Chapter 71: The magic mirror no longer appears to work

Jing Qizhen instinctively said, “Take a picture and show me?”

After saying that, he choked slightly and quickly corrected himself, “Can you bring the mirror here?”

Wilcox immediately replied, “Sure, coming now!”

He gestured to Yan Hong. “You stay here and watch. I’ll take it to Little Jing!”

“Alright.” Yan Hong nodded.

Joyce, who didn’t understand what was going on, watched as his cousin ran off with the mirror like a madman. Confused, he followed and tugged at Wilcox’s arm. “Cousin?!”

Without hesitation, Wilcox shoved the magic mirror into Joyce’s arms. “Touch it yourself. You’ll understand!”

Joyce’s wrist brushed against the mirror and he was instantly stunned by the words that appeared in his mind.

After opening the door to a new world for his younger cousin, Wilcox turned to leave.

But Joyce, like a persistent little shadow, followed closely behind, repeatedly asking, “Cousin! What was that just now?!”

Wilcox replied casually, “A specialty of the erosion area!”

Noticing Joyce’s bewildered and shocked expression, he patiently explained further. “The erosion area is a term for the isolated area we’re in, separated from the outside reality. Special objects from within the erosion area often carry unique powers from this place. You can read their names and information directly.”

After speaking, Wilcox suddenly realized something was off and his tone became harsh. “Didn’t I give you survival tips and key points about the erosion area? Where’s that stack of A4 printouts? Did you even read it?”

Joyce: “…”

Although the guide files Tang Song had provided were thoughtfully translated into English, Joyce felt like he was reading gibberish when he opened the first page. He was so confused, that he thought he was dreaming.

And with everything happening so quickly today, where would he find time to carefully read such a lengthy document?

But he didn’t dare say any of this to his suddenly stern cousin, Wilcox.

Joyce mumbled in a small, aggrieved voice, “I haven’t had time yet…”

Wilcox promptly grabbed his younger cousin by the collar and dragged him along toward Yun Shuanghua’s villa.

Joyce protested, “Cousin?!”

Wilcox retorted, “Think about the huge rescue fee I paid for you! That stack of A4 papers is practically worth that amount. Can’t you show at least a little respect for money, whether in RMB or USD?!”

Joyce immediately said, “I’ll go read it right away!”

Truth be told, ever since seeing the vines outside the house, Joyce had already felt that the world was somewhat surreal. But his worldview truly shattered just now when his cousin shoved the magic mirror into his arms and he saw the words appear in his mind.

Wilcox nodded. “Good, make sure to read it carefully.”

The housemaid was still sobbing in despair but none of the three nearby paid her any attention.

Professor Jones, McCain, and Caroline had, of course, noticed the commotion between Joyce and Wilcox. While they didn’t know what was happening, Joyce’s expression was hard to miss. It was like he’d just been struck by lightning.

Suddenly, Caroline said, “I’m going to find Joyce!”

Being a person of action, she immediately grabbed her luggage and, in her high heels, elegantly and swiftly ran toward Joyce with a click-clack of her heels.

Even though they had previously drawn guns on each other, McCain surprisingly remained silent after hearing Caroline’s words. He picked up his own luggage, along with the ones Joyce had left behind, and followed her.

The housemaid let out a low sob, looking at the backs of Caroline and McCain with concern. She asked, “Professor Jones, should we follow them too?”

As she spoke, she glanced at the villa still engulfed in flames and her cries became even more genuine.

When Caroline and McCain approached, Wilcox merely nodded politely without saying much.

Compared to Jing Qizhen, who looked at the foreigners as though they were hopeless fools, Wilcox at least maintained a friendlier appearance, at least on the surface.

Caroline wasn’t one to hesitate. She walked straight up to Joyce and asked, “Dear Joyce, what happened to you just now?”

Joyce didn’t respond but instinctively glanced at his cousin Wilcox.

Wilcox acted decisively, shoving the magic mirror into the hands of both Caroline and McCain. “This,” he said succinctly.

McCain: “!!!”

Caroline covered her mouth and exclaimed, “What is this?!”

Learning from his cousin’s explanation, Joyce softly replied, “A specialty from the erosion area.”

Wilcox then led the three, who were so shocked they could barely walk straight, back to the villa. Under their eager gazes, he handed the magic mirror to Jing Qizhen.

Wilcox explained, “Yan Hong and I observed it earlier. This magic mirror probably fell from the leftmost room on the third floor.”

Jing Qizhen responded with a simple ‘Hmm.’ Before he could say anything else, the Earth’s voice suddenly erupted in his mind.

The Earth: “Let me see the mirror! Let me see the mirror! Let me see the mirror!”

It was the magic mirror from ‘Snow White’! And it was reflecting Jing Qizhen’s face?!

The Earth couldn’t resist the urge to ask the mirror who the fairest ball in the world was.

Jing Qizhen suddenly said, “I can hear you.”

Still reminiscing about which of its appearances from the past 4 billion years was the coolest, the Earth was caught off guard. “Huh?”

Jing Qizhen replied, “Who knew you were such a narcissistic ball…”

The discovery genuinely surprised Jing Qizhen.

The Earth immediately retorted, “The magic mirror is already showing your face!”

Jing Qizhen countered, “That just proves the mirror recognizes my beauty. It doesn’t mean I’m narcissistic. Where’s your logic?”

The Earth shot back, “Human’s and ball’s perceptions differ. Let’s not argue about aesthetics!”

Jing Qizhen chuckled. “Alright, alright, let’s agree to disagree.”

Satisfied, the Earth responded with a pleased, “Hmm. Human to ball, coexistence achieved!”

After all, it was the best-looking and cutest ball. Whether it wore its icy appearance, desert tones, forest greens, or ocean blues, every version of the Earth had its own beauty; always dazzling and cool!

No objections allowed!

While Jing Qizhen was teasing the Earth, the others in the villa also gathered around. They were all aware of the peculiar items that came from the erosion area, and one by one, they reached out to touch the mirror.

Angelina watched everyone’s actions and was momentarily confused but still couldn’t help reminding them, “The leftmost room on the third floor? That should be the room Sophia stayed in, before she was poisoned on the first day.”

Jin Guijuan, who didn’t understand what Angelina was saying, kindly pulled her closer and encouraged her to touch the magic mirror as well.

Angelina’s eyes widened in shock and she took two steps back in disbelief.

Manman tilted her head, glanced at the reflection of Jing Qizhen’s face in the mirror, and nodded. “The mirror even chose a side profile of Little Jing. He really does look handsome!”

Jing Qizhen, half-amused and half-exasperated, said, “Let me check the mirror’s description first.”

However, when he leaned forward to examine the magic mirror while seated on the sofa, he was greeted not by his own face but by Yun Shuanghua’s. He immediately fell into the same kind of existential confusion as the foreigners when their worldview was first shattered.

Yun Shuanghua, sitting right next to Jing Qizhen, turned his head slightly and saw his high-definition reflection in the mirror. For a moment, he became genuinely interested in the mirror.

The details of the mirror appeared in Jing Qizhen’s mind.

[Name: Snow White’s Magic Mirror]

[Type: Household Item]

[Quality: Blue]

[Usage: Smile at the mirror and it will show you the most dangerous existence. As the saying goes, you should face life with a smile!]

[Limitations: The mirror cannot determine if your smile is genuine, so you can’t be sure if its reflection is accurate.]

[Remarks: A mirror is a smooth-surfaced object that reflects light. While irregular reflections caused by distortions on the mirror’s surface can result in warped images like those in funhouse mirrors, the reflections still correspond to reality. The difference with a magic mirror lies in this. Its principle is not based on light reflection! Don’t ask why the mirror doesn’t know who the most beautiful person is. This is Snow White’s magic mirror, not the Queen’s. The Queen’s mirror, being the most renowned magic mirror in the world, has retired and no longer makes appearances.]

The Earth exclaimed, “What?! So this magic mirror doesn’t even talk or know who the most beautiful ball is?”

After learning the mirror’s function from Jing Qizhen, the Earth instantly lost interest.

Jing Qizhen added, “But this mirror can identify the most dangerous boss. However, as a blue-tier item, there might be a significant margin of error… If its accuracy isn’t guaranteed, it’s only useful as a reference.”

Manman turned to seriously study Jing Qizhen and couldn’t help but laugh. “Little Jing doesn’t look like a boss at all!”

Jing Qizhen replied calmly, “To be honest, the figure I see in the mirror isn’t me. It’s Yun Shuanghua.”

Yun Shuanghua, suddenly mentioned, simply responded, “Mm.” He had seen himself too.

Without thinking, Si Jiayang said, “If it were you, how would you even tell if it’s showing your reflection or the boss?”

Jing Qizhen replied calmly, “Make some expressions. Blink, open your mouth, shake your head left and right, nod up and down.”

If the movements in the mirror didn’t match those outside, anyone would immediately know something was seriously wrong.

Lu Lingxi couldn’t help but mutter softly, “Isn’t this just facial recognition?”

Si Jiayang froze.

Manman, amused, gave him a playful shove and teased, “Stunned, huh?”

Si Jiayang suddenly thought of a ghost story where someone played rock-paper-scissors with a reflection in the mirror and won. He couldn’t help but shake his head and say, “You’re right… That’s creepy.”

Old Xiao, wiping sweat from his forehead, muttered straightforwardly, “Since it was Little Jing who decided to set the vines and villa on fire earlier, it’s no surprise that Little Jing’s face appears in the magic mirror, right? If I were the magic mirror, I’d only show Little Jing’s face too.”

Wilcox suddenly realized, “Ah! So that’s why! This mirror was burned before too, no wonder it’s scared of you! Little Jing, look, there’s even a bit of charred paint chipped off in this corner!”

Angelina chimed in softly with agreement, “The magic mirror is right. Jing Qizhen, you’re the scariest person here!” The fire in the villa hasn’t even stopped yet!

Jing Qizhen: “…” He couldn’t help but turn to look at Yun Shuanghua.

Jing Qizhen suddenly fell into deep thought. Now a question arose. If the magic mirror developed PTSD from being burned, would it show only his face to everyone whenever it’s used in the future?

Bonus chapter! 😋