I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 357

Chapter 357: Listening to Magic Whisper Its Own Fairy Tale

 

Under the moonlight, the shimmering lake water reflected a faint glow. As far as I can remember, this is the first time I’ve come to such a remote place.

 

With my bunny backpack stuffed to the brim, I slowly walked towards the lake.

 

The distance from here to Shenzhen City is not just a few thousand kilometers. Considering transportation and such, if Xiao Mo and I were traveling like ordinary humans, it would take at least a day to get here.

 

This place is so remote that there are no direct flights or even regular trains and buses. You would have to take a high-speed train to the nearest big city, then catch a long-distance bus. However, these buses don’t run frequently—you might wait a whole day for one to come.

 

Even after taking the bus, you would only reach the small county we passed earlier. From there, you would either need to find someone in the county to rent a car or hike to the lake.

 

The former might involve asking around for directions, and if you’re lucky, you might quickly find a driver willing to take you. If not, you could end up wandering around the county for half a day trying to find someone.

 

So, this kind of spontaneous travel requires either good personal conditions—being able to drive and having money—or being like Xiao Mo and me, non-human.

 

But I must say, this trip is really worth it.

 

I placed my bunny backpack on a clean, large rock by the lake and crouched down, reaching out towards the water.

 

Because it is so remote, there are hardly any signs of human activity around this lake. Xiao Mo probably chose a place with very few people on purpose.

 

The area around the lake is a vast plain. Although you can vaguely see some mountains in the distance, they aren’t very high. The small county we passed earlier is three to four dozen kilometers away, so I can’t see it from here, standing by the lake.

 

In other words, even without Xiao Mo saying anything, I could tell that there was no one around as I stood by the lake. The view was just too open and expansive.

 

Imagine a vast plain stretching out endlessly, with the occasional mountain dotting the horizon and a huge lake nestled in the middle.

 

The full moon hung high in the sky, the night was pitch black, and the stars were twinkling brightly. You could even make out the outline of the Milky Way. Under such a beautiful starry sky, the vast lake stretched out in front of me.

 

“Plop—”

 

Just as I dipped my hand into the lake, a few small fish, possibly startled by something, jumped out and created ripples on the water.

 

“Drip.”

 

The moment my hand touched the lake’s surface, a cool sensation traveled up my fingertips, giving me a hint of autumn in the middle of this summer night.

 

“Why don’t you try using your surfing magic on the lake?”

 

Xiao Mo suggested happily, seeing how cautiously I was acting.

 

“Although surfing magic has standard rune rules, since you figured it out through practice, just use your own runes.”

 

“What do you mean ‘figured it out through practice’…”

 

I glared at her in annoyance and tried to use the magic within my body from memory.

 

“Water vapor gathering, magic converging, water element control, defeat the demons, advance…”

 

“Whoosh…”

 

Under my control, a wave about a few dozen centimeters high rose slowly at the edge of the lake, then quickly rolled forward.

 

“What’s with that ‘defeat the demons’ incantation…” Xiao Mo couldn’t help but laugh at the rune names I used. “Is there really such a rune?”

 

“None of your business!” I retorted.

 

I responded indignantly, “That’s what I was thinking at the time.”

 

Xiao Mo is so dominant every day that I secretly wish I could make a voodoo doll to curse her.

 

Learning “surfing” was like floating on cloud nine—I couldn’t come down, and Xiao Mo kept teasing me. Unable to escape, I grudgingly tried using various magic spells. I didn’t know any proper magic runes, so I was just doodling and came up with the rune “defeat the demons.”

 

“Once, a demon king’s subordinate used a massive surfing spell to flood countless ports.”

 

Xiao Mo, who was now setting up the tent, said in a conciliatory tone. “At that time, our most crucial supplies were coming in by sea. The waves destroyed homes and disrupted the allies’ vital supply lines.”

 

“Really?” I turned my head, and the small wave I was controlling with a “whoosh” broke apart. “Can surfing cause that much destruction?”

 

“Yes, some small spells can become extremely destructive if wielded by a great magician,” Xiao Mo nodded.

 

“Back then, I was just a novice who couldn’t use any magic and could only help evacuate people or transport goods.”

 

“Evacuate people…” I paused for a moment. “If you were a demon at that time, would people…”

 

“Yes, they would,” Xiao Mo said with a bitter smile. “Many people demanded that I get out of the human world. Only the hero comforted me, telling me not to take it to heart…”

 

“Ugh…”

 

I walked over to the girl and gently hugged her with open arms. “Hug, just to comfort you.”

 

“Pfft, I haven’t cared about that for a long time. Don’t underestimate a super demon who’s been alive for thousands of years.”

 

“Actually, it’s been tens of thousands of years, right?” I asked tentatively. “Didn’t Fei Luo and the others say you have that… forbidden spell that can alter the flow of time?”

 

“So, who do you think I did it for?” Xiao Mo gave me a look that said, ‘You better repay me well.’

 

“But it was all worth it.”

 

“I once dreamed that I was you,” I said, releasing her and looking at the beautiful lake in front of us.

 

“I dreamed that I harvested countless lives with a scythe, like a lofty queen, with a heart so cold it seemed as if time itself had frozen.”

 

“Did you ever dream about when we… ahem, when I first met the hero?” Xiao Mo asked.

 

“I did, but also… I didn’t. I can’t really remember,” I said, searching the ground until I found a flat, round stone. I threw it towards the lake—

 

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”

The stone skipped six or seven times across the water before flying far away.

 

“Dreams always give you a hazy feeling, not quite real,” I said, turning back to Xiao Mo. “Only the Xiao Mo in front of me is real.”

 

“When did your words get so sweet?” Xiao Mo looked at me with a curious expression. “You’re not planning something bad, are you?”

 

“That’s right, meow. I’m planning something bad, meow. A super scary, super evil plan to take down the Grim Reaper in front of me in one fell swoop, meow.”

 

I gave this girl a disgruntled look. “I’m hungry. Is there anything to eat?”

 

“Only catnip cookies.”

 

“Nonsense! We bought lots of canned fish and self-heating rice when we came, and we even brought a pot and a barbecue grill.”

 

I walked over to the luggage behind Xiao Mo. “I wonder if there are any fish in this lake.”

 

“Leave the fishing to me. Nuo’er, you get the fire ready here.”

 

Seeing my enthusiastic expression, Xiao Mo got up and walked towards the lake.

 

“Do you want big fish or small fish?”

 

“Just regular-sized ones, like the ones you buy at the market. Too big, and I can’t finish them. Too small, and they’re too bony to eat comfortably, whether fried, baked, or boiled. It takes me five minutes to eat a fish and pick out the bones. Only the medium-sized ones are perfect.”

 

“Wouldn’t we be noticed by people nearby if we start a fire here?”

 

“Don’t worry. It’s late, and everyone is almost asleep by now. We can have a little snack and then go to bed. Or does Nuo’er prefer to enjoy the night view here a bit longer?”

 

“I’ll wait until tomorrow,” I said, yawning as I looked at the lake ahead. “I’m feeling a bit tired myself.”

 

It’s funny how just over an hour ago we were in the bustling city, and now we’re in the deserted outskirts. Sometimes it feels like everything around me changes too quickly.

 

Watching Xiao Mo fly towards the lake, I took out my phone and checked the time and signal strength. The phone signal here is very weak, but it’s not nonexistent.

 

Perhaps it’s related to the nearby small county town. There should be quite a few base stations around.

 

?The café where Nuo’er works has recently gained quite a reputation. The VR equipment there is top-notch.?

?But I heard Nuo’er hasn’t been working these days. What a shame, I wanted to go and hang out with her.?

?It’s good, isn’t it? Haven’t you noticed that Nuo’er and Xiao Mo have been working for almost half a month straight? They should take a break.?

 

After briefly checking the messages in the group, I opened the Tongmeng website. Considering the poor internet speed here, I chose low-quality streaming when entering the café’s live stream room.

 

As usual, there weren’t many people on the first floor of the café at this time. However, the Niao You Leisure Bar on the negative first floor was crowded. It was mostly “shared computers” over there, where you could scan a code to use. So, Ai Luodi, who was on the night shift, didn’t seem to be very busy. She grabbed a laptop and was playing games in the lobby.

 

If I’m not mistaken, Gabriel is probably still live streaming?Age of Aquarius?.

 

Just under a month after arriving on Earth, Gabriel basically understood the operating principles of computers here and became a little hacker, but she still hasn’t fully understood the underlying code of?Age of Aquarius?. She’s very curious about all the random numbers that appear in the game.

 

As I set up the grill by the lake, I put the ignition material into the rack and arranged the charcoal, then blew a few times. After confirming that the fire was fully lit, I opened the writing app on my phone.

 

“Are you still working?”

 

Before long, Xiao Mo, with two hands holding fish, flew back from the lake. This Miss Grim Reaper placed the already processed fish on the nearby open space and sat down on the blanket laid outside the tent.

 

“What plot are you writing?” she asked.

 

“Just some ordinary daily life stuff,” I replied while typing. “Just embellishing the little details of our daily lives for reference in the novel.”

 

After more than a month of writing updates, my book was about to reach the shelf-worthy word count. Xiao Mo tilted her head.

 

“Just ordinary daily life?”

 

“Just ordinary daily life,” I confirmed, looking up.

“Everyone is already tired from studying and working. This book is meant to give them a good mood and a break after reading, to welcome the next day with a good mood.”

 

“Isn’t this writing style prone to losing readers?”

 

Xiao Mo leaned closer. “At least in today’s society, big data shows that people prefer fast-paced, interconnected novels. Your style might not attract many readers who would stick with it. They’ll forget about it as they read, leave it on the shelf to gather dust, and eventually delete it.”

 

“It’s okay,” I chuckled.

 

“At least they’ve read this book and gained happiness or moved emotions. I think that’s good.”

 

“If every author had your mindset, they’d starve to death,” Xiao Mo quipped, handing over two fish.

 

“Only a fool like you would think like this.”

 

“Even if I were a fool, you still love me, don’t you? So, you are the bigger goofball here.”

 

I took the fish. “Okay, I know you can’t cook. Just go and rest. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

 

“……”

 

……