At first, only the wind blew in the winding river valley...

The strong wind whipped up waves on the river surface, and the vegetation on the river valley cliffs rustled.

Above the sky, a young girl in a peacock green dress sat on a throne formed by a flock of Magpies and crows, lazily looking down at the coal mine urban legend shrouded in wind. Her expression was indifferent, and her gaze drifted towards Gu Niang, who had not yet recovered from motion sickness on the cliff, as if in thought.

Compared to the invaders, she seemed more interested in this Hua City Night Watch’s number one operative.

Is her authority related to humanity's malicious perception of fungi?

What kind of “genius” would think of using such a symbol to draw a Spirit Mark and gain power?

Ju Meng thought, and her fair, small hands, like a bird flapping its wings, lightly swung back and forth a few times, stirring up a storm.

A terrifying gale suddenly blew, carrying sand and stones, engulfing the thick smoke floating in the air, and raising a gray-black vortex that galloped along the river valley’s path.

Wherever it passed, the coal mine urban legend, summoned by the incomplete Hydrocarbon Heavenly God, were brutally pulled out of the water by the storm, thrown high into the sky. Their massive, ferocious bodies, in the face of the brutal Calamity, were as light as tiny scraps of paper, constantly being ravaged by the sand, river water, and green Spirit Energy carried within the storm.

Of course, there were also mushrooms.

Under the intentional urging of the authority symbolizing reproduction, a bizarre scene unfolded.

High in the sky, amidst the storm, dense mycelia spread.

The storm seemed to be endowed with an activity that defied the laws of nature, becoming a giant cultivation device, allowing colorful giant mushrooms to greedily absorb nutrients from the river water and the flesh and blood of the coal mine urban legend, growing wildly, and then returning viscous liquid with strong hallucinogenic and highly toxic effects to the survivors.

Watching such a sight, Li Xuan, who was supposed to be the main force in this battle to stop the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons but unexpectedly only acted as a driver, was lost in thought.

“Is that the legendary Ju Meng?”

“There was intelligence that she might appear in Hua City after the Disaster’s demise, but I didn't expect her to actually appear and help stop the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.”

“It's simply incredible...” Li Xuan thought.

Under the storm unleashed by Ju Meng and the poisonous mushrooms she cultivated using Gu Niang's authority, the urban legend that came in droves with the incomplete Hydrocarbon Heavenly God, triggering the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, suffered heavy losses.

But the Hydrocarbon Heavenly God, with its incomplete authority, was still fleeing.

It dove deeper, almost to the deepest part of the river, its shadow radiating a vast and obscure Spirit Energy fluctuation. After losing the cover of the swarming coal mine urban legend, it twisted rapidly, as if struggling to move forward, intending to evade the observation of the Calamity level grand urban legend in the sky.

Wherever it passed, it left a dark trail, as if swept by an ink-dipped brush. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The storm unleashed by Ju Meng swept across the river surface several times, trying to lift it from beneath the surface, but it deftly dodged each time.

Occasionally, when struck by the storm that penetrated the river, it would immediately sever a part of its body, like a gecko breaking its tail, and then, as it continued to move forward, it would absorb pollution from the river water to repair itself.

Seeing such a scene, Ju Meng felt a surge of irritation, and an inexplicable urge to “spend money” to win.

As a seasoned gamer, she could accept difficult bosses, but not frustrating “trash mobs” that were hard to deal with.

Among the myriad urban legend authorities, there were indeed some that were not very strong in power, but were particularly annoying.

And this incomplete Hydrocarbon Heavenly God was a typical “trash mob.”

Facts proved that spending money, even for a Calamity level urban legend, was addictive. Once you started, there would be countless more times.

However, she quickly curbed the impulse in her heart.

“No, Turtle Elder and the others aren't having an easy time either, so I'll just bear with it!”

“Besides, to deal with such a small fry, I'm already thinking of spending money before even using my full strength. What about my reputation as the mighty Lord Ju Meng?”

Ju Meng thought, and slowly stood up.

Just as she was about to exert her full power, a joyous sound of gongs and drums suddenly reached her ears. Following the sound, she saw a thick fog had risen on the distant river surface at some point, and within the fog, a huge Ship (tower boat) with large red lanterns could be vaguely seen, breaking through the waves.

“Where did this uninvited guest come from? Trying to pick up scraps, are we? To do such a thing in front of me, aren't you a bit too bold?”

Ju Meng tilted her head. Just as she categorized the strange ship emitting eerie Spirit Energy as an enemy, her spiritual sense detected that the churning river water seemed to have been paused, and the incomplete Hydrocarbon Heavenly God fleeing in the water also seemed to be stuck in mud, its body suddenly halting.

“Huh? That ship is actually an ally?”

“Is it also Lu Yibei's friend?”

“Why didn't that guy ever mention having such a friend before?”

After muttering a few complaints, Ju Meng quickly regained her composure and activated her authority.

As Spirit Energy surged, the surrounding air vibrated violently. The churning storm vortex nearby pulsed and shook, extending violent branches that tore through the sky like an iron-colored giant arm, piercing through the sky and water, plunging into the river, seizing the incomplete Hydrocarbon Heavenly God, and pulling it with all its might.

“You can't escape now!” Ju Meng said softly.

As her voice fell, the roar of the storm exploded in mid-air, and the river surface shattered in response. A mountain-like figure was pulled by the storm, flying out of the surging muddy waves and flung into the sky.

“Ugh... What the hell is that? Has Hua City always hidden such a thing?” Li Xuan, watching from afar, made a sound of physical discomfort upon seeing the giant creature pulled out of the water by the storm.

It was a mass of dark, glistening forms. Tiny coal cinders, like fish scales, sparsely covered its massive body. Beneath an unknown membrane, its flesh was as viscous as sludge.

Just looking at its body made one uncontrollably associate it with substances containing large amounts of hydrocarbons, such as petroleum, peat, and asphalt. But unlike those commonly seen in industry, it, or rather they, were “alive.”

Its slimy, cold surface continuously rolled and surged, briefly transforming into various shapes and structures. Vaguely, one could discern the shapes of reptiles, giant fish, algae, and coelenterates, making it seem like an aggregate of ancient creatures' vengeful spirits.

The next moment, before Li Xuan could observe the incomplete Hydrocarbon Heavenly God further, the storm surging from all directions, like a dragon soaring across the sky, enveloped its body, tearing and gnawing at it repeatedly.

Immediately after, a faint green glow appeared at the hideous wounds torn open by the storm.

Various bacteria and fungi, widely present in corners invisible to the naked eye, found a “suitable” carbon source. Propelled by the authority of reproduction, they multiplied at an astonishing speed that defied natural laws, furiously producing rhamnolipids capable of decomposing carbon sources. In an instant, they gnawed the wounds deeper and larger.

Then, the storm surged and rotated, brutally crushing.

For a time, a black, viscous liquid like petroleum rained down.

Toxic fumes with a pungent odor permeated the air...

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After a long while.

After the flesh and blood of the incomplete Hydrocarbon Heavenly God were completely devoured by the wildly proliferating bacteria and fungi, and the thick smoke gradually dissipated, Ju Meng slowly descended onto the river surface under Li Xuan's gaze.

Her toes lightly touched the ink-colored river surface, creating ripples. A gentle breeze surrounded her, dispelling the toxic gases in the air, and making her skirt flutter. Coupled with the crows and Magpies flapping their wings and flying all over the sky, she looked like a fairy falling into an ink wash painting.

“Huh? What's going on?”

She leaned slightly to take the urban legend' core sent by the strong wind, opened her fair five fingers, and carefully observed it. After clearly seeing the urban legend' core in her palm and sensing the Spirit Energy fluctuations coming from within, Ju Meng let out a surprised sound.

That spherical urban legend' core, shaped like a lump of refined coal and emitting a special luster, was incomplete, seemingly cut off by an unknown force by one-third.

It was hard to imagine that a urban legend, after losing one-third of its urban legend' core, would not only not die on the spot but also greatly increase its strength and come to Hua City to cause trouble.

This was as incredible as a human losing one-third of their heart and still being full of vitality and bouncing around.

“Could it be this crystal causing trouble?” Ju Meng muttered softly, poking with her finger the crystal attached to the missing part of the urban legend' core, fixed by a circle of iron-colored unknown metal, and gradually turning into dust and dissipating.

It was a crystal she had never seen before, exhibiting the transparent luster of high-purity natural diamonds, crystal clear and remarkably beautiful. It made one wonder if the incomplete Hydrocarbon Heavenly God had found another way to condense diamond-related authority during its escape from Hua City.

However, when Ju Meng's fingertips touched those crystals, she immediately realized that those crystals had nothing to do with diamonds.

Along with a hidden and foul Spirit Energy emanating from her fingertips, a series of uncomfortable information flashed through her mind: ruins left by aggressive wars, dirty streets full of drug abuse, irreconcilable hatred caused by various chaotic oppositions, decay, chaos, panic.

For a moment, she even glimpsed the tragic scene of herself, without changing her authority, ultimately corrupting and degenerating, dragging the entire Taoyuan, along with the entire Tang City and surrounding areas, into the abyss.

In an instant, she felt a chill down her spine.

Suddenly snapping back to reality, she withdrew her hand and looked at the urban legend' core in her hand, only to find that the diamond-like crystals attached to it had completely disintegrated into pale dust, and the iron-colored metal ring had also begun to crumble.

Numbers, an hourglass, a sword-wielder, a trapped beast... Before Ju Meng could even memorize the tiny patterns on the iron-colored metal ring, the metal ring completely turned into pale fine sand, silently scattering onto the river surface and disappearing without a trace.

And the remaining two-thirds of the urban legend' core also became dim and lusterless, as if its Spirit Energy had been drained, looking almost identical to an ordinary lump of refined coal.

“???”

What on earth ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) is going on?

Has this guy's urban legend' core been modified by someone?

But, modifying a urban legend' core... Is that even possible?

“Isn't that a bit too outrageous?” Ju Meng thought.

Evidently, the bizarre situation appearing on the incomplete Hydrocarbon Heavenly God had already exceeded her understanding...

—

Hua City, Happiness Community.

“...That's pretty much it. They're all my dependents, so it's normal for them to be affectionate. Don't overthink it later.” Lu Yibei explained to Nanling Yaohua as she walked deeper into the parking lot.

After listening to Lu Yibei's words, Nanling Yaohua, who was lightly sitting on her shoulder, pondered for a moment with one hand supporting her chin, then picked up a pen and paper and began to write rustlingly.

A few seconds later, a small notebook with the words 【What about Ju Meng?】 was handed to Lu Yibei.

On the way here, Lu Yibei had mentioned Ju Meng when introducing the girls she might meet, but unlike when she mentioned Du Sixian and Mengmeng, Lu Yibei was particularly vague and brief when mentioning Ju Meng. To some extent, it was not much better than the “omitted” in a reference answer.

Adhering to the principle of “the bigger the matter, the fewer the words,” even without relying on so-called “woman's intuition,” she could tell that Ju Meng's relationship with Lu Yibei was definitely much closer than with Du Sixian and Mengmeng.

“Uh...” Lu Yibei hesitated. Before she could think of an answer, a mischievous smile flashed in Nanling Yaohua's eyes, and she handed over a new question.

【I understand! Between Ju Meng and the limping girl, who is closer to you?】

Upon seeing this question, Lu Yibei's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she became even more conflicted and hesitant.

Who was closer?

She had truly never thought about this question.

“Stop! What are you doing?!”

Just as Lu Yibei was cornered by Nanling Yaohua's question, a loud shout rang out, timely rescuing her.

Following the sound, she saw a half-human-tall weasel in a security uniform and a large Eyeball about the size of a washbasin floating in mid-air, blocking their way.

Seeing her soul-searching question mercilessly interrupted, Nanling Yaohua glared fiercely at the Eyeball and the weasel urban legend, then sighed silently.

“...”

“Forget it, I pretty much have an idea now anyway.”

“If I ask any more, that guy will probably start spouting nonsense again, right?”

“Although I can tell Ju Meng is very close to her, she shouldn't be closer than the limping girl, right?” Nanling Yaohua thought.

The scene she witnessed firsthand in Dream City, of Lu Yibei flutter (pouncing) into Jiang Li's arms and wailing, was still fresh in her memory. She subconsciously believed that Jiang Li was the unique presence in Lu Yibei's heart, and even if other people or urban legend had some competitiveness, they were not as threatening as Jiang Li.

“When did you grow so big?” Lu Yibei's gaze lingered on the Eyeball for a moment, then she cupped her hands with a poker face, following the routine she had practiced many times in her mind, and said, “I am Blue Yi. I have an important matter to discuss with Lord Ju Meng... As far as I know, she should be inside, right?”

“What Blue Yi or Green Yi? Is Lord Ju Meng someone you can just meet?” the Eyeball said arrogantly. “Get lost! Our Hua City... uh, Lord Ju Meng?”

Seeing the Eyeball's words suddenly interrupted by Ju Meng's name, Lu Yibei froze for a moment. Immediately after, her spiritual sense detected a familiar Spirit Energy fluctuation. She quickly turned around and saw a sleek, majestic Magpie flying through the air.

Getting closer and closer, when the Magpie was about three or four meters away from her, a faint green glow suddenly appeared on its body, and its figure grew with the wind. In a breath, it transformed into a well-proportioned young girl and pounced into her arms.

Then, she wrapped her arms around Lu Yibei's neck and her legs around her waist, locking on tightly like an octopus hunting its prey.

“You damn dog, you're finally here. Do you know how long I've been waiting?”

As she spoke, immense force erupted from her limbs, and a bone-crushing pain suddenly descended upon Lu Yibei's body.

However, only Lu Yibei knew her suffering. Nanling Yaohua, seeing such a scene, only felt that they were overly intimate, and in her heart, she silently gave a “6” (a Chinese internet slang for 'awesome' or 'impressive', often used ironically).