"Survival... Survival II!" Zhao Yingzhi said.
Li Ran looked at Zhao Yingzhi in surprise and said, "This thing can have sequels?"
Zhao Yingzhi immediately shared the task she had just triggered with Li Ran.
[Task Triggered: Survival II (Team Task)]
[Task Description: Your performance has exceeded the organization’s expectations. You are very strong, extremely strong, but you are no longer under the organization's control. To eliminate you, the organization will issue a bounty. Task organizations, assassins, and individuals can take the task until you are killed. (Limited time: one day)]
[Task Reward: Eerie Power +400, Points +4000, Special Items *2]
[Team members can allocate Eerie Power, Points, Items, and Equipment themselves]
[Task Failure: Death!]
After reading the task description, Li Ran furrowed his brow.
No wonder Zhao Yingzhi wasn’t calm anymore.
As soon as the task was triggered, the task began.
This meant the bounty had already been issued by the assassin organization to eliminate Zhao Yingzhi.
What was even more terrifying was that now even ordinary people could become assassins.
"This difficulty is extraordinary. I must find an absolutely safe place to survive this crisis."
"Yesterday, I found an extremely abnormal space on the second basement floor of building 4. Maybe I can hide there for the day, but it gives me a bad feeling."
Facing the second triggered task, Zhao Yingzhi didn’t panic too much. She quickly thought of a way to deal with it, though it was also filled with danger and uncertainty.
"The Dark Palace?"
Zhao Yingzhi was referring to the place where Li Ran had met the delivery girl, Yang Ping.
(Dark Palace: A place of endless darkness filled with unknowns. It is said that only the dead can enter.)
"That place might really be able to protect you," Li Ran said.
Li Ran thought of Yang Ping. If he could contact her and have Yang Ping protect Zhao Yingzhi, her safety should be ensured.
He could then take the initiative and eliminate the assassins hiding in the dark one by one.
With this thought, Li Ran immediately called Captain Wang of the Criminal Police Team.
"Mr. Li, I was just about to call you. We really do have a telepathic connection," Captain Wang’s hearty voice came from the phone.
Li Ran got Yang Ping's contact information from Captain Wang.
Before rescuing Zhao Yingzhi, Captain Wang had been the one in contact with Yang Ping for the deliveries. It was also Captain Wang who used Yang Ping’s weakness to make the actress say the secret code, "She looks like a dead person," turning the frantic Yang Ping into a killer.
Captain Wang also mentioned that Yang Ping’s physique was very similar to that of an assassin, which was why they used her.
"Captain, has the operation begun?" Li Ran then remembered that Captain Wang had called for something.
"Today’s operation has been canceled. I just received a report that a child has been abducted in the neighborhood. We suspect that the previous child disappearance case in the area is related to the contact person," Captain Wang said.
Li Ran guessed in his mind, "Could the contact person be a human trafficker?"
Another child went missing in the neighborhood?
The thought of the body at the bottom of the lotus pond crossed his mind.
Could there be a connection between the two?
Li Ran was confused. He decided to focus on completing the current task for now.
"Then Captain, please notify me about the time later."
"Okay."
The cancellation of the afternoon operation was just what Li Ran wanted.
This way, he could focus entirely on dealing with the assassins.
...
...
Building 4, Basement 2.
"Ding!"
The elevator door slowly opened, and a gust of cold wind rushed into the elevator.
Li Ran was fine, but Zhao Yingzhi visibly shuddered.
Li Ran wedged a brick to block the elevator door and dialed Yang Ping’s phone.
On the way here, Li Ran had already briefed Zhao Yingzhi on everything about Yang Ping, including her weaknesses.
"Hello, sister, it’s me. I helped deliver food to you last time."
After picking up the phone, Li Ran spoke warmly.
"Yes, yes, I’m at the elevator," Yang Ping replied.
"Okay, I’ll wait for you."
After hanging up the phone, Li Ran looked into the endless darkness and said, "There seems to be an underground world inside."
Besides Yang Ping, the three people pretending to be Zhao Yingzhi’s "family" were also actors from the Dark Palace.
"Ding Ding!"
At this moment, the sound of a small electric scooter’s horn came from the darkness.
Soon, a woman dressed in a red outfit, with a pale face and wet clothes, walked into the elevator.
Li Ran was mentally prepared, but Zhao Yingzhi’s face turned pale, and her body unconsciously stepped back.
"Sister, here," Li Ran called out.
"I heard you helped deliver food for me and assisted Captain Zhang in solving a case. Young man, you’re really promising," Yang Ping said, walking into the elevator. She took off her terrifying red raincoat and pulled out a dry towel to wipe her wet hair.
"Too kind, sister," Li Ran smiled slightly, then pulled Zhao Yingzhi in front of him and introduced, "Sister, can my little sister work with you to deliver food?"
"Huh?"
Both Yang Ping and Zhao Yingzhi looked at Li Ran in surprise.
Li Ran smiled faintly and said, "Sister, my little sister is studying. She’s about to have a vacation and doesn’t have many classes. She wants to earn some living expenses through work-study. After thinking about it, I thought of you."
"What a good girl, how could she work delivering food with me?" Yang Ping looked at Zhao Yingzhi with a heartache.
Zhao Yingzhi quickly understood and played along, pulling Yang Ping’s ice-cold hand and saying, "Sister, my family is poor, and they don’t give me living expenses, so I have to work-study. Sister, please take me with you."
"What a poor child, my heart aches for you," Yang Ping said, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at Zhao Yingzhi with deep sympathy.
"Little sister, follow sister well, listen to her, understand?" Li Ran said as he pulled a red envelope from his pocket and stuffed it into Yang Ping’s pocket while she was wiping her hair.
In the points mall, 10 points can be exchanged for 1000 currency.
Yang Ping worked hard delivering food to support her family, and making that little bit of money wasn’t easy. Now, asking her for help, Li Ran had to give her something to show his appreciation.
"Xiao Ran, what’s this for?" Yang Ping tried to take the red envelope back to return it to Li Ran.
"Sister, if you don’t accept it, I’ll be angry," Li Ran said, forcibly stuffing the red envelope back into Yang Ping’s pocket. "Sister, if possible, please arrange a place for my little sister to stay tonight. This money is for her food and lodging."
"But it’s not even that much."
"Sister, just take it. My older brother has money," Zhao Yingzhi said sneakily.
"Ah... Really?" Yang Ping squeezed the thickness of the red envelope. It seemed like there was quite a bit of money. "Well, then... I’ll accept it."
Li Ran rolled his eyes at Zhao Yingzhi, then whispered to her, "I don’t know the rules inside the Dark Palace, but I know that as long as it’s within the rules, it’s safe. So, you must listen to sister’s words and don’t have your own ideas."
Zhao Yingzhi nodded and said, "So this is what you meant by social skills? Turns out it’s something I’ll never learn."
Li Ran smiled faintly and said to Yang Ping, "Sister, I’m entrusting my little sister to you. We’ll see each other again this time tomorrow."
"Xiao Ran, don’t worry, I’ll bring your sister back safe and sound tomorrow," Yang Ping said.
"Little sister, it’s raining heavily outside. Make sure to wear a raincoat," Yang Ping added.
Zhao Yingzhi nodded, looking at Li Ran in surprise, because before coming here, Li Ran had asked her to buy a red raincoat in the mall.
"Are you a devil? How can you predict everything?" Zhao Yingzhi asked in shock.
Li Ran smiled without saying anything.
The Dark Palace was filled with unknowns, and Li Ran had only used one of the rules.
As long as he had Yang Ping in control, and Zhao Yingzhi stayed within that rule, she would be safe. As for the rest, Li Ran didn’t know. If Yang Ping refused or said it was impossible, then that place would prove that living people couldn’t enter.
Now it seemed that living people could enter the Dark Palace, as long as they used the rules well.
Li Ran watched as Yang Ping led Zhao Yingzhi into the Dark Palace until their figures disappeared into the darkness.
"Ding!"
The elevator door slowly closed.
Li Ran’s smile gradually faded.
He opened the Summoning Door, and a small black shadow jumped onto Li Ran’s shoulder from the Summoning Door.
"Chitong, let’s do something big."
"Chirp?"
(End of Chapter)