Chapter 97: Enchanted (2/2)

This was not an expression of a normal person. Luo Yuan narrowed his eyes and slowly pulled out his machete.

His urge to kill got stronger as Ning Xiaoran got nearer. A frightening aura came out of him as the air around them felt restless. Low-level beasts nearby ran helter-skelter as if sensing their impending deaths.

Just as Luo Yuan was ready to strike, Ning Xiaoran spasmed and her eyes rolled back into her head.

Life seemed to come back to her pupils as she moaned. Even though they still looked a little dazed, they did not look as hollow as they had earlier.

Luo Yuan controlled his murdering instinct, but he did not relax. His eyes followed her. He was ready to attack if anything went wrong.

“Oh! Brother Luo?” Ning Xiaoran seemed to have woken up from a dream as she looked at Luo Yuan with a shocked expression. Her face was already flushing red before she had even finished her sentence.

Then she noticed their surroundings and said nervously, “I… Why am I outside?”

“You don’t remember walking here alone?” Luo Yuan asked.

“Me, alone?” Ning Xiaoran’s jaw dropped.

“You’ve already been out here for half an hour. If I didn’t come searching for you, you probably would have been eaten by the beasts. Try to remember how you came here,” Luo Yuan asked. He would not be able to drop this matter unless he got to the bottom of it.

Ning Xiaoran was close to tears. She was scared and cold, her body trembling like a frightened pigeon, “I… I don’t know, I don’t know how I ended up here.”

“Calm down first. Think carefully. What were you doing before this?” Luo Yuan guided her.

“I… I think I was throwing away the garbage. I was throwing it out door, but I felt that it was not… not so nice to dump it by the door. It’s not too dangerous to go a few steps further. Then… then I can’t remember,” Ning Xiaoran stuttered.

Luo Yuan thought this was ridiculous, but noticing Ning Xiaoran’s trembling body, he decided that it was not a pressing matter. “It’s late,” he said. “Let’s go back first. Think about it carefully again later, but don’t tell anyone about it yet.”

“I… I understand,” Ning Xiaoran nodded and looked around nervously. She was terrified.

Luo Yuan turned around to leave. Ning Xiaoran followed hurriedly, clutching onto the corner of his clothes after a short hesitation. Her face flushed crimson.

About ten minutes later, the two of them arrived at the mansion.

Dinner was already served, but no one had eaten because Luo Yuan was not home yet. They were sitting on the couch chatting. They all stood up together when they saw him return.

“Why did Ning Xiaoran follow him out? I was just asking where she was,” Huang Jiahui said, looking shocked. She seemed a little upset, her hands tightening around the hem of her clothes. Her mind must have jumped to a different conclusion, seeing the two of them come in huddling like that.

Wang Shishi hummed coldly as she looked away.

“We’ll talk about this later. Jiahui, find something for Ning Xiaoran to change into. Cao Ling, go make some ginger soup in the kitchen. We still have ginger, right?” Luo Yuan asked.

Cao Ling quickly stood up. “Yes, of course!”

Huang Jiahui hurried to get a change of clothes as she took in Ning Xiaoran’s purple lips. The girl was obviously freezing.

Zhao Dagang nudged Jin Meili. She glared at him and stood up unwillingly. “Do you need a towel?”

Zhao Dagang was speechless. This was a no brainer. She should have known what to do.

Jin Meili waited for Luo Yuan to nod before she ran to the bathroom and brought him a towel.

Luo Yuan waved his hand, “Give it to Ning Xiaoran.”

Wang Shishi was at her wit’s end. Jealousy flooded her. She felt like someone had just snatched away her favorite toy. Luo Yuan, though, could not spare any attention for Wang Shishi right now. His mind was on Ning Xiaoran and how her consciousness had been manipulated.

A system notification suddenly rang in his head,

“Level E Mission: Find and Eliminate the Reason Behind the Disappearance of the Population of the Jingyue Residential Area,

Time: 3 days. Reject/Accept.”

Just like he had thought. There was indeed something wrong.

For some reason, Luo Yuan felt relieved. A Level E Mission meant that there had to be a blue level beast around, and he had already killed a few of them.

He knew the mission was going to be difficult, but at least it was not hopeless. There should not be a problem as long as he was careful.

This was probably the reason why there were no other higher level beasts claiming such a large area despite the fact that it was a deserted territory

.

The question was, where was this beast now?

He had turned the whole Jingyue Residential Area upside down earlier, but he had not found anything. The hardest part of the mission was obviously finding enemy. He would fail if the beast remained unseen.

Luo Yuan accepted the mission without a second thought. It was safer there compared to other dark blue level beast territories. If he could not survive there, then how could he keep trying to make it through the apocalypse?

Ning Xiaoran changed and had a bowl of ginger soup, her face finally radiating warmth as she sweated. It seemed like she was not going to catch a cold after all.

The atmosphere was a little charged during dinner. Everyone knew it was not normal for Ning Xiaoran to go out, but they were smart enough not to question her about it.

After dinner, Luo Yuan lit a cigarette and said meaningfully, “Everyone be more careful tonight.”

Luo Yuan had not said it out loud, but the underlying meaning was clear and it terrified everyone.

Cao Ling was putting up a tough front, but her pale face reflected the fear she was feeling. She looked at Ning Xiaoran, thinking of her disappearance that had yet to be answered.

The only one who had remained calm was Huang Jiahui.

Luo Yuan sighed as he took in everyone’s reactions. He could not blame them. They were normal people after all. Courage only came with capability. If Luo Yuan did not have the system, he would most likely feel like them too. Huang Jiahui used to be in the police force at least, and had gotten used to all sorts of things happening after being with Luo Yuan for so long. They had managed to survive a few times now despite coming face to face with death.