Chapter 40

Bo Jingyun was shocked that Yue Yin, a dark goddess from beyond the void, would actually change her mind just for some human reward money.

What he didn’t know was that, despite her wealth, Yue Yin believed in a lifestyle of saving where she could and spending only when necessary.

Take the recent battle at the underground plaza as an example. She had left the Life Association’s hideout in shambles, with barely a chair intact. Yet the shared bike she rode in on was still sitting untouched in the corner, looking brand new. She’d even taken the time to cover it with a few pieces of clothing to protect it from blood splatters.

It wasn’t out of any warmth toward the bike but simply because she didn’t want to lose her 199 yuan deposit!

Come to think of it, she only let that water ghoul go so it could steal her some grilled cold noodles.

Yes, steal—not buy.

So it was entirely unsurprising that Yue Yin would readily agree to cooperate for a bonus reward. It wouldn’t be any trouble for her, and afterward, she could even have Captain Li’s team return the shared bike for her.

She didn’t mind riding it back herself, but cycling in the rain did seem a little silly, and she did have some pride.

Having only recently met Yue Yin, Bo Jingyun wasn’t yet familiar with her strange ways, which was why he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Yue Yin readily agreed to the investigation. After exchanging glances, Captain Li stepped forward.

With a serious look, he asked, “We received a report about a murder at Xinghu Park. We examined the scene and have a basic understanding of what happened…”

Upon arriving at the scene in response to the report, they’d quickly assessed the situation. After identifying the deceased as fugitives from the Life Association and recalling Yue Yin’s history with them, it wasn’t hard to piece things together.

But their intel suggested that Yue Yin had left the scene and was headed somewhere else rather than going home.

Following the spirit’s trail to the underground plaza was easy for Yue Yin, but for the ordinary Captain Li and his team, locating her was no small feat, especially considering the Life Association’s unchecked activities in City A. And in tonight’s terrible weather, they’d spent ages searching before finally arriving at what could only be described as a scene from hell.

Captain Li carefully chose his words, asking, “What we don’t understand is, why did you come here?”

They really didn’t get it. Yue Yin seemed calm and laid-back, almost indifferent. Why, after killing Li Shushu and Old Li—who had attempted to kidnap her—did she track down the Life Association’s hideout just hours later and wipe them all out?

Neither Shen Hao Ping nor Bai Xiulian had met the same fate.

They couldn’t help but wonder if Li Shushu had perhaps revealed some critical secret about the Life Association’s plans against Yue Yin, or if she had somehow angered her.

“So, was it something they said or did?” Captain Li asked, watching her closely.

Under everyone’s expectant gaze, Yue Yin blinked and, slowly, answered, “I wanted grilled cold noodles tonight.”

This answer left everyone baffled, their expressions blank.

But Yue Yin wasn’t inclined to explain further.

She stood up and glanced at the time, suddenly exclaiming, “Ah, it’s already ten. I need to get home and do my homework.”

Of course, Yueyin wasn’t really going to do homework. But she did have an 8 a.m. class tomorrow, and her unsympathetic homeroom teacher likely wouldn’t accept any excuses for being absent.

With that thought, Yue Yin felt even worse.

What a miserable night.

She didn’t get her grilled cold noodles, had been drenched by the cold rain, fought a whole bunch of people, and hadn’t even gotten her bike deposit back.

It looked like a grand victory, but she’d actually lost everything!

Hands clasped behind her back, Yue Yin sighed deeply. “I’ll never trust earthlings again!”

With that, she hopped off the platform, mounted the shared bike, and prepared to make her escape.

It was freezing outside, and she needed to get home and sleep. If she was quick enough, maybe she could swipe some spicy snacks from Shen Xiaodi.

Everyone watched as Yue Yin wheeled the shared bike away, dumbfounded. That’s it? You’re just going to head home after saying a couple of lines? And your reason is homework?

A dark goddess capable of wiping out countless cult members, drenched in blood and wielding a long knife, had decided she needed to go home to do her homework.

Had the world gone mad, or was it just them?

Captain Li and his team fell silent.

But Yue Yin seemed to think she’d explained enough, believing she’d given plenty of information.

Bo Jingyun, seeing their confusion, finally spoke up. “Could you elaborate a little? It would help us process the bonus payout.”

Sitting on her bike, Yue Yin looked up. “Does it make a difference?”

Bo Jingyun replied, “It could amount to tens of thousands.”

“That much?” She blinked, pleasantly surprised.

She’d expected a few thousand, maybe ten thousand tops—she hadn’t anticipated it being that much.

Pleased, she nodded and prepared to leave.

Keeping a straight face, Bo Jingyun added, “Given the special circumstances, a bonus in the hundreds of thousands isn’t out of the question.”

Of course, the money wouldn’t come from the state but from his private funds. As a loyal follower of Nodens, Bo Jingyun was quite curious about what the Life Association had done to provoke this otherworldly deity.

Yue Yin glanced between Bo Jingyun and the tense expressions of Captain Li and the others, finally understanding.

She sighed and said, “Alright.”

After a pause, she began explaining, “I was a bit hungry after the fight.”

The words were plain yet hinted at something almost chilling.

Everyone’s lips twitched at the absurdity.

“The spiteful spirit they summoned promised to get me grilled cold noodles, and I waited in the freezing rain, expecting it to bring me back something delicious.”

Yue Yin tactfully used the word “buy” to omit the fact that she’d told the spirit to steal the noodles.

After all, Bo Jingyun, a devout follower of Nodens, was listening, and she did care a little about her image.

Summing it up, Yue Yin said, “The spirit agreed to get me cold noodles, but it betrayed me, so I decided to kill them all.”

She’d reduced the entire story to a few words, making it sound almost absurdly simple.

But Captain Li’s team didn’t doubt her at all—they were, instead, on the verge of despair.

“You did all this… for cold noodles?” Xiao Jun asked in disbelief.

Yue Yin had chased down the Life Association’s members, killing them all, over cold noodles?!

Without hesitation, she replied, “Yes.”

The Life Association was a cult targeted by the Paranormal Incident Squad, but even so, hearing that the reason for their demise was a craving for cold noodles stirred a strange sympathy among the team.

What terrible luck.

Captain Li and his team were at a loss for words, and Yue Yin couldn’t understand why they thought her noodles weren’t a big deal.

Looking around, she sighed, exasperated. “I was starving in the freezing wind, driven by my faith in humanity, by my love for Earth. I chose to trust it and waited in the rain for two hours.”

She grew angrier as she went on, finally standing up in frustration. “Do you know what that feels like?”

With clenched fists and a pained expression, she lamented, “In such cold rain! My noodles! My bike deposit!”

Everyone: …

Yue Yin’s sadness and frustration were so evident that everyone stood in silence, watching her with mixed expressions.

Somehow, what she said made a bit of sense.

If they were in her shoes, stood up in the rain, they’d be pretty angry too.

But their response to anger would be mild—just a little grumbling.

Yue Yin’s response, however, was to chase down vengeful spirits in the dead of night, avenging herself and leaving no one unscathed.

After hearing the full story, no one expected this outcome or the events that unfolded.

…

For many in City A, tonight was destined to be sleepless.

And it wasn’t just in City A—people in far-off places received the same message.

In a hospital room, a middle-aged man lowered his voice and respectfully reported, “Yes, she’s here, Vice Minister.”

Standing with his back to Zhou Huai’an’s hospital bed, he tried to contain his excitement, though it came through in his voice: “Without an inside source and my visit to City A, we’d have missed this news!”

“The mole has been hypnotized and won’t remember anything. Bo Jingyun is always so careful. But based on what the informant managed to relay before memory erasure, it seems there’s a high-level ability user involved.”

The voice on the other end chuckled softly. “Oh? Another A-level, or perhaps even a super-A level ability user? City A has been full of surprises lately…”

His tone remained calm, as if everything was unfolding exactly as expected.

Until he heard the middle-aged man’s uncontainable excitement: “No, it’s an S-level user. The ninth S-level ability user worldwide!”

“S-level?!”

“A true S-level?!”

“What? Are you sure?!”

In different places, several high-ranking individuals stood up simultaneously, their faces unable to hide their excitement.

“What?!” One of them, with a more serious expression, even knocked his chair over.

His voice trembled with disbelief. “Our entire facility in A City was wiped out? Not a single one escaped? And even the A-level forbidden artifacts are gone?!”

No one organization would ever be the first to learn such news. Tonight, many people couldn’t sleep, and City A was bound to remain unsettled for a long time.

Yet, the instigator of this storm, Yue Yin, slept soundly.

Eating the grilled cold noodles offered by Captain Li and his team, she said sincerely, “There really are a lot of good people in the world.”

Everyone: …

Unable to find an open grilled cold noodle stand late at night, Captain Li, a native of the North, decided to make a simple midnight snack himself for the fuming Yue Yin.

They watched as she ate happily, feeling complicated emotions.

They just couldn’t understand it now—how could the Life Association have been so thoughtless?

Why were they so stubborn over a single serving of grilled cold noodles? And now look: not just their people, but their base and forbidden items, were all wiped out by Yue Yin!