GRMFBS CH200

On the other end, Nie Yu successfully cornered Wan Shitong outside the new world.

Wan Shitong: …

Why was he in such an impatient rush?

“How about it? Let’s cooperate.” In the data stream she sent over, Nie Yu slipped in a tiny “^-^” emoticon.

Wan Shitong: “Well, isn’t there also Play Games With Me?”

Nie Yu: “Oh, she has already reached a cooperation agreement with the Wan Yao Alliance.”

Qi Ye was very familiar with the little wolf demon Bai Ji, and connected with the Wan Yao Alliance through him.

Wan Shitong: Understood…

Play Games With Me was purely a solo player, so finding a major organization to back her was completely fine. But he had a big boss behind him!

Wan Shitong preferred to decline, but the two of them were the only ones who had built the gaming world. With the Wan Yao Alliance having roped in Play Games With Me, the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau certainly wouldn’t let him off the hook.

Couldn’t both of your organizations jointly cooperate with Play Games With Me? Now that the crisis with the apocalypse bordering this world was settled, did the two of you no longer want to continue cooperating?

Wan Shitong couldn’t get away for the time being. He negotiated terms with Nie Yu with a bitter face, while secretly passing a message to Gu Jiancheng on the side.

Being closely monitored by the Network Ghost, he couldn’t transmit messages like before. Left with no choice, he quietly split off a tiny sliver of his consciousness and used his previously left traces to leap straight into Gu Jiancheng’s phone.

Playing on the phone screen was the climax of the melodramatic television drama, where the leads were screaming their lungs out under the pouring rain: “No!!!”

Wan Shitong: …

The boss is into this kind of thing? Never noticed that before.

His message displayed across the screen: [Boss, I’ve been cornered by the Network Ghost.]

Gu Jiancheng’s hand paused as he closed the melodramatic soap opera.

“What happened?”

Wan Shitong explained the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau’s intention to recruit him.

Tapping the screen gently, Gu Jiancheng pondered for a moment before speaking: “Going there is fine too.”

Wan Shitong: “Huh?”

Gu Jiancheng had already considered it: not only did the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau wish to be more deeply involved in player-related matters, but he also hoped to be more deeply involved in the affairs handled by the Bureau.

With Infinite still out there, he didn’t want to merely clear marginal obstacles the next time a similar event occurred. In the past, when he suffered from severe aftereffects, that was one thing; now that he had thoroughly rid himself of them, he wanted to participate in more core matters.

To do that, bypassing the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau was impossible. Gu Jiancheng felt it was time to establish deeper contact with them.

“We live in this world; sooner or later, we must reach an understanding with the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau,” Gu Jiancheng said.

This was a thought that had never crossed his mind throughout the past twenty-six years.

Yet once he began contemplating the future, these thoughts naturally presented themselves before him.

Wan Shitong: “Wait, then what about your side, boss?”

Deep Shadow was relatively weak in information-type abilities, so Wan Shitong believed Gu Jiancheng needed him very much.

Gu Jiancheng let out a chuckle: “No need to worry about my side. Weren’t you busy with the gaming world before without any issues anyway?”

Completely perplexed, Wan Shitong returned to negotiate the cooperation with Nie Yu.

That was true—while he was busy constructing the gaming world earlier, the boss really hadn’t reached out to him much. Actually, starting from even earlier, the boss hadn’t really looked to him to investigate intel. Yet the boss’s activity frequency hadn’t decreased at all…

After concluding negotiations with Nie Yu, Wan Shitong became an external affiliate of the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau. Upon returning, Wan Shitong searched the forum and found a thread his boss had replied to.

I Just Saved the World!: [I have a collaborator. He is very formidable.]

Wan Shitong first felt a small surge of excitement, but after cross-referencing the context and timeframe, he realized he was busy building the gaming world during that period and hadn’t cooperated with Gu Jiancheng on those tasks.

So the information-type collaborator the boss referred to wasn’t him.

Having other collaborators was normal, but the praise “very formidable” was something the boss hadn’t even given him yet!

A bolt from the blue!

…

Zhan Yan exited the chaofan forum, mourning for a few minutes over his wiped-out little star progress. Unable to use the new abilities within the information starry sky for now, he could only check other gossip threads first.

Hmm, if the research into the new world went smoothly, his parents would be able to return in a few days.

Everything was going smoothly on his older brother’s side as well; the Underworld remained exceptionally stable during this bordering of the apocalypse, without any hicc—mm, mm, mm?

[Wan Yan Ghost King discovered an apocalyptic projection in Black Stone Cave and destroyed it.]

[Wan Yan Ghost King obtained the unconsumed Candle Dragon power.]

[Wan Yan Ghost King found the constantly flickering Candle Dragon power amusing and started pouncing on it like a cat teaser wand.]

[Wan Yan Ghost King accidentally swallowed the Candle Dragon power into his stomach.]

Zhan Yan: …

As expected of Kitty Wan Yan, he was totally capable of pulling off something like this!

[Under the stimulation of the Candle Dragon power, Wan Yan Ghost King fell into a deep slumber…]

The ellipsis trailing the gossip thread began to shift constantly again.

With his assistance earlier, Kitty Wan Yan had uncovered many traces of Di Ting’s past life. But those traces were far too fragmented; all Wan Yan could recall were scattered daily moments.

A pile of similar snippets had accumulated in Zhan Yan’s gossip threads:

[Wan Yan Ghost King remembered Di Ting once transforming into a wild goose, guiding the flock to defecate on the hunters below.]

[Wan Yan Ghost King remembered Di Ting once napping in a cluster of spider lilies and accidentally overhearing the inner voice of a pointed-hat little ghost: having been punished by Ghost King Lin Yuan, the pointed-hat ghost held a grudge and planned to sneak into Ghost King Lin Yuan’s mortal temple to steal his offerings. Di Ting thereupon punished the pointed-hat ghost all over again.]

…

Now, however, under the influence of the Candle Dragon power, these fragmented details were slowly stringing together, beginning to exert an unusual effect on Wan Yan.

Curled up inside Black Stone Cave in a deep slumber, Wan Yan’s tiny cat body began undergoing changes. His fur fluttered without wind as his frame slowly expanded. After a few breaths, he transformed into a slender beast, the top of his head swelling as if a horn was about to sprout. Ripples of shimmering light circled the crown of his head, yet it could not grow out.

Wan Yan’s form flickered, slowly shrinking back into the appearance of a little white cat.

Zhan Yan watched the updates in the gossip threads closely. Kitty Wan Yan had been injured too severely back then and had not fully recovered. His current state was erratic; his snapped single horn and lost divine abilities had yet to return, leaving him unable to stably restore Di Ting’s form. Letting this consumption continue would not be a good thing for Wan Yan.

Someone had to save Kitty Wan Yan!

Zhan Yan scanned the gossip threads; the closest one was his brother.

Saving the cat took priority. Zhan Yan urgently pinged his brother’s account.

Thank goodness Ghost King Tie Lao had connected the Underworld to the network. His brother saw the message in no time.

Seeing Approaching Science’s message, Zhan Jinli felt a jolt of alarm.

Lord Ghost King Lin Yuan was frantic inside; tossing the wrap-up tasks in his hands straight to Ghost King Tie Lao, he said, “I have something urgent to handle and need to step away. Take over for me for a bit.”

Ghost King Tie Lao: ? What on earth happened?

Wan Yan’s fragile sliver of soul had been forcibly snatched back by him; over twenty-six years, it had only just healed from its injuries, but the stability of his soul was still far inferior to others. If it suffered excessive attrition and dissipated again, what would happen then?

Finding the Yin Road too slow, Zhan Jinli directly jumped into a nearby tributary of the Ming He River, asking Ghost King Minghe to help divert its course.

The dark red water surged into massive waves, swiftly carving out the fastest river channel toward Black Stone Cave.

Zhan Jinli swam forward, clinging practically right behind the vanguard crest of the Ming He River’s newly paved waves.

The river suddenly diverting its course with such violent momentum alarmed countless ghosts of all sizes.

Beneath the crimson waves, Zhan Jinli rode the swell like a darting fish. Once the crest reached the mouth of Black Stone Cave, he leapt out from the Ming He River and strode inside.

After swallowing the Candle Dragon power, Wan Yan had collapsed without warning.

The moment Zhan Jinli entered Black Stone Cave, he spotted Wan Yan lying defenseless on the ground.

Flicking his sleeve to lay down a protective ward in the cave, he leaned over and pressed a hand against Wan Yan’s neck to assess his condition.

Wan Yan’s frame began shifting again. The soft little kitten neck expanded, limbs extending into a slender build, fluffy paws turning into powerful hooves, and his coat growing increasingly dense and thick.

With his fingers sinking into the soft, lush fur of Wan Yan’s neck, Zhan Jinli couldn’t resist rubbing it a couple of times.

His dark, profound gaze fixed intently on Wan Yan, sensing his current state.

The goofy little kitten face gradually stretched into the solemn, enlightened tiger head of immense wisdom.

Yet this was not a change brought on by the Candle Dragon power itself. The Candle Dragon power merely awakened fragments buried deep within Wan Yan’s soul, causing Wan Yan’s soul to spontaneously begin restoring its true form.

Right now, however, Wan Yan’s soul power simply couldn’t sustain this transformation. Just as Di Ting’s form was about to dissipate once more, a fresh surge of power was channeled into him from Zhan Jinli’s hand.

Di Ting’s form stabilized. Delicate points of light flickered across the crown of its forehead, gathering like fireflies to trace the silhouette of a single horn. The faint light flickered between bright and dim, solidifying and collapsing several times, before finally dispersing into thread-like wisps of ghostly energy.

Zhan Jinli’s brow furrowed tightly. Vast though his dharmic power was, it could not substitute for Di Ting’s innate divine ability.

With the condensation of the horn failing, Di Ting’s form likewise began an irreversible collapse.

Pursing his lips, Zhan Jinli continuously poured in dharmic power, helping Wan Yan smoothly revert to the form of a little white cat.

Wan Yan was currently dreaming.

He dreamed he had returned to his majestic, awe-inspiring form, trotting off to chat with Bai Ze.

Lately, Di Ting rarely wandered outside; he spent most of his time staying in the Underworld with Lin Yuan, which made his arrival to see Bai Ze slightly late.

“I saw Lin Yuan’s true form last time; it turns out he’s a giant fish!” Di Ting chattered on excitedly.

Bai Ze smiled as he listened to Di Ting describe his new friend, his tail swishing gently.

Then, Di Ting abruptly caught Bai Ze’s inner voice:

Oh dear, what should be done? Di Ting seems to like his new friend very much. But Lin Yuan has a destined tribulation in his fate…

Di Ting froze instantly.

Bai Ze’s thoughts continued with great worry: Lin Yuan is fated to be fished up once. If an evil person hooks him, who knows how much of his cultivation will be lost.

Di Ting stiffened entirely.

What, what? Lin Yuan had such a terrifying tribulation in his fate?!

How was this supposed to be resolved?

Swishing his tail leisurely, Bai Ze’s inner voice remained laden with sorrow:

Earlier, the little white dragon of the South Sea was accidentally fished up like a large white carp. The family he visited in their dreams didn’t manage to rescue him in time, and by the time they found him, he was already in the cooking pot.

Di Ting leaped up and bolted back: “I have an urgent matter, I’ll come find you next time!”

Wasn’t it just a destined tribulation of having to be fished up once by someone? He would fish Lin Yuan up once and then release him; that would break the tribulation!

Behind him, Bai Ze revealed a mischievous grin. Holding mastery over all information, altering his own inner voice was effortless for him.

Lin Yuan was a Ghost King now, no longer a fish; where would he get some destined tribulation of having to be hooked? Di Ting should realize it once he got back.

Still, tricking a cat was truly fun!