Chapter 510: Selfless Dedication, Lu Yibei

The night was pitch black.

Beneath the sky, in the ruined and crumbling city, withered bones and steel lay scattered everywhere. In the distance, a great fire was spreading, its flickering flames licking the sky, dyeing the far-off heavens a fiery red.

Atop a towering skyscraper, a girl in a blue long dress sat at the edge of the rooftop. Her long silver-white hair swayed gently behind her, the wind lifting her skirt, revealing her slender legs tightly wrapped in bandages, dangling beyond the rooftop.

She frowned, gazing into the distance at the fire on the city’s edge, as if pondering something.

Suddenly, a fierce wind swept by, bringing with it scorching air laced with the smell of burning.

In the wind, large swathes of ash, under the influence of dense and destructive psychic energy fluctuation, were given life, transforming into butterflies aglow with firelight, trailing long tails of flame as they fluttered into the air.

As the butterflies flew past her, the girl slowly raised her hand, her slender fingertips gently touching them. In an instant, as if an explosion had occurred, the butterfly wings shattered, sparks scattering.

……

Watching the sparks fall from the rooftop like they were plunging into an abyss, the girl fell silent. Just then, behind her, accompanied by a distortion of light and shadow, a girl with long pink-and-white hair appeared out of thin air on the rooftop.

Sensing Lu Yibei’s arrival, the girl took a deep breath, collected her sorrow, and forced a roguish smile.

“Hey, little bro, looks like your body reconstruction went smoothly…”

As she spoke, she turned around, and upon seeing the empty rooftop, she paused, her words cut short.

Immediately after, noticing the envelope lying quietly on the ground, she furrowed her brows slightly.

She walked over, picked up the envelope, looked around in confusion but found no trace of Lu Yibei. Retracting her gaze, she looked down at the envelope in her hand, pondered for a couple of seconds, then opened it, took out the letter paper, and silently read its contents.

As she read, her eyes reddened, and her hands holding the letter trembled slightly.

A long time passed.

She put down the letter, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, pressed the letter to her chest, slowly crouched down, as if hugging herself, buried her head in her arms, and then, in a voice only she could hear, murmured softly.

“Mom…”

——–

Lu Yibei hid in the shadows, watching as the PL girl finished reading the letter left by Ms. Wang Meili. Her tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed. She withdrew her gaze, leaned against the wall, and slowly sat down, then let out a long, heavy sigh.

……

Looks like I should wait a while before going out.

In this situation, it’s probably best to let her be alone for a bit.

The PL girl has her own pride. If I walk out now and catch her crying her heart out, wouldn’t that be social death for her on the spot? Lu Yibei thought.

Just moments ago, right after she finished reconstructing her body and sensed her consciousness starting to blur, as if she was about to return here again, she hurriedly found the letter left by Ms. Wang Meili before completely losing consciousness.

Although Lu Yibei wasn’t sure if she could bring the letter in this way, she had to at least try.

In her view, if her guess was correct and the PL girl really was a kind of second self, she would definitely want to see what Ms. Wang Meili said in the end.

If you don’t care about yourself, are you going to wait for someone else to care?

Don’t be silly!

Anyway, there’s nothing in the letter that can’t see the light of day, right? Lu Yibei thought.

——–

On the street near the University of Technology faculty housing in Hua City.

The rain had stopped. The street, washed clean by the downpour, glistened with a faint sheen of water.

The entire street–no, to be precise, the entire city was trembling. With each tremor, the earth and sky thundered deafeningly.

Countless streams of light streaked by, rising from the ground, carrying debris from shattered buildings and returning it to its place, fusing it back together.

The photos that had fallen from the sky with the wind and rain, like flocks of white doves, danced with the streams of light, merging into the massive fissures corroded by the Beast of Inheritance’s flesh and blood. In an instant, a brilliant light burst forth, and as the light faded, the broken buildings were restored to their original state.

As Huá Sāng performed a secret art to re-anchor the special space, the Beast of Inheritance’s flesh and blood ceased its corrosion, and with Lu Yibei’s body reconstruction complete, this vast creation gradually stabilized, its operations returning to normal.

And just as everything was gradually returning to normal, the only person unaffected was busy moving about.

“Hurry up, Gu Qianqian, grab those, and those too, collect them all and put them into the bamboo slips. We don’t have much time left, we have to leave before everything here is fully restored.”

“Right, pick up those building ruins too!”

The system’s urging kept ringing in her ears. Gu Qianqian, like a donkey lured by a carrot, dashed wildly through the deserted jungle of steel and concrete.

Whenever she came across the dark red remains of flesh scattered on the street, she would pause slightly, take out her ancient bamboo slips, and store them away.

“System, why are we collecting these things?” Gu Qianqian complained unhappily. “They’re sticky and slimy, so gross!”

“I’m doing this for you, aren’t I?” the system retorted impatiently.

“Huh?”

“Wasn’t it you who said the bamboo slips illusion is always lifeless? Wasn’t it you who complained that in the bamboo slips illusion, the only things you can grow are potatoes and carrots? And wasn’t it you who said we have to find a way to let the residents of the bamboo slips illusion eat meat?” the system questioned.

“……” Gu Qianqian thought for a moment, then nodded. “I think I did say that, but what does that have to do with these disgusting things?”

“Wait, you’re not planning to make everyone eat these, are you? That’s not okay! Didn’t you say not to pick up weird things to eat? I’ve already changed, why are you still making mistakes?”

Yes, she had picked them up before.

“What do you know!” the system said. “These are the flesh and blood of the Beast of Inheritance. Even though it’s just dead meat, it’s still from the most adaptable of the seven world-ending factors.”

“As long as we collect this flesh and blood and use Alchemy to cultivate it, we can create animals and plants that can adapt to the bamboo slips illusion and transform it.”

Although using the flesh and blood of the Beast of Inheritance to transform the bamboo slips illusion could leave behind terrible hidden dangers if not careful, isn’t it fine as long as you’re cautious?

Besides, there’s no time to think that far ahead now.

Calamity has taken control of this special space, and things have already started to veer off the known path. If we don’t use some extreme measures, it’ll be hard to kill her.

As long as the flesh and blood of the Beast of Inheritance, along with fragments of Qi Nanzhu’s special space, are merged into the bamboo slips illusion, the illusion will undergo earth-shaking changes. By then, the residents inside will surely worship Gu Qianqian on a whole new level.

Maybe it could even help her break through in a short time and achieve Spirit Pattern advancement! the system thought.

“Eh? Really?” Gu Qianqian asked in surprise. “How much can it be transformed?”

“How much? Pigs fatter than elephants, corn yields of eighteen thousand per mu, all easy as pie!” the system replied confidently.

“Then… can you make a pig with ten pig trotters?” Gu Qianqian pressed.

Why are you always thinking about those stupid pig trotters! the system grumbled inwardly. “Of course you can!”

“Can you make pigs grow chicken wings?”

“Yes.”

“What about steak?”

“Then why not just raise cows?”

“Oh, oh, then can you make pigs grow crayfish?” Gu Qianqian asked weakly.

Although there were many stalls selling crayfish at the night market where she set up her own stall, she wanted to try them, but the price of a serving was still a bit expensive for her, so she could never bring herself to buy it.

System, “……”

Gu Qianqian, I beg you, please spare the pigs! Are you trying to create some kind of gourmet Frankenstein’s monster?

Although it complained in its heart, to keep Gu Qianqian working hard, it still answered perfunctorily, “Yes! Anything you can think of, you can make it grow on a pig!”

“Yay!”

Gu Qianqian cheered, as if she’d just been injected with a stimulant. Her speed suddenly shot up, her figure turning into a gust of wind, sweeping through the streets, leaving not a scrap of meat behind.

As someone who once monopolized all the empty drink bottles in Hua City University Town and was cursed by countless grannies and grandpas, picking up trash was always her thing.

Speaking of which…

Relying on picking up trash, she’d become a psychic able to contend with world-destroying factors.

Gu Qianqian was probably the first person in history, or even across countless times and spaces, to do so, the system thought.

——–

Hua City, Ban Shan Primary School.

On the dilapidated school building, the protruding structure that had “grown” out of thin air was collapsing, crashing to the ground with a series of booms.

Beneath the lush old banyan tree, Huá Sāng, her clothes soaked in cold sweat, lay on the moss-covered clearing, her cheeks pale and eyes tightly shut.

She had thought re-anchoring that special space would be an easy job.

After all, according to Zhang Huainan, this was how he described the process of anchoring that special space.

He told Huá Sāng, “Thinking back to that day, I got up in the morning and did a set of exercises, had breakfast, spent an hour going to Hua City, solved the matter perfectly, and on the way back, even dropped by to visit an old friend and took care of a few petty troublemakers.”

The whole process sounded just like an old man going out for morning exercise and picking up a few groceries on the way home–relaxed and carefree.

However, it wasn’t until her psychic energy was drained to the point her Spirit Pattern nearly collapsed that she realized she had been thoroughly tricked by the Headmaster.

Most importantly, at the very moment she completed the anchoring of the special space, she sensed an anomaly in the long-dormant red thread of fate.

It felt as if an invisible hand had gently plucked the red thread, making it tremble.

This was something she had always tried to avoid.

Before long, footsteps approached.

Huá Sāng lifted her eyelids and saw that it was Li Xuan, then closed her eyes again.

She was too exhausted to deal with this so-called senior brother.

Seeing this, Li Xuan frowned slightly, crouched down, and said softly, “Junior sister, the Headmaster is calling.”

Huá Sāng lifted her eyelids again and replied weakly, “Tell him I’m out of service area.”

Li Xuan, “……”

——–

Lu Yibei waited for a while, and only when the PL girl’s emotions seemed to have stabilized did she come out from her hiding spot.

The PL girl followed the sound of footsteps and saw Lu Yibei’s figure. She crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. “Hey, little bro, when did you get here? Not even a word?”

“Not long, not long.” Lu Yibei waved her hands with a calm expression. “I just arrived.”

The PL girl narrowed her eyes slightly and tilted her head. “Really?”

“Really!” Lu Yibei nodded solemnly. “I absolutely did not see you lamenting about life, weak and helpless, hugging an envelope and going ying-ying-ying for your mom. I know nothing at all.”

“……”

Watching Lu Yibei say such infuriating words with a straight face, the PL girl’s mouth twitched. She took several deep breaths before she managed to suppress her murderous impulse.

It was only because the one who saw that scene was Lu Yibei that, with a little mental adjustment, she could barely accept it.

If it had been anyone else, if they caused her social death, she would definitely make sure they suffered a physical one.

“Forget it, let’s talk business!” the PL girl said. “Do you think that after absorbing the remnants of Wang Meili’s power, gaining control of the special space, and having your shattered body rebuilt, everything is fine now?”

“What the heck?” Lu Yibei said in surprise. “After all this, is there still something I need to do?”

“Glad you have that awareness!” The PL girl showed a disturbing smile. “This is just like when royal authority has just been transferred–there’s a rebellious vassal in the east, a peasant uprising in the west, and foreign invaders in the north. If you want peace and prosperity, comrade, you still have to work hard!”

Lu Yibei gave the PL girl a sidelong glance and retorted, “You keep saying comrade and royal authority–doesn’t that really clash?”

“And you’d better speak plainly, or I’ll write a story, draw a comic, and make a hand-drawn video about you lamenting about life, weak and helpless, hugging an envelope and going ying-ying-ying for your mom, and post it online!”

“Honestly, I’ve wanted to be an up host for a long time. I already bought all the equipment from Du Sixian!”

“Hey… young people shouldn’t be so impulsive!” The PL girl forced a smile. “Think about it, even though this special space is stable now, the power the Eclipse Society took with the Beast of Inheritance to construct the special space–doesn’t it need to be replenished?”

“Once the special space is back in operation, there will definitely be a lot of missing people, and there will surely be chaos inside the special space. Don’t you need to settle that?”

“And finally, with all this commotion, The Midnight Watchers Society and all sorts of other factions will definitely send people. Don’t you have to find a way to muddle through?”

“……” Lu Yibei was silent for a few seconds, then tilted her head and asked, “So, how do you suggest solving these problems?”

“Replenishing the missing power is simple–just use Hua City’s Ley Line Energy to patch it up for now. Calming the unrest inside the special space is also easy, and as for finding a scapegoat, isn’t that what you’re best at? As for muddling through, you’ll just have to use your talent for telling people what they want to hear, whether they’re human or ghost.”

After listening, Lu Yibei sensed that something was off and couldn’t help but frown.

After all that effort, nearly losing her life, she thought she would at least get a big reward, but now she even had to use up the Ley Line Energy…

What is this? Selfless dedication? This is just too frustrating!