Chapter 504: I Can’t, But I Can Learn

Inside the spiritual world of the Beast of Inheritance, the swing on the shattered mental island hung upside down, its chains stretched taut, withered leaves and murky droplets suspended in the air, motionless.

Everything was frozen.

The blurry outline of the PL girl’s figure gradually emerged before Lu Yibei’s eyes.

It was as if she were experiencing a split personality, seeing another self conjured up by her imagination.

……

After Lu Yibei roughly recounted the process of how she “turned” the Beast of Inheritance, she asked the PL girl, “That’s basically how it went. Now can you tell me your method?”

“So that’s how it is…” The PL girl propped her chin with one hand, murmuring thoughtfully.

She had originally thought Lu Yibei relied on her own [royal authority] and charm abilities to pull off some trick she didn’t know, causing psychic pollution to the Beast of Inheritance and brainwashing it in the process. Though unlikely, it wasn’t impossible.

However, from Lu Yibei’s account, the whole story was clearly not as she had guessed.

Who would have thought that a twisted catastrophe-class haunting would still harbor a trace of innocence inside?

Anyway, the PL girl hadn’t expected it. Until now, in her understanding, the Beast of Inheritance was just a weirdly powered, thick-skinned brute. As long as it wasn’t necessary, it was best to avoid it.

But she had overlooked a crucial detail.

Whether it was her own contact with the Beast of Inheritance, or the information she’d gathered from other psychics, hauntings, and Eclipse Society internal files, all of it started after the Beast of Inheritance had successfully escaped the Eclipse Society’s control.

Aside from the bizarre powers displayed by the Beast of Inheritance’s unique power, and the string of atrocities it committed after breaking free from the Eclipse Society, no one knew–or cared–what had happened to it before.

Everyone simply took it for granted that, like the Plague Taisui, from the moment of its birth, it was filled with malice toward all living things except itself, even the whole world.

The PL girl had even once thought the Beast of Inheritance was the product of some failed, deranged Eclipse Society experiment–a tool for revenge after everything went wrong.

For a haunting that, as soon as it appeared in public view, turned a whole city into a “flesh-and-blood hell,” with low intelligence, strange powers, and immense destructive force, almost all psychics or hauntings had only three attitudes toward it:

Stay away, destroy, or exploit.

No one, psychic or haunting, ever tried to understand what the Beast of Inheritance was thinking. After all, stepping into the inner world of a catastrophe-class madman was dangerous; one careless move and you’d be lost, your sanity wiped out.

Under these circumstances, the PL girl, like most who’d encountered the Beast of Inheritance, had overlooked that, before the Beast was driven mad by the Eclipse Society’s cruel experiments and inhuman exploitation, it too, like Lu Yibei, still had the possibility of being saved and changed.

“……”

Letting other world-ending factors, like Lu Yibei, have their fates altered as well?

Now that was a path she’d never considered!

Worth a try!

After a brief thought, the PL girl said to Lu Yibei, “What I want to tell you is, the method to save the Beast of Inheritance is very simple–it’s the familiar mark.”

As she spoke, she glanced at the Beast of Inheritance, bound to the swing by barbed iron chains, its eyes, ears, mouth, and nose cruelly sealed. “Do you see those things on it?”

Lu Yibei followed the PL girl’s gaze and saw the Beast of Inheritance’s miserable state. Sympathy flashed in her eyes. “Of course I see them. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve forgotten to ask–what the hell are those things?”

They looked like costumes from some unspeakable dark film. For a kid like me, it’s just too much to handle… Lu Yibei thought secretly.

“Eclipse Society tech!” The PL girl curled her lip, unconcerned. “Some kind of sealing technique derived from the familiar mark.”

The Eclipse Society’s black solar totem was already something akin to a familiar mark. Through in-depth research on the black solar totem, the Eclipse Society developed quite a few techniques similar to the familiar mark, which largely solved the problem of psychics being unable to have familiars.

“So, as long as you make the Beast of Inheritance your familiar, gaining control over its soul and flesh, then the seal’s effect on it will weaken, or even disappear…”

“I get it!” Lu Yibei said. “A bootleg can’t beat the original!”

“Exactly.” The PL girl nodded. “By then, you just need to take its consciousness out of control and merge it with the flesh it left in the special space, and it’ll be saved.”

By then, all that would be left in the Great Furnace would be a lump of dead flesh, unable to stir up any more trouble.

Although doing this would definitely cause severe damage to the psychic energy fluctuation of the Beast of Inheritance, to the point where it might not even be able to protect itself, it was still far better than being imprisoned by the Eclipse Society, driven insane, and then eventually going berserk, losing control, and bringing catastrophic disaster to the world. The PL girl thought.

After hearing the PL girl’s words, Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment and asked in surprise, “That’s it? It’s that simple?”

What kind of reckless move is this?

I’m familiar with this kind of job! Lu Yibei thought.

“I bet you’re thinking right now that recruiting familiars is something you’ve done before, it’s not dangerous at all, and doesn’t count as reckless, right?” the PL girl said quietly.

Lu Yibei, whose thoughts had been guessed, didn’t say anything, just nodded lightly.

“But this time is completely different from before!” the PL girl said seriously. “You’ve read The Midnight Tome, so you know how it introduces the familiar mark, right?”

“Yeah, yeah!” Lu Yibei nodded.

That was a class Meow Meow-chan had taught seriously–how could she possibly forget?

“Then you must know that the familiar mark is a unique mark left by a high-tier haunting on a human, a low-tier haunting, or even any object, establishing a soul-level connection, right?”

Hearing this, Lu Yibei frowned. She seemed to understand what the PL girl meant.

The reason she had been able to easily leave familiar marks on Du Sixian, Meng, and the jacket before was because they were weaker than her, and their psychic energy fluctuation levels were lower than hers.

However, the Beast of Inheritance was different. As things stood, its psychic energy fluctuation was not only higher than hers, but much higher.

Back when she left a familiar mark on Meng, although Meng’s psychic energy fluctuation level was a bit higher than hers, if it hadn’t been for the help of the Pure Lotus Sword, she probably would have failed.

Now, with the target being the Beast of Inheritance, whose psychic energy fluctuation level was even higher than hers, under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for her to successfully leave a mark on the Beast of Inheritance and make it her familiar.

Seeing that Lu Yibei seemed to understand her point, the PL girl probed, “Got it?”

“Got it. Recruiting familiars is just like catching Pokémon, right?” Lu Yibei frowned. “If the trainer’s level isn’t high enough, even if you catch it, the little monster won’t obey.”

“……” The PL girl was silent for two seconds, then sighed, “That’s about right. As expected of you, you always manage to make bizarre connections between completely unrelated things.”

“You’re too kind, too kind.” Lu Yibei cupped her hands expressionlessly.

You think I’m complimenting you? The PL girl rolled her eyes.

“But if I can’t leave a familiar mark on the Beast of Inheritance, doesn’t that mean your method won’t work?” Lu Yibei asked in confusion.

“Or do you mean you’ll leave a familiar mark on it? Or is there some way to ignore the difference in psychic energy fluctuation levels and forcibly leave a familiar mark?”

“Hehe! That’s a long story…” The PL girl chuckled, but seeing Lu Yibei’s face darken, she quickly sped up, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it short!”

“Although your strength isn’t enough to support you leaving a familiar mark on the Beast of Inheritance, and it’s not convenient for me to leave a familiar mark on it either, who says only the Eclipse Society is allowed to use outside help, and we can’t?”

“……”

Not convenient? So it means it’s possible?

Does that mean the PL girl’s psychic energy fluctuation level is even higher than the catastrophe-class Beast of Inheritance?

Lu Yibei wondered, and after roughly guessing the PL girl’s strength, she pressed, “Use outside help? Like what?”

“For example…” The PL girl thought for a moment, then the corners of her mouth curled up in a sly smile. “The Indenture from the Midnight Watchers Society!”

“I remember, after Xing Yuan gave you that thing, you’ve been carrying it with you ever since, right?”

Hearing this, Lu Yibei was stunned, folding her arms and scrutinizing the PL girl. “You mean the Moonlight Project contract? Will that work?”

The PL girl was right–ever since she got the Moonlight Project contract, she had kept it with her, always ready to use it on some not-so-bright enemy in a crisis to ensure her own safety.

She hadn’t had the chance before, but now, wasn’t the Beast of Inheritance exactly that fated, not-so-bright enemy? Lu Yibei thought.

The PL girl nodded, speaking seriously, “In a sense, that Indenture also contains technology derived from the familiar mark. If you let the Beast of Inheritance sign the contract, you can…”

“No way! Absolutely not!” Lu Yibei raised her hand to stop the PL girl from continuing.

The Beast of Inheritance is a haunting. If it falls into the hands of The Midnight Watchers Society, is that really any different from being imprisoned by the Eclipse Society?

Of course, there is a bit of a difference. At least after it voluntarily signs the contract, The Midnight Watchers Society won’t conduct crazy experiments on it, nor will they squeeze out every bit of its value.

But it would probably never have freedom for the rest of its life. Given The Midnight Watchers Society’s usual style, they might even build a “psychiatric hospital” just for it on some unknown glacier in Antarctica.

“Why are you so stubborn?” the PL girl said, exasperated. “Who said the Beast of Inheritance has to sign the original Indenture? We can alter the contract!”

Lu Yibei, “……” What does it mean to be a true outlaw? Someone like her is a true outlaw! She even dares to tamper with The Midnight Watchers Society’s contracts–her guts are just too big!

“Are you trying to set me up again?”

“I’ve already studied that thing. If I remember correctly, it’s stamped with a talisman personally set by The Midnight Watchers Society’s catastrophe-class psychic, the Commander of Armaments! Are you really planning to tamper with that thing?”

Although I don’t know what kind of figure the Commander of Armaments is, or how terrifying their power is, I do know that if I tamper with that thing and get caught, I’ll be the one who’s finished! Lu Yibei thought.

“Relax, nothing will go wrong!” The PL girl patted her chest and smiled confidently. “I’m an expert at this!”

“I’ve been forging for thirty years–contract alterations, Alchemical potion knockoffs, familiar mark forgeries… never failed once!”

“If it weren’t for the tight schedule and lack of materials, I could forge several copies for you on the spot, and I guarantee they’d be more real than the real thing!”

You probably don’t know, but Hua City was once covered with my little ads left by psychic energy fluctuations!

I even successfully forged the Eclipse Society’s totem. A standard contract from The Midnight Watchers Society, even with a talisman set by a catastrophe-class psychic, is nothing at all! the PL girl thought.

Lu Yibei, “……”

Suddenly, I’m not so sure if this person is my doppelganger.

What kind of person is this, always doing these shady, illegal, and counterfeit things… Would I do something like that?

I wouldn’t!

Lu Yibei thought indignantly, her gaze sharpening as she solemnly said to the PL girl, “Coach, I want to learn this!”

I wouldn’t, but I can learn.

——–

In the end, the PL girl didn’t teach Lu Yibei how to “forge.”

After all, to master such advanced forgery skills, Lu Yibei still didn’t meet the requirements.

She couldn’t exactly tell Lu Yibei that the best place to learn forgery was to go to the president of the Eclipse Society, right?

Trying to acquire new skills from an unbeatable opponent at the wrong time and place is no different from courting death.

After being flatly refused by the PL girl, Lu Yibei pouted indifferently, “Fine, if you don’t want to teach me, I’ll just ask you for help when I need it in the future, right?”

It’s just like how you don’t have to know how to develop a game to play one, or how to build a car to drive one.

If you want to use fake documents, you just need to know a PL girl who can forge them, right?

“Of course.” The PL girl agreed, then as if remembering something, quickly added, “But you have to provide your own materials.”

She knew Lu Yibei too well. If she didn’t nip Lu Yibei’s thoughts in the bud, she’d definitely find a way to freeload.

With her hopes dashed, Lu Yibei sighed silently, “So, shall we split up for now?”

“You go into the special space to look for the Indenture you brought in, and I’ll go earn the Beast of Inheritance’s trust and persuade it to sign the contract.”

“Mm.” The PL girl nodded. “But remember, all of this must be done within five minutes.”

Lu Yibei frowned slightly, puzzled. “Within five minutes? Why?”

The PL girl looked into her eyes and said seriously, “Because your body has already finished repairing. If you don’t cut off your connection with the Beast of Inheritance soon, you won’t be able to cut it off at all.”

Hearing this, Lu Yibei’s gaze sharpened slightly and she nodded, “Understood!”

As her words fell, the blurry outline of the PL girl’s figure faded away, withered leaves drifted off in the wind, muddy droplets fell to the ground, and time, once frozen, began to flow again.

Lu Yibei looked up at the Beast of Inheritance and said solemnly, “I’ve figured out how to save you. Do you want to hear my plan?”