The Penguin's Kill Shot

Chapter 160

Near evening, by the vending machine.

Ye Zhenzhen, clutching four bottles of iced mineral water in her arms, shuffled back step by step like a frightened quail.

Her cheeks were as red as if she had just stepped out of a sauna, and even the roots of her ears were pink.

"Water... I bought it."

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum, and her eyes darted around, fully committing to the mindset of "as long as I don't look at Gu Ran, Gu Ran doesn't exist."

Pei Susu snatched the water, twisted the cap open, and took a huge gulp. Her eyes, drawn with exquisite eyeliner, looked up and down, finally pinning onto Ye Zhenzhen's forehead.

That pink cat-ear headband was askew, and the stray hairs at her temples were as messy as a bird's nest, obviously having been severely ravaged by something.

"Tsk."

Pei Susu squeezed the empty bottle until it cracked and said sarcastically, "Oh, sister, what's wrong with your cat ears? Is the haunted house's service so thorough now that the female ghost also works part-time doing hair styling?"

Hearing this, Ye Zhenzhen's body stiffened, and she hastily straightened her headband. "Just now... I ran too fast and bumped into a wall."

"Oh—bumped into a wall."

Pei Susu dragged out the end of her sentence, her eyes drifting playfully toward Gu Ran, smiling like a fox that had just stolen a chicken. "Then this wall must be pretty soft, right? The kind with a constant temperature of 37 degrees? Does it have abs too?"

Gu Ran, however, took the water without changing his expression, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to the stammering girl beside him. "Pei Susu, you're talking too much. Hurry up to the next ride."

"Tch, a man who takes advantage and still acts innocent."

Pei Susu rolled her eyes and pointed at the giant disc towering into the clouds in the distance. "Alright, since we're here, we have to ride the Ferris wheel. Fatty, you sit in the back with me."

Ye Jinliang, who was holding his water and smiling foolishly, froze. "Ah? That cabin is pretty big, shouldn't the four of us go together..."

"Big your head!"

Pei Susu, frustrated by his density, kicked him lightly on the calf. "Can't you read the room?"

Ye Jinliang instantly understood. "Got it, got it, got it! Sister Susu is right, I... I have trypophobia, there can't be too many people..."

This excuse was refreshingly terrible.

Gu Ran glanced at the two of them with a half-smile. Without a word, he simply held out his hand, palm up, in front of Ye Zhenzhen.

Seeing this, Ye Zhenzhen pursed her lips, glanced out of the corner of her eye at Pei Susu who was currently conducting violent teaching, hesitated slightly, and then, blushing, placed her hand on his.

Soft and boneless, her palm slightly damp.

Gu Ran flipped his hand to interlock their fingers and pulled her straight toward the ticket gate.

...

Click.

The cabin doors closed, and the world instantly went quiet.

In the cramped space, the air conditioning was strong, but it couldn't suppress the ambiguity churning like magma in the air.

Gu Ran sat opposite her, watching the city gradually shrink outside the window, saying nothing.

Ye Zhenzhen gripped the edge of the seat tightly with both hands, her knuckles turning white. Her nose was almost pressed against the glass as she pretended to look at the scenery. "Um... Qinglin's night view is pretty nice, haha, look at those lights..."

"Yeah, it's nice."

Gu Ran's voice suddenly exploded right by her ear.

The girl turned her head abruptly, only to find that this guy had somehow moved to her side.

The seat sank slightly, and that familiar lemon scent overwhelmed her, full of aggression.

"Don't move."

Gu Ran raised his hand, his warm fingertips brushing past her earlobe, causing a fine shiver.

He slowly and methodically adjusted the cat ears on top of her head.

"I was too embarrassed to say it down there, but they were still crooked. My OCD couldn't stand looking at it."

The distance was too close.

So close that the girl could even see her own flustered reflection in his pupils.

After fixing her hair, Gu Ran didn't back away.

Instead, he leaned back against the seat, turning his head to stare at her.

"Trainee Ye, let me interview you."

"Just now in the haunted house, when that female ghost dropped down, you hugged me way too tightly, didn't you? You almost strangled me to death."

Gu Ran's eyes held a playful look. "Confess honestly, was it on purpose? Trying to take advantage of me?"

Bringing up the past was a lethal blow to her pride.

Ye Zhenzhen bit her lower lip and glared at him in embarrassment and anger. "I did not! That was a stress response... Pei Susu said so! People grab onto a lifeline when in extreme fear!"

"Oh, Pei's theory." Gu Ran nodded. "Then this response is quite long-lasting. We've been out for half an hour, and your face is still as red as a monkey's butt?"

"You..."

Ye Zhenzhen was speechless with anger, turning her head and deciding to ignore this bad guy.

The cabin slowly ascended, crossing the treetops, crossing the tall buildings.

Finally, it paused at the highest point.

As if suspended in the clouds, the whole world was beneath their feet, starlight and neon lights weaving into a sea.

"Gu Ran." Ye Zhenzhen suddenly spoke, her voice trembling a little, as if she had made some huge decision.

"Hmm?" Gu Ran was looking at the new district planning in the distance, calculating future land prices and considering whether to buy a few more apartments.

"Turn around."

Gu Ran turned his head.

The next second, a sweet osmanthus fragrance wafted over.

The girl suddenly leaned in, closed her eyes, and her soft, cherry blossom-like lips pressed against the corner of his mouth like a dragonfly skimming the water.

They parted at the touch.

It was so fast it felt like an illusion.

Gu Ran was slightly stunned, his brain experiencing a rare, brief crash.

Ye Zhenzhen, on the other hand, quickly shrank back to her original position, leaning against the seat, her hands desperately twisting her skirt.

Her face was so red it looked ready to drip blood, but she stiffened her neck, staring fixedly at a cloud outside the window.

Her voice trembled, but it carried an unyielding stubbornness:

"This... was also on purpose."

Gu Ran touched the corner of his lips.

Peach-flavored lip balm, very sweet.

He looked at the girl who looked like she wished she could shrink into the cracks of the seat, the smile in his eyes slowly overflowing.

"Ye Zhenzhen."

"Wh-what?"

"Your technique is too bad, you still need practice."

"Gu Ran, go to hell!!!"

...

In the cabin behind them.

Pei Susu was sitting cross-legged without any regard for her image, gnawing on a grilled sausage, eating boldly.

Opposite her, Ye Jinliang sat up straight, one hand on his knee, the other holding a grilled sausage, eating slowly and paying great attention to his image.

Pei Susu swallowed the meat in her mouth. "When you go to the capital, don't just hole up in the dorm playing games all day. Lose all that fat on you."

"Ah, then I'll try."

Pei Susu continued, "When you get to the capital, if there's anything you don't understand, look for me. Call me sister, and I'll cover you."

Ye Jinliang scratched his head and smiled foolishly without speaking. Seeing this, Pei Susu shook her head and then asked, "Didn't you also say you want to expand your family's restaurant?"

Mentioning this, Ye Jinliang's eyes lit up. "We have to do that! I've thought about it, I want to open a branch in the capital, make it a chain brand, just like that... Haidilao!"

The little Fatty waved his fist, light shining in his eyes.

Pei Susu swallowed the words that had reached her lips and handed over a tissue. "Alright. When you open your branch, this lady will reluctantly go cut the ribbon for you. Wipe your mouth, the oil is dripping onto your pants!"

...

Getting off the Ferris wheel, the four of them found an open-air restaurant.

Ye Zhenzhen kept her head down eating the whole time, not daring to look at Gu Ran at all.

Gu Ran, on the other hand, was in an excellent mood. He even uncharacteristically picked up a piece of braised pork for Ye Jinliang, scaring the Fatty into thinking the meat was poisoned.

Just then.

Bzz—Bzz—Bzz—

Caller ID: Li Sinan.

The smile on Gu Ran's face instantly vanished.

A phone call at a time like this definitely meant nothing good.

"What's wrong?" Ye Zhenzhen asked softly, sounding him out.

"It's nothing," Gu Ran patted the back of her hand reassuringly. He stood up, walked over to a quiet decorative tree, and answered the call.

"Boss! Something huge happened!"

Gu Ran: "???"

Damn it, do you ever have anything else to say when you call?

"Don't panic. The sky isn't falling."

Leaning against the tree, Gu Ran took a deep breath and asked, "Did Penguin make their move?"

"More than just a move, it's a carpet bombing!"

Li Sinan spoke incredibly fast. "Just now, Penguin Games officially announced that Daily Love Run will launch its open beta across all platforms tomorrow morning at ten! And they're hosting a National Cool Run Festival, throwing in a million Q Coins as rewards! Download and get them for free!"

Gu Ran narrowed his eyes.

A million Q Coins.

In this day and age, Q Coins were truly hard currency.

"If they're just throwing money around, that's still within expectations." Gu Ran rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"No... that's not all."

On the other end of the line, Li Sinan took a deep breath, her voice dry as she said, "The most fatal part is their spokesperson."

"Confirmed news leaked five minutes ago: at tomorrow's press conference, Penguin will officially announce a nuclear-level global spokesperson."

Gu Ran's heart skipped a beat.

2011.

Penguin.

Nuclear-level.

Combining these words together, a single name practically jumped out.

"Who?"

Li Sinan's voice carried a trace of despair, "Jay... Jay Chou."

Crack.

Gu Ran nearly poked himself in the eye.

Jay Chou?!

What did this name mean in the Chinese music industry in 2011?

It meant absolute dominance.

It meant he was the ultimate answer.

It meant an unparalleled black hole for internet traffic.

In this era, even trash bags printed with his face would sell out.

M-Zone, U.Loveit, Sprite... anything he endorsed became an industry behemoth.

And now, this nuclear bomb was being unreasonably dropped right onto the head of Temple Run by Penguin.

"Boss... what do we do?" Li Sinan was about to cry. If it weren't for her professional stance, even she would want to run over and support Daily Love Run.

How could they fight this?

That was Jay Chou!

Fans didn't care about plagiarism or anything else. If Jay Chou endorsed it, they would play it!

This was a strike from a higher dimension!

Gu Ran twitched the corner of his mouth, once again lamenting Penguin's deep pockets.

How the hell were they supposed to fight this? The other side was literally using cheat codes!

"Phew..."

Gu Ran exhaled a breath of stale air and said softly, "Ms. Li."

"Here..."

"Notify the tech department. Everyone is pulling an all-nighter tonight."

"I'll head over there tonight too."