Bai Yu hadn’t expected the Fifth Floor Female Ghost’s nose to be so sharp. She’d only moved against the Black Shadow, hadn’t even used that much power, and the ghost had sensed her and come hunting.
But it wasn’t a big problem. The star of tonight’s show was still Lu Liangting.
She could say with certainty now that Lu Liangting’s movements had long been grasped by that group of lunatics. They absolutely wouldn’t stand by and watch him die. The fact that no one had made a move tonight likely meant someone had already set their sights on him and was preparing to strike first.
Trying to make the first move on Lu Liangting at this time meant the person behind it was under considerable pressure.
If she wasn’t mistaken, that person was the one behind Li Nan.
Some clues were already visible from Li Nan himself. The Black Shadow on him was definitely not something he’d acquired on his own.
For a waste like Li Nan to have a Black Shadow ghostly monster parasitizing him could only mean the person behind him controlled something even stronger. It had likely been brought back from some Mission Location.
But that raised another question. If everyone here had only been reborn a few days ago, like him, then how, in such a short time—without even fully adapting to their identity—had this person managed to enter a Mission Location, bring out the ghostly monster inside so smoothly, and cultivate Li Nan as a dog?
Even that group of lunatics couldn’t possibly have such high efficiency.
So the answer was clear. Among all the Game Participants, a portion of them must have entered earlier.
Entered earlier, but bound at the same time. During this “Preparation Time,” they couldn’t make a move against the protagonist or anyone around him, couldn’t alter any development of the world, until the game officially began.
A bold guess: the game officially started on the very day she was reborn.
Meaning it had only been a few days. To move against Lu Liangting in such a short time, the other party’s confidence was substantial.
If nothing went wrong, tonight was the key moment.
Bai Yu was truly curious. These lunatics—Wu Yiqi, Daddy, Ming Qi, and the rest—had all been men in their last life. After becoming women in this one, just how brilliant would their methods be for winning over Lu Liangting, a man?
They certainly wouldn’t be that brilliant. This wasn’t their field at all.
Bai Yu vanished after repelling the Female Ghost. Lu Liangting hesitated, wanting to speak. Once again, he hadn’t managed to get a single word out.
“Mingyue, let’s go. Back to the room.”
Zhao Mingyue was also in a daze. She knew Bai Yu’s strength was formidable, but every time she saw Bai Yu act, a strange feeling arose in her heart. Those slender arms and legs—how could they hold so much power?
The Fifth Floor Female Ghost wasn’t weak either, yet she’d seemed to have no room to even fight back.
Ah, just how many Quests would she have to complete before she could overpower her in strength?
A long and arduous road.
But the good news was, although Bai Yu was a ghost, she wasn’t like ordinary ghosts—not the invisible, intangible kind. Just like that fight earlier. What ghost fought with fists, blow for blow?
Zhao Mingyue was a little distracted. Bai Yu thought she was scared and offered a word of comfort.
“Nothing will happen tonight. I’m here for everything.”
“Mm… okay.” Zhao Mingyue instinctively wanted to call out “Little Sister Yu,” but decided against it.
She could call her that tomorrow night during the shower. No rush.
“Bai Yu, what exactly happened tonight? Why do you feel so strange?”
“It’s nothing. It had little to do with us to begin with.”
Bai Yu suspected that Li Nan killing Zhao Mingyue was only secondary. The main thing was how Li Nan would deal with Lu Liangting. And when he made his move against Lu Liangting, when would the other player jump out?
In the corridor.
Bai Yu had vanished, and the Fifth Floor Female Ghost hadn’t come back down.
With two powerful enemies suddenly gone, the Black Shadow had only one thought at that moment: run.
And he happened to be right behind Lu Liangting. The moment he moved, Lu Liangting reacted immediately. Seeing that this thing was charging at him again, he threw a punch without hesitation.
The two continued their struggle. The Black Shadow just wanted to end it quickly.
With the Black Shadow helping Li Nan, Lu Liangting was naturally no match for him. He’d completed many Quests, gaining considerable improvements in all aspects of his physical fitness. And Li Nan, parasitized by the Black Shadow, had also received a boost in strength.
Pushed back all the way to the corridor area, Lu Liangting had no intention of running.
Li Nan had come to trouble Zhao Mingyue. Zhao Mingyue, a Weak Maiden, was living here alone. If he didn’t deal with Li Nan today, Zhao Mingyue’s situation would only become more dangerous.
Unfortunately, his strength was still too weak. After several exchanges, the Black Shadow’s hands had him tightly bound.
Just as the Black Shadow opened its bloody maw wide, about to bite down, a young woman’s voice suddenly reached Lu Liangting’s ears.
“Evil Spirits Disperse!”
A wooden statue was thrown, landing precisely on the Black Shadow’s head. The Black Shadow let out a strange cry and vanished in an instant. Having lost his parasitic Black Shadow, Li Nan’s eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the ground.
Lu Liangting lay on the floor. Looking up, he saw the young woman’s delicate face.
The young woman was half-crouched beside Lu Liangting. She wore a loose tracksuit, her black hair tied into two buns on either side with red string. Her lightly made-up face held no expression, slightly aloof. Combined with her overall bearing, she gave off a clean, efficient impression, with a touch of Daoist charm.
“Are you alright?”
Seeing that Lu Liangting still had strength, the young woman stood and extended a hand to him.
Lu Liangting took her hand and sat up. Looking at Li Nan collapsed on the ground, he let out a long breath. “Thank you.”
“No need. I simply sensed the presence of a ghostly monster and came to investigate.” The young woman’s cherry lips parted slightly.
Lu Liangting turned to look at her again, something clicking. “You’re… Teacher Chen’s younger sister?”
The young woman attended the same School as him and he’d seen her many times, though they’d never spoken.
“I am. You’re my sister’s student. Your name is Lu Liangting. I know you.”
“I really owe you thanks this time. May I ask your name?”
“Chen Yun.”
~
~
“Everyone, I think that if you don’t change your way of thinking now, it will be too late for everything.” Standing on the roof of a house at the back of the Alley, the speaker wore a Rabbit Mask on her face.
As her voice rang out, several figures standing or sitting in the Alley simultaneously turned their heads to look.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m here to save you. Well, to be precise, to save a portion of you.”
“You still have doubts about this Quest, don’t you? Why you’ve been turned into women, why you must make a man fall in love with you, and how exactly you’re supposed to do it.”
“Don’t be so quick to attack.” Seeing someone in the Alley rise to their feet, Rabbit Mask’s tone remained unchanged. “Rather than standing here passively waiting to die, how about hearing my opinion?”
“You need to shift your thinking a bit. Especially your tendency to kill people at the drop of a hat. This world is very special. If you kill people, you’ll die even more miserably.”
“And killing won’t bring you closer to Lu Liangting. Haven’t you ever heard the saying? Feelings are cultivated. Once they sprout and are managed properly, they become like a boulder rolling down a mountain—unstoppable.”
“Oh, right. Haven’t you noticed? Other than Lu Liangting, have you found a second Quest target at all?”
Beneath the Rabbit Mask, her eyes narrowed. Whether it was a smile or some kind of signal was unclear.
~
~
