Urban Legend Demolition Office - Chapter 40.5

Chapter 40.5 ?

A few seconds later.

Xu Ming, who was trying to find someone on WeChat, suddenly received a message from Qiu Yufei.

The message was simple, six words, breaking through all the waves——

?There’s a ghost, arrogant, come quickly?

Xu Ming: ……

Maybe I was overthinking.

Putting away her phone, Xu Ming thought silently.

Looking at Qiu Yufei’s demeanor, she didn’t seem to be in a state of stress at all.

So, a few minutes later.

In Xu Ming’s room.

Looking at the girl sitting calmly on the sofa opposite, Xu Ming rubbed her temples and glanced longingly at her pajamas placed not far away.

“Um.” She coughed, “May I ask who you are…”

“Lu Yueling.” The girl in the long dress politely nodded, “My friends all call me Xiao Liu.”

Xu Ming nodded slowly: “Oh… hello, Xiao Liu.”

“But we are not friends yet. So you should call me by my full name.” The girl continued.

Xu Ming: …… Is this child okay?

Staring at the girl in front of her for a while, Xu Ming closed her eyes and couldn’t help but sigh: “You’re Mint’s friend, right, I remember you.”

Different from Qiu Yufei. She often remembers things in the urban legend area more clearly. If she remembers correctly, those hotel staff mentioned her—the one who protected Mint and brought her to the front desk room as soon as the incident happened, and stayed there until they opened the door.

This is also the thing that makes Xu Ming feel strange now.

“Why did you come to find us?” She asked puzzled, “I thought you would stay with Mint.”

“Why should I stay with her?” Lu Yueling retorted without hesitation, “Helping her leave that hotel is already my utmost benevolence. Why stay with her, help her cheat on her finals?”

…I just asked, no need to get so excited. And I just wanted to ask why you didn’t go back with her, why do you assume “staying with” means being someone’s helper.

Xu Ming fell silent again. She suspected this child might have read too many strange tales.

On the other side, Lu Yueling seemed to realize she was a bit excited, cleared her throat, and lowered her head again: “We are already people from two different worlds. Staying with her doesn’t make much sense. Besides, she must have remembered by now… She’s either scared or crying, just thinking about it is annoying.”

So, at the moment she entered the highway, she parted ways with Mint. Instead, she followed Xu Ming and their car, following them here, and the process went smoothly.

Xu Ming: ……

Giving her a complicated look, Xu Ming took a deep breath, just about to say something, when she heard the other say:

“Moreover, I have something to ask you.”

Xu Ming: “?”

“When organizing the escape, you must have seen many people.” Lu Yueling pouted, “There was a woman wearing red shoes, did you see her?”

Red shoes… Xu Ming frowned and thought for a while, then shook her head uncertainly. She was too busy during that last period, constantly changing the words and drawing work badges, she didn’t pay attention to those who came over.

However, Gu Yunshu, sitting in the corner, seemed to think of something upon hearing this description and involuntarily tensed her back.

“So, why are you inquiring about this?” Xu Ming asked curiously, then frowned, suddenly recalling something, “Wait, I remember. When we first met Mint, she mentioned having two friends with her. So the one in red shoes you mentioned, could it be…”

“Of course not.” Lu Yueling retorted without thinking.

Realizing she made a mistake, Xu Ming quickly apologized. Unexpectedly, the next second, she heard Lu Yueling say:

“At that time, I recognized her as a ‘friend’ because I was deceived. I thought she was a good person.”

She said, pouting, “Actually, we only met after entering the hotel. And it was after I ‘died.'”

“At that time, I was very confused, not knowing what to do. That woman appeared then, saying she would teach me to adapt and also how to protect Mint. But in return, I had to use my power to help her.”

“Help her?” Xu Ming leaned forward, “How to help?”

Lu Yueling opened her mouth, then closed it. After deliberating for a moment, she suddenly exhaled: “Forget it, there’s nothing to hide.”

“After I died, I had something more on me, it should be considered a prop, right? The effect is quite special. Simply put, those I consider ‘friends’ can gain extra protection.”

“That woman originally wanted to exchange information for the item I had, but I felt I couldn’t give it to her, so I didn’t agree, just temporarily made her my ‘friend.’ Mint was probably also affected by this, thinking that woman was her friend…”

Xu Ming seemed to notice something, involuntarily frowning.

“Wait a minute, you said she wanted the item you had…”

A prop suddenly obtained after death, undoubtedly, is a root.

And someone who specifically tries to obtain the “root”…

Thinking of something, Xu Ming instinctively glanced at Gu Yunshu, only to see her hands clenched tightly on her knees.

This made Xu Ming’s frown deepen. Looking at Lu Yueling again, she tentatively asked: “Then do you know, the red-shoed woman, why did she enter the hotel…”

“To steal something.” Lu Yueling said absentmindedly, “The butterfly—you call that monster a butterfly, right?”

“I don’t know the specifics, anyway, her goal was to steal that monster’s treasure. She said that if she took it, the butterfly would no longer exist. I believed her and even pointed out all the room number 13s I saw. But it wasn’t like that at all…”

Lu Yueling was still recalling something unhappily, but Xu Ming was no longer listening.

At this moment, she suddenly figured out the question that had puzzled her for a long time.

Why did the one in charge of the Magic Cube Mansion suddenly show strong anger towards her after solving the butterfly issue?

“Damn…” Xu Ming couldn’t help but mutter, feeling a bit absurd.

The reason is actually very simple. Because the root wasn’t taken by White Chess at all, but it thought she took it; just like she thought White Chess stole the butterfly’s root!

Both sides thought the other ruined everything, hence both were furious.

Immediately, Xu Ming realized another chilling fact—

The other side’s anger dissipated later because it realized the root wasn’t taken by her.

And the reason it believed that was likely due to her heated inquiry.

…But if she hadn’t asked that question at the time?

Xu Ming was slightly stunned.

Cold sweat broke out in hindsight.