Chapter 127: The “Mother” of Urban Legends

Chapter 127 The "Mother" of Urban Legends

The old speaker crackled with static as it gloomily announced:

"Lianxing Tower Station, arriving at Lianxing Tower Station—"

Hearing the destination of interest, Chu Fu opened his eyes; his deep blue eyes shimmered like shifting sea mist. He lazily yawned and casually brushed aside a head bleeding from all seven orifices that had leaned in from the backseat.

At the front, a middle-aged woman in a dust-colored trench coat stood up first, clutching her briefcase tightly as she approached the driver.

The driver's head rotated unnaturally—just the skull twisting while its neck and the muscles below remained completely still, making its head and body appear as two separate, detachable parts.

It stared at Investigator D for a while before letting out a few bone-chilling chuckles amid her pounding heartbeat. "This time, what question do you want to ask me?"

Investigator D pressed her lips together, her facial muscles tense as she forced herself to remain composed. "Recently, we’ve observed many Urban Legends reviving abnormally, with their activity and containment breach incidents rising alarmingly. Why is this happening?"

"Because a Powerful Being is awakening," the driver hinted. "We were born from it, and it’s only natural that we serve it… We are merely answering its call."

Listening in, Chu Fu speculated that this "Powerful Being" was likely a hidden Urban Legend within the instance—perhaps the true final boss.

It seemed that its power was causing Urban Legends to mushroom across the city.

Of course, this had nothing to do with Elius, who had just descended into this world. But…

Chu Fu pondered thoughtfully—could he subtly mislead everyone into believing that Elius was the Progenitor the driver spoke of?

That unknown Urban Legend was awakening, and coincidentally, so was Elius—so equating the two would be perfectly reasonable, wouldn’t it?

As Chu Fu nodded to himself, Investigator D was also processing the driver’s information.

Regarding the origin of Urban Legends, the Containment Facility had long held theories since its establishment. Some had speculated: was it possible that all Urban Legends shared a single source, birthed from the same "mother"?

Thus, in the Containment Facility’s archives, there remained an empty file—"S-000: 'Mother.'"

Little did they know this hypothesis would be confirmed today!

The thrill of personally unraveling the mystery and approaching the truth made Investigator D’s breath quicken. She hurriedly pressed further, "Please tell us where 'it' comes from? And what are its characteristics?"

In truth, this world had not always been host to Urban Legends.

All anomalies, disasters, and the shadows of fear had erupted within the last two centuries.

Thus, the force behind Urban Legends likely came from beyond—perhaps the void between stars…

Something must have drawn the "Mother" here!

Facing Investigator D’s urgent questioning, malice flickered in the driver’s dull eyes as it reminded her, "Including your earlier question, you’ve asked three questions."

"Three questions, three coins. Are you prepared to remain with me for eternity?"

Investigator D forced a smile. "For me and for all humanity, this is a worthwhile trade… Even if it means making a deal with the devil, I have no reason to refuse."

Silently, she added in her heart—of course, she was already consorting with flesh-hungry demons.

The driver let out a laugh like grinding gears. "I like you—your human courage."

After this remark, it deliberately lowered its voice, as if cautiously avoiding disturbing some slumbering presence, and spoke gravely, "No Urban Legend knows exactly where 'it' comes from. The only certainty is that 'it' is not of this world, but from somewhere infinitely more remote and unfathomable…"

"I’ve never seen 'it' myself," the driver admitted. "But I’ve heard that the Endless Library within Guiyin University's might be its temporary resting place."

Investigator D’s brow relaxed slightly, as if the tension in her shoulders eased, allowing her to face and accept any outcome with calm.

"B-021, 'The Endless Library'," she murmured. "I have no further questions."

"I’ve been lonely on this journey for too long. Our conversation was... enlightening, madam."

The driver smiled at her as if she were an old friend, but its eyes betrayed not kindness, but terrifying greed:

"Now, I can’t wait to claim my payment."

"Go ahead."

It mimicked the mannerisms of a gentleman, gesturing with its fingers pressed together toward the coin slot.

Steeling herself against the tremors in her fingers, Investigator D retrieved three coins from her briefcase. Sweat-slick coins nearly slipped through her fingers, forcing her to grip them tighter, the coins' serrated edges biting into her palm with a dull ache.

These three small coins would determine whether she lived or died.

Just as she was about to toss them, a figure materialized beside her—a pale-skinned stranger appeared out of nowhere, tilting a black leather wallet in his hand. A cascade of silver coins spilled out, clattering across the floor.

For a moment, Investigator D’s mind went blank.

She even had the impulse to grab the stranger by the collar and snarl, "Are you trying to get us killed?"

In front of the most avaricious and cunning of Urban Legends that loved exploiting loopholes, should a single coin land tails, neither of them would leave alive today!

But when her gaze swept over the floor, her breath caught.

Amid the metallic clinks, countless silver coins spun and bounced across the ground, a glare so intense it burned her retinas, as if an avalanche of silver had flooded the bus.

As the coins gradually settled, Investigator D realized—

Every single one had landed heads-up. Without exception.

Instinctively, she calculated the odds: the probability of one coin landing heads was one in two. With roughly twenty coins on the floor, the chance of all landing heads was a statistical impossibility!

Was this sheer luck… or did he possess the ability to influence probability?

The driver and passengers inside the bus had frozen in place, their eyes fixed on the coins, even forgetting to maintain their human disguises.

For a brief moment, even time itself seemed to halt, with only the occasional coin still wobbling faintly, emitting faint metallic chimes.

A few seconds later, the folding doors at the front creaked open.

The golden hues of dusk poured in, the orange-red light slithering across the coin-strewn floor, making the faces embossed on them appear even more benevolent—grinning in triumph at all present.

Investigator D stared at the coins’ smiling faces for a few seconds before turning to the stranger. To her surprise, this miraculously lucky victor seemed indifferent to the outcome, as if it were the most mundane thing in the world.

He didn’t even glance down, as if he had foreseen the result, and simply stepped into the fiery twilight.

"Let’s go." Hearing his voice, Investigator D startled back to awareness and hurriedly followed him off the bus.

Once outside, Chu Fu waved at the driver's frozen expression behind him. "Riding with you was a pleasure too. See you next time~"

The driver glared at him coldly, as if committing his face to memory and eternally barring him, replying stiffly, "There won’t be a next time."

Instinct told Bus 414 that no matter how many times this smirking passenger tossed a coin, it would always land heads-up, leaving it with nothing.

Even as an Urban Legend, it had no interest in a transaction doomed to fail.

Chu Fu chuckled lightly, "Not so sure about that."

Which route a vehicle takes, which intersection it passes, which corner it turns—he could control all these variables.

As long as he thought about this bus, no matter which direction it headed, it would eventually end up right in front of him.

The entire bus shuddered as if about to fall apart, belching out a sigh-like cloud of dark exhaust before driving off into the distance.

This time, however, Bus No. 414 sped away much faster than before, as if fleeing from something.

By now, Investigator D had recognized Chu Fu’s distinctive black hair and blue eyes—he was the newly documented urban legend, tentatively rated as B-062, "The Returned One."

Her face showed mixed emotions as she scrutinized him with cautious eyes, but in the end, she didn’t approach him. Instead, she hurried away with her briefcase in hand.

The system notified him:

「Congratulations, player! You have successfully documented the urban legend "Mirror Bus No. 414." Current progress for Task 1: 4/7. Keep up the good work!」

"Wait, this makes four?"

Chu Fu was surprised. He could’ve sworn he had only officially documented one "Copy Person" and created one graveyard hitchhiking urban legend before.

After a moment of thought, he turned his gaze to the long-ignored livestream and realized that the "No-Exit Screening Room" must have accumulated enough spread to evolve from a mere concept into a full-fledged urban legend.

Glancing at the virtual screen, he noticed the livestream’s viewership had now climbed to 112 viewers.

Through the screen, Chu Fu locked eyes with the new viewers for a long while, making them recoil in unease, overwhelmed by regret.

Damn it—they cursed their past selves for being so insatiably curious, for daring to click into this stream!

Well, congratulations! Now they had prime seats in their own prison. Happy now?

Uninterested in their panicked thoughts, Chu Fu, adhering to his principle of impartiality, bestowed upon each new divine being an "Unblinking Watch," ensuring they remained sufficiently docile.

That's how divine beings worked—aside from the faith carved deep into their souls, only genuine displays of force could make them quiet and obedient.

So when dealing with them, Chu Fu always preferred actions over words, ensuring they remembered his rules through fear and pain.

Sure enough, the livestream fell silent, and any restless stirrings were quickly stamped out.

Satisfied, Chu Fu shifted his gaze upward to the towering structure before him—his next destination.

The notorious apartment building, Lianxing Tower, rumored to house the urban legends "Mirror Corridor" and "Three Bows."