Chapter 21: Sorry, I'm Not Very Human-Savvy (Begging for Monthly Tickets, Begging for Subscriptions)

In the car,

Jiang Yan had originally planned to play with his phone for a bit, but…

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

Stare—

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

"No… it's because you smell really nice."

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

What the hell does "smells really nice" mean?

He never wears cologne.

Jiang Yan sniffed himself but found no scent, completely baffled.

Zhao Zhao Yinman also realized her words were off, so she said apologetically:

"Sorry, I'm not very… human-savvy."

Not human-savvy?

Is that even something you use to describe yourself?

Jiang Yan was at a loss for words, and an awkward silence fell.

Although the other person was very pretty, he had always been the one being approached since childhood — he didn't like taking the initiative to make small talk.

Jiang Yan turned his head to look out the car window at the scenery flying past; the car was fast, but the interior remained perfectly steady.

No wonder they say drive a BMW, ride in a Mercedes — the experience really is top-notch.

He wasn't much of a car enthusiast, only knew a few famous brands, but he did know that Maybach was synonymous with luxury cars — you couldn't get one for less than a few million.

Are official History Walkers really this rich?

Facing this question, Bar Lie replied without turning his head:

"History Walkers have plenty of ways to make money. The bounties for excising disease zones are one part; there are also freely accepted missions like controlling floods, summoning rain, helping the infrastructure folks carve out mountain caves, and so on.

How you use transcendent power is up to 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 you're strong enough and deft, you can try stripping away the transcendent organs they develop after mutation. The failure rate is high, but it's still better than pure luck, and whether you sell to the officials or the black market, you can get a good price."

"Black market?" Jiang Yan exclaimed.

"Of course — how else do you think wild History Walkers and sects develop?"

Bar Lie said nonchalantly: "As long as you don't sell humans as consumables, don't commit evil, and don't interfere with the development of the present world, the officials can't be bothered to care about you. This kind of thing can't be banned anyway — better to regulate it and skim a little off the top… you get it."

Jiang Yan nodded, then suddenly thought that the rice grown by his Blessed Land Spirit Rice Spell could strengthen the body — it should be worth money too.

But it would get tangled up with the Rice God's Church and bring unnecessary trouble; better to learn more about the specifics of the Transcendent World first.

The Maybach kept driving. Jiang Yan had expected to arrive at some remote mountain, or a mysterious base like in TV dramas.

Instead, after a few turns, the Maybach pulled into a tech park in the central district of Pan'an County.

The very core district, no less.

Jiang Yan had heard his mom mention on the phone before that the developer behind this location was out of his mind — the prices were absurdly high, and barely any companies had moved in.

It had become a running joke among the locals.

Who would have thought…

Turns out it was the locals who were the naive ones.

The Maybach slowly came to a stop in front of a newly built modern building, with four big characters on it: "Green History Tech."

"These days the trend is to hide in plain sight. Drag modern people out to the mountains — no signal, no electricity, and a bunch of snakes, bugs, and rats — they'd all be gone in two days. And packaging it as a company lets us give newcomers a respectable job title, easier to deal with their families."

Bar Lie explained a few words, then swiped a card to open the main door.

"Chief Bar, you're here!"

Before Jiang Yan could get a clear look at the layout inside, a young man walked out — hair as sparse as a programmer's, thin frame, heavy dark circles under his eyes, looking like he'd pulled too many all-nighters, carrying that special exhaustion unique to modern corporate workhorses.

Let's call him Workhorse Bro for now.

Workhorse Bro's expression was numb as he yawned and said:

"That damn thing has gone crazy — it almost buried me with it. If we don't suppress it soon, the whole of Pan'an County could have an earthquake. Whatever, still have to work overtime in the middle of the night — let's all just perish together."

With that, Workhorse Bro turned and walked inside.

Bar Lie couldn't help asking: "Where are you going?"

"You're here, so what's it got to do with me? Of course I'm going to catch some sleep. Don't forget to count the overtime pay. If even you can't handle it, then I'll just use the company as my coffin."

With that, Workhorse Bro found a sofa, lay down, and closed his eyes — not forgetting to casually grab a piece of paper to cover his belly button.

There was a faint air of overtime-induced madness about him.

"…"

Bar Lie was speechless, quickened his pace, and walked straight into the elevator. Jiang Yan and Zhao Zhao Yinman followed close behind. After passing the elevator's identity verification, they quickly arrived at basement level nine.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened, and the scene that greeted Jiang Yan made his pupils contract sharply.

'This is…'

On the walls, the floor, the ceiling — densely packed — were eyeballs half a meter long, covered in a gray-brown stone-like outer layer, constantly wriggling and crawling.

Like stepping into the lair of an eye demon from a story — enough to make anyone with trypophobia drop dead on the spot.

Squish, squish.

Their arrival seemed to trigger a trap — one by one, the rock eyes rolled their pupils and looked this way.

Rumble rumble!

The ground shook violently, the eastern side cracked open, and sharp stone pillars rose up, sweeping toward the elevator entrance, ready to skewer them like kebabs.

Bang!

However, the earth spikes surging forward suddenly shattered into a cloud of dust the moment they neared Ba Lie; the wild wind kicked up by the collision made his robes flap loudly, revealing the coiled, solid muscles beneath.

"Didn't you eat?"

Ba Lie sneered and walked inside; no matter how many earth spikes swept toward him, they would shatter a foot in front of his body, as if an invisible barrier existed.

"This is..."

Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes; the flame of the Ash Lamp deep within his consciousness flickered.

Voom!

The world before his eyes shifted; he vaguely saw arms composed of countless tiny threads spreading from Ba Lie's spine, like floating feathered robes, carrying an eerie beauty.

Crack crack crack!

As Ba Lie drew closer, these eyes grew utterly enraged; the metal walls and wooden tables and chairs around them began to petrify at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if creating an underground karst cave.

At the same time, a mysterious power began to suppress the spiritual energy within his body, gradually corrupting it; fortunately, his Skill Offspring remained unaffected.

But this feeling was not unfamiliar to Jiang Yan; he had experienced it not long ago...

The Lands Between!

"Do not let it expand its Domain." Ba Lie's voice rang out.

"Bind!"

A low whisper came from beside Jiang Yan.

Zhao Zhao Yinman raised her right hand; between her green-onion-white index and middle fingers she held a yellow paper talisman, while her crimson hair rose without wind, dancing wildly.

Hiss hiss!

The yellow paper instantly ignited, turning into countless sparks that swept forward; in an instant, they formed chains of fire that whistled away, wrapping around these eyeballs.

Crack crack crack!

The stone eyeballs suddenly swelled; in an instant, sparks flew in all directions, and the chains of fire groaned under the strain, ready to shatter at any moment.

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

Zhao Zhao Yinman's expression remained calm; she flipped her slender hand, produced a talisman painted with mysterious patterns, and softly chanted:

"Heavenly Master's Decree, Talisman Snake becomes Nail.

Suppress evil, seal the fiend, eternally imprison the Netherworld!"

"Talisman Snake Nail!"

Hiss hiss!

The talisman flew up at the sound, transforming in mid-air into a yellow-paper snake; the snake's head flicked its tongue, opened its blood-red maw, and its sharp yellow-paper fangs pierced the stone eyes' pupils like nails.

With a crack,

numerous tiny runes like black ink spread from where the fangs pierced, moving like little snakes, quickly covering their bodies and causing the previously raging stone eyes to suddenly fall silent.

At this moment, Ba Lie had reached the end of the corridor; before him stood a bank-grade metal vault door that had already been petrified and shattered by one-third.

He reached out, placed his hand upon the stone, and softly said, "Good children, put on your clothes and sleep quietly."

'Human-Robe Technique — Sleep With Clothes On!'

As his words fell, in Jiang Yan's view, a mysterious dark-gold shuttle appeared behind Ba Lie, spinning continuously; numerous feathered arms began to dance, like a skilled multi-armed weaver weaving a magnificent cloud brocade.

Rustle rustle!

In the blink of an eye, strips of black cloth were woven, radiating a strong atmosphere of slumber; they spread from the air and surged into the secret chamber like a tide.

Soon,

the eyelids of the twenty-odd stone eyeballs began to tremble; they slowly closed their eyes, their bodies melting as they returned to the secret chamber behind the door like swallows returning to their nest.

The previously spreading petrified area vanished, leaving only pitted metal walls.

"Done. Follow me!"

Ba Lie stepped across the secret chamber door; Jiang Yan and Zhao Zhao Yinman followed closely behind.

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(End of Chapter)