"What's... what's going on here?"
In a bustling shopping mall, Ren Lan stood beside Lin Jichen, her face pale with fear as she watched terrifying beasts wreak havoc on the streets.
Lin Jichen's expression was as calm as water. He sighed, "What was meant to come has finally arrived... I just didn't expect it to be this soon."
"Little Lin... what should we do? We need to run... these creatures are coming at us..."
Ren Lan was in a panic.
Suddenly, a sword appeared in Lin Jichen's hand, and he handed a pair of gloves to Ren Lan.
"We can't run. If we all choose to flee, more innocent people will die here."
Hearing this, Ren Lan felt the greatness of Lin Jichen's heart. She gritted her teeth, put on the gloves, and began to fight the beasts alongside him.
As the two fought valiantly, a beast suddenly launched a sneak attack from behind Ren Lan, its sharp claws like the scythe of death, aiming straight for her back!
Lin Jichen pushed Ren Lan aside, taking the beast's claws through his own chest.
"Little Lin!" Ren Lan screamed, rushing over and delivering several punches to kill the beast.
But Lin Jichen had already fallen into a pool of blood, his pupils dilating, life slipping away.
"Little Lin, are you okay? Don't scare me, please..."
Ren Lan knelt in front of Lin Jichen, holding his head, heartbroken.
"Cough... Miss Frenzy, it looks like I'm done for... You have to live well, understand..."
Lin Jichen only managed to say these last words before he passed away.
Ren Lan cried out in anguish, and as more beasts surrounded her, she vented all her fury on them, killing every beast that came at her with furious punches!
"Little Lin, you liar, you promised to always stay with me, sob... you bastard, how could you just leave ..."
Amidst her tears, Ren Lan continued to slay one beast after another.
"Hey, hey, hey, miss, you're getting too into it. Don't damage my props." A voice suddenly came from the side.
Lin Jichen suddenly got up, looking apologetically at the middle-aged man beside him. "Sorry, boss, she got a bit too into it."
The man was speechless. "Come on, this is a VR game experience center. If you really want to play, just buy a 'Tale of Immortal' gaming ring. You can act however you want in there, no worries about getting too into it. These are just props, easy to damage."
Lin Jichen nodded with an embarrassed smile. "Right away, boss, sorry about that."
Ren Lan was still wearing the VR goggles, crying and shouting, swinging the props in her hands, fighting the beasts in the VR world.
A crowd of onlookers by the mall was trying hard to stifle their laughter.
Lin Jichen's face turned red with embarrassment. He tugged at her pants leg. "Alright, alright, stop shouting so loudly. The boss already told us off."
"Little Lin, how could you leave me alone, sob, I must avenge you! Kill!"
Ren Lan was still immersed in the VR game, battling the beasts.
Lin Jichen glanced guiltily at the increasingly annoyed boss, covering his face in shame.
After taking Niu Naitang to school, Ren Lan had been feeling down, knowing she would soon have to move out of Lin Jichen's house for school. She sat on the sofa, sulking and silent.
Seeing her mood, Lin Jichen kindly brought her to the mall to cheer her up.
Who knew she would suddenly want to play a VR game? Lin Jichen accompanied her, and she insisted he act out a scene with her, which he did.
But he didn't expect this Miss Frenzy to get so into it, making it seem like a life-and-death parting.
Finally, all the beasts were defeated, and the game ended.
Ren Lan took off the goggles, her face tear-streaked, but she instantly smiled again.
"Hehe, Little Lin, wasn't I amazing?"
Lin Jichen felt too embarrassed to face anyone, quickly paying the boss.
"Charging you fifty bucks an hour for this VR game is a loss. Your girlfriend should really become an actress." The boss couldn't help but comment after taking the money.
"Really? Little Lin, did you hear that? I could go into acting. Maybe I'll be the next big star." Ren Lan wasn't angry at all, instead, she was smug.
Lin Jichen couldn't stand being with this overly social lady any longer, quickly dragging her out of the mall and heading home.
"Why are we going home so early? You promised to go shopping with me."
Ren Lan was still not satisfied.
"I... I have a stomachache and need to go to the bathroom, okay?"
"Alright, hehe, this VR game was fun. Let's come again next time!"
Lin Jichen rolled his eyes. Next time? Over his dead body!
Back home, Ren Lan finally returned to her cheerful self, bouncing around.
Lin Jichen, on the other hand, went back into the gaming pod. He couldn't stay on Earth any longer; he wanted to live in another world.
Before entering the game, Lin Jichen routinely checked the surveillance of his apartment complex.
He hadn't checked it for days, having been immersed in the game.
As he reviewed the recent footage, Lin Jichen's expression suddenly turned serious!
In the past few days, nothing had happened in his apartment, but the neighboring unit, which had been vacant, now had several male occupants.
These men took turns coming out of the unit, knocking on Lin Jichen's door, and even pressing their ears against it, seemingly listening for any sounds inside.
Lin Jichen realized something was wrong. These people were definitely up to no good!
He immediately called the property management to inquire about the identities of the new neighbors.
The property management said someone had bought the unit a few days ago, moved in immediately, and brought several 'relatives' with them.
Lin Jichen was sure now, these people were after him.
Someone was indeed looking for him.
Lin Jichen didn't feel lucky for not living there. On the contrary, if they kept knocking with no answer, they would soon realize he didn't live there.
He had set this up as a precaution, and it had worked, but the ruse wouldn't last long.
Should he buy another apartment and set up again?
Lin Jichen thought for a long time and decided to go out tonight. For safety, spending some money was worth it.
He had considered hiring bodyguards, but no stranger could be trusted. In his past life, there were too many cases of bodyguards betraying their employers.
Better to trust himself than a bodyguard.
Lin Jichen calmed down, planning to look around other complexes tonight and buy another apartment.
After calming down, Lin Jichen opened the 'Tale of Immortal' forum to see if there were any suitable alchemy or equipment masters for hire.
There were many new posts since he last checked.
As he browsed, a post by a player equipment master on the fifth page caught his eye, and his gaze turned murderous!
The player's ID was clearly written: 'Promise You a Lifetime,' along with a picture of his in-game avatar.