Chapter 550: Gold Everywhere

After a vague premonition flashed through Lu Yibei’s mind, a molten red glow suddenly ignited deep within her pupils, the burning pain assaulting her nerves.

This level of burning pain would at least cause serious injury… As soon as the pain appeared, Lu Yibei judged so based on her past experience.

Her vision began to blur, and clusters of dazzling, light-polluting colors appeared before her eyes.

“Buzz—-!”

Accompanied by a low hum, those color blocks suddenly surged, like nebulae formed by a big bang, a mighty torrent stirring through the galaxy.

Within that torrent, a blinding golden beam extended from afar, pointing straight at Lu Yibei’s chest, leaving a strangely shaped mark before her.

A sun-like ring, sprouting wings, as if about to take flight, carrying an aura of ancient time.

Locked onto by the mark, Lu Yibei, even as she pushed her movement to the extreme, kept trying to knock down that golden light, but her endless tricks were all swallowed by the dazzling torrent, instantly turning to gold and scattering on the ground.

No escape!

All her actions seemed to be predicted by that golden light… No, rather than prediction, it was more like sheer luck!

That golden light seemed to randomly pick a direction to fly, just happening to avoid Lu Yibei’s attacks, and just happening to appear along her movement path.

Everything felt like a script with its ending already written, so perfectly natural, as obvious as “when a person is killed, they die.”

She even had a feeling that, even if she immediately hid inside the Divine Land’s prototype, that golden light could, through the connection between Hua City and the Divine Land’s prototype, by some coincidence, just happen to enter the Divine Land’s prototype and continue chasing her.

That feeling was like the legendary miracle arrow that slays deities–once the bow is drawn, it never stops, until it pierces the deity’s chest.

The golden light grew stronger, the wind chime in her arms ringing urgently and piercingly, nonstop.

In a daze, Lu Yibei heard a whisper by her ear, as if from a distant place, or as if someone was murmuring right beside her.

It sounded like many people praying–old people, children, women…

Lu Yibei couldn’t understand their language, but she could feel they were calling for “miracles and destiny.”

Gradually, that golden light grew stronger, spreading out, dyeing the colorful torrent into dazzling gold, then the brilliance exploded.

In an instant, it was as if a flashbang exploded before her eyes; Lu Yibei felt something stab her eyes, after a sharp pain, all she saw was pure white.

Damn!

Lu Yibei cursed inwardly, her body retreating swiftly, holding the Pure Lotus Sword across her chest for protection, while she quickly recited an incantation in her heart, casting several defensive spell formations in front of her.

“Crack—-!”

The moment the defensive spell formations unfolded, a sound like shattering glass rang out. Though Lu Yibei couldn’t see, from the sound she judged that those defensive spell formations were easily torn apart the instant they touched the golden light.

With the defensive spell formations shredded, Lu Yibei could almost imagine the golden light violently colliding with the Pure Lotus Sword, then somehow bypassing its protection and piercing her chest, instantly turning her into a little golden statue.

However…

None of what she imagined happened. Without warning, the wind chime in her arms stopped vibrating, and everything around her fell into dead silence.

What’s going on? Did that thing run out of energy? Lu Yibei grumbled.

Then, the burning pain in her eyes began to fade, her vision cleared, and a few seconds later, seeing what was before her, she was slightly stunned.

During her chase and escape with the golden light, the underground parking lot had been severely damaged; everything struck by the golden light had turned into chunks of golden objects, scattered on the ground.

Looking around, the metallic sheen was glaring, as if the ground was paved with gold bricks and coins.

A rod hovered half a meter in front of her, pointed at her chest, spinning rapidly.

Because it spun so fast, its surface radiated golden light, making its outline blurry, so she couldn’t make out its specific details for the moment.

What the hell is this thing?

A gold-touching rod? A rod haunting? A bizarrely shaped Mr. Horn?

Lu Yibei felt a strange sense of familiarity with the thing, but couldn’t recall when she had picked it up and then forgotten it among that pile of junk.

Damn it, I’m just a garbage picker, okay!

So many psychics and hauntings died in Taoyuan, and many weren’t even killed by me–am I supposed to remember all their names?

But why did this weird thing suddenly stop attacking?

Lu Yibei was full of doubts as she stared at the rod in front of her. Just then, her jacket suddenly wriggled, making a soft rustling sound.

Protect the Lady Witch at all costs! <(▼ヘ▼#)>

Sensing the information transmitted through the familiars’ mark, Lu Yibei paused, looked down, and discovered that the surface of her jacket had somehow developed a faint golden glow, vaguely carrying a similar aura to that rod.

“This is…” She parted her lips slightly, hesitating, then as if she figured something out, her eyes brightened.

“Could it be that, after devouring and fusing the Beast of Inheritance’s flesh in the Divine Land’s prototype, you gained the ability to copy haunting powers?” Lu Yibei asked her jacket excitedly through the familiars’ mark.

However…

Lady Witch doesn’t know what you’re talking about! (•ิ_•ิ)?

Lu Yibei, “……”

Alright, expecting the jacket to answer questions was wishful thinking on my part.

I’d better check for myself to see what new abilities this little guy has.

Although, as the master, she could easily know what abilities her familiars had, she almost never used this privilege.

Familiars have their own privacy too, okay?

This time was just a special case.

Lu Yibei’s gaze sharpened slightly. She focused her mind, using the familiar mark to carefully examine the jacket inside and out, and then suddenly understood.

So it’s just imitating the aura of psychic energy fluctuations? Kind of like animal mimicry?

When did this little guy master that?

Lu Yibei was worried that the jacket might show some abnormalities after devouring and fusing with Wang Yingying’s flesh and blood, so she had checked its body right after leaving the Divine Land’s prototype, but everything had seemed normal.

Clearly, this animal-like mimicry–being able to imitate the aura of psychic energy fluctuations–was a skill it had only recently acquired. Maybe it took some time to fully digest the Beast of Inheritance’s flesh and blood.

Hmm… Although it’s not copying a power and doesn’t really boost its combat ability, it’s already pretty good, right? After all, it’s just a jacket; can’t expect too much.

Wang Yingying was, after all, a catastrophe-class haunting, a unique Beast of Inheritance. Just by devouring and fusing with part of her flesh and blood, it was impossible to gain the same abilities.

Besides, mimicking an aura might have a miraculous effect under certain conditions, like right now…

Lu Yibei looked at the rod floating in front of her, tilted her head, and thought it was precisely the aura emanating from the jacket that made this ghostly thing mistake her for its kind and stop attacking.

She stared unblinkingly at the rod, wary of a sudden attack, and cautiously took a small step to the side.

As she expected, the rod also shifted a short distance to the side with her, continuing to hover half a meter in front of her chest, spinning rapidly.

“……”

Lu Yibei was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly pointed into the distance and shouted, “Look over there! There’s a giant octopus in a yellow raincoat riding a black goat, chasing glowing bubbles!”

The rod didn’t budge.

“Uh, not interested? Then… how about a Magical Girl in a Kamen Rider suit, riding a Rathian, hunting down a cyber-psycho?”

The rod still didn’t move an inch.

“……”

Damn it, we’re not even in the same dimension–there’s no way to communicate!

After a few seconds of silence, Lu Yibei gave up on distracting the rod and taking the chance to slip away. She took a deep breath, turned around, and bolted, then with a thought, a passage to the Divine Land’s prototype suddenly opened up ahead.

Pausing at the entrance, Lu Yibei glanced longingly at the piles of gold, then looked at the rod flying straight toward her. Gritting her teeth, she stepped forward and let the passage swallow her up.

If you’ve got the guts, keep chasing! If you catch me, I’ll let you hehehe!

——–

Two hours later.

In the ruins of Ban Shan Primary School.

Lu Yibei sat atop the head of a broken statue, resting her cheeks in her hands, staring at the rod floating in front of her with the dead-fish eyes of a salted fish.

Two hours ago, when she slipped into the Divine Land’s prototype and found that thing hadn’t followed, she’d truly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, after spending nearly two hours inspecting Gu Xinian’s scapegoat work, asking around a bit about the Truth-Seeking Fellowship’s reputation, and secretly rejoicing that no one had discovered she was both the master of the Divine Land’s prototype and the evil cult’s mastermind, she left the Divine Land’s prototype in high spirits–only for her mood to plummet instantly.

The rod had followed her.

The moment she appeared in the ruins of Ban Shan Primary School, she saw a glowing rod floating half a meter in front of her.

Never leaving, never forsaking!

“……”

Damn it, what am I supposed to do now? I can’t possibly stay in the Divine Land’s prototype for the rest of my life, can I?

But letting it float by my side all the time isn’t a solution either!

Setting aside human form, even though most Witches often have some strange little creatures floating around them, no Witch has a subtly sized glowing rod floating by her side, right?

Just imagining what this looks like from a bystander’s perspective is creepy–creepy like a Magical Girl’s wand being a Fujitsu pseudo-device.

I have to find a way to make it stop… Seriously, your big sis is really getting mad now!

At this thought, a ruthless glint flashed in Lu Yibei’s eyes. She decided to try knocking the rod down.

Worried that her attack might provoke the rod into attacking again, Lu Yibei didn’t go all out. She just pinched out a 1.024x red flame flash and tossed it over.

A fist-sized fireball traced an arc and landed on the rod, bursting with a “poof!” and sending sparks flying.

It didn’t dodge? And didn’t fight back? Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment, then her gaze gradually turned sinister.

Very good! Next, I’ll show you what cruelty really is. You asked for this, hehehe!

——–

Late at night, at the foot of the mountain where Ban Shan Primary School was located, in a hidden low-lying spot.

Inside a camouflage tent, two special task force members sat around a small table, eyes shining as they stared at a homemade hotpot, swallowing constantly.

Being stationed around Ban Shan Primary School, monitoring its movements, was definitely a cushy job for them.

If they were at the Hua City Folk Culture Administration Bureau, there was no way they’d get hotpot. Under Qi Dong’s strict management, most of the time they could only eat carefully planned nutritious meals.

So-called nutritious meals were indeed good for keeping the body in shape, but they really tasted awful.

“It’s ready, eat up, eat up!” Watching the fatty beef in the pot change color, a member of the special task force called his companion to dig in.

Just as the two picked up their chopsticks, ready to feast, a faint tremor suddenly came from the direction of Ban Shan Primary School, causing the tent to shake and rustle.

The two special task force members exchanged a glance, hurriedly got up, grabbed the black iron-colored twin lily from the corner of the tent, and rushed out.

That was the standard equipment used by The Midnight Watchers Society to monitor psychic energy fluctuation levels and catastrophe reactions, with an effective range of 1200 meters.

They looked toward Ban Shan Primary School.

On the mountainside, all kinds of lights flickered, like dazzling summer fireworks, the scattered glow outlining the ruins of Ban Shan Primary School.

From time to time, columns of smoke rose, carrying a burnt smell that drifted over on the wind.

Faintly, one could also hear a mechanical, eerie, even somewhat perverted laughter echoing through the mountains.

“Hehehe, hehehe…”

Calamity always keeps its promises.

Soon, the lilies in the hands of the two special task force members changed color.

One lily turned bright red, the other orange-yellow.

[Psychic energy fluctuation level: B-~A | Catastrophe reaction: ≤7% | Moderate to high anomaly.]

Suspected Class A- to Class A haunting or psychic active, or Class B+ haunting or psychic, engaged in a life-and-death struggle.

No big deal!

Although, under normal circumstances, a moderate to high anomaly would require notifying at least two operators to rush to the scene.

However, the Ban Shan Primary School monitoring point was a special case.

Previously, Qi Dong had instructed them that this place was the core area under Calamity’s command. If an anomaly was detected, let Calamity handle it. As long as the affected range didn’t exceed this mountain, or reach a severe anomaly, there was no need to report.

“Tsk tsk, let those hauntings keep fighting like dogs, let’s get back to our hotpot.”

“Yeah, let’s open two more beers later. The weather’s getting hotter and hotter…”

“Speaking of hot, summer’s almost here. Why don’t we move the hotpot outside? We can enjoy the fireworks and watch Calamity in action.”

“That makes sense!”

The two special task force members joked and laughed, arms around each other’s shoulders as they returned to the tent.

——–

Ban Shan Primary School.

Lu Yibei had used nearly every method at her disposal–except for the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power and a few overly destructive high-tier spell formations–before finally knocking down that rod.

“Huff–huff–!”

“That was… really tough…”

After such a fierce bombardment, an ordinary Class A Haunting wouldn’t have survived, and at least a dozen Class B hauntings would have died.

Yet that rod wasn’t damaged at all; it simply stopped spinning, fell to the ground, and made a soft sound.

Her chest rose and fell slightly as she sat cross-legged on the ruins that looked as if they’d been plowed, gazing at the rod on the ground.

It was a cylindrical object about twenty centimeters long and as thick as a bottle neck, dark red or deep brown all over, its surface covered in bark-like wrinkles and ridges, with faintly glowing golden veins running through it like blood vessels.

“This… how could it be this thing?”

Lu Yibei recognized it. This was the remnant left after the Myo-o Statue was shattered by the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power.

Although this thing had survived the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power intact–which was no small feat–she’d studied it for a long time before and hadn’t found anything supernatural about it.

Plus, with its dark red color and wrinkled, slender shape, she’d just assumed the Myo-o Statue had been “beaten to shit” by the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power, and tossed it in the junk room at home.

Later, along with the other trash she’d picked up in Taoyuan, she threw it into the Divine Land prototype.

But now, it seemed that anything that could survive the Hundred-Armed Giant’s power intact was certainly no ordinary object.

“But… what exactly is this thing?”

Lu Yibei muttered to herself, wrapping her hand in psychic energy and cautiously reaching for the rod, trying to touch it.

When her fingertip touched the rod, she was surprised to find that the damn thing was warm, and even seemed to be breathing slowly, wriggling slightly, the golden veins on it pulsing rhythmically with the movement.

This thing was “alive”… The thought flashed through Lu Yibei’s mind.

Was it because of the amplified directional soul-calling spell formation?

But why did it “come alive” instead of summoning its former master?

And the size of this damn thing… the Myo-o Statue’s appendix?

Why would Lord Myo-o’s appendix attack me? Did it develop feelings after sleeping with me for so long, and now wants to snuggle into my arms the moment it sees me?

Thinking of how she’d almost been skewered through the chest by this rod–who knows what part of the Myo-o Statue it came from–Lu Yibei felt a wave of disgust.

“Ugh~ I can’t take it, I can’t take it!”

“Tsk, at least only this thing is acting up.”

“If all the trash started sprouting souls, to avoid chaos, I’d probably have to host a battle royale in the underground parking lot.”

Suppress them with royal authority, lure them with rewards, let them fight each other, and finally take out the last “winner”–no need to even give a prize, that’d be perfect!

Lu Yibei secretly added in her mind, then with a thought, stored it in the Divine Land prototype and quickly left the scene.

She’d made quite a commotion just now; the special task force was probably already on their way. If they ran into her, it’d be a hassle.

Besides, there was still a mess (meaning piles of gold) left at the unfinished building to clean up.

So much gold–if she didn’t pick it up, she’d be struck by the heavens!