“Hey! Hey! A fish ate your bait!” Gu Qianqian beamed. “It must be a big one!”
Lu Yibei was about to pull, but Gu Qianqian barged forward and snatched the rod from her.
She firmly held the fishing rod with both hands; her centre of gravity slightly sank as she lifted it upward. With a loud splash, a large river carp revealed itself beyond the waters as it was hoisted upward.
With one swift motion, she grabbed the carp with a single hand and smashed it straight to the ground.
“I was right!” she beamed as she tied a rope through the fish’s gills. “It’s so big!”
For her, it is a good day when she isn’t hungry, and it is a better day whenever there’s meat to eat.
Seeing her happy, Yibei opened her lips, but her words were caught on her tongue. She decided not to ask about the urban legend chat group for now.
She knew enough anyway from the remaining memories scattered in her head—the Eclipse Society must be behind this somehow.
It isn’t right to inquire for information when somebody is happy, she would think.
Yibei narrowed her eyes, watching as Gu Qianqian was still cheering about the carp that they caught.
She may look innocent, but she might turn into a second Jiangli if I try to interrogate her, Yibei thought.
Thinking of Jiangli, she let out a sigh once again. She had to attend her class tomorrow, and perhaps she could create a convincing story for her without compromising her identity.
Although, for now, Yibei can confirm that the eyes that were training on her on campus were Jumeng’s eyes.
However, the Eclipse Society has yet to reach out to her officially. Perhaps someday they’ll come knocking at her door.
Perhaps this is why she’ll have no qualms about killing them if they even think about trying to harm her.
Just as she guessed, Gu Qianqian does have excellent cooking.
Although Yibei herself grew up surrounded by chefs, she could tell Gu Qianqian’s cooking was up to standard.
After they ate, Yibei silently watched as Gu Qianqian cleaned the plates, coming up with scenarios about her existence as well as ways to ease the conversation into the chat group.
Before she even realised it, Gu Qianqian had already finished cleaning, and she was by the doorstep.
“I… I’m going to go to work,” she told Yibei. “I won’t be back until very late.”
“Mm.”
“I mean it! I won’t be back until nine o’clock at night at least!”
“I see. Be careful. It’s dangerous in the dark.”
“No…” Gu Qianqian paused, feeling awkward that she had to spell it out for the girl before her. “What I’m saying is, don’t you have to go back home?”
Ah. A live eviction.
‘But I have nowhere else to go! I guess I have to swallow my pride!’
“No, no need. I’ll stay here and wait for you,” she smiled.
“Ah, oh…” Gu Qianqian flashed an awkward smile. “Well then! I’ll be heading off! Don’t go through my stuff!”
A few minutes later, after confirming that Gu Qianqian had left for work, Lu Yibei got up from the sofa and went through her stuff.
She noticed that Gu Qianqian was apprehensive whenever she got near the couch, where her “piggy bank” was. Yibei felt suspicious about it, so it was in her best interest to at least be sure that it wasn’t some kind of weapon.
After opening her makeshift piggy bank, her heart fell.
The jar is full of money—not 100-dollar bills, but small change, stacks of 1, 5, and 10 yuan, and an endless amount of coins.
Yibei fetched her backpack, rummaged inside for a bit, and fished out a fresh 20-dollar bill from it, stuffing it into the bottom of the piggy bank.
Meanwhile, Gu Qianqian walked over to the construction site, feeling uneasy with each step she took.
Finally, her system came back online and gave the excuse that it was experiencing “network fluctuations.”
“Gu Qianqian, you’re done for.”
As soon as the system spoke, her face fell.
“What do you mean by that? Is she going to go through my piggy bank? I thought we had a girl’s code going on!”
“Well, no. It is much more serious than that.”
“My money is very important to me! I don’t see how anything else is more important than that!”
“I’m saying that she may be toying with your feelings,” the system interrupted. “She’s not going to let go of you until she squeezes you dry.”
All the system could see beyond the witch’s cold eyes was a manipulative, cunning, and emotionless girl who would do anything to get what she wanted.
In her heart, there is no place for anyone other than herself.
The system was, admittedly, worried that Gu Qianqian might end up hurt by regard for her as a genuine friend.
It was more than an hour after Gu Qianqian left.
After confirming that she wouldn’t be back for a while, Yibei took out her phone, a piece of paper, and a pen.
She was a little thankful that she had the mind to stuff these in her backpack; if they were in her hand when she transformed, they would’ve turned into a ball of ash.
Sitting cross-legged on a chair, she laid the pen and paper down, resting the phone on top of the paper, before opening the university forums.
She decided to check the announcements and photos tab. Maybe she could find a clue or two there.
However, there was nothing but random pictures, game discussions, and various urban legends spreading across the Internet.
If it weren’t for prior knowledge, thanks to Daydream’s memories, Yibei would’ve thought this was just a regular forum.
Afterwards, she decided to turn her attention to some of the chat rooms.
[TWILIGHT’S SERVANT: All of these new games are scams! Are there any good, genuine games out there that don’t steal your money?”]
[100 2/3 CATS: Found a game file: wanhuamirror5.rar]
[FENRIR: TW! Some netizens replaced the CG of Wanhua Mirror 5 with jump scares! Please be aware!]
[GIRL WITH NO PROBLEMS: What the hell? The game has been down for a while. What are you talking about?]
How is this any different from the games I play? Yibei thought, sighing.
The Eclipse Society is too good at hiding itself.
It’s difficult to weed out urban legends like this.
Maybe Gu Qianqian was right—maybe it’s impossible to find them unless they reveal themselves to you.
However, since Yibei herself is considered an urban legend, wouldn’t that mean that she could theoretically find this chat group?
According to her scattered memories that do not belong to her, there is a mysterious rule in this forum: every 44th minute of each hour, there will be an “urban legend gift package” provided for owners of specific chat groups.
When Yibei heard this at first, she thought it was ridiculous—forums like these are bound to have superstitious rules, but…
After obtaining information from Gu Qianqian, it seems that there’s some credibility to this rumour.
That gift package might be a gateway for her to join the chat group.
Glancing at her phone, it was 4:23 in the afternoon, and she quickly created a new account. Using Daydream’s memories, she submitted a request to join the forums with a new account.
Previously, Yibei used her personal account, so her story didn’t seem suspicious to Jiangli.
However, a few seconds later, her screen flashed bright red, followed by a string of words.
[YOUR REQUEST TO JOIN HAS BEEN REJECTED.
100 2/3 CATS: REASON FOR REJECTION: YOU HAVE ALREADY JOINED THIS GROUP. PLEASE DO NOT CREATE DUPLICATE ACCOUNTS.]
“What the…”
Yibei felt a chill run down her spine. How did they know she had already created an account beforehand?
“Hey! Hey! A fish ate your bait!” Gu Qianqian beamed. “It must be a big one!”
Lu Yibei was about to pull, but Gu Qianqian barged forward and snatched the rod from her.
She firmly held the fishing rod with both hands; her centre of gravity slightly sank as she lifted it upward. With a loud splash, a large river carp revealed itself beyond the waters as it was hoisted upward.
With one swift motion, she grabbed the carp with a single hand and smashed it straight to the ground.
“I was right!” she beamed as she tied a rope through the fish’s gills. “It’s so big!”
For her, it is a good day when she isn’t hungry, and it is a better day whenever there’s meat to eat.
Seeing her happy, Yibei opened her lips, but her words were caught on her tongue. She decided not to ask about the urban legend chat group for now.
She knew enough anyway from the remaining memories scattered in her head—the Eclipse Society must be behind this somehow.
It isn’t right to inquire for information when somebody is happy, she would think.
Yibei narrowed her eyes, watching as Gu Qianqian was still cheering about the carp that they caught.
She may look innocent, but she might turn into a second Jiangli if I try to interrogate her, Yibei thought.
Thinking of Jiangli, she let out a sigh once again. She had to attend her class tomorrow, and perhaps she could create a convincing story for her without compromising her identity.
Although, for now, Yibei can confirm that the eyes that were training on her on campus were Jumeng’s eyes.
However, the Eclipse Society has yet to reach out to her officially. Perhaps someday they’ll come knocking at her door.
Perhaps this is why she’ll have no qualms about killing them if they even think about trying to harm her.
Just as she guessed, Gu Qianqian does have excellent cooking.
Although Yibei herself grew up surrounded by chefs, she could tell Gu Qianqian’s cooking was up to standard.
After they ate, Yibei silently watched as Gu Qianqian cleaned the plates, coming up with scenarios about her existence as well as ways to ease the conversation into the chat group.
Before she even realised it, Gu Qianqian had already finished cleaning, and she was by the doorstep.
“I… I’m going to go to work,” she told Yibei. “I won’t be back until very late.”
“Mm.”
“I mean it! I won’t be back until nine o’clock at night at least!”
“I see. Be careful. It’s dangerous in the dark.”
“No…” Gu Qianqian paused, feeling awkward that she had to spell it out for the girl before her. “What I’m saying is, don’t you have to go back home?”
Ah. A live eviction.
‘But I have nowhere else to go! I guess I have to swallow my pride!’
“No, no need. I’ll stay here and wait for you,” she smiled.
“Ah, oh…” Gu Qianqian flashed an awkward smile. “Well then! I’ll be heading off! Don’t go through my stuff!”
A few minutes later, after confirming that Gu Qianqian had left for work, Lu Yibei got up from the sofa and went through her stuff.
She noticed that Gu Qianqian was apprehensive whenever she got near the couch, where her “piggy bank” was. Yibei felt suspicious about it, so it was in her best interest to at least be sure that it wasn’t some kind of weapon.
After opening her makeshift piggy bank, her heart fell.
The jar is full of money—not 100-dollar bills, but small change, stacks of 1, 5, and 10 yuan, and an endless amount of coins.
Yibei fetched her backpack, rummaged inside for a bit, and fished out a fresh 20-dollar bill from it, stuffing it into the bottom of the piggy bank.
Meanwhile, Gu Qianqian walked over to the construction site, feeling uneasy with each step she took.
Finally, her system came back online and gave the excuse that it was experiencing “network fluctuations.”
“Gu Qianqian, you’re done for.”
As soon as the system spoke, her face fell.
“What do you mean by that? Is she going to go through my piggy bank? I thought we had a girl’s code going on!”
“Well, no. It is much more serious than that.”
“My money is very important to me! I don’t see how anything else is more important than that!”
“I’m saying that she may be toying with your feelings,” the system interrupted. “She’s not going to let go of you until she squeezes you dry.”
All the system could see beyond the witch’s cold eyes was a manipulative, cunning, and emotionless girl who would do anything to get what she wanted.
In her heart, there is no place for anyone other than herself.
The system was, admittedly, worried that Gu Qianqian might end up hurt by regard for her as a genuine friend.
It was more than an hour after Gu Qianqian left.
After confirming that she wouldn’t be back for a while, Yibei took out her phone, a piece of paper, and a pen.
She was a little thankful that she had the mind to stuff these in her backpack; if they were in her hand when she transformed, they would’ve turned into a ball of ash.
Sitting cross-legged on a chair, she laid the pen and paper down, resting the phone on top of the paper, before opening the university forums.
She decided to check the announcements and photos tab. Maybe she could find a clue or two there.
However, there was nothing but random pictures, game discussions, and various urban legends spreading across the Internet.
If it weren’t for prior knowledge, thanks to Daydream’s memories, Yibei would’ve thought this was just a regular forum.
Afterwards, she decided to turn her attention to some of the chat rooms.
[TWILIGHT’S SERVANT: All of these new games are scams! Are there any good, genuine games out there that don’t steal your money?”]
[100 2/3 CATS: Found a game file: wanhuamirror5.rar]
[FENRIR: TW! Some netizens replaced the CG of Wanhua Mirror 5 with jump scares! Please be aware!]
[GIRL WITH NO PROBLEMS: What the hell? The game has been down for a while. What are you talking about?]
How is this any different from the games I play? Yibei thought, sighing.
The Eclipse Society is too good at hiding itself.
It’s difficult to weed out urban legends like this.
Maybe Gu Qianqian was right—maybe it’s impossible to find them unless they reveal themselves to you.
However, since Yibei herself is considered an urban legend, wouldn’t that mean that she could theoretically find this chat group?
According to her scattered memories that do not belong to her, there is a mysterious rule in this forum: every 44th minute of each hour, there will be an “urban legend gift package” provided for owners of specific chat groups.
When Yibei heard this at first, she thought it was ridiculous—forums like these are bound to have superstitious rules, but…
After obtaining information from Gu Qianqian, it seems that there’s some credibility to this rumour.
That gift package might be a gateway for her to join the chat group.
Glancing at her phone, it was 4:23 in the afternoon, and she quickly created a new account. Using Daydream’s memories, she submitted a request to join the forums with a new account.
Previously, Yibei used her personal account, so her story didn’t seem suspicious to Jiangli.
However, a few seconds later, her screen flashed bright red, followed by a string of words.
[YOUR REQUEST TO JOIN HAS BEEN REJECTED.
100 2/3 CATS: REASON FOR REJECTION: YOU HAVE ALREADY JOINED THIS GROUP. PLEASE DO NOT CREATE DUPLICATE ACCOUNTS.]
“What the…”
Yibei felt a chill run down her spine. How did they know she had already created an account beforehand?
