.
Feeling Lu Yibei’s slightly lower temperature than normal people, her words cut off.
The watermelon in her hand fell to the ground with a “plop.”
Her fair face flushed with a rosy glow.
In the air, it seemed countless pink bubbles floated around.
In fact, Lu Yibei didn’t know why she had made such a move; she was just a stinky sister!
But thinking that she wouldn’t see Jumeng for a long time, her body acted on its own, even leaning closer to Jumeng’s ear to whisper.
“Stinky sister, thanks to you this time, really.”
“I have some urgent matters to handle; I know Peach Source needs you, so I won’t keep you.”
“However, the things I promised you won’t be forgotten. When we meet next time, I’ll take you to the amusement park for a day, no, for two days, or three days… Anyway, you can play as long as you want.”
As her words fell, Jumeng clearly saw that half-virtual, half-real unformed romantic red line gradually solidifying, extending, swaying and wrapping around Lu Yibei’s body…
Facts proved that “money” did not cause feelings to deteriorate; instead, it underwent a transformation.
Taking advantage, but there were no signs of corruption in power…
Perhaps this was the true way to refute fate with money? Jumeng thought.
Out of the corner of her eye, she stole a glance at Lu Yibei’s profile, smiled slightly, and muttered, “Did you forget something?”
“What?”
“There are still five 648s?!” Jumeng lifted her head and vigorously nudged Lu Yibei’s chin with her own.
Things like amusement parks didn’t really matter to her; she had already been once, but compared to those five 648s, this was much more important.
It needed to be arranged!
Otherwise, this time she went back, Yuan Ye surely wouldn’t give her any pocket money for a long time for spending.
More importantly, since the romantic red line had already been tied, was she afraid that this dumb dog would run away?
That was impossible; at most, it would be a fifty-fifty split with someone else.
However, following this dumb dog’s nature, if it didn’t say anything now, those five 648s would mostly be gone.
“……” Lu Yibei fell silent for a moment, expressionless, and said, “If you’re going to say that, then I might as well give you ten 648s and have you do me a little favor?”
If you’re not righteous, don’t blame me for being unjust!
“What favor?” Jumeng tilted her head.
“Give me some pregnancy aura?” After speaking, anticipating that Jumeng was about to speak, Lu Yibei hurriedly added, “Not for any part of my body, just a little bit to save and use when I need it.”
Jumeng, “……” d*mn it, how did this dumb dog know what I was about to say?
The words of mischief were on the tip of her tongue, but they were forcefully held back. Only the parties involved would know how difficult it was to suppress that feeling.
————
Jumeng left Shancheng in the evening, walking casually, carrying a small backpack borrowed from Boss Tan, filled with snacks, transforming into a magpie, flapping her wings and flying into the evening glow, not looking back once.
One could not tell if she was worried that turning back would make her reluctant to leave, or if having got the five 648s Lu Yibei promised made her perfectly satisfied with nothing left to miss.
Lu Yibei stood on the rooftop of the Peach Blossom Inn, watching Jumeng leave until her figure completely vanished into the hazy clouds.
One must say that the haze brought down by the Haze God, though causing significant pollution, still had a slight advantage.
At least, when there are many small particles in the air, the evening glow is likely to be particularly beautiful.
After sending Jumeng off, Lu Yibei tidied up her thoughts and quickly focused her attention on the matter of someone impersonating Calamity.
In her view, this issue seemed far from simple.
Then, before long, as she took the late high-speed train to Huacheng and dialed Xing Yuan’s number, things indeed became quite complicated…
“You finally returned the call! Do you know? The calamity near Yumen Pass moved again tonight and made a big move! Just half an hour ago, operatives from the Siye Society stationed nearby detected five approaching calamity-grade spirit energy fluctuations!”
Lu Yibei, “…”
