Gu Tao didn't know how to explain to this guy that normal human eyes can't perceive things beyond a small spectrum of colored light. Spiritual bodies are pure energy, similar to electrical energy. What people can see is just the electric arc discharge, that is, the ionized state of electrical energy. Most of the time, they still need to rely on voltage testers.
Even though there hasn't been any clear scientific research targeting ghosts and similar entities on Earth, the home planet already had a complete technology tree. Although researching these things was not of much use, and was mostly pursued by scientists out of sheer boredom, it's said by a late great scholar of the home planet's academic community that "Science is meant to parse everything. There are no phenomena that cannot be explained, only technology that is undeveloped." Gu Tao, being part of that group researching this stuff, was probably just trying to prove themselves against that saying, in order to highlight their own advanced technology.
"Your Lvlv might have gone off to find a girlfriend."
"Lvlv doesn't have a gender," Xin Chen said with a "don't talk nonsense if you don't understand" expression when looking at Gu Tao. "It is pure Yin energy, without memory or physical form. Where would it get a gender from?"
This statement, though slightly metaphysical, actually bore some resemblance to knowledge Gu Tao had learned before. So when this idiot uttered such words, Gu Tao's expression at the time was quite amusing.
"Brush your teeth."
After seeing Gu Tao's expression, Xin Chen seemed to immediately forget his Lvlv and turned to walk into the bathroom. Then the sounds of brushing and washing filled the room, along with Xin Chen's grating alarm tone.
"Are you hiding something from me? Tell me the truth, are you part of an evil cult?"
Gu Tao seemed to have caught onto Xin Chen's unease, standing at the bathroom door, watching Xin Chen sitting on the toilet with his phone. The two looked at each other, but there was no awkwardness.
"No, haha... Right, haha..."
"Look at you, deadbeat." Gu Tao turned and walked downstairs but had already quietly activated the security protocol. The house's spider robots instantaneously arrived within a two-meter radius of him.
Spider robots have an approximate attack range of five meters. Within that distance, their speed exceeds any bullet. If Xin Chen were a member of an evil cult operating a black shop, the moment he intended any harm to Gu Tao, the spider robots would tear him to shreds.
"I just found five bucks in the pocket of the clothes I was changing out of in the bathroom. Take it to buy a pancake, we can split it."
When Xin Chen came down from upstairs, Gu Tao was squatting at the shop's doorway brushing his teeth. Hearing Xin Chen's voice, Gu Tao immediately tensed up, like a frightened cat, almost bristling.
"What are you dazing for, get to work." Xin Chen, carrying a bag of provisions, came to the counter, booted up the computer, and plunked himself down. "I'm going to play games. You go buy pancakes, then we'll have breakfast."
Gu Tao sneaked a glance back and after realizing that Xin Chen didn't seem to harbor any intention of ambushing him because he had seen through his true purpose, said, "Are you really not from an evil cult?"
"I don't know if I'm from an evil cult," Xin Chen said mysteriously, sticking out his butt and leaning on the counter. "When I was six, an old man passed by our house. He told my parents I was the reincarnation of a demon star and that anyone who got too close to me would be unlucky, plus I've been able to see ghosts since I was young. So my parents believed him, and they started staying away from home all the time, until they eventually just ran off with their lovers."
"Why does that sound so tragic?" Gu Tao, touching his clean-shaven chin, said. "How did you grow up then?"
"The old man said nothing associated with me could be taken away, so they left everything behind. The old man then moved into our house, using my family's rent money to drink and eat meat every day, and he also beat me."
This plot twist... emmmm... is a bit fantastical.
Gu Tao stared at Xin Chen, seriously and solemnly saying, "You might have encountered a fraudster."
"Actually, that's what I think, too. But when he had nothing to do, he would teach me some stuff. It was all weird and supernatural though, like banishing demons, severing heaven and earth with strength. I learned it all for nothing; no company recognizes this stuff when looking for a job. They ask me about my education, and all I can say is I dropped out of elementary school. If they ask about special skills... I usually say banishing demons."
Banishing demons... Gu Tao struggled to keep himself from laughing. After all, the guy's experiences were sad enough, and although it all sounded quite humorous, it really wouldn't be nice to laugh out loud at a moment like this.
"And then?" Gu Tao pulled out his heirloom black notebook. "Keep talking."
"Then he died, and I still didn't know how to do anything, so I had no choice but to live off these few houses. Plus, it seems like anyone who got too close to me really did end up unlucky. Before you, I've hired several people. The last one died after getting hit by a falling flowerpot while walking just fine. The one before that bled to death from a fishbone cut while eating fish. The one before that one fell into an uncovered sewer."
"Died?"
"No, ended up in a vegetative state."
Gu Tao's face looked as if he'd seen someone guzzle a big bowl of boy's urine in front of him and then burp, thinking, this dude must be running a shady operation. Not a single worker managed to survive here? And he's still hiring?
Right!
Gu Tao looked up, annoyed, and asked, "Then why did you summon me?"
"I'm not superstitious. The police have investigated, too, and they all said it has nothing to do with me, not the slightest! I'm innocent." Xin Chen said with a stubborn expression: "Look, you're fine, aren't you?"
Yes, yes, I'm fine, but if I hadn't had my defense system last night and couldn't see your Lvlv, I probably would've turned into a handsome ghost, and I mean the kind that becomes a ghost.
Gu Tao, with his arms crossed, sat down on a stool: "I'm done with this."
"Don't leave, you really will be fine. I can see your Prime Yang Fire, it's incredibly intense!"
"What is Prime Yang Fire?" Gu Tao tilted his head and took out a notebook: "What does this term mean?"
"I thought you could see Lvlv because your Prime Yang Fire is so strong that I assumed you were also a Taoist exorcist."
Gu Tao rubbed his face: "First explain what Prime Yang Fire is."
"Humans have three types of fire, and Prime Yang Fire is the one on top of your head. The old man said the more vigorous your Prime Yang Fire, the more vigorous your life force, so much so that even if the sky falls and the earth splits, you would still survive," Xin Chen said seriously and sincerely: "Your fire is burning through the roof, I noticed it yesterday."
Well... people do like to hear good things about themselves, and Gu Tao was no exception. He was pleased to hear Xin Chen say this. Although he didn't quite understand what Prime Yang Fire was, being told he had good fortune made him happy.
"Can you really exorcise evil spirits?" Gu Tao looked at Xin Chen with a skeptical eye: "Could you give me a demonstration?"
Xin Chen was silent for a while, then he silently raised his head to look at Gu Tao: "You really want to see it?"
"I really do."
"Then you have to promise me that you won't leave after watching, okay? It's been so long since I've had someone to talk to."
How pitiful. One must be really lonely to say something like that. But he looked quite handsome; if only he were a girl, it would be great. Gu Tao truly found the girls on Earth adorable; the women from his home planet were just too intelligent. On Earth, he could make a girl laugh with a simple joke, but on his home planet, those women would engage in logical debate after a joke, which was just exhausting to watch.
"Fine, fine, fine, I'll promise you," Gu Tao agreed.
Aside from Xin Chen's pitiful look, Gu Tao wasn't actually afraid that Xin Chen could affect him. During his training days, he had survived a hundred days in the most terrible conditions, with gear that was the same or even worse than he had now. But that place had daytime ground temperatures reaching up to 220 degrees, and at night, ground temperatures would drop to minus 75 degrees, along with enormously large arthropods and a highly corrosive liquid that would seep up from underground cracks at midnight.
Arthropods, to not exaggerate, if those creatures were a bit more intelligent, humans would have been out of the picture. Their combat power was definitely twenty times, or even more, than humans of the same size. The training scenes, even now, could make Gu Tao shudder.
Having faced situations like that, what could this suspected bringer of disaster do to him?
After receiving Gu Tao's assurance, Xin Chen happily walked to the door, pulled down the rolling shutter, turned on the light, and took out a long item wrapped in grey cloth from the bottom of the counter.
"Warning! Warning!"
As soon as that object came out, Gu Tao's watch started to vibrate frantically, and then his individual exoskeleton rushed down from upstairs, latching onto his wrist, ready to unfold at any moment.
Gu Tao didn't cancel the alarm and moved back to the other side of the room, fully on guard, watching Xin Chen pull out a very beautifully designed long sword from the bag.
Xin Chen, holding the sword, said, "The old man told me that this sword can slay demons above, vanquish evil spirits below, pacify the mortal world, and cleanse the heavens."
Shing...
A lengthy, crisp resonating sound echoed in the room, and Gu Tao's warning level reached its highest. Without waiting for him to intervene, his exoskeleton had already automatically fitted itself onto his body.
It was fully matte black with a technologically advanced integrated structure at the joints. The fully enclosed helmet, with its spider-like quartet of compound eyes, flickered red. The Particle Blade extended from the left arm was emitting a dangerous light, while the right arm produced a photon shield, and the Pulse Cannon that popped out from the shoulder was already aimed at Xin Chen.
Xin Chen, with the sword in hand, looked at Gu Tao, then with a clang, dropped the sword onto the floor. Although the sword automatically returned to his side, he had no reaction, just staring dumbfounded at Gu Tao not far away.
"Well, this is awkward," Gu Tao said, patting his helmet, producing a muffled sound.