The three of them leaned back in their chairs, leisurely puffing away on their cigarettes.
After finishing their smoke, Su Yang checked the time. "It's 4:35 now. Let's try to find our teammates within an hour."
Meng Wenzhou nodded. "Yeah, right. After we find them, we can all grab a meal together. We need to leave the ancient town by 9 PM. That place Ji Bo mentioned is over ten kilometers away, so it's a bit of a trip."
"OK, let's move!"
With that, the three split up and headed in different directions.
The street they were on was located in the most central area of the ancient town. It was a long road with many side alleys branching off to other streets.
This street was also packed with tourists, with fashionable young men and women everywhere you looked.
There were endless stretches of bare legs, more than the eye could take in.
Su Yang walked in one direction, switching on his 'auto-aim' mode as he went, scanning for targets.
His standards for today weren't particularly high. He just needed girls with a rating around 75 who were willing to hang out with them.
He didn't expect to run into anyone in the 80s. As long as they weren't too bad, it was fine. After all, they were just teaming up to play an escape room, not trying to form a basketball team.
After walking a stretch, as he passed a handicraft shop, Su Yang saw two fashionable girls in hot pants coming out of the store.
Judging by their faces alone, with makeup on, they were probably in the 70s range, and their figures were pretty good too.
—System, scan.
[Zhang Yan, Appearance: 64]
[Li Xiaoli, Appearance: 67]
—Tch, guessed wrong. Alright, moving on.
Su Yang gave up on these two and continued forward.
Reaching the entrance of a cake shop, he saw two even more trendy and fashionable-looking girls sitting inside, chatting over small cakes.
They were both sitting sideways to him, and their profiles looked decent too.
Su Yang continued his mental inquiry.
—System, scan again.
[Ma Yingying, Appearance: 69]
[Wang Ruolan, Appearance: 70]
—Hmm... still a bit off. No rush, there are plenty of people right now. Keep going.
Su Yang abandoned the two girls in the cake shop and resumed his search.
He scanned seven or eight more girls in a row, all scoring between 60 and 70, none hitting the 75 mark.
'Huh? What's going on? Didn't they say my luck with romance is good? Where are they? I just need one 75 right now~'
Su Yang had now reached the end of the street. Ahead was an alleyway leading to the inn district, which wasn't very crowded.
He thought about turning around to walk the street again. If that didn't work, he'd try other streets. If he really couldn't find anyone, he'd lower his standards. There were plenty in the 65 to 70 range.
'Hey!! Wait.'
After walking back a few steps, Su Yang suddenly thought of something and smacked his forehead.
"Damn, didn't I just add those twin beauties? What am I doing searching around here like an idiot?"
"Ugh." Thinking this, he walked to the roadside, sat down on a step, took out his phone, and opened WeChat.
Looking at the two profile pictures, Su Yang suddenly had a feeling the girls probably wouldn't come out.
But since he already had WeChat open, it wouldn't hurt to ask. He first tapped into the chat with Chen Yuxin and typed: "Hello Yuxin."
About ten seconds later, Chen Yuxin replied: "Hello Brother Su Yang, what's up?"
Su Yang didn't plan to beat around the bush and got straight to the point: "It's like this. I have some friends planning to play an escape room tonight, but we're short on people. So I was wondering if you two would like to join."
Chen Yuxin replied: "An escape room?"
"Right, but it's the scary kind. It's not in the ancient town; it's a bit far, in an abandoned factory in the suburbs."
Looking at the message he sent, Su Yang muttered to himself: "Damn, shouldn't have put it that way. Sending this, they'll definitely not go. Sounds like human trafficking."
Sure enough, after sending the message, Chen Yuxin didn't reply immediately.
Su Yang thought for a moment and added: "Because we're short on people here, I thought I'd ask if you're interested. It's totally fine if you don't want to go; I'll just find others. It's mainly because the place is indeed quite far."
After sending that, he waited another few dozen seconds.
Chen Yuxin finally replied: "I was just talking to my sister about this. I'm actually quite brave and like these kinds of things. But after I told my sister, she's a bit too scared to go. If she doesn't go... I can't bear to leave her alone at the inn, so I probably won't go either~"
Reading the message, Su Yang nodded to himself. "As expected."
"Okay, understood. I'll find some other people then."
"Sorry, Brother Su Yang."
"No problem, no problem. We'll hang out another time."
"Okay."
After putting away his phone, Su Yang looked up, thought for a while, stood up, and started walking in the opposite direction again.
"Better to find strangers~"
After walking back about ten meters, two girls walked out of a souvenir shop by the street.
Su Yang, eyes fixed on the road ahead, didn't notice them.
However, as he was walking forward, a voice suddenly sounded by his ear.
"Hey handsome, wait a moment~"
"Huh?" Su Yang turned towards the voice and saw two girls in sexy short skirts walking towards him with smiles.
"Handsome, wait." The two said as they quickly approached Su Yang.
Su Yang looked at them and replied, "What's up, ladies?"
"Can't we call you if it's nothing? Hehe, can we get to know you?"
Hearing this, Su Yang thought to himself: 'Getting to know each other is fine, but I still need to find teammates.'
It wasn't that Su Yang didn't want to invite these two. If they were this proactive, they'd probably agree if asked.
It's just that at first glance they were okay, but upon closer look, they didn't quite meet the requirements.
Their faces were caked with thick powder, which was even a bit flaky, and their necks were a completely different color from their faces.
—System, scan.
[61, 63]
—Ugh, even saving the names~
Su Yang gave an evasive laugh: "Sorry, ladies, I've got some things to do~"
"Let's add WeChat~"
"Yeah, handsome, are you traveling alone? If you're free tonight, you can come have drinks with us. We have several other friends, all pretty girls. Let's all get to know each other."
"I have friends. It's just that they have something urgent and called me over. Really sorry. If fate allows, we'll meet again~"
Su Yang said with a nod and a smile to the two, then quickly walked away.
...
'Sigh. I haven't even started hitting on anyone, and I get hit on first.'
Thinking this, Su Yang walked forward for a few more minutes. Just as he was worrying about the lack of targets, suddenly, a beautiful figure emerged from a small alley on the right.
Su Yang instantly stopped and locked onto her. About ten meters away, a girl with a khaki-colored crossbody bag was walking towards a small convenience store across the street.
She had long brown hair, and from the side, she looked absolutely perfect: beautiful big eyes, a tall nose, and slightly red lips.
She wore a black off-shoulder top paired with light blue distressed denim hot pants, revealing two long, slender, and fair legs. On her feet were a pair of coffee-colored flat, round-toed mid-calf boots.
Just from the side view, her figure could absolutely be called top-tier—curvy in all the right places but not exaggerated, perfectly proportioned.
At that moment, her left hand held the strap of her crossbody bag, while her right hand held half an apple, which she nibbled on as she walked. Even just her profile gave off a breathtaking, almost otherworldly feeling.
Su Yang narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself: 'Holy crap!! A top-tier beauty has appeared.'
—System!
[Ren Lingxi, Age: 22]
[Height: 168cm]
[Weight: 53kg]
[Appearance Score: 98]
[Figure Score: 95]
[Number of Relationships: 0, Single]
[Number of Partners: 0]
[Characteristic: Loves food]
—Damn, 98 points?!
Seeing the values on the virtual screen, Su Yang was instantly stunned, rooted to the spot.
—The pinnacle of beauty has appeared! This trip wasn't wasted!!
—Thought I wouldn't encounter anyone surpassing Xiao Su's looks again, but who would've thought.
[Ding, detected that Ren Lingxi meets the binding criteria. Bind?]
—Is that even a question? I genuinely like this one, bind!!
[Ding, binding successful. Ren Lingxi's favorability towards the host: 0]
"Nice! And she's a foodie too, isn't that just perfect for my expertise?"
"But here's the problem, how do I go up and talk to her in a surprising way? Damn it, I have no experience."
While Su Yang was muttering to himself, Ren Lingxi had already walked into the convenience store.
"Maybe pretend to go in to buy a bottle of water and then accidentally bump into her?"
"No, no, that's too cliché~"
"Let me think." Su Yang, feeling somewhat excited, started pacing in circles, lost in thought.
[Ding, detected the host is currently feeling excited. Reward: 1 million]
Just as he was thinking, Ren Lingxi walked out holding a bottle of mineral water and a hot dog.
After exiting, she turned and headed towards the central area of the street.
Seeing this, Su Yang thought to himself: 'Ah, whatever, I'll just follow her for now.'
With that thought, he stepped forward to follow Ren Lingxi.
......
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
