Let’s Remove Them from the Household Register

After the two gambler brothers entered their berserk state, the friends who had been playing mahjong in their house gradually left as well.

“Those two losers, I knew they’d get reported one day.” “They’d better pay me back what they owe before they get taken away.” “What are they gonna pay you back with? Their underwear? Their lives?”

The departing gamblers made sarcastic remarks, not even bothering to close the door that had been forced open.

Seeing the place empty, Su Lai immediately slipped inside.

Granny Xu’s two gambler sons had lost everything. The self-built house was empty, even the household appliances sold off for gambling money. Apart from a gambling table and moldy-smelling pots and pans, almost nothing was left.

With so little furniture, it was easy for Su Lai to search. He first quickly rummaged through the only remaining wardrobe and bedside table. Aside from IOUs, there was nothing inside.

Next, he checked the storage room. A damp, musty smell hit him. Cockroaches scuttled back and forth like they were out shopping as he rummaged through the abandoned items. After Granny Xu left, seeing cockroaches in this self-built house was as normal as breathing.

This house had long rotted away amidst the clatter of mahjong tiles.

Before long, Su Lai pulled out a mildewed, rotten pillow. Inside the pillowcase, he found the household registry, forgotten for years.

The deep red leather cover was wrinkled. Flipping through the pages, no one had ever cancelled the household registration for the deceased head of household, Xu Zhimei. Du Liang and Du Cai, as Xu Zhimei’s sons, had their identity information registered on the pages following hers.

Su Lai originally planned to just tear out the pages with Du Liang and Du Cai’s information. But he hesitated before doing so.

Getting rid of the two gambler sons was Granny Xu’s long-cherished wish. Silently tearing up the registry book here didn’t seem satisfying enough, or dramatic enough.

The person who most wanted to witness the registry being torn up was probably Granny Xu herself, shattered back at the intersection.

Wasn’t Bai Ke saying this contaminated instance world was a big livestream? He’d just have to make an extra trip and make this livestream more entertaining.

He tucked the registry away, grabbed a small stool from beside the gambling table, and sat down at the entrance of the self-built house. Like a rent-collecting old man killing time in the morning, sitting on a small stool at his own doorstep watching the corporate drones rush off to work.

It was really inconvenient without wheels. Su Lai looked in the direction the e-bike had gone. He wondered when “Hot-Teen Ghost” Bai Ke would finish joyriding and come back here…

* * * *

The second use of [Hot-Teen Ghost’s Speed] had kicked in. The self-driving e-bike seemed to have no direction. Bai Ke bumped and jolted his way around most of the urban village.

Behind him, the two gambler brothers on the motorcycle still gave relentless chase. The roar of the engine disturbed residents trying to nap nearby. After the thrill of the speed faded, Bai Ke on the e-bike once again felt the omnipresent stare.

Damn, that uncomfortable, scalp-tingling feeling was back. Bai Ke checked his panel. His stabilized mental stability was starting to drop.

What to do? The berserk gamblers weren’t going to let him off easily. But his [Hot-Teen Ghost] item had limited uses. After this one, only one was left. This game of cat and mouse couldn’t last much longer…

Trapped, Bai Ke started looking around desperately. But there were only the endlessly retreating self-built houses and the omnipresent stares…

Until his eyes swept over the black cat plushie hanging from Su Lai’s handlebars. In a flash, a ridiculous idea popped into Bai Ke’s head.

The boss always carried this plushie around. Although it represented Wang Xiaosi’s identity, since it was an original item from the instance, it must have at least a bit of spiritual power, right?

Deciding to try anything, Bai Ke started talking to the plushie. “Little kitty, how about you point me in the right direction?”

Whether it was coincidence or not, the moment Bai Ke finished speaking, the little e-bike suddenly took an unexpected sharp turn. The black cat plushie hanging from the handlebars bounced violently. The hastily sewn eye sockets weren’t very stable. As the bike swayed, the eyes wobbled back and forth, giving the falling-apart feeling they could fall out any second.

Great. This bumping was so rough even the cat plushie’s eyes were rolling.

“Little kitty, don’t blame me. Blame my crazy cousin. He’s the one who tied you here and started this chase.” “Help me figure out the way. See if I can shake these berserk gamblers.” “If I can’t shake them, bring my crazy cousin back here instead. Let him join the game. No reason only we should suffer!” There was even a hint of grievance in his tone.

Still trying anything, Bai Ke rambled at the plushie on the handlebars. He had a problem: once he panicked, he couldn’t stop talking. Couldn’t fix it.

A couple more sharp turns. Bai Ke groaned as he held onto his office-worker’s lower back. The black cat plushie’s eyes rolled even more wildly.

The scenery ahead started looking familiar. Bai Ke wasn’t good with directions. He stared for a good while before realizing the e-bike had brought him back to Tofu Lane.

Getting closer and closer to 57 Tofu Lane. In front of the wide-open door of the self-built house sat an “old man” cooling himself in the shade.

Holy crap. Seeing Su Lai cooling off, Bai Ke nearly had a mental breakdown.

Su Lai stood up and waved. The little e-bike, still under the item’s autopilot, suddenly seemed to understand human gestures and quickly stopped in front of him.

Bai Ke didn’t choke either. He immediately shifted, hugging the delivery box, and moved back a bit on the seat. Su Lai quickly took the driver’s seat and regained control of the bike.

The item’s effect was still ongoing. Under Su Lai’s control, the little e-bike kept accelerating, almost flying off the ground.

Gravel blew towards them, cutting through the air like blades. The densely packed self-built houses and the omnipresent stares all liquefied, flowing past the speeding wheels.

This chase between e-bike and motorcycle traversed the urban village, attracting many silent spectators.

Bai Ke finally did what he’d wanted to do all along: he upturned the delivery box and put it over his head.

As long as he covered his face, the omnipresent stare didn’t exist, couldn’t interfere with his mental stability.

Su Lai: “Cousin, you’ve got potential to be a hot-teen ghost.”

Bai Ke, inside the box, shook his head frantically. “My old lower back disagrees. And half my butt’s about gone numb.” “If I hadn’t run into you at Tofu Lane, I thought I’d be chasing those two gamblers till the end of time.”

Su Lai: “Wouldn’t happen. Either your item runs out, or their motorcycle runs out of gas.” “Or another possibility: my little e-bike runs out of battery.”

Bai Ke protested. “This is too reckless…”

Su Lai: “My surname’s Su, not Reckless.”

Bai Ke: … “Where to next?”

“Find Granny Xu. Let her witness with her own eyes those two debt collectors being removed from the household registry.” Su Lai accelerated further. He found his battered little e-bike had unlimited potential in the instance.

The plushie’s eyes on the handlebars were now skewed to opposite sides of its face, looking even crazier.

“Then, we’ll trouble the old lady to help deal with her berserk sons.” Speeding up, Su Lai remained calm.

* * * *

The berserk Du Liang and Du Cai had lost all reason and judgment. Normally, they would never willingly set foot in this alley.

This was the area where Granny Xu had “worked” while alive. She would always scam passing vehicles nearby, then demand compensation to support herself.

In the end, Granny Xu died at her scamming “post.” The two sons found it unlucky and rarely came here.

But now, in their berserk state, the two didn’t care. They chased after Su Lai’s bike, eyes red with rage.

Twisting and turning, entering the familiar alley, the battered little e-bike ahead suddenly slowed down. The berserk brothers didn’t question this oddity and accelerated, following the e-bike as it turned a corner.

Suddenly, the front wheel of the speeding motorcycle was grabbed by something. The bike instantly lost balance. Caught off guard, the brothers were thrown to the side of the road as the motorcycle flipped.

“Reported us, kill you, kill you…” Even after being thrown, the berserk brothers kept repeating these words, gnashing their teeth.

“Kill who? Tell me about it.” A familiar voice sounded beside them. The enraged brothers immediately fell silent.

The bloodshot veins hadn’t yet faded from their eyes. Now they stared wide-eyed, looking around anxiously.

Just then, the item’s time limit ended. Su Lai stopped the bike. “Granny Xu, I’ve brought your precious sons to you.”

“Th-this place is…” The stubbly one cried out in shock. He tried to run, but before he could take a step, a pair of cold, withered hands had already grabbed his ankle tightly and pulled him back.

“Ah Liang, Ah Cai, you’re here?” The voice was light and soft, not Granny Xu’s usual tone. “Why haven’t you come to see Mom sooner? Had to have Xiao Si from Wang Chunying’s place invite you? Quite the airs!”

Whenever Granny Xu spoke in this uncharacteristic tone, it meant she was getting ready to give someone a real beating.