Hu Lai's beard bristled with anger: "Young man, mind your manners. At my age, shouldn’t you show some respect for your elders—"
But as the figure drew closer, Hu Lai fell silent.
"Damn snake, what brings you here?" Fang Zhiyi shot him a glare. "Stinky fox, since when is there a law against me visiting?"
Hu Lai studied Fang Zhiyi, a pang of melancholy rising in his chest. How long had it been?
"You... must be here for something?"
Fang Zhiyi grinned and slung an arm over his shoulder. "Big things. I’ve got a major business deal I need your help with."
Hu Lai eyed him skeptically.
The little hedgehog trailed behind, watching the two yokai’s backs as the snake yokai rattled on about "human resources" and "rights protection." He didn’t understand a word, but it probably had nothing to do with him.
Still, judging by the shifting expression on Old Hu’s face, the snake’s words seemed convincing.
Meanwhile, Mo Ran was locked alone in a cramped cell, his face dark as a storm cloud.
Though his superiors claimed they still trusted him, they insisted on a thorough investigation, advising him to "rest easy" for a few days. To him, this was nothing short of humiliation!
Even his team members were now isolated for questioning.
In his mind, he cursed that snake yokai a hundred times over, vowing to tear him limb from limb once he got out.
And the other yokai too—he thought of his childhood sweetheart. Every last one of them deserved to die!
A sense of powerlessness gnawed at Mo Ran as his mindset quietly shifted.
Then, a sudden deposit into his account made things even harder to explain.
"Framed? Since when do yokai frame people by transferring money?" Deputy Alliance Leader Zhang, thrilled to finally have dirt on Mo Ran, was eager to bury him. Who asked the brat to always look down on him?
Faced with such accusations, even Mo Ran’s supporters had little to say, leaving the investigation to drag on—with no leads. The culprit had been meticulous, leaving no traces behind.
Meanwhile, a peculiar rumor spread through the yokai circles of Huancheng: a powerful yokai had founded a "Yokai Resources Company," specializing in providing jobs for yokai.
The dangerous yokai that once lurked at transportation hubs and docks had vanished.
In their place stood yokai who looked even more intimidating.
The moment a newly arrived yokai stepped into the city, they’d swarm over, professionally pitching their services.
It wasn’t just the newcomers—even local yokai already working in the city soon found flyers in their hands.
The company’s target clients were yokai without legal identities. After processing, they could be dispatched to human-run businesses or factories.
Fang Zhiyi hadn’t expected Hu Lai’s operations to open the market so quickly.
The little yokai, simple-minded and hardworking, earned rave reviews from employers. Demand soon outstripped supply.
Positive feedback bred even better results.
More hesitant yokai began signing up. After registering with the company, they were swiftly placed into jobs.
After a quick meal with Hu Lai, Fang Zhiyi left, taking Xiao Hu back to the protagonist’s city.
Mo Ran received good news from the meal deliverer: several higher-ups were vouching for him, and Deputy Alliance Leader Zhang had failed to uncover solid evidence. He’d likely be released in a day or two.
Excitement burned in Mo Ran’s eyes. Finally, he could get out.
He’d fantasized countless times about breaking free—this door couldn’t hold him. But a familiar leader had warned him: "Step out now, and even the truth won’t save you."
That sobered him up. He even began quietly honing his skills.
With freedom in sight, he plotted his next moves: first, head to Huancheng, eliminate that fox yokai, seize its core, then move south... That snake wouldn’t hide forever.
That night, Mo Ran drifted off with a smile.
But deep into the night, a deafening crash jolted him awake.
Shouts and chaos erupted outside. He sprang up, pressing his ear to the door.
The noise grew louder, clearer.
"Charge, boys! Rescue Mo Ran!"
Shock, then fury, surged through him.
He wasn’t stupid—this was another of the snake’s schemes! Yokai staging a jailbreak? That would cement his reputation as a traitor!
Already, clashes erupted outside. The unprepared exorcists were swiftly overpowered and tossed aside.
"Brother Mo Ran! We got your message! We’re here to save you!"
Rage exploded in Mo Ran’s chest. He slammed the door open—his "cell" was just a private room, not an actual prison. A few steps brought him to the railing overlooking the lower floor.
Below, seven or eight masked figures loitered, some standing, some crouching, beside a blaring speaker.
He pointed. "You—"
The yokai below looked up. "Mo Ran’s escaped! Push harder, brothers!" The speaker crackled, but none of the yokai moved.
Yet the words echoed unmistakably. Injured exorcists turned, gaping at Mo Ran in disbelief.
"So it’s true—you’re a traitor!"
Panic flickered, but pride kept Mo Ran from explaining. His face darkened with stifled fury.
"Fall back! Reinforcements are coming! Brother Mo Ran, run!" As cars screeched into view, the yokai bolted, the lead one clutching the speaker. "Big bro, get out now!"
Speechless with rage, Mo Ran could only glare as the figures vanished into the night.
Moments later, his own people surrounded him.
Deputy Alliance Leader Zhang, smug. The old man, heartbroken. His colleagues, suspicious. And Mo Ran—seething with resentment.
Predictably, he was locked up again, this time in a specially reinforced room.
Mo Ran drove his fist into the wall.
Why? Why had everything gone wrong? It had always been so easy before.
"Boss, where to now?" Xiao Hu ripped off his mask, buzzing with excitement. This was what it meant to be a great yokai—playing for keeps, daring to strike the Exorcist Alliance itself!
"South," Fang Zhiyi replied coolly.
"Let’s go!"
If this were a game of Ludo, Mo Ran would still be waiting to roll a six, while Fang Zhiyi’s third plane was already soaring.
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
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!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
] [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!"
