Chapter 106
To the surprise of the entire Demon World, the moment Lin Ran agreed, “Demon World” released a new quest for the first time – A-Ran’s Wish List: Magazine Shoot.
This new quest attracted huge attention because it was the first time “Demon World” had explicitly involved an interactive quest in the real world.
It wasn’t interacting with A-Ran in the game anymore, but in the real world!
The quest’s objective was to help A-Ran successfully capture precious life images and help the magazine’s sales break historical records.
Players who completed the quest could receive a limited-time card reward: “Model A-Ran,” as well as the corresponding outfit.
The top three players in contribution points could receive a custom personal image pendant from “Demon World,” allowing their pendant to appear beside Model A-Ran~
[OMG, so “Demon World” has officially acknowledged that A-Ran is a real human in the real world?!]
[This reward is too tempting, I want it, I want it! [Drooling and extending paws]]
[Urgent, urgent, but I haven’t even found A-Ran yet, how can I help him with the photoshoot and complete his wish list?!]
As countless demons frantically discussed how to fulfill A-Ran’s wish, they were suddenly struck by a thunderbolt.
[Hehe, the first batch to find A-Ran have already gotten the opportunity to participate in the photoshoot]
[I’m crying, why can’t species that don’t exist in the real world participate in the photoshoot! I was also in the first batch——]
[Ahhhh, A-Ran is so gentle and handsome, sob, I’m not going to wash my hair for a month after he touched my head!]
The first batch of lucky demons started showing off their happiness on the Demon World forum, causing a huge earthquake.
How could you guys be so fast——!?
Countless demons who hadn’t found A-Ran yet were so anxious that smoke was almost coming out of their heads.
Their own failure was sad, but the success of other demons was undoubtedly even more devastating.
After Lin Ran accepted the invitation, he was quickly taken to the magazine office to finalize the collaboration details.
“Oh, Lin, you look even more inspiring in person than on the big screen!”
The photographer, David Klein, was a very enthusiastic and cheerful American and was incredibly excited to see Lin Ran.
In fact, after a detailed discussion, Lin Ran learned that he wasn’t the initially decided cover model for this magazine issue.
“But Mr. Klein insisted on inviting you to shoot this theme, so he finally overruled everyone and finalized this collaboration.”
The editor-in-chief, Lu Yun, wasn’t as excited as Klein, clearly still hesitant about this major decision.
Inviting a newcomer to shoot such an important cover, if the sales were dismal, she, as the editor-in-chief, would undoubtedly be held responsible.
Moreover, the cost of this shoot was quite high, so the pre-production work had to be perfect, including this preparatory meeting.
“Thank you for your and Mr. Klein’s trust, but I can actually provide some help with the animal models.”
When Lin Ran said this at the end of the meeting, all the staff at “Global Garden” looked at him in surprise.
“You can provide animal models? But Mr. Lin Ran, you have to know that we’re shooting wild beasts, and this usually requires renting them from relevant organizations domestically or internationally…”
After saying a lot, Editor Lu Yun hesitated: “In short, it’s not puppies or kittens.”
Actually, Lu Yun had a very good impression of Lin Ran, this young man. The reason was simple: people in this industry were somewhat visually-oriented, and Lin Ran’s temperament and appearance just happened to fit Lu Yun’s aesthetic.
And Lu Yun felt that the secretary who followed Lin Ran also had an extraordinary aura.
Just as Lu Yun looked at Secretary Ser behind Lin Ran, Secretary Ser pushed up his glasses and handed over a detailed contract.
“This is a private wild animal zoo under Morson, located in… It rescues and houses hundreds of species of large wild beasts. If you have any needs, I can contact them for you.”
After Secretary Ser said this, Lin Ran was still a little nervous, hoping that no problems would be discovered.
However, as soon as this document came out, everyone present was deeply shocked by the variety of wild beasts listed in it.
They had only heard of wealthy people overseas raising wild beasts, but they never expected this person to be even more impressive, directly owning a private zoo!?
“Oh my god, are, are all of these available for selection?”
Especially Klein, the photographer, was so excited that he almost jumped up.
After finding his muse, he could also invite so many wild beasts within the budget, this was simply a photographer’s paradise.
Even if there was no payment for this collaboration, Klein suspected that many photographers would be vying for this opportunity.
“But shooting with these large wild beasts will have safety issues, we can’t rent too many at once, right? The relevant insurance also needs to be purchased as soon as possible.”
Editor Lu Yun was also very excited but still maintained a bit of rationality.
“Don’t worry, we will assist with all the procedures in this regard.”
Secretary Ser smiled slightly.
Everyone felt a sense of awe, was this the legendary power of money?
And the moment Klein opened the document, his eyes were immediately drawn to the hunting lion.
Not to mention the mysterious and lazy black panther, the agile and elegant fox, the soaring eagle…
Heavens, could these really appear in his portfolio?!
However, the reason why the list of demons in the document was so complete was largely related to the quest released by “Demon World.”
When Shao Mian tried to manipulate things and secretly delete some photos, he immediately received a stern warning from “Demon World.”
It said that this behavior was detrimental to A-Ran completing his wish list, and if he put it into practice, a large number of contribution points for this quest would be deducted.
“…”
A certain golden tabby sneered for a whole morning, watching as Lin Ran personally took “ID photos” for each of the little guys with a camera, taking the opportunity to pet them all!
The entire Morson headquarters lobby had become a fluffy creature audition scene.
Even after Lin Ran returned, there were still fluffy creatures trying to find A-Ran to take supplementary photos and be added to the booklet.
“Aiya, this photoshoot is really a big project.”
Tao Shu rarely saw the building so lively, and seeing A-Ran’s happy expression, he couldn’t help but feel happy too.
Liliya wagged her tail smugly, thinking that she finally didn’t need to disguise herself as a fox dog anymore.
She could let A-Ran pet her openly! A-Ran even praised her fur for being especially smooth and beautiful~
This made Liliya feel that her usual efforts in maintaining her fur were worth it.
Lin Ran held a small black panther cub that had just been weaned and gently put the bottle into its mouth, and the cub immediately started suckling obediently.
Lin Ran’s heart almost melted from the cuteness.
Louis squatted beside him, watching his younger brothers being held by A-Ran one by one, wagging his big black tail, his mood clearly very good.
After knowing that A-Ran especially liked cubs, Louis secretly brought a random younger brother over for A-Ran to play with.
Louis felt that even if his parents knew, they probably wouldn’t do anything.
“He’s asleep, like a little angel.”
After feeding the cub the milk in the bottle, Lin Ran softly exclaimed.
Although Little Feather was defiant about this, he was A-Ran’s little angel, okay? This little panther was all black.
“But speaking of which, Yuanbao.”
Lin Ran, holding the black panther cub, suddenly looked at Shao Mian.
And Shao Mian, finally being remembered, immediately wanted to rub against him, but he forcibly restrained himself and stood not far away, as if silently asking what was the matter.
“Why haven’t I seen that Maine Coon again?”
Lin Ran looked at the fluffy creatures playing in the atrium and gradually realized a problem. When he first joined the company, Supervisor Tao Shu had told him that there were many pets raised in the company.
At that time, he thought they were used for modeling in “Demon World.”
But since he sent that Maine Coon back to the office and discovered Yuanbao’s demon identity, he had never seen it again.
As soon as Lin Ran asked this question, everyone quieted down.
Even Tao Shu fell silent, carefully taking half a step back and cautiously looking at his boss.
Shao Mian also didn’t expect to be finally remembered, but the question was a fatal one.
It would have been better if he hadn’t been remembered.
“Gave it away.”
So, a certain large golden tabby started to look out the window guiltily, his face not red and his heart not racing.
“You…”
Before Lin Ran could speak, Shao Mian, who had been holding back all day, quickly transformed into a big lion, strode over, and started to rub against him.
“It was clearly you pretending, wasn’t it? You were even hiding in my backpack at the time.”
Grabbing his mane, Lin Ran asked with a frown.
Once he realized it, it wasn’t difficult to guess, but Yuanbao, this guy, hadn’t reported it and tried to get away with it, which was really bad.
Yuanbao lowered his head, Yuanbao acted coquettishly, Yuanbao tried to pretend he didn’t know…
Shao Mian felt that this wasn’t a big deal, after all, he wasn’t the same as he was today, how could he casually shrink and act cute?
“Then don’t come to the photoshoot this time.”
Lin Ran’s words made Shao Mian incredulously tap his tail on the ground.
The other fluffy creatures instantly wanted to cheer.
After all, if Shao Mian, the Demon King, couldn’t participate, it was clear that they would have more opportunities to get close to A-Ran!
However, no one dared to make a sound, except for their fluffy tails, which were wagging much faster.
And in this large-scale event, there was another sad fluffy creature in the entire Demon World, that is, Bai Bai.
Other fluffy creatures were at most rejected because their beast forms weren’t cute enough or didn’t meet the standards of the human world, but Bai Bai couldn’t participate because his beast form was too rare and cute.
After all, renting a “private” giant panda sounded very “illegal.”
So Shao Mian successfully removed this annoying black and white fluffy creature from the list, although Lin Ran did comfort Bai Bai for a long time.
Shao Mian never expected that it would be his turn now!
And the news of Lin Ran being invited to shoot for a magazine gradually spread among the fans, which further increased the expectations from the outside world.
However, during the trip to the Rhine Prairie for the photoshoot, the first to be shocked were Klein, the photographer, and the other staff members.
Because all the safety measures they had prepared in advance were completely useless, those large fluffy creatures were incredibly gentle and docile towards the young man in front of them.
That’s right, after thinking for a long time, Klein could only think of the adjective “gentle and docile.”
“This is truly incredible!”
Except for Lin Ran, who wasn’t quite used to it at first, always feeling that the clothes for the shoot were too artistic.
The high-waisted black trousers outlined his thin but well-defined waistline, and his upper body was a classical floral shirt made of excellent material, the bell sleeves having a retro aristocratic feel of the old era, the light gauze being blown by the wind, faintly revealing his figure.
The golden-brown reindeer beside him followed Lin Ran, even letting Lin Ran touch its antlers, and it even cooperated perfectly, leaping from the water’s edge!
“This is too perfect!”
Klein, looking at the frozen image on the camera, was speechless for a moment.
It had the feel of an elf in the forest, natural, wild, and with a touch of retro romanticism.
And after the first herbivorous fluffy reindeer model was successfully photographed, and the team started to increase the intensity, they found that their worries were completely unnecessary.
Because those beasts were like elementary school students, obediently squatting in the back of the car without moving, being led down, and even actively pouncing over!
“Careful——Lin!”
Everyone was scared when they saw the snow leopard pouncing over.
“It’s okay, Snow… he just wants to play with me.”
Lin Ran smiled and caught Snowball, touching the little guy’s growing head, finding that Snowball already had the look of a young snow leopard.
His long, big tail subconsciously protected A-Ran, wanting to rub against his neck.
No matter how much he grew up, he still loved being held and kissed by A-Ran.
Everyone present didn’t know how to react seeing this scene.
So after seeing various adult beasts walking around the young man, wagging their tails and asking for pets, everyone seemed to have become accustomed to it.
“But this is truly amazing…”
Klein repeatedly exclaimed while his camera never stopped clicking.
His initial biggest worry was that the high rejection rate of photos due to the model’s nervousness and discomfort when shooting with wild beasts. Now, he felt that the shutter wasn’t fast enough, which might cause him to miss some highlights!
During the break, when Lin Ran was drinking water, he found that Secretary Ser, who had accompanied him, was always quietly standing beside him.
Except for a few times when he couldn’t help but take out his phone and capture a few exceptionally stunning moments.
“Secretary Ser, would you like to take a photo together?”
Lin Ran looked at Ser and suddenly asked softly.
“Me? It’s not quite appropriate.”
Ser, being asked by A-Ran, was rarely tempted, but he quickly calmed down.
He was a raven, and ravens didn’t have a good meaning in the human world.
And today, several of A-Ran’s outfits had a retro and gorgeous feel. Ser felt that the atmosphere the photographer wanted to create was probably the dangerous relationship of conflict and attraction between humans and beasts in the classical era.
“Why isn’t a raven appropriate?”
Lin Ran didn’t agree with Secretary Ser’s self-deprecation.
The image of a raven, in classical literature, actually always carried a mysterious and dangerous meaning, and the story behind it always made people imagine.
Most importantly, Lin Ran suddenly realized that Secretary Ser, who usually seemed very calm and mature, actually also wanted to take a photo together.
But he always chose to remain silent.
If he hadn’t noticed Secretary Ser’s gaze constantly lingering on the photographer’s camera, it would have been difficult to discover this.
And Secretary Ser, looking at the smiling A-Ran who had extended the invitation, finally pursed his lips and made a decision.
Half an hour later, Klein, the photographer, was stunned to see countless black ravens flying over.
Especially the one at the front, which quickly flapped its wings and finally landed on Lin Ran’s arm, then turned to look at him and met his eyes.
Although Klein was startled, inspiration struck him first.
Countless ravens, flying black feathers, a mysterious medieval nobleman…
Even the red ruby bow tie on Lin Ran’s outfit had an unspeakable gothic feel.
Klein didn’t think twice and subconsciously pressed the shutter frantically, capturing this strange scene!
And like a dream, within ten seconds of him successfully capturing the perfect photo, all the black ravens spread their wings and disappeared without a trace.
“My god, what just happened? A flock of ravens migrated over?”
“Is anyone hurt!”
The others hurriedly rushed over, only to find that not only was no one hurt, but even Lin Ran’s clothes weren’t dirty at all.
Even the fallen black feathers were neatly picked up by the ravens and taken away.
“I can’t help but suspect, Lin, that you have a certain aura that attracts natural creatures.”
Klein, back in the car and heading to the next shooting location, finally couldn’t help but discuss this topic with Lin Ran.
He didn’t notice that Secretary Ser, who had disappeared for a moment, had already regained his usual elegant and capable demeanor and quietly returned to Lin Ran’s side.
“Mm, maybe they also know that there’s a very skilled photographer by my side today?”
Lin Ran smiled and responded, successfully making Klein a little embarrassed.
This young man really had the magic of Easterners. Not only was he good-looking, but he was also very easy to get along with.
“Mr. Klein, can I see the photo you just took?”
“Oh! Of course.”
Hearing that Lin Ran wanted to see it in advance, Klein directly held up the camera and shared it. Even Secretary Ser couldn’t help but sneak a glance.
This was his first photo with A-Ran.
And it was even a photo with A-Ran that a certain big lion didn’t have!
And the moment he saw the photo, Lin Ran’s eyes widened slightly, he couldn’t believe that the person in the photo was him.
“You took a really good photo, Mr. Klein.”
The angle and timing of this photo were excellent. It was a shot of the young man standing on the wasteland, surrounded by countless black ravens.
Lin Ran in the photo was looking down gently at the black raven on his arm.
Black hair, black eyes, fair skin, and the dark red ruby on his chest, coupled with the changing light and shadow, even had a mysterious and gorgeous gothic feel.
And the next close-up shot in the continuous shooting was of Lin Ran looking up at the camera, Secretary Ser’s spread black wings just covering half of his face, but it made the other half of the image even more impactful.
Lin Ran even felt that his gaze towards the camera had a sense of story, as if the dust of time had traveled through time and finally met the eyes of every viewer in front of the lens.
The ribbon on his neck also happened to be flying in the wind, intertwined with the falling black raven feathers.
“My god, Lin, I can’t imagine how many fans will go crazy once this photo is released.”
It was like some mysterious and dangerous being, whose changing figure was captured by the lens, and would sprout black wings and disappear in the next second!
Klein muttered for a long time, and Lin Ran didn’t have the heart to say that it wasn’t impossible for him to grow wings, although his wings were white, not black.
And Secretary Ser, who was usually emotionally indifferent, also stared at the image on the camera for a long time, unable to look away.
Finally, Secretary Ser, coming back to his senses, looked at Klein, this human photographer, with a newly found respect.
Humans did seem to have some skills.
They could actually take such photos.
He wanted to buy it.
Secretary Ser even found that he was a little anxious, wanting to immediately own this magazine and keep it with him.
He hadn’t had such an urgent expectation in his long life.
“Rustle–”
And a certain large golden tabby hiding in the grass poked his head out after seeing the photoshoot vehicle finally leave.
After hesitating for more than ten seconds, he started running after the car, keeping a certain distance.
Lin Ran, who was a little sleepy leaning against the car window, thought he was seeing things and carefully looked at the grassland outside the window again, but found nothing except for the rapidly receding scenery.
He wondered if Yuanbao had stayed home obediently today.
Lin Ran leaned against the car window again, unconsciously a little worried.
The main reason he didn’t let Shao Mian follow wasn’t because of the Maine Coon incident, but because Lin Ran was certain that if Yuanbao was always present, the other little demons wouldn’t dare to move.
Usually, as soon as he turned around, Yuanbao would take the opportunity to release his oppressive aura, he was really bad.
Moreover, he had spent so much time with Yuanbao, it should be fine to miss one photoshoot, right?
Although Lin Ran admitted that after seeing the quality of Klein’s photos, he was a little hesitant.
If Yuanbao, such a handsome big lion, could appear in Klein’s lens, wouldn’t he look even more dazzling and handsome?
Of course, if the photos turned out well, that guy would probably become smug again.
Thinking of this, Lin Ran couldn’t help but want to laugh.
[Ran: Do you want to come and shoot on the last day? I’ve been shooting all day today, everyone looks so good in the photos [Line dog asking]]
He finally typed a message and sent it.
[Yuanbao: …[Hmph stomping feet.jpg]]
Yuanbao’s reply was almost instant, but he uncharacteristically didn’t say anything, just humphing.
And after more than ten seconds, he sent another photo of the bustling city nightscape outside the office window, as if saying that he was still working overtime and it was very hard.
Eh, Tao Shu never specifically took photos and asked to be coaxed when he worked overtime.
But after hesitating for a moment, Lin Ran still sent a [Line dog giving a back massage.jpg] emoji.
As expected, after sending it, he stopped sulking and was as easy to coax as ever.
[Yuanbao: I’ll go find you on the last day and inspect the situation. [Looking around]]
He wanted to see how many photos had been taken!
Seeing Yuanbao’s latest message, Lin Ran finally smiled softly.
The setting sun just happened to shine on his face, even the light, transparent fuzz on his skin could be seen, and his usually dark pupils were illuminated into a clear amber color.
Klein, the photographer beside him, seeing this beautiful scene, subconsciously wanted to raise his camera again, although he instantly realized that this wasn’t working hours.
But he had to admit that this young man truly had a mysterious aura of story.
His seemingly gentle appearance could actually make so many large beasts surround him and cooperate with the photoshoot…
Tao Shu, who was truly working overtime and fixing bugs, sneezed and thought that it was a good thing he hadn’t left the headquarters building, otherwise, he really wouldn’t be able to send the boss a photo of him working overtime if he suddenly asked for it.
This limited-time event released by “Demon World” was really good~ sigh.
The hamster sighed.
So, the biggest surprise of this week-long magazine photoshoot happened on the last day.
“My god——tranquilizer gun! Where’s the tranquilizer gun, there’s a lion here, help!”
When the first assistant screamed and ran over, Lin Ran immediately stood up.
He saw the giant figure squatting in the grass not far away at a glance!
He didn’t know how long he had been waiting, but he couldn’t help but appear just as Lin Ran finished petting the last fluffy creature.
“Finally here? I thought you weren’t coming.”
Lin Ran smiled, reached out to brush away the grass leaves on Yuanbao’s mane, and the next second, he was playfully pounced on by Shao Mian.
Although the moment he fell, he had already skillfully used his paws to cushion the fall, afraid that Lin Ran would be hurt.
“Lin——!” “My god!”
Klein and the others screamed in horror, but before they could react, they saw Lin Ran, who had been pounced on, slap him away with a slightly disgusted expression.
And the golden lion that had pounced on Lin Ran was pulled up by his mane, simply wagging his tail and licking Lin Ran’s wrist.
The golden big cat didn’t care about Klein and the others’ dumbfounded reactions at all, not even giving them a single glance.
“Sorry, I scared you.”
Only Lin Ran explained with a slightly flushed face.
It was over, now he probably truly looked like a beast tamer in Klein’s eyes.
But he didn’t want such a strange title!
