Chapter 233: Day in the Mysterious

"Great Miracle Worker, Mr. Merlin Hermes, weren't you suffering from a cold?" Su Lin walked into the house he'd rented last year and saw Miss Kelaien playing video games again.

The other clearly hadn't expected Su Lin and Zhongli to enter his room at this moment, but he used the Faceless One to control his facial expression, revealing only a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

In the slightly messy room, chip and snack wrappers lay scattered; a man with black hair and brown eyes slumped lazily on the sofa, holding a projected Pro controller, playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

It was clear that after ordering and receiving the item, he'd returned it untouched to scam a free ride.

On the coffee table before the desk sat a tub of strawberry-flavored Häagen-Dazs; the room's air conditioning was set to 19 degrees Celsius, sharply contrasting the blazing, poisonous sunlight outside the window.

"You've got the nerve to say that…" Miss Kelaien felt no guilt about being caught slacking off, tossed down the controller, and asked: "What the hell were those blind dates you set up for me?"

"I saw everyone in the group had partners, but you're always running around exhausted and still single—what's wrong with helping you arrange a few dates?" Su Lin counted off on his fingers, "Wait, how many dates have you even finished? Did Ardos expose you?"

"Ardos says he was forced." Miss Kelaien took a deep sip of his soda, his weary, lifeless eyes and the snack debris around him telling the absurd story of these past days, "But I think he was smiling happily."

Because it was so absurd—possibly involving an Angel of the Fate Pathway—Miss Kelaien fled to this universe, where even Amon couldn't catch up, before he even realized something was wrong.

Su Lin, that bastard who loved stirring up trouble, secretly commissioned Audrey, Lady Sharon, Fors, and General Bingshan, using his high-rank Unique Item as payment, under the pretext that "Miss Kelaien had been contaminated and his humanity was unstable, requiring awakening of deep emotions."

Even Bellnade was included—she clearly knew this was just for fun, but out of gratitude for his past favors, she chose to participate.

That's why the look in Rosser's eyes as he passed by on the street that day carried murderous intent.

Su Lin, offering high-rank Unique Items as payment, asked these women to each spend a perfect day with him—no need to do much, just chance encounters, shopping, balls…

In short, find a way to make him fall for it.

Under threat that he would never summon Ardos again, Ardos confessed everything.

【Ghosts of Love Route】

【Rich Lady Hunger Route】

【Literary Pirate Route】

【Fishing Master Route】

After Ardos revealed these bizarre arrangements, he even spat out a script titled 【Day in the Mysterious】.

"WeChat payment received: two yuan."

The phone on Miss Kelaien's desk beeped with a notification.

"Interesting." Su Lin picked up the phone, scanned the QR code in front of Miss Kelaien's fridge, paid, and pulled out two old-fashioned ice pops, "What I'm curious about is how Ardos got exposed?"

To repay Miss Kelaien for dragging his historical projection into the Abyss, Su Lin immediately devised this script after severing the link between the historical projection and the original.

"It was Miss Magician—Fors, who always ran away the moment she saw me, behaved far too strangely." Miss Kelaien pulled out a price list, on which was written 'Old Ice Pop: 1 yuan'; he pointed at the payment code and said, "I gave her a little threat, and she confessed everything."

"Pfft, shouldn't have expected anything from this lazy fish," Su Lin recalled how he'd spent ages coaxing—no, gently persuading—this guy into agreeing, only for him to be the first to crack.

Young Lady Justice asked no questions; she simply found it interesting and could obtain a Unique Item.

Young Lady Sharon's case was even simpler—she was completely unaware, treating it as mere coincidence.

Su Lin still remembered clearly what Messenger Miss Renette Tinicole had said.

'Only… one day… enough?'

'Sharon… can join for free.'

'Why not… a whole month?'

This directness left Su Lin speechless—she clearly wanted to jump straight into it.

"I'm still competing with Amon…" Miss Kelaien paused, "It might draw His attention."

Miss Kelaien feared that interacting with these acquaintances might cause unnecessary trouble.

Su Lin burned the price list and handed one old ice pop to Zhongli, saying:

"Don't worry—Anduin approved this whole thing. I got him to trick the original into going somewhere else."

"I've already notified the Seven Gods—now the Six Gods—about the area where you're going on these dates. Even Amon can't get in."

Su Lin wore the look of a man utterly disappointed in a failure, making Miss Kelaien want to pull out his revolver and shoot him—except that the guy was his close friend and he couldn't beat him.

"How could the Gods cooperate with you? No… they'd definitely cooperate with you… you bastard, you actually went to the True Gods to do such a boring thing." Miss Kelaien felt his teeth aching.

This guy could now do whatever he wanted in their world—neither True Gods nor Outer Gods dared provoke him, fearing he might launch another unpredictable action at any moment.

Such privileges wasted on such a boring matter…

"Why not?" Su Lin sneered. "You had the chance and blew it. Now you're stuck at home playing video games alone. Tsk."

"First, you're single too," Miss Kelaien corrected.

"Second, I think this should be left to nature."

"Forced melons aren't sweet. I'm just colleagues and acquaintances with them, and this relationship will never change—for life."

"Have you read the epilogue?" Su Lin suddenly interrupted.

"What?" Miss Kelaien frowned.

"The epilogue—your modern-day epilogue," Su Lin said.

"There's such a thing?" Miss Kelaien blinked. "Wait, what does this have to do with what we're talking about?"

Su Lin: "Your and Sharon's stock price skyrocketed in the epilogue."

Miss Kelaien froze, immediately picked up his phone and asked in the official fan group.

Fan A: 'Don't you know that? Fake fan.'

Fan B: Xiao Ke, this straight guy, made Sharon watch Ghosts of Love all night while he slept in bed. Pfft.

Fan C: 'I don't care! The world needs Justice!'

Fan D: 'I'm the real heroine—Mochi!'

Fan B: 'Isn't the real heroine Xiao Ke herself? After all, she drank the Assassin's Elixir…'

Fan F: '+1'

Miss Kelaien fell silent for several seconds, his body tensing slightly as messages scrolled rapidly past; inside, he thought: 'What epilogue? That's not canon. Things that didn't happen don't count. How can friendship be called straight?'

Fine, Miss Kelaien chose to skip the topic—let the past stay buried. The matter ended with the great detective Sherlock uncovering Su Lin's scheme through subtle clues.

"Where are you going?" Kleen glanced at Su Lin, then at Zhongli and Yufeng, and asked.

"Zhongli plans to return to Teyvat. Before he leaves, I'm taking this brat for a stroll." Su Lin flicked the hidden Immortal Source; a crisp, tinkling sound rang out.

"You're the brat!" Yufeng growled: "Give me back my account, you dog Sect Master! My fans are still waiting for me! I promised to guide her onto the Dao!"

He was the only person in this period who had shown Yufeng the utmost respect.

Calling him "Yufeng Brother, invincible under heaven," "Yufeng Brother, destined for Emperor status"—it had made Yufeng so happy he forgot the pain of being bullied by the great villain Su Lin.

On that day, Yufeng had promised that once the calamity ended, he would guide her onto the Dao.

But now Su Lin had interfered—this made Yufeng the Emperor a man who broke his word!

"You dare say that?" Su Lin smirked without smiling, pulling out a hanger; the other recoiled into Zhongli's arms.

Kleen's expression was odd. In just a week, how had this kid gone so off-track—more modern than even he, a man from the modern world?

And

"Are you coming too? This might help your 'common cold,'" Su Lin teased. "After Zhongli leaves, you'll be the one teaching this brat."

The curriculum planned for Kleen was simple, after all, his system was different.

The introductory lesson was to awaken the Mythical Beast Form—students simply had to stare at him throughout class, then purge the corruption the moment they began to lose control.

The full name of this course was "Wilderness Survival—Madness and Distortion":

By gradually acclimating students to the "Cthulhu-style teacher," it increased their resistance and honed their coping abilities, so they could handle diverse enemies across the myriad worlds—provided they didn't go mad first.

"Fine," Kleen shrugged. Strictly speaking, he was the PE teacher. If Su Lin, the homeroom teacher, said the PE teacher was recovered, then he was recovered.

Rongcheng.

Car horns and the clamor of crowds turned the already crowded street into a churning cauldron.

"Even though it's a commercial district and it's the weekend, aren't there too many people today?" Su Lin glanced around; a dense tide of people poured from subway exits, malls, and roadside shops into the flow.

"It seems like some kind of festival," Zhongli murmured, Yufeng curiously studying the city built of steel and concrete.

Passersby wore all kinds of outfits—some flashy, some simple, some eccentric.

Most were couples, one man and one woman; many glanced toward Su Lin's group as they passed.

After all, all of them were high-looks, and carrying a child made them even more noticeable.

Su Lin spotted several girls in Hanfu selling flowers at the mall entrance; his lip twitched. "It's the 0th of the month, and here I am, out shopping with two grown men holding a brat."

At least he'd dragged Kleen along—otherwise the scene would've been excruciating.

"I've never been interested in commercial holidays without legal status," Kleen recalled his old IT career—his company demanded overtime, but at least paid triple wages. "And you should reflect on why you're out with us."

Zhongli lifted his chin with his thumb. "Is the 0th of the month some special festival in this world?"

"Internet Valentine's Day—pfft. One Valentine's Day isn't enough, so they invented this?" Su Lin pretended to rummage in his bag, actually pulling out a Fire Divine Power dye. "Should we call Zhang Chuyan?"

"Why?" Kleen frowned. "Bachelor's team-building?"

"Forget it." Su Lin ultimately didn't transform into the god of the FFF Gang—too childish. Even pranks had limits.

The group strolled from Chenghua Avenue to Erxian Bridge, then, bored, Yufeng teleported them to the Magic City.

In a secluded corner, they reverted to their true appearances.

"Don't you want to disguise yourselves?" Kleen turned to Su Lin. Though they'd altered their looks, they'd just teleported from Erxian Bridge to the Magic City in plain sight.

"It's no secret this world has cultivators," Su Lin pointed to the old mouse-like official ahead with a powerful Legal Department aura. "Kids? Just drop him here."

"Amusement park," Zhongli lifted his chin. "It wouldn't hurt to experience it."

"Childish. Do you think this nonsense meant to amuse mortal children can please the Emperor?" Yufeng crossed his arms and turned his head away.

Su Lin smiled. "In terms of universal reason, you're right."

Yufeng, pleased Su Lin was finally sensible, chuckled. "Good. You understand."

Moments later,

Su Lin, Zhongli, and Kleen boarded the indoor space roller coaster, each holding an ice cream, leaving Yufeng behind.

Amid the security guard's twitching eyelid and Yufeng's stunned expression, Su Lin waved.

"A bit childish for kids, just right for adults."

Kleen nodded. "Stay right here. Don't move."

Su Lin: "Wuhuuu~~~!"

Yufeng watched them vanish into the distance on the roller coaster, lips parted, words unspoken, his small face full of grievance.

The security guard shook his head. What a tragic future for a child with parents like these. Aren't they afraid someone will kidnap him?

"Innate spiritual root, born of heaven and earth's essence, infused with the grace of mountains and rivers!" A familiar exclamation came from nearby. "Such a promising seed at this hour!?"

Yufeng stopped pouting and turned—Su Lin held a girl's hand, with another girl of identical appearance trailing behind.

He pulled out a lollipop, crouched down, and smiled at Yufeng. "Little brother, wanna learn cultivation from Big Pigeon~?"

The security guard's eyes widened—he glanced between the crouching figure and the dark tunnel, his gaze filled with disbelief.

Luo Shengying also asked curiously, "Little brother, where are your parents? Why are you alone here?"

Yufeng's eyes darted, thinking fast. Suddenly he grinned and shouted: "Baba~~!"

End of Chapter