Side Mission

"A side quest?"

Lu Ban pondered this sudden appearance as he continued to play.

Since it was a side quest, Lu Ban could complete it at any time, but the quest description stated "in the Silent Land." The Silent Land was clearly not the world Lu Ban was currently in. Alternatively, the Silent Land might be a different dimension influenced by the system or some powerful entity, much like the Jiangcheng Grand Theater at night.

In other words, Lu Ban needed to search for these traces within the mission.

So, what would he gain if he found these melody fragments?

The quest description offered no details.

Lu Ban set it aside for now.

That wasn't the focus.

As the song ended, Song Yunyan had tears in her eyes. She didn't wipe them with a handkerchief, but simply stood before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, gazing into the distance.

If she had doubted Lu Ban's sincerity before, suspecting him of being a fraud seeking attention, hearing the music convinced Song Yunyan of everything.

She had heard this piece only once before, and it was during the great fire.

Those who experienced it then were long dead, and Lu Ban possessing this piece was the best proof.

Lu Ban looked over her shoulder and saw the ruins of the Jiangcheng Grand Theater faintly visible at the horizon.

No wonder she bought that plot of land without developing it and chose this location for her office.

For twenty years, she had probably stared out like this countless times, yet found nothing.

Lu Ban had an epiphany.

"Mr. Lu, I have a feeling that you and Danping are similar in some ways. May I ask you for a favor?"

Song Yunyan didn't turn around, her gaze fixed on the shimmering Ling River.

"Please, go ahead."

"Can you help Danping find peace? He's been bound there for so many years; it's time for him to leave."

She fell silent for a moment before speaking, as if making a firm decision.

"No problem,"

Lu Ban replied immediately.

"To be precise, Du Danping's spirit has already found peace."

"?"

Song Yunyan couldn't help but turn around.

"Ms. Song, my video wasn't finished. I edited out the latter part; the main part is here."

Lu Ban took out his phone and immediately played the footage for Song Yunyan: him singing "Good Luck" while smashing the skull of her old lover with a crowbar.

"...That's good too."

Song Yunyan's expression was complicated.

"However, Du Danping's incident isn't entirely resolved. To prevent such things from happening again, the Jiangcheng Grand Theater needs to be demolished. Its architectural style is what led to the tragedy."

Lu Ban shared his thoughts from earlier.

"And it would be best to establish a positive propaganda and education base or use the site for public welfare projects. I believe Mr. Du would be very comforted to see that in his afterlife."

He said with certainty, having personally sent Du Danping's spirit on its way.

"...That's a very good suggestion."

Song Yunyan was taken aback, then nodded hesitantly.

She gazed once more at the abandoned Jiangcheng Grand Theater, as if to etch it into the deepest part of her memory.

"Mr. Lu, is there anything I can do to help you?"

Song Yunyan asked again.

"For someone like you, from 'over there,' wealth is probably just worldly possessions and useless. But I have nothing else but money."

"..."

Lu Ban hesitated to speak.

"For a while, I searched for antiques worldwide, hoping to find a connection with Danping. Unfortunately, they were all ordinary items, and I doubt you'd find them appealing, Mr. Lu."

Song Yunyan pondered with slight frustration.

"..."

Lu Ban again hesitated.

"Or perhaps..."

She remembered something else, but before she could finish, Lu Ban raised his hand and subtly interrupted her.

"...Actually, there is something I need your help with right now, Ms. Song."

"Please tell me."

Song Yunyan was utterly confused.

"Ms. Song, as you know, I'm just a small-time video creator right now. My biggest wish is to reach 100,000 followers as soon as possible. If you can help me achieve that, I'll be perfectly content."

Lu Ban said with a straight face.

"I don't have many ambitions. I make these videos to fulfill my own dream of making movies. Reaching 100,000 followers is just a small step toward that. Of course, it would be even better if you could invest in my future films."

"?"

Song Yunyan became even more confused.

After experiencing that bizarre, fire-like scene, seeing Du Danping's spirit, and potentially coming into contact with some mysterious entity, this young man's greatest wish was to reach 100,000 followers?

It felt like trying to solve a complex math problem in the library for three hours, only to have the cleaning lady casually solve it, and then when asked, she says she just wants to be a quiet cleaner. What was this feeling?

And making movies. Was he serious?

He possessed such extraordinary power, yet he only wanted to make movies?

Or perhaps, his films would involve the power of that other world?

"Of course, I can."

Song Yunyan replied, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

Although she was over forty, she was familiar with the ways of young people. She even had an account on a video website, sometimes uploading videos of herself touring luxurious mansions.

This was the era of traffic. As long as you had traffic, making someone famous wasn't an issue. And traffic required money to acquire.

Buying 100,000 bot followers was already a low-level tactic. Song Yunyan planned to have her secretary promote Lu Ban's videos through other means, helping him gain a genuine 100,000 followers.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

For some reason, when facing Lu Ban, Song Yunyan didn't have the usual confidence she had with younger people. Instead, she felt a sense of awe.

Perhaps it was because she had truly witnessed those extraordinary events that she saw Lu Ban in a different light.

Or perhaps Song Yunyan saw a shadow of Du Danping from years ago in Lu Ban, wanting to make up for past regrets.

"Um, Ms. Song, you mentioned before that you've collected many antiques, right?"

Lu Ban thought about it and decided to remind her.

"While those antiques might not require any special attention, I still advise you not to delve too deeply into them. Some things are more dangerous the more you know about them."

It was like the items in the Silence Department Store. Lu Ban suspected they were remnants left behind by people like him. Most of these items were contaminated. Ordinary people who encountered them might be affected quickly, perhaps losing their sanity.

Having glimpsed the true nature of this world, Lu Ban understood this deeply.

Although his sanity was currently at zero, Lu Ban didn't consider himself crazy.

"I understand."

Song Yunyan nodded, seemingly understanding but not entirely.

"One last thing."

Lu Ban arrived at the office door, preparing to leave.

Song Yunyan looked over.

"Could you trouble your driver to take me back? It's a bit inconvenient to take the subway from here."

Lu Ban said earnestly.

"...Alright."

Song Yunyan could no longer understand this man.

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