Chapter 205: Performance Without Props
Chapter 205: Performance Without Props
When walking out of the Guard Bureau, Lu Xin had already eaten a portion of braised pork noodles, and he had prepared himself for this mission.
He had not only learned as much as possible about Dreamweaver-type Ability Users’ information, but had also applied for two Special Bullets.
He was now a third-tier talent, so he could apply for such bullets.
Through intensive training on Dreamweaver-type abilities, he learned: Influencer-type Ability Users were hard to deal with because this kind of Ability User almost never engaged in direct confrontations. Their unpredictable Aberration abilities made them exceptionally terrifying existences. Often, the opponents would be tormented to death without knowing where they were.
According to Special Clean-up Department regulations, Spider-Type Ability Users generally would not handle such matters alone, because it was too disadvantageous.
Even if they did handle them, they would definitely be equipped with Special Bullets to make up for the shortcomings as much as possible.
Lu Xin being able to take on this mission was probably related to the fact that his records had been updated.
Although many people already knew he was not a pure Spider-Type, it was still better to prepare the Special Bullets.
As soon as he came down, he saw Deputy General Manager Xiao sitting on the hood of the car, chewing on a bread roll.
Then he remembered: he had eaten upstairs, but this Deputy Manager Xiao was still hungry.
This guy was truly sincere to have waited so long without leaving, settling for a bought bread as a meal… But Lu Xin quickly noticed his bread wasn’t the “making do” kind he imagined—it was baked golden-brown and fluffy, with dried fruits on top, spread with cream, and sandwiched with a sausage, too.
His heart immediately eased, and he walked straight to the car.
“Master Lu, do you have a solution?”
As soon as Deputy General Manager Xiao saw Lu Xin coming, he hurriedly stuffed the remaining bread into his mouth and ran over to open the car door for Lu Xin.
“Master?”
Lu Xin turned his head to look at him, his expression a bit strange.
“Yeah…”
Deputy General Manager Xiao liked the fitting nickname he had just thought of: “You do know how to handle that kind of thing, don’t you?”
“There are no ghosts in this world.”
Lu Xin explained to him seriously: “So what you’re picturing definitely isn’t what you encountered.”
Deputy General Manager Xiao paused for a moment, feeling that he seemed to understand.
“Then, what should we do now?”
With eagerness, he sat in the driver’s seat; at this point, he had developed strong respect for Lu Xin.
This person didn’t take his money and had immediately rushed to the Guard Bureau after hearing about his problem—he must have come to research information, and he had spent so long there, probably without even eating a meal. How could such a man not deserve his respect?
The only thing that made him a bit uneasy was why someone like this would work at his own company.
“Where do you stay at night?”
Lu Xin thought for a while and asked this Deputy General Manager Xiao.
“Don’t… don’t call me Boss Xiao, my name is Xiao Yuan, just call me Little Xiao…”
Deputy General Manager Xiao hurriedly introduced himself, then added: “Before, I lived at home, but because I wanted… to avoid my little brother and sister, I used work as an excuse to book a suite at Blue Mountain Hotel. However, since my Father and Auntie went to Main City on business these days and my school-age little brother and little sister were brought here, I was thinking about whether to go back and live at home by myself…”
“No need.”
Lu Xin thought for a moment and said: “Let’s still go to the hotel today!”
Deputy General Manager Xiao was slightly nervous and whispered hurriedly: “Is it because what we need to do is connected to my little brother and sister?”
Lu Xin shook his head and looked at Deputy General Manager Xiao strangely, replying: “No, but if your little brother and sister came to the hotel to find you, and you just left them and ran home, won’t you worry that your Father and Auntie might think you deliberately neglected them?”
Xiao Yuan hadn’t expected Lu Xin’s thinking to be so humane; he hesitated then nodded.
Anyway, even if he returned to the hotel, he absolutely wouldn’t agree to stay in the same room as his little brother and sister, to prevent anything bad from happening.
Besides, with Lu Xin beside him now, he was somewhat more reassured.
The car started and drove straight to Blue Mountain Hotel. After arriving, Lu Xin couldn’t help but praise it.
He had often passed by this place many times before but never once imagined that someday he would be able to stay at such an imposing hotel, and even less expected that someone could use work as an excuse to live in a hotel like this every day…
…Could the money earned even cover the hotel room costs?
Pondering this, he glanced again at the car Xiao Yuan was driving and confirmed an answer.
…He probably could.
In Satellite City, to judge if someone was rich, just one thing was needed.
The less practical the car they drove, the wealthier they were.
Just like when he and Gecko drove the Iron Beast out of the city—though practical, he and Gecko probably weren’t as affluent as him.
Young Master Xiao, you’ve finally returned. Luoluo and Tongtong have been looking for you all this time…
When Xiao Yuan and Lu Xin walked into the hotel one after the other, his secretary (or someone like that) hurriedly came forward, anxiously asking where he had gone that day, saying there was a lot of official business waiting for him to handle, and also that his little brother and little sister had been fussing all day, wanting him to go out and play with them.
But Xiao Yuan wasn’t in the mood to say more to them, just making the excuse that he had important things to do, and that everything should wait until tomorrow.
Also, after taking a few steps, he had someone bring some food and two bottles of red wine up to the room.
He was even thinking that Master Lu still hadn’t eaten anything until now…
But this move of his instantly made the secretary suspicious as she glanced Lu Xin’s way, her eyes flickering.
Could it be that this…
No way…
Actually…
…
…
To put your mind at ease, I’ll show you my credentials now.
After going upstairs, the door was closed behind them.
Lu Xin looked at this hotel suite that was divided into two sections, featuring an extremely luxuriously decorated living room along with a high-end bedroom, plus a dedicated walk-in closet, shoe cabinet, refrigerator, color TV, and even a brand-new-looking set of video game consoles, and felt somewhat surprised; this was just one room in the hotel, but the living room was larger than his own home.
However, he didn’t act astonished, and after sitting down, he followed the standard procedure to show Xiao Yuan his credentials, saying, “What you’re experiencing now should be a Psychic Contamination Incident. I don’t have enough time to explain what Spiritual Contamination is, but just know that I’m the one who handles these matters, and your job is to fully cooperate with me…”
“Alright?”
…
Seeing the bright red seal and deep embossing on Lu Xin’s credentials, Xiao Yuan immediately showed respect.
Especially since Lu Xin said all this with a serious, calm expression, which instantly dispelled all his concerns.
He nodded emphatically, sweating with tension on his forehead, “I… I know.”
“All right.”
Lu Xin put away his credentials, saying, “Get on the bed and lie down!”
Xiao Yuan hastily agreed, lay down on the bed with his clothes still on, his body stiff as a board.
Lu Xin took his revolver out of his bag, checked it over, put it back, then pulled out the files from the Guard Bureau, starting to read through them bit by bit to review carefully and avoid any trouble when handling things.
Xiao Yuan lay stiff as a rod on the bed, and after five minutes passed, he quietly asked, “Master Lu, what’s next?”
Lu Xin gave him a puzzled look, “Then you sleep…”
Xiao Yuan looked bewildered, “Sleep?”
“Yes…”
Lu Xin didn’t expect this vice-president to react so slowly, “How are you supposed to have dreams if you don’t sleep?”
“Oh this…”
Xiao Yuan sat bolt upright, staring blankly at Lu Xin, “So Master Lu, you’re saying you want me to hurry up and sleep, and then when I have that… that really terrifying dream again, you can help me?”
Lu Xin wrinkled his brow, “Since you know, why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Xiao Yuan blushed deeply, but didn’t dare explain anything; he silently got up, whispering, “I’ll tidy up a bit.”
Then while Lu Xin continued reading the files, he ran into the bathroom, taking a shower, brushing his teeth, changing into pajamas, spraying something on himself, and finally kicking on fluffy slippers as he dashed to the bed. He slid into the covers with a whisper, fluffed the pillow, drank a cup of water, clutched the blankets with both hands, and lay down closing his eyes…
“Is life for rich people always this troublesome?”
Lu Xin grumbled to himself, then turned back to reading the files.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and Lu Xin went to open it. He saw a waitress pushing a silver cart with several plates of various sizes covered by stainless steel lids, plus an ice bucket that even contained two bottles of wine.
Xiao Yuan’s secretary was trailing behind the waitress, standing on tiptoe to peek in.
When she saw Xiao Yuan already lying in bed, her face instantly turned green.
“Thanks…”
Lu Xin thought that if they worked late into the night, he might have a midnight snack, so he agreed.
After all, since that phone call had ended so abruptly, even the reward Xiao Yuan was going to give him…
…wasn’t having some supper a bit excessive?
…
Pulling the cart in, the door closed under the secretary’s despairing gaze, and Lu Xin prepared to see what was inside.
But suddenly he felt something off, spun around sharply, and saw Xiao Yuan snug in the blanket, blinking at him with wide eyes.
Lu Xin instantly thought how embarrassing it would have been if he’d started uncovering the plates earlier.
Feeling somewhat helpless, he remarked, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Xiao Yuan’s voice carried a hint of grievance, “No, it’s just… now that I’ve actually laid down, I really can’t sleep?”
Lu Xin frowned slightly, “If you don’t sleep, how can I observe your condition?”
Not daring to argue back, Xiao Yuan lay in bed for a moment. Suddenly, a flicker of determination crossed his face as he abruptly jumped out of bed.
He walked quickly to the dining cart, gave Lu Xin a solemn nod, and said, “I’m counting on you.”
Then he grabbed a bottle of brandy chilling in the ice bucket.
Deftly popping the cork, he tilted his head back and started glug-glug-glugging the liquor straight down his throat…
Lu Xin stared wide-eyed, watching as the man drained the entire bottle. Xiao Yuan then wobbled slightly on his feet.
“Counting…counting on you…”
Xiao Yuan swayed, carefully set the empty bottle upright on the table, adjusted its position, then staggered back to bed.
He flopped face down without covering himself with the blanket. Soon, the faint sound of gentle snoring began.
“Ah, seriously…”
Lu Xin glanced back at him, contemplating an important question:
“Was that the expensive bottle of wine he just drank?”
“……”
This time, sure that the Deputy General Manager was finally asleep, Lu Xin also breathed a sigh of relief.
After reviewing some documents for a while, he pulled out his cigarette case, selected one with a gold filter, and placed it between his lips.
He turned on the exhaust fan first, then stood by the window and lit it.
As he smoked, he silently pondered the information he’d learned today about the “Dreamweaver-type” Ability User and contemplated his own plan.
…
Preparations were crucial; he needed to leave as few gaps as possible.
It all depended on when the Deputy General Manager would finally enter that Dream Realm and show signs of abnormality…
Lost in thought, he suddenly heard faint rustling sounds behind him. A jolt of alertness shot through him and he instantly turned his head.
Then he saw Deputy General Manager Xiao crawling out of bed once more.
Lu Xin opened his mouth to ask why he wasn’t asleep but stopped himself, silently watching as the man got up. He walked barefoot forward, stopping by the dining cart. Reaching out, he picked up a silver food cover. His other hand rose stiffly, high in the air. Then, he forcefully “chopped” down onto the cover. Thump-thump-thump! His palm struck the metal, making a dull, muffled thumping sound.
After finishing “processing” one cover, a look of intense satisfaction spread across his face. He picked up another cover and continued chopping down.
Soon, both were “done.” He slowly crouched on the floor, his palms making slicing motions downwards. Then both hands reached down, fingers moving as if gathering something unseen, the right hand twisting to the side – like turning a knob.
His hands mimed rinsing motions. He drew in a deep breath, an expression of sheer bliss washing over his features…
…Lu Xin’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. He knew exactly what the man was acting out.
Remaining utterly expressionless, Lu Xin watched calmly as Xiao Yuan, after the imaginary “washing,” meticulously pantomimed slicing, then plating. At one point, he even twisted an invisible small tube, squeezing something out – details adding to the macabre, prop-less performance.
Finally, he sat back down on the edge of the bed, his face radiating intense excitement and satisfaction.
He gently clenched his hands together as if grasping implements, then slowly raised invisible utensils, miming spearing something and lifting it to his mouth.
An expression of ecstatic bliss filled his face.
…
…
“…Eating it raw?”
Lu Xin frowned, observing intently:
“From Deputy General Manager Xiao’s previous account, he was forced at first to eat… that.”
“But now he’s enjoying the entire process of handling and ‘consuming’ it, acting with practiced ease…”
“So, did he lie from the beginning? Or has the urge grown so strong, turning passivity into active craving?”