GRMFBS CH106

Xiao Ran was so well-behaved, Zhan Suiru inexplicably felt like she was bullying someone.

She sat down in a chair and gestured with her hand, “Here, you sit too. Let’s have a talk.”

The puppet butler obediently sat in the chair opposite her.

“Do you know where we are outside?” Zhan Suiru asked.

The puppet butler shook his head.

“Do you want to know?”

“Do you wish for me to know?”

Zhan Suiru sighed. “Let me ask another question. I brought you out, and it’s been so many days. Aren’t you curious about where this place is?”

The puppet butler remained silent, the gears in his pupils spinning rapidly. He had computed a “correct” answer, but it failed to come out. The gears in his pupils slowed, stuttering.

“Outside is the Infinity Institute of the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau,” Zhan Suiru said.

She gazed out the window, as if she could see the institute more than ten kilometers away from Chongnan Slope through the simulated outdoor scenery.

“I knew about this place for a long time, but I never paid it any attention,” Zhan Suiru said, her fingertips scraping the armrest of the chair. “I think it’s because I didn’t have time. I spent too much energy on the black market, on understanding this world, on adapting to it. Infinity was already a thing of the past.”

The puppet butler listened quietly. When he was quiet, he was motionless. His simulated breathing and heartbeat were terrifyingly regular, and his pupils didn’t dilate or contract. This created a strange state between human-like and non-human, yet it was more vivid than when he had seemed more human before.

The machine was abandoning its familiar calculations, straining to listen with its unfamiliar flesh and blood.

“I thought there would be nothing in that institute that needed my attention. I thought…” Zhan Suiru took a deep breath. “I thought our world had been completely destroyed.”

But a few days ago, on the day Tianshi made his move, she sensed something very familiar in the spreading aura. So she came to investigate personally, and she issued that mission.

The puppet butler’s lips parted and closed again and again. He felt he should say something comforting, but he also felt that wasn’t what Zhan Suiru wanted to hear. He was getting more and more stuck.

“But just now, I received some news,” Zhan Suiru turned back. “Xiao Ran, they call that fragment ‘The Post-Apocalyptic Fragment’.”

…

Zhan Yan stretched lazily.

Collaborating with the Craftsman on a mission was quite pleasant. The Craftsman asked for a few details and then transferred the points.

He cleared his private message inbox as usual and saw that “I Just Saved the World!” hadn’t contacted him in a long time. Their last chat was when Shen Ying asked him why Bi Fang had come to Beiling City. After he had firmly refused to discuss the Infinity Fragment with him, the two had lost contact. Zhan Yan was annoyed, while Shen Ying seemed afraid of being pestered about the Infinity Fragment.

Tsk, now that Tianshi has destroyed the Infinity Fragment, Shen Ying shouldn’t still be like this, right?

Zhan Yan opened the Gossip System and started searching for gossip about Shen Ying.

[Shen Ying has found the Black Nest.]

…

[Shen Ying has eliminated the Black Nest.]

…

[Shen Ying has devoured the Black Nest.]

…

Zhan Yan: ? Bro, do you have to be so intense?!

Is Shen Ying’s condition okay now? He hasn’t gone crazy, has he?

I need to ask him right away!

Approaching Science: “Are you okay?”

Gu Jiancheng only remembered that he hadn’t contacted Approaching Science in a long time after receiving his message.

He had been busy chasing down the Black Nest recently and had no time to clean up anomalies. Since they had no overlapping missions, their communication naturally dwindled.

But what did “is he okay?” mean?

I Just Saved the World!: “?”

Seeing this witty question mark, Zhan Yan knew this big shot was having another episode.

Approaching Science: “Bro, you just silently devoured a Black Nest. Is your mental state still okay?”

“Do you need me to continue looking for healing-type superpowered individuals?”

“Don’t give up on treatment.”

I Just Saved the World!: “…”

“What kind of joke are you making?”

Approaching Science: “Aren’t your side effects acting up?”

Oh, no wonder Approaching Science came looking for him. It was just a mere Black Nest. Even in the past, he could have handled it, not to mention he has a boyfriend now!

Gu Jiancheng fiddled with the sports bracelet on his wrist, resisting the urge to show off his boyfriend.

He had really wanted to show off last time the Magician asked him, but unfortunately, he couldn’t. At least not until this mess with the Monster Doctor and Infinity was completely resolved. Hiding it was safer for Yan Yan for now.

Gu Jiancheng unenthusiastically lowered his hand and typed out a reply.

I Just Saved the World!: “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Zhan Yan had just scrolled to the next piece of gossip:

[Shen Ying has recovered his mental state under the loving care of his lover.]

Hmm?

Shen Ying is in a relationship?

With his crappy personality, he can actually get into a relationship?! Which master pulled that off?

Zhan Yan’s curiosity was piqued again. However, he couldn’t find anything!

Well, it made sense. Those with the lowest information interference would show up with their identity and name in the Gossip System, like the dog demon Gou Hou. Those with strong information interference only showed their identity, like his parents before he exposed them. But this mysterious lover of Shen Ying didn’t even have an identity, only showing their relationship with Shen Ying.

What level of information protection was this!

Super strong!

And they could even resolve Shen Ying’s side effects. This must be a healing-type master, right? I wonder if they were on his previous list.

Zhan Yan really wanted to get to know them. A healer who could handle Shen Ying should be very helpful for his parents too, right?

Just as Zhan Yan was about to ask, he received Shen Ying’s latest reply.

I Just Saved the World!: “Something came up, I’m logging off.”

His profile picture immediately went dark.

[Shen Ying urgently logged off the Chaofan forum to call his lover.]

Zhan Yan: …

Hmph, log off then. I have a partner too!

Zhan Yan indignantly logged off the Chaofan forum.

Not long after, Gu Jiancheng’s call came through as expected.

His boyfriend’s voice was deep and pleasant. Zhan Yan quickly forgot his earlier unhappiness.

Zhan Yan: “Guess where I am now?”

The last time they played the guessing game was during the last vacation.

Gu Jiancheng sat cross-legged on a soft cushion, in front of the transparent curtain wall of the Ocean Hotel.

“For you to ask like that, you’re definitely not at home.” Gu Jiancheng held the phone in his left hand. He reached out with his right hand to touch the curtain wall, and the large fish outside swam along with his hand.

From his tone, Yan Yan must have gone out to have fun. He also wanted to go out and have fun with Yan Yan.

To go out and play this season, you either go further north to see the ice and snow, or further south to escape the cold.

“Any more clues?” Gu Jiancheng asked.

One gave clues, the other guessed. Gu Jiancheng’s range of possibilities was getting smaller and smaller.

Zhan Yan shifted his position in the hot spring pool, and the sound of flowing water traveled to the other end of the phone.

“Are you in Quan City?” Gu Jiancheng asked.

“You guessed so quickly!” Zhan Yan said.

“Can I come find you?” Gu Jiancheng was already getting excited.

“Ah, but I’m leaving the day after tomorrow.”

Gu Jiancheng stopped teasing the fish with his hand.

“Let me tell you, there are also fake hot spring inns in Quan City. The first inn I looked for today had a fake hot spring.”

Zhan Yan started chattering about the many small things that happened today, and Gu Jiancheng listened quietly on the other end of the phone.

The hot spring water occasionally made a sound, and the large fish outside the curtain wall swam away with a flick of its tail.

The lights in the room dimmed, and Gu Jiancheng saw the faint smile on his face in the reflection of the glass.

Zhan Yan’s chatter suddenly stopped.

The sound of the hot spring water grew louder, as if someone was getting out of the pool.

Zhan Yan sat up straight, his hand resting on the side glass window.

“It’s snowing.”

He sat in the room, with steam rising from the hot spring. It was snowing outside. At first, it was just a few fine snowflakes, but soon they grew larger. There was no wind outside, and the snowflakes floated down lightly, quickly accumulating a thin layer of snow in the courtyard.

“This is so nice. Let’s come together next time.”

Anyway, there was no chance this time.

The next day, the dog demon brother Gou Hou enthusiastically invited Zhan Yan to hang out.

“Little bro, you’re only here for three days, you gotta have a good time!”

Zhan Yan spent two days with the enthusiastic Northeastern brother, listening to his endless chatter, and successfully found out about the dog cafe where the brother worked.

Gou Hou not only worked at the dog cafe but also worked part-time as a dog trainer. This latter business hadn’t fully taken off yet and relied entirely on word-of-mouth from old clients.

“It’s not that I’m bragging, little bro, but every dog I’ve trained is super obedient! Parkour, jumping through hoops, navigating obstacles, no problem! They can even understand commands! But well…” he smacked his lips, “sometimes it’s not the dog’s problem, the owner is just no good, doesn’t know how to raise a dog at all! If your family wants to get a dog, little bro, send it to me for a couple of days, I guarantee I’ll train it real good!”

Zhan Yan believed that.

“My family has a cat.”

Gou Hou curled his lip and bared his teeth: “A cat… cats are no good! Cats have that personality, so independent and neurotic, so annoying. You gotta get a dog!”

Gou Hou was so engrossed in talking about dogs that he wasn’t paying attention and bumped into a little girl crouching by a bicycle looking at a map on the side of the road.

“Oh my, sorry about that, little sis…ter?”

The little sister had a baby face, but stood up to be 187 cm, even taller than Gou Hou.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” The little sister smiled shyly. “Um, I wanted to ask for directions. Which road should I take to get to Donghuang City?”

Donghuang City, isn’t that the location of the Cultivators’ Conference?

A quick search on the Gossip System:

[Yuan Shiyi of Nanping Mountain, a body cultivator, has decided to ride a bicycle to Donghuang City to attend the Cultivators’ Conference.]

Hey, this is someone heading the same way. A body cultivator, no wonder they chose to cycle.

“Little sis, you’re pretty tall. Don’t you have to take the high-speed rail to get to Donghuang City? The train station is really far from here, you’d have to take a taxi. How long would it take to ride a bicycle?” Gou Hou said.

“No, no, I’m not taking the high-speed rail. I just want to cycle, to train.” The little sister waved her hands repeatedly.

“Oh, oh! I get it, you’re into that thing called… cycling! Freestyle cycling, right?”

Zhan Yan had a faint feeling that something was wrong. He looked at the map.

On the map, a route and circles were drawn with a pen. One circle was her destination, Donghuang City, and the other circle was Nanping City, next to Nanping Mountain.

“Did you start from Nanping City?” Zhan Yan asked.

“Yes, I’m freestyle cycling, starting from Nanping City,” Yuan Shiyi said, quite troubled. “According to my plan, I should have arrived days ago.”

Quan City is north of Nanping City, and Donghuang City is south of Nanping City.

“Little sis, you’ve been riding in the wrong direction!”