Chapter 189 - 152: A Terminal Procrastinator

After Li Kang and Ning Linglong received another alert and left on a mission...

Chu Bamboo thought for a moment, then decided to swing by the union in the shantytown redevelopment area. After confirming there were no issues, he returned to Nuwa Base.

"Novels, activate!"

Previously, when Chu Bamboo read novels, he would actually feel a little uneasy. It felt like he was wasting time... but now, he could do so with a clear conscience.

After all, once he finished reading the novels from his dreams, he could use Divine Techniques to print them out in the Real World and post them online to make money!

And his moneymaking was, in essence, for the sake of saving the world!

’By that logic—who’s to say that me reading novels for fun right now isn’t also a form of saving the world?!’

...

「That evening.」

Chu Bamboo arrived at the Police Chief Bureau’s cafeteria, planning to grab a bite to eat.

"Ah Zhu!" Wall Announcements called out, carrying his tray as he sat down across from Chu Bamboo.

"What are you doing back here?" Chu Bamboo asked, curious. He glanced toward the entrance. "Where are Uncle Li and Ning Linglong?"

"A murder case involving a Transcendent cropped up!" Wall Announcements shrugged. "I was running around handling all the grunt work, but after that, there was nothing else I could really do to help, so the captain sent me back early."

"A murder involving a Transcendent..." Chu Bamboo mused for a moment before asking, "Speaking of which, are there many cases like this?"

"Not that many, I guess? Maybe one every two or three days?" Wall Announcements said, counting on his fingers, though he sounded unsure.

"In reality, I’d bet there’s more than one a day!" Chu Bamboo scoffed. He didn’t believe for a second that every case involving a Transcendent was brought to light. Or, to put it another way, the ones that were actually discovered and confirmed to involve Transcendents were a fraction of a fraction—

After all, there were so few ways to even identify a case as involving a Transcendent. Other than a fluke, like when Ning Linglong happened to spot something amiss while going through old files and flagged the case, the only other way was if Nuwa’s surveillance detected someone with knowledge of Transcendents. Only after the Special Operations Brigade was dispatched and found a murder at the location could the case be officially confirmed as involving a Transcendent.

"Perhaps," Wall Announcements agreed, not dwelling on the topic. He grew serious. "Ah Zhu, hey! Tomorrow afternoon..."

At this, Wall Announcements glanced around furtively, even deliberately lowering his voice. "My master and grandmaster should be back! You told me before that you wanted to see them... Look! I can take you to them, but... but don’t expect me to help you haggle over the price! It would put me in a really awkward position, being caught in the middle."

"Sounds good." Chu Bamboo’s mood instantly lifted. ’At last, I can sacrifice that assassin.’

But...

He paused for a second, a sudden thought occurring to him. He lowered his gaze. "Speaking of which, how long does it generally take to forge a Forbidden Artifact?"

’In other words, how much longer until Zhou Ze and the others can be properly laid to rest?’

"It depends on the person!" The words had barely left Wall Announcements’ mouth when he noticed Chu Bamboo’s gaze sharpen. He quickly added, "I’m not trying to blow you off, really! For example... my grandmaster, Mo Ban, could probably finish one in a single afternoon and evening! But if it’s my master, Mo Wen... it’s not out of the question for him to drag his feet and take a whole week. So how am I supposed to give you a definite answer?"

Chu Bamboo was speechless.

’He’d almost forgotten! Mo Wen was the ultimate slacker...’

’Yes, Chu Bamboo was now certain that, under normal circumstances, forging a Forbidden Artifact should only take one to three days. Mo Wen was the classic type who absolutely refused to lift a finger until the deadline was breathing down his neck!’

’A terminal case of procrastination!’

"Alright, it’s a deal then!" Seeing that Chu Bamboo had no objections, Wall Announcements nodded. "I’ll confirm the exact time and set up a meeting for you... In any case, you need to free up your afternoon tomorrow! Oh, right, and while you’re at it, can you put in a leave request for me...?"

An unconscious smile spread across Wall Announcements’ face. "I’m doing this for you, so I can’t be the one to request the time off, can I?"

’Damn it, I finally found an excuse to take a day off!’ Wall Announcements was so moved he nearly burst into tears.

’Honest to God, even his strict, closed-campus high school wasn’t as exhausting as joining the Special Operations Brigade... The crucial part was that the Special Operations Brigade had no vacations!’

’Three hundred sixty-five days a year, working around the clock with no breaks—it’s inhuman! When Wall Announcements had first questioned this, the answer he got was that Transcendents were physically tough enough to handle it and didn’t need rest. ’Aren’t Transcendents people too?!’

’Right now, all he felt was regret! So much regret.’

’If only he hadn’t taken that goddamn civil service exam... would things have turned out differently? If he’d known, he would have just gone straight to his master!’

’Now things were such a mess that he couldn’t even quit if he wanted to... He didn’t even dare reveal his connection to the Moisture Teaching. All he could do was toil away every day in misery and regret, like a donkey turning a millstone!’

"Fine." Chu Bamboo nodded, quickly scarfing down the last few bites of his food before taking his bowl to the dish return.

...

「Joy Street.」

Night had fallen, and rows of lanterns hung along the street, casting a suggestive red glow.

Chu Bamboo had come here again, dressed all in black, carrying himself with a casual and confident air. Even without trying, his natural good looks and charisma made him stand out from the crowd, as conspicuous as a firefly in the dead of night.

Chu Bamboo’s purpose in coming this time was, of course, to probe the All-Powerful Lineage’s situation once more...

Although Chu Bamboo had thwarted the All-Powerful Lineage’s plots at the church and in the redevelopment area, it was clear that he hadn’t gotten to the root of their grand conspiracy—

In fact, to this day, Chu Bamboo still couldn’t figure out what the All-Powerful Lineage’s ultimate plan even was.

The All-Powerful Lineage had been quiet for some time now, but this didn’t put Chu Bamboo at ease. He suspected they were still pulling some strings behind the scenes—

’Based on his past experiences with the All-Powerful Lineage, if they had another plot in the works, now would be the time they’d be gearing up for it, right?’