Chapter 200

I can't remember how many years it's been, but my sister has urged me countless times.

Thankfully Melantha and Kroos didn't come along; they returned to This Ship after arriving in Lungmen. If Xi had been rushing them like that the whole way, they would have been driven crazy.

"I told you we're almost there, what's the rush?"

"Almost there, almost there again. How many times have you said 'almost there'? Are you kidding me?"

Nian laughed heartily, finding it amusing to tease his silly little sister.

"Really, when have I ever lied to you?"

Xi glanced at him coldly, thinking to herself, "Hasn't this happened a lot already?" She began to regret coming out with Nian.

"It's on this street, we'll be there soon."

His playful, grinning face was quite annoying, but once they arrived at Taiheng Road, they were indeed not far from the warehouse.

The two entered the alley, their shadows stretched long by the streetlights. A roller shutter followed closely behind, devoid of any lively atmosphere.

Looking up, no light source was found emanating from warehouse number two, indicating that no one was home at the time.

"Huh? He's not here. He's probably eating out. Let's wait here."

In the past, there would definitely be someone on duty at this time, but today's situation is indeed special.

The chef on duty, Sarkaz, was working at Mount Choryu and wouldn't be back until very late. The rest of the Sarkaz, along with Mudrock, FrostNova, and others, celebrated the year-end party at the hotel.

Shi Lei's commission ends at 8 o'clock, and with the time spent driving back, he estimates he will arrive at the warehouse at 8:30.

Exusiai went with the boss to sign the contract and didn't return. This resulted in warehouses one, two, and three being unusually empty.

Xi looked around at her surroundings and raised a question:

"You're not lying to me again, are you? Trying to stall for time and say you misremembered? Who lives in a warehouse if they're a decent person?"

"Tsk, why would I lie to you?"

"Alright, you said it yourself. Besides that man, is anyone else living here?"

When Shi Lei had just bought Warehouse No. 2 not long ago. Texas moved in in June, while Mudrock moved here in late July.

"No, he's the only one living here."

After receiving a definite answer, Xi actually activated her powers. Her hands, like calligraphy brushes, unfolded a landscape painting at the entrance of the alley.

Upon witnessing this scene, he voiced his opposition:

"You want to test him? That's not a good idea."

Xi doesn't think there's anything wrong with doing this:

"Sister, I meant no offense, I just want to know how capable he is. If he can't even break my illusion, how will he deal with his real body in the future?"

The younger sister nodded in agreement, agreeing with her sister's point. However, she still felt it wasn't appropriate and continued to persuade her:

"Let's not do that. What if we anger him? Wouldn't you be lifting a stone and blocking our brothers' and sisters' future paths?"

"Sister, have you ever thought about it? If you directly entrust me to his care, would he agree? Only by proving my worth to him can I gain his respect."

This is my usual method of keeping visitors at bay when I live in seclusion; it won't cause any physical harm. If I sense anything amiss, I will immediately remove the scroll.

After hesitating for a moment, he did not stop her.

These fragments who have lived for thousands of years have been deceived and fallen into too many traps, making them more pragmatic than ordinary people.

Back then, we only speculated and inferred that Shi Lei was very strong, but we didn't know exactly how strong he was. If future invitations to spar are rejected, does that mean we'll never know the truth?

The answer to this question is very important to her.

If Shi Lei's strength remains unchanged compared to a year ago, or has significantly declined, then we can't rely on him this year; we'll have to settle for second best. We should focus on guarding Rhodes Island and wait for the Doctor to emerge from the Stone Coffin before seeking answers.

Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it.

Mr. Shi, I apologize for the inconvenience.

After Xi finished setting up the Scroll Realm, the two of them jumped onto the roof of the warehouse to wait.

January 15th, 7:23 PM

Exusiai arrived at Taiheng Road, got out of the yellow pickup truck, and Croissant the driver, Croissant.

"See you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye-bye."

After signing a long-term agency contract with Rhodes Island, the three of Emperor even had a meal in their cafeteria.

Although it didn't contain high-calorie foods like French fries, apple pie, and pizza, it tasted surprisingly good.

This put Exusiai at ease, as she no longer needed to worry about losing weight drastically during her business trip due to not being used to the food.

Seeing an acquaintance arrive at the alley entrance, Nian quickly nudged Xi beside him with his elbow, reminding her:

"Wait a minute, this isn't Shi Lei. Cancel your Scroll Realm, don't let her in!"

"It's alright, sister. If you're worried about the illusion causing her psychological harm, I can slow down the flow of time within the scroll. What if that man comes back right after we remove it? If he doesn't accept our challenges in the future, are we supposed to just force him?"

Nian hesitated, then said nothing. He watched Exusiai walked into the alley and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Xiao Le, wake up quickly."

"If you don't get up soon, the barbecue will be all gone."

"What?!"

Upon Exusiai immediately sat up in surprise.

She opened her eyes and saw Laterano's companions standing in the doorway, waving at her.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting its glow upon Sarkaz, making him appear as if an angel had descended.

"Okay, wait for me!"

Exusiai quickly got out of bed and happily followed her companion out of the room.

The courtyard was bathed in sunlight, and two Sarkaz were standing in front of the barbecue grill. They had been chatting idly, but suddenly stopped when they saw Exusiai come out.

What are you talking about?

Exusiai walked up to him, grinning as she said:

Why do you stop talking when you see me?

"Hahahaha, we were just talking about whether you're an optimistic idiot or not?"

Hahahaha.

Exusiai laughed along with them, not thinking that "optimistic fool" was a derogatory term.

"What's there to talk about? Don't you think I am? Okay, where's the barbecue?"

"They're all gone, there's no way there's any left."

"Why don't you ask Sister Remuan to grill some meat for you tonight? We're out of meat here."

Okay~

When her partner, who had given her false information, stuck out their tongue at her, Exusiai wasn't angry. She was the epitome of optimism, oblivious to negative emotions.

"Now that we're full, let's get some exercise. Xiao Le, do you want to play a shooting game?"

"OK."

"Let's have cops and robbers then. Whoever gets hit by a rubber bullet loses. The loser treats to dinner, how about that?"

The four reached a consensus and quickly dispersed after confirming their identities. Exusiai, who was on the run, felt a sudden sense of unease as she ran. She ignored it and continued having fun with the others.

Originally, after a heartwarming build-up, news of Mostima's fall from grace and her sister Remy's injury was to come.

However, Xi adjusted the flow of time, infinitely prolonging the time it would take for the bad news to arrive.

January 15th, 8:24 pm

Texas drove back to Taiheng Road.

Due to the limited seating in the car, she only carried four people: Shi Lei, Lisa, Surtr, and FrostNova.

As for Mudrock and the remaining seven Sarkaz, they can walk, take the bus, or take a taxi home.

She usually parked her car outside Warehouse No. 3, and didn't notice anything unusual at the moment, so she drove straight into the alley.

"Shi Lei, what are you doing!"

Shi Lei opened his eyes at the sound, only to find his former female boss standing in front of him.

Hey, aren't I in Lungmen?

Before he could react, the middle-aged woman snatched the phone from him, glanced at it, and angrily shouted:

"Watching short videos during work hours, you son of a bitch, what kind of work attitude is that? Go to the finance department tomorrow to settle your salary, you're fired!"

If Shi Lei didn't know he had time-traveled, he would feel incredibly angry and frustrated in this situation.

But he didn't care about any of that now, he just stared at his hands and tried to summon the system.

What's going on?

Did I travel back to the real world again?

Seeing Shi Lei standing calmly to the side, spitting as he spoke, the female boss seemed intent on inflicting psychological harm on him.

"How dare you ignore me! Have you paid off your Huabei (Alipay's credit service)? Have you paid off your mortgage? Have you saved enough money to get married? Oh right, you don't even have a girlfriend yet."

Words that could harm ordinary people had no effect on Shi Lei. He ignored his female boss's nagging and carefully observed his surroundings.

The various decorations are almost exactly the same as I remember.

However, all the parts close to the ground look somewhat blurry, like a painting.

Painting?

Shi Lei was thus convinced that he was deeply trapped in an illusion.

But he has no experience in breaking illusions before, so how can he do it?

Shi Lei closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them again.

In an instant, the overwhelming Archon's aura spread rapidly in all directions.

Large spiderweb-like spatial rifts appeared at the scene, revealing a blank sheet of paper resembling a scroll. Those illusions from memory vanished in the face of the powerful impact.

"Pfft~"

Xi suffered a backlash and looked extremely pained.

At the same time, the others who had been pulled into the Scroll Realm broke free of the illusion and instantly regained their senses.

Exusiai was passionately exchanging shots with her partner when she was suddenly pulled back to reality, leaving her quite puzzled.

What's going on?

Shi Lei cast Perpetual Jade Shield on everyone, so there's no need to worry about them taking physical damage.

He looked up at the sound and saw Miss Nian jumping down from the roof, as well as a woman who also had Dragon Horn.

Shi Lei then remembered that Nian had said last year that she would bring her best friend over. Could it be this woman?

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!"

He clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture, repeatedly apologizing, afraid of upsetting Shi Lei.

Previously, she had been speculating about the true power of the Archon fragment. Now, it's completely clear.

I understand completely now.

Such a powerful aura is comparable to that of the 'Year' beast itself; it is truly terrifying.