Chapter 15: Deceiving the Mirror Phantom

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Song Shiqiao fled the room in a panic, rushing out of the entire building, only stopping when she saw the bustling scene of people and vehicles on the street. Normally, anyone encountering such a bizarre situation would first call the police. She did not; instead, she called her family.

There was a centenarian great-grandfather in the family who was always rambling about ghosts and spirits existing between heaven and earth. The family dismissed his talk as old-fashioned superstition and paid it no mind. Yet, for some reason, Song Shiqiao’s first thought was to call this great-grandfather.

After recounting the whole incident, her great-grandfather was not particularly shocked. On the contrary, he remained calm and warned her not to anger the strange person, advising her to honor any promised payments, even offer extra, in hopes of maintaining a good relationship that might prove useful in the future.

After chatting with her great-grandfather and hanging up, her phone rang immediately.

“Ms. Song, where’s my one billion?”

The voice on the other end was that same nonchalant young man.

“Have you escaped?” Song Shiqiao asked.

Xia Tianqiong didn’t answer directly, maintaining his leisurely tone. “Ms. Song, you are now safely out of danger. It’s time to fulfill your promise.”

“You saved my life, so naturally I will keep my promise. But paying one billion today is difficult; moving such a large sum requires some time.”

“I’ll transfer two hundred million from my personal account first. As for the rest, give me a few days; I will definitely pay you.”

“Fine.”

The other party’s agreement was surprisingly straightforward, without any bargaining, which caught Song Shiqiao off guard.

Then he said, “As for the remaining eight hundred million, you can pay in another way.”

Song Shiqiao had a bad feeling. Did this person have improper intentions?

“What way?”

“You want to acquire the nearby Express Hotel, right? Buy all seven buildings around here plus the adjacent shopping mall and give them to me.”

Song Shiqiao paused for two seconds, thinking this demand was outrageous.

Even if her great-grandfather suggested giving more money to curry favor, this was simply too much!

“Seven buildings plus a bustling shopping mall must be worth over two billion. Aren’t you asking for too much?”

“In a few days, the price will drop to a bargain—maybe it won’t cost that much.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out in time.” Xia Tianqiong didn’t explain but instead asked, “Do you want to restore your lifespan?”

“You have a way?”

Song Shiqiao’s heart leapt; she had been wanting to ask this for some time.

“The weirdness in the mirror has been subdued by me, so naturally, I can help restore your lifespan. Once you buy the buildings and mall for me, I’ll help you recover it.”

This area was an outlet to a strange realm, where a continuous stream of bizarre entities appeared, mostly ‘wild’ level, perfect for hunting.

Xia Tianqiong wanted to claim this place before the authorities or other hunters discovered it, making it a private hunting ground or a training base for his own team.

This idea struck him only after meeting Song Shiqiao.

The acquisition process was complicated and time-consuming, so he let Song Corporation handle it while he focused on hunting the strange entities.

Upon hearing that his lifespan could be restored, Song Shiqiao was ecstatic. “Can you help me restore it now? Rest assured, the Song family will never owe you. I can write an IOU and pay you in full in a few days.”

“I don’t accept IOUs. Do as I said. I’ll send you the card number shortly. Transfer the two hundred million as soon as possible.”

With that, the call ended.

Worried, Song Shiqiao tried calling back, but no one answered.

Standing on the street in a daze for a moment, she hurried back to the hotel room, only to find the man was gone.

…

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Xia Tianqiong teleported back to his room, bringing all the gold with him and casually throwing it onto the bed.

He stood in the bathroom, touching his cheek and flexing his biceps, savoring the youthful vigor. “An eighteen-year-old body feels amazing!” he muttered.

Extending his lifespan not only made him younger but also energized him, as if he had boundless strength.

To have contracted a life-risking ‘strange entity’ the day after his rebirth was a pleasant surprise—this alone was a powerful advantage.

This life-risking entity contract could extend his own lifespan and even that of others.

In the future, even if he did nothing else, just trading lifespans could make him popular and attract many other hunters to follow him.

Of course, without strength to protect himself, he could easily be controlled by others.

From his pocket, Xia Tianqiong took out a small mirror housing the life-risking entity.

A faint light drifted from the small mirror into the large bathroom mirror, and the reflection of “Xia Tianqiong” came to life.

“Master, shall I seek out my kin now?”

The life-risking entity seemed more eager than Xia Tianqiong himself, anxious to recruit its kind for contracts.

“Go. Find a mirror entity. I need one now.”

“I’ll do my best.”

With that, the entity floated out of the mirror and disappeared.

Mirror entities were invisible and could roam freely but had a flaw: they couldn’t stay outside too long and had to return to a mirror periodically to rest.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yu left the Express Hotel with a heavy heart. She finally understood what it meant to be a slave or servant—likely never to regain freedom again.

But who could she blame? It was her own choice.

However, she thought that if the apocalypse truly came tomorrow, following Xia Tianqiong might be the better option.

He seemed to know things others didn’t, so sticking with him might prolong her life.

After all, without him last night, she would have ended up like the neighbor downstairs—turned into a dried corpse.

Comforting herself, Jiang Yu’s mood brightened. She resolved to diligently complete the tasks Xia Tianqiong assigned.

First, she went online to research what supplies to prepare for the apocalypse.

She found many posts teaching how to survive various apocalyptic scenarios, with different strategies for each type.

After reading several guides, she took out loans, maxed out credit cards, and combined her savings, gathering nearly four million yuan in total.

Then she rented a warehouse and began purchasing supplies.

Unable to manage alone, she hired five errand runners, giving them lists to buy rice, flour, grains, and oil at the farmers’ market, various foods at wholesale markets, and daily medicines at pharmacies.

She bought so much that suppliers delivered everything to the warehouse, where she waited to receive the goods.

“Completing these tasks so quickly should please him,” Jiang Yu thought, feeling a small sense of accomplishment.

At that moment, she received a WeChat message from Xia Tianqiong asking for her bank card number to transfer money.

Without much thought, she sent it over.

Shortly after, he messaged again: “Two hundred million will be transferred to your account. Upon receipt, spend it all on supplies; don’t keep a single cent.”

Jiang Yu was stunned, thinking there was no way he had that much money. Was he involved in something illegal?

She quickly called Xia Tianqiong. “You… didn’t rob a bank, did you?”

To her, Xia Tianqiong’s ghost-like elusive nature made such a feat plausible.

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On the other end came a faint laugh. “Rob a bank? Not a bad idea. I’ll consider it.”

“…”

Jiang Yu was speechless. “Where did you get so much money?”

“Others gave it to me. Don’t worry about it—just spend it. Your mission is to use it all quickly, converting it into survival supplies. Oh, and stock up on plenty of gold and silver paper offerings.”

After saying this, Xia Tianqiong abruptly hung up.

Jiang Yu stood there dumbfounded, complaining, “Such a hands-off boss! How am I supposed to spend all this money?”

On the other side, Xia Tianqiong hurried to end the call because the life-risking entity had just returned.

“Master, I encountered a mirror entity right after leaving. I tricked it here; it’s arriving soon. Please prepare.”

Hearing this, Xia Tianqiong was delighted.

The mirror entity’s “mirror space” was especially useful. If he could contract it, he would have a portable dimension to store Jiang Yu’s supplies.

He immediately took out fifty taels of gold and rewarded the life-risking entity.

Then, pocketing some smaller gold ingots, he entered the bathroom and pretended to wash his hands in front of the mirror.

As he washed, he sensed something amiss.

Looking up, he saw his reflection smiling oddly and beckoning him.

In the next moment, an invisible force surged out, enveloping him and pulling him into the mirror.

The mirror’s surface softened like water.

First his head entered, then his shoulders and upper body, until he was fully inside, the mirror rippling in circles before smoothing again.

If someone passed by now, they would see two identical versions of him inside the mirror.

With a thud, Xia Tianqiong fell to the floor and looked around. The surroundings were still the bathroom, but beside him stood another himself.

That was the mirror entity’s illusion.

This space was the mirror space—an exact replica of the outside bathroom.

“Hello!”

Xia Tianqiong stood and smiled warmly, offering his hand for a handshake.

Like old friends meeting again, he was unusually enthusiastic.

This threw the mirror entity off guard.

Normally, humans would be afraid, terrified, or panicked. Why was this one so happy to see it?

“Aren’t you scared?”

The mirror entity asked, astonished, reaching out to shake his hand.

“No, I’m not scared. I’m even looking forward to your arrival!”

Xia Tianqiong grasped its hand firmly, refusing to let go. “Would you like to sign a contract with me? I have plenty of money. Stick with me, and you’ll never lack funds.”

With his other hand, he pulled out several gold ingots from his pocket and held them out, a blatant temptation.

The mirror entity’s eyes widened, staring unblinkingly at the gold. “You really do have a lot of spirit money.”

It had heard from the life-risking entity that the people here had abundant spirit money, which explained why it dared to come out in broad daylight to cause trouble.

“So, what do you think? Take a moment to consider. If you agree now, we can sign an equal contract.”

Xia Tianqiong continued his enticement, hoping to avoid using force if possible.