"You came to find Anna?"
"No."
"I came to find you."
Inside the bar, Li Ran sat at the counter.
The bartender, A Qing, was wiping a wine glass with a clean white cloth. She looked up, somewhat surprised, at the handsome young man in front of her.
"You came to find me?" A Qing asked in astonishment.
She was just an ordinary bartender, not one to interact much with others, and didn't have many friends. Most of the men who came to the bar came for Anna. Anna was beautiful and sexy, the bar's star, and who wouldn't be drawn to her?
The young man in front of her had left an impression. She remembered that a week ago, he had managed to catch Anna's attention, and for the following days, Anna would occasionally mention him, saying he was very interesting.
But A Qing didn’t think much of him; after all, most men who came to bars were the same.
"Yes," the handsome young man said sincerely, then ordered a gin and tonic. "I came to seek your help."
"What can I help you with?" A Qing asked.
The young man handed over a black and gold card.
A Qing’s pupils trembled slightly.
……
……
"Uncle Ge, I’m here."
Li Ran carried a pack of cigarettes and a box of fine white tea to the security room.
"Xiao Ran, you say you're coming, and then you bring things every time." Uncle Ge took the tea and cigarettes from Li Ran, exchanged a few polite words, and then casually put them into the drawer of his desk.
Heh, not the least bit reserved.
"Uncle Ge, do you know about the Nether Lamp?" Li Ran asked.
Li Ran figured that as an old security guard at the Happy Garden, Uncle Ge would know more about the place than anyone else. If anyone could help him understand the Nether Lamp, it would be him.
"The Nether Lamp?" Uncle Ge paused in his tea-making, surprised as he looked at Li Ran.
Li Ran hadn't received any clues about the Nether Lamp from his golden finger, just like when he was searching for the marriage certificate before.
"Uncle Ge, I just moved into the community, and I don't know much. Can you tell me about it?" Li Ran asked.
He had seen on the bulletin board that after gathering at the designated point, the 99 selected families would connect their completed dragon lanterns and, under the leadership of the dragon head and dragon ball, perform a procession, street dance, and dragon dance. The entire process would last five hours, with no mention of the Nether Lamp. However, at the end of the dragon dance, it would conclude with the giant dragon coiling around the dragon’s head.
But since the bulletin board information was limited, the information Li Ran had was sparse.
"The Nether Lamp is used for sacrifices. Why do you need it?" Uncle Ge raised his eyelids, his gaze flashing with a sharp light.
Hearing this, Li Ran’s face changed slightly, and he cursed inwardly: "Damn, have I crossed a taboo of the community? But the golden finger didn't give me any danger alerts."
But fortunately, Uncle Ge’s next words let Li Ran relax.
"It's normal that you don't understand the community's rules since you just moved in. But if you were outside, you shouldn't casually talk about the Nether Lamp. If it weren’t for me thinking you're a good person, I’d treat you as a heretic," Uncle Ge gave Li Ran a warning look.
Li Ran frowned slightly, his mind spinning in confusion.
The Nether Lamp is used for sacrifices?
Talking about the Nether Lamp would make someone a heretic?
What’s going on here?
Uncle Ge poured Li Ran a full cup of tea and, with an unhappy expression, said, "I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you said. You can go now."
Uncle Ge had finished his tea and was clearly signaling for Li Ran to leave.
Li Ran nodded and left the security room.
"The Nether Lamp is used for sacrifices, and I need it to find the gate."
Li Ran suddenly realized something.
"Why is asking about the Nether Lamp considered heresy?"
Could it be that the original residents of the community follow some kind of belief?
Was the so-called 10th Anniversary Madness Night actually a massive sacrificial ceremony?
The Nether Lamp is used for sacrifices, and I need it to find the gate. Doesn't this make me the enemy of the entire community?
"Shit!"
Li Ran was feeling awful.
He had finally gathered information about the Nether Lamp, only to find out it was bad news.
This is truly impossible to live through.
However, Li Ran didn’t leave. Instead, he quietly waited outside the security room.
About half an hour later, Uncle Ge came out of the security room.
What he didn’t notice was a small paper doll creeping up his pant leg, finally sticking to his back and forming a smile.
"Uncle Ge."
Li Ran called out to the old man who had come out to stretch his legs.
"You haven’t left yet?" Uncle Ge said.
Li Ran didn’t intend to beat around the bush but went straight to the point: "How can I find the Nether Lamp?"
Uncle Ge waved his hand impatiently, his posture showing he was about to chase him away, but his words were sincere.
"The Nether Lamp is the dragon ball after the sacrifice is completed."
Li Ran perked up his ears. Taking advantage of the effect of the [Sympathetic Paper Doll], he continued to ask: "What exactly is being sacrificed during the ceremony?"
Uncle Ge’s eyes flared in anger, but he answered honestly, "I really don’t know that."
With Li Ran’s control, the paper doll silently crawled down. Li Ran smiled and bid Uncle Ge farewell.
Uncle Ge, who was in a bad mood, was left completely confused. What was up with that kid? He’d been scolded and still seemed happy?
Uncle Ge could not lie when it came to matters of the heart. He genuinely didn’t know what was being sacrificed. But Li Ran was content with the information he had gained about the Nether Lamp.
The Nether Lamp was the dragon ball after the sacrifice.
"After the sacrifice is completed, I’ll find a way to steal the dragon ball, and then I need to find out who is in charge of the dragon ball," Li Ran thought, already formulating a plan in his mind.
The dragon lantern work was assigned by the homeowner's committee, which was next to the property office on the first floor of Building 2.
Li Ran looked at the sky. It was already three in the afternoon, and it had completely gotten dark.
When he arrived at the homeowner’s committee office, he unexpectedly saw Zhao Yingzhi inside.
Just as Li Ran was about to enter, he received a prompt from his golden finger.
(She is not Zhao Yingzhi!)
Li Ran frowned slightly and stepped back, thinking to himself: "Is the other soul inside Zhao Yingzhi taking control?"
He had been waiting for Zhao Yingzhi to admit that there were two souls inside her body, but she hadn’t mentioned it. Li Ran didn’t know what she had planned.
Since he had encountered her, Li Ran was curious about what this fake Zhao Yingzhi’s purpose was.
"Ah!!"
Suddenly, a shrill scream came from inside the office.
Li Ran’s face changed slightly, and he immediately disappeared into the shadows.
As he vanished underground, Zhao Yingzhi came to the door, confused, looking outside: "Did I see wrong?"
Not finding Li Ran at the door, Zhao Yingzhi returned to the office, stepped over the receptionist’s body, and began rummaging through the room.
"Who are you?"
Before she could find anything useful, another woman appeared in the office, clearly having heard the scream.
The woman saw the body at Zhao Yingzhi’s feet and immediately twisted her face in terror, covering her mouth in shock, her eyes wide.
Zhao Yingzhi turned into a mass of black smoke and disappeared from her spot.
The next second, Zhao Yingzhi appeared like a ghost behind the woman.
"Thwack!"
A blood-stained long knife pierced through the woman’s chest!
With a swish, Zhao Yingzhi pulled the knife out, and the woman collapsed to the ground with a muffled grunt.
Then Zhao Yingzhi did something terrifying: she bent down and began to drink the woman’s blood from the wound on her chest!
(End of Chapter)