Save Ten Years of Effort

"Is it that mission Qiu Zhongji mentioned?" Song Linjia asked.

"Yes, I want to give it a try."

Li Ran and Song Linjia walked toward the north gate of the residential complex.

At the north gate lay a street originally called Happiness District, but after various unsavory characters moved in, the area became a chaotic hub of crime and filth, earning it the nickname Back Street for being the complete opposite of its name.

"It's not very convenient for a girl like me to go there. As it happens, I have a mission at the east gate, so I won't be accompanying you," Song Linjia said.

Li Ran raised an eyebrow, looking at Song Linjia in surprise: "Are you confident?"

"I'm ten percent sure I can take it down," Song Linjia said, full of confidence.

"Alright then, good luck."

"Good luck to you too, hope you land yourself a rich lady."

The two soon parted ways, heading north and south respectively.

Li Ran did not doubt Song Linjia's abilities; one had to remember that this was already the third day in the Weird World, and those who had survived were all sharp-witted—they wouldn't have lasted this long without some real skills.

He didn't think of others as fools, either.

Because he possessed a golden finger, all his missions seemed to be completable without much thought, which had caused him to overlook the impressive capabilities and talents others naturally possessed.

Perhaps they, too, had their own hidden abilities.

After parting from Song Linjia, Li Ran felt even more at ease.

After all, with a teammate by his side, he hadn't dared to use his golden finger recklessly.

Walking alone was different; he could use his golden finger whenever he encountered a dilemma.

Grandma Mi's request, the rich lady at the bar, and the ID card from the beauty salon were all located on Back Street.

"I'll complete these missions along the way; rapidly increasing my strength is the key."

"I still have to attend the kindergarten parent-child activity tomorrow, and I'm afraid that event won't be so simple."

The bullying depicted in Li Ziyang's drawings and the strange infant nutritional supplements sent by the teacher all originated from that kindergarten.

God knows how many terrifying entities were hidden within those walls.

And that little brat who was bullying the son and sending prank texts to the wife.

No matter what, he had to drag him out during tomorrow's parent-child activity!

"Damn it, just organizing my thoughts for a moment makes me feel like there are so many things left unfinished."

Li Ran rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

And that wasn't even counting the mission to eliminate the murderer Wang Gan.

Thinking of that made his head ache even more.

He glanced at his attribute panel.

Li Ran

Ghost Power: 210

Agility: 20

Strength: 20

Points: 110

Active Skills: [Shadow Escape] [Shadow Assault]

Passive Skills: Thunder Mark, Focus

"Wang Gan is an A-rank mental infection entity with 500 Ghost Power; I'm nowhere near enough."

This morning, he had been feeling quite arrogant; compared to Xiao Yi, Chen Jiabin, and the others, his Ghost Power and points could leave them ten streets behind.

But compared to the murderer Wang Gan, his current stats were not even worth mentioning.

Wang Gan could kill him with the flick of a finger.

I need at least a set of high-quality gear and 700 Ghost Power before I have any chance of killing Wang Gan, Li Ran thought to himself.

He didn't believe that reaching 500 Ghost Power would be enough to take on Wang Gan.

In fact, he felt he would likely need a set of rare equipment to stand a chance.

But as it stood, after three days of missions, he hadn't seen a single rare item, even with his golden finger—which showed just how rare "rare" truly was, not to mention legendary-tier items.

After sorting through his thoughts, Li Ran felt like his brain was nothing but mush.

Passing through the north gate of the complex, a pedestrian street with a heavy commercial atmosphere came into view.

Both sides of the street were lined with dazzling shops, while various stalls selling handicrafts, snacks, flowers, and milk tea were set up in the center of the walkway.

For a fleeting moment, Li Ran had the illusion that he had stepped into the Golden Street of Yida.

But the deathly silence here prevented Li Ran from viewing this street through normal eyes.

Li Ran swept his gaze across the entire street.

The strange thing was that the shops on the street were all wide open.

It was as if they were doing business for invisible guests.

Compared to the clean environment of the residential complex, this place was clearly dirty, messy, and dilapidated.

Even though not a single person could be seen on the entire street, there was a sense of disarray, as if a large-scale event had just concluded and the crowd had dispersed.

Walking forward for a while, a bar named Save Ten Years of Effort appeared before his eyes.

Unlike the other shops, music was actually drifting out from inside this bar.

"Is this bar name for real?" Li Ran grinned.

Seeing the name of the bar, Li Ran actually started to believe there might be a wealthy woman inside.

He stepped forward and entered the bar.

The music inside wasn't the kind of deafening, high-energy beat that would drive a person neurotic.

Instead, it was playing the kind of music you'd hear in old Hong Kong films whenever a sexy woman appeared on screen.

It was quite flirtatious.

Walking into the bar, Li Ran didn't see the overcrowded scene he had imagined.

Instead, he saw two acquaintances sitting on a long sofa in a booth in the corner of the bar.

Well, his plan to complete the mission alone had officially failed.

"Li Ran."

Xiao Yi also spotted Li Ran, stood up, and greeted him with a face full of smiles.

Li Ran walked over and discovered that besides Xiao Yi and Chen Jiabin, there was another man he hadn't seen before.

This young man looked a bit shy, wearing a pair of thick glasses, giving off the vibe of a nerdy science student.

Additionally, Li Ran noticed that Chen Jiabin's arm had actually been reattached; it was in a sling, clearly having undergone surgery.

This actually made Li Ran feel a bit surprised.

This meant that Chen Jiabin had found a doctor to perform the surgery on him and had even completed the doctor's mission.

Li Ran glanced at Chen Jiabin and found his Ghost Power was 20, his points were 200, and he had one ongoing mission.

Xiao Yi had 50 Ghost Power, 500 points, and three ongoing missions.

This was enough to prove his previous guess: those who could survive more or less had some tricks up their sleeves.

"You guys introduce yourselves," Xiao Yi said.

"Li Ran."

"Lu Zhaohui."

There was a young barmaid at the counter who wouldn't say anything to questions, but as long as you ordered a drink, she would tell you how many points it cost.

Li Ran spent 10 points to order some drinks; daily necessities weren't expensive, and the same went for alcohol.

10 points worth of drinks was enough for them to drink all night.

But in the Weird World, no one dared to get themselves dead drunk.

They drank a few sips, trying their best to keep their heads clear.

After chatting, Li Ran learned that Lu Zhaohui lived on the 11th floor of Building 3. For the past three days, he had locked himself at home and never stepped out because he was afraid of falling asleep before midnight; he had survived until now purely because of his laziness.

He hadn't done the orientation mission; after receiving it, he just lay flat at home.

If he hadn't been starving, he wouldn't have left his room.

His orientation mission was to woo a girl.

Because of his laziness, he couldn't be bothered to pursue her.

It was only because he was truly starving this morning that he came to the complex to find food, but since he didn't have any points, he couldn't buy anything. If he hadn't run into Xiao Yi on the road, he would have almost resorted to chewing on tree bark.

He also had social anxiety and was afraid to talk to people.

This was also a very important reason why he had been able to survive until now.

"Wait a moment, the wealthy woman will be here. When that time comes, rack your brains and use your conversational skills to impress her, understand?"

Seeing that the time was about right, Xiao Yi ignored Li Ran and looked directly at Lu Zhaohui and Chen Jiabin as he spoke.

"According to my observations over the past two days, the wealthy woman mission is the only one that doesn't carry any danger, and it can be challenged multiple times until you succeed," Xiao Yi continued.

Li Ran didn't speak, watching him put on a show in silence.

He sensed that Xiao Yi was deliberately not speaking to him, instead intentionally cultivating the persona of a "good guy" with rich experience who was guiding the newcomers.

Lu Zhaohui asked curiously, "Senior Xiao Yi, you're so amazing. How did you know that?"

Xiao Yi pushed up his glasses and smiled faintly, his eyes revealing a hint of intoxication, as if he really enjoyed the feeling of being flattered, but he quickly hid that look and continued, "Over these two days, I've used every method possible, trying everything I could think of and even things I couldn't, but in the end, I still haven't been able to gain the wealthy woman's favor."

"Is it that hard? Then I definitely don't stand a chance," Lu Zhaohui lost his confidence instantly.

"The wealthy woman is actually the bar owner; otherwise, how could it have such a name?" Chen Jiabin added.

"So, if I can just earn her favor, I can really save myself Save Ten Years of Effort?" Lu Zhaohui asked.

Xiao Yi nodded. "Theoretically, yes, though there's no specific explanation for how that struggle is actually saved."

Li Ran more or less understood the situation now.

The wealthy woman was the bar owner, and the person she chose could theoretically skip ten years of hard work.

In reality, it likely meant a substantial amount of rewards.

After all, the wealthy woman had money, and if she gave it to a player, it could be directly converted into rewards.

However, those rewards might not be so easy to obtain; perhaps a certain price would have to be paid.

As they spoke, the background music suddenly changed.

"She's here."

Xiao Yi and Chen Jiabin looked toward a certain direction in the bar at the same time.

Li Ran followed their gazes.

He saw a graceful and charming figure descending from the second floor.

A magnificent cheongsam showcased the woman's perfect physique to the fullest, her every movement exuding elegance and allure. Whether her eyes wandered or she revealed a faint smile, she gave off a feeling that she was constantly tugging at one's heartstrings.

One extra glance, and it felt as if one would sink deep into her gaze, unable to extricate oneself.

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