Chapter 352

In reality.

Fang Yue opened his eyes and saw Bai Xiaoya pulling back the curtains.

As if sensing Fang Yue's gaze, Bai Xiaoya turned to look at him.

"Awake?"

"Mm."

Fang Yue glanced toward the bathroom; the sound of running water came from inside.

"Yuan Jie is in there." After a pause, Bai Xiaoya continued: "We need to find Bai Su'e, but we can't let Yuan Jie come with us. Leaving her at the hotel isn't safe either—what do you think?"

"I thought about this last night too. I can't spare myself, and neither you nor Yuan Jie have combat ability…"

Hearing this, Bai Xiaoya frowned, but had no rebuttal.

She had a bone spear, but without any change in physical condition, its effectiveness was no different from a watermelon knife—just sharper.

"... So I thought of asking Qiu Dugu to protect you two, so I can focus on investigating this matter."

"Qiu Dugu? He's from the 【Alliance】! Aren't you afraid..."

"It's a last resort. Compared to the other two, the Alliance is clearly more reliable and has less suspicion."

Listening to Fang Yue, Bai Xiaoya clenched her fist slightly, feeling her own helplessness.

Without her status as a heiress, without her corporation's support, she was just a wealthy woman—even the money in her bank account might be frozen.

Power—Bai Xiaoya desperately wanted power, to face certain things.

Yet... in her possession, besides the bone spear, there seemed only that dull Jade Pendant around her neck.

"Curse objects—if only I could get a useful one..."

Just then, Yuan Jie came out of the bathroom humming a tune. Though her home was gone, she remained remarkably cheerful.

"Ah Yue, Xiao Ya, I took the day off work—let's go look for a new house together."

The optimistic Yuan Jie bounced as she spoke.

A house... this wasn't about a house anymore.

Fang Yue told Yuan Jie to stay at the hotel these days and not go to work, then called Qiu Dugu.

After their last parting, they had exchanged contact information.

Soon, the call connected.

"Fang Yue?"

"Yeah, it's me. I need to trouble you with something."

"Say it plainly—I haven't properly thanked you for what happened at Jiangyun Temple yesterday."

"I'd like you to protect my two friends. They're currently at Tian Ao Jiu Dian."

"Protect? At a hotel? What happened?"

"Something did come up, but I can handle it myself."

"... Alright, then I won't ask further. Give me the hotel name and room number—I'll send someone to handle it."

He said he'd send someone, but barely ten minutes later, when a knock came at the door, Fang Yue saw Qiu Dugu himself.

"Why did you come yourself?"

"If I'm here, isn't that the best protection?" Qiu Dugu smiled.

He stepped in and glanced at the two girls in the room: "It's her... and another unfamiliar face."

"Yeah, that's them."

Bai Xiaoya then told Yuan Jie to return to her room and stood aside, watching the two men.

Qiu Dugu said: "Don't worry—as long as I'm here, no one can touch them so much as a hair."

He paused, then looked at Fang Yue.

"Also, I checked—your place had an explosion? I don't usually pay attention to ordinary incidents, but I can give you a hint—the explosion last night had nothing to do with curse objects."

Nothing to do with curse objects?

Fang Yue frowned slightly; Bai Xiaoya perked up her ears.

"How are you certain?"

Qiu Dugu said nothing, instead pulling out a pocket watch.

It resembled a medieval European design; some of its engravings looked familiar, faintly similar to the 【Clock of Returning Time】 in the game.

But that was all.

Because unlike a normal pocket watch, this one had no hour, minute, or second markings—instead, it embedded a device resembling a thermometer.

"10.5%? What is this? Today's humidity?"

Fang Yue asked, puzzled.

Qiu Dugu shook his head slightly: "This is the Regional Curse Level. Whenever a curse or curse object affects our region, the reading rises; if handled properly, it drops. After last night's incident, the Curse Level remained stable. So your home's explosion had nothing to do with curses—it was caused by conventional means within our normal understanding."

As he spoke, Qiu Dugu placed the device into Fang Yue's hand.

Fang Yue:???

"What do you mean? You're giving it to me?"

"Not a gift—I need a partner. Ma Shaoku is dead. I've recommended you to the higher-ups." Qiu Dugu looked at Fang Yue earnestly.

But Fang Yue's heart lurched.

"Uh... I think being on my own is fine."

"Benefits won't be withheld. Join the 【Alliance】, and your family and friends will have no worries."

It sounded somewhat tempting.

But... the Parchment matter isn't over—isn't this walking into the tiger's mouth?

"I'll do it!"

While Fang Yue was still agonizing over here, Bai Xiaoya suddenly spoke up.

Under the stunned gazes of the two, Bai Xiaoya walked up to Qiu Dugu, looked this man who was a head taller than her in the eye, and said: "If Fang Yue won't join the United Front, then let me take his place. I want to join the United Front. As a condition, I want you to help me track down someone."

Fang Yue instantly understood what Bai Xiaoya meant.

A Ming's side could no longer provide any help.

To search for Bai Su'e's whereabouts, relying on the United Front to help find someone was a strategy they had considered before.

"You?"

Qiu Dugu frowned slightly, then shook his head: "The United Front isn't a charity. With your strength, even if you join the United Front, you can't become my partner or take his place. And, to be honest, the United Front's reserve of ordinary members is more than you imagine. Strong combat artists, sharpshooters, sprint champions… every one of them is more outstanding and remarkable than you. You don't even qualify to enter the United Front."

The United Front stands at the pinnacle of Jianghai City, with countless talents swarming to it; among ten thousand people, there may not be one who can be specially selected into the United Front.

Without her background, Bai Xiaoya was indeed somewhat lacking among such a vast sea of talent.

But Fang Yue felt that in terms of disposition, Bai Xiaoya was still quite outstanding.

At the very least, not just anyone could face an existence like the Charred Corpse and attack it without changing expression; that kind of mental fortitude is beyond ordinary people.

Hearing that she couldn't join the United Front, Bai Xiaoya's expression dimmed somewhat.

Fang Yue sighed, took the pocket watch used to check the Weirdness Level, and handed it back to Qiu Dugu: "Bai Xiaoya won't work, and it's really inconvenient for me, so…"

But Qiu Dugu grabbed Fang Yue's hand, did not take the pocket watch, and just looked at Fang Yue, slowly opening his mouth to say something that nearly made Fang Yue's hair stand on end.

"President Qian told me today that the Transcendence-class Weird Object 【Sheepskin】 is on you, and told me to kill you and recover the Sheepskin."

(End of this chapter)