"What do you mean?"
"Don't misunderstand! Oral promises are unreliable, let's get a receipt!"
The Foreman waved to his secretary.
The secretary took an A4 paper and quickly wrote something. After the Foreman reviewed it, he handed it to Lin Ran.
"Sign it, and the money is yours!"
Lin Ran quickly scanned it, saw no issues, and casually signed his name.
"Alright! This matter is closed!"
The Foreman nodded in satisfaction and put the A4 paper into his drawer.
After Lin Ran left, the Foreman's lips curved into a wicked smile. He took out the A4 paper from the drawer again and handed it to his secretary.
The secretary understood immediately and skillfully added the character 'pickup' (ten) in front of the amount, changing the original '10,000' (ten thousand) directly to '110,000' (one hundred and ten thousand).
Leaving the construction site, Lin Ran hailed a taxi and headed straight to a nearby small commodities wholesale market to purchase equipment...
After a night of madness, Wang Xue returned home and saw her mother, Yu Xian'er, hiding in the bathroom, showering incessantly. She asked, confused:
"Mom, what's wrong with you?"
Yu Xian'er stared at Wang Xue with a face full of anger:
"Where were you last night! Why didn't you come home!"
"I went out with friends, what's the big deal? Are you going through menopause? Why are you acting crazy!"
"I'm acting crazy? Do you know..."
Yu Xian'er opened her mouth, wanting to speak but then stopped, unsure how to say it.
"Know what?"
"No...nothing..."
Yu Xian'er slumped onto the sofa, defeated. What good would it do to talk? The deed was already done!
"How strange!"
Wang Xue muttered, changed her clothes, and prepared to go out again.
"Xiao Xue, where are you going?"
"My friend is waiting for me downstairs, I won't be back for dinner tonight!"
Wang Xue said, walking towards the door.
"Xiao Xue, don't go, Mom needs you."
Yu Xian'er said, grabbing Wang Xue's arm.
"Ugh, aren't you annoying!"
Wang Xue violently shook off Yu Xian'er.
"I'm not coming back tonight either!"
Wang Xue slammed the door shut with a 'bang'.
Yu Xian'er collapsed weakly to the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.
After a long while, she walked to the bedside and picked up her usual sleeping pills...
At the market, Lin Ran carried large bags filled with many items.
Triple-proof gloves, work safety shoes, binoculars, motorcycle helmet, gas mask, multi-functional entrenching tool, and so on.
He bought two sets of each item, one for use and one for backup.
Passing a mall, Lin Ran bought a vlog camera to record his actions.
In a city village near the school, he rented a standard room for three months for fifteen hundred yuan.
He also bought daily necessities like food, a water mattress, and blankets.
After changing clothes, packing his supplies, and locking the door, Lin Ran took a deep breath, holding a sharpened entrenching tool.
He silently chanted, "Cross into World Number One!"
His vision went black, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself inside a residential building.
The hallway had two anti-theft doors, two elevators, and a window, a very standard residential building.
There was a thick layer of dust on the white stone floor, indicating that no one had walked through here for a very long time!
A cold gust of wind blew, sending a shiver through Lin Ran as he surveyed his surroundings.
Only then did he realize that this world was very cold, with temperatures at least twenty to thirty degrees below zero!
"It's so cold!"
He muttered softly. To be safe, he decided to go back first.
Shivering, he painstakingly plugged the vlog camera into a power bank, placed it on the floor at the end of the corridor, started the recording function, and then peered out the window.
This was a bustling city, with many high-rise buildings, but everything was covered in white snow.
The roads were invisible, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.
Having a general understanding of this world, he silently chanted "return."
His eyes went black, and when he opened them again, he was back in his rented room.
Noting the time of his return, Lin Ran put down his equipment and backpack, left the room, and took a taxi straight to the train station.
In Lin Ran's current world, it was early summer, so down jackets were impossible to buy on the streets.
Only at the train station's clothing wholesale market would there be off-season clothes on sale.
After some inquiries, he successfully found a mall full of off-season clothes.
He bought two short down jackets, two long ones, and two sets of socks, down pants, hats, and ear warmers.
Returning to his rented room, Lin Ran checked the time and found that two and a half hours had passed, bringing it to 6:30 PM.
After some thought, Lin Ran decided to get a good night's rest and head to World Number One tomorrow.
Leaving the room, Lin Ran bought a bouquet of roses from a roadside flower shop.
He took a taxi towards Wang Xue's house...
"Wang Mei, I miss you..."
Yu Xian'er sat on the bed, muttering to herself.
Her eyes were vacant as she recalled the past.
Eighteen years ago, Yu Xian'er was working at the city dance troupe. Both she and her best friend, Wang Mei, fell in love with a Hong Kong businessman who came to Da Zheng City to invest.
They just didn't know that the Hong Kong businessman was two-timing, dating both of them simultaneously.
Soon after, both Wang Mei and Yu Xian'er became pregnant. The Hong Kong businessman, who had a family, saw that neither of them was willing to abort the child, so he fled.
The two women quit their jobs, lived together, and fantasized about raising their children together after they were born.
On the day of childbirth, both entered the delivery room together. Wang Mei suffered severe bleeding, gave birth to her child, but died on the operating table.
And Yu Xian'er's child was stolen by human traffickers the very next day.
Devastated by the loss of her child, Yu Xian'er searched frantically. When her efforts were fruitless, she placed her affections on Wang Mei's child.
She fantasized that this was her own child.
"Wang Mei! I'm coming to join you. From now on, Wang Xue will have to rely on herself..."
Yu Xian'er murmured, twisting open the sleeping pills, pouring them all into her mouth, and lying on the bed with a smile.
"Thump thump thump!"
At Wang Xue's doorstep, Lin Ran, holding a bouquet of roses, knocked on the anti-theft door.
"Is anyone home?! Open the door!!"
"Thump thump thump! Is anyone home?!"
"If you don't open the door, I'll go in myself!"
After waiting a long time with no response, Lin Ran took out a key and opened the door.
"Is anyone home??"
Lin Ran said, walking towards the bedroom.
He pushed open the door and saw Yu Xian'er lying on the bed and the fallen medicine bottle on the floor.
Lin Ran's mind instantly exploded; he hadn't expected her to be so resolute!
"Ambulance!"
Lin Ran frantically pulled out his phone, ready to dial 120, but his hand stopped in mid-air.
"If she dies, and there's an autopsy, I might be implicated!"
"Can't call an ambulance!"
With that thought, Lin Ran quickly rushed into the kitchen, got a large bowl, grabbed a handful of salt, added water, and stirred it.
He hurried back to the bedroom, pried open Yu Xian'er's mouth, and poured it in.
Soon, Yu Xian'er was leaning over the side of the bed, throwing up.
Seeing the large amount of undigested sleeping pills on the floor, Lin Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why did you save me? Just let me die!"
"Last night was all a misunderstanding, can't we just forget about it?"
"Forget it? How can you expect me to forget?"
"If you really can't forget, then let's be together. Anyway, Wang Xue has already broken up with me!"
"Heh heh, be with a beast like you? I'd rather die!"
"Then what will it take for you to forgive me!"
"Hmph!"
Yu Xian'er snorted coldly and ignored Lin Ran.
Looking at Yu Xian'er, lying on the bed in a stepmother-style dress and flesh-colored stockings, Lin Ran couldn't help but swallow.
"How about you be my woman? I will make you the happiest person in this world."
Lin Ran said, walking to the bed and embracing her.
"Let go of me! Do you know who I am?" Yu Xian'er looked at him coldly.
"I don't care who you are! If you don't agree, I won't let go!"
Lin Ran said, and his hand became even more intrusive!
"Aren't you afraid I'll call the police?"
"I guess your relationship with Wang Xue isn't simple. If things get out of hand, it won't be good for anyone, right? How will Wang Xue look at you then?"
"You..."
...Yu Xian'er stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Stop faking it, your body is very honest. Have a drink!"
Lin Ran brought a bottle of red wine from outside, opened it, and poured a glass for Yu Xian'er.
Yu Xian'er initially refused, but then, as if thinking of something, she picked up the red wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Then she directly snatched the wine bottle from Lin Ran's hand and drank straight from it.
"Don't drink so much! Beautiful lady, what's your name?"
"Hmph, what are you pretending for? Aren't you just trying to get me drunk?"
Yu Xian'er said, pushing Lin Ran away, stumbling to the dining room, and opening another bottle of red wine to drink straight from the bottle.
"Don't drink like that, it'll kill you!"
Lin Ran tried to snatch the wine bottle from Yu Xian'er's hand but was pushed away again.
Seeing Yu Xian'er finish one bottle and reach for another, Lin Ran quickly stepped forward and hugged her.
"My dear lady, you really can't drink anymore!"
Yu Xian'er struggled violently, directly pushing Lin Ran into a stumble.
Suddenly, Yu Xian'er stopped moving, staring intently at Lin Ran, muttering: "You really look like..."
"Like? Like what?"
Lin Ran was a bit confused.
"Where have you been all these years? Eighteen years, do you know how I've lived these eighteen years? Wuwuwu~"
Yu Xian'er said, throwing herself into his arms, hitting him.
"Mistaken me for someone else?"
Lin Ran muttered to himself, stroking her back awkwardly to comfort her:
"It's alright, I'm back. Don't cry anymore, I won't leave again!"
"Really? You won't leave Xian'er again?"
"Mm, really!"
Looking at the charming Yu Xian'er, Lin Ran swallowed.
Yu Xian'er stared straight at him, then directly pushed him onto the sofa.
"What the hell is going on!"
...Lin Ran woke up again, the sun high in the sky.
Yu Xian'er's figure had disappeared.
A note was placed by the bed:
"I'm leaving, don't look for me. I need some peace and quiet. When I've thought things through, I'll naturally come back.
Please take care of Wang Xue for me, thank you! Yu Xian'er!"
"So her name is Yu Xian'er?"
Looking at the scratches on his body, Lin Ran finally confirmed that last night was not a dream.
After Yu Xian'er left, Lin Ran felt somewhat lost.
Returning to his rented room, he dressed neatly, silently chanted 'cross over', and arrived in World Number One again, hoping to forget her through busyness.
He looked around, and seeing no danger, quickly walked to the VLOG camera. He took the power bank and VLOG camera and returned to the Main World.
Sitting on the bed, Lin Ran set the playback speed to thirty times and quickly browsed.
Lin Ran spent fifty minutes on twenty hours of video. The first half of the video had no problems.
Towards the end of the video, he suddenly heard a loud bang, followed by a woman's scream, which lasted for about three to four minutes!
The sound was a bit distant, as if coming from upstairs.
Lin Ran could not currently determine which floor it was.
"Currently, three points can be confirmed! There are people in World Number One, and the sunrise, sunset, and time flow are synchronized with the Main World!"
Having figured this out, Lin Ran put on his equipment and continued to World Number One for exploration.
Upon arriving in World Number One, Lin Ran did not rashly go upstairs to find the source of the sound. Instead, he walked to the nearest room door and gently knocked on it with his entrenching tool to see if anyone was inside.
"Thump thump thump!"
The sound of metal clashing was particularly abrupt in the empty and silent corridor.
"Thump thump thump!"
Lin Ran continued to knock. After a few minutes with no response, he moved on to the next door.
After a long while, seeing no response from this door either, Lin Ran inserted the tip of his entrenching tool into the door crack, pried it forcefully, and heard a crisp 'crack'.
The anti-theft door was directly pried open.
Gently pushing the door open, Lin Ran looked inside.
What greeted his eyes was a luxuriously decorated living room and dining room, but the room was very messy, with furniture dismantled and scattered everywhere.
It looked as if it had been ransacked.
After scanning the surroundings to confirm there was no danger, Lin Ran walked into the room. It was then that he realized most of the doors, doorframes, and cabinets in the room had been removed.
It seemed like anything related to wood was gone!
With confusion, Lin Ran entered the bedroom. After looking around, he found that not only was the wood gone, but clothes and blankets were also missing.
There were also many burnt ashes on the floor, indicating someone had made a bonfire here.
Arriving at the kitchen, Lin Ran pushed open the door, and the sight that greeted him made him pause.
He saw a mattress thrown on the floor, covered with thick layers of blankets. A couple and a child were curled up on it, their bodies stiff, veins protruding all over, and black blood vessels particularly prominent.
"Were they frozen to death?"
"No! It looks like poisoning!"
Lin Ran thought about it. He could withstand the cold in a down jacket, so there was no reason these people couldn't endure it.
At most, they would just need a few more blankets.
With that thought, Lin Ran tightened the gas mask on his face.
"They've been dead for so long, and no one has taken care of them, which proves that this world has most likely lost order!"
Lin Ran secretly guessed, not touching the bodies, he began to search the room for valuables.
Passing the balcony, Lin Ran noticed a strange plant with white berries on the windowsill outside the window.
It grew on ice, its branches transparent, and its leaves were milky white. If one didn't look closely, it would be impossible to spot!
Although this plant was peculiar, Lin Ran only glanced at it and paid no further attention; his goal was to make money.
Arriving at the walk-in closet, Lin Ran noticed a safe in the wardrobe, and the safe door was not closed; it was wide open.
Inside were a gleaming gold bar and some jewelry.
