[Downtown Luxury Apartment · 9:00 AM]
"Yin Wuwang, time to get up."
Xie Qingyan's voice came from outside the door.
Yin Wuwang opened his eyes. Sunlight filtered through the gap in the curtains, making him squint.
"I woke up ages ago." He sat up and stretched lazily. "I was just... cultivating my spirit."
"Cultivating your spirit until the sun is high overhead?"
Yin Wuwang didn't respond. He glanced out the window—the sun was indeed quite high already. If there was one thing about this modern world that pleased him, it was this ridiculously soft bed. It had made him oversleep. Of course, he would never admit that out loud.
Xie Qingyan stood outside the door, listening to the rustling sounds from within the room. He had woken early, as was his habit. On Canopy Peak, he had begun cultivation practice at the hour of the Rabbit every day, without fail for thousands of years. Even now, without spiritual energy to cultivate, his body's habits remained unchanged. He had woken before dawn, spent two hours studying the computer, researching this world's laws and criminal investigation procedures, then made a simple breakfast before coming to wake Yin Wuwang.
Yesterday, after learning to use the computer, they had also learned how to operate modern kitchen appliances. He had used ingredients from the refrigerator to prepare lunch and dinner. Yin Wuwang had said the food was "passable," yet his chopsticks had never stopped moving. Xie Qingyan himself had barely eaten much before feeling full, but Yin Wuwang had unceremoniously devoured everything.
Xie Qingyan deeply believed that although modern people lacked spiritual energy, their wisdom was extraordinary. According to Little Deer Assistant, some story worlds were born from the author's imagination, while others had once existed in reality. This modern world and the previous ancient world were both stories written by modern people—ancient history could be verified through records, and the modern world went without saying. Things like phones, computers, the internet, electricity, lights... were all daily necessities that modern people took for granted. They didn't have spiritual roots like cultivators, couldn't control nature's elements through cultivation techniques, yet they could extract natural resources, research them, and put them to use. How much perseverance must that have taken? If story worlds could truly complete their own heavenly laws and develop their own consciousness, then the murder case in this world was definitely not as simple as what the author had written.
Xie Qingyan emerged from his contemplation and realized he was still standing at Yin Wuwang's door. When he had knocked earlier, he'd heard steady snoring from inside—this man was sleeping quite soundly. Xie Qingyan thought to himself: Three thousand years as Demon Sovereign, he probably hasn't had many good nights of sleep. In the demon realm, the slightest moment of carelessness could lead to assassination. Now there are no enemies, no schemes, no wars that could erupt at any moment. He can finally sleep peacefully. So he hadn't woken him immediately, waiting until breakfast was ready before calling out.
"We're going to the bank today," Xie Qingyan said.
Yin Wuwang realized Xie Qingyan was still waiting outside his door. A flash of joy sparked in his heart, and he immediately threw off the covers, leaped out of bed, and rushed toward the bathroom. "Do you have any idea what the password might be?"
"I have some guesses. If that doesn't work, didn't Little Deer Assistant say we can also withdraw money using the passbook?"
He changed his clothes and pushed open the door. Xie Qingyan was already sitting at the dining table, waiting for him to eat breakfast. Yin Wuwang's eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over to sit down.
"Eat," Xie Qingyan said. "We'll go to the bank after."
Yin Wuwang picked up his bowl and took a sip of congee, his eyes narrowing with satisfaction.
For the first time since arriving in the modern world, the two were finally allowed to step outside their apartment. They came to a long corridor. At the end was a metal door, and on the wall beside it was a long metal strip with a black box displaying the Arabic numeral "1" that Little Deer Assistant had taught them, along with several circular buttons marked with up and down arrows.
"This is an elevator," Little Deer Assistant 9527's voice rang out. Today it was his turn to be in charge. "It's used to go up and down between floors. Press the arrow pointing down."
Yin Wuwang glanced at the arrow and reached out to press it. Ding. The metal door slowly opened, revealing a cramped room.
Yin Wuwang examined it briefly. "Is this a teleportation array?"
"No, this is—"
Yin Wuwang had already walked in. Xie Qingyan followed behind him, and the metal door slowly closed behind them. Yin Wuwang felt a sensation of descent—his pupils contracted. This room was sinking! His hand had already moved toward his waist, instinctively reaching for a sword.
A hand pressed down on his wrist.
"Stay calm." Xie Qingyan's voice was low. "This is normal."
Yin Wuwang froze for a moment. Xie Qingyan's fingers were cool, yet carried a steadying force. Xie Qingyan felt the muscles beneath his palm tense for an instant, then slowly relax. He didn't let go immediately. This man's wrist was thinner than he'd expected, with distinct bone structure. Beneath the skin were taut muscles and tendons. Despite being the Demon Sovereign, wielding power enough to destroy heaven and earth, he now sat quietly under Xie Qingyan's grasp, without struggling. Xie Qingyan lowered his gaze and slowly withdrew his hand.
Little Deer Assistant 9527 hurriedly explained: "The elevator is a tool for going up and down between floors. It moves on its own and takes you to whatever floor you want. It's not falling—it's descending. Though the feeling is similar, they're really not the same!"
Yin Wuwang watched the numbers above his head change continuously—15, 14, 13... Ah, so this thing calculates the floor on its own.
"...Why not just fly?" he asked.
"Mortals can't fly."
Yin Wuwang fell silent. Mortals couldn't fly. Mortals couldn't use spiritual energy or demonic qi. Mortals needed this self-moving iron box just to go up and down floors. He suddenly felt that the mortals of this world lived rather pitifully.
Xie Qingyan glanced at him and noticed that the expression on his face wasn't so much disdain as it was... pity. The mighty Demon Sovereign actually pitying mortals—how interesting. He realized that Yin Wuwang was indeed arrogant, indeed sharp-tongued, indeed looked down on the weak. But he didn't kill without reason, and at certain moments, he would reveal a barely perceptible trace of kindness.
Ding. The elevator stopped and the door opened. Yin Wuwang let out a breath of relief and quickly stepped out, feeling that the sensation of solid ground beneath his feet had never been so wonderful. Teleportation arrays were faster and covered greater distances than this "elevator" thing, but the feeling was completely different! That slow sensation of dropping was truly unpleasant.
Xie Qingyan followed him out. His fingertips seemed to still retain a trace of warmth from moments ago. He thought idly: So the Demon Sovereign's body temperature runs higher than I imagined.
[End of V2_Chapter 07]
Next: Getting into a horseless iron box that runs on its own? And it comes with cold wind blowing from the ceiling?!