Chapter 23 – Unlocking the New Traversal Mode
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After eating breakfast, Mi Li asked Xi Baichen to take her to the village for a look around. Thus Xi Baichen grabbed the piece of cured meat and walked out of the old house.
The air in the early morning was a bit cool, and it felt very peaceful to walk along the country roads.
Occasionally encountering one or two villagers along the way, Xi Baichen didn’t take the initiative to say hello. However, if the other party exhibited kindness then he would also respond.
[ The scenery here is really good. ] Under the influence of her parents, Mi Li liked the pleasant countryside and fields of crops very much.
“Yeah.” Xi Baichen walked slowly up the mountain, the damp smell of trees and soil in the air, and the faint morning light brought a hint of warmth to his body.
Standing on a hillside, one could see the entirety of the village. Houses stood among trees and rocks, and the fields overlapped in a patchwork of farmland. The relatively spacious dirt road in the distance split into several winding paths, making it inconvenient for vehicles to enter and exit.
[ Old Bai. ] Mi Li suddenly said, [ Shall we donate some money for roads in the village? ]
Possessing a windfall of more than 300 million[1], they had to do something meaningful.
“Okay.” Xi Baichen hung the cured meat on a tree, sat on a random rock, and asked, “How much do you want to donate?”
[ Let’s discuss with the village chief to see how much budget is needed. ]
“Okay.” Xi Baichen took out a cigarette and held it in his mouth. The mountain wind blew the hair covering his forehead, revealing a pair of deep eyes.
[ How can you not take pictures with such good scenery here? ] Mi Li said passionately, [ Old Bai, come and take a few beautiful photos of me! ]
Xi Baichen squinted at the piece of cured meat hanging from the tree, his expression inscrutable.
[ Hurry up~~ ] Mi Li dangled back and forth on the branch.
Xi Baichen stood up, took his cell phone out of his pocket, and took a few pictures of the cured meat.
[ Adjust the angle and include the mountain behind me as well. ] Mi Li commanded.
Xi Baichen slowly moved a few steps, and with the green mountains as the background, took a landscape photo with the cured meat. After a bit of photoshop, it could be directly used as a promotional picture for the local souvenir shop.
Xi Baichen said nothing. It was fine as long as she was happy.
However, he was too careless.
[ Old Bai, come here. Let’s take photo together. ]
Xi Baichen: “……” He never expected her to involve him.
At the enthusiastic invitation of the cured meat, he reluctantly walked over and stood beside her.
[ Okay, take the picture. ]
Xi Baichen raised the phone and pointed it at himself and his cured meat.
[ Come, let’s shout together: Eggplants~~ ][2]
Along with the cheerful voice of Mi Li, Xi Baichen pressed the shutter with a blank expression.
[ Let me see…Oh, your phone camera sucks. It can’t capture the deep emotions in my heart at all. ]
Was this a problem with the phone camera? Even the best camera in the world couldn’t capture the emotions of a piece of cured meat, okay?!
Xi Baichen took her down from the tree, “Let’s go back.”
[ Okay~~ Coming out to take a look at the scenery and taking some pictures, I feel much better. ]
Xi Baichen: You have times when your mood is bad too?
[ I encountered an unhappy event last night. ] Mi Li said self-consciously, [ A drunk driver hit an old man. Not only did he not pay compensation, he blamed the old man for running scams. He drove away immediately when he saw someone call the police. ]
Xi Baichen’s heart pounded. When Little Mi was not with him, how did she spend her time? Where did she go and what did she possess?
“Do you have the driver’s license plate number?” Baichen asked casually.
[ Yes, KA·xxxxx. ] Mi Li immediately regretted it after reporting the license plate number. Although the license plate number sequences of the two worlds were similar, the car owners were not the same person! She immediately retracted: [ I didn’t read it too clearly, maybe I remembered it wrong. ]
Xi Baichen nodded noncommittally and did not continue to ask.
Returning to the old house, Mi Li’s time was up. After greeting Little Bai with sleepy eyes, she drifted away.
Xi Baichen hung the cured meat above the stove and left it for Little Mi to deal with when she came over at noon. Back in the bedroom, while turning on the computer, he took out his cell phone and made a call. “Little Xiaozi, help me find a license plate number, KA·xxxxx… If you find the owner’s information, get back to me immediately.”
Ending the call, he thought a bit and gave his lawyer a call, “Lawyer Wang, do you have time in the coming few days? I plan to donate money to Qiming Village for road construction. Come handle it.”
He made two calls in a row, and both were related to Little Mi. Xi Baichen did not care about his own affairs, but he was especially caring towards Little Mi.
In the afternoon, Xi Baichen got the car owner’s information. The forty year old Xu Moumou had been detained for drunk driving multiple times in the past four or five years. Not long ago, another person was seriously injured and disabled. However, the surveillance of the incident location happened to be broken at the time, and the accident was not recorded. The vague testimony of passersby were not enough for a conviction, and the victim still had not received compensation.
Collecting evidence, looking for a lawyer, and litigation all needed money. The victim’s family was not rich, so this matter had been dragged on like this.
Xi Baichen asked his lawyer to contact the victim, promising to help him pay all the lawyer’s fees and win the lawsuit. For him, this was just a small matter. That person made Little Mi unhappy, thus he would make him unhappy as well.
Things were simple with money on hand. Collecting evidence, the victim took the car owner to court with the lawyer’s help. In the end, he not only received a large amount of compensation, but also gave the car owner the punishment he deserved.
The owner of the car would never believe that he was exposed because he was unluckily implicated by the person that shared his license plate number in the other world.
Xi Baichen did not directly participate in this matter, nor did he tell Mi Li.
However, the impact of this incident was far more than that.
In a commercial building, Zhong Yu was talking to someone.
“Are you sure?” he asked gravely.
[ 100% sure. ] The other party said in a deep voice, [ I secretly visited their factory for a look. The location is remote, the machines are outdated, the workers are all temporarily hired local villagers, and there is no output at all. Your suspicion is correct; it is indeed a fraudulent company. ]
“I see. You have worked hard, come back and receive your reward.” Zhong Yu hung up the phone, a flash of surprise in his eyes. If it weren’t for Mi Li’s reminder, he would have signed a contract with that company yesterday. Losing hundreds of millions wasn’t a big deal, becoming a laughing stock of the industry was.
While he was in deep thought, the secretary informed him that Jinzheng’s representative was calling.
Zhong Yu said coldly, “From now on, refuse all calls from Jinzheng.”
The secretary was about to agree, but he added, “Wait. Be courteous and make up a reasonable excuse for refusing the call.”
The secretary didn’t know why but complied.
Zhong Yu first placated the person from Jinzheng while secretly sending someone to collect evidence. Three days later, the Jinzheng scam was made public. Most people managed to avoid this fiasco, and the final loss amounted to little more than 20 million. If they were allowed to succeed, at least billions in funds would have disappeared into thin air.
The news media reported this in detail, and Zhong Yu’s company experienced a wave of fame on CCTV.
After things subsided, Zhong Yu’s first action was to invite Mi Li to dinner, thanking her for her reminder and starting his pursuit.
“I’m sorry, I still have something to do later.” Mi Li refused his invitation, and her heart fluctuated as she watched the news.
[ That’s really a shame, we will make an appointment next time. ] Zhong Yu politely ended the call.
Mi Li set down the phone, took out a paper and pen, and wrote:
World A: lottery jackpot | World B: lottery jackpot
World A: Angelo Phantom | World B: Angelo Phantom
World A: Jinzheng, scam exposed | World B: Jinzheng, scam exposed
……
The same events coincidentally always occurred in both worlds. It was as though one world projected its image onto the other, intertwining and influencing one another.
This influence might have existed since long ago, just that no one had discovered it.
Mi Li sat cross-legged on the sofa in deep thought. Unnoticeably, her consciousness gradually dimmed and then plunged into darkness. When she awoke again, she had entered the other world.
In front of her eyes was a town market, both sides of the street filled with small stalls selling clothes, food, snacks, and various daily necessities. The sounds of cries, chatting, laughter, and traffic merged into a cacophony.
Mi Li blinked a bit before perking up: Did she just blink?!
Raising her hand subconsciously, she saw human flesh.
Did she possess someone this time?
With horror, Mi Li noticed that she was wearing a familiar set of home clothes, the same set she had been wearing at home.
So, did she cross over as herself this time?!
Mi Li stood up abruptly, but her legs went limp, and she fell back down.
Feeling coldness at her feet, she realized that they were bare and that there was a mole on her right foot. Yes, this was undoubtedly her body.
Sitting on the stone steps of a shop in a disheveled state, Mi Li stared at the crowded market like a lost lamb.
She was at a loss.
Last time she crossed over with Little Bai, she ended up leaving it in this world and hadn’t been able to bring it back. This time she crossed over with her body. When the time came, if her soul went back but her body remained behind, what should she do?!
Don’t worry, find Old Bai first. She was not alone in this world.
Mi Li took a deep breath, sat quietly on the steps, and looked around.
In her experience, Old Bai would definitely appear on stage within 30 minutes as long as she stayed in place each time she crossed over. She only needed to lock onto the tallest, most handsome, most sullen-eyed, and most leisurely moving person in the crowd.
Rearranging her legs and combing her hair with her fingers, Mi Li sat on the steps like an old monk entering meditation. Her bright eyes scanned through the crowd with piercing energy.
Time passed, but Xi Baichen was still nowhere to be found.
On the contrary, it was she herself that attracted the attention of many people. She wore a set of home clothes displaying mountains and rivers, its majestic style was a marked contrast from the secular atmosphere of the village. She sat cross-legged, back straight, feet bare, with long hair flying in the wind; she seemed like an enlightened Daoist fairy.
It didn’t feel good to be treated as a crazy person by onlookers. Mi Li’s legs were a little numb, so she stood up slowly by supporting herself on the wall.
Just as she lowered her head, a figure passed by from a short distance away. When she looked up, the person had already turned into a shop.
“Weird, he would always appear within 30 minutes before, why haven’t I seen him yet?” Mi Li muttered to herself. Reaching into her pocket and rummaging around, she only found a pack of tissues. She didn’t have a penny on her body, nor did she bring her cell phone.
From Mi Li’s observation, she guessed that this small town was probably Qiming Town, which was about forty to fifty li[3] away from Xi Baichen’s location at Qiming Village. With her bare feet, she would probably only make it halfway before crossing back to her world.
Should I borrow someone’s phone?
Mi Li’s eyes swept over the passersby, trying to find a good samaritan.
- The author wrote 300 million but they only won ~170 million from the lottery and hidden treasure in the jade buddha that was left unrevealed.
- Much like how saying “cheese” in English would put a smile on your face, saying “eggplant” does the same in Chinese.
- A chinese li is half a kilometer. 40-50 li is around 22.5 km or 14 miles.
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Oh sheezzzzz, I can’t wait for them to meet!!!????????
I think, the more they influenced each other’s worlds, the easier for her to cross, meaning their dimensions are slowly aligning, but will never be in the same reality,
OMGGGG I CANT WAIT FOR MI LI TO MEET XI BAICHEN IN HER REAL BODYYYYYY
GAHHH I CANT STOP SCREAMINGGGHHHG(๑•﹏•)
OMG SHE IS HEREEE, I MEAN SHE CROSSED OVER WITH REAL BODY (my bi heart fallen for her)
OH! OH! Finally she’s no longer an evil spirit/little ghost ????????????