Chapter 264: Shared Eclipse Means This Pot Isn't Yours to Carry

Sun Yu's side showed "typing........." for a while before sending the message again.

"It's not that I won't give it to you; Ke Xin Jie was indeed surnamed Zhao before, but she cut ties cleanly with that family long ago, and it was quite a messy feud back then."

"Those people are no good; they spread rumors everywhere that Ke Xin Jie owes them, is ungrateful, and even caused trouble at her company that almost made her lose her job. You must never believe what they say!"

Sun Yu's tone was serious; although he was a bit afraid of Meng Kexin, he also knew how hard it was for her to break away from her birth family, having reached her current status solely through her own hard strength.

"I'll send you Ke Xin Jie's phone number, but be tactful when you ask; she's a good person, just that she got tangled with that family before, which wasn't easy."

Soon, a string of phone numbers was sent over by Sun Yu.

Yang Yixie stared at the number, then glanced at the pink‑haired girl on the game screen who was leading "himself" through a dim alley.

The names matched; in reality, Meng Kexin had once been called "Zhao Ke Xin" and had severe conflicts with her birth family, even to the point of being harassed and slandered.

In the game, ordinary players have their souls travel to another world at midnight each day, stay there for a full seven days, and then return to their bodies in this world.

To onlookers unrelated to the game, they merely seem to be stunned for a second.

But Yang Yixie is different; although his game time each round is also only seven days, he can choose exactly when to play.

So could it be possible that, after making some discovery in the game, he called Meng Kexin, and then when she entered the game this time, she questioned him about the "phone" matter?

That possibility exists, but the premise of that inference is that Meng Kexin must be a player.

Yang Yixie doesn't see himself as a well‑meaning informant, so if that inference holds, it must have been something he had to do at the time.

A situation where he had to act in a way that might reveal his non‑normal‑player status while also delivering a message to Meng Kexin.

He couldn't fathom why such a situation would arise, much like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg.

Who knows whether the past influences the future or the future determines the past.

Countless questions swirled in Yang Yixie's mind, but now was not the time to delve into them.

He saved Meng Kexin's phone number and refocused his attention on the game.

————————————————

Inside the game, Meng Kexin, with Ying Duo, stopped in front of a shop bearing an antiquated sign that read "Chen Family Hundred Herbs Hall."

The shop's facade wasn't large, but its decor was exquisite, and the wooden doors and windows gave off a faint herbal scent.

At this moment, the shop's louvered windows were half‑opened, and the sign hanging at the entrance displayed a "Temporarily Closed" notice.

"This is the place."

Meng Kexin whispered, her brows slightly furrowed.

Temporarily closed?

That's abnormal; the Chen Family's business never shuts down, even on holidays.

She stepped forward and gently knocked on the heavy wooden door.

Inside, it was silent.

She knocked a few more times with greater force.

After a while, a slow footstep sounded from within, followed by the creak of the door being pulled open.

The wooden door opened a crack, revealing an aged, gaunt face—the old pharmacist that Meng Kexin knew.

That weathered visage looked especially withered in the dim light, eyes blood‑shot, clearly having not slept through the night.

When he saw the pink‑haired girl standing outside, his cloudy eyes first flashed surprise, which was quickly replaced by respect.

"Meng… Miss Meng?"

The old pharmacist's voice was hoarse; instinctively, he widened the door crack a bit more, his gaze darting over Ying Duo behind Meng Kexin, lingering a moment on the luminous green hair, then he stepped aside to make a passage.

"Quick, please come in."

Meng Kexin keenly sensed the old pharmacist's unusual "respect."

Though the old pharmacist, who had served the Chen Family for decades, had been courteous and attentive to her before, it was largely out of respect for Chen Mo Zhi, reflecting the kind of deference an elder shows a junior, or a servant to a guest.

Yet at this moment, that "respect" seemed tinged with something else.......

Her doubts deepened, but she said nothing, pulling the still‑somewhat disoriented Ying Duo and darting swiftly into the shop.

The old pharmacist immediately looked around warily, then quickly shut the door tight and locked it.

Inside, the shop was more spacious than it appeared, with rows of antique‑style wooden medicine cabinets lining the walls, the air thick with herbal fragrance.

"Liu Bo, what exactly happened? Why the temporary closure? Young Master… the Chen Family—what's going on?"

Meng Kexin whispered urgently as soon as she entered.

The old pharmacist, addressed as Liu Bo, did not answer immediately, but cast his gaze again at Ying Duo, eyes filled with scrutiny and caution.

"Miss Meng, who is this…?"

His meaning was clear: some matters were inconvenient to discuss in front of outsiders.

Meng Kexin immediately understood, glanced at Ying Duo, and without hesitation said firmly:

"Liu Bo, Ying Duo is a trustworthy person; he is also the Regiment Leader of the Mercenary Corps that the Young Master belongs to, and he's one of us."

"This…" Liu Bo's face showed a hint of difficulty.

"If you need it, we also have a certificate from the Academy, after all you know the Young Master left school abruptly last night…" Meng Kexin blurted out.

Ying Duo: "…?"

A flicker of bewilderment passed through his golden pupils.

He is indeed the Regiment Leader, but what "credentials" does he have to prove it?

He himself doesn't even know?

Liu Bo's face showed an incredulous expression upon hearing that.

He sized up Ying Duo from head to toe, especially the conspicuously bright green hair and the overly calm golden eyes, which seemed at odds with words like "reliable" or "one of us," and instead resembled a potentially unstable, dangerous individual.

"Mercenary Corps… Regiment Leader?" Liu Bo's tone was full of doubt. "Miss Meng, this matter is of great significance; even if he truly is…"

"Liu Bo!"

Liu Bo's doubts in his heart hadn't been completely dispelled, but Meng Kexin's attitude made him not dare to question further.

This Miss Meng only appears delicate on the surface; whether it's the talent she shows in pharmacology or her usual way of acting, both demonstrate she is not as fragile as she seems.

On the contrary, Miss Meng acts very decisively; he even sees a trace of a young lady's aura in her.

Moreover, young master Chen Mo Zhi indeed joined a Mercenary Corps in the Academy, and Liu Bo knows that.

"I'm sorry, Miss Meng, it's just—just that the disaster the Chen Family is facing this time is truly of great significance........"

"What disaster exactly?"

Meng Kexin pressed further, her ominous premonition growing stronger.

Liu Bo let out a heavy sigh, the wrinkles on his face seeming deeper, and lowered his voice.

"Miss Meng, you must have heard the commotion outside last night, right?"

"Those Co-Absorption cultists have gone mad! Not only are they causing Mutations all over the city, they also bombed the Air Train, and they, they even reached into our Chen Family!"

True Co-Absorption cultist:.......

???

No, how could he not know that Co-Absorption has also attacked the Chen Family?

No, they're busy planting bombs all over the world; how could they have time?