My Notoriety Spreads Throughout the World

Chapter 569 - 494: Evergreen Ivy

On the boarding bridge to the airplane, the woman naturally took Xuedong Ming’s arm. The man wore a polite, friendly smile, carrying luggage, and the two looked no different from a couple who had been together for years.

At this moment, the woman asked unintentionally:

"Have you heard of 4i?"

Xuedong Ming was confused; he couldn’t understand the term from the woman’s mouth. As a Mysterious Scholar, he considered himself knowledgeable, but no matter how he searched his knowledge base, he couldn’t find any related content.

"Sorry, I don’t know."

The woman let out a slight snicker: "It’s okay, you’ll know soon enough."

He remained politely composed: "If it would help in getting along with you, I can look it up or... try?"

"Mhm, that would be great then."

...

After a brief ascent, the flight became smooth. Xuedong Ming sat in his seat and began searching recent information on his notebook. In an era when information databases were almost entirely controlled by the Jiulong Message, this old-style notebook was more helpful for encrypting and storing information.

Of course, Xuedong Ming had nothing that needed encrypted communication; he did this purely as a show for the woman. His attention was entirely on her, whether it was the faint whiteness hinted under her nightgown or her milk-like delicate skin, all of it stimulated his nerves.

If he were to kill the woman right now, how likely would it be to go undiscovered once the plane lands?

The thought startled him as soon as it emerged. This nearly uncontrollable bloody desire scared him, and cold sweat trickled down his back. Why was he so obsessed and eager to kill her?

Before leaving that observation well, he considered himself a man of integrity, with no bad habits, and his psychological health assessments had always been positive. Could it be...

Xuedong Ming thought of a possibility, perhaps it was due to the influence of the Eight-Spider Ancestor. A few nights ago, he connected with that consciousness, witnessing the magnificent, majestic, beautiful Holy Relic, whose abundant, vigorous life force made him weep with ecstasy.

He knew that he was hopelessly obsessed with this life form that was more beautiful than any God. Words were pale; no matter how he explained to others, including the colleague with whom he’d worked for years, no one could understand him.

He did not resist the consciousness erosion from the Holy Relic. Rather, he enjoyed this memetic contamination, able to clearly feel himself becoming a part of that beautiful life form.

He could give everything, even his life, to the Eight-Spider Ancestor, but the prerequisite was that no mistakes could occur in the plan before leaving Chichu Heaven.

Before handing over the top-secret document, he had to restrain this desire; all of this was for that beautiful life form.

The fervent obsession overpowered the desire as Xuedong Ming emptied his mind and began to rest with closed eyes, the bloody images gradually receding. On the clock, time passed by the second.

Half asleep and half awake, the passenger plane suddenly began to shake violently, everything swaying up and down, lightning and thunder outside the porthole. With a loud boom, the sound of an explosion came from behind, and a fierce wind howled into the cabin, lifting countless luggage in a terrifying airflow. Panicked, Xuedong Ming opened his eyes, only to find a gaping hole in the cabin behind him, from which numerous people were screaming as they were pulled out of their seats and abruptly thrown outside.

A black cloud vein appeared like a celestial mountain, stretching for thousands of miles, the thunderstorm raging. From afar, a tiny black dot flashed at regular intervals, trying to break through this barrier.

The cabin was already in chaos, shards of paper and sharp iron fragments flying wildly, the ceiling collapsing, sparking flashes of electricity, then being sheared into two parts by a tremendous force, suddenly flying towards Xuedong Ming’s neck like an executioner’s axe. He screamed, protectively ducking his head. The iron fragment grazed his neck, but at this moment, a pair of icy arms wrapped around his throat.

Looking up, terror made him scream even louder. The woman was there, no longer breathing, looking at him with vacant eyes, a horrifying blood mark on her neck, which soon began to separate.

This plane, twelve thousand meters high, was plummeting at hundreds of meters per second. The fiery blaze engulfed the entire cabin, and passengers’ screams melded into a symphony. Each note plucked meant someone was hurled by nature’s fury out of the cabin. Even covering his ears and shutting his eyes tight, the screams rang repeatedly in Xuedong Ming’s ears, this psychological torture unrelenting.

At that moment, a soft hand caressed his cheek. Looking down the slender arm, Xuedong Ming paused. He saw elegant calves and a pristine white dress.

This familiarity nearly made Xuedong Ming whisper out of focus: "Ling..."

But before the sound fully escaped his throat, it abruptly ceased. In the wildly crossing light and shadow, he saw on the girl’s neck the fierce face of a spider, four pairs of eyes reflecting his different faces in this out-of-control and pale world, a pair of mandibles hissing, slowly writhing.

The momentary confusion and disappointment were replaced by fervent reverence while staring into this beautiful creature’s eyes.

He heard a voice coming from the spider’s mandibles, hoarse yet ethereal, bearing the majesty of a God, as if an order was forcibly inscribed into his mind!

"Danger..."

"Wake up..."

The intertwining light and dark grew increasingly frantic. Lightning and pale light bit and contended, and consciousness fragmented on the boundary of wakefulness, the black-and-white world flashing, flashing, flashing...

With a sudden start, Xuedong Ming woke abruptly from his seat. The intense palpitations made him feel the whole world was spinning and shaking. He turned his head to look around; the plane was still flying smoothly, and the cabin was peaceful and serene. Everything from before was merely a dream.

"Whew." He exhaled a long breath.

Xuedong Ming glanced at the woman sleeping soundly beside him under a cashmere blanket, all desire gone, the terrifying dream flashing in his mind.

At that moment, a lightning bolt flashed outside the porthole, and the cabin began to shake. The captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker, reassuring the passengers not to worry. It was merely the plane encountering turbulence, a common occurrence.

Having just emerged from a nightmare, Xuedong Ming didn’t agree. He instinctively looked out the window; thunder roared, and lightning flickered among the towering clouds, as raindrops danced on the wing with a subtle sound. Just as he thought he was being overly tense, he caught a glimpse of an eerie sight from the corner of his eye.

Just now...

Was there someone standing on the wing?

The moment the thought occurred, Xuedong Ming lunged toward the porthole as if mad. Lightning crackled, wind swept the clouds, and torrents of rain poured over the earth.

In the midst of nature’s fury, a fine streak of lightning split open the sky, illuminating the pitch-dark night, and lit up the airplane wing above the red navigation light, the man’s robust figure half illuminated by the lightning, half shrouded in shadow, walking steadily on the wing, slowly striding towards him.

In the man’s pupils,

reflected the Black Spade Q.