Chapter 203: Pen Fairy

Having witnessed Xu Yinsheng’s countless transformations, Zhao Yicheng had also come up with a set of patterns.

Xu Yinsheng’s transformed roles either came from works of fantasy, such as the red-haired Valkyrie whose breast milk could restore health, or the vampire loli whose saliva could accelerate wound healing; or from myth and legend, urban ghost tales, like the Narcissus Fairy—according to the information he later found online, these were legendary spirits passed down by word of mouth in ancient times, which could be seen as an alternative version of the Conch Girl;

Or, they came from items belonging to some unknown space and time, like the mana-powered puppet. He had searched through a vast number of novels and collections, flipped through countless myths and monsters, but couldn’t find the slightest clue, so he had to classify them as objects from some unknown time and place.

Of course, all these were just the patterns Zhao Yicheng had summed up for now. As Xu Yinsheng continued to transform more, perhaps these patterns would be further revised in the future, or maybe he’d have to come up with entirely new ones.

“Pen Fairy, but I feel there’s a bit of Sadako mixed in. The moment she sees a TV she wants to crawl into it, just like how an Octopus is drawn to holes.”

Xu Yinsheng thoughtfully stroked her chin.

“Maybe the character I transformed into this time isn’t the original Pen Fairy, but a secondary setting from some fan novel.” Zhao Yicheng let go of the hand that was pressing down on her fragrant shoulder, picked up the Desktop Computer from the floor, put it back on the desk, plugged it in, and turned it on.

As the computer rebooted, the plain screen revealed that the file he’d finished writing had vanished without a trace. Zhao Yicheng raised his eyebrow slightly, opened the U Disk, typed in a string of code, and searched for the report document he’d just written.

A woman’s Sixth Sense was on full alert!!!

Xu Yinsheng instinctively pounced forward, trying desperately to burrow into the computer, but someone grabbed her by the ankle and lifted her up like a little chick.

“My file. Where is it?” Zhao Yicheng asked with a darkened face.

Xu Yinsheng, suspended in mid-air, stared upside down at the man. The white dress that came with her transformed role defied gravity like the anti-gravity skirts in anime—rather than falling, it half-covered her two slender, beautiful legs.

“That, um… well, if I said it wasn’t my fault, would you believe me?” Seeing the man’s increasingly dark expression, Xu Yinsheng asked weakly.

Zhao Yicheng didn’t answer, just carried Xu Yinsheng closer to the computer. The display instantly flickered into a blurry black and white image. He stepped back, the black and white ghosting vanished, and the screen’s various icons became clear again.

Zhao Yicheng frowned, as if deep in thought, and as if testing something, he carried Xu Yinsheng forward another step; the screen once again turned black and white. He stepped back, and the display returned to normal.

He repeated this process several times.

Until Xu Yinsheng’s head was spinning from all the shaking, she struggled to pry open the hand gripping her ankle. Then Zhao Yicheng remembered a theory he’d seen on Qihu.

Ghosts carry a special magnetic field that can interfere with and disrupt the functioning of modern electronics—this was why, in movies, lights always go out when a ghost appears.

He had thought it was just a joke, but now that Xu Yinsheng’s transformed role this time was from a fantasy work, it seemed she’d really acquired this attribute.

By this logic, when Xu Yinsheng crawled out of the computer just now, she had completely erased the file Zhao Yicheng had spent days compiling.

He set her down. Xu Yinsheng hadn’t even had time to stretch her numbed ankle before he shoved a cup into her hand, speaking in a flat tone.

“Make me a cup of coffee.”

Xu Yinsheng rolled her eyes, wanting to say something snarky, but in the end, she just stomped her foot, turned, and went off to brew coffee. Zhao Yicheng sat down, leaned back in the computer chair, rubbed his slightly sore eyes, then opened a certain Blue Software on his desktop. The sound of typing filled the air as his fingers danced across the keyboard.

Qihu, bounty 250.

Question: How do you maximize the value of a Pen Fairy?

A few minutes later, when Xu Yinsheng brought over hot coffee, thinking the matter was over for the night and she could finally go back to her room to sleep, Zhao Yicheng stopped her.

After Zhao Yicheng explained his idea, Xu Yinsheng immediately protested, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

“You’re squeezing me dry! You’re exploiting me! You’re cheating! Everyone else is doing business wars, but you’re the only one relying on the Pen Fairy!”

“I paid your salary. You should provide corresponding value in return.” Zhao Yicheng toyed with the ballpoint pen in his hand and spoke calmly.

“It’s already past midnight, this is illegal overtime!”

“There’s overtime pay. If you don’t like it, go ahead and sue me.”

“Staying up late can kill you.”

“You’re a ghost. You can’t die.”

“Aren’t you afraid of sudden death?”

“I’ve had a professional check-up. Before fifty, my bodily functions won’t decline at all.”

In the end, Xu Yinsheng still made a choice somewhere between “voluntary” and “forced.”

“Xu Yinsheng, the Pen Fairy, first question.”

Following the Pen Fairy Summoning Ritual he’d just found online, Zhao Yicheng raised his arm, held the pen upright, let the tip lightly touch the white paper, closed his eyes, and recited:

“Does my competitor’s plan have any flaws…”

The next day, Xu Yinsheng arrived at the company sporting a pair of panda eyes. She ignored the looks from others, headed straight for the top floor, kicked open the door, and, without a glance at Zhao Yicheng behind her, flopped down on the sofa and fell fast asleep.

Seeing this, Zhao Yicheng just smiled wryly, took a thin blanket from the cabinet, and gently covered her.

In her groggy state, Xu Yinsheng felt as though she were floating, as if riding the righteous energy of heaven and earth, mastering the mysterious six energies, drifting like the morning sun, carried by the wind without knowing where she would land.

Suddenly, a sparse chant sounded in her ear: “Pen Fairy, Pen Fairy, you are my past life, I am your present. If you wish to come, draw a circle on the paper.”

“Pen Fairy, Pen Fairy, you are my past life, I am your present. If you wish to come, draw a circle on the paper~” “Pen Fairy, Pen Fairy, you are my past life~ I am your present~ If you wish to come, draw a circle on the paper～~”

At the same time.

Noon.

Linyu Xinyuan University.

In a certain room of the Girls’ Dormitory.

Raindrops tapped against the window frame. Outside, a light snow was falling, swept along by the wind, but inside the dormitory, it was so quiet it was unsettling.

Four girls in cotton jackets sat cross-legged on the floor, a white sheet of paper and a lit candle before them.

All four gripped an old pencil together, their arms hovering over the white paper, trying their best to relax.

“Pen Fairy, Pen Fairy, you are my past life, I am your present. If we are fated, draw a circle on the paper.” Again and again, recited over three to five minutes.

“Shilai, why isn’t anything happening?” Luo Xi, the twin-tailed girl, asked Jiang Shilai.

“That Pen Fairy game box I bought online—if it actually worked, now that would be strange.” Jiang Shimo replied.

“By the way, if we really summon the Pen Fairy, what do we do?” their roommate Luo Mei asked anxiously.

“Luo Mei, there are no such things as ghosts in this world, only people’s imaginations.” Qin Muling said calmly.

“We just finished the last exam, are you confident?” “No.” x3

“Wonder if we’ll pass this time.”

“Please~” x3

All the girls sighed in unison.

Ever since a certain pair pulled off that legendary cheating-by-stealing-the-exam maneuver, the school had separated teaching and testing. Not only did the “teacher is useless” meme spread, even “teacher’s balcony is cold” couldn’t save anyone anymore.

“Wait, who’s touching my hand?” Qin Muling’s face changed slightly.

At that moment, the girls all felt a new force on the backs of their hands, as if another hand was gently holding theirs—they could even feel the icy cold from the other’s fingertips.