The Interdimensional Reseller – CH173

Chapter 173: Illya’s Rise to Fame

In the age of information, news of the mishap at the gala spread quickly—just like that, Illya shot to fame.

The top five trending search topics across all major platforms were completely dominated by Illya and Zhuang Feixue.

“Tianyin Gala Incident: Zhuang Feixue Falls from the Stage”
“The Duel Between the Bee Master and the Snow Prince”
“Two Ability Users Compete Onstage”
“Hero Saves Beauty: The Man Behind Goddess Zhuang Revealed”
“The Snow Prince Appears Out of Nowhere—What Exactly Is His Power?” …

Online, countless people began digging into Illya’s background. The “Duck Blood CP” debuted at the center of attention. Super topics were created at lightning speed, and a flood of CP fans emerged like a tidal wave…

Zhuang Feixue hid out in her villa, looking at all the online buzz, laughing and crying at the same time.

CP (couple pairing) fans usually just ship their favorite pairings quietly without bothering the actual people involved. But seeing how passionate this discussion was, Zhuang Feixue felt helpless. If Illya were just some stranger, she wouldn’t care—but this guy was her younger brother’s partner!

Zhuang Cheng looked at Zhuang Feixue, his eyes sparkling. “Sis, Illya’s super popular right now! So many people are digging into his past.”
Illya had been popular before too—his looks were just too outstanding, a classic “blessed by the gods” type. But his fame was short-lived, buried under the flood of news about other ability-users. This time was different. Everyone had thought Illya was just a pretty face, but now they realized—this flower vase wasn’t simple at all! This was a powered flower vase. Instantly elevated.

Zhuang Feixue looked at Zhuang Cheng. “Illya seems like he can fly.”

Zhuang Cheng: “…It’s not ‘seems like’—he really can fly. His ability is super weird, and that gray mist of his seems to have a lot of uses.”

“Those bees Qin He raised were terrifying. Never thought Illya could wipe them all out. Without the bees, Qin He should quiet down now.”

As far as Zhuang Feixue knew, Qin He had a symbiotic ability. He could only control that one swarm of bees he raised originally.

Now that those bees were dead, his ability was basically useless.

Zhuang Cheng frowned. “That Qin He is completely insane! What did Xue Ying’s death have to do with you? He’s like a rabid dog.”

Zhuang Feixue shook her head. “I’m not going to bother with him.”

Even ability-users can go to jail for attempted murder.

“As for Xue Ying, I heard she accidentally took the wrong elixirs.” Apparently, she had mixed up her sleeping elixirs and her diet elixirs and accidentally overdosed.

Zhuang Feixue thought that was entirely possible. Xue Ying had always taken diet elixirs recklessly. But it was also possible someone had deliberately swapped the elixirs.

“Illya really is impressive.” Even among ability-users, there are levels. Qin He had always been flashy and arrogant, but clearly, he wasn’t Illya’s match.

Qin He used to be high-profile, especially when he was with Xue Ying. He was well-known. In contrast, Illya kept a low profile. Turns out, real experts do hide their strength.

“Good-looking and a power user… why would he choose our second brother?”

Zhuang Feixue couldn’t help feeling a little puzzled.

Zhuang Cheng perked up. “Right? It’s really hard to understand. Maybe he’s blind?”

Zhuang Feixue scolded, “Xiao Cheng! What are you saying?”

Zhuang Cheng: “…” So she’s allowed to wonder, but he can’t even say it out loud? What kind of double standard is this?!

*

While they were talking, Illya pushed open the door and walked in. “Sis.”

Zhuang Feixue looked at him curiously. “You’re here. A lot of people were looking for you earlier. How did you slip away?”

Illya answered calmly, “I just walked out.”

Zhuang Feixue: “…” All the emergency exits were blocked by reporters. She’d had to work really hard to get out.

Those journalists were like bloodhounds. How had they not caught Illya?

Then it hit her—Illya was an ability-user. He probably had his own special tricks, right?

Suddenly, Zhuang Feixue’s phone rang. It was a video call from the director. She answered and saw his extremely excited face.

“Feixue! Is Illya there? What’s the deal with him? Can he really fly? Is he an ability-user?”

The director had initially thought Illya was just a pretty prop. But now he realized this “vase” was actually pretty powerful. Despite not having professional training, he learned quickly and acted well.

And now he discovered Illya was an ability-user too.

That’s what a true master is!

A hidden gem—elegant and mysterious, nothing like those flashy wannabes. Nothing at all!

Why hadn’t he made better use of such a godlike figure on his set? What a waste!

Zhuang Feixue nodded. “He’s here.”

The director, who had been brimming with excitement, suddenly froze when he heard that.

“Director, long time no see!” Illya came over and said. The director froze for a moment, then finally snapped out of it and said, “Illya, you can fly?”

Illya shook his head and said, “Not exactly, I can just float a little.”

The director was a bit excited, “So… that means you didn’t need the harness before, right?”

Illya nodded, “Yeah!” To him, the wires were just a burden—but being hoisted around in the air was actually kind of fun.

“Then why did you wear the harness?”

Illya replied naturally, “Because you told me to.”

“Why didn’t you say you could fly?!”

“You never asked me!”

The director internally rolled his eyes like crazy. Alright, alright—it’s his fault. But seriously, who would’ve thought Illya could fly?

If he’d known Illya could fly, he never would’ve made him wear the wire rig! With the film industry in a slump and TV dramas not selling, someone like Illya with real powers would’ve been a major selling point! Lately, lots of shows have been trying to feature people with supernatural powers. He’d thought about it too, but the budget wasn’t enough.

If he’d known there was a real ability-user in the crew, he would’ve given him more screen time! Now that Illya’s popularity has skyrocketed, there’s no way they can still afford to book him at the old rookie rate. The director on the video call clenched his fists, feeling like he just missed out on millions.

Zhuang Feixue looked at the director and seemed to guess what he was thinking, “Director, he already had a bunch of scenes added in. You didn’t lose out.”

The director nodded, “That’s true.”

…

Zhuang Feixue ended the call with the director and said gratefully, “Illya, I really owe you for this time.”

When the swarm of bees came, the lift stage had already risen ten meters above the ground. Falling from that height—if not death—would’ve meant serious injuries.

She was very lucky to have escaped unscathed.

Illya waved it off, “It was nothing, no need to worry about it, sis.”

Zhuang Cheng came over and said, “Second Bro, did you know? Online there’s a ship name for Sis and Second Sis-in-law. They call it the Duck Blood CP! And the fans of that ship are called Duck Blood Fans!”

Chu Feng: “…What kind of ridiculous ship name is that? ‘Duck Blood’ sounds terrible. Just hearing it, you can tell all the fans are nuts.”

Zhuang Cheng looked at Chu Feng and said, “Well… I wouldn’t say all the fans are nuts. The CP’s super-topic already has hundreds of thousands of followers. If they were all mentally ill, the psych wards wouldn’t have enough beds.”

Chu Feng gave a forced smile, “Not all mentally ill people live in hospitals, y’know.”

Zhuang Cheng lowered his head, too embarrassed to admit he had joined the Duck Blood CP super-topic too.

Chu Feng looked at him suspiciously, “What’s with that face?”

“Nothing, really!” Zhuang Cheng replied with a totally innocent expression.

Chu Feng raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure? You didn’t secretly do something shady behind my back, did you?”

Zhuang Cheng awkwardly laughed, “Of course not.”

Chu Feng looked at him again, “So this CP topic has hundreds of thousands of fans?”

Zhuang Cheng nodded, “Yup.”

Chu Feng said in disbelief, “Are there really that many bored people these days?”

Zhuang Cheng smiled. His sister was already a traffic magnet, and Illya was a gorgeous beauty. Add superpowers to the mix—of course the popularity was soaring.

In the Duck Blood CP chat groups, Illya’s photos were all over the place, and people were fangirling hard…

Shen Yutong watched the footage from the gala thoughtfully.

“Who would’ve thought Illya is actually an ability-user, and Chu Feng is the real second young master of the Zhuang family. There were even rumors online saying Illya was clinging to a rich guy, but after that whole scene at the gala, public opinion has totally shifted. Now everyone says Chu Feng is a toad trying to match with a swan.”

Shen Yuxing said, “Online people are always like that—easily swayed. How’s Qin He doing?”

“Not good. His energy level used to be rated at C-level. It’s dropped to E-level now.”

Shen Yuxing nodded, “Most of his power was tied to that swarm of bees. Since over half of them died, it makes sense that his ability was affected.”

“He didn’t bring all the bees into the venue. Otherwise, he probably would’ve killed everyone.”

Shen Yutong shook her head, “An ability-user acting out like that in public… way too reckless.”

“He was a die-hard fan of Xue Ying. Maybe he couldn’t accept her death.”

Shen Yutong shook her head again, “There’s probably more to Xue Ying’s suicide. But Qin He only knows how to obsessively target Zhuang Feixue.”

A researcher nearby shrugged and muttered to himself: Looks like awakening powers doesn’t do much for intelligence. An airhead is still an airhead. “Illya’s powers seem very unique, worth studying. At least B-level.”

Shen Yuxing nodded, “I think so too.”

At the time, Illya had been in the audience seats, but in an instant, he was by Zhuang Feixue’s side. While flying, he seemed shrouded in a mist, and he likely used that mist to wipe out the swarm of bees. Qin He’s bees were mutated and far more toxic than average. But the moment they touched that mist, they all died.

Illya only showed a small glimpse of his power on stage. There’s a good chance that was just the tip of the iceberg.

“Chu Feng really hit the jackpot—found someone so good-looking and powerful.” No wonder netizens were so jealous.

Shen Yuxing frowned, “Maybe Chu Feng himself is also an ability-user.”

“Why do you say that?”

Shen Yuxing tilted her head, “Just a hunch. Someone like Illya probably wouldn’t fall for someone totally useless.”

A nearby staff member nodded, “That makes sense. I wonder where they’ll show up next. The new energy detectors have arrived—maybe we can run a scan.”

Shen Yuxing frowned, “Let’s find an opportunity. If we get the chance, it’d be best to recruit Illya into the National Bureau of Ability Users.”

However, Illya seemed like someone who didn’t like to be tied down. Chu Feng had sold so many elixirs and wasn’t lacking in money. If he wanted to impress Illya, Witch Stones were the only way. But since Witch Stones were limited and in high demand, there likely weren’t many to spare.

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