The Witness’s Collapse

“I… I can’t breathe…”

Upon hearing this, Lin Ran finally realized she was truly incapable of resisting. He quickly released her and reverted to his human form.

However, as the girl named Zhou Qingqing clearly saw Lin Ran’s face, the terror etched on her features intensified dramatically.

“You…! It’s you! Don’t come near me, I’ll call the police… I’ll repor—”

She let out a shriek, turning to flee deeper into the warehouse.

“Go ahead and report it. If you could, I’d want to call the police myself. Anyway, I’m taking all this stuff, and if you don’t explain things clearly, don’t blame me for taking all the food and drink and leaving you here.”

Lin Ran remained completely unperturbed, and after speaking, he took the dagger and began moving items.

He then summoned Vera, who used her silken threads to restrain the woman named Zhou Qingqing.

This action, however, caused the atmosphere to shift abruptly.

Zhou Qingqing’s legs buckled under her terror, and she collapsed to the ground, catching even Vera off guard.

Her body trembled violently as she pleaded, “Don’t kill me… please don’t kill me… I didn’t see anything… I don’t know anything…”

Lin Ran was utterly bewildered.

‘What in the world is going on? Why is she acting as if I’m some heinous villain?’

‘Why is this woman reacting more dramatically than if she’d seen a ghost?’

Fortunately, both monster girls understood him, and they immediately came forward to assess the situation.

Lin Ran, for his part, activated his mind-reading ability at once, eager to uncover the reason for her intense fear.

It turned out, however, that this girl was truly… consistent, both inside and out.

[Don’t kill me… don’t kill me…]

[I must get out alive, get my phone… Xia Li, just wait, you’re my only friend, I’ll definitely get justice for you!]

[Damn it… why did it have to be Lin Ran!]

‘So that’s it. She actually knows me and Xia Li?’

Lin Ran’s brow furrowed slightly.

He conceded that he was a moderately well-known handsome guy in school, so it was normal for girls to recognize him.

Xia Li, moreover, had been crowned campus belle for two consecutive years, making her practically a household name throughout the school.

‘But if she’s connecting Xia Li and me…’

‘The only reason someone would be this terrified…’

Lin Ran covered the distance in a few swift strides, arriving at the entrance of the convenience store.

It directly faced their dormitory building.

It even directly faced Zhang Wei’s dorm room.

This meant that, if the timing was right, she could have perfectly witnessed Xia Li entering the dorm, followed by his own appearance.

And after that, Xia Li had never been seen again.

‘…No wonder she’s so afraid of me.’

‘It turns out she was a witness to that murder.’

‘In that case—’

A subtle curve appeared on Lin Ran’s lips.

‘It’s time to put this to good use.’

He first went outside the warehouse, then, after returning to his dorm, he teleported to the adjacent phone repair shop.

As expected, several abandoned phones were still there, all with ample battery life.

He casually picked one up and returned to the convenience store.

In front of Zhou Qingqing, he nonchalantly placed the phone on a prominent shelf, feigning indifference.

Then—

“Master—come here, come here, can I eat this? Yes, this one, the words on it say… Mentos…?”

“You’re drinking cola, aren’t you? If you eat that now, you’ll explode!”

“Ah!!! That’s terrifying, I won’t eat it, I won’t eat it!”

Indeed, he had deliberately had Lim call him away, creating the illusion that he had forgotten the phone.

As predicted, it wasn’t long before his phone received a message.

[O-God Master]: “Everyone, listen to me! That Lin Ran, the famous one from school, he killed Xia Li!”

[O-God Master]: “I saw it with my own eyes! He’s a psychopathic murderer! Everyone must avenge Xia Li!”

[O-God Master]: “And he has many monsters with him! Everyone must be careful!”

This was likely the QQ username of the phone’s previous owner, which he had just picked up.

Zhou Qingqing hadn’t even dared to switch to her own account, fearing she would be traced.

‘However…’

‘This was precisely the effect Lin Ran desired.’

It wasn’t even noon yet, and many students hadn’t fully recovered from the second wave of attacks.

Consequently, very few people replied to her message.

Moreover, the vast majority of those who did respond were calm individuals who had survived the apocalypse and possessed a survivor’s mindset.

[302-Wang Pangzi]: “Seriously, are you an idiot? Nobody can leave their dorms, so what did you ‘see with your own eyes’? Are you dreaming?”

[Class 4-Qi Xiaoyu]: “Revenge and all that… are you serious? It’s the apocalypse now, who cares about that? If someone’s killed, they’re killed…”

[Student Council Member-Chen Jing]: “Student, if you’re facing any difficulties, you can tell everyone, but please don’t fabricate such alarmist false information. Everyone’s time is precious! If it happens again, I will mute you!”

As expected, the survivors didn’t disappoint him; they were all intelligent and wouldn’t be fooled by such baseless claims.

Even though what Zhou Qingqing said was indeed the truth.

‘Well then, it’s time for the next act.’

“Master, that woman is so annoying, and she’s another mouth to feed! I’m not full! I’m not full!! You’re adopting her, I’m going to throw a tantrum!”

“If Master can’t bring himself to do it, I’ll go eat her!”

Lim stood with her hands on her hips, cheeks puffed out, uttering the most cruel words in the sweetest, most adorable voice.

However, her “cool” demeanor lasted less than three seconds; immediately after speaking, she glanced at Lin Ran with anticipation, then pointed to the lines he had just written on a slip of paper, her face beaming with eagerness.

Her expression seemed to ask: [How was it? Was my acting good? Hurry and praise me!]

Lin Ran, with a helpless sigh, patted her head as a sign of approval, then resumed his performance.

“It’s fine, we have a convenience store now; one extra mouth won’t make a difference.”

“Ehh~~~ then why don’t we just knock her out? And isn’t human blood a raw ingredient for Sister Vera’s potions?”

Lim drew out her words, flashing an innocent yet wicked smile.

“Yes, but we’re reluctant to draw blood from Master Lin Ran. If we had another human… it would indeed be an excellent source of raw material.”

Vera calmly chimed in from the side.

Watching these two little devils become increasingly immersed in their act, Lin Ran was on the verge of bursting into laughter.

Zhou Qingqing, by this point, was likely on the verge of tears from sheer terror.

‘In that case, I, the big villain, can’t fall behind!’

“Vera, proceed. Don’t hurt her, then tie her up and hang her in the wooden cabin. We’ll draw about 100 milliliters of blood daily.”

Lin Ran issued his final command.

“No!! I’ll fight you all!!!”

At these words, Zhou Qingqing finally broke. She shrieked, grabbed a wooden chair, and charged out, intent on making a desperate last stand.

However, what confronted her was the massive treasure chest.

It had been moved to the warehouse entrance at some unknown point.

Her momentum was too great; she couldn’t stop in time, crashing into the treasure chest with both herself and the chair.

The lid of the chest was flung open by the impact, and a dark red tongue shot out, coiling around Zhou Qingqing, who was closest to it.

“A Mimic, just as I suspected…”

Lin Ran sighed in relief, grateful he hadn’t let Lim test it.

If an outsider tested it and it turned out to be a powerful Mimic, they would still have a chance to escape.

This was also Zhou Qingqing’s first use.

Yet, it seemed this Mimic was rather weak; after coiling around Zhou Qingqing, it struggled for a long time without managing to drag her into its mouth.

‘Since this Mimic is of ordinary strength…’

‘Then, the climax of this act is about to begin!’

“Look out!”

Lin Ran roared, lunged forward, and shoved Zhou Qingqing out of the way.

He, in her stead, was thoroughly ensnared by the tongue and dragged into the treasure chest.

“Master!” Lim’s cry of alarm rang out, and she immediately rushed forward, repeatedly striking the Mimic.

Inside, however, only slimy, squelching sounds could be heard; no other noise emerged.

Lim burst into tears on cue, while Vera began preparing to pry open the chest, aiming to rescue Lin Ran as quickly as possible.

As for Zhou Qingqing, she needed to witness this very scene for her second purpose to be fulfilled.

Zhou Qingqing, sprawled on the ground, stared wide-eyed at the scene unfolding before her.

The murderer in her eyes had actually… been eaten by a monster to save her?

Her mind went blank, utterly unable to comprehend what had just transpired.

‘Why?’

‘Wasn’t he a murderer? Wasn’t he going to turn me into a blood-drawing machine?’

‘Why did he save me? Did I misunderstand him?’

‘These two monster girls… are they sad?’

‘Was it… was it me who harmed Lin Ran… and made them sad?’

‘The distrust of her classmates, Lin Ran’s selfless rescue, the genuine sorrow of the monster girls…’

‘Could it be that I was truly wrong…?’

A myriad of questions swam through her mind.

Her entire worldview, in that very moment, collapsed with a resounding crash.

Meanwhile, inside the treasure chest, Lin Ran had already drawn his Favorability Pistol, ready for battle at any moment.

“Since I’m already here, allow me to take a look at your true form, Mount Lu.” (TL Note: 庐山真面目 (Lúshān zhēnmiànmù) is a Chinese idiom meaning ‘the true face of Mount Lu,’ referring to seeing someone’s true colors or the real situation, often used when something is mysterious or hidden.)

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