Chapter 689: The Cicadas Cry in the Cold, It

HP-1

Failed to penetrate the enemy’s armor.

“Hmm.” Su Lin glanced at the spot on his calf that had been struck, tilted his chin, and smiled with an enigmatic expression: “How rare. Are you jealous?”

“Don’t get too cocky,” Irene said, pressing down her soft-tipped witch hat and sighing. “Just thinking about having to fork out cash for the wedding gift while also preparing one for you is a total waste.”

“If you’re willing to pay per person.”

After careful thought, Su Lin said: “I wouldn’t mind becoming the King of Paradise of Gensokyo—wealth and beauty both.”

“Are you a scumbag?”

As always, utterly unconcerned with whether he’d step on a landmine, he spouted irresponsible jokes purely for his own amusement.

“It’d be more like you paying me,” Irene said, glancing cautiously at her purse, then waving her hand. “Besides me, who else here would possibly be charmed by you?”

“Of course it’s me.”

Thud. Irene was suddenly ‘attacked,’ her straight back bending downward.

“Kaguya?”

She turned in surprise and saw Kaguya had silently leapt onto her back, arms wrapped tightly around her neck.

“But none of that matters anymore,” Kaguya pressed close to Irene’s face, pointing at Su Lin and Momiji with her finger:

“Since you’re so obsessed with white hair and red eyes, you can just live with that basketball-loving, suspenders-wearing turkey over there. I’ll pair up with Irene-chan.”

“You over there, turkey!”

Momiji froze mid-answer as Emiya Shirou asked her where in the Human Village they could buy food.

“Don’t come near me anymore. I’m afraid Irene will misunderstand.”

“Are you insane?”

A flame rose in Momiji’s hand; she glanced at Huiyin beside her, then suppressed her anger and extinguished it.

Su Lin also froze for a moment.

Don’t misunderstand—he wasn’t pondering who had fucked him or who he’d fucked, nor was he watching the prank squad led by Lu Mingfei and Meng Qi preparing a pyre and scythes, inviting him, the ‘real-life king,’ to join.

He opened his system interface, where the Sacred Points displayed: 【+1 +3 +6 +1145】

It was nearly approaching the Sacred Intensity of a mid-scale war on a planet—and wars don’t even last this long.

【Eastern Emperor: Overseer of Covenants and the Zodiac Stars, suspected of controlling celestial bodies. Calm demeanor.】

The file on screen was still being created, but most people’s attention wasn’t on it.

“Protecting the public’s right to know is a journalist’s duty,” she said. “But can you spare my life?”

“Editor, how can you do this?! Exposing the world’s darkness—I grew up with Ice Tis as my big sister! Please, for her sake, don’t hurt me!”

Besides the incorrigible tengu girl, the gun was also pressed against the head of a Dark God Clan member from the Star Domain.

Underestimated this guy.

Over the years, the reporter organization under “Wenwen News” had expanded far beyond Shadow City, spreading across the Macroverse’s media networks and gathering all sorts of like-minded miscreants.

They say paparazzi are the third most combat-capable force after the Urban Management and Imperial Army—this doesn’t seem baseless.

They’d even pre-arranged backup and simultaneously leaked a couple of stories.

“Just some photos and character relationships,” Tavil said. “No secrets involved.”

Shooting him is out—though Chen Jun had wanted to do it for a long time.

“If you must shoot me, let me file this final news report first—this love triangle will definitely become tomorrow’s viral headline,” the tengu girl raised her hand.

Shooting isn’t enough—not even five minutes of shooting would be enough!

“Nature abhors change, but habit is harder to break”—never had this saying fit someone so perfectly.

“Honey, that’s Irene—her real-life figurine’s already been ruined! I just saw Xiao Yuan! We really can’t wait any longer!” Old otaku Bubble worried about the characters from Gensokyo next door.

Chen Jun had watched plenty of anime over the years—he recognized them.

It’s now confirmed: the deities enshrined in the Hakkai Shrine are them.

Though the Macroverse’s various realms and civilizations have myths of the Three Pure Ones and the Heavenly Emperor, they’re either artistic embellishments, religious inventions, or offshoots of powerful beings.

So far, their true worth is incomparable.

But

“Isn’t the anime concentration of that group a bit too high?” asked the Emperor, once a fake otaku.

If the Jade Emperor and the Three Pure Ones are like this, then who’s Azathoth? Don’t tell me Azathoth is also a shut-in?

“Chen Jun, I have an idea,” Sandora established a mental link, glancing at “Shaminguan Wen”:

“Every Gensokyo Shaminguan Wen holds massive private data and intelligence. Since they’re all using the Empire’s name, and Yuyuan Zi suspects whether they’re even ours—”

Chen Jun’s eyes lit up, pointing at the Shadow City Shaminguan Wen: “You!”

Click.

The executioner had just chambered the Omen Rune; the tengu girl trembled all over.

Chen Jun quickly ordered his guards to lower their weapons.

“Go be a war correspondent over there!”

“Winter has come. The cicadas cry. It’s that season again—the White Album season.”

Kleine spoke in the flat tone of a nature documentary narrator.

He was guiding the underage group in the chat to craft spell cards, while gazing toward Su Lin’s direction. “Lady Star, won’t you join in?”

“Ah?” Star, holding a bamboo slip, looked up as if startled from deep thought. “Did you just call me?”

“It’s fine, Star-bao.”

Seeing Su Lin and the others approaching, Kleine returned the “Cosmic Civilization Burning Formula” card to Madoka.

“She hasn’t eaten yet. Create some historical projections,” Su Lin said.

You’d say he’s being lazy—he remembers Irene hasn’t eaten. You’d say he’s thoughtful—he plans to treat her to a historical projection.

“Remember: make the delusion real,” Su Lin added.

“You really…” Kleine pulled out a nebula cake: “I’m crying.”

Probably due to residual Yin Witch Elixir and Yang Hunter Elixir from his earlier battle with the Heavenly Sovereign over his body, Su Lin felt this guy’s sarcastic tone had reached a new level.

“Bring a few more. Your historical projections have no limit.”

“You’re overdoing it—I can’t eat that much.”

Irene propped her chin on her hand, listlessly saying: “Are you being so attentive because you’re guilty, Mr. Su Lin?”

“I’m just worried you all won’t have enough sharing one portion.”

“.”

Hearing this, Irene dropped her hand from her chin, looking at Su Lin with faint surprise.

“You…”

Against her will, her lips curled into an unnatural smile—completely opposite to her dazed expression.

“How did you know?”

“Hard to say. Normally, if I were to become the King of Paradise, you’d only support me collecting more wedding gifts, then split half the money and leave when it goes to court.”

Su Lin thought a moment: “I suspect a particularly greedy Irene has slipped in.”

Irene nodded blankly: “Impressive…”

“That tone… it’s depressive,” Su Lin’s expression grew strange. “You’re all mixed together, aren’t you?”

“Not quite. Excluding me, there are only seven.”

Irene’s eyes scanned the table; Kleine noticed, pulled out silver cutlery, and signaled to Huai Shi behind him.

“Xiao Yuan, shall I take you to hear a cello?” Huai Shi coughed and offered a smile he thought was sunny.

“Huai Shi-nii-san, you’re smiling weirdly…” Madoka instinctively stepped back half a pace.

Feng Xiaoxiao, still munching popcorn, looked up warily: “I’m calling the cops.”

“Lady Nuwa,” Yang Jian rushed over after Meng Qi’s reminder: “Last time we imported the Heavenly Court’s overdue payment from Laozi—Meng-ge said he paid it.”

“Oh, right, coming.”

Feng Xiaoxiao’s eyes sparkled.

Like any bartender, Kleine calmly manifested a bar and smiled at the guests.

“Madam, a non-alcoholic mojito.” He slid forward a triangular glass garnished with mint:

“Sir, what would you like to drink?”

“Humanity. Your humanity’s been excessive lately. You can spare some to mix drinks—I’ll treat the Heavenly Sovereign to one.”

Su Lin interlaced his fingers, propping his chin as he watched Kleine tidy his tools and leave the bar.

“Those idiots,” Irene covered her forehead.

“To replicate my magic, they used modified spirit-summoning rituals to establish soul-linkages. Since their souls were originally identical, during spellcasting and combat, their souls synced perfectly.”

“They don’t even know basic theory and still play like this.”

“As the dictator, I must take at least half the blame. Shut up, you gorgeous Irenes.”

She slammed her fist on the wooden table, downed the non-alcoholic drink, then, in a fit of self-destruction, ate her food with zero regard for decorum.

“Have you all not eaten for days?”

“Magic depletion—need to replenish.”

Irene wolfed down her food: “You can tell that? You’ve been fantasizing about other Irenes, haven’t you? If you want to keep me, at least show this much sincerity money.”

You’d pocket the sincerity money and run off, right? Anyone who doesn’t recognize this trait is an idiot.

Su Lin wasn’t worried about the original Irene—after all, the chat group resided within her soul. Even Tony couldn’t possess him back then; maintaining independence should still be fine.

“Why didn’t you send a message to let me know?”

“I wanted to see if you could tell—these guys together still can’t fully suppress me. Don’t take her words seriously, cough—cough.”

Irene pointed the spoon at Su Lin, about to say something, but choked from eating too fast and burst into a fit of coughing.

Su Lin exchanged for a bottle of Soul Spring from the system and handed it to her.

He asked, half-amused: “So why did you two fight?”

Pfft!

Su Lin’s face twitched; even though the Skyward Manifestation blocked the spray, the sensation still synced directly to his perception.

This stuff is expensive, you wasteful woman.

The few thousand points I just earned are gone.

“Why are you all looking at me like that?” Su Lin retracted the Skyward Manifestation.

It was a gaze full of mixed emotions—so complex even a pie chart couldn’t quantify it. Su Lin admitted his psychology knowledge hit a wall.

“Forget it,” Irene sighed, murmuring as if to herself: “Destroy it all, hehe.”

“Did the dark Irene slip in too?”

“Stop listing them off like you’re counting your treasures.”

Faced with Su Lin’s question, the “Gray Witches” before him unusually synchronized their intent to cast reverse-time magic—but they’d already tried that before arriving.

“Only try reversing the Second Law—see if we can develop a spell to peel off parallel dimensions.”

“Need help?”

Su Lin said seriously: “I feel your state is a bit off.”

“If only your intuition in this area were just as sharp,” Irene thought a moment. “I can fix it.”

[I told you, you don’t understand this guy at all.]

[You had to come over here—now are you satisfied?]

Closing her eyes, a few faint waves of shyness and comfort surged from her body.

What’s so special about this man?

Irene clenched her teeth, reopened her eyes, and said: “I’m going back.”

“Mm,” Su Lin nodded. “Don’t push yourself.”

After all, Irene’s library still rested in his hometown, its duplicate form slumbering under Heaven’s Dao, ready to awaken and intervene anytime.

He opened his arms and asked: “Want a hug before you go?”

“?”

Before Irene could speak, her body moved on its own.

“Bye-bye~~~”

The witch who flung herself into his arms bid farewell in a mischievous, cheerful tone.

“It’s silly Irene.”

“Huh? I’m not silly… let go—let go!”

Her tone shifted again—now no one knew which version she was.

“Sevenfold joy? No, counting the original, eightfold?” Su Lin gently patted her back. “Enough. This isn’t the Irene I know.”

“You can still tell them apart?”

Irene sighed helplessly: “You’re not actually taking this seriously, are you?”

Her resistance and struggle eased slightly, yet traces of agitation and tenseness remained.

“I’ve always been serious about you.”

A warm, resonant voice brushed against her ear.

“!”

Irene suddenly shoved him away with both hands—her cheeks flushed, and now her entire face burned red.

“How do you like these lines from the girls’ novels?”

“Idiot!”

She cursed, muttering something, and prismatic dimensional spaces flickered into existence; the witches, their soft magic hats pressed down, sprinted forward and leapt onto their brooms, vanishing inside.

“She didn’t use a cross-dimension talisman—she appeared out of nowhere last time too.”

Kleine’s true body stepped out from the rift in history, watching Irene’s departing direction: “Has dimensional magic reached this level?”

Su Lin stared at Kleine in silence.

“By the way, this feels just like a movie plot setup.”

“Shut up.”

Inside the prismatic space.

Different dimensions spun like kaleidoscopes, endlessly rearranging into dazzling, intricate shapes—this was the illusory multiverse from the manga “Legendary Witch.”

A gift from above all things.

Returning via an anchor and a soul projection cast into the Fantasy Realm.

“I just took the money to do a job—why did I get dragged into this?!” the greedy Irene wailed, near tears.

The original Irene, along with the other several Irenes, were all here—none had gone anywhere.

Each bore a mark on their forehead, glowing brighter and brighter; though not physically present, the Irenes were being peeled from their respective spaces and drawn here together.

“Shut up!” Irene raised her wand, glaring at the others with flushed faces, and shouted:

“Why are you all blushing?! Reverse the Second Law—now!”