Ranking Match?

Lu Ran quickly hung up the phone, decisive and clean.

That had been way too terrifying!!

Why did answering that call make his butt ache faintly?

Lu Ran rubbed the spot that had once been lashed by wind blades and headed toward the bathroom.

He took a satisfying shower and came out barely ten minutes later.

However, as he passed the window, something seemed to catch the corner of his eye.

Lu Ran instinctively backed up.

"Damn?"

Beyond the lawn, on the residential complex's pedestrian path, a luxury sports sedan was parked.

Beside its hood, a tall figure leaned half-sitting against it, playing with her phone while facing Lu Ran's bedroom window.

"Hmm?"

The young woman's senses were keen. She lifted her gaze toward the small bedroom window.

Lu Ran, meanwhile, stood frozen where he was.

Awkward!

Just then, the red sun rose, and morning glow filled the sky.

The morning sunlight illuminated the woman's exquisite profile.

The beautiful ruby Gem Earring on her earlobe shone brilliantly as well.

Deng Yuxiang smiled teasingly. "I heard your phone signal isn't very good?"

"Ah." With nowhere to hide, Lu Ran simply stepped closer to the window. "It's too old. Time to replace it."

This Big Girl...

Couldn't take a loss, could she?

Who blocked someone right at their doorstep?

Deng Yuxiang tilted her head slightly and gestured at Lu Ran with her chin. "Is your ear signal good?"

"It'll do." Lu Ran touched his earlobe. "Barely usable."

"Hmph. Bring your knife." Deng Yuxiang turned and pulled open the car door, plopping down into the driver's seat. "Five minutes. The countdown starts now."

As she spoke, Deng Yuxiang raised her slender arm and waved the phone in her hand, its countdown already running.

Lu Ran was numb all over!

"No, don't you have a little bro?" Lu Ran looked miserable. "If your hands are itchy, go beat him up!"

Deng Yuxiang replied casually, "But he's not related by blood, is he?"

Lu Ran: ???

Damn?

What she said... actually made a lot of sense?

Helpless, Lu Ran said, "It's so early. At least let me have a bite to eat."

"I'll treat you." Deng Yuxiang did not even raise her head, speaking indifferently. "Say whatever you want to eat."

Looking at the domineering heiress in the luxury car, Lu Ran blurted out, "Hotpot?"

"Heh!"

Deng Yuxiang was so irritated that she laughed. One Long Leg stepped out of the car, her Leather Boot stomping heavily onto the ground as she made to rise.

"Soy milk and fried dough sticks are fine too." Lu Ran turned around and went to find clothes.

Watching his figure vanish from the window, Deng Yuxiang pulled her leg back into the car.

Several dozen seconds later, Lu Ran jumped straight out of the bedroom window, carrying his Wooden Knife across the lawn to the car.

"What's the rush? There are still several minutes left." Seeing Lu Ran's indignant expression, Deng Yuxiang's smile became even more captivating.

"Don't you work in Cloud City?" Lu Ran leaned against the car window.

"The Fifteenth is coming. The bureau sent me back." Deng Yuxiang gestured toward the passenger seat. "Get in."

"Oh." Lu Ran had no choice but to get into the car with his knife. "If you want to loosen up, why don't we bring Yutang along?"

Deng Yuxiang slammed her foot down on the accelerator. "I wanted to bring Yutang along on missions too, but he's disappointing."

Hearing that, Lu Ran immediately defended him. "Yutang is amazing. He's the soul of our team!

No matter what predicament the team faces, he never loses heart. He's always the one leading us to rise up."

As Deng Yuxiang drove, the corners of her lips curled upward slightly.

The atmosphere in this little team really was quite good.

Yesterday, she had called Deng Yutang and asked after the team's situation.

At seventeen or eighteen, they were at the age when they loved competing and refused to yield.

Yet whether it was from Deng Yutang or from Lu Ran, both of them only praised the other.

That was rare.

With a smile on her face, Deng Yuxiang glanced at Lu Ran. "Don't waste your effort. No matter how much you praise my little bro, you still can't avoid this beating."

Lu Ran: "..."

After a while, Lu Ran said, "Then should I praise you instead?"

"Haha~" Deng Yuxiang could not hold back her laughter, which rang bright and hearty.

That radiant, charming appearance suited today's sunny rain alley quite well.

"Is there a breakfast shop around here?" Seeing the car drive farther and farther from the city, Lu Ran could not help asking.

This road led toward the barren area, toward the Wulie Riverbank residential complex.

"Someone wants to see you," Deng Yuxiang said. "Meet them first, then I'll take you to eat."

"Who?" Lu Ran asked doubtfully.

"You have no idea how much the bureau's decision to give you an additional test worried us." Deng Yuxiang patted the steering wheel with one hand. "A few of my colleagues want to meet you."

"I knew it!" Lu Ran's eyes lit up.

How could this girl have blocked his door purely to beat someone up?

So the people he was about to meet were his teammates for the Night of the Fifteenth?

"Make sure you perform well later," Deng Yuxiang said softly.

"Definitely!"

Several minutes later, the sports sedan gradually slowed and stopped in front of an abandoned residential complex.

Lu Ran opened the door, got out, and looked around.

Not seeing any Moon Watchers, he immediately raised his head toward the rooftop of the abandoned residential building. "They're up there?"

Deng Yuxiang walked into the overgrown grass. "Not the building you usually go to."

Lu Ran followed her and said quietly, "Thank you."

The reason for his thanks went without saying.

Presumably, Deng Yuxiang had learned a little about Lu Ran and knew why he had been so persistent about training here.

Deng Yuxiang smiled. "Originally, I didn't want to meet here either.

But this area is a key zone our team is responsible for protecting during this Night of the Fifteenth."

"We're covering this area?" Lu Ran asked.

"Mm." Deng Yuxiang led Lu Ran into the most central residential building in the complex. "This place as the center, plus the two nearby streets."

Lu Ran said, "Doesn't seem like a very large area?"

Deng Yuxiang reminded him, "This time, it's the fifteenth day of the seventh month."

"Oh, right." Lu Ran nodded.

The two made their way to the rooftop and met three Moon Watchers.

Two Young Men stood by the rooftop railing, looking out at the scenery.

Their builds were similar, both over six feet tall. Each had a crisp buzz cut and wore a black training suit.

In a corner of the rooftop, a middle-aged man was on the phone.

He had a square face and was past forty. He was Captain Sun—Sun Zhengfang—who had once treated Lu Ran's injuries.

"They're here." The two Young Men looking at the scenery turned around together.

Their faces were ninety percent alike, and both looked around twenty-eight or twenty-nine.

A pair of twins?

"Wei Long, Wei Hu." Deng Yuxiang introduced them to Lu Ran. "Just call them Brother Wei."

Lu Ran immediately greeted them, though all sorts of thoughts surfaced in his mind.

Wei Long?

That name was a little too spicy!

"Hello."

"Hello, Lu Ran." Both responded, though their temperaments were cold and stern, making them seem quite serious.

"They used to be soldiers. After leaving the military, they transferred to the Gods Bureau," Deng Yuxiang said softly. "Both brothers are Prison Devil Believers."

Lu Ran: "..."

Well, wasn't that a coincidence~

"Hehe." Deng Yuxiang laughed, clearly aware of Lu Ran's past. "What kind of expression is that?"

Lu Ran immediately shook his head. "Nothing."

As expected of a Moon Watcher team—they truly were brimming with talent!

Believers of gods in the top three tiers were all precious goods.

And in this team, Deng Yuxiang was a Second-Class God, a North Wind Believer, while the Wei Brothers were Third-Rate God Prison Devil Believers.

Four words: talent exploding through the roof!

What puzzled Lu Ran was why two Prison Devil Believers, who excelled at control and defense, were in the same team.

Wasn't that overlapping resources... Oh, I get it. It was probably for my sake?

"Little Lu." Sun Zhengfang was still on the phone in the distance, but he took a moment to wave in this direction.

"Hello, Uncle Sun!" Lu Ran waved back with a smile, exceedingly polite.

This was the team's Chief Physician. If he lost an arm or leg during this mission, he would inevitably have to trouble him.

Sun Zhengfang smiled as well. "Big Dragon."

Wei Long: "Here!"

Sun Zhengfang gestured in Lu Ran's direction. "Go easy."

Wei Long: "Yes!"

Having received the order, Wei Long strode toward Lu Ran.

Deng Yuxiang immediately stepped back and instructed him, "Show everything you have.

Your performance will determine your role in the team on the Night of the Fifteenth."

To Deng Yuxiang's surprise, Lu Ran held his Wooden Knife and spun a Knife Flower.

Ever since she had gone to pick Lu Ran up that morning, he had worn an unwilling expression.

But now, facing a powerful opponent striding toward him, Lu Ran was instead brimming with Battle Intent!

Could it be...

This youngster was addicted to fighting Prison Devil Believers?

"Understood!" Lu Ran's body tightened, his legs bending slightly.

Wasn't this just a Ranking Match!

Today, he would let them see what it meant to reach Platinum in one battle!

What?

You said I'm Silver?

No, no, no. You must have seen it wrong.

Besides, it wasn't that I was being stubborn. There was also something wrong with your matchmaking system.