"Grilled squid! Fresh off the grill! Tasty and cheap! As much as you want!"
As Li Ran passed a grilled-squid stall, he saw the owner stretch out eight squid-like tentacles. Two gripped cleavers, another two held spatulas, and as he called out to customers, he chopped off one of his own tentacles and deftly laid it on the hot plate.
"Sizzle, sizzle!"
It cooked up beautifully, crisp on the outside and tender within.
Even more astonishingly, the severed tentacle slowly grew back.
"Holy crap, what a genius. A zero-cost business venture." Li Ran was astounded.
The people on the street seemed not to notice anything unusual. What looked bizarre to Li Ran appeared perfectly normal to them.
As he passed a barbershop, the barber let out a loud "Wah-yah-yah!" and transformed into a crab covered in scissor-wielding limbs. With a series of snips, he finished a man's haircut in no time.
The speed was enough to make anyone's jaw drop.
"It's lively up ahead."
Li Ran spotted a packed outdoor restaurant. Every table inside and out was occupied, and the dishes were being served at a blistering pace.
He glanced inside without thinking and nearly died on the spot.
A huge spiderweb hung from the restaurant ceiling. Several waiters with human heads and spider bodies scurried rapidly across it, carrying plates and delivering each dish precisely to the tables.
The sight made Li Ran's scalp crawl, while the diners chatted and laughed as if nothing were amiss.
"When filth becomes the norm, purity becomes a crime. The world has changed, yet you're the one taking the pills." Li Ran shook his head helplessly and kept walking, pretending he hadn't seen a thing.
He activated his Divine Sense again, and waves of mental force quickly spread across the entire street.
Soon,