Chapter 1 Midsummer

Mid-July… high summer.

Since the dawn of the 21st century, almost every year at this time, S City would experience a round of continuous high-temperature days lasting more than twenty days. Although the weather forecast reported thirty-eight or thirty-nine degrees every day, walking under the sun would tell you… it was definitely forty-five degrees or more.

Of course, for someone like Feng Bujue, who didn't have to go out to work… it didn't have much impact, other than paying a bit more for electricity (the air conditioning absolutely couldn't be turned off).

July 16th, 10:00 PM.

Feng Bujue was in his own bathroom, doing something he was unwilling to do, but had to do.

"I say… as a being who sees herself as superior to me, and is spiritually female… why do you always tirelessly order me to bathe you…" Feng Bujue said, rubbing the fur on Asazhi's back.

"Isn't it obvious…" Asazhi had a delighted expression, enjoying the feeling of the shampoo foam floating on her body, "In cat form, I can't use bath products flexibly."

"You can transform back to your original demon form, wash, and then transform back," Feng Bujue suggested.

"Hmph…" Asazhi snorted coldly, "First, if I did that, the cat's body would still be dirty, and only my own demon body would be clean; second, I don't want you to peek."

"First of all, I have no intention of peeking at your true form," Feng Bujue replied immediately. "Secondly, even if I had the intention, I probably wouldn't have the ability to carry it out, because I would definitely be detected and stopped by you when I tried…" He added more shampoo to his palm as he spoke, "Furthermore, even if I could peek without being detected, you would most likely find out afterward… the consequences would be unimaginable."

Brother Jue finished speaking unhurriedly and concluded, "In summary… I have no intention."

"No intention my ass, meow!" Asazhi immediately roared and swung her tail over.

Feng Bujue was struck in the chest, fell backward, and landed sprawled on the ground.

"Saying so much nonsense, doesn't it just boil down to having the desire but not the courage!" Asazhi raised her right paw, revealing her sharp little claws, and pointed at Brother Jue from a condescending position, "You've considered everything so thoroughly and you're still denying it so seriously! You're really trying hard, meow!"

"I have to correct you," Feng Bujue quickly sat up again and continued to say seriously, "Even if I really had the intention of observing your true form, that intention would stem from human curiosity about unknown creatures, and would have nothing to do with the 'lust' you speak of. Hmph… twenty-seven kinds of cross-species pLAy or something, I never even thought…"

"Cross your ass!" Interrupting Brother Jue, Asazhi kicked him in the face with a paw, "You nonchalantly stated the specific number, meow!"

This time… Feng Bujue passed out for a few minutes, but fortunately, he wasn't seriously injured…

…

Half an hour later, Feng Bujue finally finished serving Asazhi and returned to the living room.

"Sigh… knowing that she's a demon sent to monitor me, and still having to bathe her, cook for her, and treat her like an ancestor… I wonder when these days will end…" He grumbled all the way to the game pod.

"Hoo…" Brother Jue stretched comfortably, let out a groan of contentment, and then lay down in the pod.

[Welcome to our company's product. Scanning has begun, please wait.]

[Scanning complete. Citizen ID confirmed: sh13***313, Name: Feng Bujue; Access device: nL2055 standard single-person game pod, no abnormal external hardware detected; Cardiopulmonary function is within normal range; Neural connection program is ready, please select access type.]

[Access type is sleep mode, adjusting… adjustment complete, please set the time to load the game, or return to the previous options.]

[Setting complete, the connection program will start on July 17, 2055, at 0:00 AM, good night.]

Having set the login time, Feng Bujue calmed his mind and quickly fell asleep. When he opened his eyes again, he had arrived in the login space.

"Alright… let's check the emails first." As usual, Feng Bujue opened his mailbox first.

While Brother Jue is checking his emails, let's take a look at his current character attributes (as I'm sure you, the audience, are already prepared for)…

Title: [Guice Kuangmou] (Scheming Strategist), Title Ability: [Liaoshi Rushen] (Predicts Like a God)

Experience Value: 2315670048000000, Skill Value: 7604, Game Coins: 982000.

Specializations: General A, Machinery A, Investigation C, Fighting A, Shooting C, Medical D, Spiritual Arts A, Summoning B.

Inventory (1925): Composite Anti-Gravity Catapult, Vajra Bell, Survival Value Supplement (Medium) *5, Endless Grenade Magazine, wjQ-308 Military Shovel (Indestructible), Wo Ca Lei Naodezhu Mushroom *1, Fraudulent Pocket Watch, Must-Break Defense Blade, Chuck Norris's Razor, Oxygen Pipe, Bane's Blood *1, Yi Da, [Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain, Shadow, Thunder], Blackbeard's Skull.

Equipment: Death Poker (Psionic Weapon), Echo Armor, Artemis' Embrace, Alchemist King's Taunt, Taxu, Phantom Lady's Caress, Bell's Everyday Knife, Smiling Face.

Storage Room (1115): Jigsaw Piece - Sheep *2, Jigsaw Piece - Ox, Jigsaw Piece - Twins, Jigsaw Piece - Crab, Jigsaw Piece - Lion, Jigsaw Piece - Libra, Jigsaw Piece - Scorpion, Jigsaw Piece - Archer, Jigsaw Piece - Bottle, Jigsaw Piece - Fish, "Poker Hero" Hero ID Card.

Skill Slots (1212): [Mekatork's Power], [Lingshi Jushen Shu - Modified], [Xie Wang Yan Sha Lianyujiao], [Moonwalk], [Lanjiao], [Feisha Fengzhong Zhuan], [Qigong Cannon], [Baseball Fist], [Naughty Child's Leg Sweep], [Lingxi Yizhi], [Summoning Art - Musashi Koganei], [Summoning Art - Ma Sun]

Unequipped Skills: [Tenacity of the Ice Alchemist], [Not-So-Careless Repair], [Nanto Flying Dragon Fist]

As can be seen from the data, Feng Bujue has grown a lot in the past twenty days…

The level increase goes without saying, and the gain of more than seven thousand skill points is also quite substantial; his Machinery and Spiritual Arts specializations have both been upgraded to A-level; the inventory has also been expanded again (because the number of strange items that need to be carried around is increasing); and in terms of jigsaw pieces… after some effort, he has finally collected eleven cards of the "Zodiac" theme, and is only one jigsaw piece related to "Virgo" away from completing the set.

In terms of skills, Brother Jue replaced [Not-So-Careless Repair] with [Mekatork's Power]. Although there are many random factors in this skill, judging from the effect, it is not bad to use it to grind the level of the Machinery specialization.

As for item equipment, there are two visible changes: first, he used a [Bane's Blood]; second, he brought back a piece of equipment from Zhuanxiezun's brain world (in fact, he has been using it for a while) – Smiling Face.

This pale mask is like an exaggerated and bizarre smile, with the corners of its mouth stretched all the way to the ears, which, in a sense, is quite fitting for Feng Bujue.

[Name: Smiling Face]

[Type: Armor]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Defense: Weak]

[Attribute: None]

[Effect: Negates one psychic attack directed at you (one hour cooldown, effect will not trigger if attack strength is too high or too low)]

[Equipment Requirement: Level 45 or above]

[Note: I am the terrible Laughing Man. What does the Laughing Man laugh at? At you, at himself, at everything. What does his laughter mean? It means your sins and his pain. He throws this sin on your heads, he spits this pain on your faces! I laugh… which also means that I am crying.]

The above is Brother Jue's attribute change, next, let's return to the story…

"Okay, there are fewer and fewer recent emails, that's great." Feng Bujue finished processing the emails, then opened the social menu to see if anyone from the same guild was online. As a result, he just saw the statuses of the IDs [Si Yu Ruo Li] and [Shi Shang Hua Jian] change from "In Game" to "Idle".

So, Brother Jue immediately sent an invitation to those two to join the conference room…