Chapter 17: Zhou Baiyu About to Go Viral
Ling Hansu experienced a massive internal shock, registering at a twelve on the scale.
The old man on the subway looked at his phone, his eyes wide and stunned, his face flushed and ears red, having failed spectacularly at a game of Fighting Landlords, performing all kinds of classic expressions in succession.
She couldn't imagine that the unbelievably gentle Mr. Zhou Baiyu could ever do such a thing!
Upon opening the book, she thought she would see the struggles of a rookie, overwhelmed with fear and trepidation...
But there were none, not a trace. What met her eyes was, merely, the gigantic organic vegetables after genetic modification.
"Are you sure you haven't picked up the wrong book?"
It was as if all the goods of the God of Difference and Chaos were alcohol… while all the goods of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom were books.
Sky Eyes could peer into the intelligence of others in different versions by browsing through books.
Of course, this required a tremendous amount of energy, or a steep price, as well as certain constraints.
Beyond that, the Sky Eyes could see many things others could not, which, indeed, was where the true power of peering lay.
Ling Hansu really hoped she could see something normal, but she felt that something was certainly off.
She admitted, those pages turned into memories, the attendant depicted within could indeed match the gentle voice of Zhou Baiyu she had envisioned...
But as she began to understand bit by bit the things Zhou Baiyu had done.
Especially that first night… an utterly dark night, she felt she had opened the wrong book.
Could I watch this without spending money? Oh, wait, it seems I have spent quite a lot.
With that thought, Ling Hansu continued reading, after all...
Even the television did not have such appealing male actors… especially in this kind of drama.
So Ling Hansu started to earnestly understand the entire process.
The word "beast" emerged in Ling Hansu's mind, what the attendant was doing in the scene, in her view, was nothing but a beast appeasing a demon.
To survive, the attendant had done many absurd things.
Watching made Ling Hansu's face flush and her ears glow red, her heart filled with disgust, disgusted that one would so please a demon to survive...
But it was indeed mesmerizing, the men strikingly handsome, the women enchantingly seductive.
Well, one more glance.
Raised with the most traditional education, Ling Hansu felt a sinful pleasure.
As she delved deeper, watching the demoness leader Midel dress in indecent but popular attire among men...
She gradually came to her senses.
Further into the narrative, she was surprised to find Zhou Baiyu gradually taking control of the demoness leader.
She suddenly realized, this man's language seemed to have some special magic power—
She suddenly couldn't tell if it was the demoness playing with the attendant or the attendant playing with the demoness. Because the attendant seemed so happy.
The beloved beautiful demoness, in an effort to make the attendant happy, began trying uniforms such as school, sailor outfits, sukumizu, Gothic Lolita… many costumes.
Originally, to the demoness, the attendant was merely prey, ready to be killed at any moment.
But, inexplicably, as the prey kept talking, telling of human enjoyment and merriment… the demoness's mindset began to shift.
The attendant also kept transmitting notions of "romance," "luxury," "ceremonial sense," "superiority," all these elements.
Those capitalist schemes designed to stimulate female consumption, in the hands of the attendant, became tools to control destiny.
He began to bring more "human" pleasures to the demoness.
There is a saying, demons are people with magnified desires. And as long as there is desire, there is a way to cater to it.
The demoness leader Midel, although ostensibly the stronger party, was actually completely submissive to Zhou Baiyu's words.
Zhou Baiyu was like someone who had mastered the switch that could make the demoness leader happy.
And Zhou Baiyu was deliberate and strategic, advancing steadily!
Ling Hansu felt she was contaminated, spiritually contaminated.
How could a man be so manipulative?
But she couldn't help saying… this turn of events was truly unexpected, and she found it rather intriguing.
For the first time in her life, Ling Hansu saw such a breathtakingly handsome man, summoning a woman's name with a captivating look in his eyes.
Although that was not a woman, it was a succubus.
I can't stand it! I just can't stand it! Ling Hansu thought, even if I were a succubus... I definitely couldn't withstand such a beauty trap, could I?
She had already found out that Zhou Baiyu's identity was that of an attendant, his profession a Mutator.
It could be said it was the worst identity meeting the worst profession, a terrible hand of cards paired with the nastiest post-apocalyptic version 2.0...
But with such a lousy hand, had Zhou Baiyu really carved out a path to survival?
What sort of disastrous beauty was this?
She had to admit, the look of the attendant could almost cure any woman's aversion to men.
Unable to wait, Ling Hansu flipped through the books, experiencing the thrill she used to feel in school while reading those melodramatic romance novels.
The kind where, despite many toxic points, as long as you say the male lead is incredibly handsome, I can imagine that peerless beauty, letting my principles follow his features, and continuing to read on.
By the seventh day, Ling Hansu was exhilarated...
This was the last day, and the plot had a major twist. Zhou Baiyu's identity had been exposed.
Yet, this man, in a moment of urgency, came up with a spontaneous solution, turning danger into safety.
Ling Hansu was spellbound by what she saw.
After a while, she finally digested this memory and realized something:
"He survived! Did he actually survive? Then I... I don't have to, don't have to die?"
Mo Sangyu sighed:
"I truly wish he were a Sky Eye, unfortunately, he is a Mutator. Mutators... it's been a very long time since anyone advanced to the second level."
Clearly, Zhou Baiyu's propensity to think deeply appealed to Mo Sangyu. Yet, this thoughtless girl was the Sky Eye.
And the thoughtful Zhou Baiyu was a gambling Mutator.
He paused, then continued to Ling Hansu:
"With your abilities, even a Sky Eye couldn't access such comprehensive data."
"All of this is because he saved your life, returning to the original question I posed."
"God allows your suicides to be stopped because He encourages humans to save each other."
"Now, he has saved you, you both have a karmic bond, so you are the first person to see this data."
"Other Sky Eyes can only see a part, but they can also see... version 2.21 of Hanging Corpse Hospital, which someone cleared with an ss rating."
"Inevitably, other Sky Eyes will ask me about it, and my duty is to respond, in exchange for pioneer points."
"So remember, he will soon become the topic of conversation. He will be the center of heated discussions. Think about what your advantage is compared to others."
Having said this much, even the foolish Ling Hansu could hear it.
"Sky Eyes can only glimpse the content of prior versions, unable to see the content of the original 1.0 version."
"Though 'Jiang Xianwu' might be an unreliable Mutator, his actions will inevitably turn him into a legend among other Sky Eyes' descriptions, drawing the attention of major forces, even in reality, as they seek him out!"
"What I know more than others... is that Jiang Xianwu's identity is actually Mr. Zhou Baiyu. I'm the only one who knows his real-world identity."
Mo Sangyu nodded:
"You finally gained a bit of insight. This is what you owe him. You must compensate him. Moreover, cooperation between you two is inevitable."
Ling Hansu understood completely:
"Am I supposed to protect him? Be his... book?"
"Yes, although he saved you, he cleared the Hanging Corpse Hospital, but your challenge of version 1.44, 'Night of the Haunted Pavilion,' still failed.
"He saved someone who was supposed to die, and the punishment for this was that he challenged an area where survival was almost impossible, but this matter is still not truly over."
"The final part is that both he and you will challenge 'Night of the Haunted Pavilion' again."
Recalling version 1.44, the night in the Pavilion, Ling Hansu shivered.
It wasn't a place that could be cleared by just talking. Zhou Baiyu was the Mutator with the least combat capability... wasn't entering the same as courting death?
Mo Sangyu also spoke slowly:
"And you should be aware, that area has an exceptionally high mortality rate. So, death hasn't left you far behind."