Chen Qingtian finally understood—if she didn’t tell the truth, that idiot Wu Zhishang would never help her.
Wu Zhishang slowly sat back down, listening intently until his jaw dropped in shock. He never expected things to be like this.
"Now, can you help me arrange a meeting with Lin Ran?" Chen Qingtian’s slightly sulky tone made Wu Zhishang wish he could vanish into the ground.
Had he really misunderstood her so badly earlier?
"Ah? Uh… fine!"
This was important, and he really should help.
When Lin Ran rushed into the office later, he was surprised to see Chen Qingtian there.
Oh? Here to see Old Wu?
The three of them sat in the office, with Lin Ran and Wu Zhishang exchanging glances first.
Lin Ran: Nice, bro. You’re eating this meal too?
Wu Zhishang: Nah, not like that. This woman has something to discuss with you.
Lin Ran: Why couldn’t she just say it over the phone?
Wu Zhishang: It’s kinda big. I only know part of it, but it’s pretty explosive. You’ll have to ask her for the details.
Watching Lin Ran and Wu Zhishang blink rapidly at each other, Chen Qingtian was immediately reminded of their first meeting.
Back then, these two had also been making weird faces at each other.
"Are you two… speaking some kind of secret language?" Chen Qingtian asked, cutting straight to the point.
Lin Ran coughed. "Ahem! Ahem! Miss Chen, what brings you here to see me?"
"Oh? You knew it was me who wanted to meet?"
Lin Ran: "Old Wu just told me."
Chen Qingtian: ??? Did Wu Zhishang even say anything?
"Two things. First, I just wanted to catch up." Chen Qingtian figured easing into the conversation would make it easier to broach the real topic.
But Lin Ran frowned and went straight for the jugular.
"Catch up? We’re not exactly close, are we? Let me make this clear—I’m a married man. You’d better get to the second thing, or I’ll start thinking you’re trying to be my mistress."
Chen Qingtian froze on the spot. Now she understood why Lin Ran and Wu Zhishang were such good friends—they shared the same infuriating, shameless sense of humor.
"Pfft. Wow, you really cracked me up there. Fine. My grandfather is Chen Xiao."
Lin Ran: "And my son is Lin Tianba!"
"Pffft—!" Wu Zhishang couldn’t hold back, spraying tea everywhere.
"Hahaha! Bro, your logic—I can’t—hahaha!"
Lin Ran: "I was just trying to lighten the mood. What, you can’t even talk properly in front of Miss Chen now?"
Wu Zhishang quickly wiped the grin off his face, though he couldn’t shake a pang of disappointment.
He’d thought Chen Qingtian might have actually started to like him a little these past few days. But now he realized he was wrong.
She’d only gotten close to him to dig up information.
If Lin Ran found out her real motive, he’d probably be just as shocked.
Suddenly, Lin Ran paused.
"Wait. Who did you say your grandfather was?"
Chen Xiao?
That name sounded familiar.
Wasn’t he the head of the education bureau?
"You’re Director Chen’s granddaughter?" Lin Ran asked skeptically.
Chen Qingtian smiled and nodded. "Lin Ran, me coming to see you today wasn’t an accident. It was inevitable."
"Just say what you need to say." Out of respect for Director Chen, Lin Ran decided to stop messing with her.
"I think… you might be my cousin." Chen Qingtian’s words hit Lin Ran like a truck, leaving him completely frozen.
Lin Ran: "Cousin? You’re related to my son, Lin Tianba?"
Chen Qingtian: "You have a son?"
"Found him in a dumpster. But I already disowned him."
Chen Qingtian took a long moment to process that before shaking her head helplessly. "I… might be related to you through your mother’s side."
"Honestly, the first time I saw you, I felt something different—a sense of familiarity. You look a lot like my father."
Lin Ran was baffled. "Hold on, let me get this straight. What do you mean, I look like your father?"
"Because you might be my father’s nephew." Though Chen Qingtian said "might," her tone left no room for doubt.
Lin Ran relaxed. "That’s impossible. My mom’s surname is Su, not Chen. When I was a kid, I asked her, ‘Where are my grandparents?’ She just said, ‘They’re all dead.’"
Chen Qingtian’s face darkened.
"It’s… complicated. Your mother—my aunt—was apparently very rebellious back then…"
"Wait, hold on. Old Wu." Lin Ran glanced at Wu Zhishang, who immediately understood.
He pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds, handed Lin Ran a portion, and refilled his tea to the brim.
The two of them sat properly on one side of the table like eager students ready for a lecture.
Once they were settled, they motioned for Chen Qingtian to continue. She stared at them with a look of utter disbelief.
So you two are treating me like some street storyteller now?
"Uh… Our Chen family has deep roots, but back then, my aunt insisted on starting her own business. Nowadays that’s normal, but back then, our family didn’t approve."
"But that wasn’t even the worst of it. Later, she fell for some good-for-nothing man and was determined to marry him. It caused a huge uproar—Grandpa even threatened to kill the guy himself. But my aunt protected him so well that no one in the family ever even saw his face."
"Eventually, my aunt was put under house arrest. Then one day, when no one was around, she ran away… and never came back."
Lin Ran raised his hand. "But what does this have to do with my mom?"
Chen Qingtian: "About ten years ago, Grandpa received a photo—of you as a child. My aunt had sent a message with it: ‘If you ever meet this child by chance, help him if he’s struggling.’"
"Maybe she thought Grandpa was still angry after all these years, so she never returned. But the truth is, he forgave her long ago. He regretted everything and would often stare at old photos of her alone."
"Honestly, Grandpa’s just a pitiful old man now. Back then, my aunt—"
Wu Zhishang raised his hand. "Professor Chen, could we skip to the main point?"
Chen Qingtian was so exasperated she almost laughed.
"Fine. After getting the photo, Grandpa sent people to look for you, but we never found anything. We didn’t even know your name."
"Then how can you be sure it’s me? My mom’s surname is Su," Lin Ran interjected, raising his hand again.
Chen Qingtian stood up and walked slowly toward him. "Because I think my aunt changed her name to avoid being found."
"And you—not only do you resemble the child in that photo, but you also look a lot like my father when he was young. Our family has been searching for you all these years. The moment I saw you, I had my suspicions."
"After spending time with Wu—this jerk—and gathering information about you, I became even more certain. You are my cousin."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
