Three Payments for Favors

Beneath the shadows somewhere in the woods.

Watching that cruel scene of him being devoured, Li Ran couldn't help shuddering.

As the saying went, there were gods three feet above your head. You could deceive people, but not Heaven!

Li Ran had witnessed a wicked man get what he deserved.

After hearing the gunshots, Li Ran had used Shadow Escape to approach at once and witnessed the entire process of Xiao Yi's gruesome death.

Why hadn't he saved him?

If it had only been Chen Jiabin, Li Ran could have rescued Xiao Yi with ease.

But with Chen Jiabin and a pack of Cursed Demon Dogs, Li Ran had to consider how strong he really was—and whether he was enough to feed those demon dogs.

Before coming here, he'd been glad he asked Grandpa Ge about some of the rules in the neighborhood.

One of them was: Don't provoke the stray dogs in the neighborhood. They're vicious!

Grandpa Ge had said "they."

And Li Ran had seen them for himself!

Admittedly, his strength was now greater than that of the demonized Chen Jiabin and the Cursed Demon Dogs, but Li Ran didn't think he could take on ten enemies at once.

Xiao Yi had treated his teammates as cannon fodder. How could he have known they'd turn into demons and kill him instead?

If he'd learned about this rule before accepting the mission, he wouldn't have died so horribly.

If Li Ran hadn't asked Grandpa Ge first, he might have accepted the mission too.

"So the mission to drive away the vicious dogs is a death trap. Whoever takes it dies!" Li Ran said, still shaken.

"But why did Chen Jiabin become the leader of those demon dogs?"

Li Ran couldn't understand it.

"Could Chen Jiabin and the Cursed Demon Dogs have been infected by the same virus?"

That was the only explanation Li Ran could think of. Otherwise, there was no way to explain Chen Jiabin's ability to command the dogs.

Of course, there was little in the Weird World that could be explained by science.

In any case, he'd have to watch out for Chen Jiabin from now on.

"Ugh, I've somehow ended up with another enemy."

"Yip~"

Scarlet Iris watched her master imitate her with great seriousness and sighed too, though the sound she made was adorable.

"Come on. I promised to take you for a big massage." Li Ran said.

"Yip?!"

He used Shadow Escape to leave.

Li Ran returned to Back Street.

After visiting once, he was already quite familiar with the place.

He arrived at the Beauty Salon again.

"Welcome!"

"May I ask if you're here for a beauty treatment, sir, or is it for your wife? Our salon is about to celebrate its first anniversary, and everything is 40% off. Miss it, and you'll have to wait another year..."

Li Ran looked at the tall, alluring woman greeting him so warmly.

A terrifying Mental Infector with Mysterious Power greater than Li Ran's, a salon killer who liked collecting women's faces and had indirectly caused Deng Zhiwei's death.

He pointed at the little creature on his shoulder.

"She's here for a beauty treatment."

"Yip?!"

Yang Baobao glanced at the little fox on Li Ran's shoulder, and all the warmth vanished from her face.

"Sir, this isn't a pet shop. For pet grooming, turn right when you leave."

With that, she couldn't be bothered to entertain Li Ran any further and headed into the salon.

Li Ran narrowed his eyes and watched her retreating figure.

(Beauty Salon owner: Yang Baobao, real name: Yang Shuo)

(A-rank Mental Infector)

(Mysterious Power: 800)

(A man with a woman living deep within him.)

(She was obsessed with beautiful appearances, especially the faces of pretty women.)

(She feared having her past exposed. If you found her ID card, you could demand a payment for its return, up to three times.)

Li Ran hadn't been able to make out the prompt clearly last time. Now that he could, his brows rose, and he suddenly found the situation interesting.

Li Ran followed her inside and plopped down on the sofa by the front desk.

"Miss, isn't my pet adorable?" Li Ran lifted Scarlet Iris into his hands and gently stroked her soft fur.

"Yip~" Little Scarlet Iris closed her eyes, thoroughly enjoying it.

"Sir, if you don't leave, don't blame me for being rude." Yang Baobao's expression darkened.

[Mission triggered: The Beauty Salon Owner's Secret]

[Mission reward: Mysterious Power +100, Points +1000]

[This mission contains hidden rewards. The rewards are substantial.]

Hearing the mission-trigger sound, Li Ran continued petting the little fox without the slightest hurry. In his other hand, however, he now held an ID card. With a faint smile, he said, "A few days ago, I was taking a walk in the park when I happened to find an ID card under a bench. The person on it was a man named Yang Shuo. He looked a bit like you. Do you happen to know him?"

At the sound of that name, Yang Baobao's face changed drastically. She transformed into a streak of blood and lunged forward, reaching for the ID card in Li Ran's hand.

"Give it to me!"

Yang Baobao suddenly snarled, her expression vicious. Even her voice had turned rough and masculine.

"Yip!"

Scarlet Iris sensed the threat and immediately transformed into a massive Dark Three-Tailed Fox, shielding Li Ran.

"Damn fox, get out of my way!" Yang Baobao roared. Her arm became a blade wrapped in tentacles and slashed at Scarlet Iris.

Scarlet Iris refused to back down. She unleashed two Rending Claws, and their attacks collided. Yang Baobao staggered back a step, while the Dark Three-Tailed Fox was sent flying several meters.

Li Ran remained seated on the sofa, smiling as he held the ID card that was driving Yang Baobao mad. "If you so much as hurt a single hair on her, I'll make sure your real identity spreads through the entire neighborhood."

"You wouldn't dare!" Yang Baobao snapped.

"Try me," Li Ran replied.

The two faced off. Though Li Ran's Mysterious Power was weaker, he didn't seem intimidated in the slightest.

With the Dark Three-Tailed Fox's imposing presence at his side, Li Ran was being downright brazen.

For an instant, time seemed to stand still, and the atmosphere grew almost suffocating.

In the span of a few seconds, Yang Baobao's expression shifted from anger to struggle, then unwillingness, and finally surrender. Li Ran gaped at how quickly her delicate little face changed. It would be a shame if she didn't become an actress.

After giving in, Yang Baobao forced a strained smile. "Guest, I'll arrange a beauty treatment for your pet right away."

"No need. I'm not in the mood anymore," Li Ran said.

Yang Baobao glared at him. "What do you mean?!"

"I'm in a terrible mood now, so you owe me compensation for emotional distress," Li Ran said.

"Fuck you!" Yang Baobao cursed.

She could have just robbed him outright, but she still had to make up an excuse?

Yang Baobao was about to explode with anger, yet there was nothing she could do to him.

This was the internet age. If he posted something on the community forum, her real information would spread throughout the neighborhood.

Then, the identity she'd struggled so hard to hide for so many years would be exposed.

Since childhood, people had pointed at her and called her a pervert. Her relatives and friends were ashamed to even mention her, and her family treated her like a pile of shit.

So she'd severed all ties with her past and moved somewhere unfamiliar.

She'd abandoned her old identity and started over as Yang Baobao.

But this man's appearance had torn open her ugly old scar all over again!

"It depends on how sincere you are. If you manage to put me in a good mood, I'll naturally give this thing back. If you don't, heh, you know what'll happen." Li Ran smiled fearlessly. He wasn't worried that Yang Baobao could do anything to him.

After all, his Golden Finger had said he could "extort" her three times.

He had to admit, sometimes it felt pretty great to act like a bastard.

After all, he wasn't dealing with a human in the first place!