Chapter 21: Sorry, I am not well-versed in human nature (Seeking monthly tickets, seeking follow-up reads)

In the car,

Jiang Yan had originally wanted to play on his phone for a while, but...

Zhao Yinman sat in the seat, turned her head, and those crimson eyes were staring at him.

Stare—

"Is there something on my face?" Jiang Yan asked, puzzled.

"No... because it smells very fragrant."

Zhao Yinman shook her head, her crimson eyes fixed on him, as if looking at a rare treasure.

What the hell does "smells very fragrant" mean?

He never wears perfume.

Jiang Yan sniffed himself, but couldn't detect any scent, feeling baffled.

Zhao Yinman also realized what she said was problematic, so she apologized:

"Sorry, I am not very well-versed in human nature."

Not well-versed in human nature?

Is that something one can use to describe oneself?

Jiang Yan was speechless, and the conversation suddenly went cold.

Although the other party was very beautiful, he had been the one being hit on since he was a child, and he didn't like to take the initiative to find topics for awkward small talk.

Jiang Yan turned his head to look at the scenery constantly receding outside the car window; the car was moving fast, but it remained steady inside.

No wonder they say drive a BMW, ride in a Mercedes; this experience is truly top-notch.

He had a passing interest in cars and only recognized a few famous brands, but he knew that Maybach was synonymous with luxury cars and shouldn't be obtainable for anything less than several million.

Are official History Walkers this rich too?

Facing this question, Ba Lie said without looking back:

"History Walkers have many ways to make money. The bonuses for clearing out Disease Domains are one part, and there are also freely accepted tasks like managing floods, bringing rain, or helping the infrastructure department open up mountain tunnels.

The use of extraordinary power depends on the individual; it can destroy life, or it can improve the environment and serve the public.

Besides that, extracting historical relics or skills from diseased creatures is very difficult, but if one is strong enough and dexterous, one can try to strip away the extraordinary organs produced after their mutation. Although the failure rate for stripping is high, it's still better than pure luck, and they can be sold for a good price to either the authorities or the black market."

"Black market?" Jiang Yan was surprised.

"Of course, otherwise how would those wild History Walkers and sects develop?"

Ba Lie said indifferently: "As long as you don't sell humans as consumables, don't commit crimes, and don't interfere with the development of the present world, the authorities are too lazy to bother with you. This kind of thing can't be banned anyway, so it's better to regulate its development and take a little cut on the side... you know."

Jiang Yan nodded, suddenly thinking that the rice grown from his Paradise Spirit Rice Seed could strengthen the physique, so it should also be valuable.

But it would get involved with the Rice God Church and invite unnecessary trouble, so it was better to understand the specific situation of the extraordinary world first.

The Maybach continued to drive, and Jiang Yan had thought they would arrive at a remote mountain or a mysterious base like in TV dramas.

As it turned out, the Maybach made a few turns and arrived inside a technology park in the center of Pan'an County.

It was even in the most prime location.

Jiang Yan had previously heard his mother say on the phone that the developer of this location had something wrong with their brain, setting the price ridiculously high, and hardly any companies had moved in.

It had already become a laughingstock for the locals after tea and dinner.

Who would have thought...

They were still too young.

The Maybach slowly stopped in front of a newly built modern building, with four large characters on it: "Qingshi Technology."

"These days, the emphasis is on 'the great hermit hides in the city.' If you make modern people run into the mountains, there's no signal, no electricity, and a bunch of snakes, insects, rats, and ants; they'd all run away in two days. Plus, by packaging it as a company, you can provide many newcomers with a decent profession, which is convenient for dealing with their families."

Ba Lie explained a few sentences and swiped his card to open the main door.

"Director Ba, you're here!"

Before Jiang Yan could see the layout inside clearly, a young man walked out. His hair was as bald as a programmer's, his figure was thin, his dark circles were deep, and he looked like he had stayed up too late, carrying the kind of fatigue unique to modern corporate slaves.

Let's call him Brother Corporate Slave for now.

Brother Corporate Slave looked numb and said while yawning:

"That ghost thing has already gone crazy and almost buried me in the dirt. If we don't suppress it soon, the entire Pan'an County might have an earthquake. Forget it, I have to work overtime in the middle of the night, let's all just perish."

After speaking, Brother Corporate Slave turned and walked inside.

Ba Lie couldn't help but ask: "Where are you going?"

"Since you're here, what business is it of mine? Of course, I'm going to catch up on sleep. Remember to calculate the overtime pay. If even you can't solve it, then I'll just use the company as my coffin."

After speaking, Brother Corporate Slave found a sofa, lay down, closed his eyes, and didn't forget to grab a piece of paper to cover his navel.

There was a faint sense of madness in the overtime worker.

"..."

Ba Lie was speechless, quickened his pace, and walked straight into the elevator. Jiang Yan and Zhao Yinman followed closely behind, passed the elevator identity verification, and soon reached the ninth basement level.

Ding!

The elevator door opened, and the scene that came into view made Jiang Yan's pupils shrink suddenly.

'This is...'

On the walls, the floor, and the ceiling, there were densely packed eyeballs, half a meter long, covered with a grayish-brown stone surface, constantly wriggling and crawling.

It was like entering the lair of a Beholder from a story, enough to make a person with trypophobia die on the spot.

Gurgle gurgle.

Their arrival was like triggering a trap; the rock eyes turned their pupils and looked toward them.

Rumble!

The ground shook violently, the east side cracked, and sharp stone pillars rose up, sweeping toward the elevator entrance, preparing to turn them into skewers.

Bang!

However, the menacing earth spikes shattered the moment they approached Ba Lie, turning into dust and sand that scattered everywhere. The gale raised by the collision made his robes flap loudly, vaguely revealing his sturdy, knotted muscles.

"Did you not eat!"

Ba Lie grinned and walked inside. No matter how many earth spikes swept over, they would shatter a foot in front of him, as if there were an invisible barrier.

"This is..."

Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes, and the flame of the Ash Lamp in the depths of his consciousness flickered.

Hum!

The world before him changed, and he vaguely saw arms composed of countless tiny threads spreading from Ba Lie's spine, like fluttering feather garments, carrying a strange beauty.

Click click click!

As Ba Lie approached, these eyes became completely enraged. The surrounding metal walls and wooden tables and chairs were actually petrifying at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if creating an artificial underground karst cave.

At the same time, a mysterious force began to suppress the spiritual power in his body, gradually causing corruption. Fortunately, the skill offspring were not affected.

But Jiang Yan was no stranger to this feeling; he had experienced it not long ago...

The Boundary!

"Don't let it expand its Domain." Ba Lie's voice sounded.

"Bind!"

A whisper came from beside Jiang Yan.

He saw Zhao Yinman raise her right hand, holding a yellow paper talisman between her fair index and middle fingers. Her long crimson hair rose without wind, flying wantonly.

Sizzle!

The yellow paper ignited instantly, turning into countless sparks that swept out, instantly transforming into fiery chains that whistled away and entangled these eyeballs.

Click click click!

The rock eyeballs suddenly expanded, and in an instant, sparks flew everywhere. The fiery chains made sounds of being unable to bear the weight and were about to collapse at any moment.

The aura emitted by each one was no less than that of the Rat Guard!

Zhao Yinman looked calm. With a flip of her slender hand, she took out a talisman painted with mysterious patterns and chanted softly:

"Celestial Master's decree, talisman snake turns into a nail.

Suppress evil and seal the baleful, eternally lock the netherworld!"

"Talisman Snake Nail!"

Hiss hiss!

The talisman flew up in response, turning into a snake of yellow paper in the air. The snake head flicked its tongue, opened its bloody mouth, and the sharp yellow paper fangs pierced into the pupils of the stone eyes like nails.

With a click,

A large amount of tiny runes like black ink permeated from where the fangs pierced, like little swimming snakes, quickly crawling all over their bodies, making the originally riotous stone eyes suddenly quiet down.

At this time, Ba Lie had already reached the end of the corridor, facing a bank-grade metal security door that had been one-third petrified and broken.

He reached out, pressed his hand on these stones, and said softly: "Good children, put on your clothes and sleep quietly."

'Human Clothing Technique—Sleeping in Clothes!'

As the words fell, in Jiang Yan's perspective, a mysterious dark golden shuttle appeared behind Ba Lie, constantly rotating. Many feather-garment arms began to dance, like a highly skilled multi-armed weaver, weaving beautiful cloud brocade.

Swish swish!

In the blink of an eye, black cloth strips were woven, emitting a thick atmosphere of peaceful sleep, spreading out from the air and pouring into the secret room like a tide.

Soon,

The eyelids of the twenty-plus rock eyeballs began to tremble, and they slowly closed their eyes. Their bodies melted and returned to the secret room behind the door like swallows returning to their nests.

The petrified area that had originally spread disappeared, leaving only the pitted metal walls.

"Done, follow me!"

Ba Lie stepped through the door of the secret chamber, with Jiang Yan and Zhao Yinman following closely behind.

Seeking monthly tickets, seeking continued readership, seeking recommendation tickets. The new book's data has been sliding, and too many people are hoarding the book. Seeking support; the young seedling needs care.

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(End of this chapter)