"Bang—Bang—!"

Lu Yibei, engulfed in darkness, heard the violent banging on the door from outside.

With just two or three bangs, the door lock let out a “whine,” and the waiting room door opened, followed by a cacophony of footsteps and conversations, one after another.

"Strange, why isn't William here?"

"Damn it! Intermission is in a few minutes, shouldn't he already be here putting on makeup and changing clothes?"

"Could it be that he was attacked by that guy who snuck into the Theater?"

"You two, go check the passage..."

Hearing the people outside about to enter, Lu Yibei, who was observing from the shadows in the passage, tensed up and quickly stopped her eavesdropping.

The entire passage extended straight forward with no forks, offering no place to hide. To avoid direct contact with the intruders in the waiting room, she could only continue deeper into the passage.

The passage was somewhat narrow; there was some room for one person, but two side-by-side would be a tight squeeze. Its height was also no more than two meters. Perhaps due to poor air circulation, there was always a faint, unpleasant smell of dust mixed with mold constantly irritating her nostrils.

The dim light, the oppressive space, the distant, intermittent footsteps and muffled whispers from behind, and the sweeping beams of flashlights, like cold light from a ferocious beast's eyes... Being in such an environment, it was hard to remain calm.

A year ago, Lu Yibei would have long since fallen into a state of panic, but now, having seen many storms, she was completely unperturbed. She could even skillfully navigate the blind spots of her pursuers with her agile movements, premonitions, and the cover of darkness.

Sometimes she crawled along the ceiling, sometimes she lightly followed the sweeping light beams, her figure swaying, and sometimes she used the color change of her Coat to disappear into the shadows.

From the perspective of the two pursuers, it felt like something was vaguely present nearby, yet they couldn't see it with their eyes, hear it with their ears, or even sense it with their Psychic.

That feeling was like knowing there were mice in the house, sometimes even hearing faint rustling sounds, but just never seeing the mice themselves.

"Lei, why do I feel a little scared? Is there some urban legend in here?"

"Shut up... I'm scared too!"

Lu Yibei, "..."

That's it? With this level of pursuers, I could play hide-and-seek with them all day!

If you want to catch me, please send some more capable guys, okay? Lu Yibei thought.

However, her triumph did not last long and was soon shattered by cruel reality.

There was no more path ahead; in just a few minutes, she had reached the end of the passage.

"This..." Lu Yibei turned, one hand on the cold wall, looking in the direction of the approaching footsteps, frowning and muttering softly, "Do I have to resort to force? Throw them into the God Kingdom Prototype too."

After saying this, she suddenly felt a bit exasperated herself.

Other people's God Kingdoms were either carried as a backup source of Psychic, or special spaces for raising believers, or even powerful weapons like the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate. But hers?

She kept stuffing people into it, it was practically like a human trafficker's sack for children!

Dear Ms. Wang Meili, when constructing the God Kingdom, she never thought her child would one day use Dream City as a true God Kingdom; she just wanted to give her child a happy and complete home.

But what could she do?

Lu Yibei couldn't bring herself to kill people at the slightest disagreement, or wipe out an entire family over a few displeasing words. She could only put people into the God Kingdom Prototype and let the Eclipse Society Lan Yi Party members handle them.

"William, are you ready? It's your turn to go on stage!" Almost simultaneously with Lu Yibei reaching the end of the passage, a voice suddenly came from above.

Before the words finished, a mechanical roar came from inside the adjacent wall.

Immediately after, Lu Yibei felt a sensation similar to the hypergravity of an ascending elevator.

At the same time, the shouts of the two pursuers from afar came through.

"There she is! Damn it, she took the lift to the main stage!"

"Went to the main stage? Could it be that William guy?"

"Impossible, I saw clearly, it's a woman. How could William have breasts?"

Lu Yibei, "???"

What the heck? What's going on? Is this the lift to the main stage?

Lu Yibei was momentarily stunned, watching as the passage space, accompanied by the ascent, gradually transformed into lines in her vision, then disappeared.

A few seconds later.

Breathing air mixed with the scent of alcohol and flowers, feeling the bright white light cast down from above, Lu Yibei's mind went blank for a moment, having the illusion of ascending to heaven.

She quickly scanned her surroundings, looking at the dense crowd of heads, and a sudden panic seized her.

"..."

If only I had known, I would have just gone for a direct confrontation!

What should I do now? What kind of performance does that black guy named William do?

Lu Yibei thought, her peripheral vision catching a metal pole beside her that was just the right size and dimension, and she tilted her head.

How about... I perform a pole dance for everyone?

— — — —

Angel Rose Theater, first floor, outermost edge of the dance floor.

Vivian stared intently at the woman on the lift, her brows gradually furrowing.

When the woman first appeared, perhaps influenced by the lighting and makeup, Vivian initially thought she was some new host. But after a few more glances, she found the woman increasingly familiar.

Had she seen her somewhere before?

Vivian thought, and as if hallucinating, a blurry memory flashed before her eyes...

The distant Arctic Circle, an unnamed island covered by a lifeless gray forest, and on the island, a lonely and eerie wooden cabin built by unknown hands.

In the snow in front of the cabin, a man in a white cloak, with a radiant aura like the morning star, led a thin, ragged little girl and appeared before her.

"Her name is Blue Yi, and her Psychic potential ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) is excellent. She is very likely to become my 【satellite】 in the future," the man said.

The young Blue Yi, seemingly about to collapse from a harsh gust of wind, shyly bowed to her, "Please, please take care of me."

As the memory surfaced, Vivian uncontrollably tried to recall the man's appearance beneath his cloak, but his face remained shrouded in a gray mist.

After several forceful attempts to recall, her consciousness even uncontrollably drifted into confusion, as if her brain couldn't function normally after suddenly receiving a massive amount of incomprehensible and unprocessable information.

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"Vivian, do you know that guy?" Ni Miao's voice rang in her ear, pulling Vivian back from the brink of mental chaos.

She shook her head, grabbed a random iced drink from a nearby table, presumably belonging to a customer, and chugged a few gulps.

Once the iced beer, which was a panacea for her, had gone down and her state had eased somewhat, she turned her head to look at Ni Miao, who had appeared beside her at some point, and pouted, "Of course I know her, Blue Yi! The formidable boss of Angel Rose, haven't you heard of her?"

"It's boss!" Ni Miao corrected Vivian, then pinched her chin, thought for a moment, and shook her head, asking, "No, I haven't. Should I know her?"

"It's normal not to know, after all, many people thought she was already dead," Vivian explained. "Even when I first recognized her, I felt like I was seeing a living dead person crawling out of a grave!"

Yes, Blue Yi should have been dead!

Could it be that she was hiding before?

Now, hearing the news that the Elder Council was attacked by the New Elder Council and went missing, she reappeared? Vivian thought.

"Oh?" Ni Miao tilted her head, puzzled, "How are you so sure she should have died?"

Vivian rolled her eyes at Ni Miao, saying irritably, "So far, have you seen any Psychic or urban legend who, after betraying the Eclipse Society Elder Council, managed to survive completely intact?"

"What about the New Elder Council?" Ni Miao asked.

Who knows? Perhaps the means of retaliation just haven't been used yet... Vivian was silent for a moment, shook her head, and instead of directly answering Ni Miao's question, she changed the subject, saying, "Speaking of which, why are you here? Don't you usually not appear on the first floor?"

"Because of her!" Ni Miao gestured towards "Blue Yi" on the stage, "Half an hour ago, someone told me that a very dangerous person had snuck into my Theater, so of course I had to..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the urgent voice of the security guard she had sent to search came through her wireless earpiece.

"Boss, we found the intruder. She took the lift to the main stage. We are now..."

"I know," Ni Miao said with a dark expression.

"Hmm? How do you know?"

"I'm right next to the main stage now!" Ni Miao growled, clenching her fist.

Seeing this, Vivian chuckled, then silently handed her a bottle of iced beer.

— — — —

Lu Yibei only took about half a minute to figure out the situation. The black guy she had trapped in the God Kingdom Prototype worked as a warm-up host, so she didn't need to pole dance to handle the current predicament.

As she scanned her surroundings, she keenly spotted Paper Cicada Immortal and Vivian, as well as the woman beside Vivian, who had several security personnel behind her, heads bowed like children who had made a mistake, exuding a strong aura.

Is that the person in charge of the Angel Rose Theater?

Why isn't she coming to catch me?

Could it be... she doesn't want to affect the experience of other customers? That's simple then! Lu Yibei thought secretly.

Although, she was just a little girl with a bit of social anxiety.

But since the person in charge didn't care, and it was just a warm-up, what was so difficult?

If she weren't worried that these Free City folks wouldn't understand traditional Chinese performance arts, and she couldn't perform singing, dancing, rap, and basketball, she would definitely give them a show.

However, the performance Spell she had briefly learned, combined with the Alchemy prosthesis's party mode, should come in handy, right?

Taking a deep breath and adjusting her state slightly, Lu Yibei spread her arms and, without any stage fright, let out a roar like heavy metal rock to the guests.

"Good evening! My lovely cowboys, gentlemen, and handsome men!"

The guests waved their hands and whistled.

"Have our Angels made you feel love?"

As her words fell, another wave of cheers erupted from below the stage.

Jennifer, Jessica, Pussycat... shouts of various dancer stage names rose, and one person shouted particularly loudly.

"Annie! Annie!"

Glancing at Paper Cicada Immortal, who was dancing in the crowd like the original Paper Cicada Immortal, Lu Yibei quickly rolled her eyes at him with a speed imperceptible to others, then continued to shout loudly.

"Very good, your shouts prove that you feel their love, and it's clear you love them very much too! So... lost and wandering souls, are you willing to offer the roses in your hands for your Angels, to keep them by your side?"

Lu Yibei had frequently visited Shui Ge in the underground world, so she understood all the routines here. After a brief "warm-up," she quickly hit her stride.

"The first performance was just an appetizer, I know you crave more excitement! Next, offer the roses in your hands, let the Angels stay, and accompany you to sing and celebrate all night!"

Amidst her shouts, she silently activated her Psychic and released the performance Spell.

Thus, a stream of light, like fireworks ascending, rose from behind her, then bloomed beneath the main stage's ceiling, transforming into a series of dreamlike patterns.

Vibrant roses, angels blowing trumpets, sexy ladies, gushing champagne... all perfectly matched the atmosphere of the Angel Rose Theater.

At the same time, the Alchemy prosthesis's 【Party Mode Three: Music Festival】 was activated.

The hall, which had been completely dark except for the main stage, instantly erupted with passionate electronic music. Dazzling laser beams, as if unbound by the physical rules of light, twisted and danced rhythmically with the deep bass, reverberating throughout the space.

And the clever Coat, at this moment, swiftly completed its transformation.

The fitted black suit, in the blink of an eye, turned into a fiery red asymmetrical tight miniskirt.

The metal tassels on the skirt hem gently swayed.

Coat: <(￣︶￣)> I did great!

"Willing! I'm willing!"

Amidst the shouts, the stunned server stood frozen for more than ten seconds before realizing that "roses" likely referred to tickets. Only then did he carry the tray holding tickets and boarding passes, weaving between the booths.

On the other side, the lighting technician and DJ exchanged glances, seeing deep confusion in each other's eyes—"What exactly did we come here to do tonight?"

On the periphery of the crowd, Vivian watched the "Blue Yi," who was vastly different from her vague impression, her mouth twitching violently.

It felt like seeing the pure and lovely, academically excellent school beauty secretly indulging in smoking and drinking.

Did I remember wrong? Or has she changed? Vivian wondered.

Just as she was about to reach for another iced beer to clear her head, Ni Miao's voice floated over eerily.

"Is this Lan... uh, Ms. Blue Yi, always like this? She's so skilled! Can you ask her later if she's interested in working at the Angel Rose?"

Vivian, "..."