That afternoon, at the City Guard compound.
Three off-road vehicles slowly rolled to a stop. Shen Qingqiu led Jiang Lan and the others out, while the other two squads climbed out of their vehicles one after another.
With the mission complete, it was time to tally their gains.
Back in the small building, everyone placed their haul on the table.
Once they finished counting the spoils, Shen Qingqiu nodded and said:
"Thanks for your hard work today, everyone. Take two days off. We'll meet at dawn three days from now and head out of the city."
Normally, they got three days of rest after an expedition outside the city.
But they were a little short-handed lately, so everyone had to work a bit harder.
"Yes!" Everyone knew the situation and readily agreed.
Only after settling everything did Shen Qingqiu leave the City Guard compound with Jiang Lan and drive home.
In the car, Shen Qingqiu kept turning to glance at Jiang Lan, making him rather uncomfortable.
He touched his face.
"Auntie, is there something on my face?"
"Pfft..." Shen Qingqiu couldn't hold back his laughter. "Look at yourself. Your face is all mottled."
Jiang Lan looked up at the rearview mirror.
The blood on his face had dried into crusty patches.
He really did look a little ridiculous.
His lips twitched, and Jiang Lan looked away.
Shen Qingqiu had been watching Jiang Lan all along.
He grew increasingly certain that the boy had truly changed.
He seemed like a completely different person from before.
A little later, the car stopped in the underground garage.
Shen Qingqiu and Jiang Lan got out one after the other and took the elevator home.
After opening the door, Shen Qingqiu told Jiang Lan:
"Go take a shower. You reek of blood."
Jiang Lan nodded.
He really did need a shower.
After changing his shoes, he headed straight into the bathroom, stripped off his combat uniform, and turned on the shower.
Warm water washed the blood and grime off his body.
After a long shower and finishing his personal hygiene routine, Jiang Lan stood before the bathroom's full-length mirror.
The man in the mirror stood six feet tall and was ridiculously handsome-a walking bundle of sex appeal.
"Tsk..."
Jiang Lan smacked his lips as he looked into the mirror.
Not bad. A little less handsome than I was in my last life, but still passable.
Even if I really can't become a martial artist, these looks should be more than enough to debut as an idol.
Moreover, thanks to his improved physical fitness, Jiang Lan didn't have a scrap of excess fat. Sleek muscles defined his body, with eight clearly outlined abs.
His gaze traveled downward to a massive python!
Nice, nice, nice.
Six feet tall, seven inches long.
The standard package for a novel protagonist, you could say.
Jiang Lan towel-dried his medium-length hair, put on a bathrobe, and stepped out of the bathroom.
Hearing the noise, Shen Qingqiu glanced toward the bathroom door and saw Jiang Lan fresh from his shower.
He immediately lowered his head, a faint blush creeping onto his lovely face.
Jiang Lan... has his figure gotten even better?
No, no. I can't let my imagination run wild!
"Ahem..." Shen Qingqiu cleared his throat twice. "Now that you've showered, go rest in your room. We'll eat in a bit."
"Okay." Unaware of Shen Qingqiu's inner turmoil, Jiang Lan nodded and returned to his room.
Now that he had taken care of his personal hygiene, Auntie naturally needed to do the same.
Lying on his bed, Jiang Lan checked his panel again.
His next upgrade required two portions of blood essence.
But his strength had improved considerably, and an Ironback Wolf posed no threat to him now.
As long as he found the right opportunity, even twenty portions would be easy to obtain, let alone two.
He could leave the city again the day after tomorrow. He would see whether an opportunity came up then.
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That evening.
Jiang Lan helped set out the dishes, then sat down to eat with Shen Qingqiu.
After only a few bites, Shen Qingqiu suddenly asked:
"Did you really kill an Ironback Wolf today?"
"Yeah." Jiang Lan nodded. "I just got lucky."
Shen Qingqiu asked again:
"Tell Auntie the truth. Was that Ironback Wolf really injured?"
Jiang Lan kept his head lowered, his eyes flickering.
Did he spot something suspicious after all?
It makes sense. Auntie is a meridian opening martial artist, after all. His powers of observation are far beyond an ordinary person's.
But even if the highest authority in the world showed up now, he would stick to the same story.
"Yes. It had probably just fought another ferocious beast. The Ironback Wolf was badly injured."
As though remembering something, Jiang Lan reached into his pocket and pulled out a diamond-shaped Beast Core.
"Auntie, how much could this sell for?"
Shen Qingqiu recognized the Ironback Wolf's Beast Core in Jiang Lan's hand at a glance.
"You're pretty clever. You knew to dig out the Beast Core."
"Uh..."
Jiang Lan fell silent for a moment.
I'm inexperienced, not a moron.
"It's a shame you didn't have a Collection Vial, though. Otherwise, you could have brought back its blood essence too. How about this? I'll get you a few Collection Vials later, just in case."
Jiang Lan's eyes lit up.
Collection Vials sound great.
With those, I won't have to gnaw on hearts anymore.
He certainly had no desire to experience that taste again.
"Oh, right. You were asking about the price." Shen Qingqiu came back to the topic. "An Ironback Wolf Beast Core is worth around a thousand points."
"Then, Auntie, could you help me sell it?"
Shen Qingqiu thought for a moment. "I happen to be going to the market tomorrow to buy a few things. I'll take you with me."
Jiang Lan had no objections and readily agreed.
They chatted a little more, and only when dinner was over did Shen Qingqiu suddenly speak again.
"I keep feeling that you're a little different from before."
"Really?" Jiang Lan's heart tightened, but he maintained a calm expression. "Maybe getting injured helped me figure things out."
"Figure what out?"
Jiang Lan smiled.
"I can't keep being dead weight. I have to rely on myself. You already work so hard, Auntie. I can't keep adding to your burden."
Shen Qingqiu's gaze softened, and an indescribable emotion entered his expression as he looked at Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan said nothing more. He cleared the table, washed the dishes, and returned to his room.
Only after lying down on his bed did Jiang Lan glance toward the door, still shaken.
Shen Qingqiu had indeed noticed something was off.
It seemed he would have to keep his behavior and habits as close to the original owner's as possible from now on, lest he arouse further suspicion.
Of course, he still had to be himself for the most part.
He simply couldn't make the changes too obvious. He had to let Shen Qingqiu gradually get used to them, rather than notice everything at once.
The next day.
Shen Qingqiu emerged from his room in casual clothes.
Looking at Shen Qingqiu, Jiang Lan's eyes lit up.
Shen Qingqiu's casual outfit lacked the sharp, dashing air of his combat uniform, but gave him a gentler look.
A white T-shirt, jeans, and long waves of hair spilling over his shoulders showed off every curve of his figure.
Jiang Lan quickly looked away, silently warning himself not to commit a crime.
Noticing Jiang Lan's gaze, Shen Qingqiu's lips curved slightly upward.
"Let's go."
They left home and drove to the trading market.
Though called a market, it was actually the base city's largest trading hub for ferocious beast materials.
The market teemed with people. Stalls lined both sides of the streets, alongside shops selling all sorts of goods.
Anything related to ferocious beasts could find both buyers and sellers here.
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