Dark red, fresh blood was reflected in Li Ran’s pupils.
When he clearly saw the figure lying in the pool of blood, his pupils trembled violently!
The one lying in that crimson pool… was none other than the lunatic Pang Lai, who had just been speaking with him on the rooftop!
Now, Pang Lai lay in a pool of blood, completely devoid of life. The blood from the back of his head splattered outward like rays, and thick strings of saliva and blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth onto the ground. A strange smile, as if relieved, lingered on his lips. His wide-open eyes stared straight at Li Ran, unblinking.
At that moment, Li Ran felt his scalp go numb and instinctively stepped back two paces.
It was as if he had realized something. He suddenly looked up at the rooftop.
But there was nothing at the edge of the rooftop.
His eyes swept across the rooftop rapidly, and he immediately activated his “Divine Sense.” A wave of psychic power enveloped the entire building in an instant.
“No one... how is that possible?”
He didn’t sense anyone else on the rooftop.
There were some native residents inside the building, but all had very low levels of eerie force—clearly not the culprits.
Pang Lai had an S-rank eerie power of 2000. To kill him, the attacker would need a power level no less than that, and a high tier as well.
Such a person’s mental starfield would undoubtedly shine like a blazing sun.
“A lunatic wouldn’t jump off a building for no reason. He must’ve been killed!”
Pang Lai had just spoken with him on the rooftop, and then jumped?
Of all times, why now?
“Do you believe it? This world is a cage. They are watching everyone from above. If we don’t live according to the program they’ve designed, we’ll be exiled…”
That line from the lunatic resurfaced in Li Ran’s mind.
During their conversation, Li Ran felt as if he’d glimpsed some secret of this world—but also as if he hadn’t. The lunatic’s words had greatly shaken his understanding of everything.
Pang Lai had also hinted that some things couldn’t be spoken of too much, and that he had to live according to a predetermined path...
“They’re watching everyone from above?”
Li Ran looked up at the sky. At some point, thick clouds had covered the sunlight. The sky had turned gloomy once more, oppressive and stifling.
His eyes searched the heavens rapidly. His Divine Sense surged again.
But still, he found nothing.
“Wait, what’s that?”
Li Ran’s pupils suddenly contracted.
By chance, he noticed that the clouds directly above the rooftop were roiling like stormy waves, while clouds in other areas were calm and still—as if a tremendous energy fluctuation had occurred within that turbulent cloud mass.
But aside from that churning cloud layer, there was nothing else.
“Was the lunatic... cleared?”
A terrifying thought emerged in Li Ran’s mind—so terrifying even he found it hard to accept.
“Could it be... because he revealed too much to me, and his behavior deviated from the program’s prescribed path... that they initiated a clearance protocol?”
The sheer boldness of that idea sent waves of panic through Li Ran.
“No, Li Ran, are you losing your mind too? How could such a ridiculous idea be true? Just focus on what you need to do—forget about truth or no truth.”
“It’s not that simple. The eerie world is far beyond your imagination. Don’t you want to understand the truth?”
“What you need to do now is complete missions, earn points, raise your eerie force, survive for fifteen days. Don’t concern yourself with anything else.”
“Survive fifteen days? Are you kidding? You don’t even know what’s going on—you might not even know how you’ll die!”
In that instant, it was as if two little versions of himself were arguing fiercely in his head.
One little devil-tailed Li Ran wielding a pitchfork:
“Doing missions and leveling up while playing it safe is the way to go!”
The other, a little angel-winged Li Ran, kicked the devil-tailed one flying:
“Screw playing it safe! Just go for it!”
“What the hell even is this?!”
Li Ran smacked both little versions of himself away with one giant slap.
Beside him, Chitong instantly became alert, his eerie eyes scanning coldly across the surroundings.
Faced with the two choices of playing it safe or seeking the truth—
Li Ran chose neither.
He chose to go home.
Because he believed Su Bingyao and Li Ziyang might also be in danger.
Su Bingyao and Li Ziyang had both awakened—which meant they, too, might have deviated from the predetermined path.
And if they were discovered... would they be cleared as well?
“Chitong, we’re going home.”
“Squeak!”
…
…
10 p.m., back alley.
“Does this plain dress look better, or the floral one?”
Inside a clothing store, Meng Ge held up a dress in each hand, asking Lu Zhaohui who was sitting on a bench nearby.
Lu Zhaohui’s face was somewhat grim as he replied,
“They both look nice.”
“That’s so half-hearted! Can’t you give a real opinion?” Meng Ge said listlessly. She suddenly felt like both dresses were no good and put them back on the rack.
She noticed Lu Zhaohui looking nervous and uneasy, so she frowned and asked,
“What’s wrong? You feeling unwell?”
“Meng Ge, it’s getting late. Let’s go home,” Lu Zhaohui said.
Meng Ge asked,
“Are you tired? I guess we have been out for a while now... Alright, I’ll go try to convince Mom to head back.”
“Okay.”
Lu Zhaohui sat uneasily.
He’d spent the whole afternoon shopping with Meng Ge and her mother. At first, he thought they’d be out for just an hour or two—but here they were, and it still didn’t seem like they were going home anytime soon.
During the day, the streets had been mostly empty, just the shops open. But at night, the streets were suddenly crowded.
And that would’ve been fine, if they were people.
But they weren’t—they were all monsters.
And those seemingly normal people on the street, they were acting like they didn’t see the monsters at all—chatting and laughing as they strolled around.
Lu Zhaohui felt like he was surrounded by monsters. His fear, unease, and sense of dread were intensifying by the minute.
What baffled him even more was how a woman who usually complained about climbing stairs or lifting things could now shop for seven or eight hours without showing a hint of fatigue.
Just what kind of creature is a woman?
“Sweetie, it’s still early! Wait a little longer, just a few more outfits and I’ll be done!” Meng Ge’s mother called out from inside.
The saleswoman beside her was chattering away like a machine gun, laying on the flattery so thick it almost lifted Meng Ge’s mother off the ground.
It was worth noting that the saleswoman was really skinny—like a clothing rack that had gained sentience.
Meng Ge walked over to Lu Zhaohui, helplessly saying,
“Mom’s just recovered from a serious illness. Let’s indulge her this once, okay? You don’t want to spoil her mood, do you?”
As she spoke, she gave Lu Zhaohui a gentle wink to comfort him.
Lu Zhaohui didn’t respond. His fists were clenched tightly, anxiety written all over his face.
He knew very well what would happen if he couldn’t fall asleep before midnight.
If this went on... he and Meng Ge wouldn’t live to see tomorrow’s sun.
So he made a decision...
Lu Zhaohui clenched his fists and slowly stood up. With determination in his eyes, he turned to Meng Ge’s mother and said:
“Mom, I’d like to talk to you... about me becoming a live-in son-in-law.”
(End of Chapter)