After hanging up the video call, Mark looked at Gu Xiqiao with a conflicted expression on his face. She was still sitting in front of the computer and typing away. The lights in the laboratory were bright, reflecting her ice complexion that resembled snow, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow beneath her eyelids.

She seemed to have finished typing at this time, and pressed the print button. She leaned back against the chair as she waited, looking elegant and indifferent.

Mark saw a few youngsters come in, looking in her direction dreamily, and he couldn’t help but laugh as he shook his head.

It was hard to imagine that so many futuristic studies and research had come from this girl in front of him that was below the age of twenty.

Gu Xiqiao took out the papers from the printer once the last line was printed, tidying them up. With the thought that Zhu Yuan should be back with Joyner soon, she sat back in the seat, pulling out her phone to boot up her game while she waited.

She logged into her Weibo, which she hadn’t seen for quite a while. Opening the homepage, there was a comment that had been pushed to the top by someone named Little Sun.

Little Sun: I say, you’re really something else. Letting one of the most famous directors in America think about you for so long ?, going onto everyone else’s Weibo every day just to find the goddess’ Weibo ?

“This means that I just climbed over from Emperor Li’s Weibo ?”

“Climbing over from Emperor Li’s Weibo 1”

“When will you have a new drama, goddess? ?”

Gu Xiqiao wordlessly swiped to Li Yu’s Weibo to find out what was happening, and the reason all came from the latest Weibo posted by Li Yu.

(Verified) Li Yu: Director Neil keeps asking me to lure this person JPEG into ‘Intergalactic Warfare 3′, what do you guys think?

The comment sections were all from great gods.

(Verified) Cheng Zhou: This lazy thing would rather play games than take a part in my movies, I don’t want to say anything else ?

(Verified) Song Guanjing: Intergalactic Warfare 3? If I had known, I would have taken part in this movie. Who knows, I might have been able to attend the grand annual gala once again!

(Verified) Ning Qing: Don’t be so rowdy, my Beauty Gu still needs to save the world.

“I seem to know something you guys have done ?”

“My Beauty Gu still plays games, give me your ID, Director Cheng, I promise I won’t kill you ?”

“I just said that Miss Gu seems freer than me, her in-game quests progress is faster than mine.”

“Up there, you seem to know something, please tell us”

“Don’t need to say so much, just go into Nine Heaven’s Server 1, you’ll know when you see it ?”

***

Gu Xiqiao silently took a picture of her research, then a picture of the entire laboratory room, posting it on Weibo after.

(Verified) For A Millenium: Don’t say I don’t love you all JPEG JPEG

She didn’t wait for the fans’ feedback, closing Weibo immediately after. Before she quit, her eyes caught sight of another, not so popular topic.

‘Are you the only ones who think that the world has gotten stranger?’ The picture was of a strong man lifting up a car.

The topic wasn’t very popular, but Gu Xiqiao could naturally see that the picture attached had not been photoshopped. Her fingers reached out, pressing on her temple as she exited Weibo.

Although she had managed to divert similar topics with her own Weibo last time, it couldn’t go on like this. She leaned back against the chair, pressing a finger against her lips. If they couldn’t find a way to resolve this, then it would definitely affect ordinary people in the future.

She took out her phone again when she thought of this, and was about to make a call when Luo Wenlang gave her a call instead.

“Miss Gu.” Luo Wenlang’s voice was calm when she answered.

Glancing around at the people in the laboratory who were busy with their own research, she walked out of the room. “What’s wrong?”

“The great elder summoned everyone in the ancient martial arts world for a meeting today,” Luo Wenlang said, before pausing. “The local custodian of the secular world, Feng Jiu was also present today. Recently, there have been several unusual incidents happening in the secular world, and Feng Jiu…”

“I know.” Gu Xiqiao leaned against the wall, squinting her eyes as she looked out into the dim light outside. “It’s time for this matter to be made public, the ancient martial arts world has been hidden for so many years, it’s time for the public to know the truth.”

After hanging up the call, Gu Xiqiao sent another message to the great elder.

***

Luo Wenlang, who was standing outside the Elders’ Pavilion: … I haven’t even finished speaking, and you already know everything? Can you please let me have some screen time too?

But at least he knew what Gu Xiqiao was planning now, so he turned around and pushed the doors to enter the Elders’ Pavilion once again. The elders were all still seated, with Jiang Shuxuan at the head of the table. As an ordinary person, he had sat at the other end, not speaking and just watching the developments.

Feng Jiu had not noticed Luo Wenlang, and he was frowning at this time. “This incident has already affected the ordinary people, I’m afraid that it will cause panic among them.”

“You don’t have to explain.” Jiang Shuxuan raised his head, looking at Feng Jiu with his deep, charcoal eyes. “The next disaster will be a devastating one, and at that time, the impact towards these ordinary people will be a dozen times more than now.”

His hard, cold voice echoed through the room, and Feng Jiu looked like he had been struck by lightning, looking in disbelief at Jiang Shuxuan. He had initially wanted to suggest that the ancient martial arts world should be more secretive in their movements, but he didn’t expect these words to come out of Jiang Shuxuan’s mouth instead, and he almost knocked over the teacup by his hands.

The great elder, who had just read the message on his phone, turned it off and looked to Feng Jiu. “How do I put this without wasting time? In the following days, these kinds of troubles will just increase. Mr. Feng Jiu, I don’t have to tell you that what Young Master Jiang says is true. China will face unprecedented disaster in the coming days.”

Feng Jiu didn’t dare to clarify with Jiang Shuxuan, so he turned his attention to the great elder. “Great Elder, you’re saying that China will face unprecedented disasters?”

He looked at the indifferent expressions on everyone’s face, including the great elder. When he had first entered the ancient martial arts world, the youths of the place had been filled with smiles. He couldn’t help but ask, “You… you guys are joking, right?”

“No,” The great elder merely continued looking at Feng Jiu as he replied. “Have you seen the recent disasters in the United States and Japan? Those incidents are just the beginning.”

Feng Jiu leaned back in his chair, all air taken out of him, his heart pounding in his ribcage.

Ever since he started being the representative of the secular world in the ancient martial arts world, he had always treated these people as though they were gods. He felt that there was nothing in his world that they couldn’t do, but now they were telling him that the world was going to have unprecedented calamities?

“Great Elder, what do we do now?” One of the other elders asked. “Feng Jiu is already aware of this matter, are we going to involve the ordinary people in this too?”

The second elder shook his head. “No, if the ordinary people were to know about this, who knows how great a panic it will cause.”

There were two different opinions now, some advocated letting the ordinary people know, and the other was not.

The entire Elders Pavilion was as noisy as a fish market, and the great elder tried to calm them down by saying a few words, but to no avail. He couldn’t help but turn to Jiang Shuxuan, and then his phone, a sinking expression in his eyes.

“Miss Gu has said it,” A quiet voice came from the corner of the room at this time. It was soft and clear, but it managed to cut through the noise, and everyone stopped talking, looking at the end of the table where the voice came from.

Luo Wenlang was the one who had spoken, and he stood up, flashing them a smile. “This matter is to be made public.”

As soon as he said it, the entire place was a pin drop silence. The elders who had been previously arguing didn’t start again, and the second elder stood up, excitement in his eyes. “That’s right, we should reveal it to the public. I already had this thought in mind earlier!”

“I agree with what Miss Gu said.”

“We should indeed make it public.”

Great Elder: “…” Didn’t you guys just say that it wouldn’t be good to let the ordinary folks know about this?

The entire debate was over just because of a sentence said by an ordinary person, and Feng Jiu couldn’t help but look at the person who had spoken. No matter how he looked, Luo Wenlang was just an ordinary person, how could his words hold so much weight?

“Second Elder, who is that young man?” Feng Jiu looked at Luo Wenlang’s retreating back, and he couldn’t help but wonder about him. “He seems to be an ordinary person, but why did it seem like you all listened to his words?”

The second elder only smiled and said, “He is indeed an ordinary person, but he’s still the owner of Peace Manor, and this position alone is enough to have everyone in the ancient martial arts world acknowledge him.”

“Peace Manor?” Feng Jiu was surprised. What was that? “And the Miss Gu that he mentioned, who is she?”

“Peace Manor, a place where everyone in the ancient martial arts world is flocking to. As for Miss Gu..” The second elder eyed Feng Jiu. “Have you forgotten the matter in Mingzhou?”

“That Miss Gu?” Feng Jiu was really shocked right now. He had already known that Gu Xiqiao was powerful, but he didn’t expect that he had still underestimated her. She wasn’t even present in person, yet her one word had the obedience of every elder in the ancient martial arts world.

The second elder didn’t answer his question again. “Feng Jiu, go on back first. As for the public announcement, we have our own opinions on it.”

“But, the panic… and the upper management, this unreasonable decision definitely will not pass them.” Feng Jiu managed to gather himself before he replied, hesitating slightly.

If a calamity really was coming, then announcing it to the public was definitely one of the options. But they would also be facing a mass panic across the people, and he was worried that the country would not be able to appease them enough, and it would just be a big mess.

“Don’t worry, Miss Gu will handle this matter.” The second elder had the utmost faith in Gu Xiqiao, not bothered about this bit at all.

Feng Jiu looked at the second elder in surprise. “Do you have so much trust in Miss Gu?”

“Have you seen,” The second elder pointed towards the youngsters of the ancient martial arts world. “These people all know about the incoming disaster, but look at their faces. Do you see any hints of panic at all?”

Feng Jiu had noticed this earlier on. He had initially thought that these youngsters weren’t aware of the impending disasters, but now that he heard the second elder’s words, he was surprised once again. Looking at them, they seem to be full of vigor, and they all exuded a cold and calm aura. None of them were in the slightest panic at the thought of what was coming.

“If we didn’t have Miss Gu, our ancient martial arts world would most likely be in the same state of panic.” The second patted Feng Jiu on the shoulder. “We’re not the only ones who believe in her. You should go and see the people from Japan, were they in a panic after just experiencing a devastating volcanic eruption?”

The incident in Japan was a big sensation, and even Feng Jiu was keeping updated with it. He had also recalled speaking with the higher ups, telling them that the people of Japan presented a very united front. But now that he heard the second elder’s words, there seemed to be something else that he wasn’t aware of.

As expected, the second elder continued, ” Miss Gu was present on the scene when the volcano erupted.”

Feng Jiu was stunned, as expected. He obviously knew that the second elder wasn’t just stating something as simple. Piecing together everything that he had said, Feng Jiu raised his head suddenly to look at the older man. “Are you saying that Japan was also something that Miss Gu…”

The second elder neither confirmed nor deny these words, patting him on the shoulder once again as he sent him off at the edge of the ancient martial arts world.

“What nonsense were you talking about with him? When he sees Miss Gu’s methods in handling matters with his own eyes, he will naturally be stunned speechless then.”

The second elder laughed lightly. “We’ve been friends for many years, so I’m trying to give him an immunity shot first. Otherwise, he might even kneel down to worship Miss Gu when he sees her.”

The great elder: “…”

***

After Gu Xiqiao had spoken to Luo Wenlang, she shoved her phone back in her pocket, walking back to the laboratory. Zhu Yuan had already brought Joyner back.

“By all indication, there’s nothing wrong with her,” Zhu Yuan said as he looked at the report in his hands. He raised an eyebrow as he looked to Gu Xiqiao. “Or is there something that I missed?”

He obviously knew that Gu Xiqiao wouldn’t be pulling his leg in this matter, but all the medical checks from the machines had come back normal, which made him surprised.

“No, everything was correct.” Gu Xiqiao took the report from his hands, glancing at it before handing him the first report that she had typed out previously. “Look at this later, I’ll leave Joyner here. I’ll be busy in the next few days, so I’m leaving her in your care.”

Zhu Yuan nodded his head, resisting the urge to read through the new report in his hands right away that she had just given him. He was waiting for Gu Xiqiao’s next words.

Sure enough, after glancing around the entire place, Gu Xiqiao finally opened her mouth again. “Zhu Yuan, I know that everyone here has started to learn the martial arts technique, how is it going?”

“It’s going good, especially those two locals. I estimate that even a Fleet Foot martial artist from the ancient martial arts world won’t be able to beat them.” Zhu Yuan couldn’t help but eye Gu Xiqiao when she raised this matter. “Are you planning to build up a force to kick the ass of those in the ancient martial arts world? With the strength of these doctors, it’s a shame that they’re only doctors at this rate. Every one of them can be considered to be a top master in the ancient martial arts world.”

Silently inside, Zhu Yuan thought that those people from the ancient martial arts world would probably feel like dying on the inside if they found out that Gu Xiqiao had made a bunch of doctors master martial artists, right?”

“Training these doctors into such violent masters,” Zhu Yuan couldn’t help but say after a while of thinking, “Have you ever thought of how the patients would feel?”

“That’s good, it won’t be long before our medical corps will shine then.” Gu Xiqiao said instead, touching her chin thoughtfully, clearly anticipating this.

Zhu Yuan: “…” He could already imagine the consequences of releasing such a crazy group of doctors, and he silently shed some tears of sympathy for those people in the ancient martial arts world.

Those people would realize when the time came, that not only that they couldn’t compare to the ordinary folks in the Peace Manor, they couldn’t even compare to a group of doctors…

Beauty Gu, you really wish for the world to be in chaos, don’t you?

Gu Xiqiao glanced at him, a mysterious smile on her face. She then took out a new, pale pink phone and handed it to Joyner. “Joyner, you have to stay here for medical treatments for a few days. You can use this phone to video call your brother every night.”

“I understand, Sister Gu. Don’t worry.” Joyner’s large, round eyes were fixed on Gu Xiqiao as she nodded her head obediently.

“Good.” Gu Xiqiao snapped her fingers, Haha and Jiji immediately appeared from whatever corner they had been at, running to her side hurriedly.

“We’ll be leaving first.” She picked up Haha in one arm, holding her phone in the other hand, seeing a text message that had just been sent over.

Xu Jing—Beauty Gu, where are you?

Gu Xiqiao tapped on her phone with one hand, replying quickly—Soon.

Though she and Xu Jing would often play together online and do quests together, and also contacted each other often on WeChat, it had been a long time since they met up in person.

“Haha, it’s been a while.” Xu Jing took Haha into her arms, then glanced at Jiji who was beside Gu Xiqiao. “I heard from school that you made a robot, and I still can’t believe it. Can you tell me what you can’t do, Beauty Gu?”

“Hmm…” Gu Xiqiao placed a finger on her chin, taking a sip of her coffee. “There’s nothing at the moment.”

“Pft—” Xu Jin almost spat out the coffee that she had just drank.

She looked towards Gu Xiqiao, opening her mouth as though to say something, when her phone rang in her pocket. She pulled it out and swiped the answer button, and her face drastically paled after hearing something from the other end.

Gu Xiqiao put down her cup, looking at Xu Jing. “I have a car.”

Xu Jing didn’t expect those words from Gu Xiqiao suddenly, and left together with her with her mind still preoccupied and in a dazed state.

***

The First Hospital.

“Grandpa, are you sure you’re alright?” A man in a black suit asked for the 362nd time. How could the two be fine when the car had been smashed into that state?

The gray-haired man didn’t speak, looking at the boy who was lying in the next bed. “Ah Zheng, I saw a purple light from your body when the accident happened.”

The boy on the bed looked back at the old man, but didn’t speak. He pulled out a silk pouch from his chest, and poured out some white powder from it.

The old man’s eyes widened. He obviously remembered that when they were walking in the morning, there had still been a complete paper crane inside the bag.