The young female inspector also snapped out of her daze and looked at Liu Yuan. "This... is your first time cooking?"
Liu Yuan's cheeks burned as she nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. "Mm... I wanted to make dinner for my brother..."
The young inspector's tone softened considerably, even carrying a hint of reassurance. "It's alright. First attempts for siblings usually don't go smoothly."
"Actually... we're not here to inspect the gas lines."
"We're... Public Order Auxiliaries for the Supernatural."
The young woman carefully chose her words while subtly flipping the "Gas Company" badge on her chest inward, revealing a corner of a less conspicuous identification card tucked beneath it.
She didn’t outright say, "We suspect you of murder," but the implication was clear.
Combined with the pop-up from the forum earlier and those replies, Liu Yuan instantly understood their purpose.
She felt even more flustered now than when they had discovered the disastrous state of her kitchen.
The inspector saw through Liu Yuan’s embarrassment. "Some online data is monitored by cyber police. Avoid posting ambiguous things. We received an alert, and it’s our duty to verify the situation and rule out risks."
"Alright, since it’s a misunderstanding, we can rest easy. But this kitchen... really needs cleaning."
She pointed at the bloodstains on the wall. "For fresh blood like this, cold water with soap or dish detergent should remove most of it. For tougher spots, try soaking them with white vinegar or lemon juice before wiping."
The middle-aged man chimed in, "For the floor, if the tiles are smooth, a wet mop should do the trick after a few passes. The grease mixed with blood on the stovetop might need a stronger cleaner."
Liu Yuan stared blankly as the two "auxiliaries" effortlessly transitioned into offering cleaning advice, momentarily unable to process the situation.
This... was the plot moving a bit too fast?
One second they suspected her of being a "murderer," the next they were teaching her how to clean up a "crime scene"?
The young woman even casually picked up the rag Liu Yuan had used earlier, walked to the sink, turned on the cold water, rinsed it, then applied dish soap before heading to the wall to demonstrate on a particularly noticeable bloodstain.
"See? Use cold water, wipe gently—don’t scrub too hard or you’ll strip the paint," she instructed.
The middle-aged auxiliary said nothing, grabbing another clean rag to wipe down the stovetop.
Liu Yuan watched this surreal scene unfold.
Two Public Order Auxiliaries in "Gas Company" uniforms were helping her clean up a "chicken-slaughtering scene"? This service was... way too considerate.
"I can’t possibly trouble you like this..."
Snapping back to reality, Liu Yuan hurried forward to stop them. "I’ll handle it myself. I’m so sorry for causing such a misunderstanding and wasting your time..."
"It’s fine. Law enforcement should have a human touch—this is just a small effort," the young woman said with a smile, not pausing her movements. "Besides, our procedures could be more refined to avoid such misunderstandings. Consider this a small apology for disturbing you."
The middle-aged auxiliary finished wiping the stovetop. "Yeah, our job’s usually pretty laid-back. We’re mostly on standby. After this, we probably won’t have anything else to do anyway."
"Next time, you can ask the seller to handle the prep for you."
Liu Yuan hesitated. "Are you sure this isn’t interfering with your work?"
The man waved dismissively. "As long as there’s no new incident requiring our attention, even a delay of three or five hours doesn’t matter. Great Xia’s public order is pretty good—major incidents might not even happen for days."
Only then did he notice his colleague frantically signaling him with her eyes.
He gave her a puzzled look. "What? Did you spot something suspicious?"
Liu Yuan answered for him.
She grabbed the female auxiliary’s hand. "Sister, teach me. Cooking."
The man finally grasped the gravity of the situation and forced a dry chuckle. "Ahem... Well, I don’t know how to cook either. Guess you’re on your own. I’ll take a walk outside? We’ll leave in an hour?"
The female auxiliary: "..."
So she alone had to bear this burden?
She felt like she could write a book after this.
Faking a crime scene, waiting for law enforcement to teach me how to butcher a chicken.
...
An hour later.
The middle-aged man knocked on the kitchen door, urging his colleague.
"Time to go."
Talk big, struggle to refuse—such was life.
But staying for three to five hours was out of the question.
An hour was just right.
"Now’s the perfect time to add the oil. Okay, give me five more minutes."
The man teased, "Getting addicted to teaching?"
Five more minutes passed.
The kitchen door opened.
Liu Yuan and the young auxiliary stepped out.
"Not bad, not bad. You learn fast—mastering scrambled eggs with tomatoes in just an hour."
No sarcasm intended.
Despite an hour of instruction, Liu Yuan had been stubborn, refusing to let the auxiliary take over.
She insisted on doing every step herself.
So this was actually impressive progress.
The only cost? Her throat was a bit sore.
Sitting on the sofa, she picked up the water Liu Yuan had prepared for them when they first arrived.
Suddenly remembering something, she spoke more sternly. "In the future, if strangers knock—whether they claim to be inspecting anything—always verify their identity first, preferably through official channels. Don’t just open the door. Stay safe."
Liu Yuan stiffened, recognizing the well-meaning advice, and nodded firmly. She took the cup from the auxiliary’s hands. "Mm! Sister Auxiliary, you too—whether the person you’re investigating seems vicious or harmless, never carelessly drink water offered by others."
The auxiliary: ???
Was she being lectured?
But on second thought... it did make sense.
If Liu Yuan had been a well-disguised, ruthless criminal and she’d drunk this water, she’d be dead.
Ugh, pretty faces really were dangerous...
...
As for why Liu Yuan might poison someone?
Don’t ask.
If asked, blame Su Qi.
Or rather, blame [I Want to Sleep].
He was clearly deeply concerned about the little girl’s safety, fearing he couldn’t protect her from afar.
"Rather betray the world than let the world betray me."
"Trust no one."
"Cardholders at tiers three to five are vulnerable to ambush when not in combat. The survival trifecta—poison, quicklime, and a kick to the groin—usually lets you take down someone one tier higher."
Sadly, the first two hadn’t gotten a chance to be tested yet.
The last one, however, had been tested on Su Qi himself.
Worked like a charm. Total collapse, zero resistance...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
