Late at night, the wind blowing over the river was cool, penetrating the clothes and taking away the already scant body heat.

Lin Baici had ventured out this time to resolve a potential outbreak of rule pollution. Now that there was finally a lead, there was no way he could leave.

“Anyway, it’s not a ghost!”

Lin Baici took several deep breaths in secret, calming his emotions. After all, he was a divine hunter with fifteen blessings of divine grace. He hadn’t even had the chance to use his newly acquired Hand of Great Impression.

“If we keep wandering around, the dormitory will close, and where will we sleep tonight?”

Lin Baici gazed into the girl’s eyes.

The girl was also anxious. Why hadn’t that thing shown up yet?

No, she had to keep this boy here!

“We could get a room.”

After the girl spoke, she glanced at Lin Baici’s appearance and suddenly felt her suggestion had no allure. Such a handsome guy surely wouldn’t lack a girlfriend.

“But… we’ve only just met!”

Although Lin Baici said this, he pretended to be a scumbag and made a move to kiss the girl.

The girl instinctively ducked her head, avoiding Lin Baici.

This action confirmed to Lin Baici that she was a reserved girl, so it was certain that she had some purpose in wanting to keep him here.

Could it be that some monster would crawl out of the river later and eat my innards?

Lin Baici thought it best to be cautious, so he took out his phone: “Are you hungry? How about we order some takeout?”

He unlocked his phone with one hand, opened WeChat, and messaged Xia Hongyao.

Lin under the Moon: What are you up to? Come to the riverside near Haijing Medical University. I’ve found the target. Remember to hide well when you come, don’t startle the snake.

“I’m not hungry!”

The girl seemed worried that Lin Baici would chat with someone else and reveal her secret, so she tiptoed to peek at Lin Baici’s phone screen.

But Lin Baici was too tall, and the girl couldn’t see.

Detective Xia: Received, on my way!

An excited emoji followed the message.

Lin Baici immediately switched to Meituan, feeling speechless inside. What time was it, and she still had time to reply?

Just come to the scene!

“How about some skewers and beer? We can drink and chat, how about that?”

Lin Baici said, reaching to wrap his arm around the girl’s waist, looking as if he intended to get her drunk and then do something else.

“I don’t want to eat.”

The girl was worried that when that thing appeared, the delivery person would be there too, which would be troublesome. If it faced two people and couldn’t ‘eat’ one, what if the other escaped?

And if this boy died, what if the delivery person, having seen her with him, called the police?

“Then let’s go to the lamppost over there? It’s pitch-black here, what if we fall into the river?”

Lin Baici had noticed that the girl was walking along the riverbank, always leading him to darker places, away from the lampposts.

An hour passed.

Nothing happened.

“…”

Lin Baici looked at the girl. Where was the promised robbery and murder? Where was the rule pollution?

Come on!

Hurry up and start!

Waiting for so long, Lin Baici’s initial worries had completely vanished. Now he just wanted the girl to make a move so he could deal with it and go back to sleep.

Lin Baici checked his watch. It was past midnight.

The girl had obviously never committed a crime before. She was anxious, her face always tense, and her thoughts were not meticulous enough. Otherwise, she would have realized that even a man with ill intentions would get annoyed after being dragged around for so long.

Lin Baici touched his stomach. He didn’t feel hungry, which meant there were neither Divine taboo creatures nor divine remains nearby.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and just as he was considering whether to confront her, the girl suddenly screamed and fell to the ground.

What’s going on?

Lin Baici quickly crouched beside her: “What’s wrong with you?”

“Where are you? Come out.”

“I did as you said!”

“Give me back my liver! Please.”

The girl cried out towards the river, the severe pain in her abdomen making her lose her composure, and she blurted out things she shouldn’t have.

Because the monster had said that if she didn’t bring someone within three days, she would die.

She had struggled for three days, and to survive, she finally decided to sacrifice others rather than herself. But she had brought the person, and the monster didn’t show up.

“Who are you talking to? What liver?”

Lin Baici inquired.

“No… I… I’m from the drama club, I’m practicing my lines!”

The girl dodged Lin Baici’s gaze, stammering, and the pain in her stomach made her break out in a cold sweat.

“Do you think I would believe that?”

Lin Baici was about to confront her, but the girl suddenly started coughing violently. After a few coughs, she vomited a large pool of blood, which even contained bits of flesh.

“Hold on, I’ll call an ambulance for you!”

Lin Baici dialed 120. Suddenly, he felt a pang of hunger and immediately looked around, but it was too dark to see anything.

“I don’t want to die, save me!”

“Give me back my liver!”

The girl’s cries grew weaker.

Three days ago, she and her best friend were strolling by the river at night when they encountered a man with rotting skin. He ate her best friend’s innards right in front of her, then reached into her mouth and pulled out her liver.

The monster said that if she brought someone at night, it would return her liver.

The girl knew that the person she brought would surely not survive, but to live, she decided to be selfish just this once. But why didn’t the monster appear?

Could it be that this man’s innards weren’t tasty enough?

“Where did your liver go?”

Lin Baici pressed for answers.

“It was… taken away!”

The girl cried, coughing up blood continuously.

Xia Hongyao, who had been hiding and observing, strode over with long steps.

“She says her liver is gone!”

Lin Baici wasn’t surprised that a person could live without innards because under rule pollution, current human knowledge would be overturned.

Xia Hongyao called the emergency department of the Security Bureau while lifting the girl’s shirt to check her stomach: “Not just the liver, the spleen is gone too!”

【A thief who likes to steal innards!】

【Be warned, the stronger and more beautiful the innards, the more likely it is to be targeted by it!】

The disappearance of the hunger sensation made Lin Baici’s face darken; it meant that the monster lurking in the shadows had left.

Why hadn’t it attacked him?

Was it cowardly? Or did it sense that he was more formidable?

Damn it!

Why didn’t you just attack!

Ten minutes later, the emergency department’s vehicle arrived and took the dying girl away.

“What do we do now?”

Xia Hongyao pondered: “Shall we ask around the school to see who’s missing their innards?”

“Do you think they would tell?”

This was far more terrifying than kidnapping or extortion because once the innards were taken, if you didn’t do as the monster said, they were gone.

Call the police?

Let’s assume the police have great investigative skills and can find the monster in time, but innards are not like hostages; hostages can be rescued, but how do you save innards?

So, it’s unsolvable.

“Moreover, it seems that the instigator is a coward!”

Such monsters were more troublesome. If it got scared and simply moved to another place after an attack, there would be a lot to search for.

Damn it!

Why didn’t it show up?

Could it be that it smelled the scent of a top predator on me and got scared?

Lin Baici was not content.

“Let’s split up and walk along the riverbank!”

Lin Baici suggested, intending to use himself as bait.

“Okay!”

Xia Hongyao nodded: “Contact me if anything happens!”

The two split up, keeping in touch via WeChat, but after two hours, nothing happened.

“Let’s go home and sleep!”

Lin Baici gave up.

“Your school dormitory must have closed by now, right? Where will you sleep? Just come to my place!”

Xia Hongyao invited.

“No, thanks!”

Lin Baici declined and had Xia Hongyao drive him back to school, then he went to Gu Qingxiang’s apartment complex.

He took the keys, opened the door, and tiptoed to the bathroom, not wanting to wake Gu Qingxiang. After washing up and coming out, he saw Gu Qingxiang standing in the living room in her pajamas.

“Are you hungry? Want some late-night snacks?”

Gu Qingxiang didn’t smell alcohol on Lin Baici and saw that he was acting as usual, so she silently nodded.

“I’m not hungry, I’m tired and want to sleep!”

Lin Baici urged: “It’s late, you should go to bed too!”

“You too, sleep early!”

Gu Qingxiang returned to her room.

The next morning, after eating the breakfast prepared by the counselor, Lin Baici returned to the dormitory.

“Hey, Old Bai, where have you been these seven days?”

Xu Daguan was curious.

He knew Lin Baici hadn’t gone home for the holiday, but he hadn’t seen Lin Baici for seven days, and now he was returning early in the morning.

Could it be that he had been living with some woman, partying for seven days?

“Working!”

Lin Baici was evasive.

“Did you become a gigolo for a rich woman?”

Xu Daguan joked, looking at Lin Baici’s good looks.

Ah, for those naive girls, it’s a slaughter. Thankfully, he wasn’t rich; otherwise, he could have had a very comfortable four years of college.

“Bai Ci, you should go out less in the future. If the counselor catches on, you might get a major demerit!”

Hu Wenwu was genuinely concerned about Lin Baici.

It had only been a month since college started, and Lin Baici was already showing signs of going astray. He didn’t want this good roommate to go to waste.

“Old Bai, Wenwu is right, you need to be careful!”

Fang Mingyuan reminded him, mainly worried about Liu Yu and Xu Daguan, especially the former. If he secretly reported Lin Baici for not returning at night a few times, he would definitely get a demerit.

“College is for fun, why care so much?” Qian Jiahui put on his clothes slowly: “Old Bai, don’t worry, if something happens, I’ll go to the principal and plead for you!”

Qian Jiahui didn’t mean to show off his connections; he was sincere.

Because he thought Lin Baici was a good person.

“Brother Qian, if I fail a course, I’m counting on you, okay?”

Xu Daguan handed Qian Jiahui his coat: “To show my sincerity, I’ll treat you to breakfast today!”

“Failing a course? You’re going to bother the principal with such a trivial matter?”

Qian Jiahui was speechless and sent Xu Daguan a red envelope of one hundred yuan via his phone: “What are you having for breakfast? Officer, go buy it!”

“Meat buns, eight-treasure porridge, and two tea eggs!”

Liu Yu was not shy.

He was used to Qian Jiahui’s way of doing things. With the mentality of not missing out on a good deal, he ordered the most expensive items.

In fact, he wanted to run the errand because he knew that Qian Jiahui always gave Xu Daguan more money than needed for breakfast, and he never asked for the change back.

But Liu Yu was embarrassed because doing so seemed to put him at a disadvantage.

“Liu Yu, you always eat so much, it’s time to diet!”

Xu Daguan didn’t mind running errands. Not only could he earn a few tens of yuan, but he could also get closer to Qian Jiahui. It was a sure win.

“I’ll have an egg pancake and a cup of soy milk!”

Fang Mingyuan didn’t say any words of thanks. He would just invite Qian Jiahui for a meal when the opportunity arose. They were dorm mates; there was no need to be so calculating.

Of course, Xu Daguan and Liu Yu were exceptions.

“I’ve already eaten!”

Lin Baici packed his books, waiting for everyone to be ready.

“I’m not eating today!”

Hu Wenwu was embarrassed to take advantage of Qian Jiahui.

“Idiot!”

Liu Yu despised him in his heart. Qian Jiahui didn’t care about that little bit of money at all. By acting like that, Hu Wenwu made it seem like they were the ones who loved to take advantage of small gains.

Ah!

Could this guy move out?

And Xu Daguan, his feet stank, and he wasn’t even aware of it. A stinky internet celebrity, what’s there to be proud of?

In fact, Liu Yu looked down on everyone in the dormitory!

Qian Jiahui was nothing but money, and he guessed that this generation would squander the family fortune. If Fang Mingyuan didn’t make it into the provincial team and his studies weren’t good, he was doomed to have no future.

Hu Wenwu?

Although he worked hard, his family background doomed him to have limited insight. At most, he could move from the countryside to the city. That was the limit.

To become middle class?

Dream on.

Xu Daguan’s live streaming seemed alright for now, but it wasn’t a long-term career. Without seeking transformation, it would eventually cool down.

Finally, there was Lin Baici. He wasn’t as rich as Qian Jiahui, but he was even more extravagant. He had the second most absences in the dormitory.

Liu Yu estimated that by sophomore year, Lin Baici might have to drop out.

But thinking about Qian Jiahui’s connections, Liu Yu was frustrated. Why would you help him?

Everyone packed up and went downstairs.”I’m telling you guys, we need to get that class meeting going ASAP. Who knows, with the right vibe, someone might even escape singlehood!”

Xu Daguan was the most enthusiastic about such matters, but he wasn’t the class president and lacked the clout: “Old Bai, why don’t you say something in the group chat and organize it?”

Lin Baici also felt that everyone should bond more, so he opened the class group chat.

Lin Baici: How about a class dinner this weekend? Any preferences for the restaurant and food?

Ji Xinyan: Wow, the class group has been around for so long, and our esteemed class president finally deigns to speak?

Liu Yu smirked at this exchange.

Tea!

He had tagged Ji Xinyan in the group before, but she took a while to respond, unlike today—Lin Baici had barely said a word, and she was already chiming in.

Pei Fei: Xiao Dong is Hui!

Lin Baici: Got it, I’ll remember that!

Lin Xiaodong: No need to make special arrangements for me, just eat whatever you guys want.

Zhou Zhou: How are we handling the bill? Should we collect class fees? How much?

With 32 people in the class, all from different financial backgrounds, some didn’t care about the cost and just wanted to have fun, while others did care.

Xu Daguanren: Girls eat free, guys split the bill!

Ji Xinyan: Daguanren, what do you mean by that? Are you discriminating against us?

Xu Daguanren: Oh no, I tried to kiss up but ended up kicking the horse in the leg. Please spare me, heroines!

It seemed like a normal conversation, but to Liu Yu, Xu Daguan had a cunning plan, making a real impression.

In the eyes of some girls, regardless of whether they ended up paying or not, Xu Daguan was someone who had their interests at heart.

In fact, if Ji Xinyan hadn’t spoken up, the guys would have kept quiet for the sake of face.