Lamb

"Ye Chuan." Wang Yanran breathed a sigh of relief as the situation was resolved and jogged over to him.

"Yeah, I hypnotized her. You can take her to the alliance and extract all the information," Ye Chuan said, glancing at the woman kneeling on the ground, now slumped with vacant eyes.

Not only was she under hypnosis, but her strength had also been completely crippled by Ye Chuan.

These individuals had all been at the third-tier level, making them formidable figures in this world's superhuman circles—unless they ran into Ye Chuan or his family.

"Got it." Wang Yanran nodded and immediately ordered her subordinates to take the woman away. As for the other three Ye Chuan had killed, she asked how to handle them.

Ye Chuan gave them a passing glance. "No special treatment needed. Just bury them."

"Understood."

Once everything was settled, Ye Chuan surveyed the wrecked bar and the crowd of onlookers. Just as he was about to leave, a voice called out from behind, "Um, big brother!"

Ye Chuan paused and turned to see the girl who had earlier used a transformation device to resist those [Players].

"Who gave you that transformation device?" Ye Chuan asked.

"M-my dad bought it for me. Said it was for self-defense," the girl replied.

"Oh." Ye Chuan didn’t press further, but she stopped him again. "Big brother, can you make me stronger?!"

"Why do you want to get stronger?" he asked casually.

"So I can protect the people around me!" The girl thumped her chest, exuding a fearless bravery unusual for someone her age. "I want to be a hero!"

"..."

"What’s your name?"

"Everyone calls me Xiao Yang!"

"With that fluffy hair, you do look like a little sheep," Ye Chuan remarked, eyeing her tousled locks. But then he shook his head. "Right now, your job is to focus on your studies, not play at being some so-called hero. This isn’t something you can do just by talking."

"I—I really want to protect everyone!" Xiao Yang darted in front of Ye Chuan and hopped in place. "Please, big brother!"

"You’re sure I can help you?"

"You’re the strongest and coolest person I’ve ever seen!"

"Tsk, such an honest kid. I like the way you talk." Ye Chuan rubbed his chin, then extended his hand after seeing the sparkle in her eyes. "Fine. Give me your transformation device as a token of sincerity."

"My transformation device?" Xiao Yang hesitated, clutching the device tightly when she heard his demand.

"What, not willing?"

"I am!" She shoved the device into Ye Chuan’s hand.

He examined it briefly before tossing it into his backpack. Then he patted her fluffy head.

"Lesson one on getting stronger: never trust strangers. Consider this device your tuition fee."

With that, Ye Chuan turned and walked away.

Xiao Yang froze for a moment before chasing after him. "B-big brother, is that it? Aren’t you going to teach me anything else?"

"That’s all. You were the one who agreed to give it up. One lesson’s enough."

"But—but… wuwu, this thing was really expensive! My dad’s gonna yell at me…"

Ye Chuan stopped and looked back at her teary-eyed face, finding it somewhat amusing. "I’ll ask you one more time. Why do you want to get stronger? Think carefully before answering."

Xiao Yang replied instantly, "To protect everyone!"

Hearing her firm, unwavering response, Ye Chuan was surprised—it wasn’t often he heard a girl speak with such conviction, let alone without hesitation.

He pulled out a new transformation device from his backpack. "In that case, take this. It’s way better than the junk you had before."

Xiao Yang accepted it, blinking in confusion. "Big brother, you have one too?"

"Of course. I invented it."

"Ohhh, that makes sense—wait, what?!"

"Shh." Ye Chuan pressed a finger to his lips, then got into his car.

The engine roared to life, leaving Xiao Yang standing alone in silence.

"..."

......

"Ye Chuan, what did you talk to that girl about?" Wang Yanran asked curiously during the drive.

"Nothing much. Just met an interesting kid," Ye Chuan replied.

"Oh?"

Ye Chuan didn’t dwell on it, instead asking briefly about the pharmaceutical company. After confirming it was running smoothly, he dropped the subject.

"Ye Chuan, do you know about the [Players]?" Wang Yanran suddenly asked.

"Yeah, if my guess is right, I do have some understanding of those guys," Ye Chuan said vaguely.

"Let’s head home. Handle the rest yourself."

But considering similar incidents might happen again, he added,

"Starting now, I’ll train you to improve your strength. Make sure you come every day."

Wang Yanran’s face lit up with excitement. "Yes!"

Ye Chuan planned to boost her strength with elixirs—even if the foundation was shaky, it didn’t matter. At least she wouldn’t need him to step in every time something like this happened.

He couldn’t afford to run around every time some unbeatable enemy crawled out of a rift. If this kept up, he’d be exhausted.

Better to just power up Wang Yanran instead.

Wang Yanran didn’t overthink it, simply grateful she’d chosen the right person to follow.

......

Time flew, and soon it was night.

Ye Chuan sat alone by the window, waiting for the adventure world reset at midnight.

Today, he wasn’t planning to enter the Aiser Continent. After all the recent research, whether it was Lan Xiaoke or Luo Xi, even someone as energetic as him needed a break.

"So no foot massages from the succubus today," he muttered, eyes scanning the world selection on his phone.

The options were the Tianxuan Continent for cultivation, the Aiser Continent for magic, and the futuristic world.

He wasn’t ready for the future world yet. Ke Ning’s tendency to whip out bizarre gadgets made him wary—he might end up wasting a resurrection.

"Guess it’s back to my old stomping grounds, the Tianxuan Continent." After all, he still had unfinished business with the Qingyun Sect and unanswered questions to resolve.

"Huang Haotian is already dead in that world. What name should I use this time?" After some thought, he decided Lan Haotian sounded decent.

"Whatever."

Soon, midnight arrived. Ye Chuan harvested his crops and browsed the points store.

Nothing noteworthy today—just minor trinkets and some useless items.

"Lan Xiaoke’s horror world hasn’t refreshed in ages. Could it be a rare item?" He smirked. "Guess I was lucky to see it twice before."

But it seems luck isn't on my side right now. Maybe smooching Lan Xiaoke a few more times would boost the drop rate.

"Forget it." Ye Chuan's gaze settled on the button labeled "Tianxuan Continent."

Tianxuan Continent, activate!