Chapter 363: Daydream

Lu Yibei muttered as she stood up, tightening her clothes. “Boring. Lost again? There’s something wrong with your odds, I’m not playing anymore!”

She had “lost” three rounds in a row in the girl’s gambling game. Judging from the girl’s flushed, excited little face, the eighty chips she’d “lost” were already enough for her to do whatever she wanted.

A man’s wealth is his own ruin by attracting greed.

The gamblers, thieves, and vagrants wandering the streets were hardly good people. If the girl held too many chips in her hands, it would only bring her disaster.

The girl cupped the heavy chips in her small hands, staring blankly as she watched Lu Yibei leave. Only when Lu Yibei’s figure was about to disappear into the misty, dust-filled street did the girl suddenly seem to remember something and hurriedly chased after her.

“Big sister, big sister! Wait, wait!”

Hearing the girl’s call, Lu Yibei paused and turned around, looking at the girl with a puzzled tilt of her head.

What now? Still want to gamble? If you do, I won’t let you win again! Lu Yibei grumbled inwardly.

The girl ran up to Lu Yibei, hands on her knees as she caught her breath, then lowered her voice, “Big sister, did you… did you lose to me on purpose just now?”

“……”

No way, has my acting gotten so bad that even a little girl can see through it? Lu Yibei complained to herself.

Seeing Lu Yibei remain silent, the girl continued, “It’s okay if you don’t admit it, but I understand, and I really appreciate your help.”

“But, my dad said, you can’t accept other people’s kindness for nothing. If you don’t repay it, you’ll feel guilty for the rest of your life.”

“I don’t want to owe you, big sister, so can you tell me your name and address? I know I can’t repay you now, but in the future, I definitely will.”

As she spoke, the girl flipped over the card she used to set up the gambling game and, together with a charred wooden stick, handed them to Lu Yibei.

Lu Yibei looked at the girl, at the sincerity and stubbornness written all over her sallow little face, as if there was a magical charm that made it impossible to refuse.

She didn’t want to break that beautiful magic, so after a brief silence, she picked up the stick and wrote her address and name on the card.

[Wang Buliuxing, Xingfu Community, Hua City]

Yes, Lu Yibei didn’t write her real name, nor her real address.

Although she felt the girl probably wouldn’t make a fuss over it, if someone else saw it and came to her house to cause trouble, that would be a disaster.

Over the years, criminals who committed crimes by following information on delivery slips weren’t unheard of! Lu Yibei thought.

The girl read the words on the card silently, then looked at Lu Yibei with a puzzled gaze. “Big sister, your name… is your surname Wang, or Wang Bu, or Wang Buliu?”

“And what is Hua City? Why haven’t I heard of it? Can you get there by train? If you can, which station do you get off at? And, and…”

Lu Yibei’s head ached from the girl’s barrage of questions. She interrupted impatiently, “Stop! Are you with the census team? Why so many questions?”

The girl was startled by Lu Yibei’s sullen expression, took a few steps back, and hid behind a lamppost. Then she poked out half her head and timidly asked, “Um… big sister, what’s a census?”

“……”

Why so many questions? Are you a haunting born from ‘One Hundred Thousand Whys’? Makes me realize how great our compulsory education system is!

Lu Yibei complained inwardly, rolled her eyes, and said coldly, “You don’t need to know these things. If you really have the ability to repay me in the future, you’ll know all of this.”

“Then…” The girl opened her mouth, looking uneasy. “How can I become able to repay you?”

Lu Yibei had already guessed she’d ask this, so she’d long prepared a harsh answer.

She looked into the girl’s eyes and said solemnly, “Study!”

The girl was stunned for a moment. When she came back to her senses and looked for Lu Yibei to ask more, she found that Lu Yibei had already disappeared into the gray, misty street.

“Study…?”

Staring at the empty street, the girl murmured to herself.

Lu Yibei hid in the shadows, watching the girl’s lost expression from afar. She shrugged and turned toward the golden, resplendent tower at the city center.

Now was not the time for overflowing sympathy.

If she kept getting entangled, the story would fast-forward to sponsoring poor girls from remote haunting hotspots to go to college. Lu Yibei thought.

After shaking off the girl, Lu Yibei used her body technique and hurried toward Dream Come True Entertainment City, the dimly lit street scenes flashing by behind her.

Weaving through this city seemingly ruled by eternal night, she was like a nightingale flying low.

A nightingale weighed down by worries…

After learning about the chips, the exchanges, and the Big Boss’s long-planned scheme, her mood wasn’t one of clarity after the clouds parted, but rather a suffocating sense of doom, as if dark clouds were pressing down on the city.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought of a solution. She could easily use the countless guests in the Entertainment City, offering a slightly higher chip price to have them exchange indiscriminately at the redemption counter on her behalf, draining the Entertainment City in another way, disrupting its normal operations, and ultimately forcing it to close down.

But having the guests exchange on her behalf, making them unknowingly bear misfortune, was just too cruel.

Besides, if she did that, the Big Boss might escape because of it. Who knows what he’d do then.

Eldritch Destroyer, huh? If the Big Boss really is as unlucky as the PL girl said, and if he’s been trapped in this damned place for endless years, it’s no wonder he’d be a bit psychopathic.

What worried her even more was that she’d helped Jiang Li exchange so much lifespan in the Entertainment City-who knows what kind of consequences that might bring.

Maybe, the price of living a hundred and fifty years is a century of loneliness?

“Damn it, what the hell-originally I just came to negotiate, then find a way to shut down the route to Hua City. So how did it turn into a death match with some ancient freak who’s been around for who knows how long?”

After her thoughts tangled and twisted for a while, Lu Yibei cursed viciously, a trace of dejection flickering between her brows.

Actually, now that I’m holding so many chips in my hands, doesn’t that qualify me to sit at the negotiating table? Or should I just surrender, once and for all?

Yeah, just shut it down. The Big Boss can keep being his emperor, Black Peony and the Celestian can keep acting as their second emperors, and I’ll go back to being a traitor. Wouldn’t that be fine?

Even if they’re hiding here, secretly spreading malice into the world, it’ll be many years before they manage to escape. Who knows if I’ll even be alive by then-why worry about it now?

When a problem hits a dead end, Lu Yibei always chose the fastest solution-give up!

“Tsk tsk tsk, there’s nothing in this world that’s hard as long as you’re willing to give up. That really is your style, huh!”

An inexplicable voice sounded by her ear. Lu Yibei instinctively shot back, “Who? Which bastard is sassing me?”

As soon as she finished, she suddenly realized-the noisy street had gone quiet at some point. Only the fine drizzle tapping against the metal lightboxes on the roadside made any sound, and the passersby had vanished as if they’d evaporated. A thickening mist crept through the street, and the dim yellow lights exuded a strange chill.

Here, it felt like a corner abandoned by the world.

“This way, over here… Damn it, how could I possibly be in the trash can? You brat, are you doing this on purpose?”

Lu Yibei followed the direction of the voice and stopped in front of a shop’s glass display window.

Who knows what this shop sold; it was pitch-black inside, only the vague outlines of some shelves barely visible. Dust had settled on the glass, and moisture fogged it into a blurry haze.

Just as Lu Yibei was wondering if the voice was coming from inside the shop, a pale little hand suddenly slapped onto the glass, wiped back and forth a few times, and cleared out a spot the size of a vanity mirror-reflecting her own face.

Then, the “her” in the glass suddenly grinned, startling Lu Yibei so much she jumped back a step.

Even though she could be considered the head of the evil ghosts now, she still reflexively felt a jolt of fear in moments like this.

“Tsk! We’ve known each other for so long, and you still look like you’ve seen a ghost… Oh, right, I forgot you don’t have any expressions now. But in this situation, shouldn’t you be as happy as if you’ve seen your savior?”

Hearing the girl in the mirror, Lu Yibei glanced around, then pointed wide-eyed at the display window. “You’re… PL girl? Damn! You’re actually alive?”

PL girl rolled her eyes, took a few steps forward, and as the display window rippled like water, she walked right out and stood at Lu Yibei’s side, one hand resting on her shoulder.

“What are you talking about? I’ve always been perfectly fine!”

Lu Yibei looked at the hand on her shoulder, then at the side of PL girl’s face, and fell silent.

Isn’t this just like seeing a ghost?

In moments like this, seeing PL girl, Lu Yibei suddenly felt the uncanny sense of a paper doll waifu stepping into the real world.

As if sensing Lu Yibei’s thoughts, PL girl patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. This is no different from when we meet in dreams. It’s just that…”

She glanced around, a hint of distaste in her eyes. “It’s just that this hellhole is a bit similar to my place, so showing up here didn’t make such a big fuss this time.”

Her place is similar to here? What kind of place is that? Lu Yibei wondered, frowning as she looked at PL girl.

“So, I’m daydreaming right now?”

PL girl shrugged. “More or less.”

“……”

Lu Yibei stayed silent, casting a sideways glance at PL girl with a look that screamed, “You think I’m going to believe that nonsense?”

“Alright, are you staring at me because you want to prick my conscience? You should know by now-I barely have a conscience.” PL girl rolled her eyes at Lu Yibei. “Besides, you also know I’d never hurt you.”

“I only rushed over because I heard someone’s inner voice shouting, ‘I can’t hold on anymore! Let’s split up the luggage and go back home!'”

Lu Yibei, “……” How does this girl know everything? It’s like the tumor in my brain grew sentient-can’t let her stay!

PL girl pouted. “Really, how can a man admit defeat so easily!?”

“Cut it out.” Lu Yibei wished she could sock PL girl in the face. “Do I look like a man to you right now?”

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to adapt this quickly.” PL girl replied, then glanced toward the distant Dream Come True Entertainment City, narrowing her eyes. Suddenly, she said, “You really want to beat that guy, don’t you?”

The topic veered abruptly back to business. Lu Yibei’s eyes sharpened. “You have a way?”

“I do.” PL girl nodded.

“What way?”

“Power leveling.”

Lu Yibei looked PL girl up and down, then made a throat-slitting gesture. “You, the big shot-can you kill the Big Boss?”

Sacrificing ten years of lifespan to become a life-burning player and slay an Eldritch Destroyer-it doesn’t seem like a bad deal.

Who knows? Maybe it’ll even drop some legendary equipment! Lu Yibei thought.

“What are you thinking? Of course not!” PL girl rolled her eyes at her. “A diamond-level gatekeeper could never beat a king-level pro.”

Lu Yibei shot back with a glare. “Tch! You sound so confident-I thought you were supposed to be amazing!”

Spending ten years of lifespan and still failing to kill the Big Boss-that would be a huge loss… Lu Yibei grumbled inwardly.

“That’s not my fault!” PL girl looked at Lu Yibei with disdain and poked her chest. “It’s your hardware that’s lacking, so you can only perform at that level.”

Lu Yibei instinctively shielded her chest with both hands and took a step back, startled. “Wait, combat power is tied to bust size? What kind of ridiculous setting is this? Are you trying to fool me?”

PL girl sighed silently. “Dear, this isn’t the time for trash talk, okay?”

“Uh… okay, fine. Go on, tell me your plan. Do you really have a way to win?”

“Of course!” A sly smile spread across PL girl’s face. “This kind of small matter-I can handle it.”

“In short, the explanation is simple: just go all out and redeem it!”

She even thought about letting him share a bit of her misfortune. PL girl glanced at Lu Yibei, a flicker of melancholy passing through her eyes.

Using the red threads of fate to entangle and pull, altering destiny-that method was already impressive, but it wasn’t enough!

Fortunately, this time, they’d encountered a sucker.

Can’t beat him? Then I’ll outwit him to death! PL girl thought.

“You could give it a try, but…” Lu Yibei said, looking toward Dream Come True Entertainment City. “But since I can go all out to redeem, I’ll need to head back to the Entertainment City first to exchange some lifespan.”

“After all, I don’t even know how much longer I can live. What if I only have nine years, eleven months, and thirty days left? Wouldn’t I just drop dead on the spot? Even if I have a full ten years, I’ll still die the moment the power leveling ends. Not to mention…”

As Lu Yibei rambled on, PL girl gave her a blank stare and said softly, “Call me when you’re done redeeming.”

With that, her figure gradually faded away, disappearing like mist blown away by a cold breeze.

“…Not to mention, even if there’s extra, how can you guarantee it’ll be exactly ten years? The opponent is the Big Boss-we should prepare more, just to be safe, right? Huh? Where did she go?”

Lu Yibei was mid-sentence when she suddenly noticed the street in front of her had returned to normal. Standing before her was a filthy man, his hand reaching into her jacket pocket.

“What the hell? Who are you?”

The man swallowed nervously, his eyes darting around to gauge her expression but finding no clues. He tried to pull his hand back, only to realize his wrist was already locked in place by her eerie coat. Weakly, he muttered, “S-stealing?”

“Tch!” Lu Yibei clicked her tongue. “I hate thieves like you the most-no guts, always sneaky!”

As she spoke, she raised her hand and conjured a soccer-ball-sized red flame flash, holding it against the man’s neck.

Feeling the intense heat radiating from the crimson fireball, the man’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees before Lu Yibei, crying out, “Don’t kill me! Please, don’t kill me! I won’t dare next time-I only had bad thoughts because you were standing there motionless!”

A beautiful girl standing still on the street, and all you think about is stealing money? Lu Yibei rolled her eyes. “Kill you? Why would I?”

“Now, this is a robbery! Hand over all the chips you’ve got!”

The man: “……”

An hour later, at the upper three floors of Dream Come True Entertainment City, in the redemption area.

To be safe, Lu Yibei redeemed a full fifty years of lifespan for PL girl to use as backup. Only then did she leave the redemption area, find a secluded spot, and call out to PL girl.

“Power leveling, power leveling, are you there?”

“I’m here.”

A voice like the sound of silver bells carried on a gentle breeze reached her ears, resonating in her skull with an ethereal echo.

“It’s not my turn to step in yet. You keep winning chips, and call me when you’re close to draining this Entertainment City dry!”

“When will it be your turn?”

“When you’re about to empty the Entertainment City’s chips, enough to buy out most of the redemption area’s items.”

“What the hell? Seriously?” Lu Yibei exclaimed. “Carrying that many chips could kill me!”

“Tch! It’s just a few hallucinations. Relax-you won’t die.” PL girl replied impatiently. “Alright, I’m done talking. Someone’s coming.”

Someone’s coming? Lu Yibei froze for a moment, then turned around to see Ah-Hua standing behind her with a suspicious expression. Ah-Hua sniffed lightly, then turned to Jiang Li, who was approaching, and shouted, “Miss! I can sense residual psychic energy fluctuations from another woman on this person!”

Lu Yibei frowned. “Wait, how do you know it’s a woman?”

“Shut up, you damned cheating cat!”

Lu Yibei rolled her eyes and looked at Jiang Li, who had come closer, trying to communicate with her through eye contact, but was met with rejection.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Li said calmly. “Caught cheating and feeling embarrassed?”

“I don’t even have a girlfriend-what cheating are you talking about?” Lu Yibei protested.

“……”

Jiang Li turned away silently and said softly, “Alright, we’ve found the person. Let’s prepare to start the gambling game!”