11:00 a.m.
After learning that Chen Miemie had woken up, Dentist came up to the fourth floor.
“Chen Miemie, I think I need to revise the itinerary I planned earlier. You slept through the entire morning!”
According to her original schedule, they should have already finished visiting one attraction by now.
Chen Miemie wholeheartedly agreed. “You’re right. We shouldn’t pack the itinerary too tightly. We can start each day around noon and visit just one attraction. Where should we go for lunch today?”
Dentist had realized that Chen Miemie was a fellow hidden foodie, someone who cared more about food than sightseeing.
As the two of them went downstairs, they unexpectedly encountered a middle-aged man with a haggard complexion.
The man was dressed in a long robe. When he saw them, he looked somewhat flustered and quickened his pace, hurrying past them.
Dentist frowned slightly. She felt as if she had seen the man somewhere before, but she couldn’t remember where for the moment.
The man was a tenant on the third floor, and he soon disappeared around the corner of the stairwell.
Chen Miemie didn’t pay much attention to it. Running into other guests at an inn was perfectly normal. In fact, if they stayed there for several days without encountering a single other guest in the corridors, that would be the strange thing.
By the time they reached the first floor, Dentist, who had been struggling to recall where she had seen him, finally matched the man’s image with someone in her memory.
“So it was him!”
The completely unprompted remark left Chen Miemie confused. “Who?”
Dentist didn’t explain to Chen Miemie. Instead, she stared at A-Lin behind the front desk.
“A-Lin, the man on the third floor—you actually let him hide in the inn? Aren’t you afraid of getting yourself into trouble?”
A-Lin hurriedly raised an index finger to his lips, signaling Dentist to lower her voice.
“He once helped me, so I want to help him in return. Sister Dentist, please don’t tell anyone.”
From their brief exchange, Chen Miemie quickly pieced everything together.
A-Lin had apparently provided the man with a place to stay and was even helping him conceal his whereabouts.
This seemed to have nothing to do with Chen Miemie, and he had no intention of prying into anyone else’s secrets.
Unfortunately, even if he didn’t go looking for trouble, trouble came looking for him.
A tiny spider crawled out of his pocket, its forelegs carrying a web-wrapped object.
Red’s voice sounded beside his ear.
“This is a small beetle that flew off the man just now. It tried to hide itself on you.”
Chen Miemie picked apart the web, revealing a small beetle inside. He then placed the beetle on the front desk.
“Tell your friend that I have no intention of meddling in his affairs, but he shouldn’t throw bugs at people anymore.”
Dentist and A-Lin immediately recognized the beetle.
“A shell beetle!”
Dentist’s expression turned cold. “In that case, as a fellow witness, I should have one on me too.”
A-Lin’s face filled with apology. “I’ll go tell him to call the beetles back.”
Dentist shook her head. “Since he’s already made his move, I can’t simply hope he’ll stop. I’ll deal with it myself. Chen Miemie, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for me. I need to take a shower and change clothes.”
“You seem to know this beetle. Is it dangerous?” Chen Miemie hadn’t sensed any danger from it.
“The shell beetle isn’t a natural organism. It’s an artificial mechanical construct, a fusion of machinery and [Mystery]. It has no offensive capabilities, but if it hides on someone, it can secretly record conversations and track their movements. Once it’s retrieved, everything we’ve said and everywhere we’ve been will be exposed.”
A-Lin apologized again. “He may have released the beetles because he was afraid you would expose him. If he senses that something is wrong, he’ll leave immediately.”
Chen Miemie waved his hand. “Let him leave directly. Once suspicion arises, it will never end. Besides, he was the one who let down his guard in the corridor and failed to keep his hood on. After it detected me, I wouldn’t have been out of line to kill it immediately.”
A-Lin thought for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll arrange for him to leave today.”
In fact, even without Chen Miemie bringing it up, A-Lin had already planned to move the man elsewhere yesterday. He simply hadn’t found another place for him to hide, so the matter had been delayed. With Chen Miemie’s arrival, his inn had entered the sight of various factions and was no longer suitable as a hiding place.
Dentist needed to shower and change clothes. Since she was large in stature, all her clothes were specially made for her, so she first returned home.
The round trip would take at least an hour.
Chen Miemie therefore decided to find a small restaurant nearby and have lunch on his own.
When he returned after eating, he found the man from earlier standing outside the door to his room on the fourth floor.
The man turned around when he noticed Chen Miemie approaching.
“Hello, Mr. Chen Mie Mie. I’m Niu Dun. Things happened so suddenly just now that I didn’t recognize you. I apologize for my rash behavior.”
Chen Miemie nodded. “You’re the person A-Lin was trying to shelter. I had no intention of retaliating against you.”
The nervousness on Niu Dun’s face eased slightly. “I came here this time with another request. I want to join you, Mr. Chen.”
Chen Miemie was somewhat surprised. This was the first human being to come and seek refuge with him of their own accord.
“My organization operates by invitation only. We don’t accept unsolicited applications.”
Chen Miemie’s reasoning was simple. Everyone he invited was someone he had carefully assessed and knew thoroughly. Anyone who suddenly showed up at his door seeking employment was bound to have complicated motives, and he couldn’t be bothered to investigate them one by one.
Niu Dun hadn’t expected that this would be the reason for his rejection. He looked disappointed.
“What a shame. I thought a new species recruiting capable people would keep its doors wide open, gather the best from everywhere, and welcome all talented individuals. I never expected you wouldn’t give outsiders a chance.”
Chen Miemie could tell that most of the remark was genuine regret, while a small part was meant to provoke him.
He didn’t mind whether it was a provocation or not. Instead, he asked with interest, “So you consider yourself a ‘great talent’?”
Niu Dun straightened his collar.
“I’m the former dean of [Wavefoam Harbor] School, as well as the former dean and chief researcher of the Academy of Sciences.
“Most of the introductory textbooks and research manuals currently used for mechanical studies were compiled by me.
“For ten consecutive years, even while I was wanted by the authorities, I remained one of the Ten Most Outstanding Scientists of the Hundred Cities.”
Chen Miemie thought the last claim sounded a little exaggerated. Choosing ten people from a hundred cities meant there was, on average, only one for every ten cities. The honor probably carried even more weight than [Mystery] 7, let alone the fact that he had supposedly won it for ten years in a row.
“The Ten Most Outstanding Scientists of the Hundred Cities? Who selected them?”
Niu Dun’s expression turned strange. “The Scholars’ Court, an official organization of the Moon Library—the City of Knowledge and Wisdom.”
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
