I've wanted to punch you for ages! (Bonus chapter for Ghost Valley's Sacred Words' generous tip)

Nanmen Yingyun and Wen Xuanjing returned to the school building base first, still wearing their school uniforms, to report to Si Weizhe.

Aside from Bai Song, who was still out gathering information, the other four were all present.

Of course, there was also a ghost floating around the room, rummaging through everything for information.

Although the police had confiscated the files on Li Douyu, a few things had been left behind. Zhang Youzhi couldn't open the files bearing Li Douyu's name, so he could only flicker anxiously beside them.

He guessed these people were the "love experts and friendship experts" the White Jade Capital Company had assigned to Li Douyu.

But why weren't the four of them talking about Li Douyu? Why were they fixated on human trafficking instead?

Was the White Jade Capital Company really this unprofessional? None of them were doing their actual jobs. His 13,888 yuan had gone straight down the drain. Number Two was a total fraud.

Soon, Zhang Youzhi sensed something strange in their conversation.

They seemed to be deliberately avoiding any mention of Li Douyu.

"What did that girl do? Why do all four of them seem so scared of her?" Zhang Youzhi wondered.

His dear Douyu was so adorable, so kind, so innocent. How could she possibly make these top-tier experts so wary?

Unable to open the files, Zhang Youzhi could only float above their heads and listen to their conversation, hoping to catch something useful.

"Ugh... this is so annoying. All we caught were small fry." Nanmen Yingyun buried her chin in her chest, looking miserable.

"Don't rush it. Here, have some milk tea." Gu Yu moved the laptop off her lap and onto the table, then handed the thoroughly frustrated girl a cup of milk tea.

"Thanks, Gu Yu. You're the best." Nanmen Yingyun snuggled up against her, rubbing herself against her with a blissful expression.

Si Weizhe turned to Wen Xuanjing. "What's going on? Neither of you can find the traffickers? The police have already busted four small gangs, but they still haven't found the missing children."

Wen Xuanjing sighed. "I thought we both made pretty convincing students. I don't know why they aren't taking the bait."

Si Weizhe looked puzzled. "Which of you is the rod, and which is the bait?"

"Cherry's the bait, but we haven't caught any fish," Wen Xuanjing answered.

Si Weizhe sneaked a glance at Yingyun, who was rubbing her chest against Gu Yu as she snuggled into her arms. After a moment's thought, he said, "The bait's too big. Switch tonight. You be the bait."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Wen Xuanjing replied.

"By the way, what's happening with Li Douyu?" Wen Xuanjing asked curiously.

Floating above the table, Zhang Youzhi instantly perked up and listened intently.

"She should still be staying in the attic across from the police station. She's been pretty safe lately, so we don't need to worry about her. Let's find the abducted children first," Si Weizhe replied with a frown.

Zhang Youzhi didn't listen to anything else. He had the crucial information: Li Douyu was living in the attic across from the police station!

In a flash, he shot through the roof and rose a hundred meters into the air. Locking onto the direction of the police station, he hurtled toward it at supersonic speed.

What did it mean to be free of all desires?

This was what it meant.

The attic was empty, but Li Douyu was definitely staying there. He found her luggage in the room, along with traces of her daily life.

For instance, the exploded pot in the kitchen. The moment he saw that pot, Zhang Youzhi was practically certain Li Douyu lived here.

That enormous chainsaw was still sitting on the coffee table. Zhang Youzhi was the one who had taught her the theory of using a chainsaw for self-defense.

The question was, where was she?

As luck would have it, Zhang Youzhi happened to run into Number Two, who had come to pay a visit.

"Why are you here? Weren't you swimming in the Songjiang River when I scanned for souls this morning?" Number Two asked in surprise upon spotting the murky black ghost.

Zhang Youzhi was speechless.

What did he mean, swimming in the Songjiang River? I'd been lamenting over its waters that all things pass like this flowing stream. I might be dead, but my pretentious literary streak certainly wasn't.

"I came to find her. Why are you here too? Actually, perfect timing. Explain what's going on with your company's friendship experts and love experts.

"Not one of them is paying any attention to Li Douyu. Is that how they do their jobs?

"Then I'm requesting an unconditional refund. It hasn't even been seven days since I died. I remember the contract included a seven-day unconditional refund clause."

"You've got some nerve!" Number Two suddenly pointed at the lump of shadow and launched into a tirade.

Zhang Youzhi looked utterly baffled.

"Do you know what Li Douyu has done?"

"What did she do?" Zhang Youzhi asked tentatively.

Number Two began a lengthy rant:

"As early as the fourth day after you left-the day after you threw your phone into the Crane River-she guessed that the person chatting with her wasn't really you. She fished for information, confirmed her suspicions straightaway, then turned the tables and started stringing our chat operator along."

"Our chat operator didn't realize they'd been exposed until over two weeks later. They're still shut away in the counseling room, refusing to accept that the target played them for half a month. They spend every day threatening to kill themselves."

"Uh." Zhang Youzhi was at a loss for words as Number Two continued.

"And what the hell was that profile you gave us on Li Douyu? [Kind] [Ditzy] [Gullible] [Easily fooled] [No sense of direction] [Afraid to travel far alone] [Timid and afraid of the dark] [Can't lie] [Shy] [Afraid of strangers] [Compassionate] [Can't act]... Was even one of those accurate?"

"They weren't?" Zhang Youzhi asked cautiously.

"Accurate, my ass! Kind? Does kindness mean sticking a knife into a thug's throat and slicing it backhanded until his esophagus spills out? Her throat-slitting technique put even yours to shame."

"And she can't lie? During police questioning, she didn't let a single word slip. She fabricated a flawless account of the crime scene, with logic so clear it scared even me. It was the first time I'd seen someone lie without so much as blinking. She'd even befriended some of the officers beforehand, stirring up such outrage in the station that they had to hurry up and release her."

"And she has no sense of direction? She traveled alone from LN City to Songjiang City, a thousand li away, rented a place and settled in at top speed, then figured out the city's trapezoidal layout along the river in less than two hours. For three days straight, she went around posting missing-person notices in streets and alleys all by herself, choosing locations based on pedestrian traffic."

"And she can't act? Guess how our five top-tier experts got arrested. She took advantage of her looks, said just four sentences, and got all five experts rounded up by the police. If I hadn't come to rescue them, they'd probably still be eating prison food."

"And she's timid and afraid of the dark? Every night, Li Douyu shakes off our surveillance and searches the city's streets and alleys alone. To find you, she heads straight for the darkest places she can find. You call that timid and afraid of the dark?"

At this point, Number Two's anger boiled over, and a vicious impulse took hold. Number Two reached toward Zhang Youzhi, then opened a palm to reveal a gleaming golden pill.

"Eat this, return to the living, and let me beat you up."

As those words left Number Two's mouth, that anger vanished without a trace, replaced by an eager gaze fixed on the lump that was Zhang Youzhi.

Zhang Youzhi: ...

So all that talk was just to trick me into eating this pill?

"What kind of pill is it?" Zhang Youzhi asked.

"One that brings you back to life. The company's systems aren't complete, so we only barely managed to make this one unfinished pill. Make do with it for now. We'll figure out how to resurrect you completely later."

"How much?" Zhang Youzhi asked warily.

"You're dead. Death wipes out your debts. We won't charge you."

"Really?" Honestly, Zhang Youzhi was tempted. He had thought he was free of all desires, but it turned out that was just his pretentious literary streak acting up. If he saw Li Douyu, he would probably jump higher than anyone.

Being alive really was wonderful.

"Really." Number Two winked at him. That pale face, coupled with those deeply sunken eyes, prompted Zhang Youzhi to ask tentatively:

"The White Jade Capital Company doesn't make people work overtime, right?"

He already understood perfectly well that eating this pill would mean signing himself away.

"The White Jade Capital Company never works overtime. We offer all five social insurance plans, a housing fund, and a year-end bonus. Look at me. I'm brimming with energy." As Number Two spoke, a yawn slipped out.

Zhang Youzhi: ...

"I'll hold on to the pill for now. I'll take it when I need to."

With that, Zhang Youzhi extended a shadowy tendril and swept the golden pill deep into his spectral form.

Perhaps because of the pill's properties, Zhang Youzhi had known he could touch it from the instant he saw it.

"Hurry up and eat it. I've wanted to punch you for ages," Number Two said sincerely.

"Thanks. I'll think about it some more."