GRMFBS CH66

Zhan Suiru yawned, lounging lazily in her rocking chair:

“How many times have I faked failure? Is it enough to make them believe it?”

“I believe that even if they are convinced you cannot create a device using Garbled Anomaly No. 2 to search for Infinite fragments, it won’t stop them from finding other ways to achieve this goal,” the puppet butler said.

Zhan Suiru smacked her lips in annoyance. “Why are there always people in this world dedicated to courting death?”

They were always thinking about the massive benefits of studying Infinite fragments, but why didn’t they consider how dangerous this stuff was?

Researching it blindly like this, what if they accidentally triggered the resurrection of Infinite?

“The council believes that the vast majority of Infinite has been completely destroyed, and the remaining fragments are not enough to cause a resurrection, much like a jigsaw puzzle with only a few pieces left.”

Inside the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau, Ning Xi rubbed his temples with a headache.

“Mm-hmm,” Ji Yueming replied lazily. “You don’t need to explain it to me.”

Ning Xi had it rough, too.

In an organization as large and dangerous as the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau, supreme power couldn’t possibly be concentrated in the hands of just a few people. Besides the Director and Deputy Director, there was also a twenty-four-member council.

It wasn’t that power shouldn’t be supervised, but the council was the kind of entity where, by the time they finished discussing an urgent matter, it would already be too late. Moreover, the council’s power was limited; they could not directly participate in the Bureau’s affairs. This caused a disconnect in perception between the front lines and the rear, occasionally leading to conflicting viewpoints.

The Deputy Director handled all practical issues within the Bureau, while the Director dealt with the council and all the tedious, redundant diplomacy. Both of them had a difficult time.

—From this perspective alone, Ji Yueming actually had quite a good impression of the Wan Yao Alliance. At the very least, demons didn’t bother with pointless formalities, which saved a lot of time in communication.

“But you don’t approve,” Ning Xi said, staring at her.

“I don’t approve. You know what happened back then. Candle Dragon and Bai Ze fell, and your cultivation base was ruined because of it,” Ji Yueming said.

Ning Xi cultivated the Great Yan Divination. He was once a diviner who could use mountains and rivers as a chessboard and predict four hundred million variations in a single hexagram. Now, however, he was no different from an ordinary person.

“That is why, before such a crisis arrives again, we must be prepared and become stronger,” Ning Xi said.

Ji Yueming looked at his heavy dark circles and sighed. “I don’t approve, but I won’t do anything drastic. You don’t need to persuade me. You’d be better off using this time to get some good sleep.”

Getting this assurance, Ning Xi visibly relaxed.

Given Ji Yueming‘s temper, he had genuinely been afraid she would suddenly dig her heels in.

After Ning Xi left, Ji Yueming closed her eyes and slowly exhaled, relentless lightning flowing through her body.

Since twenty-six years ago, this lightning had been surging, coursing through every inch of her bones and every piece of her flesh, brewing for the next fierce explosion.

…

Zhan Yan had fun in Bince City for two days, and on the third day, he met with the fitness fanatic Wen Yinghui.

Boss Wen looked radiant; one glance was enough to tell he was getting along quite well with the Money Tree spirit.

He hadn’t posted any muscle photos on Weibo recently due to illness, prompting a bunch of fitness enthusiasts who followed him to ask about his condition.

Lately, he had regained the muscle he lost while sick and resumed posting, but only his upper body—his legs still had marks from where the Money Tree spirit had slapped him.

The moment Wen Yinghui saw Zhan Yan, he warmly leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Little Yan, my Money Tree is growing better and better these days. Do you think I need to light some more incense or offer some tributes?”

Zhan Yan took a peek into the Gossip System. Whoa! Haven’t you already offered them?

But it had to be said, ever since people started calling the Pachira aquatica a “Money Tree” and spreading the name by word of mouth, many had started keeping a few at home for good luck. This plant was shade-tolerant and easy to raise, and many large companies even used it for greenery.

Unknowingly, this ordinary plant had become imbued with people’s wishes.

The spot where the Money Tree spirit had been placed in its previous company had been calculated by a Feng Shui master. After being moved to Wen Yinghui’s place, receiving the sincere offerings of this superstitious man, and “eating” three sticks of incense morning and night, it had gradually and truly developed a bit of ability to boost financial luck.

[The Money Tree spirit thinks Wen Yinghui, who offers it clear water, fruit, and candles, is an idiot—pour the water into my soil already, damn it!]

“Incense is fine, but you can skip the tributes. Instead of offering clear water, it’s better to just water it directly. Sunlight is better than candles, and fertilizer is better than fruit.”

Wen Yinghui understood. He just had to treat it like a tree—practical.

Attending the banquet required formal wear. Zhan Yan was at that physical stage right between youth and teenager. After changing into a suit, he looked handsome and tall. His slightly long, curly hair was tied loosely at the back of his head, the blue crystal on his hair tie swaying gently—simple and elegant.

Meanwhile, when Boss Wen, with his bulging muscles, changed into his suit, he could only be described with one phrase: a mobster in a suit!

These two standing together looked like they belonged in entirely different art styles!

“Look how skinny you are.” Wen Yinghui tutted and shook his head. “You need a good workout! Did that high schooler from last time follow my routine? How is his progress? Do you want me to write a fitness plan for you too?”

“No, no, he’s practicing it; it’s going great,” Zhan Yan quickly declined.

He followed Wen Yinghui into the banquet, tagged along for a few chats, exchanged some business cards, and then had nothing else to do.

The Shoude Company his mother ran was insignificantly small among this circle of business tycoons, and he didn’t understand company operations anyway. He was just here to expand his contact list. After doing one round, he took a break, grabbed a plate of desserts, and found a corner to eat. The chef hired by the Luan family was quite good. While the dishes obviously weren’t as delicious as what his dad cooked, the Western pastries were excellent!

His dad didn’t know how to make Western pastries; the only person in his family who could was his brother.

Zhan Yan also spotted Xia Yuexian. Boss Xia wore an elegant and graceful evening gown. Seeing Zhan Yan slacking off in the corner, she raised her glass to him with a smile.

Beside Xia Yuexian stood a strikingly beautiful person wearing a single earring, who followed her gaze, smiled at him amicably, and then resumed talking to Xia Yuexian.

Seeing the way they were conversing, Zhan Yan had a vague suspicion and did a quick search in the system.

This person’s cultivation level wasn’t high enough, so they were directly revealed by the Gossip System:

[The Lionfish Demon Yu Xia said to Xia Yuexian, “That blueberry cheesecake is really delicious.”]

Blueberry cheesecake? Where?

Zhan Yan quickly got up, found where the cake was, and grabbed a slice for his plate.

Mmm! So good!

This fish demon had great taste!

Zhan Yan kept her gossip thread open, ready to see if she had any other recommendations. However, the two of them didn’t talk about food again. From their conversation, he learned that Yu Xia had faked her death and changed her identity over a decade ago.

When demons lived in human society, they either had to age their appearance continuously from youth to old age, or they had to fake their deaths every once in a while to change identities. Otherwise, never aging wouldn’t make sense.

After watching for a while without getting any more food recommendations, Zhan Yan regretfully found a corner to continue slacking off.

Corners were perfect for eating gossip.

Old Master Luan had three sons in total. The eldest son was the heir the old master favored. The second son didn’t seem to be well-liked by the old master and had been sent away. The youngest son had switched lanes and was now in the arts; he wandered around idly all day, never doing any proper work, and remained unmarried to this day.

Zhan Yan was enjoying the gossip when he suddenly heard a lowered male voice coming from the adjacent lounge:

“You’re just a stand-in; don’t covet things you can’t have!”

Zhan Yan: Big gossip?!

He turned his head and saw that the lounge door wasn’t shut tight. The sound was leaking out from inside.

Zhan Yan looked shocked.

He thought the whole “stand-in” trope only existed in melodramatic novels, but people actually played like this in real life!

Another sound came from inside.

First, a quiet mutter: “No, no, that’s too stupid; it lacks gravitas.”

Then a cleared throat, and a restart: “Ahem! I’m paying you to be a stand-in. Do what you’re supposed to do, and don’t entertain any other delusions!”

Zhan Yan: …

Oh, he was just in the room practicing lines.

Who was this guy? A bit goofy.

Zhan Yan then heard classic lines like “I only see you as a stand-in, I will never truly fall in love with you,” “Enough! Take the money and get lost!” and “A stand-in should know their place.”

From the stand-in approaching him purely for money, to the stand-in falling inextricably in love with him, from dating to breaking up—he mentally simulated the entire scenario, running through all sorts of love-and-hate dialogues in advance.

—So he hadn’t even started looking for a stand-in yet.

After a while, the man finished practicing. He paced hesitantly for a couple of laps, muttered some encouragement to himself, and started walking toward the door.

Zhan Yan considerately walked further away to save him the embarrassment.

He cast a glance from afar and recognized the man secretly rehearsing to find a stand-in as Old Master Luan’s youngest son, Luan Jin.

He opened the Gossip System and started a search.

Ah, so when Luan Jin was younger, he had a “white moonlight,” his muse of inspiration, someone so perfect that Luan Jin didn’t dare confess his feelings. He had always wanted to wait until he achieved some success before confessing, and had imagined dozens of romantic ways to do it. Unfortunately, before he could carve out a place for himself in the art world, his white moonlight passed away in a tragic accident.

Luan Jin was dealt a massive blow. He hadn’t dated for over a decade, often reminiscing about his white moonlight’s voice and smile.

Today, at his father’s birthday banquet, he unexpectedly saw someone who looked exactly like his white moonlight. The feelings he had suppressed for a dozen years suddenly became too much to bear. He really wanted to rush over and confess, but he also clearly knew this was merely a look-alike. His white moonlight had long faded away, leaving only an unfading brand in his memory.

On one hand, Luan Jin felt that finding a stand-in was a betrayal to his white moonlight; on the other, he couldn’t suppress his surging emotions. He was caught in an endless internal tug-of-war, struggling deeply.

Now that his struggle was over, he was ready to indulge himself just this once.

Zhan Yan watched helplessly as he walked straight toward the Lionfish Demon Yu Xia.

Wait a second… Who did you want to use as a stand-in?

Thinking about how Yu Xia had faked her death over a decade ago, Zhan Yan swapped his keywords and searched in the Gossip System again…

This was the actual person you used to secretly harbor a crush on!