Chapter 248 - 202: The Scent of Her Perfume on You Is a Crime My Nose Committed...

So, what you’re saying is... Chu Bamboo eyed Wall Announcements strangely. ’She can get into the nuclear facility whenever she wants? Isn’t that a bit too...’

’Oh, right. No one else knows about Wall Announcements’s Divine Technique. Besides, there are two secret files from the nuclear facility hidden in the black box... one is the key, and the other is the map! Even if you have the ability to open the door, you still need to find the nuclear facility in the first place...’

’Right. Besides a bug like me, it’s impossible for someone like Wall Announcements to know that kind of information anyway.’

"...What’s with you? Why the sudden, deeply emotional look?" Suspicion flickered in Wall Announcements’s eyes.

"It’s nothing." Chu Bamboo shook his head. "I just suddenly realized that Divine Techniques are truly a bug!"

At the same time, he gained a profound understanding of why one must hide their Divine Technique. Given Wall Announcements’s ability... if word of it really got out, she’d likely be hunted down and forged into an Artifact.

"...’Bug’?" Wall Announcements repeated the English word, her face a mask of confusion. "What’s that?"

"You can think of it as... a loophole!" Chu Bamboo explained patiently. "A way to cross thresholds that ordinary people can’t, always in some unexpected manner."

"? Isn’t that what they are?" Wall Announcements blinked, then asked curiously, "So, have you discovered some new, fantastical use for your own Divine Technique? Can you tell me... Don’t look at me like that. You asked about my Divine Technique earlier, and I didn’t hide it from you!"

Wall Announcements said this with perfect conviction.

Chu Bamboo rolled his eyes. ’You’ve got some nerve!’ He succinctly spat out one word, "Memory," then nodded at Li Kang, who was sitting at his desk. Li Kang had been smiling, but his face went slack-jawed with shock upon hearing the name of the Divine Technique. With that, Chu Bamboo turned and left.

"..." Li Kang’s face contorted. He looked back and forth between the stunned Wall Announcements. ’No, seriously, is this how young people operate these days?’

’Do they just reveal their Divine Techniques the moment someone asks?’

’Wait, does Ah Zhu trust Wall Announcements that much? I never would have guessed... Hold on, Ah Zhu said it in front of me, too. So does this mean he trusts me as well?’

’But...’ Li Kang suddenly fell into thought. ’What kind of Divine Technique is "Memory"... The name is straightforward... but I don’t think I’ve ever come across it in the records.’

To put it bluntly, most Divine Techniques have appeared in the past, and many even have known counters. That’s why they need to be hidden, or why people deliberately mislead others about their own Divine Technique...

’It couldn’t be that this is its first appearance, could it? If it is appearing for the first time... then his casual attitude is actually understandable! After all, no one in the past would have any knowledge of this Divine Technique, so there would be no counters for it.’ Li Kang felt like he had figured it out.

Countering a Divine Technique usually involved looking up the methods devised by predecessors... The alternative was to analyze and figure it out all by yourself. It wasn’t impossible... just far too troublesome... It required a massive amount of time and effort! And even then, any method you came up with wasn’t guaranteed to work, since it had never been tested...

Meanwhile, Chu Bamboo went to find Hai Mingyue.

"Brother Chu!" Hai Mingyue blinked her big, watery eyes and timidly glanced around. She fidgeted with the hem of her pleated skirt, exuding an air of someone who was easy to bully. "Meeting like this behind Sister Lu’s back... This isn’t right, is it?"

"...Cut the act." Chu Bamboo’s face was expressionless. ’You’re laying it on a bit thick!’ He clapped a hand directly onto Hai Mingyue’s shoulder.

In that instant, Hai Mingyue’s pupils contracted. A flicker of Divine Light flared, knocking Chu Bamboo’s hand away. Her own hand formed into a claw, an apparently subconscious urge to strike, but she realized the situation and forcibly suppressed the impulse.

"..."

"?!"

Chu Bamboo and Hai Mingyue stared at each other, the atmosphere between them suddenly becoming extremely awkward.

"...Brother Chu!" Hai Mingyue’s attitude changed. Her expression was a mix of amusement and mockery. "If I were to suddenly scream... that you’re assaulting me... With the Police Chief Bureau right here in the Third District... do you think a massive scandal like that would be enough to get you locked up?"

Two small dimples appeared on her face. "And even if it couldn’t... what if it cost you your job over in the shantytown redevelopment area? That wouldn’t be good either."

"You can give it a try," Chu Bamboo said, his expression impassive. "Noble lady of the Hai Family, from the Third Realm of the Hehuan Sect."

Ning Linglong could only vaguely sense abnormalities. To react so directly, to even subconsciously repel him, meant she had to be at a realm above the Second Realm... However, Chu Bamboo felt the chances of her being in the Fourth Realm were slim.

For one, Hai Mingyue was too young. Although she was petite and looked like an elementary or middle school student, her actual age was similar to Lu Muxue’s... but even so, for a Cultivator, that was still too young.

By comparison, Ning Linglong, who was suspected to be from Natural Taoism and had an unfathomably powerful master, was slightly younger than the two of them but was only in the Second Realm.

Zhang Hai was suspected to have touched the threshold of the Fourth Realm, but he had yet to break through. And how old was Zhang Hai?

If Hai Mingyue had already reached the Fourth Realm or even higher at her age... that would be terrifying. Chu Bamboo would have to call her a true prodigy...

This time, it was Hai Mingyue’s turn to be silent. A heavy feeling settled in her heart... ’Where in the world did my information leak from? Could it be that Dragon... but that doesn’t make sense! That person should only know my identity in the Hehuan Sect, not my identity in the mortal world...’

’According to our single-line contact protocol, the only one who knows both of my identities is my master... But my master, betraying me and leaking secrets?’

’That’s... like asking why the emperor is plotting a rebellion?!’

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Lu Muxue’s boisterous voice rang out. "Mingyue, Mingyue... I’m back! Huh?!"

Lu Muxue froze solid. She looked at Hai Mingyue and Chu Bamboo, sensing the strange atmosphere between them. Although the current vibe was half-hostile and half-awkward, this seemingly tense yet not entirely distant feeling made her subconsciously start filling in the blanks... ’Could this be... love at first sight, just like in the romance novels?’

She glanced around again and saw no one else... ’Oh no! It really is a secret rendezvous...’

’Does that make me the traditional second female lead in a romance novel, or maybe the female villain? If I become a stepping stone for their relationship, I’m the second female lead. If I become an obstacle to their love, I’m the female villain...’

Lu Muxue felt her heart tearing in two...

"...That perfume on your clothes, it’s my nose that’s to blame..."

"???" Lu Muxue’s eye twitched as she watched Chu Bamboo start singing to himself. The lyrics had, of course, been localized into Dream Language, but the melody was the same...

After understanding the lyrics, Lu Muxue felt like she was really about to lose it.

Forget Lu Muxue; even Hai Mingyue’s teary eyes nearly froze over. She turned her head stiffly, staring at Chu Bamboo in what could only be described as utter disbelief.

To be fair, Lu Muxue had just gone to the restroom... Hai Mingyue had even calculated the exact time she would return. The situation Chu Bamboo was currently facing had, naturally, been orchestrated by her.

But she had thought of many ways Chu Bamboo might try to get out of this, yet this particular method... she could have wracked her brains and never come up with it!

’You’re way too good at pulling stunts like this!’

’But then again... that song of yours is actually pretty catchy!’

Hai Mingyue hesitated for a moment but ultimately couldn’t suppress her curiosity. "Brother Chu, you have a talent for this? How come I never knew before..."

"Before?" Chu Bamboo stopped singing and let out a cold laugh. He crossed his arms and shot a sideways glance at Hai Mingyue. "You let it slip, didn’t you?"

"Little Doe, look at this ’best friend’ of yours! Do you still believe... she’s just ’curious’ about me? This is bordering on stalker-level obsession..."

"?!" ’Not good.’ Hai Mingyue’s heart skipped a beat. ’He actually caught that slip-up.’ "Sister Lu, I just happened to..."

Hai Mingyue looked at Lu Muxue, choked on her words, and her face went blank.

Right now, Lu Muxue’s cheeks were bright red, and she looked rather bashful. ’Little Doe? Such an intimate nickname... This is the first time anyone has ever called me that...’