Chapter 432: Reborn in Another World as a Rampaging Dump Truck!

Not long after Lu Yibei received information from Xing Yuan, Jiang Li also received similar intel from an anonymous operator surnamed Li.

The “legacy” left by Gou Meng and Fuyang was simply too tempting. Bounties were circulating through secret channels of various illegal psychic organizations, and any one of them was enough for a Class B Psychic or a haunting to achieve advancement, or to escape the chaos and live a life of luxury and indulgence.

With such enormous bounties, psychics and hauntings from all directions swarmed in like wolves scenting blood.

According to the intelligence Li Xuan had gathered, as the city barrier entered its cooldown phase, at least a dozen wanted criminals from The Midnight Watchers Society and over five illegal psychic organizations had infiltrated Tang City amid the chaos, with a total number exceeding two thousand.

Though many were just making up the numbers, there were still over three hundred with effective combat power, boasting psychic energy fluctuation levels of B- and above.

Even though the main operators of The Midnight Watchers Society who responded to the Crimson Owl signal and rushed to support Tang City had a strong suppressive force thanks to their average psychic energy fluctuation level, they were stretched thin against such overwhelming numbers.

Just as Xing Yuan mentioned in the message to Lu Yibei, the relatively weakly defended western side had already fallen. It wouldn’t be long before those psychics and hauntings clashed head-on with Taoyuan’s subordinates.

After reading the message, Jiang Li put away her phone and looked at Lu Yibei, her expression serious. “There’s been a sudden development. I’m afraid I have to leave first.”

“……” Lu Yibei was silent for a moment, then nodded, looking into Jiang Li’s eyes and saying earnestly, “Stay safe. If things go south, get out immediately, okay?”

Now wasn’t the time to play the “Wang Buliuxing wants Meow Meow-chan to confess on her own” game with Jiang Li.

Lu Yibei knew that as a main operator of The Midnight Watchers Society, Jiang Li had responded to the Crimson Owl signal and come to Tang City to support, breaking away from the main force to act with her up to this point-she was already at her limit.

The main task of the operators who came to Tang City in response to the Crimson Owl signal was to intercept the psychics and hauntings flooding in amid the chaos and prevent them from causing harm.

Helping to clear out the illegal psychic forces lurking within Taoyuan was, at best, a side mission.

Now that the side mission was complete and those who had been eyeing the city barrier from outside had arrived, if Jiang Li didn’t return to the main force of The Midnight Watchers Society, she’d be suspected of dereliction of duty.

“What about you?” Before leaving, Jiang Li asked Lu Yibei softly, “What do you plan to do after I go?”

“Don’t you know me by now?” Lu Yibei shrugged. “In this situation, of course I’ll find a place to hide and wait for the fight to end before coming out to reap the benefits, right?”

As if I’d believe you… Jiang Li shot Lu Yibei a glare and said coolly, “Let’s grab a late-night snack when it’s over? I want instant noodles.”

It was precisely because she knew Lu Yibei so well that Jiang Li felt, facing little Haunting she’d run like the wind, facing Eldritch Destroyer she’d strike with full force-in this situation, there was a high chance Lu Yibei was about to tempt fate again.

Don’t die-that was already her lowest expectation for Lu Yibei.

Lu Yibei looked at Jiang Li dotingly, curled her lips, and said, “By the time it’s over, it’ll be dawn. Breakfast makes more sense.”

Courting trouble without dying, skillfully shifting blame-she was already an expert at this.

So, ten minutes later.

“Gu Qianqian” was driving a large truck loaded with Paper Cicada Immortal, wobbling along the main road of the Taoyuan scenic area.

All the way, heading west.

–

On a high mountain at the outskirts of Taoyuan.

After the explosion shockwave triggered by the city barrier and the Fire Crow swarm’s assault, the summit of this towering mountain looked as if it had been forcibly sliced off, with nothing but scorched earth in sight.

Countless Fire Crow corpses had fallen to the ground, turning into dark red flesh and quickly rotting into a thick, foul-smelling sludge. Standing amidst it felt like being trapped in a drainage pipe full of decaying domestic water.

The Taoyuan residents hiding in the shadows, weapons at the ready, nearly vomited up their dinner from the night before.

“Boom-!”

With a thunderous roar, the ground shook. Emerald green light soared from deep within Taoyuan, streaking across the sky with a strong psychic energy fluctuation, its shockwave sweeping through the forest.

The Taoyuan subordinates scattered around the outskirts all looked up in unison, anxiously gazing toward the depths of Taoyuan.

From that emerald green fire spanning heaven and earth, they sensed Gou Meng’s psychic energy fluctuation. Then, as the green fire faded, Gou Meng’s presence vanished as well.

The once noisy outskirts of Taoyuan fell instantly into dead silence. You could hear a pin drop; even the faint rustling of wind and the crackling of burning trees felt deafening.

“Did… Lady Gou Meng fail?”

In the silence, someone timidly asked, their voice small and weak, but to the psychics and hauntings present, it sounded especially jarring.

“Idiot! How could Lady Gou Meng possibly fail?” a rough voice snapped.

“But, for a haunting’s core entity to forcibly switch from one power to another in such a short time-no haunting has ever tried it before. Theoretically it’s possible, but the uncertainties…”

“Shut your damn mouth! My familiar mark is still… huh? Damn! Where’s my familiar mark?”

The psychics and hauntings, “……”

After a brief commotion, the mountain forest at Taoyuan’s outskirts grew even quieter, as if holding a solemn funeral, making the night feel colder, emptier, and more desolate.

In this dead silence, members of illegal psychic organizations and desperados drawn by the huge bounty were closing in.

Only the sound of distant waves gradually rose.

At the foot of the mountain, in the ravaged forest, footsteps began to echo.

Countless soft footsteps and hushed whispers overlapped, forming a low, resonant hum in the quiet valley, surging in from all directions.

Outside Taoyuan, the ruined, desolate forest suddenly grew restless under the night, sinister figures stirring, danger everywhere.

“Damn it, kill them! If it weren’t for this rabble causing trouble, Lady Gou Meng wouldn’t have gotten hurt!”

“Right, kill them! Avenge Lady Gou Meng!”

Even though Gou Meng’s presence had completely vanished, and even her familiar marks had dissipated, the enemy hadn’t retreated-the battle wasn’t over.

Even if Gou Meng had truly fallen, they wouldn’t let these malicious intruders touch her remains.

Thus, the first clash between the psychics and hauntings defending Taoyuan and the invaders erupted suddenly in the midst of dead silence.

The first to make a move was a haunting wielding the power of the Mountain Hound Army. It revealed itself from its hiding place, its long arms lifting a massive boulder that would take several people to encircle, and hurled it fiercely at a group of unknown psychics in the forest.

The ancient texts say: “The Mountain Hound Army, shaped like a dog with a human face, skilled at throwing; when seen, great winds sweep the land.”

As the boulder was thrown, a terrifying shockwave swept through with the gale. The rocky layers trembled, the earth rolled, rippling like a carpet, tearing apart the fleshly creations within the forest.

At this moment, all the psychics and hauntings under Taoyuan’s command turned into maniacs, as if buffed with berserk rage, charging and killing. For a while, the screams on the outskirts of Taoyuan rose and fell…

–

Deep within Taoyuan.

Grandpa Turtle, whose body was like a small hill, stood before a massive pit formed by a collapsed mountain, quietly watching the faintly glowing vermilion orb deep in the pit, silently praying in his heart.

At that moment, a fierce wind swept by. Grandpa Turtle looked up and saw the weary-faced Shang Nanxing. A kindly, anthropomorphic smile appeared on his wrinkled, massive head.

“Little pudding, you’re here?”

“I’ve told you so many times, I don’t like that name.” Shang Nanxing rolled her eyes at Grandpa Turtle, looked at the glowing orb deep in the pit, and frowned. “How is she doing?”

“As the Patron expected, Gou Mang’s power has completely dissipated. All her remaining psychic energy has been transferred into the new haunting’s core entity.”

“So it worked?” Shang Nanxing pressed.

“……”

Grandpa Turtle didn’t answer Shang Nanxing’s question. He just lowered his huge head, looking complicatedly at the glowing orb at the bottom of the pit, silent.

“What do you mean? It didn’t work? At a time like this, can you stop being so cryptic?” Shang Nanxing’s tone grew more urgent.

“Boom-!”

Grandpa Turtle shifted his massive body to face Shang Nanxing and said calmly, “You should know, the Patron’s Shao Siming power is incomplete. Even if the power transfer and psychic energy transfer succeeded, she might not wake up immediately. All I can say is the Patron is still alive, but I can’t guarantee when she’ll awaken.”

Understanding Grandpa Turtle’s words, Shang Nanxing’s exhausted expression grew even heavier. She felt the situation was getting worse.

Incomplete haunting power wasn’t a big deal for most hauntings. In fact, so far, no haunting had been found with 100% complete power.

However, for someone like Gou Meng, a haunting seeking rebirth from destruction, lacking a relatively complete- even if pieced-together-power was like an intelligent product without an activated system: just an empty shell.

There were simpler, quicker ways to wake Gou Meng-just find another power to patch up her incomplete parts.

But…

That carried risks. If the powers clashed, it could lead to unforeseen and disastrous consequences.

Just like installing too many incompatible mods-if they don’t work together, the game crashes.

“Just waiting like this isn’t a solution!” Shang Nanxing said anxiously. “She might wake up soon, or in a year, five years, decades, or maybe never. Are you just going to wait here?”

“Yes, I’ll wait.” Grandpa Turtle said solemnly. “The Patron’s kindness is heavy, three lifetimes of repayment would not be enough. I am willing to guard her with my life.”

“…” Shang Nanxing opened her mouth, hesitated for a few seconds, then a look of resolve flashed in her eyes. “Then I’ll wait too. If not for her, I’d have starved to death long ago. I’ll repay her.”

“No, absolutely not.” Grandpa Turtle stopped her. “You must take the news that the Patron is still alive out of here, or else everyone will panic. Besides, those who have been eyeing us are probably almost here, aren’t they?”

Hearing this, Shang Nanxing’s brows furrowed tightly.

Before coming, she’d already received word that The Midnight Watchers Society was about to lose the western front. If nothing unexpected happened, there should already be psychics and hauntings breaking through the encirclement.

After a brief thought, she nodded. “Alright, as you say. I’ll go right away.”

Upon hearing this, a gratified smile appeared on Grandpa Turtle’s deeply wrinkled head.

–

West of the Taoyuan Scenic Area, on a country road.

Lu Yibei was driving a massive truck that seemed ready to go out of control at any moment, speeding forward. She glanced down at the map from time to time, her eyes flickering as if deep in thought.

From the map, there were at least five routes stretching west from the Taoyuan Scenic Area to the edge of Tang City’s barrier. It was nearly impossible to block all the psychics and hauntings coming from this direction.

However, there were still many psychics and hauntings under Taoyuan’s command defending the outskirts. As long as I can block most of the enemies, that should be enough, right?

If that’s the case…

Lu Yibei slowed down a bit, studied the map for a while, and her gaze landed on a bridge named Taoyuan Bridge-a River-crossing Bridge. Her eyes lit up.

That’s it-right here!

From the map, due to the treacherous terrain around Taoyuan Gorge, at least three of the five main routes into Taoyuan had to cross Taoyuan Bridge. One route, from west to east, was even the optimal path into Taoyuan.

Among those psychics and hauntings, except for a few with flight abilities, it’s unlikely they’d try to cross hundreds of meters of river.

If they don’t take Taoyuan Bridge and detour instead, they’ll either waste a lot of time, split up their forces, or run into other encirclements by The Midnight Watchers Society. It would be hard to form a large force, and the threat would be greatly reduced. Even without my support, the pesky little sister’s subordinates should be able to handle it.

So, if I ambush near Taoyuan Bridge, I should be able to block about half the enemies. The rest…

The rest I’ll leave to the pesky little sister’s subordinates!

Given the situation, I’m not even looking out for myself and running away-I’m already being loyal enough to the pesky little sister. Don’t expect too much, okay?

Lu Yibei thought, taking her eyes off her phone, staring intently out the windshield, and sped up.

Soon, the outline of Taoyuan Bridge appeared in her view under the night.

Just as she expected, there were already more than a dozen Miracle Order followers in robes gathered on Taoyuan Bridge, quickly making their way across.

“Hmph! Miracle Order, huh?” Lu Yibei muttered to herself. “Since you believe in miracles so much, let’s see if the light of miracles will shine on you this time!”

With that, Lu Yibei floored the gas pedal, driving the truck onto Taoyuan Bridge. With the roar of the engine, like a raging bull, she charged straight at the Miracle Order followers.

“Heh-! Take this from Gu Qianqian: Secret Art-Reincarnation Isekai Truck Slam!”