Chapter 165: Nosebleed
“Bang! Bang!”
The heart raced wildly, a constant ringing in the ears, faintly mixed with terrifying wails. No matter how hard she tried to breathe, only a small amount of air could enter her body, which immediately turned into countless sharp blades, cutting through her lung lobes.
Soon after, her hearing finally returned to normal.
Hearing Lu Xingbei’s question, Shen Baiwei felt an odd sense of hearing “Hey bro, want to buy some apples?”
After adjusting her state slightly, she adjusted her glasses.
“Shen Baiwei, twenty years old, one month and eight days, severe myopia, left eye seven hundred and fifty, right eye eight hundred. Currently a temporary worker at the Miracle Cult, willing to turn over a new leaf and join the Siye Society for reformation. If possible, I would like to apply for further studies at Dachunyang Palace…”
“Is there anything else you’d like to ask, esteemed Operative Lu Qingyi?”
Shen Baiwei spoke in an unusually calm tone.
However, after finishing her sentence, her hand that was holding her glasses didn’t drop but instead gripped the frame tightly, as if fearing someone would snatch it away.
Lu Xingbei, “???”
You just confessed everything after one question?
Could it be that you are also someone with a heart?
But you™ took my lines, what am I supposed to say?
She hadn’t recovered from the strange, familiar feeling when she suddenly heard Shen Baiwei’s “quick answer,” and many little question marks popped up in her mind.
It was like being confused and confused was married to confusion on top of confusion.
“Did I ask you that?” Lu Xingbei snapped back to reality and shot a sharp glare at Shen Baiwei. “Don’t be so clever! Tell me, which manufacturer produced the screws used in your glasses? Show me!”
“Ah?” Shen Baiwei was slightly taken aback.
“Ah what? Hand it over!”
So, Shen Baiwei’s vision blurred again.
Instantly, Lu Xingbei bombarded her with a barrage of random questions.
As expected, Shen Baiwei fell into a charmed state once more.
Soon, her powers were forced to activate again.
Then, the third, fourth, fifth time… No problem, with the energy from Yumen Pass, a few more times could be endured.
…Ninth, tenth… still under control.
…Eighteen, nineteen times…
Shen Baiwei, “…”
—————
The twenty-second time.
Although Shen Baiwei already knew what Calamity intended to do to her and had learned to respond quickly, after twenty-two times, she still couldn’t protect her glasses.
Calamity seemed convinced that her glasses were her true essence; regardless of whether she answered quickly, remained silent, or resisted, Calamity always found a way to take her glasses.
It was just like mischievous little boys playing pranks on girls!
This time, Calamity didn’t even give a reason… Shen Baiwei, too, was wise enough not to ask.
Does Calamity need a reason to steal from others?
If she did, Calamity could surely come up with over a hundred lame excuses like “wanting to see the screw manufacturer.”
Thus, the questioning process resumed its familiar and tormenting routine.
“So… what is your purpose in approaching me?”
“…” In the silence, Shen Baiwei’s fists tightened slightly, suppressing the urge to flip the table and hit someone.
Anyone would go crazy after being asked the same question twenty-two times.
Although Calamity would feel it was the first time, she was continuously experiencing the same thing.
Trash talk on a loop, it was pure mental pollution.
God knows why Calamity was so obsessed with those trash questions and could guarantee the same consistency every time.
Was she some artificially intelligent program set to a particular setting? Shen Baiwei wondered.
The problem was, her ability could not be controlled by herself.
Every “anchor” she recorded that allowed her to return to the past was completed after undergoing inhuman tortures at Tethys Laboratory, entering a state of severe spirit pattern loss control.
From a certain perspective, it felt like a post-traumatic response.
Only when specific conditions were met, did her spirit patterns go into self-protection mode and become uncontrollable. The part of Uloboros contained within could then operate in overload, devouring the “past.”
The price for devouring the “past” was that she had to bear it together with the person or urban legend that triggered her records.
It was like how, under normal circumstances, one could not defeat a tiger; only when in extreme rage, with various hormones skyrocketing, could one make a glorious slide tackle.
Yet even after completing the slide tackle, serious aftereffects like kidney failure or rhabdomyolysis might occur.
In fact, Shen Baiwei suspected that the elders of the Elders’ Council likely had the thought of using this “longevity of heaven and earth” effect to have her perish with that man.
But now… she wasn’t sure if she would perish with that man, but if it continued, she might perish with Calamity.
Thus, Shen Baiwei finally entertained the thought of giving up.
She gradually emptied her mind, letting her gaze become hollow and her expression dull, pretending to have fallen into a charmed state, calmly answering, “Because… I am your fan!”
Although this answer was somewhat absurd and crazy, it was the most likely way Shen Baiwei had come up with to muddle through after over twenty attempts.
“Hah?” Lu Xingbei frowned and slowly began to lose confidence.
Strange, why do I feel like this shouldn’t be the answer?!
Could it be that the charm ability didn’t work?
Lu Xingbei squinted at Shen Baiwei for a moment and suddenly asked, “Tell me about the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done, and swear by your spirit pattern power that it is definitely your personal experience.”
“Okay.” Upon hearing this question, although Shen Baiwei’s heart twitched, cursing Calamity several hundred times as a b*stard privately, she still nodded cooperatively.
What she had learned in Tethys Laboratory, the most useful thing, was definitely not various spell formulas or scientific knowledge.
But rather, at critical moments, to discard all personal emotions and cooperate completely.
This obedience and cooperation were the secrets that now allowed her to break free from the control of the Elders’ Council.
A “good child” who had always been obedient could occasionally make mistakes without being suspected.
“My most embarrassing experience was when I rented a room near my high school, and the upstairs uncle’s men’s underwear was blown off by the wind, falling onto the balcony of the rental house. Just as I was about to use a clothes pole to return the underwear, the upstairs uncle came back and mistook me for a perverted girl stealing underwear, sending me to the police station… um, I swear by my spirit pattern power, this is my personal experience.”
This indeed was Shen Baiwei’s personal experience.
However, it had happened before she was sent to Tethys Laboratory.
After hearing Shen Baiwei’s answer, Lu Xingbei imagined the situation at that time and frowned slightly.
Is this something she can tell me?
Generally speaking, if a spiritual ability user is willing to swear by their spirit pattern power, then that spiritual ability user is very likely telling the truth; otherwise, they would bear the risk of spirit pattern loss control.
Although currently, scholars researching spiritual abilities have not found a clear connection between swearing and spirit pattern loss control, this phenomenon is mystical; it may not be foolproof, but it’s likely 80-90% accurate.
So, Shen Baiwei was likely telling the truth; she indeed had the experience of being mistaken for a pervert stealing underwear and being sent to the police station.
Looking at it this way, it seemed like the charm had succeeded?
But…
“You’re my fan, and you’re still hanging out with that Dailin guy? That doesn’t make sense,” Lu Xingbei said, puzzled. “If you were really my fan, you should have come to Huacheng and joined the Calamity Scare Irresponsible Company to become an excellent employee, right?”
“Because…” Shen Baiwei’s gaze remained vacant, yet a terrifyingly eerie smile appeared on her face, “That way, I couldn’t get close to you, couldn’t remove the people I don’t like around you, and couldn’t enjoy you all to myself!”
Lu Xingbei, “???”
What the hell! What kind of yandere fan are you? That’s really scary, you know?
d*mn, is it a rule that characters with glasses are either scheming or perverted?
Lu Xingbei thought, looking at Shen Baiwei, and suddenly realized her smile was even broader.
“Hehehe, I just want you to pay special attention to me, and then be alone with me like now. Heh, hehehe, Calamity, small, soft, fragrant, hehehe, my little Calamity!”
As she spoke, she stood up and suddenly leaped towards her unexpectedly.
Seeing Shen Baiwei’s sudden outburst, Lu Xingbei reflexively jumped up from her chair.
“Creek—!”
The chair legs slid back, making a sound that grated on the teeth.
After steadying herself, Lu Xingbei collected her thoughts, hurriedly dispelled the charm ability, and then… she found it was no use; Shen Baiwei was still approaching her.
“Don’t run! Ever since I heard the story about you and the Hundred Demons Walk on the radio, I’ve admired you!”
Lu Xingbei, “…”
In fact, when she first mastered the charm ability, she had looked up information on the Siye Society regarding the witch lineage and studied the memories of the Great Serpent God about the witch lineage. She wanted to quickly improve her charm ability by learning from the advanced deeds of various witch predecessors.
While studying the advanced deeds of various witch predecessors, she discovered a particularly interesting phenomenon: some people or urban legends, when charmed, would have their twisted desires hidden deep within amplified and then manifested as external behaviors, continuing to persist even after the charm effect ended.
In simple terms, it’s somewhat like being drunk.
With a reasonable excuse to cover unreasonable actions, some inherently perverted individuals simply stopped pretending.
The underlying message for these people might be: After all, I was charmed by the witch, which is why I did these crazy things!
Quite self-righteous.
According to some records within the Siye Society, in the regions where witches were once most active, not only did people who were charmed by witches freely indulge in misbehavior, but there were even those who, despite not being charmed, claimed to have been charmed by a witch, making witches pay for their misdeeds.
Shen Baiwei’s current symptoms looked like those described in the documentation—people who had unleashed themselves.
Her true nature was exposed!
Lu Xingbei thought, looking at Shen Baiwei, and froze for a moment, gradually frowning.
She saw Shen Baiwei standing there after a leap, with her hands moving indecisively in the air.
Lu Xingbei stood quietly for a moment, then as if realizing something, looked down at her glasses in hand.
“…”
In silence, she cautiously approached Shen Baiwei, extended her hand, and gently placed the glasses back on Shen Baiwei’s nose.
“Miss Shen, my questioning ended three minutes ago.” Lu Xingbei said expressionlessly, “With your eyesight… I recommend that you don’t act so recklessly in the future.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Baiwei, who suddenly saw clearly, lifted her head, and her eyes met Lu Xingbei’s, causing her to freeze there.
Shen Baiwei, “…”
This is too awkward. Should I charm her again and reload the save?
Facing this sudden social d*ath, she suddenly felt that falling into a loop and perishing with Calamity didn’t seem so bad after all.
————
Moments later.
After Lu Xingbei asked Shen Baiwei some questions about the Miracle Cult, she hurriedly concluded the so-called preliminary review.
She didn’t dare ask anything more, fearing it might stimulate Shen Baiwei and lead to some startling action again.
Before leaving the room, although Shen Baiwei clearly stated that she had regained consciousness and wouldn’t do anything strange again, Lu Xingbei still used every sealing spell she knew to wrap Shen Baiwei in dozens of layers.
Watching Lu Xingbei’s departing back, Shen Baiwei helplessly said, “Idol, can’t there be a little more trust between people?”
Lu Xingbei shook her head, expressionless, “Do you think I would trust a perverted girl who steals underwear?”
Shen Baiwei, “…” I shouldn’t have told her! What should I do? Should I find a way to reload?
“Alright, just stay well by yourself!” Lu Xingbei told Shen Baiwei and then turned to walk out of the room.
As soon as she left Shen Baiwei’s room and closed the door, she felt a sudden wave of dizziness.
A warm flow surged in her mouth and nose, itchy, with a sweet and bloody scent spreading within her nasal cavity.
Lu Xingbei instinctively raised her hand to touch her nose, then looked at her palm in surprise.
She saw her hand covered in bl**d.
“…”
This is… a nosebleed?
Strange, why did it suddenly start to bleed?
During the preliminary review just now, there hadn’t been any skirting around any benefit segments, right?
Lu Xingbei thought in confusion, suddenly looking up when, accompanied by a sudden heat in her eyes, it seemed as if she caught a glimpse of Xia Lianqing’s figure.
But soon, when she focused her gaze, Xia Lianqing had already vanished, and the heat in her eyes gradually faded.
This…
Although the sky outside was dark and gloomy, she still wanted to say, “What a day to see a ghost.”
