Book 3 Chapter 25 – Renewed Cooperation

Li Yiming sighed as he shut the door. He could hear the muffled roars of pain from Eyeglasses inside. "Tell me, what happened?" Li Yiming asked as he sat down next to Qing Linglong. The Fang sisters had retreated to the kitchen, since they did not know whether Li Yiming wished to have a private conversation or not. Qing Qiaoqiao had prepared two beds for them after a long night so that Li Yiming could have his conversation undisturbed.

"You didn’t tell him?" Qing Linglong looked at her sister, a little surprised by the question.

"I didn’t have time." Qiaoqiao had yet to settle down completely. It was a strange thing that despite her sister waking up, she chose to sit next to Li Yiming. Somehow, the latter could give her a feeling of security no one else could.

Qing Linglong was very touched when she heard that Li Yiming had offered his help without even asking what the problem was in the first place. ’I don’t think that we’re on that level of friendship yet, but... The two people that came with him...’

"We were planning on ambushing a beast, but we bumped into another group of guardians as we were ready to strike." Regardless of the reason behind Li Yiming’s generosity, answering truthfully was the least Qing Linglong could do.

"Did the other guardians attack you?" Li Yiming remembered what happened at the park in the morning.

"No. In fact, we retreated right after noticing that they were there." The only thing worth of rejoicing in it all was Qing Linglong’s swift decision for a retreat at that time. If it were not for her

’Looks like these people are quite cautious. We wouldn’t be in this situation if our ’team’ was half as careful.’ Fang Shui’er looked at her sister from across the kitchen.

"Then..."

"It’s the beast we were tracking. We thought that it would be intermediate-level at most. But it was the Ya Yu."

"Ya Yu?" Zeng Qian, let out a cry of surprise from the kitchen when she heard what Qing Linglong said. ’In the morning, Li Yiming said that he met Bi Fang, and now the Ya Yu also shows up? What’s wrong with this domain? Why do the high-level beasts keep showing up here?’

"The team that attacked before us, the seven of them lasted only an instant against Ya Yu. We thought we were safe, but little did we know that he was aware of our presence and came for us. Grandma stayed to buy us some time..."

"How did you escape then?" Fang Shui’er walked out of the kitchen with the key question in mind. She had to know, since she herself was embroiled in the situation now. She could not believe that Qing Qiaoqiao would be able to save her unconscious sister and injured friend from the Ya Yu all by herself, unless that "Grandma" who stayed to buy some time reached level six.

"I fell unconscious after Grandma died, so I’m not sure what happened." Qing Linglong turned her head toward her sister. She herself was curious about what had happened, since it was obvious that Li Yiming’s group had only arrived after they had reached safety.

"It was a man, someone who looked very... weird. He jumped out of nowhere and the Ya Yu chased him instead." Qing Qiaoqiao tried her best to remember what had happened. The emotional shock she had endured from the death of someone who cared for her like a granddaughter, her sister’s injuries and Eyeglasses made it all very hard to recall the details.

"Weird? One person?" Fang Shui’er was unsure whether she could believe Qing Qiaoqiao’s story.

"Yes. A man. He looked very fashionable, and very... beautiful. Like a woman, in fact." Qing Qiaoqiao remembered the man’s feminine figure and was having trouble to find the right words to describe him.

’Led the Ya Yu off by himself? Beautiful? Looked like a woman? Fang Shui’er exchanged a glance with her sister and wondered about the possibility of such a person even existing. Even Qing Linglong found it quite hard to believe the words of her sister at first. Only Li Yiming trusted Qing Qiaoqiao’s retelling completely.

"We should be more careful next time. It’s good that you’re well, just that Grandma Wang..."

Qiaoqiao’s eyes reddened and she started sobbing once again. Li Yiming wrapped his arms around her to offer some support. Fang Shui’er and Zeng Qian, who had just been through a similar situation, knew that nothing they could say would help and stayed quiet. At least those who were willing to shed tears for the sake of their companions, like Li Yiming and his friends, were more trustworthy than cold-hearted ones who showed no emotion.

"That man was very dangerous, perhaps even more than the Ya Yu." The door to the bedroom opened and Eyeglasses appeared at the entrance. He held his broken biotic leg in one hand and moved his newly regenerated arm, which was still dripping wet. His face was still pale as ever, but he also seemed gloomier than before. Usually, even with a vampire’s regenerative abilities, he would not have been able to achieve such a recovery, but the combined power of the glyph and the pill helped him achieve the impossible and regenerate two of his limbs in a short while.

"Even more dangerous than the Ya Yu?" Zeng Qian stood up and closed the curtain: vampires did not like sunlight.

"Yes, he looked at us as if we were helpless prey. I think that he’s above level five, to say the least."

’Level five...’ A dead silence befell. Fang Shui’er glanced at Li Yiming. ’I wonder if he’ll be able to fight someone that strong...’

"So, what’s next?" Zeng Qian looked around and asked, as she would often do so in her job.

"I suggest that we work together for now." Qing Linglong looked at her sister, who was still in Li Yiming’s arms. Her proposition echoed the worries of those around her; the domain had become more and more dangerous, and it would be unwise to try to survive alone.

"I have no objections." Li Yiming realized that all eyes were fixated on him and quickly made his stance clear. "But first things first, I need to go look for Liu Meng. She disappeared."

"Liu Meng disappeared?" Qing Qiaoqiao lifted her head. She had been wondering about where Liu Meng was, and even wondered if it was because of Fang Shui’er that she was gone.

"Well, looking for someone isn’t incompatible with surviving." Eyeglasses sat down on the opposite side of Li Yiming and put the object he held back into his storage item.

"We need a leader." Fang Shui’er stared at Qing Linglong. By the looks of things, Qing Linglong was the captain of the team.

"Li Yiming saved my life. I’ll do whatever he tells me," Eyeglasses said before everyone else.

"I agree that he’s the most appropriate person to lead our team right now." Fang Shui’er hurried to voice her take.

"I agree." The approval came from Fang Shui’er and Zeng Qian.

No one sought Qing Qiaoqiao’s opinion, and, of course, no one asked Li Yiming either. Just like that, Li Yiming, a complete newbie, had become the captain of the impromptu team.

"Well then, maybe we should have a look at these things and pick out whatever we need. These are the items from earlier, I didn’t even go through them myself, actually. Take what you need to strengthen yourselves. The stronger we are, the more chances of survival." Since it would both help the team and help his search for Liu Meng, Li Yiming did not hesitate to share his spoils of "battle" with his new teammates.

"From before?" Qing Linglong seemed surprised. She had noticed the storage items on the table, but did think that it would be appropriate for her to ask.

"We were attacked by another team of guardians. Li Yiming saved us." Zeng Qian knew enough about Li Yiming now to not be shy. She already knew exactly what she wanted from earlier and picked up a bottle of black, syrupy liquid inside.

"Attacked by another team? Seven people?" Qing Linglong looked at the items in front of her. Bloodshed over personal belongings was not a rare sight in domains, but usually, those who attacked would only do so when they had the utmost confidence. The fact that there were seven items here meant seven opponents. ’Li Yiming, alone, against an entire team?’

"Yes, a team of seven people." Fang Shui’er knew the reason behind Qing Linglong’s asking again and explained to her. In fact, even now she still found it hard to believe that someone like Li Yiming, who seemed not to be anything out of the ordinary, could be that strong.

"You killed all of them?" Qing Linglong looked at Li Yiming in disbelief.

"One of them. He let go of the rest." Zeng Qian said disapprovingly.

"Let go?" Qing Linglong was surprised.

"It’s not easy being a guardian, so why push people to the bitter end? Oh, by the way, do you need this?" Li Yiming answered casually as he took out a chest full of cash. Seeing that no one needed it, he put it into his own bracelet with an undisguised happy smile.

Seeing Li Yiming like that once again surprised those around him. ’Strong but merciful, prudent but trusting. He gives away the items of value but is happy when he sees a chest full of money? An interesting future certainly awaits us with his being the captain.’ Still, everyone took their turns rummaging through the items for what they needed. Just like Li Yiming said, the stronger they could become, the safer they would be.

"Our next step is to find Liu Meng. I want to find her, alive or dead." Li Yiming put the items back and pooled everything together. With a favor given first, he felt a lot more comfortable asking his teammates to assist him in his personal quest and thought that there was little chance his request would be refused.

"Finding people is my specialty, but it’s hard for me to work here. This isn’t exactly the best place for me to set up, and I can’t even go outside right now..." Eyeglasses looked at the old couple who were sound asleep in the living room.

"There’s nothing you can do about it. Stay here for the moment and you can join us once night falls." Qing Linglong gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. It was impossible for Eyeglasses to go out during the day, and their current location was unsuitable to his needs.

"I can only control my bugs until a certain distance. I’ll lose them if they go too far," Zeng Qian explained. She knew what was the most important thing when one worked as a team.

"Do we split up?" Qing Qiaoqiao still leaned her head against Li Yiming. Grandma Wang’s death was a hard blow for her and she really hoped for Liu Meng to not succumb to the same horrific fate.

"We shouldn’t. There are too many unforeseen dangers right now. It would be pointless for us to form a team, only to split up in the end," Fang Shui’er said.

"Okay then. Our best bet is to drive around while using your bugs to search for her." Li Yiming stood up and tried his best to hide his worry and nervousness. The longer it took for them to find Liu Meng, the more likely of something bad happening to her.

Zeng Qian nodded. Her eyes suddenly turned pitch-black and started glowing in the darkness of the room. The flesh around her neck rippled from beneath and suddenly, a cloud of insect burst out of her flesh and flew toward the window. The sight terrified Qing Qiaoqiao to the point that she screeched.

"I’m sorry," Qing Qiaoqiao realized what she had just done and quickly apologized.

"Let’s go." Zeng Qian’s eyes returned to normal. Her expressionless mask let no emotion through it. Qing Linglong looked at her sister disapprovingly and followed. Fang Shui’er sunk into a mood upon witnessing the scene, while Qing Qiaoqiao tried her best to show how sorry she was.

r.i.p. Grandma Wang :’(

Book 3 Chapter 26 – Buying A Car

With Eyeglasses staying behind, the remaining five exited the apartment and began their search for Liu Meng. "Wait, this is your car?" Qing Qiaoqiao stood right in front of the derelict van. She had the same reaction as the Fang sisters when they first saw the car.

"I just bought it this morning. Let’s go, who’s driving? I don’t have a license." Li Yiming seemed to not mind it at all and hopped onto the passenger’s seat.

"I guess I’ll drive?" Zeng Qian facepalmed and looked for the car keys in her pocket, although that in itself was also futile since the lock was broken.

"You focus on controlling the bugs, I’ll drive." Qing Linglong took the keys from Zeng Qian. She was wondering whether the vehicle was some kind of guardian equipment.

The group followed Li Yiming and embarked into the vehicle with a range of emotions ranging from curiosity to amusement. The car slowly rolled out of the neighborhood after a few painful noises from the motor.

"Did you find anything yet?" Li Yiming asked Zeng Qian, who answered him with a shake of the head. This was the third time Li Yiming asked the question within half an hour of leaving the apartment. ’Is he panicking because he’s scared of losing a friend, or does that girl a special someone to him?’

"Would it be better if we drove faster?" Li Yiming tried once again. Shangbei was a big city and it would take forever to cover it in its entirety.

"Well unfortunately, that’s impossible with this car." Qing Linglong vented her frustration. She went from curiosity to speechlessness over the last thirty minutes. ’This is what he likes? Not only does my back ache from the trembling of this motor, but what’s with that smell of mold in the car? I would’ve thought that he chose this car for being low-key, but driving this on the roads of Shangbei is the exact opposite of low-key! I wouldn’t be surprised if 90% of the people we come across turned their heads when they see something like this.’

"So, should we buy a new car then?" Li Yiming had simple thoughts in mind. He was rich now, therefore it would make sense to buy a car. Not only did he get five million from selling the jade bracelet, but he also found several chests in the storage items that contained a few million as well. He was even richer than the average millionaire now.

"I agree. It would improve our overall efficiency, and it’s worth the time investment." Qing Linglong immediately agreed. She felt quite embarrassed after seeing the way the driver from the car right next to her looked at her at the intersection just before.

"There’s a pretty famous car dealership right ahead of us, we could go there." Fang Shui’er was quick to decide. If a picture of her riding a car like this ever reached the media, it would certainly be front page news.

"Alright, let’s hurry then."

Zongheng Dealership, a small shop in Shangbei. It sells numerous brands and serves a variety of customers. Instead of focusing on one single brand, like the exclusive dealerships in Shangbei, Zongheng was a reseller that worked with a variety of brands and models, or, in other words, a reseller. However, owing to its outstanding customer service, Zongheng made quite a name for itself in the industry.

The small, crumbling minivan reached the entrance of the dealership with a trail of smoldering black smoke spewed out of its exhaust pipes. The security staff at the dealership looked at the vehicle as if it was an incoming threat to the shop. ’The paint is almost all gone, the metal’s rusted, the bumper’s broken and the windshield wipers are dry and cracked. The trembling of the engine, how does that thing even last on the street? There was a customer who had issues with after-sale services last week, and they said that they would return when they left, is this how they were going to ’return?’ Are they here to cause trouble?’

The small minivan stopped at the entrance, an act which brought some relief to the security officer. ’Well, at least it didn’t ram into the shop, that’s already a plus, I guess.’

Qing Linglong, however, frowned when she saw the person at the gate look at her nervously. The drop bar to the entrance was yet to be raised. ’Are they not willing to do business?’

"Hi, may I know what you’re here for?" The security staff came forward despite himself, out of professionalism.

"We’re here to buy a car." Li Yiming opened the car window on his side, not without some effort from his part. The squeaks that the glass emitted as it slid down chilled the security staff’s heart.

"You’re here to buy a car?" The shop employee asked. He could see through the car window that the people who sat inside the vehicle all possessed exceptional appearances. The man was handsome and the women were beautiful. One was adorably shy; the other breathtakingly beautiful; the one who drove had a certain maturity and the slightly chubby one seemed to be someone used to a life of luxury. None of them looked like they were here to seek trouble.

"No, I’m actually here to watch a movie and have a meal!" Qing Linglong, who was usually composed and elegant, suddenly burst out in anger. The unpleasant experience of having to put up with driving a car in such a poor condition was something completely unknown to her and irritated her quite a lot.

"Please come in." Qing Linglong’s irritation was enough to intimidate the security staff into pulling the bar up, and Qing Linglong, despite a temporary loss of her composure, knew better than to bicker meaninglessly. She stepped on the gas pedal and the vehicle rolled shakingly into the dealership, leaving the baffled security office behind.

The sales representatives at the dealership were obviously professionally trained, especially given the diverse customer base of the shop. "Welcome!" A saleswoman dressed in a pale blue uniform came to greet them. Customers were the gods in such a place. It did not matter what car the customers drove to come to the shop. Even if it was a wheelchair, they would get the same kind of treatment.

The saleswoman tried to open the car door out of professional courtesy, but was hindered in the task by the door being stuck against its frame after two repeated attempts. Qing Linglong signaled for her to back away, and, with a powerful elbow strike that shook the entire car, she finally managed to burst the door open with a creak whose loudness was proportional to Qing Linglong’s extreme dissatisfaction.

A few more creaks later and the other members of the team came out of the vehicle. The saleswoman seemed to be surprised by the mismatch between the car and the people inside. But she nevertheless remained as professional as ever and greeted them politely. "Hello, welcome to our dealership. My name is Lu Yiyi, work ID 9527, and I will be glad to help you today. May I know about the purpose of your visit?"

"We’re here to buy a car." Li Yiming looked at Lu Yiyi briefly and glanced around the shop. Lu Yiyi was someone who was not too tall and rather skinny, but what stood out was her chest and the prominent line in the middle of it that seemed to be bottomless. This was the perfect look for someone who worked in sales, and also one that reminded Li Yiming of Liu Meng, which reminded him of the urgency of the situation.

"What would you like to buy then, mister?" Lu Yiyi knew, owing to her experience, that she was talking to the decision maker of the group. She clenched both of her hands together and tried to push the "advantage" she had at her chest level, but a warning stare from Qing Qiaoqiao quickly frustrated her efforts and turned it into a shrugging of the shoulders.

"We want something big, capable of seating at least six or seven people." Li Yiming went toward the exposition section and counted the number of seats they would need inside of his head. With Eyeglasses and Liu Meng, they would require at least a seven-seat, or even better, something like the mobile home that Eyeglasses was driving earlier.

"Seven seats?" The saleswoman glanced at the van that was parked in front of the dealership, and then at the car tents in the distance. Below them was a neat row of SAIC-GM-Wuling, just like the one Li Yiming came in. The silvery painting, along with the old-fashioned design, had a particular historical significance, and most importantly, it was a vehicle that could accommodate seven people.

Qing Linglong noticed the saleswoman’s gaze and stepped to the side to block it. ’Please, can’t you at least have some kind of judgment based on our appearances? Do you think that we would want to ride in a SAIC-GM-Wuling?’ She was afraid of Li Yiming’s weird liking for this kind of cars being resuscitated.

"May I ask you about the price range you’re looking for? We have products that cover a wide range." Lu Yiyi caught Qing Linglong’s sign and did not feel less happy about it: the more expensive the car, the higher the commission she would get.

"The price isn’t a problem, but we need to be able to drive it off right away." Li Yiming had his eyes set on a large SUV in the middle of the exposition hall. It was an extra-long luxury grade GMC-Yukon. The aerodynamic curves of the car’s body, along with the glittering road lights and its heavyweight, granted it a unique modern attractiveness.

"You need to be able to drive it off right away?" Lu Yiyi followed Li Yiming’s glance and looked at the GMC-Yukon, but she did not give it much thought. She was thinking about the kind of car that would satisfy her customers’ need. ’A seven-seat car? Right now? Other than the SAICs, I think that there’s only Jinbeis left. I’m just not sure if that woman would like it though...’

"Yes, we need to be able to drive it off right away. Please, we’re in a hurry." Li Yiming was starting to grow impatient.

"Well, the only model that can satisfy your needs right now is..." Lu Yiyi turned her head toward the car tents on the outside. Even a small sale figure was still better than nothing, and the bonus was calculated based on sale numbers strictly anyways.

"What about this one?" Qing Linglong pointed at the GMC-Yukon in the middle of the hall and intervened to stop Lu Yiyi’s efforts to cut her own fortune short. ’I don’t understand her, don’t they get more commission when the price is higher? Why is she always thinking about those vans outside? Is she a brand specialist or something?’

"This car?" Lu Yiyi was baffled, but then subtly shifted her eyes toward the entrance and peeked that rusted little van. ’You’re going to buy that car? We got the car from the owner of the shop, who borrowed it from a GMC-4S shop after getting drunk on half a liter of wine! I don’t think that he ever thought about selling the car. It’s priced at 1 600 000 yuan! We do sell vehicles from different price ranges, but this is something different. This is luxury, and who would come here to buy a car like that? What about repairs and after-sale services?’

"Yes, how about that one? The other ones don’t really fulfill our demands anyways." Li Yiming looked around the large hall that had twenty cars parked in it, but found that one to be the only one to satisfy his needs.

"This is the extra-long luxury GMC-Yukon model from this year. V8 engine, 6.2L capacity..." Out of habit, Lu Yiyi provided some information about the car itself. She dreamt of going to work in a 4S car dealership and worked hard to fulfill her dream. In her free time, she would often study the cars that were on display in the dealership, even those who would normally be dismissed by other representatives as nothing more than decoration. However, she was interrupted by Li Yiming, who had already begun to walk toward the car.

"Can you just tell us how much it is, and how long it would take for us to get it onto the road?" Li Yiming shook his hands like a nouveau-riche and examined the interior of the car. It was nowhere close to the mobile home, but capacious enough.

"If we work on it right away, we can get the licensing done before the workday ends with the connections we have at the office." Lu Yiyi was still not quite sure that the people who stood in front of her, despite their outstanding appearances, could afford such a car.

"There’s no need to put a plate on the car. We just need to be able to drive it off as quickly as we can. Are you okay with this?" Li Yiming turned to look at Qing Linglong; he would never need to worry about the car plate, since he did not even have a driver’s license in the first place.

"So this is where you work?" Before Qing Linglong could answer, an arrogant voice came from the entrance. Li Yiming, along with the rest of his friends, were all surprised when they saw who it was.

’Guo Xiang?’

I would have wanted to see a GTA way of getting a car, but I guess they can’t reall afford to do something stupid like that in this domain 🙁