Chapter 31
During the latter half of the orchard tour, everyone noticed the representative’s excessive concern for Lin Ran, asking about his meals, tuition fees, and whether he was bullied at school, his attention completely diverted from the peaches.
Lin Ran, initially answering politely, grew suspicious, recognizing the representative’s face as familiar.
Yorke, realizing he had been noticed, awkwardly touched his hair. The village officials wondered if the Jiang family had a wealthy overseas relative.
Fortunately, the representative didn’t do anything else unusual before leaving, much to everyone’s relief. Lin Ran frowned, watching the departing cars.
The next day, Secretary Gu received a call. The conglomerate was impressed with Bi Jiang Town’s orchards and offered a substantial investment.
“This is a dream come true! We can expand our production, develop fruit juice and dried fruit products! We’ll have a real industry!”
“Shouldn’t we build roads first? ‘To get rich, build roads first!'”
As they discussed this, Secretary Gu called Lin Ran aside.
“Lin Ran, are you sure you don’t have any wealthy relatives abroad?”
“My grandparents have been farmers all their lives. No relatives abroad,” Lin Ran said, equally puzzled. As for his parents, they were gone before he could remember them.
“Oh, well, then they must really like our peaches… By the way, Lin-zai, your house renovation subsidy has arrived. Rebuild your house. It represents our village’s image.”
“But we only planned to do some repairs, not change the style,” Lin Ran said. He liked their old house.
“And Secretary, our village’s architecture is beautiful. Building identical three-story houses would ruin its unique charm,” he added, and Secretary Gu, considering the recent interest from tourist groups, agreed.
“Anyway, Lin-zai, you’re our village’s hero. Think carefully about your future career…” He had wanted to offer him a job in the village, but Lin Ran’s talent deserved better.
Lin Ran smiled, his charm endearing him to the older generation. No wonder the representative had asked them to take care of him.
This summer had been unexpectedly fruitful. Orders were increasing, and the village was even planning a fruit juice factory, securing his grandparents’ future.
[Beep—Luna Clan’s Friendship quest complete! Reward distributed!] As Lin Ran logged into “Demon World,” a message appeared in his mailbox. The quest’s progress had been increasing steadily, and he hadn’t paid much attention to it.
[Reward: Moon Brooch (Evolved Radiant Moon Crystal)]
Evolved Radiant Moon Crystal? Wasn’t that the moonstone Sootball had given him? He retrieved the box, and the stone had indeed transformed into a beautiful, elegant brooch.
[The Moon Brooch grants the wearer the moon’s protection and doubles initial affection with Luna Clan descendants.]
As he touched the brooch, a strange sensation flowed through him. He tried to remove his hand but couldn’t!
“Cheep?” Sootball, waking up, flew over, noticing the moon’s scent on A-Ran.
Lin Ran stared at his reflection. He looked different. His skin was pale, his eyes had a reddish tint, and he had fangs! Like Sootball! Could the brooch transform him into a Luna Clan demon? He felt a surge of magic from the brooch.
[Beep—New skill acquired!]
“Cheep cheep!!” Sootball, excited, landed on his shoulder, seeing the purple aura around A-Ran, similar to its own.
“Sootball, do you know what’s happening?” Lin Ran asked, struggling to speak with the fangs.
“Cheep~ Cheep!” I don’t know, but you look good! It didn’t know, but A-Ran looked handsome, a bit mysterious and dangerous.
“I could go to a costume party like this… But how do I change back?” He touched his fangs. At least he had magic now.
“Cheep! Cheep!” Sootball, however, didn’t want him to change back. It flew to the table and tried to teach him how to control his magic.
“Whoosh whoosh—” It manipulated its purple aura, forming a beautiful crystal around a cup.
“Cheep.” Then, it touched the crystal, and both cup and crystal turned to dust.
“You want me to try?” Lin Ran looked at his hand.
“Cheep!” Sootball encouraged him.
He followed the skill guide on the system panel, a cool sensation flowing through his fingertips. A purple aura formed, then dissipated into shimmering dust.
“Cheep!” Sootball caught a piece, which vanished as it touched it.
“Cheep cheep cheep!” Practice more! It’s not strong enough!
“I know, I know. You’ve become a little teacher now,” Lin Ran chuckled, enjoying this newfound power.
“Mew…” Snowball, waking up later than usual, had been watching, its gaze fixed on the brooch.
“Snowball, you’re awake? You’ve been sleeping a lot lately,” Lin Ran said, picking it up and petting it. It seemed perfectly healthy, just sleepy.
An Xun simply hadn’t had much time to log in, only briefly after filming, and today was a day off. To Lin Ran, it seemed like Snowball was always sleeping when offline.
“Do you want to play with this?” he asked, thinking Snowball wanted the brooch.
“Cheep cheep cheep!” I gave it to A-Ran! Sootball declared proudly.
“Mew…” So, it’s from Sootball. Snowball looked at the brooch, then at Sootball, its paws kneading Lin Ran’s lap.
Lin Ran noticed its slight dejection.
“What’s wrong, baby? Why are you sad?” He petted Snowball, its tail wrapping around his arm. Snowball was more easily embarrassed than Sootball, especially when held on its back. He had once tried to check its gender, and it had fled in a panic. He hadn’t dared touch its belly since.
An Xun simply felt he couldn’t give A-Ran a pretty stone like Sootball had.
Seeing it still sad, Lin Ran said, “Let’s go fishing!”
“Mew?”
“Fishing! It’s our daily task.” He had noticed Snowball’s injured ear seemed to affect its hearing. It only responded when he spoke close to its other ear. But since Snowball seemed sensitive about it, he didn’t mention it. Its affection level had been increasing, though it had plateaued around 70, a good number, indicating trust and dependence. It just needed a trigger, which he suspected was related to its ear. He wished he could find a doctor in “Demon World.”
The recent daily tasks had been ocean-themed, and today’s was fishing, requiring him to catch five fish. Previously, he would have needed fishing gear, but now, he could use his magic.
[Beep—Entering map: Sunset Bay]
“Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!” Sootball, perched on Snowball’s head, cheered him on. Snowball, carrying Sootball, watched nervously as Lin Ran tried to catch fish with his magic.
The larger and rarer the fish, the better the reward. He aimed for five good ones. But controlling his magic wasn’t easy. The fish were too fast.
After struggling for a while, with the cubs’ help, he caught four. The fifth one eluded him.
“I might have to swim for it. Or find a net,” he sighed, tired.
“Mew…” Snowball and Sootball approached, Sootball offering him a handkerchief.
“Thank you. Wait, where did you get this?” he asked, surprised.
“Cheep~” Sootball pointed at its little backpack. We have everything! We can take care of you!
“You two are so adorable,” he said, touched, wiping his sweat with the handkerchief, still wondering where to find the last fish. “Demon World’s” daily tasks usually had a theme, and failing one might affect the others.
“Are you looking for this?” a pleasant, almost magnetic voice asked.
Lin Ran almost thought he was hallucinating. He had never encountered another human in “Demon World.”
He turned and saw a merman emerging from the water, holding a colorful fish, the one he had been trying to catch.
“Hello, excuse me, do you live here? I’ll leave if I’m disturbing you,” Lin Ran said, assuming it was a local demon, like Yuanbao. It seemed harmless, but he hesitated to accept the fish. He had been taught not to accept things from strangers.
Atylanthos, the merman, with his bright blue eyes, was sure this was the famous human NPC, along with the Luna Clan cub and a snow leopard. The Luna Clan’s secret was out. He flicked his tail, remembering Oni’s refusal to answer his questions. What was so special about this human? The Human Bureau had tried sending humans into “Demon World,” but they were all expelled.
He was about to approach when a system warning appeared:
[Warning! Contacting an NPC during a quest may have unpredictable consequences!]
But Atylanthos, undeterred, was even more convinced of the human’s special status.
“I’ll be going then. Sorry for the disturbance,” Lin Ran said, sensing a dangerous aura from the merman. Yuanbao had been intimidating at first, but he was ultimately harmless, his power giving him a sense of indifference. But this merman was different. His magic wasn’t fully developed yet; he wasn’t sure he could win a fight, especially with the cubs around.
“But don’t you need a fish? I’ve been watching you. You’ve been searching for a long time,” Atylanthos said.
“Cheep…” Sootball, wanting to help A-Ran complete the task, was about to take the fish when Snowball stopped it. It sensed something dangerous in the merman’s voice, a subtle magic that compelled trust. But perhaps Sootball was simply attracted by the fish.
“Sorry, but I have nothing to offer in exchange. And if this is your territory, I shouldn’t accept it. I’ve already caught four of your fish,” Lin Ran said, praising Snowball, still wary of Atylanthos’s offer. Why was he so helpful? And he had been secretly observing them; that was dangerous.
“…” Atylanthos looked hurt, his handsome features even more alluring. He had never encountered anyone immune to his charm before.
“We’ll be going then. Goodbye, Mr. Merman,” Lin Ran said, grabbing the cubs.
Atylanthos: !? This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! He didn’t have any special privileges with Lin Ran, who only cared about fluffy cubs.
“I mean no harm! You—” Unable to leave the water, he reached out to stop Lin Ran.
“You’re really strange…” Lin Ran said, grabbing his wrist, his strength surprising Atylanthos.
[Beep—Fifth fish captured! Quest complete! Place the fish in the aquarium and build a home aquarium for the cubs.] A system notification interrupted them.
Lin Ran: …?
Atylanthos: …!? He stared at the “Subordinate” mark on his status, meaning he now had to obey this human?! Was “Demon World” insane?! He was a clan leader!
He protested vehemently, but the system didn’t respond, as if mocking him for ignoring the warning. Being caught like a fish constituted a successful capture.
Lin Ran noticed a new icon on his quest panel, a pearl crown, alongside the moon brooch.
“What’s going on?” he wondered. Why did he have a merman subordinate?
“Let me go! I’ll never be your pet fish!” Atylanthos exclaimed, his composure gone.
“Gurgle… Brother?” A small merchild appeared, hiding behind Atylanthos, looking at Lin Ran with wide eyes.
Lin Ran’s attention was immediately captured. How adorable!
“Don’t you dare touch my brother— You evil human!” Atylanthos, sensing his gaze, protectively shielded his brother.
