Chapter 141 - 138: Three O’Clock

Chapter 141: Chapter 138: Three O’Clock

Noon. Liancheng. On the stage of the Caruso Grand Theater, a scene was unfolding.

A man in a white uniform sat on a sofa, his gaze sharp.

"If you can’t eat, you can find a new line of work.

Construction sites, delivery drivers—they’re all short on people.

A strapping man like you won’t starve to death."

Li Xinyuan sat across from him, sprawling casually.

"A new line of work? Director Zhao, you’re hilarious.

My boys, besides watching over our turf and collecting debts, only know how to wield a blade.

You want them to become delivery drivers? What if they get into an argument with a customer, get worked up, and, heh heh heh...

Whose fault would that be? Yours, or mine?"

The man in the white uniform said coldly,

"Are you threatening me?"

Li Xinyuan didn’t move, but an icy killing intent erupted from him.

The killing intent was so thick it made the man’s legs tremble.

A smirk that didn’t reach his eyes played on Li Xinyuan’s lips.

"Cutting off someone’s livelihood is like murdering their parents.

You tell me, if someone’s parents are dead, wouldn’t their son be a little desperate?"

The man in the white uniform swallowed hard.

The pressure from the man opposite him was so immense that he completely forgot his lines.

...

Backstage.

The female director slapped Zhong Shu on the shoulder in delight.

"Where did you find this actor?

He’s brilliant, absolutely brilliant!

That scoundrel vibe he has is more authentic than Sang Kun from *Young and Dangerous*!"

The director paused, glancing back at the stage with a bit of embarrassment.

"A little *too* authentic, maybe. The lead actor can’t even keep up with him."

Zhong Shu scratched his head and smiled.

’Of course he’s authentic.’

’In another world—in the world of my novel—Li Xinyuan is an arch-villain who once kicked the Dragon King’s ass.’

’But, Zhong Shu was a screenwriter, after all, and villains had to die, even if they were the protagonist.’

’It was just like how any bad guy played by Andy Lau had to die at the end.’

’Originally, he had planned to write Li Xinyuan into a fatal dead-end for the finale.’

’But now... heh heh, he’d stopped updating that web novel.’

Just then, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

The story on stage had concluded.

Li Xinyuan’s portrayal of the villainous leader had won over the entire audience.

The director applauded along with them. Watching Li Xinyuan walk backstage, she pulled a wad of cash from her pocket and handed it to him.

"That was truly wonderful. I hope you’ll continue to work with our theater group, Mr. Li."

Li Xinyuan glanced at the wad of cash, his eyes filled with contempt. He clearly looked down on it.

The director grew awkward and shot Zhong Shu a pleading look.

Zhong Shu quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Hurry up and thank the director."

Only then did Li Xinyuan take the money, muttering,

"I have a trillion Dragon Country Coins back home. Who’d give a damn about this pittance?"

In the end, Li Xinyuan gave Zhong Shu some face. He shot the director a thumbs-up and a roguish grin.

"Remember this: First there was Xinyuan, then there was heaven. I kick Dragon Kings and surpass Immortals!"

The corner of the director’s mouth twitched.

"Ha, haha... very in character. Great, great. Such dedication!"

...

Outside the Caruso Grand Theater.

As Zhong Shu was walking out, a mischievous child accidentally bumped into him.

He rubbed his stomach and quickly said,

"Sorry, sorry."

The child gave Zhong Shu a surprised look before continuing to run inside.

Li Xinyuan, who was walking behind Zhong Shu, grabbed the child. He was so strong that he lifted the boy right into the air, glaring at him menacingly.

"Hey, brat. Don’t you know how to say you’re sorry?"

Terrified, the child started crying and apologizing to Zhong Shu.

Zhong Shu quickly grabbed Li Xinyuan’s arm.

"What are you doing? Don’t bully a child!"

Li Xinyuan dropped the child to the ground and said nonchalantly,

"I’m not a do-gooder like you.

I’m the villain. You wrote me that way, idol!"

Li Xinyuan then spotted an old woman begging with a broken bowl at the entrance of the Caruso Grand Theater.

He casually tossed the cash the director had given him, landing it precisely in the old woman’s broken bowl.

The old woman stared at the money in her bowl, astonished. Unsure where it had come from, she glanced around before cautiously tucking it away.

Zhong Shu smiled knowingly.

"See? You’re not a villain."

Li Xinyuan scoffed.

"I have a trillion Dragon Country Coins. I can do whatever I want in City A.

I casually tip female celebrities millions. Who cares about this little bit of cash?"

Li Xinyuan followed Zhong Shu to the street, then stopped and said,

"Alright, hurry up and use that watch of yours to send me back.

Every minute I spend in this world of yours costs you a minute of your life.

Remember that. Don’t summon me for no reason in the future. I’m busy messing around with starlets."

Though his words made it sound like Zhong Shu was a bother, his eyes were full of concern.

Zhong Shu scratched his head and took out the Twin Dials.

"It’s just that the crew was short-staffed, and the director was going crazy. I just wanted to help her out."

Li Xinyuan clapped Zhong Shu on the shoulder and said with exasperation,

"You, can you please not be such a Holy Mother?"

Zhong Shu nodded.

"I’ll try not to bother you."

Li Xinyuan said,

"Good. I’m leaving. Don’t stop updating that book of yours, and write me a few more beautiful wives."

Zhong Shu gazed at the now-empty street and chuckled.

"Will do."

He was about to head to the bus stop.

Suddenly, shadows gathered on the ground, forming crooked words:

"Changlong Mall. Recover Taboo Item: the God-Desecrating Bell.

Note: Do your best not to expose Li Xinyuan’s existence."

Zhong Shu’s eyes narrowed.

"Happy Ghost."

The shadow characters on the ground morphed into a smiley face, then vanished.

Zhong Shu shoved the Twin Dials back into his pocket, hailed a taxi, and headed for Changlong Square.

...

He was a member of the Taboo Association and knew that during the Spring Festival, the "Mister" had announced a new rule.

Taboo Association members had to contain Taboo Items independently.

Containing a Taboo Item would earn a reward from the Mister.

But Zhong Shu wasn’t going for the reward.

He had survived the Sea Train incident and knew how malevolent Taboo Items could be.

People would die. A lot of people.

Zhong Shu didn’t want to see innocent lives lost for nothing.

...

Changlong Mall.

The air was filled with the scents of perfume, milk tea, and freshly baked bread.

On the third floor, by the entrance to the clothing store street, stylish young women walked in pairs and threes.

On the escalator, a family of three was enjoying their time together.

On the fourth floor, outside the movie theater, young couples snuggled together, waiting for their film to start.

Zhong Shu stood on the fifth floor, looking at the mall filled with the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival. He couldn’t possibly connect the peace and harmony here with an anomalous event.

He muttered to himself,

"I’ve already been to every watch and clock shop, but I haven’t found a single timepiece related to the anomalous event."

Zhong Shu took out his phone. Full bars.

He had experience with anomalous events and knew that communication devices were unusable during them.

Suddenly, Zhong Shu thought of something.

Back at the Liancheng Railway Station, before he had entered the Sea Train, everything had been completely normal.

Only after boarding the Sea Train did the vicious journey begin.

Zhong Shu murmured,

"Could it be that the Taboo Item hasn’t activated yet?"

Zhong Shu’s gaze became determined.

"That’s right! The Mister said there was a Taboo Item here, but he didn’t say the anomalous event had already started. That means there’s still a chance!"

Having figured this out, Zhong Shu immediately ran to the first floor and found the information desk.

He spoke anxiously to the young woman at the desk.

"I need to use the PA system!"

The young woman at the information desk looked at Zhong Shu in astonishment.

"Zhong Shu?"

Zhong Shu froze for a second, then quickly realized.

"Cong Wanqiu?"

’What a small world,’ he thought. ’To run into a college classmate.’

It was just that the Cong Wanqiu from back then hadn’t worn such heavy makeup. He almost hadn’t recognized her.

A lot of guys had pursued Cong Wanqiu back then.

When he first started trying to write a novel, the title had been *Wanqiu*.

The content was about an aging father, mainly focusing on a father’s love.

Because the title was the same as Cong Wanqiu’s name, it had caused a lot of misunderstandings.

Cong Wanqiu had always used it to show off to her friends.

After all, none of them had an artsy suitor.

That is, until Cong Wanqiu’s furious boyfriend confronted him, forcing him to change the book’s title.

Zhong Shu breathed a sigh of relief.

’It’s good that I know someone here. This will be easier.’

Cong Wanqiu asked,

"Did an elderly person or a child get lost?"

Zhong Shu shook his head.

"A disaster is about to happen here! We need to evacuate the customers, quickly!"

Cong Wanqiu’s face filled with suspicion.

Soon, she thought she understood.

’He couldn’t possibly still be hung up on me, trying to hit on me like this, could he?’

’It’d be one thing if you were some rich heir or a small business owner.’

’But I heard you’re just some minor screenwriter for a theater group. Do you have any shame, trying to bother me?’

’What’s most disgusting is that you’re trying to hit on me this way. Don’t you know this could affect my job?’

’The adult world is based on reality, you know. Why are you so childish? Did writing scripts make you stupid?’

The more Cong Wanqiu thought about it, the angrier she got. She said, displeased,

"You’re so pathetic. Tell me, where did you find out my work address?"

Zhong Shu looked at the PA microphone behind the information desk and lunged for it.

"There’s no time to explain!"

After a moment of shock, Cong Wanqiu rushed to grab Zhong Shu.

"You can’t do that! You—are you crazy?! Security! Security!"