Chapter 36: Lu's Outrageous Maneuvers

Chapter 36: Mr. Lu’s Mischievous Moves

“Want a smoke?”
“No drinking.”
“Some fruit?”
“No smoking.”
“How about some alcohol?”
“No cola.”
“...”

Lu Li’s enthusiastic offers were all extinguished by Xingtian’s irrelevant replies.

Tsk, he was genuinely happy to see Xingtian just a moment ago.

That proved that under the last world-upending event, he really hadn’t died.

Besides, Lu Li had many questions he wanted to ask him.

Like how to use that stack of talisman papers inside the ring.

And those flashy-looking swords, spears, and halberds.

Each weighing dozens of pounds—how was he supposed to wield them?

He had even planned to ask if Xingtian had any martial arts manuals or body-enhancing potions.

Tsk, looks like that would have to wait for later.

Lu Li assumed Xingtian was pretending not to recognize him to avoid suspicion—perhaps not wanting Pan Shuai or the other four guys to know they were acquainted.

But Xingtian was terrified out of his wits right now.

He felt as if his life was a candle flickering in the wind.

Damn his luck!

How on earth did he end up meeting a monster like Lu Li?!

And judging by the reaction, this was obviously the Lu Li from the inverted world!

How could he travel across different parallel worlds?

Was he also a Descender?

Impossible!

The team battle quest would have given a clear alert!

Was he a Dropout?

No way—encountering a Dropout also triggers a warning.

So there was only one truth:

Lu Li was a monster capable of traversing different worlds!

Xingtian had once heard a legend.

It said that if one’s power became too great for a world to contain, they would transcend beyond it.

He had always thought it was just a myth, but now it seemed the legend was real!

And Lu Li was exactly that kind of monster, existing beyond worlds!

But what truly terrified Xingtian wasn’t this.

Though Lu Li was frightening, he had at least spared his life!

Besides taking his ring, swallowing a third of his entire fortune, causing the deaths of his five companions, and giving him a ridiculously low mission completion rating, he hadn’t done anything excessively cruel.

What scared him were those two monsters disguised as women!

Lu Li, though formidable and mischievous, still retained humanity and some sense of logic.

But those two were different!

Xingtian still couldn’t forget how his five companions died.

All died in baffling ways! One moment they were chatting, the next they dropped dead suddenly!

If Lu Li was in this world, then were those two also here?

Just thinking about it made Xingtian restless.

He felt certain he would meet an untimely death any moment.

However, seeing that Xingtian had no intention of chatting, Lu Li didn’t bother pursuing the matter.

He planned to find him privately later when no one else was around to ask for advice.

He also wanted to check on those four companions—if they were useless, it would be better to deal with them early.

Turning to Pan Shuai and the other two, Lu Li said, “Enough talk, let’s just enjoy the hotpot first.”

Glancing at a nearly desperate Xingtian and his four scornful companions, Lu Li smiled, “Luckily, there’s plenty this time. Let’s eat together.”

Eating hotpot was the perfect time to chat.

Lu Li had originally intended just that.

But with five extra people this time, he was too lazy to waste words.

No matter which side he spoke with, it had to be in private.

Pan Shuai and the other two remained silent.

They needed to keep Lu Li’s secrets, and with five outsiders present, naturally they wouldn’t reveal anything.

Xingtian was terrified, and without Lu Li speaking, he certainly wouldn’t dare to say a word.

The other four didn’t even need mention—they looked down on Lu Li and his group.

To them, these were just a bunch of NPCs and natives; their disdain was evident even in their choice of words.

The hotpot was eaten quietly.

After finishing, Lu Li poured out the broth and soaked the pot, then returned to the living room, picking at his teeth with a floss stick.

“Pan Shao, why don’t you explain the rules about tonight’s Pen Fairy game?”

At the mention of serious matters, Pan Shuai’s expression grew much more solemn.

He scanned the group and began the explanation.

“Tonight’s urban legend is the Pen Fairy. Normally, it can be played by multiple people or just two. To minimize risks, we’ll do the two-player version today.”

This was to keep the danger as low as possible.

“That probably won’t work,” Lu Li smiled faintly and went to the kitchen to fetch several items.

From plates to an 80x80 cm sheet of paper covered in writing.

And a bowl of clear water with chopsticks.

Pan Shuai stared blankly, “What are all these?”

“I thought if we’re going to play, let’s make it exciting,” Lu Li shrugged. “I’ve been thinking: what would happen if we played Pen Fairy, Plate Fairy, and Chopstick Fairy all at once?”

Pan Shuai’s face turned pale. “Lu, you’re crazy!”

“Crazy my ass—that’s called fighting fire with fire.”

Lu Li’s mischievous plan wasn’t over yet; he pulled out an A4 sheet filled with writing.

Pan Shuai peeked and felt his head spinning.

“What the hell is this?”

The paper was covered with questions:

[For any positive integer x, if it’s odd, multiply by 3 and add 1; if even, factor out the 2. After several iterations, it always returns to 1. Why?]

[Assuming an L-shaped corridor one unit wide, what is the largest shape that can turn the corner?]

[In 1744, Euler proved e is irrational; in 1761, Lambert proved π is irrational. Is e + π irrational?]

[Does a rectangular box exist with integer edge lengths, face diagonals, and space diagonal?]

[When the sum of all proper divisors of an integer equals the number itself, it’s a perfect number. All known perfect numbers are even—does an odd perfect number exist? Explain.]

[Every even integer greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of two primes. Why?]

There were many more questions—mostly mathematical and physical mysteries.

Some even asked about the origin of the universe and what lies beyond its edge.

Pan Shuai grew dizzy just from glancing.

He looked up at Lu Li as if seeing a god, “Lu, do you know the answers to these?”

“Not a single one. I just grabbed these ‘unresolved math and physics mysteries’ from the internet.”

Lu Li smiled enigmatically, “I just want to see if those Pen Fairy, Plate Fairy, and Chopstick Fairy games can answer any of them.”

Then he turned to Xingtian and the others, still wearing that innocently bright smile.

“Oh, by the way, you all have to play too~”

Seeing that same smile he’d worn before the culinary contest in the inverted world, Xingtian couldn’t help but shudder.

I’m out! Good night!

(End of Chapter)