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Chapter 17 Mission Completed
—How dare you talk like that? How could I not be alive!

Zhou You immediately wanted to give that person the middle finger, but when he turned around, he suddenly saw an extremely panicked face.

It was as if all the fear had been smashed, crushed, and then seeped into the skin little by little. The whole face was twitching involuntarily, the eyes were bloodshot, and the eyeballs were almost completely bulging out of their sockets, as if they would explode at any moment.

Zhou You knew this person.

It was the same security captain who had reprimanded him earlier.

However, this person had lost all her arrogance and instead resembled an extremely timid little girl, trembling all over. Judging from her terrified expression, it wouldn't be surprising if she peed herself the next second.

Seeing this, Zhou You stopped giving the middle finger and stood up with a smile, walking towards the middle-aged man.

"Captain, what are you saying? How could I not be alive? Oh dear, you don't look well. Have you fallen ill? We're such good friends, come here, let me help you up."

"Don't come here!"

As Zhou You drew closer, the captain's expression grew increasingly grim. When Zhou You was right in front of him, the captain finally couldn't help but let out a scream and fled.

Zhou You instinctively tried to grab the figure, but a system warning followed.

"Please note that you cannot interfere with this entity's actions at this time. If you forcibly intervene, this scenario will immediately fail."

So Zhou You had no choice but to withdraw his hand, but suddenly he thought of something.

--temporary?
I don't think this word existed before.
After the captain had completely escaped, Zhou You did a quick search of the room.

However, there was a slight change in the room compared to the day before.

First, his uniform was changed back to the one stained with blood.

Secondly, there were two more newspapers on the table.

"The city's richest man's condition may be worsening."

"Old neighborhood renovation is progressing steadily."

"Traditional Culture, Promoting Temples"

Today, we commend those who have improved the treatment of sanitation workers.

As before, the words were difficult to decipher, but this time Zhou You read them with utmost care.

He quickly discovered two problems.

Firstly, this is the second time there's been news about this 'city's richest man' being seriously ill. With such a strong emphasis on this, could this person be a key element of the plot?

Then there's the improvement in treatment—which clearly refers to what Zhou You did during the day—meaning that his actions during the day directly affect the entire story of the script?
"And with that security captain who seems to know the inside story, the problems are piling up," Zhou You said, tapping the table habitually. "But there's still nothing to connect the dots. I feel like I'm playing with a jigsaw puzzle, holding a bunch of pieces but missing a few crucial pieces."

But just then, a heavy chime came from the clock behind them.

It's 11 o'clock.

In an instant, the entire room began to change.

Crimson blood gushed from the once-clean floor; the overhead light began to flicker; the plants in the flowerpots by the door turned into twisted limbs; the broken television turned on by itself, and amidst the static, a grotesque and monstrous human face could occasionally be glimpsed.
—Wait a minute, this didn't happen the night before, did it?
Zhou You was about to say something, but the increasingly serious situation left him no time to think it through. Before the security room could completely turn into a haunted house, he hurriedly picked up his patrol flashlight and went outside.

Fortunately, the outdoor environment is not much different from before. The only thing worth mentioning is that the streetlights are dimmer. Previously, you could identify the road by the streetlights, but now you need a flashlight to see clearly in many places.

Zhou You cautiously explored the path and arrived at the stall. The incandescent light was still bright, but unlike his first visit, upon seeing the light, he suddenly relaxed, casually lifted the curtain, and went inside.

"Young man, are you here for a meal?"

He said the same thing again, but this time Zhou You didn't hesitate at all and plopped down in the chair.

Then, he flashed a bright smile.

"Boss, could I have a bowl of soup, please?"

The other party didn't expect the first sentence to be so direct, but they immediately went along with it and tried to lift the lid of the pot containing the human heads.

However, his hand was suddenly pressed down.

This constitutes a serious violation.

Startled, the monster abruptly raised its head, its eyes instantly turning extremely ferocious. Half of its face began to rapidly rot, and Zhou You felt his arm, which had been in contact with it, go numb, with festering spots faintly appearing on its surface.

But the next second, all the strange phenomena suddenly stopped.

The reason was simple: Zhou You had taken a white scarf from his pocket and gently placed it on the oil-stained table.

"How did you get your hands on this thing?!"

The shop owner stared intently at Zhou You with his last remaining eye, his crazed expression suggesting he wanted to devour him.

However, Zhou You just smiled.

"Don't worry, the old lady gave it to me willingly. So, can we talk about this in detail now?"

"She knitted this for me ten years ago. At that time, my brother and I had just been laid off, and it was winter. It was freezing cold. She felt sorry for us, shivering every day from the cold, so she scrimped and saved and managed to knit these two things."

The stall owner, now back to his original self, hunched over, stroking his scarf, his face full of nostalgia.

"My brother lost his wife years ago. He's never been careful; otherwise, he wouldn't be so old and still unable to find a wife."

The head in the soup pot floated to the surface, seemingly wanting to protest, but the owner immediately pressed it back down with a soup ladle.

"As for mine, it was carefully preserved. She wouldn't throw it away even after I died. Thank you so much for bringing this over. You even helped my poor, helpless wife. If there's anything this dead ghost can do for you, just tell me, and I'll do my best."

Hearing those calm words, Zhou You didn't hesitate and simply smiled and said.

"Then, could I please have a bowl of normal soup?"

The boss paused for a moment, then gave a puzzled look.

"Knowing full well that this is a scam, you still make this request? You're really strange."

Even so, he still lifted another pot, took a clean soup ladle from under the stall, scooped out a bowl, and placed it in front of Zhou You.

This soup didn't contain any rotten meat or pus, but it also lacked the mouthwatering chunks of meat and vegetables from before. It was just an ordinary pork rib and lotus root soup, the kind that every household in some regions makes.

However, Zhou You still smiled and thanked him, then accepted the drink and drank it.

(End of this chapter)