I Used to Be a Big Shot

"???" Upon hearing Old Li's words, Feng Xue immediately had a string of question marks on her forehead, but then she couldn't help but smile.

But he didn't immediately agree or refuse; instead, he asked with natural doubt:

"Will our sharing of the power of this Weird Tale attract the attention of the Progenitor Supernatural Tale or its Supernatural Tale Source, thereby drawing unnecessary hostility?"

"Don't worry, that won't happen. The nature of Group Supernatural Tale is that they spread in multiple places. As long as you don't try to steal the core position, it's easy to just join as a new member. In the end, we're just adding some Combat Power."

As Old Li spoke, seemingly worried that Feng Xue might not know what Group Supernatural Tale were, he explained them to him in detail. Although Feng Xue already understood the content, after Old Li's explanation, he had a clearer understanding of his role as a "message relay station".

After weighing the pros and cons, Feng Xue figured she still had plenty of time and could observe how to piggyback on other people's Weird Tale, so she replied:

"Okay, when do we leave?"

"I'm contacting the gatekeepers. Recently, all the major organizations have been working on the matter of the Real Worlder. Some smaller gatekeepers are short of money and want to rent a gatekeeper for a slightly lower price than usual. I conservatively estimate we can negotiate around eight million. Get the money ready, and we can set off by tomorrow night at the latest. If you're interested, we can have a notarized document guaranteeing that we will not intentionally harm anyone in any way. I sign such a document with everyone, so it can ensure maximum safety."

Old Li was quite reliable in this regard. After thinking about the S-Clash Driver she had just acquired, Feng Xue quickly finalized a contract with Old Li.

One day later, Eastern District, seventh floor...

"Holy crap!"

Looking at Old Li, whose eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets, Feng Xue found it all quite amusing. Although he had anticipated that the other party would be greatly surprised, seeing this expression still brought him a sense of amusement.

"Didn't you say you hadn't digested it yet?" Old Li glared at Feng Xue's chest—or rather, at the black, white, and gray transitional flame—with a "you fucking kidding me" expression. Feng Xue simply shrugged and said:

"Didn't I already say it would be quick...?"

"You're really fast..." Old Li grinned, about to say something, when a surprised voice came from behind him:

"Old Li, you should have told me sooner that a big shot was leading the group!"

"..." Old Li's expression was a little awkward for a moment, but he still introduced the young man in a suit to Feng Xue:

"This is Qingming. The quiet one next to you is called Lugen. These are all code names. You should come up with one too, so it'll be easier to communicate once we get there."

"Just call me 'Libra' then. By the way, is everyone here?" Feng Xue casually mentioned her publicly known Weird Tale name. Old Li, upon hearing this, didn't show any emotion, seemingly genuinely unaware of the ghost Weird Tale of Libra, and casually replied:

"We're one more person needed. We'll set off once he arrives."

As Old Li was speaking, a man in a white mandarin jacket walked over. He seemed quite friendly, but his walking posture always gave people a somewhat stiff feeling, which unconsciously aroused a sense of "uncanny valley" disgust.

"They've arrived!" Old Li waved his hand, introducing the three men to the man in white while saying to them:

"This is Wuchang, a somewhat unlucky name, but he's a nice person."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean by bad luck? You know, Wuchang) will make you rich if he sees you?" Wuchang rolled his eyes at Old Li and started greeting the group like a social terrorist.

Feng Xue was also observing these people. Although she couldn't identify them, she could discern some characteristics from the size and shape of the Supernatural Tale Fire.

The weakest among them was probably Old Li. The flames on his body were like candles flickering in the wind, as if they might go out at any moment. The shape of the Qingming was not very regular, it was rough and not round at all, probably because he had just finished digesting.

Lugen was a man of few words, who looked like a corporate slave in his thirties. The shape of the flames was ordinary, and the color was also very natural. It was hard to tell whether he hadn't digested it yet or had used some kind of authority similar to Feng Xue's [Orca].

As for Wuchang, he's quite interesting. His flames are a cool color, somewhat like phosphorescence. They don't burn intensely, but they have a lot of texture and a distinct color difference, which is a typical sign that he has completed digestion. Although he can't be said to be the strongest, he should be the one among them with the highest degree of completion in his Weird Tale.

The group of five didn't know each other except for Old Li, but thanks to Wuchang's Wuchang rambling, there wasn't an awkward silence. However, this only lasted until the room guarded by several menacing-looking people came into view.

After all, the focus of all the major forces is currently on the Real Worlder, so the ones who need to be guarded at this time are definitely the Door Pusher.

The process of time travel was uneventful; it was simply a matter of paying money and opening the door. However, the moment everyone arrived in reality, Feng Xue immediately activated the Heavenly Sphere Star Shifting Technique).

Not only him, but everyone, including Old Li, reacted almost simultaneously. Qingming even swung his fist forcefully, and a scream came from not far away.

"This door is being monitored!" Qingming clicked his tongue, Wuchang shrugged and said:

"At least it wasn't ambushed, which means this door isn't used very often. By the way, what's that accent of yours?"

"It's normal. Parallel worlds are always a little different. The accents can vary every ten miles in Yan Kingdom. Plus, there's a time span of thousands of years. As long as you can understand it, it's fine." Old Li spoke with an accent close to that of "Funan." After looking around a few times, he suddenly emitted a series of peculiar fluctuations. The four people, who were originally very distinctive, suddenly became less conspicuous, just like passersby who could be seen anywhere.

"The application of the Hermit's authority? It seems Old Li's supernatural Weird Tale aren't very strong, but his applications are quite impressive!" Feng Xue muttered to herself, but then heard Wuchang say quite directly:

"Wow, Old Li, your micro-management skills are amazing! How did you end up like this?"

Old Li's expression darkened upon hearing this, but he quickly noticed everyone staring at him, so he revealed a bit of the truth:

"My Weird Tale are called 'Qigong Master'."

Feng Xue and Qingming instantly understood, and Lugen, after a moment's hesitation, also seemed to grasp something. Only Wu Wuchang looked at the group of people who seemed to understand, and said inexplicably:

"How come you all understand? What's wrong with Qigong Master?"

"To put it simply, Old Li originally had a very strong national-level Weird Tale, enough for him to live off his achievements for the rest of his life, but then that Weird Tale collapsed, and he didn't have any other Weird Tale..." Lugen looked like a corporate slave, said in a rather nostalgic tone, while Old Li cooperated by showing an expression that he didn't want to look back on the past.

Who could have imagined that a Weird Tale covering nearly a billion people would collapse in just a few months?

Why didn't these Weird Tale about people who understand the Yan language become big enough to be publicized or involve cooperation with the government...?

As I've said before, this is a pivotal moment for change, due to the widespread adoption of Smart Phone and the internet.

Ten years ahead of the world in the book (twenty years ahead in reality), computers were still a rarity (I still remember when I was in elementary school, the teacher asked us to write about Electrical Appliance, and I wrote about computers. At that time, the teacher said that computers did not count as Electrical Appliance and gave me a zero...). Cell phones were practically a luxury item, and the media were mainly newspapers and television. Under such circumstances, it was really difficult for a Weird Tale to spread widely. Often, no matter how hard it was, it would only be confined to a community, or at most a district.

As for why the authorities don't know...

Honestly, if someone understands the language and knows how to hide, then the official authorities of Yan Kingdom might not be able to find them, even if they weren't part of the local population.

By the way, the Weird Tale of the Qigong Master is actually quite powerful. To see exactly how powerful he can be, you can refer to Stephen Chow in the God of Gamblers series. He can do illusions, X-ray Vision through things, Teleportation, manipulate minds, heal the sick and save lives... basically anything.

Around the 1980s, various countries had their own Star Wars and super soldiers films, and China even established a Qigong Science Research Association. In fact, the Special Ability depicted in the God of Gamblers series and Hong Kong films of the same period were basically all based on this.

Old Li created this Weird Tale in the 1980s and dominated the scene for more than a decade. However, when the qigong craze cooled down, the Qigong Master's Weird Tale also collapsed. Old Li went from being a big shot to Gazi Steals Dog.