Song Linjia was on the verge of a complete breakdown.
Li Ran and Lu Zhaohui exchanged a stunned glance.
“I... I... I made the wrong choice…”
“He... he threw into... a place full of fire… ahhh!!!”
By the end of her sentence, Song Linjia broke into a frenzied scream, as if she were reliving a terrifying mory.
Li Ran and Lu Zhaohui quickly stepped forward to calm her down.
It took quite a while before she finally composed herself.
But after that, she refused to speak again. Her face was ashen, and she just sat silently on the grass, looking utterly defeated.
“Brother Ran, if this keeps up, I’m afraid she’s going to have a ntal breakdown. Let take her back to my place for now,” Lu Zhaohui said.
“Alright,” Li Ran nodded.
Getting Song Linjia settled was the best move for the mont. Until they figured out a proper solution, they couldn’t afford to spend all their ti on her.
“Your girlfriend won’t have a problem with this, right?” Li Ran asked.
After all, Lu Zhaohui and ng Ge were still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. Bringing another girl ho like this… if ng Ge got jealous and blew up, Lu Zhaohui’s life might actually be in danger.
“Don’t worry, Brother Ran. I’ve been staying at her place these days,” Lu Zhaohui replied with a sheepish smile, scratching his nose.
“That’s good, that’s good.”
Seeing that Lu Zhaohui still looked lively, not a trace of being drained dry, Li Ran lowered his voice and asked, “Hey, you’re still using that thing, right?”
Lu Zhaohui blushed and leaned in to whisper in Li Ran’s ear, “Still works great!”
“Oh yeah?” Li Ran raised an eyebrow, feeling a strange flutter of curiosity.
But then he thought about it again—he was still young and full of energy. Did he really need to rely on sothing like that?
Nah, no way.
Once they had Song Linjia settled at Lu Zhaohui’s place, she handed Li Ran a small crystal ornant. She had found it in that fiery kiln she’d been thrown into.
It was a crystal violin, about the size of a palm, clear and glistening, full of artistic flair.
(Crystal Violin Ornant: You can ask the figure shop owner about this. It might be a beloved item he lost. If you can play it, it may produce unexpected effects.)
“This thing actually make a sound?”
Li Ran turned the small crystal violin over in his hands, examining it closely. It was clearly crafted from crystal, but the strings on it were real. The only thing missing was a bow.
“So it’s a quest item after all.” Li Ran’s curiosity was piqued. He wondered what kind of effect playing the crystal violin might trigger.
“No bow, no music. I’ll head to the figure shop when I have ti.”
Li Ran wasn’t afraid of going to the figure shop. With his current Weird Power value, he could now enter many places that were previously inaccessible. Plus, with guidance from the Goldenfinger, places that were dangerous for soone like Song Linjia were just minor challenges for him.
Just like last night—Han Jianglong had tried to block him at the basketball court and challenged him to a ga of one-on-one.
Most players would’ve thought: “If I can’t avoid it, I’ll just have to play.” They would’ve tried every possible way to win and stop Han Jianglong from scoring.
But no matter what they did, they would lose. Even scoring a single point or frustrating Han Jianglong would end in decapitation.
That mission involving Han Jianglong was a loss mission. Li Ran only knew this because of a Goldenfinger hint. The real objective was to let Han Jianglong vent. If he wasn’t satisfied, he’d take it out on you.
So without the hint, it was an easy trap to fall into.
After completing the One-on-One mission, his Weird Power broke past 1500. His current stats:
Weird Power: 1530
Points: 2100
Other attributes: No change
With 2000 points, he couldn’t buy much in terms of gear or skills. Unless he needed a specific item, he figured he’d wait until he had over 5000 points, then go shopping in the Points Mall for so practical equipnt.
Checking the ti—it was close to noon.
After handing Song Linjia over to Lu Zhaohui’s care, Li Ran made his way to Building No. 4.
This was around the ti Zhao Yingzhi would return from the Dark Palace.
Also, yesterday, Yang Ping had assured him she’d bring Zhao Yingzhi back safe and sound.
If Zhao Yingzhi could return unhard—did that an he could also enter the Dark Palace?
He needed to know the answer. It could be his only escape route in a life-or-death situation.
Ding!
The elevator stopped at Basent Level 2.
A chill wind blew into the elevator. Li Ran was already used to it.
He propped the elevator door open with a brick.
Then he stared into the endless darkness outside the elevator.
It was a blackness so dense it seed capable of swallowing even light itself.
He had already prepared a flashlight in his storage space. Taking it out, he aid it into the darkness.
Just as he expected—the light was instantly devoured. He couldn’t see a thing.
Beep-beep.
Suddenly, a scooter horn sounded from the dark.
“Sis, is that you?” Li Ran called out in surprise and delight.
“Yeah, Xiao Ran, didn’t keep you waiting, did I?”
As she spoke, Yang Ping erged from the darkness with Zhao Yingzhi. Both of them were wearing red raincoats, dripping wet. As they stepped into the elevator, water cascaded down from their bodies.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m just glad you’re back,” Li Ran said.
“I’ve delivered her safe and sound. I’ve got more deliveries to make, so I’m off!” Yang Ping said hastily.
“Alright, Sis, take care.”
Waving goodbye to Yang Ping, Li Ran turned to look at Zhao Yingzhi, who was still wearing her red raincoat.
She stood motionless in the elevator. The hood covered her face, and wet strands of hair kept dripping onto the floor.
Drip. Drip.
The sound of water droplets was especially loud in the eerie, silent elevator.
“Zhao Yingzhi,” Li Ran called.
Zhao Yingzhi didn’t respond. She just stood there, completely still.
Li Ran’s brow furrowed. He slowly took a step back, holding a dagger behind his back.
“Zhao Yingzhi,” he called out again, louder this ti.
Finally, Zhao Yingzhi moved. She walked over to the elevator door, lifted her leg, and kicked the brick into the bottomless darkness. The echo of it tumbling down rang out endlessly, like it was falling through an enormous empty space.
The elevator doors slowly closed.
Zhao Yingzhi’s body trembled slightly as she let out a low laugh. “Haha, didn’t scare you too bad, did I?”
Raindrops from her coat dripped onto the elevator floor with a steady drip, drip.
She slowly pulled off her red raincoat. Her hair was soaked, with strands plastered to her smooth forehead. As she laughed, she looked at Li Ran.
“Sister Yang Ping took great care of . She even introduced to her family, and gave a ton of delicious food.”
Zhao Yingzhi looked at Li Ran, who had pressed himself against the elevator wall, and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong? You’re not happy I’m back?”
But what Li Ran said next instantly changed the entire atmosphere inside the elevator.
“Who are you?!”
(End of Chapter)
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