Lin Ran looked at Luo Yao's full set of equipment and swallowed hard. This was the first time he had seen such things in real life.
"Wife... let's go inside first," Lin Ran said, feeling his body begin to change, the heat growing more intense by the second.
Seeing Luo Yao's heroic and spirited appearance, he suddenly scooped her up into his arms. Luo Yao's expression shifted slightly before she realized why Lin Ran was acting this way.
The drug was taking effect.
Before Luo Wuyou died, he had at least done one good deed—he deserved a thumbs-up for that.
The warehouse door slowly closed behind them as Uncle Fu and the bodyguards waited outside. Gradually, night fell.
By the next morning, the warehouse door finally creaked open again, and the two of them emerged.
The people outside had long been yawning, but since it was the weekend, they no longer needed to stick close to Lin Ran for protection. Everyone headed back to rest.
Lin Ran generously spared Wang Bao once again, and Wang Bao was naturally grateful.
But sparing him didn’t mean there wouldn’t be consequences—Wang Bao was docked a year’s bonus as punishment, though he had no complaints.
Back at the estate, Lin Ran immediately downed a tonic before collapsing onto his familiar bed, marveling at how potent the drug had been.
Even Luo Yao was overwhelmed by exhaustion, craving rest like never before.
This was more draining than her time in that dark, cold-blooded, and violent place she had once endured.
Just as Lin Ran and Luo Yao fell asleep in each other’s arms, the Lin family underwent earth-shattering changes.
For now, the Lin family was still living in a warehouse converted by the company. Though it had been given a basic renovation, it was still essentially a storage room—damp, dim, and barely touched by sunlight, with a cramped space of just over ten square meters.
Lin Tianba, despite being the company’s boss, had no authority to freely dip into corporate funds, and the shareholders would never allow it.
On top of that, the "Linyuan Shengjing" project had turned into a dump, plunging Suran Group into a hidden crisis. The only reason it hadn’t collapsed yet was because there was still some money left in the accounts.
Homebuyers had begun protesting outside the company, waving signs and causing a scene in the business district. Concerned citizens flooded the hotline with complaints.
Authorities stepped in, ordering Suran Group to resolve the issue within a month—or face legal action.
If it came to that, the company’s accounts would be frozen again.
With loan repayments due soon, Lin Tianba was so stressed that blisters formed on his lips.
Worst of all, he still owed money to Brother Dao.
Bank loans could be delayed—the worst outcome would be forced liquidation to repay debts. But owing Brother Dao? He didn’t dare drag his feet on that.
Lin Jian and Liu Yuemei were equally anxious.
"Husband, what are we going to do now?"
Lin Tianba sighed. "No choice—we have to find a way to pay Brother Dao first."
Liu Yuemei fretted, "Brother Dao is just a private lender. Worst case, we go to court. But if we don’t pay the bank, the whole company could be at risk!"
Lin Tianba looked at her like she was an idiot. "How have I never noticed how naive you are? Not paying Brother Dao is the real disaster. Getting hauled off to ‘teach English’ would be the least of your worries."
Liu Yuemei shuddered. "Then what do we do? I don’t want to ‘teach English.’"
Lin Tianba reassured her, "I’ll figure out a way to pull some funds from the company to pay Brother Dao. Don’t worry."
Liu Yuemei relaxed slightly—only for a deeper dread to settle in.
"But husband, even if we pay Brother Dao, what about after? You always said a starved camel is still bigger than a horse!"
Lin Tianba was already irritated. Some things were impossible to explain to a woman, and Liu Yuemei’s endless nagging only made it worse.
"What to do? What to do? Is that all you can ask? If I had a solution, I wouldn’t be hiding here like a coward!"
Right now, Lin Tianba wasn’t just avoiding the furious homeowners—he was dodging the company shareholders too.
At that moment, Lin Jian hesitantly spoke up.
"Maybe… Ruxue has good news. Brother loves her so much—he’ll definitely lend us money. After all, he’s still part of the Lin family."
"Yes, yes! Let’s ask Xiao Ran for money. I’m his mother—I’ll go talk to him."
Lin Tianba frowned. "But last time, you two had a huge fight."
Liu Yuemei waved it off. "Blood runs thicker than water. Besides, I didn’t do anything that bad."
Lin Tianba didn’t argue, but he knew the truth—if not for Luo Yao, Lin Ran would’ve been dragged back last time.
Luo Yao…
That’s right. Luo Yao must be keeping Lin Ran as her plaything. For a company like Suran Group, if Luo Yao lifted a finger, not only could she solve this crisis, but she could even elevate the company further.
Lin Ran was his son—if Luo Yao was keeping him, shouldn’t she contribute something?
But Lin Tianba didn’t dare approach Luo Yao directly. He knew her temper well enough.
If Luo Yao got angry, ten Suran Groups could vanish in an instant.
This required a careful approach—and the key still lay with Lin Ran.
In the end, the solution to this crisis depended entirely on Lin Ran.
Whether it was Lin Ran’s own money or Luo Yao’s intervention, either could save them.
Damn it. Did he really have to beg that unfilial son?
"How’s Ruxue handling things?"
Lin Jian said, "I’ll call and ask."
After a brief conversation, Lin Jian’s frown deepened.
"Ruxue says Brother is still angry and refuses to see her."
Lin Tianba gritted his teeth. "Ask her where Lin Ran usually goes. I’ll go myself." He had realized—relying on others was useless. As his father, he had to step up.
This time, if Lin Ran would just kneel and apologize, Lin Tianba might reluctantly allow him back into the family.
After hanging up, Lin Jian said, "Ruxue says she’ll come here first, then we’ll go find Brother together."
Lin Tianba thought for a moment before nodding. "Fine. Going together might be better."
Soon, Liu Ruxue arrived. She had known the Lin family was living poorly, but the reality still shocked her—this place was no better than a pigsty.
Not that she was wrong. Without maids to clean, the Lin family had fallen into a cycle of eating and sleeping, with no one bothering to tidy up.
Before, the company’s janitors and employees had helped out, but with the crisis, even their salaries were uncertain—no one was volunteering for unpaid labor anymore.
Since Liu Ruxue had failed to get anything from Lin Ran, even Lin Jian was starting to resent her, though he hid it well.
"Let’s go," Lin Tianba said, noticing Liu Ruxue’s disgust. He didn’t comment, but inwardly, he was annoyed.
Liu Ruxue used to love staying with the Lin family. Now, without the big house, even his niece looked down on them.
People really couldn’t afford to be poor. Without money, even love faded—and family ties slowly dissolved.
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!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
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.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
