Can't Afford to Offend, But Can Still Evade

(Chapter 24 has been revised. If you are confused, you can go back and reread the latter half.)

"Handsome, you took your time."

The woman put on her clothes and gave Yu Peng a meaningful look.

Yu Peng got up, dressed, and was about to leave without a word.

"Handsome, you haven't paid yet."

"I have no money."

The woman's fawning smile vanished instantly at Yu Peng's words.

"No money? You dare to come out and play? Are you trying to trick me!"

The woman's face immediately turned fierce, her thick foundation creasing like a crumbling wall.

Yu Peng ignored her and continued downstairs.

The woman was not about to let him go. She had worked herself to exhaustion, her mouth practically worn raw, and he was just going to walk away saying he had no money?

What a joke.

"Stop right there! You're not leaving until you pay!" The woman lunged forward and grabbed Yu Peng's clothes.

Yu Peng didn't resist, letting the woman yank his collar.

"I've been doing this for years, and you're the first one trying to get a free ride!"

"I've seen plenty of scoundrels, but you're the first real deadbeat I've met."

"Why don't you ask around who runs this place? Believe it or not, I can make a call and have you carried out of here... Ugh!"

A rain of blood mixed with fragments splattered the wall, dyeing the stairwell crimson!

Yu Peng slowly retracted the "long sword" from his head.

Blood and debris still clung to his face as he disdainfully glanced at the woman's corpse.

"Finally, some peace!"

Back Street.

"Forget it, I won't look anymore. I'll put this mission aside for now."

Li Ran had searched from noon until four in the afternoon without finding a single clue.

The Back Street area was a maze of complex terrain, with many dark alleys and densely packed single-story houses. Finding the killer here was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Moreover, as they searched deeper, they discovered that many original residents lived in this area.

The neighborhood wasn't empty; people simply didn't come out much during the day.

If night fell, this street would be swarming with monsters!

As the sky slowly darkened, continuing the search would put them in grave danger.

"What about you? Aren't you going back?" Li Ran looked at Lu Zhaohui, who was still following him.

After investigating the crime scene, Lu Zhaohui had returned and even helped search for clues about the killer.

"Uh... um, can I borrow 10 points? I want to buy some food to stock up. I'll pay you back after I complete my guidance mission."

Lu Zhaohui lowered his head, fiddling with his index fingers, his body shifting nervously.

Li Ran was exasperated but, considering he had helped search for the killer all afternoon, he transferred 10 points to him.

Li Ran advised, "10 points, if you spend it sparingly, should last you three days. Don't just try to hide; complete your guidance mission as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll follow the outline you gave me to win the girl over."

Lu Zhaohui was a bit simple and naive, but he was a decent person.

It wasn't that Li Ran was stingy by only giving him 10 points.

He wasn't a philanthropist himself, and besides, if they were short on points at a critical moment, it could cost them their lives.

The sky was getting late, and Li Ran needed to go home to cook for his wife and son.

On his way back, Li Ran passed a beauty salon.

A woman inside the salon caught his eye.

She had pearly white teeth and bright eyes, exuding an alluring charm.

Li Ran stopped at the entrance of the beauty salon, gazing at the enchanting woman reapplying her makeup inside.

(Beauty Salon Manager: Yang Baobao, Real Name: Yang Shuo)

(A-Class Mental Infector)

(Ghost Power: 800)

Just as Li Ran wanted to see the subsequent prompts, the woman in the shop turned her head sharply toward the door.

Outside the door, however, Li Ran's figure had vanished.

"Strange, I thought someone was standing at the door just now?"

The woman was merely a little puzzled, but she didn't dwell on it, continuing to touch up her makeup in the mirror.

At the same time, in the shadows of a distant wall corner, Li Ran's figure slowly emerged along the wall.

He took an ID card out of his portable space.

The name on the ID card was clearly Yang Shuo.

"That seductive woman is also named Yang Shuo?"

The woman had a perfect figure, a tall posture, graceful curves, an exquisite face, and fair skin; from any angle, she was a flawless woman.

This ID card had been found under a leisure chair in the residential complex, and the Golden Finger prompt read: (Male ID card: There is a beauty shop on the Back Street of Happy Home; you can find the person on the ID card there. Additionally, this item can be used as a bargaining chip.)

Yang Baobao?

Yang Shuo, male?

The specialty of a certain Southeast Asian country from his past life instantly flashed through Li Ran's mind.

An A-rank Spirit Infection Entity, 800 Ghost Power!

"This guy is even stronger than Wang Gan?"

Throughout this day, Li Ran's sense of crisis had climbed to yet another height.

First there was the S-rank Grandma Mi, then the low-key and powerful bartender, and now he had seen a terrifying transgender person!

Li Ran glanced at his own attributes and gave a wry, bitter smile: "If I can't afford to provoke them, can't I at least hide from them?"

Ghost Power: 380
Agility: 70
Strength: 70
Physique: 50
Points: 1300
Active Skills: [Shadow Escape], [Shadow Assault], [Blood Sickle Flying Blade]
Passive Skills: Thunder Mark, Focus

"If it weren't getting dark, this mission would be worth attempting."

He had originally planned to include the beauty shop, but he had been delayed all afternoon by the mission to find the real culprit.

Once night fell, even with his Golden Finger, he had no confidence at all.

"Deng Zhiwei once said his master was a very beautiful woman who had a hobby of collecting human faces and even ordered him to dispose of the corpses..."

"Looking at it this way, Yang Shuo must be Deng Zhiwei's master at the beauty shop."

"No wonder that face of his looked so strange."

Li Ran couldn't put his finger on what was wrong, but at first glance, it just felt off.

It was like a plastic, artificial face—fake at first sight.

It was just a pity that Deng Zhiwei had been turned into that ghostly state by Yang Shuo.

Li Ran looked up at the horizon.

The sunset glow on the horizon was exceptionally red, like fresh blood.

Returning to Building No. 1, downstairs.

Li Ran repeated his old trick, using Shadow Escape to head upstairs.

At his front door, Li Ran stopped in his tracks.

In the past, whenever he came home, opening the door meant being met with a chilling gust of wind or a pair of demonic eyes.

This time, returning home, Li Ran felt an unusual warmth.

The scent of a home-cooked meal drifted through the air.

Li Ran's nose twitched, and he walked into the kitchen in surprise.

Inside the kitchen, a beautiful back was busy at work.

Her hair was tied up high, revealing a long, fair swan-like neck, and a cartoon apron cinched her small waist to the size of an A4 sheet of paper. A few beads of sweat clung to her stunning profile. At the other pot, she picked up a spoon, scooped up a bit of the beef brisket stew broth, and carefully brought it to her lips, gently sipping...

"So beautiful."

Li Ran was completely stunned.

"Ah?"

Su Bingyao was startled; she had been so engrossed in her work that she hadn't heard Li Ran enter the room at all.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she pouted, muttering, "How long have you been standing behind me?"

"Just a moment. You looked so focused, I didn't have the heart to disturb you."

Li Ran lifted the two bags of groceries and said, "Didn't we agree that I would do the cooking?"

"You work so hard outside, and since I'm just idling at home, it's nice for me to cook once in a while."

Su Bingyao's smile was exceptionally sweet today, and she seemed to be in an unusually good mood.

"Alright then, I'll do the dishes later."

As he spoke, Li Ran began placing the groceries he had bought today into the refrigerator in an orderly fashion.

"I'm going to go check on our son first."

"He went out to play this afternoon, but he didn't seem happy when he got back. You should go see what's wrong."

"Oh, okay."

Compared to the last two days, Li Ran could clearly feel a significant shift in Su Bingyao's attitude toward him.

He wondered if it was the result of yesterday's hypnosis, which might have helped ease some of her inner turmoil.

However, Li Ran was also well aware that until the prank text messages were resolved, there would always be a knot in Su Bingyao's heart.

He arrived at Li Ziyang's room.

Li Ziyang's head was split open, and a massive ghostly hand was protruding from his neck, playing with the wooden rocking horse Li Ran had given him yesterday.

In the past, seeing a sight like this would have likely left Li Ran drenched in a cold sweat.

But now, he could easily overpower his son with one hand, so what was there to fear?

Li Ran walked over, shoved the ghostly hand back into his son's body, and then pushed the two halves of his son's drooping head back together.

Although a crack remained, he looked much more presentable than before.

"Son, what's wrong? Who upset you?"

Li Ziyang threw the wooden rocking horse onto the floor, and two lines of tears streamed down his face in grievance.

"Tell Daddy, Daddy will definitely see justice done for you!" Li Ran pulled Li Ziyang into his arms to comfort him.

"It's Pang Hu... he... he said I'm an unwanted wild child. They stuck chewing gum in my hair, threw my schoolbag around, and even spat on me..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ran's entire face darkened.