Chapter 576: Chapter 52: Chaos_3

The only new thing was a bizarre CD from that creepy rock musician he remembered… He had no desire to listen to it, so he simply threw it back into the drawer.

Gongsun Ce collapsed onto his bed and closed his eyes. The series of events since Awakening had left him feeling dizzy and his body felt as though it was splitting in half from the inside.

In his dreams, Gongsun Ce was invincible, using his superpower to defeat one enemy after another. However, sometimes even invincible telekinesis wasn’t helpful. Mr. Shiyu’s Curse Scale was still outrageously strong; he felt as defeated as a stone when his date went poorly.

“…Sigh!”

With a thought of venting and escaping reality, Gongsun Ce began to play with his phone using telekinesis. Like every time he was extremely bored or upset, he opened his email.

Gongsun Ce rarely checked his email because none of his friends liked to use email. Every time he opened it, all he saw were ads or scam messages; the app was nothing but a time killer for him.

Buzz Buzz.

The phone in vibration mode started to buzz. Today seemed a bit different; just a few minutes ago, he received a new email with no subject. Gongsun Ce casually opened it.

[June 25th.]

[This is my third day in Fire Wind State, closely observing the unique landscape here. Fiery tornadoes sweep across the desert, and small villages are built on the floating rock formations. Local residents take advantage of the brief times when the fire twisters brush past the rocks to barbecue around the town. The taste of the kebabs is mediocre, more novelty than flavor, but still a fun experience.]

What met his eyes was a casual recording, like a diary, exuding a leisurely tourist vibe. The email ended with a picture of a bleak wilderness similar to the west side of Dahe Island, dominated by fiery red twisters that seemed like apocalyptic scenes from myths. The black-haired visitor had found a good angle for a selfie, her right hand feigning a grasp, as if she was holding the distant Fire Wind in her palm.

“…”

Gongsun Ce felt a dryness in his throat, and the phone continued to vibrate for a while before stopping. He closed the new email and returned to the main inbox interface. Rows of unread red dots, a whole column of unknown emails without titles.

[June 20th. Spent a boring night in Acid Valley State; the acidic stone figures walking around outside the town were noisy, so I took them all down.]

[June 15th. Ate a seafood platter in Blue Sea State. The most satisfying meal since coming to the Union, especially the beer.]

[June 14th. Found a cute pet near Wave City…]

The sending times of the emails were irregular, reflecting the sender’s mood. When she was having fun, she could send three or four emails a day, excitedly sharing her experiences like a child; sometimes, there’d be a gap of three to five days before a terse message arrived, clearly indicating that she wasn’t pleased with that leg of her journey. The content was utterly idiosyncratic, completely off-the-cuff. Sometimes just a quick comment; other times a long text with photos, like a review on a travel website.

Gongsun Ce scrolled through the emails, glimpsing the carefree woman traveling around foreign lands, living her life with unprecedented happiness. Finally, he saw the very first email sent over a month ago, the first half a gourmet travelogue, the latter half a prank-ish sign-off.

[I remember you rarely check emails, so I decided to start sending you anonymous travel emails from today. I’m very curious when you’ll find out and what your expression will be like, big sister is so curious~]

Gongsun Ce took off his glasses and covered his eyes.

“…Who plays pranks like this! Are you a high school girl?”

Logically, he should have replied via email. But before his brain could decide, his body moved first. Without bothering to check the time difference and time zones, he dialed Shiyu Ling’s phone number.

He waited anxiously for the phone to connect, the ringtone scratching at his heart like cat claws. Finally, the call was answered—

“Ah, what’s up, you little rascal?” Shiyu Ling said leisurely.

Gongsun Ce clasped his chest, crying out in deep conflict.

“This will really make me fall for you!”

“—Whaaaaat?!”

A familiar shriek came from the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of splashing water. Three seconds later, he heard an exasperated voice from the other end of the Earth, “It’s all your fault! My phone fell into the water!”

“You’re in Fire Wind State; how is there even a lake there?”

“I’m taking a bath!”

“Don’t answer the phone naked, woman!!”

His brain effortlessly conjured the image of someone blushing furiously in the bathtub, and the voice coming from the phone matched his imagined hallucination perfectly.

“Stop imagining, you pervert!”