Kill Monsters, Drop Equipment

Goddess Strategy Outline (Burn after reading)

"Want to grab a meal together?"

Goddess: I quit my job to stay home with my mom. Her leg is injured, so I can't go out.

"What kind of injury does your mom have? Is it serious?"

"My friend is a surgeon; I can ask him how to handle a situation like this for you."

"Is your dad not home? How are you carrying the burden of the household all by yourself? You must be doing all the laundry and cooking."

"You must be a great cook. I'd love to taste it. You're working so hard taking care of your mom; I'll come visit this weekend and take you and your mom out for something delicious. Don't push yourself too hard. Once your mom is better, what kind of work do you want to do? Do you have any plans or places you want to go?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking! Actually, my job is... well... is your mom asleep yet?"

"Come out for a late-night snack, I'll pick you up."

"Going back so late might disturb your mom's rest, that wouldn't be good."

"Tomorrow, I happen to have a meeting at a hotel nearby."

"Oh no, I forgot my charger. Can I come to your room to charge my phone?"

"Tomorrow, I want to bring breakfast for your mom with you."

"Seeing you so exhausted, I feel so bad for you. I just want to give you a hug."

"Your hair smells so good."

"I won't do anything out of line."

"I will take responsibility."

When Lu Zhaohui saw Li Ran "swish-swish-swishing" away on a piece of paper, writing down an outline, he was dumbfounded on the spot, admiring him to the point of prostration.

Li Ran tore off the paper with the strategy outline and handed it to Lu Zhaohui: "I can only help you this much. The rest is up to you."

This wasn't just an outline; it was more detailed than a step-by-step guide.

If he couldn't win over the goddess with this, he might as well commit seppuku.

"Happiness Mutton Restaurant."

Li Ran looked up at the storefront sign.

If his guess was correct, his dad... pfft, this was the Mutton Restaurant run by Grandma Mi's son and daughter-in-law.

"Doesn't look like anyone's here."

Lu Zhaohui peeked inside, but didn't hear a sound.

"Let's go in and check," Li Ran said.

The shop wasn't very large. The dining area held eight tables, topped with various condiments and disposable tableware. A few tables still had bowls of unfinished mutton soup...

The room felt chaotic, as if some incident had occurred, causing the customers to flee before they could finish their meals.

Li Ran frowned slightly, his gaze sharp as he stared toward the kitchen.

"Stay behind me."

Li Ran grabbed Lu Zhaohui, who was walking forward, and pulled him behind his back.

"What's wrong?" Lu Zhaohui asked, confused.

Li Ran didn't respond, his eyes locked firmly on the kitchen door.

"Hiss!"

Suddenly, a terrifying, blood-red shadow streaked out from the kitchen at high speed.

It reached Li Ran in an instant.

"Bang!"

Li Ran kicked a table in front of him.

With a loud crash, the table shattered into splinters before the blood-red shadow.

"Run!"

Li Ran dragged the petrified Lu Zhaohui toward the exit.

Just as they reached the door, the blood-red shadow smashed through the window and appeared before them.

"Mon... monster!"

Lu Zhaohui collapsed to the ground in terror, pointing a trembling finger at the blood-colored monster.

Li Ran's brows furrowed, a flash of cold light in his eyes.

"It's Deng Zhiwei."

At this moment, Deng Zhiwei had completely lost his human form. He looked like a giant, blood-red mantis that had been skinned, with two tumor-like growths bulging from his forehead. His limbs were terrifying scythe-blades, hideous and horrific, resembling a swift Skinner monster.

Deng Zhiwei

B-rank Mental Infector

Mysterious Power: 300

Its evolution is incomplete, its power yet to fully coalesce. If left unchecked, it will become an endless source of trouble.

Li Ran knew exactly how Deng Zhiwei had turned into this state; he needed no further hints.

Yet, Li Ran had not expected Deng Zhiwei's obsession and desires to be so terrifying.

He had transformed directly into a B-rank Mental Infector, with his Mysterious Power reaching 300.

But Li Ran was no pushover; with 310 Mysterious Power, why should he fear one with 300?

Especially a monster whose evolution was incomplete.

However, "Run!"

Li Ran shouted at Lu Zhaohui.

Lu Zhaohui scrambled to his feet and bolted, not daring to linger for a second.

"Die, all of you must die!"

The Blood Mantis Monster let out a horrific, guttural roar. Its scythe-like legs pushed off the ground, launching it ten meters into the air as it flung a crimson blade of energy toward the fleeing Lu Zhaohui.

"Bang!"

Just as the blood-red blade was about to pierce Lu Zhaohui's heart, Li Ran flashed behind him, using his Thunder Dagger to deflect the strike, though the immense impact sent him skidding back five or six meters.

Lu Zhaohui glanced back to offer a hurried word of thanks before fleeing in a panic.

"You ruin my plans, you must die too!"

Deng Zhiwei, now completely transformed into a monster, let out a hoarse, terrifying bestial roar.

The monster immediately shifted its target and charged at Li Ran.

"Shadow Escape!"

Li Ran activated his Shadow Escape skill, vanishing directly into the shadows on the ground.

The Blood Mantis Monster instantly lost track of Li Ran, going on a frenzied rampage, destroying everything in its path.

"Come out, Li Ran, I see you."

Five meters behind the mantis monster, Li Ran's figure emerged silently from the shadows, his eyes locked onto the creature's back.

"Shadow Assault!"

Li Ran's figure vanished once more. Unlike his Shadow Escape, this time his form slowly turned transparent, blending perfectly into the surrounding environment.

Shadow Assault increased both speed and power simultaneously.

Li Ran stared intensely at the spine of the Blood Mantis Monster.

I've never truly understood the extent of my own strength; you'll serve as the perfect practice dummy.

If I utilize my skills correctly, I should be able to one-shot this mindless mantis.

In an instant, Li Ran's speed surged while in his stealth state. A transparent silhouette streaked through the street, carrying a cold glint toward the monster's back.

Backstab!

The Thunder Dagger pierced the mantis monster's spine with pinpoint precision, triggering countless Thunder Marks that spread across the creature's body like a spiderweb.

"Skreeee!!"

The Blood Mantis Monster tilted its head back in agony, its body paralyzed by the electric shocks, unable to move.

Backstab damage is doubled, the stealth effect duration is extended, and the passive Thunder Mark effect paralyzes the target for 0.5 seconds. I have time for one more critical strike.

Li Ran calculated the timing of his attack with precision, his gaze fixed on the mantis monster as it craned its neck in pain.

This time, he aimed for the monster's throat.

"Szzzt!"

Li Ran shifted rapidly to the front of the monster, his dagger flashing across the mantis monster's neck like lightning.

"Splurt!"

Blood erupted like a geyser, instantly staining the ground crimson with a rain of gore.

The mantis monster let out a whimpering, mournful cry before crashing to the ground.

Not far away, Li Ran's stealth effect slowly faded.

"Shadow Escape, stealth, assault, paralysis, Throat Slit—a single burst combo, and I actually one-shot a B-rank monster with comparable Mysterious Power?"

Even Li Ran found it hard to believe.

In reality, he had rehearsed this sequence of moves in his mind countless times, but had never found the opportunity to put them into practice.

He couldn't exactly go to the park and practice on trees; doing so would never have allowed him to gauge his true strength.

This practical training session had exceeded his own expectations.

"Choosing the path of an assassin seems to have been the right call; coming and going without a trace, no flashy nonsense, just a single strike to end it!"

"Even if a continuous Backstab or Throat Slit fails to kill the Blood Mantis Monster, I can rely on the triggered invisibility to retreat unscathed, and if I truly can't win, I can always use Shadow Escape to slip away."

Li Ran was quite satisfied with the effectiveness of his current combo, though he felt his skill set was still insufficient.

If he were to encounter an enemy capable of seeing through invisibility with high movement speed, his invisibility and Shadow Escape would be rendered completely useless, leaving him to take a beating passively.

"I still need to keep a trump card and a backup plan."

Upon entering the Mutton Restaurant, he had caught a whiff of blood, and shortly after, a prompt appeared pointing toward the kitchen, warning him of danger.

Just as he had expected, a monster charged out from the kitchen.

"Since this is a dungeon, killing monsters should drop loot, right?"

Filled with curiosity, Li Ran walked toward the corpse of the Blood Mantis Monster.

A blood-colored, teardrop-shaped crystal core rolled out from the neck of the mantis onto the ground.

"There really is something."

(Life Drop: A crystal that provides additional attribute points; can be crushed and consumed directly.)

Li Ran's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked up the teardrop-shaped crystal core.

"Pop!"

Without any hesitation, he crushed the Life Drop on the spot.

The Life Drop transformed into a cloud of blood mist that enveloped Li Ran, and with each breath he took, the mist was slowly absorbed into his body.

In an instant, Li Ran felt a warm current and a surge of power within him, accompanied by an indescribable sense of fullness and agility.

He opened his eyes, the crimson glow within his gaze slowly fading away.

When he checked his stats again, they had changed once more.

Mysterious Power: 360
Agility: 70
Strength: 70
Physique: 50
Points: 1100
Active Skills: [Shadow Escape], [Shadow Assault]
Passive Skills: Thunder Mark, Focus

"A single Life Drop adds 50 to Mysterious Power, Strength, Agility, and Physique?"

This was an absolute windfall.

And all while in the middle of a mission.

Although it was somewhat dangerous, the rewards were coming in truly fast.

"I just wonder if killing some smaller mobs will drop good items."

(Only certain high-tier Mental Infectors and Special Infectors will drop Life Drops, with a probability of about one percent.)

The golden finger provided him with an answer almost immediately.

"Damn, should I celebrate that my first kill dropped something this good?"

Seeing such a low drop rate made Li Ran abandon the idea of slaughtering low-level monsters.

It would be better to honestly complete his missions; if he accidentally killed the wrong mob and provoked a larger monster or a boss, it wouldn't be fun at all.

Especially with the original inhabitants in the residential complex—none of them lacked complex connections behind the scenes.

He certainly didn't want to die that quickly.

If his strength reached a level where he could crush all monsters, that would be a different story.

Like Deng Zhiwei, a monster turned from a player, whose background wasn't nearly as complicated.

Looting shouldn't overlook any details.

"Huh, there's actually more."

Li Ran fished a blood-covered book out from the monster's corpse.

Seeking recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, collections, follow-up reads, comments, and all forms of support...