Legend Management Bureau Chapter 227

[ … words ]

These words rippled through their minds like a sudden clap of thunder.

It was true. They kept claiming they wanted to help Du Yu, but their ultimate goal was to kill him.

Even if they tried every possible method to make Du Yu “die in an accident,” they were still the ones orchestrating the accident. They could not escape the blame.

If Du Yu ever learned the truth—that Qu Xi hadn’t just happened to be there that day, but had deliberately plotted his death—what would happen?

Qu Xi thought about it carefully before speaking. “I didn’t know Du Yu when we were in the mortal realm, but after seeing him in the projection just now, I realized he was far less happy living out there than he is here…”

Ying Ning nodded in agreement. “Yeah, he looked so miserable, like someone who had been tossed into a river for thousands of years.”

Zhan Qisheng felt that Ying Ning’s words were directed at him and hurriedly turned around. “Ying Ning… I…”

“I what? I’m talking about Du Yu. This has nothing to do with you.”

Zhi Nv nodded. “Good. Since you have seriously considered the two issues I brought up, we will act together to save Du Yu. Call A Can and A Kui over now, and we will discuss the plan together.”

This was a very unusual descent preparatory meeting.

A group of Great Pivots was about to set out to rescue another Great Pivot.

Their operation would not receive any official approval.

After all, no one even knew who Du Yu was anymore.

In other words, these seven people were now going to “create” a person who did not exist.

This practice was strictly forbidden not only within the Legend Management Bureau but under the celestial laws of Heaven as well.

“The Seven Holy Heroes have seven members, and we have seven as well. Hopefully, our strength is on par with theirs,” Zhi Nv said. “But A Can and A Kui pose a problem. Since the two of them are ‘both our allies and members of the Seven Holy Heroes,’ and considering the rule that ‘one cannot meet themselves within a legend,’ we aren’t sure if we can successfully bring them into the legend.”

Having just learned that Du Yu was actually Saint, A Can and A Kui couldn’t help but look troubled.

“Sister Zhi, no matter what, we want to try. After all, Brother Yu is our benefactor,” A Can declared.

“Um…” Shiranui Asuka raised her hand. “I think I forgot to mention something…”

“Hmm?” Zhi Nv turned to look at her. “Miss Shiranui, we are a team now. Feel free to speak your mind.”

“There’s a drawback to this Portal… It requires someone to stay behind on this side to keep the door open. Otherwise, when it’s time for us to return, we won’t be able to come back…”

Zhi Nv froze. They were already short on manpower, and now they had to leave someone behind?!

Six people against the Seven Holy Heroes?

“Or else…” Zhan Qisheng pondered for a moment before suggesting, “What if we ask Assistant Dong to come over and help keep it open?”

“No…” Zhi Nv shook her head. “Assistant Dong has already forgotten who Du Yu is. She doesn’t understand the gravity of this situation. We have to assign one of our own.”

But who should they leave behind?

At this moment, Qu Xi slowly raised her hand. “Zhi Nv, I am a mortal, so I probably won’t be of much help anyway… Why don’t you let me stay?”

“No.” Zhi Nv shook her head. “Anyone else can sit this out, but you absolutely must go. You are the key figure in this descent. If we want to minimize the impact of Du Yu’s disappearance, we must ensure his death happens exactly as it did back then. That is the only way the subsequent events will unfold accurately. Besides, there are mortals among the Seven Holy Heroes too… Didn’t you say so yourself? You mentioned that the woman named Xiao Nian among them is also a mortal.”

The group fell into a thoughtful silence upon hearing this.

This put Zhi Nv in a difficult position.

Qu Xi was one of the factors in Du Yu’s death, so she couldn’t stay behind.

Zhan Qisheng and Ying Ning were their main combat forces, so they couldn’t stay behind either.

A Can and A Kui were needed to ensure that their future counterparts didn’t appear, so they couldn’t be left behind.

Thinking about it this way, the only option left was…

Zhi Nv spoke up softly. “I will stay behind.”

“That won’t do…” Shiranui Asuka shook her head. “Senior Zhi Nv, you are so brilliant; you are the tactician for this plan. You definitely can’t stay behind. Let me stay instead!”

Zhi Nv naturally knew that, as things stood, only she and Shiranui Asuka seemed somewhat non-essential for the field operation.

After thinking it over… having Shiranui Asuka stay behind was actually a good idea.

After all, this descent was fraught with extreme danger and would almost certainly involve a direct clash. Shiranui Asuka was ultimately a guest from afar; she shouldn’t be asked to risk her life for this.

“Very well, we will have Shiranui Asuka stay back this time,” Zhi Nv nodded in agreement. “She will be responsible for remaining here to keep the door open for us.”

The others also felt this was a sound approach and nodded their approval.

“In that case, let us begin discussing the plan,” Zhi Nv said slowly. “First, we must note that we will not have the omniscient support of a Voice Transmitter. Once we enter the legend, we can only rely on ourselves, so everyone must be extremely careful. Currently, only Zhan Qisheng, Ying Ning, and I can use Voice Transmission, which might not be enough for communication. Therefore, everyone will carry a mobile phone. If any problems arise, we will contact each other via phone.”

Everyone silently committed this to memory. Since Zhan Qisheng didn’t have a mobile phone, Shiranui Asuka lent him hers, sternly warning him, “Under no circumstances are you to look through the photo gallery.”

“Second, this mission takes place in modern society,” Zhi Nv continued. “Information spreads incredibly fast in the modern world. If we use our magic, it will inevitably cause a massive panic. If someone records it and posts it online, the repercussions will be unimaginable. Thus, everyone must keep a low profile. Unless it is absolutely necessary, you cannot let anyone see our abilities.”

Qu Xi let out a quiet sigh. As a mortal, she couldn’t show off any supernatural abilities even if she wanted to.

“Third, we need to change into modern clothes,” Zhi Nv said. “The rest of us are fine, but Ying Ning and Zhan Qisheng’s outfits definitely won’t work. Dressed like that, they’ll be photographed the second they step onto the street. Completing the mission under the radar would be impossible.”

After speaking, Zhi Nv pulled two sets of clothing from her Cosmic Bag—one for a man and one for a woman. She then handed a shirt to each of the brothers, A Can and A Kui.

After everyone had changed, Zhi Nv couldn’t help but frown. Something still felt off.

Zhan Qisheng and Ying Ning were simply too striking in their appearance.

Zhan Qisheng in particular stood out. Although he was wearing a simple trench coat and dark jeans, his flowing long hair was tied back in a braid. Combined with his deep, piercing eyes, he didn’t look like an ordinary person from any angle.

“Sigh… Never mind…” Zhi Nv shook her head, deciding this wasn’t the time to worry about such trivialities. “What we need to do is board that bus together and ensure that Du Yu dies. We still don’t have the details on all the members of the Seven Holy Heroes, but they likely know us. Keep a close eye out for anyone who stares at you.”

The group finalized their tactical approach.

Because the bus would be operating during the evening rush hour, there was bound to be a large crowd on board.

Just to be safe, Zhi Nv asked Qu Xi for the bus route.

She then planned out everyone’s boarding locations in advance, arranging for each person to get on at a different stop. This would minimize the chances of drawing unwanted attention.

Everyone also had a different role to play. Qu Xi was to board the bus as early as possible and take the exact same seat she had back then, waiting for Zhou Zhuangshi to arrive.

Zhan Qisheng had to first investigate why the “Qu Xi of that time” hadn’t shown up, to prevent the two Qu Xis from accidentally running into each other.

Ying Ning’s task was to ensure that the truck struck and killed Du Yu with pinpoint accuracy.

With all the arrangements made, the group gathered in front of the Portal once again.

At the last possible second, Zhi Nv called out to Qu Xi.

“Miss Qu, seeing how determined you are to save Du Yu, I feel obligated to remind you of something.”

Qu Xi frowned. She seemed to know what Zhi Nv was going to say, but she asked anyway. “What is it?”

“If we go back to that day, you will have to face ‘that incident’ all over again. I don’t want you to get hurt a second time, so you must leave as soon as possible.”

Qu Xi nodded, her expression heavy. “I know.”

Zhi Nv thought it over carefully. There shouldn’t be anything else left to cover, so she handed out some loose change to the group. After all, they needed money to ride the bus. Once everyone was fully prepared, Zhi Nv had Shiranui Asuka open the Portal. The other side of the gateway connected to an empty room.

It was Qu Xi’s home from that time.

A rental apartment leased by a solitary college student from out of town.

Because she had to do an internship, Qu Xi had left the suburban student dormitories and opted to rent a room right in the city center to make job hunting easier. She never imagined that this would provide the perfect location for Zhou Zhuangshi to strike.

Since the Qu Xi of this time period was constantly out and about, thinking it over, this was the absolute best location for them to descend.

Zhan Qisheng was the first to step into the Portal. As soon as he landed, he concealed his presence without skipping a beat, opened the apartment door, and flew far away.

Next came Zhi Nv and Qu Xi. After they arrived, they exchanged a glance, walked out the door, and split up, heading in opposite directions.

Then it was A Can’s turn. According to Zhi Nv’s instructions, A Can needed to rush to Du Yu’s boarding location and try to get on the bus with him. As a result, he hurried off the moment his feet hit the ground.

Finally, it was A Kui. He looked at Shiranui Asuka and said:

“Miss Shiranui, I’ll be off as well!”

With that, he stepped forward into the room.

Strangely enough, the moment A Kui entered this timeline, a severe wave of dizziness struck him. He barely managed to keep his footing and almost collapsed.

Behind him, Shiranui Asuka let out a gasp of surprise. She instinctively wanted to step through the Portal to help him up, but feared that if she left, the door would close, stranding the group forever. All she could do was stand her ground, fraught with anxiety.

A Kui quickly steadied himself, taking several deep breaths. He looked back and reassured her with an “I’m fine” before hastily departing.

Staying behind on this side of the door, Shiranui Asuka felt a profound sense of unease. She had traveled all this way only to be of no real help. She could only pray that everyone would return safely.