This entry is suspicious.

"Captain Wei, the tracking data for the other three victims is in. Shall we play it here?"

At this moment, a technician came over with a tablet to report to the supervisor.

"Let it go," Wei Si nodded.

The technician tapped a few times on the tablet, and a virtual light screen was immediately projected from the tablet's surface.

A city map of Qinghe City was displayed on the screen, with three different colored lines representing the three victims, showing their activity trajectory in recent days.

Zhou Ran observed carefully and found that the three people's activity trajectory was like a relay, extending from the west of the city to the city center.

Wei Si raised his hand and clicked on the line representing the first victim. The image immediately zoomed in, displaying the surveillance footage for the corresponding time period. With a wave of his hand, the video began to play at an accelerated pace.

However, because the [Walking Human Clothes] has the ability to mimic a living person, even Wei Si could not find anything suspicious about the victim after watching the entire video; he was completely a living person.

After the first victim reached the vicinity of the second victim's activity area, he completely disappeared and never reappeared. Subsequently, the second victim went to the vicinity of the third victim and also disappeared.

The third victim, or rather, the strange one, came to wander around the mall in the evening and stayed there until late at night, not entering the mall until after 10 p.m.

Zhou Ran silently estimated the time. At that time, he and Song Ci had finished eating and playing the claw machine. They were buying clothes in a clothing store. Then he had to go to the toilet because he needed to pee. It was at this time that the strange thing found him. The timing made sense.

"According to the surveillance footage, the strange creature initially wandered the streets near the mall, at a straight-line distance of between 100 and 300 meters from me. At this point, it did not change its route until it reached the intersection, where it suddenly turned and walked towards the mall..."

Watching the video footage, Zhou Ran quickly sketched out his own and the strange coordinates in his mind, and gradually came to a conclusion—the Linglong Heart's attraction range to the strange was about one hundred meters.

This distance isn't actually that far; some older neighborhoods are about this size, smaller than a sesame seed on a map of Qinghe City. The probability of encountering a strange creature in the vast city is really low.

But Zhou Ran never believed in his luck.

"Perhaps you should get a heart transplant..."

Zhou Ran was initially hesitant, after all, a heart transplant would cost over a million dollars, which was no small sum. But when he thought about how this "walking human garment" was created by another strange creature, and that creature was hiding somewhere in Qinghe City, he felt a chill run down his spine.

With my luck, I might just brush past that eerie creature one day.

……

A dozen minutes later, the response team finished handling the situation on site and left.

Zhou Ran followed behind them to avoid being surrounded by onlookers asking questions. He also gave Song Ci, who had been waiting outside, a wink, signaling her to leave first and they would meet up later.

Song Ci nodded slightly, then turned and left.

After walking down a few floors along the fire escape stairs, it became quiet. There were no more onlookers. In fact, many people in the mall had no idea what had happened in the restroom on that floor.

After saying goodbye to Wei Si, Zhou Ran found a milk tea shop with few customers on this floor, went in, ordered two cups of milk tea, found a corner to sit down, and took out his phone to send a message to Song Ci.

A few minutes later, Song Ci came over, entered the store, and sat down next to Zhou Ran.

"You didn't kill a monster in the toilet, did you?" Song Ci asked Zhou Ran in a low, shocked voice.

She didn't know exactly what happened in the restroom, but she recognized Wei Si, and his presence there meant that something strange must have happened.

"To be precise, there are nine."

Zhou Ran took a big gulp of double-sweetened milk tea, using the sugar to soothe her soul.

Each layer of human skin in the Walking Man's Clothing can be considered a monster. Fortunately, it didn't collect more human skins, otherwise, if the number and level of horror increased, it would be really difficult to deal with.

"Nine?" Song Ci stared in disbelief, genuinely finding it outrageous.

On one hand, it was incredibly unlucky to finally get out and have some fun only to encounter something strange in the mall. On the other hand, Zhou Ran actually managed to take down nine strange creatures all by himself?!

Is this something a first-year high school student could do?!

Song Ci had opened Zhou Ran's box and knew his detailed experiences at the Pearl Hotel. He also knew that he had killed the monster, but that was when he was holding a top-tier weapon like the High Frequency Battle Blade. Now that he didn't have the battle blade, could it be that he was killed by the monster with his bare hands?

Or perhaps, it was a secret ability that was not known to anyone?

Song Ci's curiosity was practically overflowing; she nudged Zhou Ran with her elbow, demanding, "Tell me, tell me! What happened?"

After a moment's thought, Zhou Ran decided to maintain the mystery and only talked about the appearance, abilities, and origin of the walking clothes, without mentioning how he solved the problem.

Song Ci was greatly shocked after hearing this. She never expected that this strange thing was related to the skin that was peeled off the bodies of the six victims in the murder case in the west of the city. She suddenly had a strange feeling.

It was a thrill of parting the fog and glimpsing the truth, and a tremor of touching taboos and unintentionally stepping into a bizarre world; the two intertwined, creating an extremely stimulating experience.

"You still haven't told me how you killed it."

Immediately, Song Ci came to her senses and stared sharply at Zhou Ran, clearly not intending to be fooled so easily.

Zhou Ran slowly took a sip of milk tea, chewed on the tapioca pearls, and smiled slightly: "Guess."

"Without hands?" Song Ci guessed.

Zhou Ran shook his head.

"You used weapons? I remember you took a bracelet and a sword from Shen Fei's warehouse," Song Ci guessed again.

Zhou Ran shook his head again.

"You've cultivated a special technique? You're the reincarnation of a powerful being? You have that ring, old man?"

"This is getting more and more outrageous, okay? Fine, I'll tell you the truth." Zhou Ran said vividly, "I did this and that, and then I solved it."

"..." Song Ci was speechless. You should be more specific.

"In short, the matter is resolved. Are there any upcoming activities?"

Zhou Ran skipped the topic altogether. If everything was alright afterward, he would go to the medical company for a heart transplant.

With today's highly advanced medical technology, culturing a cloned heart and performing a heart transplant can be completed in just a few hours, with no side effects, and the patient can be full of energy immediately afterward.

"You still have the mind to continue shopping?" Song Ci looked at him incredulously. Wasn't he incredibly carefree?

"We finally get to go out and have some fun, so we can't waste it. We'll have less and less time to play in the future," Zhou Ran said, sipping her milk tea.

Students at Sendo High School experience an average stress level of 10,000 Pa, which intensifies into a high-pressure hell mode in their junior and senior years.

Song Ci thought about it and agreed: "Then let's go see a movie."

Perfect, she still had many questions to ask.

……

It was past 2 a.m.

Ming Shu's home, bedroom.

Having returned from her mission, Song Ci was recounting the events of the night to Ming Shu, her animated expression suggesting she had truly witnessed something bizarre.

After recounting what happened, Song Ci said regretfully, "What a pity! You should have gone yourself. Experiencing strange events together is the best way to enhance your relationship. It would definitely beat anything else, like movie theaters, aquariums, or Ferris wheels."

Ming Shu lowered his eyes, his expression extremely complicated. Why did this happen?

A date with Zhou Ran, and the bizarre events we experienced together—two joyful things overlapping should have given us a blissful, dreamlike time. But why did it turn out like this...? Why wasn't I the one who went through all of this with me?

Ming Shu pursed her lips, feeling as if she had eaten a pound of sour grapes and lemons, but she had nothing to say, because it was she who had begged Song Ci to go on a date with Zhou Ran.

"Are you alright?"

Song Ci noticed that Ming Shu's expression was not quite right, and cautiously asked him a question.

"You just said that this is the best way to enhance feelings, so has your relationship improved?" Ming Shu suddenly looked up.

"Oh, this..."

Song Ci paused for a second, then scratched her cheek guiltily. "I guess so."

"That's wonderful," Ming Shu sighed softly.

"Hey!" Song Ci couldn't help but get annoyed. "You're the one who asked me to go on the date, and now you're jealous? I'm not giving you the list."

"Don't!"

……

……

the other side.

Zhou Ran went to a private medical institution called "Sunrise Biotechnology Company" to inquire about the cost of a heart transplant.

The side effects of his heart transforming into the Exquisite Heart were too terrible, so he decided to act quickly and have the heart replaced tonight.

The receptionist, dressed in a light gray business suit, said:

"Mr. Zhou, according to the tests, your current physical condition is equivalent to that of a cultivator at the eighth level of the Qi Opening Realm. Therefore, the total cost of the heart cloning and replacement surgery may be slightly different from the price you previously knew."

"How much do you want?" Zhou Ran asked.

"The total cost is four and a half million." The female receptionist's smile remained unchanged. "Perfect clone, 100% compatible, the strength of your organs is exactly the same as your original heart, and it will be repaired immediately after the operation, without affecting your daily cultivation and life."

"So expensive?" Zhou Ran's face darkened.

But that's normal.

To ensure flexibility, high school students are not allowed to install any prosthetic components, not even the most basic vital sign monitoring chips.

Those cultivators with even a little talent will not install prosthetic bodies on themselves; they will use the original organs from the factory whenever possible.

That's why a cloned heart that is a perfect replica, even with the same organ strength as the original, is so expensive.

Even though the market is not monopolized by a single company, all medical companies have unanimously chosen to set high prices.

They make money off cultivators!

"During the Qi Refining stage, this method can be used to avoid the side effects of the [Exquisite Heart], but once you reach the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, the cost of replacing your heart will be astronomical."

Zhou Ran secretly plotted, "I need to practice some techniques that can enhance my vitality and self-healing speed. If my heart mutates, I can dig it out myself and then use the techniques to reshape it..."

As for now, all we can do is honestly pay for services.

Fortunately, there were still more than five million yuan left from the tutoring money, otherwise the surgery would have been delayed for several more days, and who knows if we would have encountered anything strange during those days.

After paying by card, Zhou Ran was taken to a medical room for a more detailed physical examination. Subsequently, the doctor drew a vial of blood for the purpose of cloning a heart.

To give customers greater peace of mind, the entire cloning process can be observed.

The doctor led Zhou Ran to a floor-to-ceiling glass window.

Inside the window was an operating room filled with various instruments and equipment. Technicians in sterile gowns were performing various operations, and the entire process took only about ten minutes.

Zhou Ran watched as the blood sample was transformed into a pink lump of flesh through a series of dazzling operations, and then grew rapidly under the catalysis of drugs and spiritual energy.

Next, the mass of flesh was transferred into a culture chamber for enhanced cultivation, gradually transforming into the shape of a heart.

Ten minutes later, a complete heart appeared in the culture chamber and began to beat slowly.

"Perfect." The technician gave a thumbs-up through the glass, and his voice came through the speaker: "100% compatibility, the strength is exactly the same as your original heart, you can go to the operating room to wait, the surgery will begin in ten minutes."

This is too fast! Add in the surgery time, and they can earn 4.5 million in just one or two hours... Zhou Ran was speechless. The medical industry is indeed a highly profitable business, exploiting cultivators to the point of death.

Two hours later.

Zhou Ran slowly woke up from the bed, feeling no discomfort whatsoever.

Looking down from the collar of the surgical gown, there were no scars on his chest.

"You're awake. The surgery went smoothly. This is your old heart."

The nurse next to him brought a jar and presented it to Zhou Ran. Inside was a cleaned heart, pale and bloodless, soaking in a special liquid.

A hole running from front to back can be clearly seen on the heart, with smooth edges, as if it were naturally formed.

Without a doubt, this is Linglongxin.

"There seems to be something unusual about your heart. If you entrust the cause to us for investigation, we can pay you 300,000 for the recovery," the nurse said.

Without even thinking, Zhou Ran said, "Forget it, I want to keep it as a souvenir."

Although Linglong Heart has left the body, it may still have an attraction to the supernatural. If the medical company keeps it, it might cause a death.

Moreover, this is a rare and exquisite piece of art, which can sell for three million!

I just don't know if people will accept it, since the Linglong Heart has always been a naturally formed spiritual treasure, never made of flesh and blood.

"Do you need any processing done for you?"

The nurse brought over a tablet with a dense list of services: "We offer organ specimen preservation services, which can help you turn this heart into a permanent keepsake that is both beautiful and safe."

Zhou Ran stared at the screen, his lips twitching involuntarily. The screen displayed strange processing projects such as bone ash diamonds, spirit bone relics, jade bone artifacts, immortal specimens, and spirit eye ornaments.

"No need, just give it to me like this."

In reality, Zhou Ran already had other plans in mind.

Since a delicate heart can attract strange things.

Could it be made into a magical artifact to attract eerie creatures?

In bizarre events, actively attracting the strange might actually be the key to breaking the deadlock.