The scene before her eyes was dim and gloomy, shrouded in a fiery halo, like a documentary playing, but the picture was even more blurry and ethereal.

In a cramped space less than twenty square meters, filled with clutter, Yu Yinchuan, tall and well-dressed, held a silver revolver in his gloved right hand, his expression uncharacteristically cold, while Zhongliu God, at whom the gun was pointed, seemed to be from a different world, a stark contrast.

Zhongliu God was already very old, looking much older than his portrait in the files; wrinkles piled up wantonly on his sallow, bluish skin, with scabs, abscesses, and even lividity hidden in the folds of his skin.

“Don’t, don’t kill me! I don’t know anything, spare me! Aren’t we friends? You know, I’m about to completely disappear...”

He cried out in terror, his back hunched into an exaggerated curve, trembling uncontrollably, his slender, thin hands flailing ceaselessly. Coupled with his abnormally distended abdomen, he looked like a toad thrown onto a scorching hot griddle, screaming in pain.

Tragic and comical.

“Oh, right, haven’t you always helped me? Help me this time too, let me leave this world with dignity?!”

“Although I really want to help you, but...” A ripple appeared on Yu Yinchuan’s face, but it quickly returned to coldness, “I’m sorry, my friend, this is Caishen (God of Wealth)’s command.”

“Damn it!” Hearing Yu Yinchuan mention Caishen (God of Wealth), Zhongliu God’s terrified face suddenly took on a malicious tint, “I know, I know it all! He’s afraid I’ll expose his dirty secrets with Ariel, that’s why he sent you to kill me!”

As an observer in the “future,” Lu Yibei’s heart skipped a beat, and her pupils slightly dilated when she heard this sentence.

Ariel? Wasn’t that the name of the company with that strange logo?

How could it be related to the God of Wealth... that Guardian? Lu Yibei thought.

Although she had already obtained Calamity-level power through the Goddess Beiling Seal, to be safe and avoid being sensed by that Guardian, she still avoided directly calling Caishen (God of Wealth)’s name in her mind the moment the two characters flashed through her thoughts.

“You talk too much!” As if provoked by Zhongliu God’s words, Yu Yinchuan took a step forward with a fierce expression, roughly pushed Zhongliu God onto the dirty sofa, stepped on his chest, brutally shoved the muzzle of the revolver into Zhongliu God’s mouth, and then pulled the trigger.

“Bang—!”

The gunshot roared, the muzzle spewing fire, and the spiritual energy fluctuation caused by the #45 solidified Spell bullet was fleeting.

Zhongliu God’s back of the head was instantly torn apart by the solidified Spell bullet, and a mixture of viscous blood and brain tissue spurted out from his shattered skull, painting the yellowish wall behind him.

Looking at Zhongliu God, who had been shot in the head, Yu Yinchuan waited for a moment, seemingly to confirm whether Zhongliu God was truly dead.

It wasn’t until he saw Zhongliu God’s eyes wide open, unwilling to close even in death, his body slowly leaning back and slumping onto the sofa, that he walked forward, pried open Zhongliu God’s clenched fist, placed the revolver into Zhongliu God’s hand, then adjusted the position of the muzzle and inserted it into Zhongliu God’s mouth.

Seeing this, Lu Yibei had a sudden realization.

If he killed him, then it makes sense that the urban legend died from Alchemy firearms, right?

In this country, where getting a gun is not much harder than buying a hamburger, shooting oneself is a common method of suicide. Even if this aged corpse is found later, no one should investigate too deeply, but...

What if there’s some hard-headed guy who insists on investigating to the end? Now I am Yu Yinchuan, and Yu Yinchuan is me, so wouldn’t I be taking the blame for that guy? Lu Yibei thought indignantly.

Having completed his “assassin” work, Yu Yinchuan glanced left and right, then quickly left the dirty and dilapidated basement rental room, with a distinct air of “mission accomplished, retreat and hide one’s name.”

However, as an observer, Lu Yibei noticed that his departure was not as relaxed and carefree as it appeared on the surface.

Perhaps because he had personally killed his “friend,” or because Zhongliu God had mentioned the dirty secrets of that Guardian and Ariel, Yu Yinchuan’s expression was exceptionally heavy as he left, and his gaze briefly lingered on the strange logos in the rental room.

As Yu Yinchuan left, the rental room fell into a deathly silence.

I knew it, the air in this godforsaken place had such a “strong” smell. Turns out, an ancient urban legend died here... Looking at Zhongliu God’s corpse, gradually decaying in the gloomy space, emanating the erosion of night, Lu Yibei thought with disdain.

She had thought that the past scene, glimpsed through her eyes’ special ability, should have ended here. However, when she closed her eyes, adjusted her state, and then opened them again, she was surprised to find that the past scene was still continuing.

After Zhongliu God’s demise, in the dark and oppressive rental room, everything seemed to fall into ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ a state of stillness, except for the distorted growth of fungi, absorbing Zhongliu God’s blood due to high Night erosion, and the occasional visits of rats and cockroaches.

But Lu Yibei vaguely felt a phantom and elusive power, piercing through an invisible barrier, descending into the rental room, like a mollusk so massive it could fill the entire room, constantly wriggling, with thousands of eyes, secretly peeking around.

But... where exactly was it?

Lu Yibei wondered, and then her gaze, without warning, met the eye on the old refrigerator.

It was the eye from the Ariel company logo printed on the refrigerator.

Immediately after, she clearly saw the eye on the logo blink, or rather, all the feather-encircled eyes on the Ariel company logos throughout the entire rental room blinked in unison, their pupils trembling.

In an instant, a tingling sensation rose from Lu Yibei’s spine, as if she had been electrocuted.

It was bone-chilling.

Could it be... the thing that descended into the rental room is related to the eyes on the logo?

Lu Yibei thought, looking around at the “eyes of Ariel” hidden throughout the room.

In those eyes, she saw an indescribable, captivating, and intoxicating world of debauchery.

At that moment, she had the illusion that she possessed all the wealth in the world and was omnipotent.

There was nothing she couldn’t do; if there was, it just meant she hadn’t “spent” enough!

And just as Lu Yibei was about to sink into the pleasure brought by wealth and drown in it, the intense burning pain spreading from her eyes and the chill rising from her heart, gradually extending to her limbs and bones, brought her back to reality by force.

Night was about to fall, and her body was also starting to show signs of urban legend transformation...

Fantastic!

Feeling the changes in her body, Lu Yibei was overjoyed.

She swore that ever since she swallowed the witchs egg, this was the first time she hadn’t had the slightest thought of interrupting the urban legend transformation; in fact, she was even a little impatient.

After seeing how Zhongliu God was murdered, she didn’t want to be in Yu Yinchuan’s shoes for another moment.

— — — —

Although Lu Yibei, who had suddenly become a “god-slaying murderer,” wanted to leave the crime scene quickly, before she left, the description of Zhongliu God in the files came to mind, and seeing Zhongliu God’s tragic death, she slowed her steps.

“What are you dazing for? Aren’t you leaving?” Seeing Lu Yibei stop, Nanling Yaohua raised her small notebook with a puzzled expression.

“It is said that Zhongliu God was once a kind and responsible deity... He shouldn’t be left exposed in such a dark place after his death, so...”

“So?” Nanling Yaohua tilted her head, holding up her small notebook.

“So, how about burning him?” Lu Yibei said expressionlessly, “As the murderer, it’s quite reasonable for me to destroy the crime scene, isn’t it?”

Nanling Yaohua, “...”

─ ─

Ten minutes later.

On the streets of Free City, shrouded in night.

A beautiful woman emerged from the basement entrance, which resembled a giant rat hole. She wore a fitted white shirt, its collar slightly open due to her fiery figure, a pure black tie draped diagonally around her neck, black trousers, and her light golden hair tied up high...

She looked capable and exuded an alluring aura, making the vagrants hidden in the shadows gaze longingly, their desires almost solidifying.

“Whew—!”

After breathing in slightly fresher air again, Lu Yibei let out a long sigh, turned her head to look at Nanling Yaohua floating beside her, “Xiaohua, I feel like we might have gotten ourselves into a huge mess.”

Yes.

Zhongliu God murdered by Yu Yinchuan...

Yu Yinchuan mysteriously disappeared...

The unspeakable dirty secrets between that Guardian and the logo monster...

These pieces of information combined gave her some terrifying conjectures.

For example... a traitor among the Night Watch Guardians?

If this conjecture were confirmed, what else could it be but a huge mess?

“...”

What the hell, why is this happening?

Wasn’t she supposed to be on the run as Yu Yinchuan, and incidentally help him with some simple work?

Why didn’t Nameless Book, that bastard, investigate clearly before assigning identities to others randomly? Isn’t this trying to dig someone’s grave?

Lu Yibei grumbled in her heart, only to see Nanling Yaohua, half-jokingly, half-seriously, hand her a small notebook with writing on it.

“Although I don’t know what happened, please don’t involve me.”

When did she learn such trash talk? Lu Yibei hesitated to speak, and just then, Nanling Yaohua quickly wrote another line of small characters and handed it to her.

“So, what exactly happened?”

“How should I explain it to you?” Lu Yibei tilted her head, her peripheral vision drifting towards the twenty-four-hour convenience store still open nearby, her gaze lingering on the large logo printed on the convenience store’s sign.

That logo was precisely the eye of Ariel...

No wonder it was still open at this hour, and completely unafraid of those hungry vagrants initiating “zero-dollar purchases.”

With that kind of ghost covering it, who would dare cause trouble?

Lu Yibei thought, and whispered to Nanling Yaohua, “There’s something I want to confirm.” Then she quickly walked towards the twenty-four-hour convenience store.

She wanted to confirm whether the goods sold in that convenience store were all printed with that strange logo, just like in Zhongliu God’s home.

However.

Crossing the empty road and arriving in front of the twenty-four-hour convenience store, before she even had time to walk in and check the logos on the goods on the shelves, Lu Yibei froze in place.

Through the floor-to-ceiling glass window of the twenty-four-hour convenience store, she saw a wanted poster scrolling on the TV inside the convenience store.

“Yu Yinchuan, Z Country national, code name Jin Chan Lang...”

Lu Yibei, “...”