Chapter 33: Misfortunes Never Come Singly
“What would you like to drink?”
Looking at Lu Zheng slouched on the sofa like a smug grandpa, Yi Ning hugged the documents he had delivered to her chest, walked over to him, and asked with a fake smile.
“Just plain green tea is fine.”
Lu Zheng casually picked one of the two drinks Yi Ning had offered him during his last visit to Dr. Alien’s evil laboratory.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t Dr. Alien’s evil lab.
Yi Ning simply walked into the room with the documents and came back out carrying a half-filled kettle and a mug that was half-full of coffee.
“No such thing.”
Yi Ning filled her mug with water from the kettle and, with a heavy “clunk” full of resentment, slammed the kettle down on the table in front of Lu Zheng.
“Only plain water.”
She then sat down on the sofa diagonally across from Lu Zheng, crossed her legs, and while sipping her coffee in small sips, subtly shot him a series of annoyed glances.
When is this guy leaving?
She glanced at the time and resumed silently attacking Lu Zheng with her evil gaze.
Lu Zheng, on the other hand, silently stared at the kettle placed on the coffee table.
Yi Ning hadn’t brought him a cup—was he supposed to drink straight from the spout?
He looked at Yi Ning, who was once again all smiles, and had no idea what he’d done to upset her.
Was it really because he forgot her instructions?
He scratched his head and bowed slightly toward Yi Ning.
“Really sorry—I was preoccupied thinking about the guy who turned Ye Qin into a bomb and completely forgot you said not to knock or ring the bell.”
Hearing his apology again, Yi Ning tilted her head and raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Didn’t I already say it was no big deal?”
When did this guy become so overly apologetic?
“I only told you not to knock or ring because I can’t hear them from inside.”
Yi Ning explained, trying to ease his guilt.
She put down her mug and gestured around the room.
“You can see the layout here is similar to your place.”
Then she got up, walked to the window, opened it, and waved Lu Zheng over.
When Lu Zheng walked over, Yi Ning pointed outside.
“Notice anything different?”
Lu Zheng looked out as instructed.
As neighbors, the view from Yi Ning’s window should have been nearly identical to his own. But now, while familiar, everything was subtly off.
Everything was reversed, left and right.
Not only that—where people usually gathered downstairs, there wasn’t a single soul now.
Even though it was summer, there were no birds in the sky, no sound of cicadas.
“This is...”
Guesses started forming in Lu Zheng’s mind.
“This is the world within the mirror.”
Yi Ning, at some point, pulled out a mirror and held it up for Lu Zheng.
Through the mirror, Lu Zheng saw the real scenery outside.
His mouth opened, unsure of what to say.
Was it really okay to just tell him this? Sure, they had a decent relationship now and he was thinking of recruiting Yi Ning, but technically, they were still enemies.
After a moment, he asked:
“Are there... mirror monsters here?”
“Ha~”
Yi Ning laughed.
The previously tense atmosphere between them lightened a bit.
“No, there aren’t any living creatures here.”
Yi Ning curled her lips into a grin.
She suddenly had a wicked idea.
A bad one—for Lu Zheng.
“And no living creature can survive here.”
Her smile turned eerie, her gaze growing more intense.
“Uh... what do you mean by that?”
Lu Zheng felt a chill down his spine as he looked at her unsettling expression.
No living creatures could survive here?
Did that mean he wasn’t considered living?
Yi Ning’s smile now looked eerily familiar to him.
It was the same look she had when she saw someone walk right into a trap she had laid.
“Guess why Dr. Alien, the evil scientist, would invite a hero like Pixel Mask into her home? And why would she reveal something that sounds so classified?”
Could it be...
Lu Zheng’s expression began to tremble with anxiety, all sorts of thoughts flooding his mind.
Like being vaporized by a laser the moment he entered the house, and the one standing here was a clone.
Or being paralyzed at the doorway and now just a brain in a jar.
Or that he was caught in a perfect illusion.
...
“Pfft—”
Seeing Lu Zheng’s tense expression, Yi Ning finally couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Hahahaha... I was just messing with you!”
She took a deep breath, trying to suppress her laughter, but failed within seconds, doubling over and holding her stomach.
Watching her laugh so exaggeratedly, Lu Zheng’s face turned a mix of blue and white.
He couldn’t believe he’d actually fallen for her nonsense!
Even he felt embarrassed by himself.
After a long while, Yi Ning barely managed to compose herself. She wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye and looked at Lu Zheng with a mocking gaze.
“Can’t believe the Hero Association’s ace hero got tricked by something so basic.”
She deliberately covered her mouth, raised her head, and looked down at Lu Zheng with her eyes.
“To put it in modern slang—loser, loser! Big brother here is supposedly the ace hero of the Hero Association, yet so easily fooled. Might as well change your name to Loser Hero!”
Hearing such taunts, Lu Zheng couldn’t hold it in either. He could only brace himself and play along.
“What you said earlier... was really just a joke, right?”
“Why would I do anything to you anyway?”
Yi Ning shrugged.
She wasn’t an idiot. If anything happened to Pixel Mask while he was in her home, Miss Qiu Yu would definitely come charging in.
And she had no interest in facing off against the Hero Association’s deputy director.
Still, Lu Zheng’s reaction gave Yi Ning another idea.
She pretended to be annoyed, waved her hand, and pointed at the door.
“If you really can’t take a joke, you can leave.”
She was already running late. If she didn’t find a way to send Lu Zheng off soon, headquarters would start contacting her directly.
But alas—misfortunes never come singly, and just as the boat was delayed, it also caught a headwind.
From beside the living room television came a “beep beep” signal.
It was Ji Ping’s communication signal.