Mantis Has Arrived

But as for the extra bullets, Luo Qiu had no idea where You Ye had gotten them.

Although he had played with firearms before, it had always been at facilities approved by the authorities, under the supervision of a specialist. It had been several years since Luo Qiu's father passed away, and he had not touched anything like this in just as long.

He had not forgotten everything, but what remained was probably just an empty framework. His aim and the like still needed practice.

The club's ability to let its master move freely about was extremely useful. In the latter half of the night, accompanied by You Ye, Luo Qiu played this shooting game he had once been obsessed with in a stretch of barren wilderness.

Bang bang bang bang bang—!

The only things disturbed were the small animals in the barren mountains, yet more than ten magazines had been used up before he knew it.

A refreshing feeling welled up inside him. Luo Qiu rubbed his slightly sore and numb shoulder, looked at the detailed results of his final round, and smiled. "Not bad, right?"

You Ye smiled as well. "As long as you're happy, Master."

Luo Qiu knew, of course, that his results were actually quite terrible, but he felt no embarrassment. He merely handed the pistol to You Ye for safekeeping, then waved his hand. The door to the club was on the left, while the road home lay to the right.

"If any guests come, just summon me again." Luo Qiu tried to explain the situation. "If possible, during this period I'm still just me—a normal university student living in this city, with a wonderful stepmother at home."

You Ye nodded and watched Luo Qiu disappear to the right.

After returning to the club, You Ye did not stop moving. She merely sat quietly, never closing her eyes, while her sapphire-blue eyes gradually dimmed.

For You Ye, this already counted as resting.

But the moment the wooden door at the entrance was pushed open and the bell rang, the maid who had served here for three hundred years would stand up, a beautiful smile appearing on her face.

When he woke up early, Ren Ziling had already gone to work.

Normally, Luo Qiu should have taken the shuttle bus to attend classes at the university he was enrolled in. However, he had no intention of returning to school just yet.

Luo Qiu had few friends at university. In fact, among students entering university, very few people—himself included—could truly have many friends.

There were plenty of people in the same year and class, but they were only acquaintances. Not everyone was enthusiastic about socializing or proud of having a wide circle of friends. After all, even if you knew many people, few would be willing to give you their all.

Of course, having few friends and little attachment to the school was one reason, but the main reason was Luo Qiu's major.

Even now, Luo Qiu still felt that he must have been cursed back then to choose his current major.

It seemed to be a major that had only been newly established in the past few years. Even counting the current fourth-year students, it had yet to produce any graduates.

The major in paleontology had only two students in Luo Qiu's class, including himself.

Although he knew that he had chosen the major partly because he had not yet recovered from the grief of his father's death and did not want to stay around crowds, there had even been a hint of self-abandonment in it.

But looking back now, Luo Qiu still believed that he must have been cursed...

Still, paleontology had its advantages. For example, the curriculum was so relaxed—or rather, so sparse—that even liberal arts students would have found it astonishing. Another example was that there was only one professor teaching them, and the old professor skipped class even more often than Luo Qiu did as a student...

Thus, even if he suddenly stopped attending classes for a week, he would not fail because of poor attendance on his end-of-term transcript. There was only one course to begin with, and no general education courses.

Some people said that the only reason this major could continue to exist was that the old professor had some undisclosed deal with the university. Apparently, the old professor was extremely obsessed with paleontological research, so he had used the establishment of the new major as a pretext to divert funds toward supporting his own research.

So he could even save himself the trouble of asking the class's only other student to request leave for him.

After washing up, Luo Qiu poured himself a cup of warm water and sat down in front of the computer. He began using satellite maps to look over the place where he would need to guard the Insect Yokai that night.

Although he could simply use his traversal ability to go there and take a look, what the naked eye could see would never be as comprehensive as a satellite map.

He spent the entire morning looking. The Insect Yokai had said that its body had become rotten because it had eaten food containing harmful substances, so Luo Qiu focused more on searching the map for possible sources that could have poisoned it.

It was not until noon that Luo Qiu shut down the computer and returned to the club.

No new guests had appeared since last night.

You Ye had prepared beef stew for Luo Qiu's lunch, along with a small dish of pickles, bread and caviar, and finally the beet soup she had already made once before.

Luo Qiu examined the bread carefully. "This should be a big round loaf, right?"

"Mm. It is indeed called that here through a homophonic pun." You Ye smiled. "Of course, it's really just ordinary bread, only larger and firmer."

Luo Qiu looked at the neatly arranged meal before him, which even possessed a touch of artistry, and smiled. "These should all be common Russian dishes, especially the beet soup, which you've made for the second time. It seems You Ye really likes Russian cuisine?"

You Ye merely smiled and did not answer Luo Qiu's question directly.

Still, some things could be inferred. For instance, You Ye had been created by an alchemist as a doll containing a sealed soul. Since he was called an alchemist, he naturally would not have been an eastern native of the country where Luo Qiu lived.

Therefore, the alchemist was most likely Russian, or from a nearby country. That cold country might also have been the homeland of You Ye... or rather, the soul within You Ye.

However, Luo Qiu had once asked You Ye whether she remembered anything from before she became a doll.

She had merely shaken her head, and her sapphire-blue eyes had seemed somewhat dim at the time.

"Master... do you dislike this kind of cuisine?" You Ye suddenly asked.

A doll did not need to eat, yet You Ye could cook dishes with excellent flavor. Perhaps these were the only things that connected the soul sealed inside the doll with its memories.

Over these three hundred years, You Ye had probably cooked mostly Russian dishes, hadn't she?

"It's fine. I'm not a picky eater." Luo Qiu shook his head. "But eating them like this might not preserve their authentic flavor."

He looked at You Ye and smiled. "So, if we get the chance, let's go to Russia and cook with the freshest ingredients there, all right? I think it would taste wonderful."

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but Luo Qiu felt that he saw a trace of anticipation in those beautiful sapphire eyes.

After lunch, Luo Qiu stayed in the club and chatted with You Ye, gradually probing her about the hidden world of yokai living among human society.

By the time of his appointment with the Insect Yokai, Luo Qiu was completely unaware of it, utterly absorbed in the strange tales coming from You Ye. Only when You Ye thoughtfully reminded him of the time did Luo Qiu hurriedly open a portal to the agreed location. The next moment, one man and one doll appeared beneath the New Moon.

The surroundings were covered in forest. A river flowed in from the west, while the shadows of a complex of buildings could vaguely be seen in the distance, along with the faint lights shining from within.

It was a chemical plant located here. Years ago, there seemed to have been news that it had secretly discharged wastewater. After being exposed, it had halted operations for rectification, but it seemed to have reopened again.

The river before them shimmered with the reflection of the New Moon. But several years ago, it might have been murky, with even the bodies of fish floating on its surface. How long would the river remain clear?

"Master, the guest is here." You Ye suddenly reminded Luo Qiu beside his ear.

Pulling his gaze and thoughts away from the river, Luo Qiu took a deep breath, turned around, and greeted his second guest with a smile.

The movement was not fast, perhaps because its true form was an insect, but its clothing was no different from what Luo Qiu had seen the previous night.

The Insect Yokai slowly "shuffled" over to Luo Qiu, carrying a hint of delight. "You... really... came."

Luo Qiu surveyed the night. The surrounding environment was quite pleasant—quiet and cool. If he had a book to read, perhaps spending the night here would not be too boring.

However, reality seemed unwilling to go so smoothly. A sharp cry rang out from all directions, now near and now far. Seeing the Insect Yokai suddenly begin to tremble, Luo Qiu knew that the enemy it had mentioned had probably arrived.

Mm... a Mantis Yokai that was a hundred and twenty years old?

Then he really would have to see it for himself.