Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 754 Sweeping Away Obstacles
In the courtyard, Li Botong and several other shopkeepers stood in a row, each with a solemn expression.

They were dressed in uniform attire: white jackets with front openings, black trousers, blue cloth belts around their waists, and thin-soled cloth shoes.

In their left hands, they held a newly made soul-guiding banner.

The banner is bright yellow, with intricate incantations drawn on it in ink. The banner pole is made of carefully selected thin bamboo, smooth and straight throughout.

In his right hand, he held a soul-capturing bell made of brass.

The old shopkeeper, Li Botong, stood at the head of the line. His gray hair was neatly combed. He was focused, with the banner pole standing upright beside him and the copper bell hanging at his feet. He looked at Xiao Ran beside him, as if he was waiting for something.

"let's start!"

Xiao Ran checked the time; it was almost time. She nodded to Li Botong.

Upon hearing this, Li Botong immediately composed himself, raised the soul-guiding banner in his hand, and thrust it in front of him. The copper bell in his hand jingled softly.

The other shopkeepers immediately stepped forward and arranged the soul-guiding banners in a circle, chanting incantations.

Soon, a gentle breeze blew through the courtyard, and the soul-guiding banners in everyone's hands swayed lightly in the wind, as if they had come to life and began to shake.

A visible aura of malevolent energy rapidly gathered within the banner.

Before long, the area around the banner was filled with white mist, as if a hole had appeared in the void, leading to some unknown place.

"Ring ring ring"
The bells echoed in the night sky, their clear sound carrying a penetrating power, as if they could strike directly at one's soul.

Xiao Ran stood to the side, arms crossed, her eyes fixed intently on the churning white mist before her.

The white mist grew thicker and thicker, like boiling soup, churning and condensing violently within the circle formed by the soul-guiding banner, where vague shadows seemed to struggle and take shape.

"coming!"

Xiao Ran's brows suddenly twitched. She saw several furtive figures hopping and skipping towards her from within the white mist.

"My lord!!!"

Before the figures even got close, they had already started shouting from afar.

The newcomers were none other than Cao Shi, Zhang Si, Li Jiu, Wang Ren, and Zhu Guang, the five ghosts.

Cold sweat had already broken out on the foreheads of Li Botong and the others. Although it was not the first time they had dealt with the Five Ghosts, the last time the Five Ghosts came with goods, it was just a gust of cold wind. Among them, only the one-eyed dragon, the second-in-command, could see the true form of the Five Ghosts, while the others could not see them.

At this moment, the appearance of the five ghosts was clearly revealed in the white mist of the banner, which made Li Botong and the others both excited and awe-inspiring.

Xiao Ran stepped forward and was quite satisfied with the spell she had designed, the Spirit Banner Summoning Ghosts. With this spell, communication between Li Botong and the others and the Five Ghosts would be much simpler in the future.

"Have all the items been delivered?"

Xiao Ran asked Cao Shi, "I told them a few days ago that I had asked them to contact Chongshan and the others to procure goods for me. I figured they should be ready by now."

“My lord, everything is ready.”

Cao Shi waved his hand triumphantly behind him, and suddenly one after another little devils jumped out. Each little devil carried a box on his back, rolled on the ground, and the box was steadily piled up to the side.

"So many little devils, did you summon them all?"

Xiao Ran asked the Cao brothers.

"Yes, exactly. We have recruited 300 people to ensure that the goods from the Amazing Pavilion will never be interrupted and will be available whenever needed."

Cao Shi patted his chest and assured Xiao Ran.

Once the Amazing Pavilion starts operating, whatever the manager needs, he only needs to tell the little devil in charge of relaying the message, and Chongshan and his team can immediately purchase it, and the goods will be delivered to the Amazing Pavilion as quickly as possible.

Because of the time difference between the Yin and Yang realms, one day in the Yang realm is equivalent to several days in the Yin realm, it is entirely possible to achieve the desired effect every day.

"very good."·

Xiao Ran took out a bag of ghost money and tossed it to Cao Shi. The heavy bag of money landed in Cao Shi's hands: "Take this. These brothers have had tea. A banquet has been prepared in the back. After you finish your work, go and have some drinks."

Cao Shi took the money bag, grinned, and shouted to the group of kids, "The master has rewarded us! Brothers, after we finish our work, we'll have a big meal."

"Thank you, sir!!"

Upon hearing this, the group of kids immediately shouted their thanks and worked much faster.

These little ghosts actually have very poor survival skills in the underworld; they often go for years, or even more than a decade, without getting a single bite to eat.

Now that everyone is working to make a living, they all want to put in all their strength to work.

"Master!"

At this moment, Cao Shi suddenly walked to Xiao Ran's side with a mysterious expression: "Some time ago, it seems that something big happened in the Underworld."

"what?"

Xiao Ran looked at Cao Shi with suspicion, only to hear Cao Shi lower his voice and say, "I heard that Emperor Fuzi was summoned to You Mountain and has not come down since. Now, rumors in the Underworld say that Emperor Fuzi seems to have done something wrong and has been imprisoned."

"Confinement!"

Xiao Ran squinted, quite surprised by the news, and thought, "Could it be related to the incident in Ghost City?"

Whether it is or not is hard to say, but it's a good thing that this guy is being put in solitary confinement.

After all, he couldn't do anything about that old devil, Fu Jie, even though he knew that Fu Jie was behind everything in Guidu.

Now that he's been put in solitary confinement, what can Xiao Ran say? He can only turn around and shout to the second-in-command in the distance, "One-Eyed, add more dishes, and give the brothers an extra jar of wine, with eggs in it."

"okay!!"

The second-in-command turned around with a smile and gave the orders.

The goods delivered this time weren't just [Warrior Masks]

It contains many local specialties of the underworld, as well as many books.

Back then, Xiao Ran saw many top masters' secret techniques and insights left behind at the bookstalls in the City of the Wrongfully Dead. These things were like trash in the Underworld, but now that they were in Xiao Ran's hands, each one was no less than a treasure.

Books, funerary objects, fruits, herbs, and other local specialties quickly filled the shelves of the Amazing Pavilion.

The price isn't cheap, but it's definitely affordable for most beginners. In fact, it's far more cost-effective than other places. Most importantly, many items can be carried around without needing to be activated to increase attributes significantly.

This kind of thing would be in high demand and short supply outside, but in the Amazing Pavilion, it's plentiful and you can eat your fill.

Even Wu Man couldn't help but stop and watch, and she was very fond of the fruits that were special products of the underworld. She bought a whole box of them on the spot.

After a busy night, everything is finally ready.

"Master, when will we open for business?"

Li Botong looked at the shelves piled high in front of him, his face filled with anticipation.

"hold on!"

Xiao Ran also wanted to open for business immediately, but now was clearly not the time. He needed to wait a while longer, until a large number of beginners began to enter Ruzhou City, and until the outside companies had completed the construction of all the bus stations. Moreover, right now, he was missing an opportunity to make Amazing Pavilion a hit.

These are things that require waiting for the right opportunity.

However, Xiao Ran wouldn't just wait idly.

After arranging these matters, Xiao Ran immediately set off for the governor's mansion.

Upon learning of Xiao Ran's arrival, Yu Deng immediately led his men to the door to greet her.

The people who came to greet him were not only Yu Deng, but also several 3D level experts arranged by the company.

Since Yang Jun last visited Xiao Ran, the first thing he did upon returning was to report Xiao Ran's information, listing her as a key target for the company to win over, and emphasizing that Xiao Ran's current strength had reached a point where even the company's supervisors could not suppress her.

There is never any doubt about the company's ability to act.

In less than three hours, Xiao Ran's information was updated throughout the company. Not only were Xiao Ran's privileges as an outsider increased, but any company member was also strictly prohibited from arguing with Xiao Ran.

Moreover, it is said that the company will soon undergo a major reshuffle, with more than three supervisors reportedly being transferred to Ruzhou.

These changes clearly demonstrate how much the company values ​​Xiao Ran.

Surrounded by the crowd, Xiao Ran strode forward, with Yu Deng and the others following behind.

The vast governor's mansion was eerily quiet, with armored guards standing in rows along the corridors.

The heavy wooden doors of the government office creaked open gently when he was still a few steps away, and the armored soldiers guarding the door stood solemnly with their heads bowed.

We were just waiting to enter the lobby.

"Wow!"

All the officials from Ruzhou City and the personnel assigned by the company to assist stood up in unison, their eyes fixed on Xiao Ran.

It's unclear which official led the way, but everyone bowed to Xiao Ran.

"Greetings, my lord."

Although Xiao Ran held no official position, Yu Deng and others had long instructed that seeing Xiao Ran was like seeing Lu Cheng, and the company also clearly stated that Xiao Ran's authority was equivalent to that of a provincial leader.

In the absence of a supervisor, Xiao Ran has the authority to mobilize company personnel to assist with the work.

Xiao Ran nodded slightly, walked to the main seat, and waved gently to everyone before they dared to sit down.

The moment Xiao Ran sat down, an unprecedented feeling welled up in her heart; power seemed to be embodied in that moment.

This was the first time Xiao Ran had sat in such a position, and she was somewhat flustered. However, Xiao Ran was not someone who chased power, and she quickly swept away these distracting thoughts.

He came here today for only one thing.

He looked at the group of people leading the company and asked, "How far have you progressed with the bus stop issue?" In response to Xiao Ran's question, the person in charge, Bai Shatang, immediately took out the blueprints that she had prepared in advance and unfolded them in front of Xiao Ran.

There are red and blue markings on it.

"Blue marks indicate completed bus stops, red marks indicate those that are not yet completed, and a cross next to them indicates that obstacles have been encountered, and the company is working hard to overcome them."

Xiao Ran carefully examined the route on the map.

The routes of public transportation stations are carefully considered by the company to ensure that the needs of most people can be met while also being the most economical and practical.

"What's going on here?"

Xiao Ran pointed to a spot on the map marked in red with an "X" next to it.

"There is a maze here. When the company conducted the initial survey, there was no maze here. It was originally intended to be a transit point. However, Hongxiang Village, which was originally located in another place, suddenly appeared here. The company has sent people into Hongxiang Village to try to tackle the problem and clear the map. If all goes well, the attack should be completed soon."

"Hongxiang Village!"

Xiao Ran was taken aback, suddenly remembering her agreement with Mo Ju, so she looked at Bai Sha Tang and said, "You don't need to worry about this place, I'll take care of it. Are there any other questions?"

White Sugar pointed to another spot on the map: "It seems there's an evil spirit guarding this place. The company has sent people to negotiate several times, but without success."

The place that the white sugar refers to is called Wulipo. This place is very close to Ruzhou District. Most importantly, it is close to Zhengzhou City. Once the railway is opened up, it can restore one-fifth of the country's ground transportation capacity in a short period of time, thanks to Zhengzhou's railway hub.

"I'll handle this."

Xiao Ran took on this difficult problem without hesitation, which brought a long-lost sense of relief to Bai Shatang's face.

Xiao Ran put away the blueprints and then looked at Yu Deng, asking him to bring out a map of Ruzhou City. The map divided Ruzhou City into four areas: a residential area, an administrative area, a commercial area, and a military area.

Xiao Ran carefully scanned the map and noticed that two areas were marked on it: Donglongfang and Penglailou.

It is clear that both companies have already moved into Ruzhou City.

However, Xiao Ran didn't care about that. She took out a pen and drew a circle on the map with [Amazing Pavilion] as the center.

"From now on, the commercial area in Ruzhou City will be centered on this place, and no business will be allowed in other areas. In addition, a special station will be built here and named Jingqi Station. All passengers and passengers in Ruzhou City can only enter, exit and get off here."

Xiao Ran pointed to an area not far behind the Amazing Pavilion and marked it with a station sign.

This series of changes left Bai Shatang dumbfounded. She looked up at Xiao Ran with a troubled expression.

With Xiao Ran's stroke, the originally designed commercial area shrank by more than half, almost locking the commercial area firmly in this small area.

The two plots of land originally allocated to Donglongfang and Penglailou were immediately cancelled.

Even a fool could see that Xiao Ran was doing this to raise the value of the Amazing Pavilion.

“Mr. Xiao, this will restrict the future development of Ruzhou. Can we consider expanding the business district?” Bai Shatang tentatively tried to negotiate with Xiao Ran.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ran threw the pen on the table. "That's fine. Shops selling daily necessities are not restricted. Any shop near the street can open. However, items related to beginners are only allowed in this area. The trading area for beginners is in front of the Amazing Pavilion. You can use it by paying a stall fee."

Xiao Ran had no intention of haggling with the white sugar.

He turned to look at Bai Shatang: "If the company has any questions, you can talk to me. But before that, all plans should revolve around the Amazing Pavilion. Also, once all the bus stops are completed, we'll rush to produce a batch of Amazing Pavilion promotional advertisements and place them at the bus stops. As for any other issues that may arise, I will personally discuss them with the bus terminal."

After Xiao Ran finished speaking, she looked at Yu Deng beside her and said, "All ordinary residents in this area will be relocated to residential areas according to the maximum compensation."

"promise!"

Without any unnecessary words, Yu Deng nodded and agreed decisively.

Having done all this, Xiao Ran stood up: "Rulezhou City is undergoing a transformation unseen in a thousand years. Everyone, please be alert, and let the stability of the people's lives be the ultimate goal."

"Snap, snap, snap!!"

After Xiao Ran finished speaking, Yu Deng immediately led the applause, and the hall erupted in applause. This was something Yu Deng and his colleagues had learned from outsiders like Bai Shatang; applause signified agreement.

Seeing the applause in the hall, the company managers, led by Bai Shatang, could only clap along, but in their hearts they sighed, "It's over. Now we're going to have a hard time explaining the deposits from Penglai Tower and Donglongfang."

Amidst applause, Xiao Ran walked out of the main hall. He and Yu Deng went to the back hall, where Xiao Ran inquired about his elder brother, Lu Cheng.

"My lord, Lord Lu is currently in Wancheng. I don't know the specifics, but I've heard that he's conducting large-scale military training. Several groups of people from that company have been invited there to give the soldiers some kind of... modern military management training."

After Yu Deng finished speaking, he carefully looked Xiao Ran up and down.

He hadn't sat down and chatted with Xiao Ran for a long time. He felt that Xiao Ran in front of him had become even more unfathomable than before. Just sitting there, her powerful aura made it hard for him to breathe.

“My lord…” Yu Deng glanced cautiously at Xiao Ran, “I heard… that Ruzhou City will be managed by those companies from now on. Will we… be moved to Wancheng?”

Yu Deng swallowed hard and said what he was most worried about and most wanted to know.

"Don't worry, not for now. Ruzhou's current management can't do without you. Once the company takes over completely, you'll have many options: either go to Wancheng, come to my Jingqi Pavilion, or join the company. I can't guarantee anything else, but I can guarantee that your power won't be diminished in any way."

Xiao Ran patted Yu Deng on the shoulder, and his words made Yu Deng feel relieved. But then he changed the subject: "However, handing Ruzhou over to the state is an inevitable trend. I hope you will not resist it. It is an inevitable trend, so just go with the flow."

Yu Deng paused for a second upon hearing this, but quickly recovered and said, "Yes, I understand."

"There is one more thing. We need to examine all the children in the city, as well as those who will come to Ruzhou in the future, to see if there are any defects in their destinies. I need to find twelve children with defects in their destinies, who must be in accordance with the twelve zodiac signs, that is, from one to twelve years old."

This is a mandatory requirement for Xiao Ran to be promoted to a C-level executioner. For an ordinary person, finding these twelve children would not be an easy task and would be an extremely time-consuming process.

But Xiao Ran, who held power, didn't need to go through all that trouble. He could simply give an order, and Yu Deng would naturally take care of the rest.

……

After leaving the governor's mansion, Xiao Ran leaped out of Ruzhou City. His steps were slow, but each step seemed to cover more than ten meters.

After leaving Ruzhou City, Xiao Ran did not linger. His figure was blurred and he left no trace except for a wisp of wind.

In just a short while, he had already left the area of ​​Ruzhou.

All that could be seen outside Ruzhou was a city of familiar yet unfamiliar high-rise buildings.

Xiao Ran could even hear car horns in the distance.

After the Lost City landed, it caused a lot of chaos, but most of it was suppressed by the strong support of the country and the company. Most people, as long as they are careful and do not actively provoke those evil spirits, can find their place even in the city polluted by the Lost City.

Of course, if it's a dangerous area, then there's nothing that can be done.

The casualties were still extremely high, and some cities even disappeared completely after the arrival of the Lost City.

That area was shrouded in mournful howls day and night, turning it into a desolate wasteland.

In these situations, companies and governments can only choose to suppress the news as much as possible to avoid causing public panic.

As Xiao Ran walked through the street, the air was filled with a rotten smell. Most people were hiding in their homes as much as possible, with their curtains tightly closed. Occasionally, someone could be seen cautiously peeking out for a glance before immediately pulling their head back in.

A few shops are scattered along the street, their lights flickering on and off.

However, as Xiao Ran approached, the lighting inside the store suddenly returned to normal. Standing outside the store, Xiao Ran glanced inside and saw a gaunt young man standing behind the counter with a blank expression. His thin face was marred by two large dark circles under his eyes. In the display case behind him, various human organs were displayed, the parts of which were left behind by some customer, no one knew.

Xiao Ran's eyes flashed, and she locked onto the shadow hiding behind the shelf. With just a glance, the shadow let out a sharp scream and turned to flee like a rat, disappearing into the sewer in a flash.

Xiao Ran ignored it; her time was too precious to waste on such trivial matters.

Not far from the town, he saw a dilapidated temple standing proudly at a distant crossroads.

The area around the temple was cordoned off with police tape.

There were delivery trucks with the slogan "Delivery Anywhere" parked by the roadside, but there was no one on board.

Further on, Xiao Ran discovered a lot of building materials on the ground, which looked like they were used to build a station.

Xiao Ran unleashed her spiritual power, which quickly covered the entire mountaintop like a large net.

Behind the mound on the other side, three figures were huddled together, all wearing "None Delivery" uniforms, but the clothes were full of holes.

"Boss, that beast isn't coming out yet. How long are we going to be stuck here?"

The curly-haired man on the left, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth and a large machete hanging beside him, lay on a mound, grumbling all the while.

All three of them are highly skilled, two of them are double-D level and one is a beginner at the triple-D level, making them the company's elite.

The fact that they were brought in to oversee the construction of the bus stop shows how much importance the company places on it.

However, that beast was very cunning. The three of them tried to attack several times, but not only did they not gain any advantage, they also got injured. For the time being, they really couldn't do anything about that beast.

Just as the three were feeling helpless, Xiao Ran's mental energy suddenly swept over them, startling them. They exchanged glances: "Expert, could it be that the company's reinforcements have arrived?"

Seeing this, the three of them quickly peeked out from behind the mound, only to see a dark figure rush out of the dilapidated temple inside the hill, hovering in mid-air, its dense array of eyes scanning Xiao Ran's direction with suspicion.

This is a six-legged centipede, unlike ordinary centipedes. It only has six legs, but it has a pair of transparent wings on its back, a human face on its abdomen, and eyes all over its body, allowing it to observe its surroundings from all angles.

Despite having so many eyes, not a single one could see Xiao Ran's figure, and the face below him showed a confused expression.

But just then, Xiao Ran's voice suddenly came from behind: "I heard you're very powerful. I've been trying to build a train station here, but it's never been completed. Is it because you're interfering?"

Upon hearing the sound, the six-legged centipede trembled, its body suddenly spinning in the air, emitting a blinding purple light, clearly intending to launch an attack or defend itself.

But Xiao Ran attacked even faster and more fiercely!
He didn't wait for the centipede demon to finish charging up, and even seemed to ignore the purple light warning around it. With a wave of his hand, the high-grade ghost paper that had been between his fingers silently shot out.

The paper money, seemingly light and powerless, suddenly exploded in mid-air, unleashing a surge of intense, ink-black Yin energy that coalesced into a visible black wave.

"town!"

With a slight thought, Xiao Ran's immense spiritual power precisely guided this terrifying torrent of Yin energy.

In an instant!
The black mist churning in mid-air suddenly solidified and deformed, and a colossal hand made of pure Yin energy took shape!
This large hand was as dark as night, with distinct knuckles, and a chilling, foul aura swirling in its palm, as if it came from the deepest hell.

Once this giant, malevolent hand took shape, it swept down with overwhelming force, ignoring the purple light barrier that the centipede demon was trying to block, and slammed down like the sky collapsing!
With a loud "bang!!",
The three people in the distance felt the earth shake violently, and dust billowed up in front of them. Before they could understand what was happening, Xiao Ran raised his hand, and the six-legged centipede was sucked into the air like a dead dog with broken bones. Then, Xiao Ran put it into the Yin Soldier Gourd...

(End of this chapter)