Chapter 599: As If Everyone Else Can Get In

Around Sleepless Street, within a cordoned-off residential area.

In the past forty-three minutes and eighteen seconds, Huá Sāng had profoundly grasped the meaning of the phrase “a beauty who brings calamity” from Lu Yibei.

Not only had she formed friendships with over a dozen Esoteric Society members in an incredibly short time, but now she was also subtly undermining their “morale.”

An Qi, the leader of this small group of about twenty Esoteric Society members, was at the front, directing the search for “Gu Qianqian” with great effort, while “Gu Qianqian” herself was mingling at the very back, spreading words that eroded unity and morale.

Huá Sāng even suspected that given a little more time, Lu Yibei might start turning those Esoteric Society members against their organization.

She glanced sideways at Lu Yibei, the corner of her eye twitching slightly.

Earlier, she had thought Lu Yibei’s act of infiltrating the Esoteric Society members carried some risk, but now, her worries seemed unnecessary.

Lu Yibei, completely oblivious to Huá Sāng’s scrutinizing gaze, continued chatting with her “new friend” with perfect ease.

“So, you didn’t originally plan to join the Esoteric Society at all? You just wanted extraordinary skateboarding skills and a chance to skateboard freely?”

“…” The person remained silent, stealing a glance at An Qi not far ahead before nodding slightly.

Once, he had also been a youth chasing dreams.

Now, he had the ability to fulfill them, yet he was trapped, unable to act on his own.

“Sigh—!” Lu Yibei sighed heavily and patted his shoulder. “Same here, brother. At first, I just wanted a perfect diamond.”

“You know how ridiculously expensive these colorful, sparkling gems are. Even psychics can barely afford them. I let myself get tempted by a crooked thought, and then…”

“Uh, I’m not saying that great lord is bad! I’m actually very grateful to Him. Without His grace, I’d probably never own such a perfect diamond in my lifetime no matter how hard I worked. If I ever get the chance, I’d love to repay His kindness. But killing people… it’s just a bit…”

As she spoke, the fervent light in Lu Yibei’s eyes when mentioning diamonds gradually dimmed. She lowered her head and sighed softly.

Then, as if suddenly recalling something, she turned to another Esoteric Society member beside her and asked in a hushed voice, “Oh, by the way, miss, you said earlier that you were so fixated on dancing for your family, and that’s how you received the blessing of these dancing shoes, right?”

“Surely, your family has seen your dancing now? They must be very happy, right?”

“…” The woman glanced down at the red shoes fused with her feet and let out a silent sigh. “Yeah, they saw it, but…”

She loved dancing so much that she was willing to die for it. Becoming a top dancer was not just her dream—it was also her family’s expectation.

Unfortunately, reaching the pinnacle of dance required both hard work and innate talent.

She had once only possessed sweat, but these Red Dancing Shoes had given her the talent to match her effort.

Yet, when she completed what should have been a perfect dance and took her bow, she found that her family had already left in anger.

Afterward, her mother told her, “Your technique is incredible, but it has no soul.”

Lu Yibei looked at the despondent girl and shook her head. “It’s okay, I understand you. I’ve felt the same—chasing ultimate perfection, only to have no one recognize it.”

“Did I ever tell you I used to be a jewelry designer? Those people didn’t understand my designs at all. They said I was wasting good materials! But the finest gemstones don’t need excessive artificial embellishment. As long as their natural beauty is preserved, that’s the best design.”

“It’s okay, don’t lose heart. As long as we still know that we are who we used to be! Be yourself, don’t let anyone—not even… that great lord—control you!”

With that, Lu Yibei patted the girl on the shoulder as she nodded fervently like a chick pecking at rice, then quickly turned to her next target.

Huá Sāng: “…”

This woman was terrifying.

Was she really an operator of The Midnight Watchers Society, not some bewitching female demon in human form?

Wait… could she have actually used this skill to infiltrate The Midnight Watchers Society?

Just as Huá Sāng was thinking this, An Qi, leading at the front, suddenly let out a shout, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Everyone, stop! I just received word—Gu Qianqian is hiding among us!”

Crap, had they been found out? Huá Sāng’s heart skipped a beat. She tightened her grip on the ferule and turned sharply to Lu Yibei.

Then she saw Lu Yibei dart behind the man and woman she had just been speaking with like a startled rabbit, her hands pressing against their backs as she whimpered weakly, “Oh god, that ruthless killer Gu Qianqian is actually among us? How terrifying!”

At the same time, Lu Yibei shot Huá Sāng a “Don’t worry!” look.

“Don’t be afraid, there are so many of us!” the girl comforted her with a smile.

Huá Sāng: “…” You’re comforting her? Do you have any idea she could kill you at any moment?

Lu Yibei’s hands were pressed against the backs of the two Esoteric Society members. If things went wrong, it would take her just 0.5 seconds to shatter their spines.

Huá Sāng recognized it at a glance. The way Lu Yibei tensed all ten fingers in preparation for a strike was derived from a body technique from the Great Pure Palace—Five-Stance Plum Blossom Grappling.

She probably learned this from Senior Qing Ji… Huá Sāng nodded thoughtfully.

At that moment, An Qi received a message from Hu Chuan and called out again, “The Sage says that great lord will personally guide us to find Gu Qianqian! Everyone, stay vigilant!”

The moment those words fell, low, rumbling roars erupted from the surrounding buildings.

The next second, the outer walls of a building overhead burst apart. From the gaping hole, debris wrapped in terrifying psychic energy fluctuation surged out like a tide.

The debris had been given an eerie, unnatural vitality, dragging along corpses from the residential building, their forms constantly shifting midair. Furniture, electronics, bodies, clothing—they were dismantled with brutal force, precisely reassembled, then swiftly riveted and welded together, transforming into instruments of slaughter.

Soon, grotesque creatures—impossible to describe in concrete terms, something between machines, objects, and beasts—appeared in sight, packed densely, numbering in the hundreds.

Their bodies were composed of disassembled objects and corpses fused together in a way that defied human aesthetics.

They looked like scrap machinery crushed by hydraulic hammers and mixed with flesh and blood. Pale, squirming mucus held them together, and fleeting sparks of electricity flickered across their surfaces, emitting an eerie glow.

Then, the eyes embedded within the amalgamations of shattered materials slowly lit up, locking onto Huá Sāng.

And, of course, onto Lu Yibei…

A surge of tension instantly erupted in Huá Sāng’s heart.

Immediately after, a black shadow came flying in. A chilling killing intent swept toward them, and the earth suddenly trembled. Huá Sāng hurriedly dodged to the side, then looked anxiously toward Lu Yibei, only to freeze slightly.

Amid the chaos, Lu Yibei showed not the slightest panic at having been exposed.

She darted forward with swift movements, arriving behind the sturdy man who had refused to communicate with her all this time. With a forceful flick of her arm, she knocked the sturdy man unconscious, and at the same time sent him flying out of the crowd with a side whip kick.

“Great! So you’re the fucking Gu Qianqian, huh!?”

As she spoke, several strange creatures pounced over, crashing head-on into the sturdy man flying toward them. Obstructed by that burly, massive body, those strange creatures did not hesitate in the slightest. Amid a shrill screech of metal friction, the sturdy man’s body instantly shattered, exploding into a cloud of blood mist in midair.

It felt as if those strange creatures had been attacking the sturdy man to begin with.

Taking advantage of the instant when the exploding blood mist obscured everyone’s vision, Lu Yibei unleashed her movement technique and, in just a few steps, darted to Huá Sāng’s side. She growled, “What are you standing there for? Run!”

With that, she wrapped an arm around Huá Sāng’s slender waist and, as if she were carrying a long, thin winter melon under her arm, charged nonstop toward the edge of the crowd.

“It’s Zhao Tianyu! She’s Gu Qianqian in disguise!”

An Qi shouted.

Zhao Tianyu was precisely the name of that “Diamond Girl.”

The moment those words fell, more than half of the Esoteric Society members present showed looks of utter disbelief.

Just a moment ago, they had clearly been chatting with her so happily, vaguely feeling as if they had found a kindred spirit, yet now they were told she was actually Gu Qianqian?

For a time, it was as if they had discovered that their closest friend, who had grown up with them since childhood, was actually a serial killer. Their feelings were complicated…

Some people even had thoughts like, “Although Gu Qianqian is ruthless and vicious, the kindness she showed me should have been real, right?”

————

As they charged madly forward, Huá Sāng saw Lu Yibei quickly pull several glowing objects she had never seen before from her chest and throw them behind her. Immediately afterward, explosive booms rang out.

Illuminated by the firelight of the explosions, Lu Yibei’s jacket actually began to squirm, delivering the Broken Sword hidden beneath her clothes into her hand.

The Broken Sword swept across, releasing a mournful whistle. Foul-smelling slime burst forth ahead, and miserable hisses and screams rang out continuously.

The constant deaths of their companions caused the Esoteric Society members to once again recall the fear of being ruled by “Gu Qianqian.” Their movements more or less became hesitant and uncertain. However, those strange creatures pounced forward like they had gone mad, one after another, pressing on relentlessly.

During this process, Huá Sāng silently activated the Qi-sighting Art, wanting to capture the movements of those strange creatures and guard Lu Yibei against any unexpected sneak attacks.

However, Huá Sāng soon discovered that Lu Yibei did not need help at all.

She was always able to respond in advance, as if she could foresee the future and sense attacks coming from every direction.

Even so, through the Qi-sighting Art, Huá Sāng still discovered something strange.

Individually, those strange creatures were not terrifying. Their psychic energy fluctuation level was only around B-.

If there were merely several hundred of them, such a psychic energy fluctuation level would not be cause for concern. But Huá Sāng could sense that their auras seemed to originate from the same individual.

For hundreds of existences that had barely reached the average level of a psychic, if their psychic energy fluctuations were as one and they coordinated with each other like a single person, the consequences would be extremely terrifying.

It was like how a lone wolf was not dangerous, but a wolf pack was deadly.

“Those damned things seem to originate from the same individual,” Huá Sāng warned.

“Mm! I guessed as much…” Lu Yibei replied, then abruptly changed the subject. “My psychic energy already bottomed out earlier. I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold on for much longer. Once we’ve opened up some distance, I’ll leave the remaining enemies to you.”

Your psychic energy has already bottomed out, yet you can still cause this much trouble? Huá Sāng looked at Lu Yibei’s expressionless profile in surprise, paused for a moment, then nodded. “Mm, leave it to me!”

After Shifu receives my message, she should immediately inform the old Headmaster, then set out with people.

Counting the time, nearly an hour has already passed. They should be arriving soon.

As long as we hold out until they arrive, we can escape! Huá Sāng thought with certainty.

————

Outside the lockdown zone, where Salih was stuck.

Shem stood before that invisible barrier. After Huá Sāng had strangely passed through it, he tried again and again to create a miracle and break inside, until both his hands were blasted black by alien psychic energy.

“Hey—! I just don’t get it. Salih already got halfway in, and that young lady miraculously got in too. Why is it that I’m the only one who can’t?”

As he spoke, the sound of faint, fragmented footsteps rang out behind him. He abruptly turned his head and saw, at the street corner, an old man dressed in a plain robe, with hair and beard both white, walking toward this side.

The old man was hunched over, his eyes narrowed into slits, his steps slow. He looked as if a single gust of wind would knock him down and leave him unable to get back up. Yet as if there had been a distortion in the sense of time, in the blink of an eye, he arrived before Shem.

Seeing this, Shem frowned and barked in a low voice, “Hey, old man, stop right there. It’s dangerous up ahead. If you don’t want to die, then hurry up and get lost!”

Hearing Shem’s low shout, the old man looked at him with a smile and nodded slightly. “Thank you for the reminder, but…”

Before the old man had even finished speaking, his figure suddenly swept forward without the slightest warning, charging headlong toward the invisible barrier ahead.

Shem’s pupils trembled slightly. Just as he thought the old man was about to smash his head to death against the invisible barrier, he saw the old man open his half-narrowed eyes.

Immediately after, he saw the old man in his vision suddenly straighten up. Like an illusion, a profound crystal jade crown, dark feathered robes, jet-black banners, and surging black dragons… a majestic and imposing phantom flashed around the old man.

Then…

Just like that, under his gaze, the old man silently passed through the invisible barrier.

Shem: “…”

For a time, his level of gloom rose by several more percentage points.

His Holiness the Holy Son, Salih, Huá Sāng, and even that wretched old man of unknown origin… It seemed as if everyone could get in, and he alone was excluded.

It was infuriating! It felt like everyone was ostracizing him. This was not miraculous at all!