This entry is suspicious.

Don't come any closer!

Zhou Ran cried out inwardly, he absolutely did not want to have anything to do with Fang Beichen, this person of the demonic path.

The Tianhuan Federation's crackdown on demonic elements is extremely severe. Once someone is found to be involved with demonic elements, everyone who has been in contact with that person will be subject to strict investigation, which may even go back several years or decades, leaving no detail unpunished.

In ancient times, collective punishment meant the extermination of nine generations of one's family. This was even more ruthless. Even if a complete stranger said a word, they would be taken to the anti-terrorism department for interrogation. If you touched a dog on the street, you would have to catch the dog and examine it from the inside out.

Fang Beichen's direct confrontation at the school gate was tantamount to publicly announcing to everyone that they knew each other, and that if anything happened in the future, he would definitely not be able to escape!

Zhou Ran was grinding his teeth so hard they were almost broken, but he couldn't show anything unusual, lest the other party realize that he knew about the other party's identity as a demon.

"Zhou Ran".

Fang Beichen blocked his way, wearing a hood and mask, revealing only a pair of unusually calm eyes.

Zhou Ran feigned surprise for a moment before exclaiming in astonishment, "Fang Beichen?"

"It's me, I need your help," Fang Beichen said straightforwardly.

"...Is it a strange incident?"

Zhou Ran didn't even need to think about it; there was only one possibility that Fang Beichen had come to him. What else could a high school student possibly do to help?

However, the Book of Fate did not show any blood-red event entries for Fang Beichen; it only showed one golden event entry—【Ladder of Climbing】.

Climbing the social ladder... It seems that the one in trouble isn't Fang Beichen, but some important figure he knows. Fang Beichen wants to use handling this strange incident to climb the social ladder, which is why he's asking for my help.

"Yes." Fang Beichen nodded.

"I can't help you, you should go back."

Zhou Ran refused outright, firstly because he didn't want to deal with the supernatural anymore, and secondly because he didn't want to have any more contact with Fang Beichen, this demonic cultivator.

"etc."

Fang Beichen stopped him, and was about to say something when he caught a glimpse of the curious students watching the scene. He paused for a moment and said in a low voice, "This is not the place to talk. Let's find somewhere else to chat. If this matter can be resolved, the reward will far exceed your expectations."

"You'd better give me a definite idea first."

If he couldn't truly impress her, Zhou Ran would resolutely not wade into this mess. Wouldn't it be better to tutor the students?

Fang Beichen pondered for a few seconds, then slowly uttered five words: "Shares and connections."

Zhou Ran's expression shifted slightly, showing interest, and he asked, "What if it can't be resolved?"

"Of course there's nothing there, but I'll give you a tip for making this trip for free, 20,000 yuan."

Fang Beichen was unaware that Zhou Ran had a tutoring business, and 20,000 yuan was a huge sum of money for a high school student, showing that he was quite generous.

Zhou Ran pondered for a moment and decided to find out more details first.

The two left the school gate and got into a car parked by the roadside. It was Fang Beichen's car, which wasn't very luxurious; in fact, it was rather shabby for someone at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Zhou Ran had given up all hope. From the moment Fang Beichen appeared at the school gate to wait for her, she had already been labeled as having ties to the demonic path. Whether she went with Fang Beichen or not, she could not escape scrutiny—of course, assuming that Fang Beichen would actually be exposed in the future.

"Tell me, what's going on?" Zhou Ran asked.

Fang Beichen took off his hood but not his mask, and slowly said, "A pharmaceutical business owner wants to open a Super Dream Studio in the area."

Mewtwo is a product born from the explosive development of Xiandao technology, a technology for creating virtual reality.

It is now widely used in games, movies, and military fields. The generated virtual space is indistinguishable from reality, allowing users to immerse themselves completely and feel as if they are there, experiencing details that only exist in the real world, such as smell, temperature, and touch.

However, due to the high price of the experience, ordinary people cannot afford to buy the machine and can only experience it in the studio.

"so what?"

"The Mewtwo studio is a very profitable project. The local studios don't want to share the pie and are trying to sabotage us, but the boss is determined to get involved. So three days ago, he was attacked in a bizarre way while watching a Black Mewtwo."

"Three days ago..." Zhou Ran narrowed his eyes, "Since you came to find me, it means he's still alive."

"That's right. He has cultivation, so he barely withstood the attack, but the situation is not optimistic. That strange thing is a curse type, and if it is not dealt with, it will haunt you to death."

Fang Beichen organized his thoughts and began to recount: "According to him, a blurry scene suddenly appeared in Hei Chao Meng's virtual world. The scene was a corner of the living room of a magnificent villa, where a richly dressed but faceless long-haired noblewoman was strolling around, holding a sleeping baby in her arms, humming a distorted, strange, and very eerie lullaby."

"The scene was completely out of place for Blackie Meng, so he immediately stopped watching and called people to check it. The people who checked it also saw the scene."

"However, the 'Black Dream' video he watched was filled with blood, violence, and pornography. The recording equipment for these kinds of 'Black Dream' videos is usually very crude, often leaving behind extreme emotions or fragmented thought fragments, such as memory flashbacks. So they all thought there was a problem with the recording of the 'Black Dream' video and didn't take it seriously."

"But that night, everyone who had seen Blackie's dream dreamed of that scene, and they themselves became a baby in the arms of a long-haired noblewoman, drowsy and wanting to fall asleep to the sound of a lullaby."

"And those who were asleep never woke up again."

After listening to Fang Beichen's description, Zhou Ran pondered while stroking his chin: "The Hyperdream Space is not a networked world, but a single virtual space completely isolated from the outside world. Ordinary strange forces cannot invade it, so it must be an information-type or consciousness-type strange entity residing in the Black Hyperdream videotape. It may not even have a physical form."

"I'm sorry, I can't handle this at all. Goodbye."

Zhou Ran reached for the car door switch, but Fang Beichen grabbed her arm: "I didn't ask you to deal with it. You just need to analyze the strange ability and the killing mechanism. I'm sure you have such a unique talent."

"You should find a professional like someone who can handle such situations."

Fang Beichen shook his head: "If it were possible, the boss would have done so long ago, but he himself is not very clean and cannot withstand scrutiny. Seeking a solution would be like walking into a trap."

"What about private offices?"

"The most reliable private law firm in the surrounding cities is Li Feng's Feng Ge Law Firm, but you know what their situation is. Several of their main staff have died, and Li Feng himself was seriously injured. They have been out of business for a long time."

"As for other so-called folk experts on the supernatural... they are either helpless, dead, or waiting to die."

Zhou Ran's face darkened: "Then why did you come looking for me?"

"I believe you have the ability to handle this."

Because of his experience at the Pearl Hotel, Fang Beichen had great trust in Zhou Ran's abilities in this area, even though the other party was just a high school student.

Zhou Ran paused for a few seconds: "What's the situation with the shares you're talking about?"

"The boss said that whoever can save him will get shares in the new company, which are shares in the Super Dream Broadcasting Hall. Earning tens of millions every year is not a problem."

Fang Beichen paused for a moment, then said seriously, "But I think that for people like you and me at the bottom of society, money is secondary. What's truly important is connections."

"That boss spread the word through the underground arena. If you can save him, all the big shots in that network will know your name and your skills. In the future, when they encounter strange events that cannot be reported to the authorities, they will think of you first."

Once you've helped them handle some incidents and built up some goodwill, you'll have a terrifying network of relationships—something money can't buy.

Hearing this, Zhou Ran was somewhat tempted. He withdrew his hand from the car door handle, sat up straight again, and asked, "Who are these big shots you're talking about?"

Fang Beichen made a hand seal, casting a shielding spell, before whispering out a series of heavyweight names: "Liu Qianyin of Changsheng Medical, Huangfu Qing of Panshi Heavy Industry, Shen Chongshan of Kunwu Group..."

Zhou Ran had never heard of any of these names!

However, the names of these companies are quite familiar. They are either local giants in Qingzhou or super-large enterprises spanning multiple states. These people must be regional managers of branches, holding high positions.

Wait, Shen Chongshan… his surname is Shen… Zhou Ran's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, “Is there any connection between Shen Chongshan and Shen's Antiques?”

"You also know about Shenji Antiques?" Fang Beichen was somewhat surprised. "Shen Chongshan and Shen Haichuan, the owner of Shenji Antiques, are both members of the Shen family and of the same generation. Kunwu Group is a family business of the Shen family, so strictly speaking, Shenji Antiques belongs to Kunwu Group."

Isn't that Shen Fei's uncle or elder brother?

Zhou Ran subconsciously touched his chin: "Has anyone from the Ming family or the Zhang family been there?"

Fang Beichen pondered for a moment: "The Ming family's business is Taisu Group, which focuses on the field of biomedicine. Someone has come here before, named Ming Heting, but he only came two or three times to talk business, and in the end, they probably didn't reach an agreement."

"As for the Zhang family, a few important figures have come to discuss business, but they haven't come since. However, there are a few young people in their twenties and thirties who really enjoy watching boxing matches and come often; they're practically becoming Black Diamond members."

"Are underground boxing matches that popular?" Zhou Ran was very puzzled.

"Some people are there to do business, some are looking for excitement, and some simply want to see brutal, hand-to-hand combat and primal deathmatch. Interestingly, many of them are legitimate white-collar workers and highly educated elites."

"Deathmatch...have you ever participated in one?" Zhou Ran asked curiously.

"Often," Fang Beichen said calmly. "What kind of underground arena is it if it's not a deathmatch?"

There was a moment of silence in the car. After a long while, Fang Beichen broke the silence: "So, are you going?"

Zhou Ran took a deep breath and fastened his seatbelt: "Let's go."

Connections...

Fang Beichen is right; connections are necessary on the path of cultivation.

Although tutoring classmates can help them build connections, no matter how privileged their family backgrounds are, they are still just a group of high school students. Who knows when they will be in power?

It would be better to take it one step at a time and directly cultivate a good relationship with their elders.

Moreover, unlike at the Pearl Hotel, this time there was no way out. If things really get complicated and I can't handle it, I can just turn around and leave.

……

After sending a message in the tutoring group that tonight's tutoring classes were suspended, Zhou Ran put away his phone and asked for other details of the incident.

"What's the boss's cultivation level?"

"The eighth level of Qi training."

How did he withstand that bizarre attack?

"He practiced a mental technique that gave him a stronger will. He fought against the hypnotic effect of the lullaby all night and only woke up at dawn. After that, he never dared to sleep again."

A Qi Refining cultivator's physique is already extraordinary; they can endure going without sleep for ten days to half a month. If combined with medication, they can extend that time even further… Zhou Ran's thoughts flashed through his mind: "After stopping sleep, they weren't attacked by the strange creatures anymore?"

"Yes, but not sleeping all the time isn't a long-term solution; it will eventually break down, which is why he's so eager to solve this problem."

"Have you investigated who released the strange device?"

"We definitely investigated, but before the operation could proceed, the person who bought those black sunglasses died mysteriously, and all leads went cold. Moreover, this strange occurrence seems to be the first time it has appeared in the world; there are no related records on the internet or in the response bureau's database."

Zhou Ran chuckled. "I suspect this is the mastermind's secret weapon. Everyone who saw it is dead, so naturally no one recorded it, just like parachutes don't get bad reviews. But how did that boss even manage to get his hands on information about how to handle such situations?"

"There are also people in the countermeasures department who want to make extra money. If the money is right, they can dig up everything except the most core top-secret information."

They chatted like this, one sentence after another, and after more than half an hour, the car arrived at the entrance of a private hospital.

The hospital is unassuming from the outside. The main building has a white exterior and ten floors. Next to it is a larger sanatorium. The small garden in front of the building is neatly manicured, and green plants and white flowers are planted on both sides of the stone path, creating an elegant atmosphere.

"arrive."

Fang Beichen parked the car in the parking lot, put his hood back on, and led Zhou Ran toward the sanatorium building, where the owner had booked an entire floor for rest.

"Hmm...there are quite a few people here." Zhou Ran looked around as she walked. There were many luxury cars parked in the parking lot, which didn't seem to be people who came to see a doctor.

"We're not the only ones who want to owe favors," Fang Beichen said.

The two entered the lobby of the sanatorium one after the other. In the rest area, there was a set of dark leather sofas, where two bodyguards in suits were sitting and playing on their phones.

Fang Beichen walked straight up to them and started talking: "We're here to help Boss Wang deal with this strange incident."

The two bodyguards exchanged a glance, their gazes falling on Fang Beichen and Zhou Ran behind him. They were astonished; why would a high school student be here?

Although surprised, the two were clearly professionally trained, showing no extra expression on their faces and asking no further questions.

One of the bodyguards pulled a document from the table next to him and said in a businesslike tone, "Please leave your names, contact information, and emergency contact number, and sign the waiver. Make sure you sign your real names, otherwise we cannot pay the funeral expenses."