Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Chapter 20 Greyhound
At night, when Li Ye returned to the old apartment after changing back into her own clothes.

It was already eleven o'clock.

Fortunately, Li Yelai had spoken to Li Yunyan beforehand.

I had to deliver antiques to the new district; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to explain why I was back so late.

After confirming that there was no blood on his face and no smell of blood on his body, Li Yelai knocked on the door.

Soon, the sound of locks being opened came from inside the locked door.

Then, the gate opened quickly.

A young girl with disheveled hair stood inside the door, looking at Li Yelai with some anxiety: "You're back so late, what time is it?"

Li Yelai had already prepared a reason: "It's a rather valuable antique that needs to be delivered to my door. The place is quite far away, in the new district. However, the employer is very generous this time, and they're paying a lot of overtime pay."

That's not entirely untrue; taking on freelance work is essentially working overtime. As for the employer, although they haven't received the principal yet, the deposit has already been paid.

The 100,000 Giant City Coins were split equally between Li Yelai and the detective.

Each person received 50,000 Giant City Coins, which have already been deposited into their account.

This is a huge sum of money, bringing me one step closer to my goal of buying a new house.

Several years ago, Li Yelai's mother fell seriously ill and his father left. He sold the house his parents left behind, but he still couldn't cure his mother's illness.

After that, he and his sister could only rent this old apartment.

Now, I can finally see hope of buying a new house.

"Are you sure you're not being kept by anyone?" Li Yunyan asked suspiciously. "Why do I smell perfume on you?"

Goodness, no wonder he was anxious.

This guy still suspects his own brother of selling his body.

She really is my sister!

As for the perfume scent, Li Ye rushed to the kitchen with cheese to break the curse before he arrived, so he probably picked up her scent from there.

Banishing the soft sensation that had surfaced in his mind, Li Yelai could only say, "It was probably my colleague's perfume. I came back in her car."

"She's been pretty good to you, bro. There's really no need to work so hard. I'm making money too." Li Yunyan raised her pretty eyebrows and said with a mischievous smile, "I'll support you!"

Although Li Yunyan could not leave her home, she dared not see outsiders.

But thanks to her excellent drawing skills, she still managed to find an online job as an amateur artist.

The income wasn't much, but it was stable, which relieved a lot of pressure for Li Yelai.

Li Yelai was her last remaining relative, and she didn't want to be a burden to him, but instead tried her best to help him.

Li Yelai felt a warmth in his heart, but his expression remained serious as he said, "Hmph, I am the head of the family, how can I do such a thing?"

"The head of the family?" Li Yunyan chuckled softly upon hearing this.

He casually tossed Li Ye a plastic fly swatter, then picked up a wooden stick, struck a swordsman's pose, and said, "Here's a weapon. Let's be fair. The winner is the head of the family!"

Li Ye looked at the fly swatter in his hand, then at the wooden stick in his sister's hand. He felt there was absolutely no fairness in it.

So he had no choice but to put down the fly swatter and give in, saying, "Fine, then while others live off their parents, I'll live off my sister. That way I can be considered a self-made millionaire."

"Look how pleased you are with yourself. Well, I have to take back what I said then," Li Yunyan complained. After chatting with Li Yelai for a few more minutes, she urged him to go and rest.

After Li Yelai returned to his bedroom, Li Yunyan went to the balcony.

The giant city under the night sky is quiet and serene.

But in her eyes, the trees in the green belt twisted their trunks wantonly.

The people walking on the street were not pedestrians, but strange and grotesque monsters.

The birds flying in the sky were not the usual birds, but terrifying creatures with fangs and claws.

This was a truly hellish scene.

Everything changed three years ago.

In her eyes, classmates, teachers, and friends all turned into these unapproachable monsters.

Even the stray cats he regularly fed had turned into monsters with multiple eyeballs, completely bald and covered in blood and gore. Even the potted plants he kept at home had become indescribably terrifying plants.

Everything has changed. Li Yunyan doesn't know if she's gone mad, or if the world has gone mad.

In this crazy world, only Li Yelai is an exception.

He remained the same as always, and continued to take care of himself as always.

Li Yunyan sighed softly, "I only have you left, brother."

The next day, after getting off work, Li Yelai immediately rushed from the antique shop to the branch office.

Just as he had guessed.

As the authorities intervened and began investigating Wang De, his businesses and funds were frozen.

The girl in the white dress who hired Li Yelai and the detective was also implicated and unable to pay the subsequent commissions.

However, Li Yelai didn't suffer a loss either.

Because he acquired a second psionic weapon during this operation.

Now, Yang Chen has called him over to familiarize him with his abilities.

A bell rang.

The dual-wielding knight appeared directly on the training ground, drawing attention from several processors who were still training.

This is a psionic weapon that Li Yelai obtained from Wang De, containing the 'Summoning the Undead' ability from the Netherworld Path.

According to official tests, the bell contained a pile of ashes.

He is a powerful knight from the forbidden zone of Calamity—Black Origin City.

His ashes were made into ash using special methods after his death.

"Based on the analysis of the residual psionic energy, this knight was probably close to the strength of a fourth-awakened psionicist in life," Yang Chen said, standing next to Li Yelai. "The knight summoned from the ashes is actually less than 30% of his original strength. But theoretically, he is still equivalent to a second-awakened psionicist."

In other words, by acquiring this psionic weapon, one can summon a knight who has undergone a second awakening as an ally.

This is the most basic way to improve your strength: call for reinforcements!
“Of course, you can choose to sell this bell. The ability to summon a knight is extremely rare, so you won’t have trouble finding a buyer. But I suggest you keep it. A knight who has undergone a second awakening can help you solve a lot of troubles,” Cheese said.

Today, she was still wearing a loose sweatshirt, which concealed her full and proud curves.

Yang Chen turned to look at Li Yelai and said seriously, "You've seen the creatures and sufferers of the Void Realm, and you've even come into contact with forbidden objects. You should understand the dangers involved. If you have this knight's help, you'll be much safer in your future operations."

Li Yelai nodded, agreeing.

Cheese and Yang Chen were indeed genuinely considering his needs. If Li Yelai had this bell, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger when dealing with Void Realm creatures.

"Furthermore, although we don't know how to refine this summoning ash yet, if we solve this technical problem, we can capture a few more monster ash to fill the bell for you, increasing your combat power." Yang Chen continued, "Ultimately, becoming a processor means facing many dangers. Don't miss the opportunity to strengthen yourself. I don't know exactly what you want to buy, but being stronger will allow you to better accumulate merit points."

“I know.” Li Yelai nodded again. “I also plan to keep it.”

Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood. Although Li Yelai really wanted to save up points to quickly buy the anti-psychic helmet.

However, if one becomes stronger, one can acquire merit points more efficiently.

This is also the safest route.

“Very good!” Yang Chen continued, “But you need to familiarize yourself with the consumption of spiritual energy. If you find that your Soul Well is collapsing, immediately stop using any spiritual energy weapons and notify us! This is very important; once it becomes distorted, it’s really over!”

Li Yelai nodded cautiously, noting that psionicists using psionic weapons risk having their abilities distorted.

The more advanced the psionic weapon, the stronger its ability to entice and distort.

Fortunately, neither the crimson longsword nor the summoning bell were of high level.

The reason why the summoning bell is of a low level is because the ashes inside are of a low level.

However, using two psionic weapons simultaneously carries a significant risk of distortion.

We must be careful.

I don't know if 'Mr. Shadow' can save me once I become twisted.

"By the way, yesterday was your first time taking on a freelance job. How did it go?" Yang Chen asked.

"It was dangerous and sudden. If Cheese hadn't happened to be at the banquet and offered his help, the detective and I might not have made it out alive." Li Yelai was still shaken and said to Cheese, "Thank you."

If the cheese wasn't there, the Long Spear Knight wouldn't have committed suicide and would still have hindered Li Yelai and the others' actions.

At that time, Li Yelai will have to make a real deal with 'Mr. Shadow'.

"There's nothing to say, you saved me too." Cheese raised his hand and patted Li Yelai on the shoulder.

Then, seemingly recalling the scene of Li Yelai rescuing him yesterday, Cheese squeezed Li Yelai's shoulder hard and whispered, "You've hit the jackpot!"

Li Yelai's lips twitched, but he didn't respond, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Yang Chen gave the two of them a strange look and said, "This is the danger of forbidden objects. A man in his nineties can put the three of you spiritualists in danger with a forbidden object. Judging from the information you provided, it should be a Class C forbidden object."

"Only Grade C?" Li Yelai was taken aback. "It can grant almost any wish. How could it only be Grade C?"

Li Yelai thought to himself that it could be used as a wish-granting machine, and it could probably be considered a Class B machine.

"The rating isn't based on its capabilities, but rather on the danger it poses and the probability of it going out of control. If no one makes a sacrifice or a wish, this altar can remain underground obediently for hundreds of years. Even if it goes out of control, its attack range is limited to the area around the person making the wish, which is why it's rated as Class C."

Yang Chen said, "The real threat lies in those Class B forbidden items hidden within the Black Prison beneath our feet. Leaving them unattended could cause terrible harm. They're all difficult to deal with. You'd better keep an eye on things when it's our turn to enter the Black Prison in the future."

The duties of guarding the Black Prison are rotated among various teams of official handlers.

This is also one of the ways for processors to reliably obtain merit points.

Speaking of which, it will soon be the turn of the first team, which is the team Li Yelai belongs to, to guard the Black Prison.

Then, I'll gain another wave of merit points.

Li Yelai nodded and then asked, "Will there be any problems with me destroying the forbidden object last night?"

"The being known as the Ghost Immortal behind the forbidden object hasn't made a move, so there shouldn't be any problems," Yang Chen said after thinking for a moment. "However, some higher-ups expressed regret that a potentially useful forbidden object was lost. But that's alright."

In fact, the higher-ups were already having a headache over the bad luck that Li Yelai was showing.

They were afraid that if Li Ye came out of the giant city, he would run straight into the king of the restricted area.

Yang Chen didn't mention this.

After all, he thought it was unlikely. Even if someone is that unlucky, things still have to be logical, right?
Why would the king of the penalty area leave the penalty area for no reason? Just for a stroll?
Moreover, if things really get that bad, the authorities could easily set up a trap, gather dozens of troops, and try to besiege the king of the restricted area.

Yang Chen thought to himself, but said aloud, "Train hard. If you find any changes in your Soul Well, whether it's a renewed awakening and advancement or the discovery of a risk of distortion, you must inform us."

Seeing Li Ye nod, Yang Chen looked at Cheese and said, "You're about to awaken for the third time. Are you planning to use a magic potion?"

After last night's battle, Cheese discovered that his Well of Souls was beginning to expand and extend, its connection to the Void Realm becoming stronger. This was a sign that he was about to break through.

"Of course, Captain, I've already prepared the potion. I'm not going to judge people by their looks," Cheese retorted.

Her first awakened ability was verbal hypnosis, and the second was forced suggestion. Both were auxiliary abilities. If her third awakening were to randomly grant her the ability to communicate in different languages ​​or even animal language, she'd probably be furious.

So she spent a lot of money to buy a specific magic potion.

"Which one is it? The curse from Border City No. 1? Or the incantation from Lava Mine City?" Yang Chen asked.

“Word of Power is more aggressive,” Cheese replied, patting Li Ye beside him and saying, “In a few days, I’ll show you what real damage output is! You’ll have your day to rely on a powerful opponent.”

Li Yelai glanced down at Cheese's thigh, thinking that he had already hugged it, but still nodded in response, "Um... okay."

In the following days, Li Yelai traveled back and forth between his home and the branch office.

Through continuous training, I gained a detailed understanding of my current abilities.

As the first awakened omnipotent psychic, my ability is Omnipotent Faceless.

Currently, Wanxiang Wumian only has one face mask.

It's the mask of Xiang Yu, who has the ability to see through weaknesses. It's the mask of the Spirit Eye Path.

This mask brought Li Ye a rapid improvement in combat experience and psionic skills.

At the same time, Li Yelai mastered the Eighteen Single-Handed Throwing Technique and the Overlord Throwing Halberd.

This also gave Li Yelai strong close combat ability and a powerful throwing ability.

From the outside perspective, Li Yelai was already a formidable processor among the first awakened psychics.

He possesses two types of psionic weapons and has killed creatures from the Void Realm.

In reality, Li Yelai obtained the second mask by killing the Skinner.

However, due to his resistance to Mr. Shadow, Li Yelai never accepted the mask and did not know what path the mask was.

"It seems I should look for an opportunity and give it a try," Li Yelai thought to himself as he carried the large black umbrella home.

But suddenly he stopped.

Because, at the intersection just ahead, a young man holding a black umbrella in the crowd smiled at him and said, "Is it you? The young man who destroyed the Ghost Immortal Altar?"

Li Ye looked at his large black umbrella, then at the young man's black umbrella.

He couldn't help but laugh and say, "What's it to you?"

"Slim dog!"

(End of this chapter)