“Li Ran, Li Ran.”
At that moment, Song Linjia came running over in a hurry from a distance.
“You’re here to ask me to team up too?”
“How did you know?”
Song Linjia looked at Li Ran in surprise, then glanced at the others.
“You guys too…”
Clearly, everyone gathered here today had come to form a team with Li Ran.
Honestly, that was a good thing, and Li Ran didn’t mind one bit.
“If you want my help, I charge a fee.” A faint smile tugged at the corners of Li Ran’s mouth.
Xiao Yi pushed up his glasses, frowning slightly. “Can’t we just split everything evenly since it’s a team?”
Li Ran shook his index finger and said, “My fee is simple. After completing the mission, I take half the points. I don’t want anything else.”
“You’re basically robbing us blind!” The burly man next to Xiao Yi said angrily.
Li Ran just smiled and said nothing. He’d already named his price. Whether they accepted or not was their business—he had nothing to lose.
“I agree.”
Lu Zhaohui didn’t hesitate and said directly, “Help me with the mission first, and I’ll give you half my points.”
“I'm fine with it too,” Song Linjia added.
Earlier by the pond near Grandma Mi, Song Linjia had already made such a deal with Li Ran, so naturally she wouldn’t object now.
On the other hand, Xiao Yi and his two companions hesitated, with Xiao Yi’s face turning particularly dark. Still, he wasn’t ready to give up.
“I’m sincerely inviting you to join us,” he said.
“I’ve got a team mission that requires multiple people. It’s a tough one. With me, Chen Jiabin, and Huang Wentao, adding you makes four. That’s just enough to complete it.”
“The rewards are rich. You taking half all by yourself isn’t really fair, is it?” the tall guy added.
That tall guy was Huang Wentao, another survivor. Yesterday, Xiao Yi had rescued him from a sealed-off warehouse.
Xiao Yi, Chen Jiabin, and Huang Wentao had teamed up and completed quite a few missions yesterday.
Their eerie power and points were now fairly even.
“We’re all teammates, Li Ran. Don’t be like this,” Chen Jiabin said.
Li Ran looked at Xiao Yi but responded to Chen Jiabin instead, “Do you remember how your arm got broken? If I were you, I wouldn’t team up with him again.”
Back during the initial mission at the security room with Uncle Ge, Xiao Yi had seemed concerned but had actually encouraged others to act as cannon fodder. Li Ran remembered it clearly.
If anything went wrong during a mission, Xiao Yi would be the first to run.
One interaction was enough for Li Ran to see what kind of person Xiao Yi really was.
Yet Chen Jiabin and Qiu Zhongji were still being used as pawns and didn’t even realize it. Sad.
Chen Jiabin was stunned, then smiled, “Are you trying to sow discord between us?”
Li Ran blinked, then said, “I’ve said what I needed to say.”
Xiao Yi stepped forward with an unpleasant look on his face. “Li Ran, I admit there were some unpleasant incidents between us before.”
“But now too many of our teammates have died. Let’s let bygones be bygones.”
“This is the fifth day already. Things will only get more dangerous from now on. Missions will only get harder. If we don’t band together, we won’t survive to the end.”
Xiao Yi knew Li Ran was undoubtedly the strongest among them. At the fake fortune-teller’s, Li Ran had acquired a piece of excellent equipment. He’d since completed multiple missions, and his strength far exceeded theirs.
If Li Ran joined their team, their mission would go much smoother and they could claim the rich rewards.
Xiao Yi softened his tone, glanced back at Huang Wentao and Chen Jiabin, then turned back to Li Ran and said, “Plus, the three of us combined are definitely more useful than just you alone. You’ll have moments where you need help too.”
He thought that would persuade Li Ran, but Li Ran just calmly replied, “You mean in terms of being cannon fodder?”
Xiao Yi’s face turned pitch black with those words.
“Oh, I’ve changed my mind now,” Li Ran added. “If you want me to join you, I want all the points!”
In terms of strength and value, Li Ran far surpassed what they imagined.
Xiao Yi was the kind of person who might sell out his teammates at any moment. Scheming, manipulative—Li Ran had no interest in working with someone like that.
Four people splitting one mission?
Would he ever agree to that?
Only kids make choices—he wanted it all.
Xiao Yi clenched his teeth in fury, finally squeezing out one sentence, “Just you wait. I’ll make you regret this!”
He left with the two cannon fodder behind him, both of whom shot a fierce glare at Li Ran on the way out.
Li Ran didn’t care, just smiling as he narrowed his eyes and watched Chen Jiabin disappear into the distance.
Lu Zhaohui urged him, “Brother Ran, let’s go, help me finish this mission!”
Li Ran finally pulled his gaze back and looked at Lu Zhaohui. “What mission do you have?”
Lu Zhaohui took out his phone, opened his Moments feed, and tapped the profile picture of a girl named Meng Ge.
Meng Ge was the girl he was pursuing through his guidance mission. Li Ran had even written a detailed courting plan for him.
Judging by his eerie power, he’d already completed the guidance mission.
The girl’s Moments had a recent post.
Meng Ge: Once you've been protected by a wolf, you can’t like a puppy anymore...
Lu Zhaohui anxiously looked at Li Ran and asked, “Brother Ran, what does she mean? Is she talking about me?”
Song Linjia burst out laughing, covering her mouth. “Some guys see a girl they like post something, and not only do they overthink it, but they take it personally too?”
“You think she’s not talking about me?” Lu Zhaohui asked, confused.
Li Ran chuckled and asked, “What kind of trouble are you in now?”
“Last time I followed your plan and completed the guidance mission, then it triggered a new one where the girl is supposed to reach out to me.”
“I sent her a message before bed last night, but she hasn’t replied. Then this morning, I saw that post on her Moments.”
“What does it mean? She’s ignoring me—does that mean she’s rejecting me?” Lu Zhaohui was panicking, speaking a mile a minute.
Song Linjia couldn’t help but laugh more. “The king of overthinking strikes again.”
“Then what do you think she meant?” Lu Zhaohui asked desperately.
“Girls posting on Moments doesn’t always have meaning. Sometimes even they don’t know what they’re posting—just feel like sharing something.”
“Of course, that’s not a hard rule. It still depends on your dynamic,” Song Linjia explained, speaking from the perspective of someone who knew how girls think.
Li Ran understood now. The new mission required the girl to initiate contact with Lu Zhaohui.
To be honest, that’s a tough ask for most guys who act like doormats.
But Li Ran wasn’t a doormat—he was the king of the single dogs. Even the gods of love couldn’t break his curse of loneliness.
Well, except in this game world, where I'm already a father.
Song Linjia shrugged. “Sorry, I’m out of ideas.”
“Brother Ran, please help me out. This is a timed mission—if I fail, I’ll die horribly!” Lu Zhaohui turned to Li Ran with pleading eyes.
Li Ran said, “Payment first.”
“Alright, I’ll send it now.”
Soon enough, Li Ran’s points mall showed 100 points received.
Lu Zhaohui was really sincere—wasn’t he afraid of being scammed?
So this mission’s reward must be 20 eerie power and 200 points.
Li Ran smiled. He’d taken the payment, so he would handle the task.
Song Linjia was also curious how Li Ran was going to get this girl Meng Ge to contact Lu Zhaohui first.
Li Ran picked up Lu Zhaohui’s phone and quickly typed a comment under Meng Ge’s post.
Both Lu Zhaohui and Song Linjia leaned in to look.
Once they saw what was on screen, their jaws nearly hit the floor.
Meng Ge: Once you've been protected by a wolf, you can’t like a puppy anymore...
Lu Zhaohui: If possible, I suggest you find a human. Animals carry way too many bacteria and parasites.
Lu Zhaohui freaked out. “Oh no, she’s definitely going to get mad! If she’s mad, she’ll ignore me even more!”
But just as he said that, his phone rang.
“She’s calling! Answer it quickly!” Li Ran handed him the phone.
Lu Zhaohui was terrified, hesitating for a moment before picking up.
A girl’s voice came through—definitely not a gentle tone.
“Where are you?!”
“At... at the neighborhood entrance.”
“Stay right there!”
With a click, she hung up.
“See? Mission complete. Easy,” Li Ran said.
Song Linjia was stunned. “That actually worked?”
“Worked? She’s going to kill me when she shows up!” Lu Zhaohui wasn’t happy at all—he looked even more nervous.
Li Ran stepped in to calm him. “From what I’ve observed these past few days, as long as the mission is complete, it usually won’t affect what comes after.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Don’t you trust your Brother Ran?”
“I do!”
“Good. When she shows up, just say you couldn’t reach her and that’s why you had to resort to this. Then go buy a bouquet of roses at the supermarket, and boom—mission complete. Then just follow the plan: dinner date. Do I have to spell it all out?” Li Ran said.
“I... I’ll go get ready right now.”
Watching Lu Zhaohui run toward the Happiness Supermarket like a dork, Li Ran scratched his nose awkwardly. “I must’ve been a love guru in my past life, which is why I’m cursed with eternal singleness in this one.”
“You think this is Three Lives Three Worlds or something?” Song Linjia rolled her eyes and sent 250 points to Li Ran via the point mall.
“I’ve sent the payment. Now help me with my mission.”
Li Ran liked teammates who knew how to play the game, “Let’s talk as we walk.”
With that 250 points from Song Linjia, Li Ran’s total reached 3,150. That was enough to exchange for a Fine refined item or a rare item with no skill in the mall.
Song Linjia led Li Ran toward a restaurant outside the neighborhood.
“Remember that guidance mission I told you about?” Song Linjia said.
Li Ran nodded. “Yeah, a stray cat was killed by a terrifying monster.”
Song Linjia was surprised. “You’ve got a good memory. I’ve already done two follow-ups for that mission. Just yesterday I triggered the third part. This time, I have to subdue the monster.”
“Where is it? Take me there,” Li Ran asked with interest.
“This way.” Song Linjia pointed to a narrow alley next to the restaurant, her expression turning serious. “It’s really dangerous. The scariest monster I’ve seen so far. I’m afraid the two of us together might not be enough…”
“Is the mission reward 500 points?” Li Ran suddenly asked.
Confused, Song Linjia replied, “Yeah, why?”
“Then it’s not a problem.”
(End of Chapter)