Chapter 388: The Real and Fake Reporter

"Master, no one's picking up the phone."

The next day, Ao Yulie contacted that reporter Lu Xiuqi who had run off incredibly fast, but the number he'd left was switched off.

"Switched off?" Tang Luo asked.

"Yeah, switched off." Ao Yulie nodded. "Master, I think that guy really fabricated a friend out of thin air — his so-called friend is himself."

"Who knows." Tang Luo said, "Keep trying to contact him; maybe he can still provide us with some leads."

For Tang Luo and the others, the fabrication of a friend was actually a good thing.

A reporter who liked investigating all kinds of bizarre events should be able to provide some help for completing their mission.

For instance, this "Undying Empress" case.

The news of the Empress's death was announced three days later; the originally prepared "birthday celebration" was slightly altered and turned into a grand funeral.

This time, no one jumped out to cry "waste of people's money and resources."

After all, the dead are paramount; once dead, face instantly outweighs the heavens.

Even a thief, if they die while stealing in someone else's house, the thief's family can righteously demand millions in compensation.

Quibble and wrangle, fight lawsuits, and in the end they all get the so-called "humanitarian compensation," with some people even supporting it, feeling that since the person is dead, what's wrong with a symbolic payout?

The dead are paramount!

Let alone the dignified national mascot, the centenarian Empress about to turn 120.

If someone jumped out now advocating "simplicity in all things," that would be true social death.

Finally officially ascending, he was blooming with joy inside, no longer needing to mutter about the "first-in-line heir, 'is there a seventy-year-old Crown Prince under heaven?'" — his expression was extremely grief-stricken.

In reality, his relationship with the Empress was quite ordinary, and he didn't like this nominal grandmother.

Every meeting in childhood left him drowsy and extremely fatigued.

He disliked her even more after growing up... she outlived his own father and nearly outlived him too; how could he like her?

If not for the Virtual Monarch, in ancient times he'd have long since activated the "royal family knows no mercy, usurpation and regicide" mode.

Of course, in ancient times, the more likely scenario was the Empress becoming a true Wu Zetian, sweeping aside all sons and grandsons, real or fake.

Yi the Fifth? No, should be the Hundredth.

The Empress's death had nothing to do with Tang Luo and the others, yet the two were also being secretly investigated.

The previous Suited Man incident — at that time, Tang Luo and Ao Yulie had exited the country openly and aboveboard.

A commercial complex was suddenly covered and shrouded in black mist, visibility zero, witness count over ten thousand — a continuation of the previous Suited Man appearances.

What did this signify?

It signified that spiritual energy had revived!

Those two mysterious people were definitely pioneers of the spiritual energy revival, specially handling all manner of monsters and demons born from the revival.

Mm, from a certain perspective, it actually seemed perfectly fine.

Tang Luo did want to probe the truth behind the Empress's transformation, not take the "Approaching Science" route and just pin the blame on someone.

He asked for the location where the Empress had drowned back then, but the problem was the drowning location was extremely awkward — it was in a bathtub.

That's right, the Empress drowned in a bathtub, making Tang Luo suspect her real name might be Yi Daxiong.

This bathtub certainly wasn't an ordinary square household tub, but a circular bathing pool.

The specific drowning process, the Empress could no longer recall clearly; being able to state the location already counted as the old lady's extraordinary performance.

It was only because that drowning was a turning point in her life, allowing her to absorb others' life force to survive, that she remembered the location so stubbornly.

It hadn't been forgotten with the passage of time, but even so, all she could retain was a single location.

The lives the Empress had devoured were not few, yet they merely maintained her at the level of delaying aging.

They didn't grant her powerful combat strength; of course, being able to turn people into salted fish is an extremely terrifying ability in itself, and she doesn't actually need strong combat power.

For other gods and demons walking the world wanting to deal with the Empress.

The best method is to not step into her domain, snipe from afar, direct headshot.

Once you step into her salted fish domain, you'll definitely be affected, turning into a morning university monk, "growing" on the bed unable to get up.

The Empress is a composite of extreme strength and extreme weakness; without prior investigation, charging in blindly like Tang Luo, the most likely outcome is getting your own head battered and bloody.

Kids, don't imitate Elder Tang; it's easy to get into trouble.

The place where the Empress drowned back then was replanned and transformed into a road decades ago.

No expert can manage to drown in the middle of a highway — unless there's a massive flood.

There have been a few car accidents.

But because too much time has passed, it's simply impossible to verify whether those who had accidents here underwent any special changes afterward.

So, Tang Luo and the others temporarily set the matter aside.

A week passed in a flash; the Empress was buried, the new Emperor ascended the throne, everything calm and peaceful.

After all, just a mascot, and a "normal death" at that; the truth would only hide beneath the calm surface, not stirring any waves.

Ao Yulie, however, was in high spirits: "Master, that Lu Xiuqi really does have a problem."

A salted fish wants to flip over, prove that it can be a salted fish but also leap the Dragon Gate and exert enormous effect.

"Oh?"

"That reporter's phone got through, but a different person answered. I specifically investigated — the one who answered later is the true owner of the number, and he's used it for many years." Ao Yulie said.

"That reporter gave us a fake number." Tang Luo said.

This is normal too; judging from his final performance, Lu Xiuqi probably just wanted to find a suitable target to dump the blame on.

In fact, he succeeded.

Just leaving a fake number — basic operation, nothing much.

"The number's true owner is also named Lu Xiuqi, also a reporter, just looks different." Ao Yulie said, "He didn't just assume the number, but the identity too. Master, you're an expert in this area; did you feel at the time that Lu Xiuqi was lying, concealing his identity?"

"No." Tang Luo shook his head. Lu Xiuqi's behavior was perfectly normal.

"That's exactly it!" Ao Yulie clapped his hands. "Total deception, face-to-face — we couldn't have missed any tell. This reporter is definitely no ordinary person."

"Have Gouzi find him." Tang Luo said.

Xiaotian Quan remembers Lu Xiuqi's scent; he can track this guy down.

Originally hoping he could provide more leads, now it looks like it might be another anomalous incident as well.

"I already took Gouzi to search yesterday." Ao Yulie said.

Slacking off feels good for a moment, but if you want to keep slacking off, Master might get angry and then you can't slack anymore — so during this period Ao Yulie had to work hard, harder, and harder still.

Then find a suitable time to slack off again.

"Gouzi is absolutely certain — the phone number's owner, the real Lu Xiuqi and the fake Lu Xiuqi we met, smell exactly the same." Ao Yulie said.

"Oh?" Tang Luo looked at Xiaotian Quan lying in the room.

Xiaotian Quan sensed Tang Luo's gaze, lifted his head and nodded, indicating Ao Yulie was right.

Those two people smell the same.

"Let's go take a look." Tang Luo stood up, stretching his body.

Ao Yulie, feeling he'd worked hard enough these past few days, didn't follow this time, staying behind to watch the house.

Slapping a Flight Talisman on himself, Tang Luo soared through the high sky, with Xiaotian Quan leading the way, arriving at the destination.

It was the local newspaper office, bustling with people coming and going, quite lively.

After some thought, Tang Luo didn't reveal himself directly — by now, he and Ao Yulie were more or less "local celebrities."

Mainly because both their looks were too striking, and that night's video had spread quite a bit before being deleted.

Anyone paying attention to this sort of thing might find the two of them familiar.

And reporters with sufficient sensitivity would mostly be able to recognize the two of them.

Tang Luo had considered that if no new anomalous incidents turned up after a while, he might as well openly open a Kai Guang Society.

Mobilize the power of the masses, from the masses, to the masses, to better accomplish the mission.

Entering an invisible state, Tang Luo arrived at the real Lu Xiuqi's location.

A decently spacious room, the newspaper office's own activity room, with two treadmills and some exercise equipment.

Lu Xiuqi was running on a treadmill alone.

As a reporter, naturally one must run fast and have good stamina — on one hand, to better chase news.

On the other hand, it's no longer the era of "reporters, uncrowned kings" — because some colleagues, for the sake of performance, pulled shameless stunts, causing the media's and reporters' social standing and public credibility to drop considerably.

If one runs into a hot-tempered type and gets chased, running fast can mean taking one less beating.

Tang Luo revealed himself, stood behind Lu Xiuqi, and said: "Reporter Lu."

Lu Xiuqi jumped, nearly falling off the treadmill — Tang Luo caught him just in time.

Once steady, he looked at Tang Luo and said: "Who are you? If you have any leads— wait! It's you!"

He recognized Tang Luo.

"It's me." Tang Luo smiled.

Very quickly, Lu Xiuqi calmed down, none of his initial excitement remaining, even looking rather listless — if it were a week ago, seeing Tang Luo, this "major breaking news," appear before his eyes, he would surely have been thrilled beyond measure.

But now...

Orders had already come down from above — the mall incident that night and the suited man incident from the past few days were to be cold-handled across the board, no reporting allowed.

Even if Lu Xiuqi gave Tang Luo an exclusive interview, he could only hide under his covers in the dead of night and read it himself.

Once published, his job would be gone.

"What do you want with me? Those two people that night — were you?" Lu Xiuqi's curiosity naturally wouldn't be extinguished just because he couldn't report on it.

Interview first — who knows when the higher-ups might lift the ban.

"It was me." Tang Luo said. "There are some abnormal things that exist in this world."

"I believe it." Lu Xiuqi said. "That day I was right outside the mall, personally saw that black mist pour down like flowing water, sealing off the entire building, that suited man was climbing up there."

That day, Lu Xiuqi's worldview suffered a massive shock.

"Then do you still remember what happened after?" Tang Luo asked.

"After?" Lu Xiuqi said.

"After that we met, chatted in a cafe — do you remember?" Tang Luo asked.

"Huh?" Lu Xiuqi's eyes went wide. "What?"