These past few days, the number of missions completed wasn’t too many, but not too few either.
Li Ran noticed that the rewards from missions were indeed tied to their difficulty.
The higher the reward, the harder the mission.
For example, mission chains and time-limited missions often had hidden side quests that could trigger additional rewards.
If a mission was completed perfectly, it could also trigger extra bonuses.
Li Ran glanced at his own stats, then looked at Song Linjia’s stats.
[Li Ran]
[Eerie Power: 580]
[Agility: 120]
[Strength: 120]
[Constitution: 100]
[Points: 3150]
[Active Skills: (Shadow Step), (Shadow Assault), (Blood Scythe Blade)]
[Passive Skills: Phantom, Thunder Mark, Focus Mind]
...
[Song Linjia]
[Eerie Power: 170]
[Points: 50]
[Active Skills: (Transformation) (Cat Strike)]
[Passive Skills: Stealth]
...
Upon seeing Song Linjia’s stats, Li Ran was genuinely surprised.
Someone without a “golden finger,” relying solely on her own abilities, had made such significant progress—quite impressive.
Her Eerie Power value and her current points didn’t match up. Based on the ratio, Song Linjia should have earned at least 1700 points. Adding the 300 points she’d given to Li Ran on two occasions, she should still have around 1400 left.
But she only had 50 points remaining, which meant she must have spent the rest on equipment and skill books from the points shop.
“This is the place.”
Song Linjia led Li Ran to the back of a restaurant.
It was an alley filled with a stench of rot, overflowing with garbage and a sharp ammonia-like smell.
But Li Ran didn’t see any monsters there.
“The monster is inside the restaurant. We’ll need a bit of bait to lure it out.”
As she spoke, Song Linjia took out a pack of bear-shaped biscuits and walked to the restaurant’s back door, scattering the whole pack on the ground.
Once done, she quickly ran back and nervously whispered to Li Ran, “That monster’s power is at least double mine. If it spots me, I can only run. That means its Eerie Power could be 350, maybe more. Can you handle it?”
Facing a woman’s doubt—could a man say “no”?
Besides, it was only a 350 Eerie Power monster.
Right now, his overall stats added up, and in terms of monster classification, he should be equivalent to an A-rank monster with around 600 Eerie Power.
Whether that was an accurate measurement, he wasn’t entirely sure.
Still, taking on a monster with 300–400 Eerie Power shouldn’t be a problem.
“It’s coming,” Song Linjia whispered.
Bang!
The kitchen door of the restaurant was violently kicked open.
A beast-like monster pounced out, with three flowing tails that were particularly eye-catching.
Its eyes were blood-red, and it exuded a dreadful aura resembling demonic energy. Its body was sinister and sleek, with the head of a gigantic, ferocious fox. Its mouth was filled with sharp, densely packed teeth, and drool was dripping down in thick streams.
At first glance, it looked like a black, wicked three-tailed fox.
But besides its monstrous appearance, its entire body was decaying. You could clearly see its ghastly fangs through the rotting flesh on its cheeks. Its waist, abdomen, legs, and rear were all in various stages of decomposition.
Even worse, the rotten areas were crawling with worm-like tendrils.
This sight made Li Ran suck in a sharp breath, his scalp tingling.
Not because he was scared—just utterly disgusted.
At this moment, the decaying monster was hungrily devouring the bear-shaped biscuits on the ground.
“Your turn,” Song Linjia whispered.
Then, her body began to shrink, transforming into a gray cat. With a light leap, she landed on the rooftop of the restaurant.
Li Ran now understood how this seemingly fragile woman had survived until now.
But he didn’t dwell on it—anyone who’d made it this far must have some means of survival.
Li Ran stepped out from a corner. The rotting three-tailed fox immediately turned its blood-red eyes toward him and glared fiercely.
(Dark Three-Tailed Fox)
(B-Rank Mental Infected)
(Eerie Power: 400)
(On a cold night, a starving, battered little fox returned to its dark corner, on the brink of death. In its final thoughts, it dreamed of becoming the supreme nine-tailed fox—so that it would never again go hungry or be bullied.)
(It is cursed. If the curse is lifted, it will become your loyal companion.)
Upon seeing the prompt from his “golden finger,” Li Ran’s expression shifted slightly.
“Lift the curse… and I can tame it?”
A bold idea flashed through Li Ran’s mind.
He quickly opened the shop with his consciousness, searching for skills or potions that could lift curses.
“Found it.”
[Purification Elixir: Upon consumption, removes rot, disease, curses, stench, and plague effects from the target.]
[Cost: 100 points. Confirm? Yes/No]
“Yes.”
Without hesitation, Li Ran exchanged for the [Purification Elixir].
And the price was within his acceptable range.
If it had cost 500 or 1000, he might have hesitated.
Once the purchase was completed, a vial of purple potion appeared before Li Ran.
But a problem arose—how was he supposed to make the Dark Three-Tailed Fox drink it?
On the rooftop, the cat-formed Song Linjia was watching Li Ran curiously. She was very eager to see how he planned to subdue that terrifying monster.
Seeing him just standing there puzzled her deeply.
“Why isn’t he moving?”
While Song Linjia wondered, the Dark Three-Tailed Fox slowly began approaching Li Ran.
Li Ran had interrupted its meal.
It was famished. The bear biscuits didn’t even begin to fill its stomach. It was sick of the rancid garbage.
And now, a clueless human had appeared out of nowhere.
It hated humans the most.
It had been driven away countless times, beaten, nearly killed by humans.
Now that it had grown stronger, it no longer needed to fear them. It could easily rip this human apart.
A feast was coming!
With that thought, the Dark Three-Tailed Fox charged at Li Ran.
It moved fast, shrouded in a dark aura—like a black blade hurtling toward its prey.
Yet Li Ran still stood there calmly, examining the strange potion in his hand.
Song Linjia immediately sensed something was wrong. Why was Li Ran freezing up now?
That monster could kill him in a heartbeat.
“Did he get scared stiff?” Song Linjia regretted asking Li Ran for help.
Though he had performed well in previous missions, that only applied to mission-solving.
Some people were clever when it came to problem-solving, but once in battle, it was a whole different story.
Like a bookworm who aced exams but froze on the battlefield.
That’s what she feared Li Ran might be—good at thinking, but bad at fighting.
“I can’t let him die here.”
She extended her sharp cat claws.
“I can buy a few seconds. The rest is up to fate.”
Having made up her mind, Song Linjia crouched low on the rooftop, her cat eyes fixed on the charging three-tailed fox below.
Just as she prepared to leap—
Li Ran suddenly made a move.
“What is that?”
Song Linjia’s cat eyes narrowed.
She saw Li Ran toss out a rope.
One end of the rope looped precisely around the fox’s head, the other end gripped tightly in Li Ran’s hand.
Li Ran quickly coiled the rope in his hands and yanked hard. The rope tightened instantly, wrapping securely around the fox’s neck.
At the same time, the fox’s charge came to a sudden halt.
Its grotesque, terrifying face was now less than a meter from Li Ran’s own. Its jagged teeth, rotting tendrils, and foul breath were all disturbingly close.
Song Linjia stared at Li Ran in disbelief. She had no idea what technique he used to make such a vicious creature suddenly freeze in place.
The fox, too, was confused. It was about to tear this human to pieces—why had it stopped?
It tried to move, but the rope radiated a powerful force that suppressed its body.
Only then did it realize: the rope was enchanted. It wasn’t just binding its body, but subjugating its will.
“It’s the reins I got from that fortune-teller. If it hits the target, it enslaves them for ten minutes,” Li Ran explained to Song Linjia.
She thought back and vaguely remembered Li Ran acquiring some kind of rope from a fortune-teller.
She hadn’t thought much of it back then—just a plain old rope.
Her cat eyes widened. “That’s all it took?”
Her mission was to subdue this monster—a task that had troubled her for a full day. She had tried everything, even scouring the shop for taming items. They existed, but were far too expensive. She didn’t have enough points.
Desperate, she’d turned to Li Ran.
With their combined strength, she figured they could wear the monster down and tame it.
But never expected it to be this easy.
“But… the mission’s still not complete?”
Song Linjia suddenly realized the mission hadn’t updated. Which meant the Dark Three-Tailed Fox hadn’t been fully subdued yet.
[Item: Weathered Slave Reins]
[Effect: When thrown over a target, temporarily enslaves them. Duration: 10 minutes.]
Li Ran had thought the item would be useless. He hadn’t expected it to come in handy like this.
“One last step.”
Li Ran’s gaze sharpened. He looked at the fox and commanded, “Raise your head. Open your mouth!”
The enslaved fox resisted internally, but its body obeyed. It lifted its head and opened its putrid maw, filled with sharp teeth and crawling worm-like creatures.
“So disgusting!”
Song Linjia quickly turned her head, unable to watch.
“This poor guy’s had it rough,” Li Ran muttered. “Infected, mutated into a three-tailed fox. Thought power would protect him, but then he got cursed. That curse is eating away at his body. Soon, he’ll lose his mind and become a walking corpse.”
He took out the Purification Elixir, gently twisted off the cap, and poured the contents into the fox’s mouth.
Song Linjia looked stunned. “You speak like you actually know his story…”
Li Ran didn’t explain. He simply watched the fox intently.
After drinking the elixir, the fox froze, eyes widening in shock.
(End of Chapter)