novelraw Chapter 1163: Scumbag!
Chapter 1163: Scumbag!
During the same period—at least during the time Boss Luo was active around Mount Tai—things were unfolding in another dimension, slowly recounted through Miss Maid’s narration.
After quite a while, You Ye finally closed the ledger.
“Master, that’s the full account.” After closing the ledger, Miss Maid casually replaced the now-cold tea.
“The so-called massive automaton that appeared in Heaven should be the same battle weapon that went missing from the Penglai Treasure Vault,” Luo Qiu suddenly said.
Miss Maid nodded. “Most likely. Tai Yinzi must have accidentally activated some of its functions and got transported with it. But since he never brought it up, he probably assumed you didn’t know.”
Luo Qiu smiled. “That weapon has teleportation capability. Originally, I wanted to observe where it would go and whether it might bring me something… I didn’t expect it to end up in Heaven. That’s quite unexpected.”
“It might’ve been a random teleport,” Miss Maid pondered. “Or perhaps it got interfered with during the process. The Transcendents’ intervention in Heaven itself is already an abnormal dimensional interference, so if the timing coincided, it’s not impossible. But to confirm, one might have to go to Heaven personally.”
Of course, buying information from the altar would be more straightforward—after all, with enough money, almost nothing was impossible.
“No need,” Luo Qiu shook his head. “Whatever the reason, knowing the outcome is enough. Heaven wasn’t truly damaged, and it didn’t violate the contract. As for what the Transcendents want with Heaven, I’m not interested—at least for now. I’m not bored with this place yet. But…”
Luo Qiu suddenly looked at Miss Maid, into her deep blue eyes. “If you want to take a look, you can.”Miss Maid softly replied, “As long as I’m by your side, I don’t want to go anywhere.”
Luo Qiu smiled faintly. “School will start soon… I’m unfamiliar with the place. See if you can find a good spot and move the store there.”
“You Ye has already scouted a few locations. Would you like to look now?”
“You decide.” Luo Qiu stood up. “Tidy things up. I’m going to check on Luo Ya.”
---
Luo Ya woke up the same day they returned.
She was no different than before she fell unconscious—still shy, but obedient to Luo Qiu’s words.
While Luo Ya was unconscious, and with Luo Qiu’s permission, You Ye had conducted a detailed examination of her body. The conclusion: Luo Ya was not entirely composed of Universal Material.
Her body was unusual—part Universal Material, part biological tissue, with some Source of Anomaly, and a very small percentage—less than 1%—of unknown composition, which even You Ye couldn’t identify.
Regardless of how special her makeup was, one fact was certain: Luo Ya had been manufactured.
---
When he opened the door, the slender girl was sitting in front of a vanity mirror, gazing blankly at her reflection, not moving at all—not even blinking, like a lifelike doll.
You Ye was also a doll, made by alchemy, though covered in illusion to appear human. Luo Ya’s body, though partially human, looked even more like a real doll.
“Don’t like this room?”
Only when she saw Luo Qiu did her vacant gaze show a flicker of vitality. Luo Ya quietly shook her head.
Luo Qiu stood behind her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. He looked into the mirror at the two of them—like a painting, like something once seen in the Penglai Treasure Vault long ago.
He pulled out a comb, lifted her hair, and began brushing it gently. She clearly liked this gesture of closeness, closing her eyes in contentment.
Luo Ya’s mind was a blank slate. Luo Qiu couldn’t get much from speaking with her. Perhaps this was the altar’s way of punishment: she hadn’t just lost her powers but even her memories—so that the altar could deem her safe and allow her to stay.
Her purple hair grew smoother with each stroke—it felt hard to let go. Luo Qiu realized that brushing her hair was oddly enjoyable.
Time slowed down.
After a long moment, he stopped and said, “If you’d like, you can try stepping outside this room. You’re free to move around except for the three lower floors. Outside is off-limits for now, but I’ll try to take you out when the time is right.”
The girl only nodded.
Luo Qiu smiled and crouched beside her, softly asking, “Is there anything you want to do right now?”
The girl opened her eyes, picked up the comb he had set down, and handed it to him.
“…Alright then.”
Even though her hair didn’t need more brushing, Luo Qiu started combing it again.
Time slowed further.
---
The elevator doors opened on the magazine’s floor. A head peeked out sneakily—wrapped in a headscarf, wearing sunglasses, cautiously scanning the office.
“Sister Ren, morning!!”
The cheerful voice startled the woman in disguise as a hand tapped her shoulder.
“You trying to scare me to death?! You brat!”
Li Zi felt she was being mistreated—she had just greeted her. But seeing Ren Ziling’s always-jumpy expression was oddly satisfying.
Akiko was with her too.
Now that they were back, it was time to face reality—work.
Work? Impossible. Never gonna happen. For Ren Ziling, who had a mortgage, a car loan, and had officially crossed into her thirties after the new year, this was pure fantasy.
“What are you sneaking around for?” Li Zi asked, Akiko equally curious.
Ren Ziling hunched over, clutching her handbag, said nothing, and made a beeline for her office—but right as she entered the doorway, she was caught red-handed.
“Ren Ziling!”
Stiffening, she slowly turned and awkwardly laughed, “A-ha-ha… Good morning, Chief Editor! Beautiful day, huh? Oh right, I just remembered a story I haven’t finished—gotta run!”
“Get back here!! Into my office—now! Explain yourself!” the Editor-in-Chief barked and turned back to her office.
Sighing, the defeated “office queen” removed her headscarf and sunglasses, pouting as she dragged herself inside.
At the door, she suddenly had an idea to escape. She whispered to the assistant seated outside, “Call the editor’s wife. Tell her he’s trying to sleep with you and forces you to bend over after hours!”
“…Huh?”
The assistant blinked. She clearly understood Ren Ziling’s intent but… how was she supposed to say that to someone’s wife?
Also, why even include the position?!
Seeing the assistant’s troubled face, Ren Ziling made a threatening hand gesture… After this, she might earn herself a new title—Madam Ren the Vicious.
“I—I’m going to print some documents. A lot! So much!” the assistant cried, fleeing.
Ren Ziling glared around the office, sweeping her eyes over everyone present—only to see them disappear as if someone hit fast-forward. With a sigh about the decline of human decency, she resigned herself and walked in.
“Ren Ziling, explain what you’ve been doing these past ten days! And what’s the deal with this reimbursement form!!”
“…How about you just sleep with me instead?”
“Get lost!! I love my wife very much!!”
After lamenting humanity’s decline, Ren Ziling now found herself mourning her lost youth…
---
“Li Zi, shouldn’t we help Sister Ren?”
Outside the Editor-in-Chief’s office, Li Zi peeked through the curtain gap while munching on snacks and smiling. At the question, she casually waved her hand.
Akiko just shook her head and returned to her seat. As an intern, she didn’t have much actual work—just the usual office errands.
At that moment, her desk phone rang. It was a redirected call from the building’s front desk.
“My classmate?”
Akiko frowned. Since when did I have a classmate here?
To her surprise, the caller claiming to be her classmate turned out to be Miss Ying—her boss who had sent her here all the way from South America.
“Ying… Miss Song? Why are you here?”
---
The Editor-in-Chief’s wife didn’t storm the office with backup… In fact, no one even brought in coffee.
Close to lunchtime, Ren Ziling finally escaped from the verbal hell of her boss and dragged herself back to her office, idling until the end of the workday.
“Sister Ren, time to go home. Aren’t you leaving?” Li Zi came over.
“I’d love to… but I have to submit a headline piece by tomorrow and I haven’t typed a single word. Li Zi, maybe you…”
“I’m leaving!! Just remembered I haven’t done laundry from yesterday!” Li Zi instantly shut the door.
“…Wow. I didn’t even get to say anything. Who trained that girl? So sharp.” Ren Ziling blinked and slumped onto her desk like a dead fish.
Soon, there was a knock on the door.
It was Akiko.
“You’re still here?”
“Sister Ren, is there anything I can help you with?” she asked with a smile.
Ren Ziling shook her head. “If you’re not in a rush, keep me company. I barely talked to anyone today.”
“How about… we grab a drink? I know a new Japanese restaurant nearby. It’s really good.”
“Sake, huh…” Ren Ziling rolled her pencil between her lips. “Sounds nice. Expensive?”
“My treat, Sister Ren,” Akiko quickly said. “I just got paid. You’ve looked after me so much since I got here—please let me treat you. Unless… you still have work?”
“Forget it, forget it!” Ren Ziling slapped the desk and stood up. “Working overtime? Never gonna happen!!”
---
“Damn, that felt good!”
Flushed from alcohol, Madam Ren walked out of the izakaya feeling invigorated, with Akiko, also blushing from booze, by her side.
“Alright, I’m full and buzzed.” Ren Ziling burped. “I’ll get you home. I’ve been drinking, so I won’t drive—let’s call a ride.”
“Or we could walk a bit to digest?” Akiko suggested. “Blow off the alcohol a little? Oh, didn’t you say your son’s back?”
Ren Ziling smacked her forehead. “Right! If I go home like this, that brat’ll scold me for sure!”
“Looks lively over there. Let’s check it out.”
Up ahead, a crowd was gathering—clearly watching something. Naturally drawn to excitement, Ren Ziling didn’t hesitate to head over.
Even before getting close, they could hear music coming from the crowd.
—‘Abracadabra’
In the center was a stunning girl dancing to music from a phone on the ground. Her movements were captivating—an exotic, sensuous style that caught every gaze. Her long black hair flowed with the rhythm.
“Whoa… women like that are rare,” Madam Ren nodded in appreciation.
Girls like her weren’t common. With her sharp eye, Ren Ziling could tell this dancer hadn’t had cosmetic work done—making it even more impressive.
And what impressed her most was that the girl earned money dancing here rather than through other means. A donation box sat beside the phone, already filled with tips.
The music stopped. Applause rose. People tossed money into the box. Ren Ziling couldn’t help but reach for her wallet.
But just then, a figure burst out from the crowd, grabbed the box and the phone, and fled.
“My phone!” the dancer cried.
Robbery!
“Akiko, call the police!!”
With a strong sense of justice, Ren Ziling didn’t hesitate—she kicked off her heels and chased after the thief.
The thief dashed madly through the city, unfamiliar with the layout. Ren Ziling, on the other hand, knew this place like the back of her hand.
She gradually closed the gap.
“Move it, old hag!!”
“Screw your mother, who are you calling an old hag!!”
In the alley, Ren Ziling leapt, kicked off the wall, and launched a flying sidekick straight at the thief!
The man turned and caught sight of her mid-air—his face changed instantly. A split second later, her leg slammed into his head, sending him tumbling to the ground, dazed.
The box and phone hit the ground.
The man scrambled up, heard shouting nearby, and snarled, “You bitch, you’re dead!!”
He flung out some cement powder and fled deeper into the alley.
Ren Ziling didn’t chase—there might be more accomplices, or hidden weapons. Most importantly, she couldn’t risk injury. She had to stop here.
“Sister Ren! Are you okay? Where is he?”
Akiko and the long-haired dancer ran over. The girl looked pale and shaken.
“I’m fine, he ran off,” Ren Ziling waved it off. “Just a petty thief. I’ll find him later—how dare he threaten me. Are you alright? Scared?”
The dancer rushed over, picked up her phone, anxiously turned it on—and breathed a huge sigh of relief when it booted up normally.
She bowed to them in thanks. “Thank you, thank you so much!!”
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Ren Ziling asked, “That phone important? You shouted for it first when he grabbed it.”
The girl nodded, looking exhausted and heartbroken. “It… it has a lot of memories of me and my boyfriend.”
“Oh…” Ren Ziling nodded knowingly. “Are you okay now? It’s late—want your boyfriend to come pick you up?”
The girl opened her mouth but didn’t speak, then quietly shook her head.
“…He’s not here?”
She sighed. “Actually, I’m looking for him. I know he’s in this city… but I’ve been here a long time and still can’t find him. One day, he just disappeared…”
Ren Ziling, seasoned as she was, immediately saw the truth behind the words.
This girl definitely ran into a scumbag who used her and vanished.
(End of Chapter)