Enforcer Manual
Chapter 1064 - 928: Salted Fish Soul_2

Chapter 1064: Chapter 928: Salted Fish Soul_2

The degree of this problem had reached the point where "Nothingness" wanted to treat Song Lan to one last meal at Sachila before he left, "What’s so great about having been in love?"

"No, this is advice from someone who’s been there before. Many times, all it takes is a little bit of courage to make your life completely different."

Nothingness hesitated in the face of Song Lan’s earnest expression.

Their conversation left Lu Xiang completely dumbfounded. Since when did Dumb Bird qualify to give others advice on love?

The name "Old Lu," which was akin to the source of all evil, was proposed by Song Lan. Whenever someone called her that, she wanted to grab his face and knead it fiercely.

"Of course, just having courage is far from enough. Here, take this as a parting gift from an old friend."

"...What is this?"

"’A Love Tip Every Day,’ the United Government’s current best-selling romance strategy book. Look at Old Lu, she has grown from a love novice who knew nothing about romance to the love expert she is today by reading this book!"

He spoke from the heart.

Lu Xiang’s tricks in the realm of love were several times more numerous than her skillset as a "Boss," and they were unpredictably varied and without any discernible pattern. As a challenger aiming to beat Lu Xiang, he’d repeatedly been thwarted by her cunning tricks. If the battle between the warrior and the Demon King were to be used as a template, the disparity in strength between the warrior and the Demon King in this matchup was simply too vast.

"Understood."

After pondering for a while, "Nothingness" tucked ’A Love Tip Every Day’ into the inner pocket of his clothes that seemed to have infinite carrying capacity, "Perhaps by the time we meet again, I will have grown into an incredible master of love."

...

"Do you know the president of the Chamber of Commerce?"

After stepping outside, Lu Xiang, who had been holding herself back, couldn’t wait to ask. It turns out that a gossip mentality is an innate instinct from birth, and even Lu Xiang was no exception.

"I do."

"Was she once your follower? Or perhaps the champion of some cricket fighting competition?"

The memories slowly resurfacing made her think about the fate of the past cricket fighting champions.

After reaching the pinnacle, they all gradually became indifferent to everything, resigned from their positions, left the Church, and returned to a peaceful life. Some became fishermen, some became fitness trainers, and others started restaurants.

If someone had returned to their hometown to start from scratch and established a Chamber of Commerce, it would not be all that surprising.

Another commonality was, regardless of the life they chose after the competition, they miraculously avoided the war that nearly consumed an era.

In this respect, the promise of the "Lord of the Salted Fish" to them was fulfilled.

"Of course not. On my first day in Lute City, Old Void took me to the bank owned by the Chamber of Commerce to fetch something, and the president’s portrait was hanging on the wall. That’s when we met."

"Slap—!"

Lu Xiang’s palm hit her own forehead, making a light sound.

She admitted she was still too naive, actually hoping that Dumb Bird could give a serious answer.

According to Song Lan, he had friends all over the world and he cherished the idea that "a friend within reach is better than a distant relative."

The only problem was, most of his friends had no idea they were friends with Song Lan.

"Then you suggested Old Void pursue someone else?"

"I may not have as many romantic moves as you, but I understand Old Void."

Song Lan was confident, "His real problem isn’t a lack of romantic partners but too much free time; I’m just helping him find something to do."

No one understood better than he how torturous a life of boredom could be.

When he first arrived in the upper world, he didn’t even have a TV; lack of charging facilities meant his phone quickly ran out of battery too, and he found it hard to imagine how other residents managed to live up to now in such a harsh environment.

"What if the Chamber of Commerce head is already married?"

This guess was very logical.

The president of the "outside world"’s largest Chamber of Commerce, possessing wealth beyond most people’s imaginations, surely never lacked suitors.

"Life is full of disappointments," Song Lan had already thought of an exit strategy, "In that case, I’ll recommend Old Void join Rosali’s card group, become her card-playing friend and take part in activities."

"I see."

Lu Xiang said thoughtfully, "One of the rules of being friends with you is never to take your tall tales at face value."

Perhaps it wasn’t entirely wrong for others to describe Song Lan as the Devil’s Whisper.

"Nothingness" is the prime example.

Once inscrutable inhabitants of the upper world, after spending time with Song Lan, were forcefully altered into their current states.

Even she was no exception.

Lu Xiang’s expression grew increasingly serious. When she went to The Second Region, she realized that at times, she seemed to exude the aura of a comedian.

This wouldn’t do; she always paid great attention to her image.

"There’s another problem."

Lu Xiang suddenly thought of something and asked seriously, "Why is it that after spending time with us, it’s always we who end up influenced by you?"

This was indeed utterly baffling.

Theoretically, Song Lan could be considered a disciple of "Nothingness," yet he hadn’t contracted even a hint of the enigmatic style of the former riddle people. Then there was herself, a resident of the upper world, vital to the God of Life, yet this Dumb Bird had lain in her garden for so long without learning a shred of her diligence. Instead, he had dragged her down into laziness.

She vaguely remembered the God of Life symbolized toiling and nurturing, with diligence being one of her essential traits.

She would carefully tend to the flowers in her garden, ensuring they were always presented in the best possible light.

It was true in the past, and it is true now.

Lu Xiang realized that her frequency of working overtime had been decreasing lately. She would avoid going to the office on weekends if possible and had cut down her dosage of anti-fatigue drugs by a large margin; for a long time, she had been closing her eyes before midnight.

Fatigue was only part of the reason; undoubtedly, she had been unwittingly infected by Song Lan’s influence.

The "Dumb Bird Observation Diary" remained unfinished, which could also be counted as one of her unfinished matters in the upper world.

Although Song Lan, like the other ascenders, had reached that world, she always felt that he was inherently different from them, and many times she believed they might not be of the same kind.

The reason Song Lan became known as a thief of believers in the upper world was his ease in pilfering others’ followers, yet it was near impossible for other residents to steal his.

She had once conducted an experiment, attempting to persuade a cricket-fighting champion—who had resigned from the Church—to return, but was met with a resolute and decisive refusal. Those whispers of the upper world that they could spend their entire lives hoping to hear seemed no longer important to them.

Regrettably, the diary remained incomplete until just before that meeting began.

"Of course, this is because deep down, everyone has a ’Salted Fish Soul,’ it’s just that many have never become aware of its existence."

"Salted Fish Soul?"

Lu Xiang’s brows slightly furrowed, "I definitely don’t have such a thing inside me."

Even after losing her memories and power, her diligence persisted, which indicated that her essence hadn’t vanished with her changing circumstances.

"You do."

Confident in his belief, Song Lan began to count off on his fingers, "Aside from the time you’re away on business trips, if you look back on your attendance records from the past three months, you’ll find that you’ve been arriving at the office later and later each day."

"That’s all your fault!"

"What have I done to you?"

"You keep hugging, hugging me early in the morning... how can I get up then!"

The shocking event that Song Lan never expected still occurred.

When Lu Xiang uttered those words, a hint of blush emerged on her face, something quite inconsistent with her usual demeanor.

Song Lan didn’t know if this blush stemmed from the act itself or from feeling guilty about becoming increasingly lazy.

"Let’s not talk about this anymore!"

Lu Xiang quickly changed the subject, taking out a promotional booklet from her bag and handing it over to Song Lan, "Here, get to some real work!"

"What’s this?"

"It’s a real estate brochure for The First Region, along with a renovation guide."

She steadied herself, "Since you don’t want to go through the paperwork and you’re always at home, you can choose the floor plan and decoration style. I’ve marked the units we can afford the down payment for with a marker."

Recently, thinking about this matter had stirred her emotions somewhat.

The apartment in The Seventeenth Region was allocated by the department, and the hovercar came as a perk for the manager.

Even though the transfer order offered better benefits, since they’d decided to move away from The Seventeenth Region, she resolved to buy a house with Song Lan that belonged just to them.