Soul Trigger

Chapter 646 Yellow Bird
Ji Li was awakened by the sound of the horn. He glanced at the foggy weather outside and opened the window.

Anya's sports car was parked below, the convertible top already pulled up because it was drizzling today.

Because Aquile, as the "captain," needed to fill out the necessary forms in advance, he had already gone to the school ahead of time.

As a team member, Ji Li was exempt from his classes today, so he slept in.

Downstairs, Angelica had paid a considerable sum to keep quiet, and recently the siblings had been able to have decent large sandwiches for breakfast, with thicker bacon fillings.

Ji Li said goodbye, took the sandwich, and then got into the sports car outside under Aunt Duke's gratified gaze.

There's no such thing as puppy love on White Island, and she was very pleased that Pulitzer had found a girlfriend from a wealthy family.

There may be more than one.

Seeing Sally sitting next to him in the back seat, staring at him sullenly, Ji Li took a big bite of his sandwich:
"You are here too."

"Pulitzer, you have to give me an explanation!"

"Explain what?"

That night!

Anya, who was in the front seat starting the car, followed closely behind:
"And that morning!"

Ji Li chuckled to himself:

"What, you got a complaint for disturbing the peace?"

"That's not the problem!"

Sally, her face flushed, pounced on Ji Li, grabbing his neck and shaking him:

"You bastard, you really dare to do that! You actually dared to be with both of us at the same time..."

"So that's what it was for. I thought you guys were here to cheer me on before today's match."

"That's one thing, but you have to tell me clearly, who exactly are you going to choose, sob sob..."

Sally's chin was gripped by Ji Li, and she only released her grip after a long, suffocating moment:

"you……"

"I don't choose."

"Wait! This is in the car..."

"Hey, you two?!"

Seeing that the two people behind her had disappeared from her rearview mirror, Anya hurriedly accelerated and drove into a wooded path behind a house.

By the time she pulled the handbrake and looked back, the two of them had already started.

"Sally, you idiot, can't you even put up a fight?!"

Anya slammed her hand on the passenger seat and flipped it over in one stride, but she tripped over the handbrake lever with her boot and fell into the back seat.

Ji Li was immediately delighted:

Are you in such a hurry?

"...Hurry up and help me up!"

"Okay, sweetheart."

Ji Li pulled Anya up and placed her on Sally.

The former protested:

"Hey, we haven't finished talking about what happened between the three of us..."

"I'll talk as I go. I don't have any classes this morning."

"But we have to go to the beach...!"

Anya abruptly covered her mouth, arching her back high, which immediately provoked Sally behind her to protest:

"You're so heavy! Can't you wait until we finish first..."

An hour later, Ji left the car and arrived at the small beach that served as the starting point of the race.

The various facilities built for the event have already started operating, and small groups of staff are busy around carrying various items.

Flags symbolizing different towns, schools, and teams fluttered everywhere, and some of the participants who had already arrived were either chatting with each other or adjusting their sailboats.

Ji Li saw Aquile with red hair among them.

She was arguing with the leader of another team, but Ji Li didn't see that Gregory kid from yesterday:

"Ladies, are you dressed?"

An underwear show is taking place in the not-so-spacious back seat.

The two, who had been directly led by Ji Li to engage in a second Three-Body Problem exercise, pushed each other while wearing sexy cheerleader outfits and school uniform jackets over them.

Ji Li admired the graceful curves reflected in the rearview mirror with great interest, earning him an eye roll from Anya:
"Is this your explanation?"

"dislike?"

Sally protested:

"Pulitzer, this isn't over yet. I'll let it slide since you have a game today... We'll talk about it later!"

The two of them were actually quite busy today. One was the cheerleading captain, and the other was the vice-captain of the cheerleading team. They would be dancing on the shore during the later competitions.

In addition, the mayor also assigned some of the work to the two sisters.

Sally was responsible for liaising with the venue before the competition and handling some school-related matters.

Anya then had to contact and make handover with the media outlets invited by the mayor.

"Pulitzer, check if the media personnel have arrived yet?"

An Ya was changing her pantyhose.

Ji Li glanced outside, then his gaze returned to Anya's legs:
"We've arrived, three media outlets."

"That means there's still one company missing... It should be the one that hasn't replied to me yet; they should have arrived yesterday."

Anya lifted her skirt and shook it, noticing Ji Li's gaze in the rearview mirror, and squinted, saying:
"looking at what?"

Sally was indignant:

"He must want to do it again... He's a crazy guy who thinks only with his lower body."

Anya said, "You're just jealous that he didn't look at you, aren't you?"

"Nonsense!" Sally also put on a dress, turned around to check her back, and was caught by Ji Li's gaze:
"Is that a quick-release design?"

The girls' cheerleading outfits resembled high-cut swimsuits, revealing shiny black stockings that hugged their hips and waists, over which they wore skirts.

Sally looked up: "What do you want to do?"

"This outfit looks great for sports, and I think we have some time."

"Hey, this is a competition venue..."

Half an hour later, the car door closed, and the two sisters, piled on top of each other, were still somewhat dazed.

Sally: "Damn... is this really true?"

Anya struggled to her feet: "My legs are still shaking... I need to rest a bit more... I shouldn't have come to pick him up this morning!"

"Anya, your back seat is dirty..."

"FUCK!!!"

Ji Li didn't go to the beach, but instead stretched out on the side of the sea cliff, braving the rain:

Two good morning exercises, especially in this drowsy weather, reminded him of his military career when he and his female comrades vented their frustrations in a storm.

Strictly speaking, however, it's more like the woman who spent a period of time in cyberspace constantly working on her belly during the Murphy's Megastructure era.

He spent his days either looking for female celebrities or models, until Michelle, the group's second-in-command, came to him, finally snapping him out of his decadent state.

"What's that look in your eyes?"

These words were spoken to Clement Hall, which was floating nearby.

The nun was sent here last night to guard the psychic artifact trap, using her ability to remain undetected.

"Master, the operation is about to begin. How can you have the leisure to do those things on those two girls' bellies? Half an hour..."

Ji Li corrected:
"It took an hour and a half, and I did it several times before coming here."

"...Are you really serious?"

"Of course there are, but perhaps the environment they're in is too comfortable. Can I take your question as envy? Or perhaps you'd like to join in...?"

"NO!"

Clementine retreated quickly, clutching the exposed breast tissue of her clothing:

"I don't want to! I'm going to stay and keep watch!"

"Ah."

Ji Li gazed into the distance.

Following the river, I could see the distant sea, where a thin mist seemed to be rising.

Just then, a dilapidated car pulled up beside him, and a slovenly middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap leaned out.
"Hey young man, can I ask you something? Where can I buy tickets for today's game?"

"over there."

"I see, ticket office. Have a nice day!"

Watching the rickety little car wobble and sway towards the beach, Ji Li revealed a faint smile:

The gravedigger has arrived.

Soon, the Cavaliers team also arrived at the scene. They were clearly there to make some preparations and keep an eye on things, intending to prevent any anomalies from occurring after the official match began.

Of course, Angelica, who was tormented by her vampiric urges, was not present.

After sensing the movements of all parties, Ji Li met up with Aigui'er:
"how?"

The rain didn't wash away Ji Li's perfume scent, which made Aquilind frown immediately.
"You came in Anya's car?" Glancing to the side, he also saw the Foster sisters, wearing school uniforms and raincoats on the outside and sexy cheerleading outfits underneath, jogging along the shore.

"Not so great. We ran into some old rivals who didn't know their place, and the third-place finisher that idiot Gregory mentioned yesterday is here too. See that slick-haired guy over there?"

Ji Li peeked out and saw a boy at least two meters tall giving an interview to a media outlet in the rain, wearing a bright and sunny smile.

"Second place in the last county competition?"

"Hmm, I looked at his resume. He's already been pre-selected for the national team and received a guaranteed admission to the sports program at Sword Dome University... Damn, even Gregory didn't get to this level."

Aquil wasn't in a very good mood; she squatted down and rubbed her face vigorously.

"Let's put this guy aside for now and discuss tactics. It's raining today, and the waves at sea might be quite high. I can make the sails a bit more aggressive, just make sure you don't capsize..."

"So lacking in confidence?"

"Nonsense, we've only been practicing for a few days!" Aiquier said, rubbing her long, red hair in frustration; her curly hair was prone to tangling.

Seeing her clumsy appearance, Ji Li gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, and while Ai Guier was stunned, he helped her tidy up her thick hair.

"Um...thank you."

"You're welcome. But I have a bad feeling about this."

Aquil pursed her lips: "What premonition? Like that feeling when a bear suddenly crawled into the school last time?"

"No." Ji Li retied her ponytail.
Even if a bear crawls in, it won't stop you from winning the championship.

Aquil chuckled, turned around, and raised his fist:

"They are our champions."

Ji Li smiled and prepared to bump fists with her, but his gaze, which was over Aiquier's shoulder, suddenly sharpened:
"Did that person drown?"

Aiguil turned around in confusion and saw a figure that had appeared on the riverbank at some point.

She lay on the very edge of the riverbank, her lower body still floating in the water, bobbing with the ebb and flow of the tide, as if she had just drowned.

Calling from Equilton:
"Safety officer!!!"

A minor disturbance ensued.

A few minutes later, the girl was lying on a makeshift hospital bed, waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

Sika, the wine knight, was wiping the river water from her mouth; he had just performed CPR and artificial respiration on her.

"She's alright now, she'll wake up soon."

Jason, standing beside him, looked at him suspiciously:
"Are you really not just taking advantage of this situation?"

of course not.

Ji Li and Ai Guier stood together, their gazes towards Xika filled with mockery:
This guy just took advantage of the artificial respiration to put some kind of liquid with spiritual properties into the girl's mouth.

Considering his abilities, the liquid must have been some kind of alcohol, and he was trying to save someone.

He was definitely not going to be able to participate in the afternoon's competition looking like that. Apart from some people sighing inwardly and some contestants being secretly happy, it was just a minor commotion.

The incident ended after the safety officer emphasized the importance of safety and prohibited anyone from entering the river without permission.

But what no one saw was Clementine emerging from the ambulance that drove off the riverbank.

She floated to Ji Li's side:
“There is a spiritual aura, which existed before the Drunken Knight. The fluctuations are very familiar, and they have the same scent as the necromancy tools prepared by the Gravekeeper. Moreover, the doctor who was present said that her drowning was not a simple case.”

Ji Li nodded:

"Of course, the swelling wasn't particularly severe, but it was obvious that she had been in the water for a while."

Aquile turned his head:
"what are you saying?"

With a single glance from Ji Li, Clementine vanished in a flash.
"I mean, that girl didn't just drown; she floated up from the river."

"drift……?"

Ji Li's eyes flickered:

"follow me."

With Aiguir by his side, Ji Li briefly inquired with the security guard from earlier and learned the girl's identity:

Celeste Alyssa Bell, an out-of-town student who ran for the election.

She comes from a wealthy resort town, and her personal net worth is already in the millions.

That's right, it was Gregory's teammate who approached Aquile yesterday.

"Gregory was waiting for her yesterday?! Does that mean... she spent the whole night adrift in the river?! And where is her speedboat...?"

"The police have been dispatched to search for her; it's possible she encountered an accident. Please rest assured, today's race will not be canceled because she was traveling alone on the speedboat; there were no other victims."

The safety officer left after explaining the situation.

But Aiquier was still somewhat uneasy, and looked at Ji Li:
"Is it really okay?"

Ji Li didn't speak, but instead raised his left wrist to observe the tomb keeper's reaction:

He was secretly pleased with himself.

Of course there's a problem. The girl has the spiritual energy fluctuations of that trap item, which means she got into trouble because of that thing.

It must have been that the psychic artifact that caused some anomalies in the rivers and oceans, and the tomb keeper's reaction matched up, so he was clearly aware of it.

But Ji Li always felt that something was wrong:
Clementine, go check the water, go further out, and find where she had the accident.

Meanwhile, the Knights' squad and others noticed this incident and began to investigate, moving closer to the coast where the trap was buried.

Time ticked by, and Clementine still hadn't returned, while the entire Knights squad had reached the shore.

Ji Li was carefully pondering what exactly made him feel something was wrong.

Just as he and Aquile were adjusting the sailboat, Aquile fanned the air with a displeased expression:
"Pulitzer, your perfume is so strong, even the rain can't hide it, I'm going to throw up..."

"perfume scent?"

Ji Li suddenly realized:

That's right, it's spiritual energy.

If the girl was affected by the abnormal effects caused by the psychic artifact, then in addition to the spiritual fluctuations of the psychic artifact, she should also have the spiritual fluctuations of Clementine.

Because Ji Li had Clementine tamper with the spirit communication tool, the spiritual circuits that made up the tool itself were now mixed with Clementine's spiritual energy.

Clementine's spiritual aura has already mimicked the aura of the Gravedigger through her abilities.

In other words, if the girl really did drown because of the psychic artifact, Ji Li's goal has been achieved. The knight squad will definitely start to investigate the apparent owner of the aura emanating from her, namely the gravedigger.

However, Clementine's feedback was that it only carried the aura of a psychic artifact—

Without any hesitation, Ji Li immediately activated the summoning artifact remotely:

Wow!
The sudden roar of the tide from afar startled everyone, but they quickly returned to their work with a smile.

Two or three dignitaries, local celebrities, and some spectators gathered together to be interviewed by the media, while the gravedigger sat quietly in a corner, without any reaction.

Ji Li:

Clementine, what are you still doing?

[...I started it remotely, but nothing happened!]

This is impossible.

Ji Li's eyes flickered, and he immediately switched to Jansen's perspective.

They were searching for clues by the sea cliffs, and he did not hesitate to issue orders to Jansen in Odin's name.

Jason's eyes lit up. He broke away from the group and came to the edge of a sea cliff at the call of Sika and Andrew. He activated his ability and began to dig.

By the time Sica and Andrew arrived, Jason had already dug a withered arm out of the ground, his voice filled with excitement:

"I found it!"

Sika and Andrew caught up, looking surprised.
"Jansen, what are you doing?!"

Jansen wanted to reveal Odin's guidance on the spot, but remembering the confidentiality he had been asked to maintain, he kept quiet and instead said:
"I suddenly had a premonition and ran over, and then I dug this thing up! Is this some kind of item related to an evil ritual?"

Sika took the object, examined it closely for a long time, and then looked puzzled.

"It's just an ordinary dead man's arm."

On the ship, Ji Li's pupils gradually contracted:
The psychic artifacts have been moved.

"This is impossible. I was definitely standing by your side all night..." Clementine couldn't believe it.

If it wasn't Clementine's oversight, then it must have happened before yesterday, or through some means I'm unaware of.

But the result is already clear:
There are yellow orioles.

Someone secretly moved the psychic artifact without either Ji Li or the tomb keeper knowing.

So how much does the other party know? Is he deliberately targeting me and sabotaging my plans, or is it just a coincidence?
No, it can't be a coincidence, but who could it be? What's their purpose?
The psychic artifact originated from the arm of a malicious derivative of the upstream event, was modified once by the gravedigger, and then modified again by Clementine through Ji Li's language-controlled manipulation.

But the real reason it became a tool for communicating with spirits was that the gravedigger sent it to the person behind him, a high-ranking member of the small organization "Scarecrow," who was probably the leader.

So, is the person who moved the psychic artifact the scarecrow?
Can you still sense where that thing is?

Yes, but I don't know the location...

[Stay on the shore and wait for orders.]

Ji Li stood up:

"I'm going to use the bathroom."

"go Go."

After leaving Aiguir, Ji Li crawled into the toilet on the riverbank, his mouth agape in silence—

A huge crow emerged from his beak, perched on the small window, and shook its feathers.

Ji Li pulled the cane sword out of thin air and threw it directly into the crow's beak.

After its body twisted and rolled for a moment, the latter let out a cry, turned, and flew into the rain.
"In that case, I'll have to be a little more serious..."

(End of this chapter)