February 16, 2013.
There was just over a week left before school started.
Yet, Lin Mo was already on a bus back to Goat City.
Truth be told, Xie Yuling had asked him multiple times when he’d be returning.
Even Jiang Yunlu occasionally checked in on him.
But unlike ordinary people, Jiang Yunlu spent her New Year traveling with her family.
Perhaps her family didn’t need to pay New Year’s visits to others.
Lin Mo, however, still had to return to extend greetings to certain people.
Of course, the most important visits were to Xie Yuling’s and Chu Miaomiao’s families.
The buses back to Goat City were packed these days. Many had returned home for the holidays and were now heading back to the city for work.
Lin Mo sat by the window, quietly putting on his headphones.
It almost felt like last year’s summer vacation all over again.
But as soon as he stepped off the bus and walked out of the provincial coach station, he spotted Chu Lintian waiting at the entrance.
This time, he didn’t have to take the bus home alone.
In the car, Chu Lintian pulled a red envelope from her pocket and handed it to Lin Mo.
"Happy New Year—good luck and prosperity."
Lin Mo was taken aback. "You’re not married yet—why give me a red envelope?"
Chu Lintian’s face flushed. "It’s a habit. No one else knows about this, so I have to prepare red envelopes every year."
That made sense. With Chu Miaomiao as her daughter, Chu Lintian had to maintain the image of a married woman.
And over the years, she had perfected the act.
She effortlessly pulled off all the mannerisms of a mother.
"Fine, if it’s a habit, then it’s a habit. But I’m still not used to accepting red envelopes from unmarried people."
The car headed toward Chu Lintian’s home.
"Miaomiao was really happy when she heard you were coming back today."
"I thought you two would be traveling or something."
Lin Mo knew Chu Lintian had no relatives left besides Chu Miaomiao.
Under such circumstances, the New Year was the perfect time for a trip.
But Chu Lintian sighed and shook her head.
"No, the group has too many issues to handle. Especially with Jiang Beihe and the mess he left behind—even if he takes the blame, it’ll still affect the group. We’re trying to cover the losses now."
It was clear Chu Lintian was genuinely stressed.
The Great River Group was a massive ship, but it had sprung quite a few leaks.
Though Jiang Beihe, who had been placed under a soul-controlling spell, was cooperating fully, the process of patching things up remained tedious.
As for Chu Miaomiao, she was a homebody. Staying indoors was no issue for her—she could even focus on writing her novels in her room.
The car soon pulled into the underground parking lot.
Taking the elevator up, Lin Mo felt a wave of warm air as soon as the door opened.
Central heating—such was the luxury of the wealthy.
Chu Lintian took off her coat as she entered, revealing a thick, high-collared sweater underneath.
Lin Mo didn’t stare—he just let his divine sense linger for a couple extra glances.
Chu Lintian tied her hair back with a rubber band. "Want something to drink?"
"Cola!"
Lin Mo settled onto the sofa, feeling completely at ease.
After all, his grandmother’s house was furnished with redwood furniture—elegant, but still just wood.
Nothing beat the comfort of a sofa.
Chu Lintian walked over to Chu Miaomiao’s room and knocked.
"Miaomiao, guess who’s here."
At that moment, Lin Mo, still on the sofa, sensed something was off.
Very, very off.
Through his divine sense, he saw Chu Miaomiao typing away at her computer, likely working on her new novel. With headphones on, she clearly hadn’t heard Chu Lintian’s call.
Lin Mo relaxed slightly.
A moment later, Chu Lintian returned with a glass of cola, ice clinking inside.
Lin Mo took it without hesitation.
"That girl’s probably still asleep."
He took a sip of the ice-cold cola.
It was refreshing, but the atmosphere in the room felt oddly tense.
Then, the doorbell rang.
Chu Lintian stood up. "That’s the takeout I ordered. Didn’t have time to cook, so I had food delivered."
But just then, Lin Mo frowned. He grabbed Chu Lintian’s wrist and stood up abruptly.
"Wait!"
Outside the door stood a man.
He was indeed holding a large food container.
But more importantly, he also had a pistol tucked in his jacket.
Well, it seemed some loose ends hadn’t been tied up.
The world was always chaotic and messy.
Lin Mo recalled the last guy whose throat he’d crushed—he’d also had a pistol. So this wasn’t entirely unexpected.
For those with the right skills, crafting a homemade firearm wasn’t difficult.
But the man outside was carrying a Beretta M92F—with a silencer attached.
A professional, then.
Lin Mo pressed Chu Lintian down with one hand. "Stay seated and don’t move."
With that, he walked to the door and opened it.
The delivery man smiled politely. "Hello, Tianfulou delivery. Is this Ms. Chu’s residence?"
Lin Mo feigned confusion. "Wrong address. No one here by that name."
The man hesitated, checking the number again.
"No mistake—Building 9, 15th floor."
"Really? This is Building 10."
As he spoke, Lin Mo opened the door wider.
In the next instant, the man set down the food container and drew his pistol.
But before he could pull the trigger, the gun crumbled into dust in his hand.
Then, everything went black.
Another hired killer from the dark web.
Lin Mo shook his hand, stuffing the man’s soul into a yellow talisman.
He also acquired an anonymous offshore bank account.
If you crossed Lin Mo, any ill-gotten gains had to be returned.
As for the body? A flick of his wrist reduced it to dust.
After returning from the rooftop to the 15th floor, Lin Mo casually picked up the food at the door.
He’d already checked—no poison.
The killer wasn’t actually from Tianfulou. He’d just intercepted the delivery.
So the food was safe to eat.
As soon as he stepped back inside, Chu Lintian rushed over.
"Are you okay? Why are there still assassins?"
Jiang Beihe was already under control—why would anyone still come after her?
"The killer was targeting you. I think there are still some loose ends we missed."
The loose ends weren’t hard to guess.
Setting the food on the table, Lin Mo said, "Eat first. I’ll check if Jiang Beihe is still alive."
If someone had been sent to kill Chu Lintian, Jiang Beihe was likely next.
Chu Lintian nodded. "Understood. Be careful."
Lin Mo headed for the door. "As long as you keep the protective talisman on you, you’ll be fine."
Watching Lin Mo leave, Chu Lintian suddenly realized how much they owed him.
Glancing at Chu Miaomiao’s room, she knew how much her daughter relied on Lin Mo. But she could also tell Xie Yuling had feelings for him too.
She didn’t want Chu Miaomiao to end up heartbroken—or worse, treated as some kind of payment.
If it came down to it… maybe she herself would be the better choice.
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
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)
