Outside this space, within the lush villa district, several figures passed through the gaps between the precious trees.
The leading figure’s chest emitted a shimmering light that shot across the void.
Yang Zicang connected to the link and saw it was from the young man responsible for liaising with him.
–Li Mi? What’s the matter at this hour?–
{Mr. Yang, you seldom return; I thought I’d come visit you and bring along some supplies for everyone.}
Yang Zicang indeed noticed he was carrying something in his hand, so he let him in.
The two people beside Li Mi remained outside, leaving him to enter alone carrying two large bags.
–Let them come in too. It’s not safe outside.–
Li Mi smiled and said, –Don’t worry, everything’s fine now.–
Mu Xiaoyu looked curiously at a small cage in Li Mi’s hand, reminiscent of a birdcage, covered with a black cloth.
–What’s that in your hand? It seems to be moving.– Mu Xiaoyu pointed at it.
–Oh, this?–
Li Mi lifted his hand and pulled aside the black cloth, revealing a small turtle inside that turned its head to look around.
Upon seeing a few people gazing at it, the sturdy, dark-green little turtle swiveled its noggin back and settled down.
–So adorable, it’s a little turtle!–
Liang Xi looked confused: –Are you planning to make turtle soup for us?–
Mu Xiaoyu glared angrily at the kid.
Yang Zicang’s mind turned, realizing what this might be for, but he hesitated slightly.
–You’re not planning to use this little guy to intimidate Lyu Bu, are you?–
Li Mi nodded solemnly.
–That’s right.–
「……」
Everyone fell into silence.
Liang Xi thought for a long time before figuring out how a turtle could stop Lyu Bu from attacking them.
–This… sounds unbelievable. Would Lyu Bu really be scared? Anyway, if it were me, I sure wouldn’t believe that crap,– Liu Ming said, wiping cold sweat.
–He has no choice but to believe it.–
After Li said this, he didn’t dwell on the topic any further, and instead introduced the stuff in the bag to the group.
The supplies were more detailed than the everyday items Yang Zicang and the others had, including band-aids, small knives, nail clippers, ear picks—everything you could think of—and each person was also given a little turtle with the bloodline of a mutated monster.
Yang Zicang took the bag. –Let’s talk inside.–
–Wait.–
Li Mi turned around to face Robin Lo. –Please step out for a moment.–
–Me?– Robin Lo pointed at himself. –I’m the host here, you know.–
Li Mi stared at him silently, without repeating himself.
Robin Lo seemed to hesitate, opening his mouth as if to speak, but in the end he just clicked his tongue and walked out.
As he passed by Li Mi, he snatched his little turtle, saying –Good kid, you actually don’t trust your ol’ gramps here.–
Li Mi looked at Liang Xi: –Please perform a Syn-Link with my team member.–
He pointed to a shadow of a leg outside the alternate space.
Liang Xi pointed a finger at Li Mi, but the next second, the Syn-Link was already speeding toward him.
–Now, let’s go upstairs and talk,– Li Mi said.
Liu Ming stuck out his tongue. Who on earth was the boss around here?
After sealing the space by returning indoors, Yang Zicang asked, –So, what is it you’re after?–
A Syn-Link shot straight toward him—the one initiating it was naturally the person in front of him.
–I’d like to borrow your time for a while. The Chronos deductions at the end of these months will be my responsibility. It shouldn’t take too long,– Li Mi said.
–What do you want to do?–
–Make something.–
Yang Zicang thought it over: –You’re gunning for Lyu Bu, aren’t you?–
–That’s right. More exactly, the one up in the sky. So it has to be kept secret. Right now, I don’t trust anyone with a Moxel to keep quiet—except for you, Mr. Yang, of course.–
So that was Li Mi’s plan: making use of these three who had no Moxel.
–Then I won’t ask anything more.–
–No harm done, Mr. Yang. What we want to build are hot air balloons. Many, many hot air balloons. I call this project ‘Sky Lanterns.’–
The Sky Lantern Project was a follow-up proposal submitted by Li Mi after successfully deterring Lyu Bu.
Several top executives at headquarters were not optimistic about this proposal, but they were interested in Li Mi’s suggestion to recruit trustworthy ordinary people without Moxel.
By this time, certain board members had already realized the importance of confidentiality.
If the secretaries and attendants around them were people without Moxel, then confidentiality work could be carried out more effectively. Although they could still receive Moxel’s financing broadcasts, those were at least passive and traceable.
–Hot air balloons attacking satellites?–
Liu Ming found it incredible: –You can attack satellites by riding hot air balloons?–
He wanted to ask if something was wrong, but held back.
Yang Zicang, who had been hanging out with Zuo Feixian for several days, gave Liu Ming a rather soothing glance.
–It’s indeed tough. On Earth, the AX-7-level hot air balloon can reach a maximum altitude of 15,000 meters, barely hitting the lowest threshold of low-orbit satellites. Yet its highest value is more than a hundred times that lowest value, let alone medium- and high-orbit satellites.–
Li Mi looked at the others and said, –But after all, what we have to deal with isn’t a real satellite, but a nightmare incarnated from satellites. Moreover, based on current observational data, its distance from the ground isn’t particularly high among satellites.–
Chang Yang looked towards Yang Zicang: –Zicang, with your acceleration ability, I’m afraid even a balloon would never reach it.–
–Well, if it’s in the air, when Matt Chao sends his train rushing out, I wonder if it would fall off.–
Yang Zicang was also pondering the feasibility, but for now, the likelihood was close to zero.
–So where should we go to make that thing you mentioned?–
–No need to go anywhere; I want to turn this place into a sub-venue. It’s just that Liang Xi might have to leave temporarily, and we’ll take over here—would that be alright?–
Li Mi politely asked Yang Zicang.
–It mainly depends on the three of them.–
The three of them thought it over for a moment and then nodded in unison.
–Then it’s settled.–
After finalizing this matter, Li Mi chatted with Yang Zicang for a while longer and once again invited him to the headquarters—or at least to try visiting the Resonance Sculpture first.
However, Yang Zicang thought of the Stamp World; worried that he might only be able to resonate with one similar sculpture, he declined Li Mi’s invitation.
People from outside came in, and everyone began a rather hearty meal. As Robin Lo poured a glass of beer for each person, a small orb of light suddenly landed on Yang Zicang’s shoulder.
The others were either stunned or stared wide-eyed at the tiny thing formed by condensed energy.
Yang Zicang turned his head to look at the little cutie on his shoulder.
–You actually managed to reach even this place?–
{You’re a celebrity, so reporters follow and document celebrities, and that’s how they can show up—hmm, yeah, that makes sense.}
–What’s this, Zi Cang? Your little pet?–
Mu Xiaoyu asked, stars practically shining in her eyes, her tone dripping with affectionate coddling.
This was a real-life Barbie doll, with features as exquisite as a fairy-tale character, skin glowing and appearing pale pink and delicate—many times cuter than any plastic version.
{Aiya, aiya, so mean, hmph! It stinks here, Lilili-tooth is leaving!}
The fairy in the puffball skirt inside the light orb flipped over, wriggled her butt, and crawled onto Yang Zicang’s shoulder. Swoosh—the orb shot into the sky and vanished.
Li Mi glanced meaningfully at the sky.
He had never heard anything about celebrities or reporters—seemed Yang Zicang’s encounters in the Lost Frequency World were no small matter either.
The gathering ended. On the way back, Li Mi walked along the road holding his little turtle, heading toward the adaptive car. The person beside him spoke with admiration:
–Brother Li, you’re amazing. These past two days, the Xiongying Group really hasn’t come biting at us like rabid dogs.–
–Mm.–
–Brother Li, what’s your next move?–
Li Mi turned to look at the person: –Who brought you into the group?–
–Uh… me?–
The one who had casually asked suddenly stammered, not daring to speak again.
Li Mi let out a light chuckle. –It’s fine. I’m not some paranoid schizophrenic who doubts everything. I was just trying to get a sense of your background.–
–Oh, oh, I—I was recommended by Director Li.–
Hearing this, Li Mi patted him on the shoulder. –Work hard. Director Li has always taken good care of me.–
Riding in the back seat, Li Mi mulled over his draft proposal in his mind.
Project Sky Lantern. Ha.
The grayish-brown car pulled up in front of a stone house, and Li Mi stepped out.
This was the small cottage assigned to him by headquarters two days ago. Its stone was infused with the power of magic crystals, effectively prolonging the time it would take for items from Earth to spawn nightmares within it.
Li Mi’s hand touched the door handle. Just before turning it, he paused, as if lost in thought, before pushing the door open after a few seconds.
—–Master, welcome home. I have prepared your favorite piece, ‘Invitation to the Dance.’ Please enjoy.–
In the darkness, a slowly pulsing breathing light flickered to life, and the notes of music began to drift softly from the column-shaped speaker.
A long, slender finger reached out, pressing a switch on the wall connected to a lamp by a single wire. With a click, the 35-watt tungsten filament bulb flickered to life, casting a faint, orange-tinted glow.
The living room was small; he moved the speaker plug randomly placed on the small table to one side, set down the little turtle and his coat, then strode steadily to the washbasin against another wall.
He turned the faucet, and clear tap water flowed out.
After washing his hands, he shook off the excess water, casually took a small basin and placed it under the faucet, dried his hands on a towel hanging from an iron hook on the wall, and turned toward the bedroom door.
This was a compact unit with one bedroom, one living room, and one bathroom—just a few steps took him across the living room. Li Mi’s fingers touched the electronic lock on the bedroom door, and the lock screen button emitted a soft glow.
After entering the password, the lock made a –swishing– motor sound. Li Mi pushed the door open, casually reached for the bedroom light switch on the wall by the door, and the darkness in the bedroom vanished.
The water in the basin was about to overflow as the bedroom door clicked shut. The flow from the faucet instantly diminished, stopping completely a second later, with only one or two drops still hanging, poised to fall.
The tungsten filament bulb buzzed and flickered once, then went out abruptly.
The room was plunged into darkness, the unplugged speaker’s music ceased, and the living room fell into a dead silence.
Drip—a single drop of water fell into the basin, emitting the faint sound of rippling waves.
On the other side of the door, Li Mi cast her eyes downward toward the bedroom wall devoid of a bed, clenching her fists at her chest as she spoke slowly:
–Mother… I killed someone today.–
On the wall hung a hand-painted portrait of a blurry female figure. Inside the glass jar in front of the painting was a blooming white flower, its edges slightly withered.
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