The Daily Life Of A Cyberpunk Magician
Chapter 323 - 202: Liu Tingruo Just Within Reach _2

Jiang Shu opened his eyes and looked at the paper figure in front of him, which bore a striking resemblance to Devil Wind.

The paper figure’s eyes came to life, entirely different from those initially painted on.

"Jiang Shu... what is this..." the paper version of Devil Wind turned to Jiang Shu, his tone infused with confusion, "I remember I already died."

"Yes, you did die," Jiang Shu nodded in agreement, explaining to Devil Wind, "But I attached your soul to this paper figure, and you resurrected in another form."

"No, not resurrected." Devil Wind shook his head, lifted a paper hand, and observed the blackness gradually forming on it, saying, "I can feel it, my time is short, and I will soon die again, and this death..."

"Perhaps is eternal." He continued, but his tone carried little sentimentality for life.

The paper hand seemed as though it was being constantly burned by an invisible flame, Devil Wind’s fingers gradually curled, then black char spots appeared at the fingertips.

This substance steadily spread toward Devil Wind’s arm, transforming into something akin to paper ash and falling to the ground.

"So, you should say what you need to quickly," Devil Wind smiled, but his fierce features made it an unpleasant sight, "perhaps I can still help you all one last time."

"It was Mu Jin who revealed the secret; Tang killed you," Jiang Shu revealed the truth and added, "Mu Jin is already dead, and Tang... will die soon as well."

"Mm." Devil Wind nodded slightly, then continued in a calm voice, "Tang’s ideas and plans had their merits, if possible..."

"There is no possibility left, he must die," Jiang Shu didn’t expect Devil Wind to speak in such a way but reacted quickly, interrupting him.

Tang must pay the price.

There was no option of reduced sentence due to significant contributions in his view.

Devil Wind then stopped talking about the matter, turning his head to look at a nearby desk, he stretched out his remaining hand to pick up a pen, wrote an address and a string of passwords on a piece of paper, then handed it to Jiang Shu saying, "Following this address, you can find some equipment and weapons I’ve made over the years. While they might not match military hardware in overall performance, some of their functions are even superior, which should be of help to you."

"Mm." Jiang Shu continued nodding, watching the man in front of him slowly disintegrate into ash, at a loss for words.

He and Devil Wind were not close; it was Fox and Devil Wind who were familiar, and most of the Deception Group cases were planned by Fox alone, then carried out with just the two of them.

It was like Fox constantly posed riddles, and Jiang Shu was the one solving them, handling the situation as if it were merely a game of mutual challenge.

However, the game ended before it could even really start, with Devil Wind’s death much sooner than expected, and from that moment on, Jiang Shu officially got involved in the matters of the Deception Group, no longer just as a player or a spectator.

"If possible, about the criminals in Thirteen District..." After hesitating, Devil Wind still made the request.

As Fox had said, Devil Wind believed they had a share of responsibility for the mass escape of the Special Prison inmates.

Hearing this request, Jiang Shu also fell silent for a while.

If it were up to Devil Wind, he likely wouldn’t bother with this issue, nor would he think it was his responsibility.

Just like when he spoke with Liu Tingruo, faced with the trolley dilemma, he would choose inaction, refusing to "kill" those who weren’t meant to die.

Likewise, the affair at Special Prison was Clo’s doing; thus, even if he were Devil Wind, he wouldn’t think it his business to apprehend the fugitives.

But Devil Wind thought differently; if he had the ability to stop something bad from happening and did nothing, he would consider it his responsibility.

A naive person, with naive thoughts, completely incongruous with his appearance.

Yet, as Fox had said, he was a very endearing person.

"I understand, I will help you complete it," Jiang Shu said with a smile to Devil Wind, then asked again, "Is there anything else you need my help with?"

"Nothing more, thank you," Devil Wind nodded at him, gave a seemingly forced smile, then said, "Tell Fox to be more careful in the future, no one is there to take a bullet for him now."

"Mm, I will tell him," Jiang Shu continued.

Following that, there was no further conversation between the two, and Jiang Shu just silently watched the paper figure gradually turn from white to black, then disintegrate into ash inside the Magic House.

After a long time, Jiang Shu sighed and sent a message to Lang Tai on his wristwatch.

We can set off now.

Then he walked into the bathroom and activated the "Return to Town" from the Paper Card Technique.

The next second, the bathroom floor was covered in playing cards, and Jiang Shu’s figure had appeared inside the Magic Table in the faraway Fifth District.

It was time to go to the Fifth District.

——

"Welcome everyone to the launch event of our new artificial intelligence, ’Shu Bao’ and its related products. Here at White Eagle Technology Co., Ltd., we have been continuously researching new artificial intelligence over the past five years, striving for a new tomorrow where humans and artificial intelligence coexist beautifully..." The host took the stage, eloquently talking about the artificial intelligence "Shu Bao" and its related content.

On the backdrop, there were phrases like "Creating the Impossible" and "A New Living Experience," along with a chibi anthropomorphic image of "Shu Bao."

In a corner of the hall where the new product was being launched, Jiang Shu glanced at the host on stage, but remained motionless.

Ding, cloaked with the Optical Invisibility Technique, had already gone to locate Sister Ruo.

According to the Paperman’s feedback, Sister Ruo was in the White Eagle Company building, in some part of this very structure.

Likely calibrating the related data of the artificial intelligence "Shu Bao."

...

Every time this name was mentioned, Jiang Shu felt a strange sensation permeating his heart.

Though he knew Sister Ruo was playing tricks, he couldn’t help but find it eerie.

Lang Tai stood calmly by Jiang Shu’s side, radiating a reassuring presence.

Person A: "Little Ding has found Ruo Ma. It’s now hiding in the ventilation duct near her and has transmitted ’Optical Invisibility Technique’ and ’Flame Spirit’ back."

"Alright, let’s go then," Jiang Shu nodded, taking one more look at the stage.

The content on the stage had switched from the artificial intelligence "Shu Bao" to a new APP called "Exchange."

But Jiang Shu was no longer in a position to care about any APPs, instructing Lang Tai, "Stay here on standby, and keep an eye on the information on your wristwatch."

Lang Tai nodded to show he understood and then seemed to remember Jiang Shu’s advice—to smile more, otherwise, his facial muscles would be too stiff—so he stiffly stretched his lips into a smile, displaying six teeth in a standard grin.

"..." Seeing his forced smile, Jiang Shu waved his hands, "You better not smile."

Lang Tai swiftly suppressed his smile.

As Jiang Shu headed towards the men’s bathroom, when he came out again, he had activated a perfect state of invisibility and began walking upstairs.

According to Ding’s feedback, Sister Ruo was above, but the normal route was out of the question; they had to go through the ventilation duct, a route that had been tested and confirmed passable by it.

Now, Jiang Shu stood at an entrance to the ventilation duct, eyeing the alloy fence above, and the gap only wide enough for the Tablet Spirit to pass through, lost in thought.

"..."

Indeed, the Tablet Spirit could pass through this path.

But what did that have to do with him, Jiang Shu?

After thinking for a while and seeing that there were no people around, he stuffed the Tablet Spirit, Xiao Jia, into the ventilation duct, turned on a bright light, and then took a small knife to unleash Shadow Cutting across the shadow of the alloy fence.

"Swoosh—" The metal fence dropped, making a whooshing sound, but Jiang Shu quickly caught it, preventing any noise, and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Woo wah woo wah woo wah—" Then the alarm sounded.

Jiang Shu: "..."

Damn (a plant).