GRMFBS CH72

Quan Liping got beaten up badly, crying and sobbing:
“Big boss, I was wrong! Big boss, please spare me!”

The little white cat stopped: “Meow.”

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

This was spoken in Ghost Speech. Quan Liping understood it.

And once he understood, he cried even harder.

This big boss looked like a harmless little white cat, but its strength was terrifying! Its aura was as heavy as a mountain—he couldn’t even muster the thought of resistance!

Such a powerful being just came and pummeled him… how was he supposed to know what he did wrong?!

“Wh-whatever you think I did wrong, that’s what I did wrong! Please point it out to me, I promise I’ll change!” Quan Liping wept bitterly.

“You extort people for sacrificial offerings?”

Quan Liping suddenly understood: “I’ll never dare again!”

He only tried to swindle that kid because the boy looked honest and easy to bully. If he’d known the kid had such a mighty backer, he wouldn’t have dared even if it killed him!

The Wan Yan Ghost King was satisfied.

Hmph! He’d said he was too busy earlier, so he didn’t make cat food for him. Now that the matter was resolved, he definitely had to make it up!

The little white cat twitched its whiskers and turned back toward Beifang Agricultural University.

—

Over at Beifang Agri, Duan Hong had just bought all the sacrificial items when his phone rang.

It was his grad-school senior calling. Duan Hong was a top student, and one of the old professors had taken a liking to him, letting him join in some research. The senior called to tell him their experimental white rabbit had some problems and asked him to hurry over.

Duan Hong was torn. On one side was his academic future, on the other, a ghost he needed to deal with. If he went to the lab now, he’d miss confronting the ghost. But if he made up the sacrifice later, he worried another extortion attempt might happen.

“Go to the lab first. Your studies are more important. Don’t worry, the sacrifice matter will be fine,” Bao Qingshan said.

Zhan Yan also comforted him: “It’s fine. Haven’t you already prayed to the little white cat?”

Gu Jiancheng simply added two words: “It’s fine.”

Gritting his teeth, Duan Hong decided to go find his senior first.

His dream was to pursue grad school under that professor—he hadn’t even gone home during break for this!

That ghost just wanted to extort him, right? Fine, he’d just offer more sacrifices!

Duan Hong hurried off.

“I’m heading out,” said Gu Jiancheng.

Since he’d run into this situation anyway, he might as well take care of the wild ghost ahead of time, so Zhan Yan wouldn’t have to go.

“I’ve got something too,” Bao Qingshan said.

Since Duan Hong couldn’t make it right now, he’d go scout first. Better to resolve it early than deal with trouble later.

“I’ll take the stuff back then,” Zhan Yan said.

Through the gossip feed, he’d already seen the Wan Yan Ghost King thrash Quan Liping. The cat would definitely come back demanding food soon, so he had to hurry and cook.

—

Outside the school, Gu Jiancheng slipped into the shadows, instantly appearing at Duan Hong’s sacrificial site.

Beside the wild grave crouched a wild ghost, emanating the same remnant ghostly aura that clung to Duan Hong.

“So you’re the one extorting offerings?” Gu Jiancheng asked.

Quan Liping had just managed to recover from the terrifying godlike being earlier, when suddenly a voice echoed from what felt like a bottomless abyss, scaring him stiff.

He looked up to see a figure shrouded in shadow, aura icy and dreadful, staring down at him.

“M-me, I…” Quan Liping trembled in terror.

Gu Jiancheng sneered, lifted a foot, and kicked!

After another beating, Gu Jiancheng asked coldly: “Still extorting people?”

“N-no! Never again!” Quan Liping wailed.

Satisfied, Gu Jiancheng left.

Quan Liping dared not stay there any longer. Once Gu Jiancheng was gone, he scrambled away in a panic.

Boohoohoo… he just tried to extort an offering, how did he end up provoking another godlike fiend?!

—

Bao Qingshan took the bus, but couldn’t find the place once he reached the outskirts.

The weeds were nearly chest-high—how was he supposed to see if there was a grave underfoot?

He didn’t know the exact spot Duan Hong had used, but that wasn’t a problem—he cultivated “spiritual sense”!

Wandering casually, it didn’t take him long to bump into a wild ghost.

Opening his Yin-Yang Eyes, he looked it over: “Hey! You there. You’re the one repeatedly asking people for offerings, right?”

Quan Liping bolted!

But he didn’t get far.

Bao Qingshan’s spiritual sense was too sharp—wherever Quan Liping tried to hide, he’d stumble right into him.

Prodding the exhausted ghost, Bao Qingshan said: “Come on, let’s talk. Why are you extorting people? Or should I hand you over to the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau?”

Quan Liping burst into tears yet again: “I was wrong! I’ll never dare again!”

—

Meanwhile, Zhan Yan had just finished cooking cat food and was crouched on the roadside with Gu Jiancheng, feeding the Wan Yan Ghost King.

By ordinary standards, Zhan Yan’s cooking was pretty good. He had to be—his father raised their taste buds to be picky, then often left for acting jobs, forcing the siblings to cook for themselves.

Over the years, they’d all gotten decent in the kitchen—even if they judged each other’s food as “terrible” compared to their older brother Zhan Yunkai.

The little white cat ate happily.

Sitting next to Zhan Yan, Gu Jiancheng suddenly remarked: “I haven’t even tasted your cooking yet.”

Zhan Yan: …This guy was getting more and more jealous.

The cat’s ears twitched.

Heh! I’m the one who just dealt with that extorting wild ghost. You, a mere mortal, dare to compare? You’re lucky you’re even allowed to pay me!

Zhan Yan patted Gu Jiancheng’s knee: “The school doesn’t have the right conditions. Cat food is simple, though. Want to try some?”

At that, the little white cat’s golden eyes snapped up, staring at them both.

Zhan Yan quickly backtracked: “Kidding! Just kidding! Not stealing from you!”

Gu Jiancheng and the cat locked eyes—one pair of golden feline eyes, one pair of deep black human eyes. After a few seconds, both looked away.

Hmph!

Just a cat! At most, you only get to eat cat food!

Heh.

Just a human! You can only watch while I eat!

After the cat finished, Zhan Yan picked up the special bowl he’d bought just for it. From now on, this would be the exclusive bowl of the Wan Yan Ghost King.

As Zhan Yan stood up, he nearly toppled backward.

Gu Jiancheng caught him in time: “What’s wrong?”

“My legs went numb, QAQ…”

—

Duan Hong spent hours fixing the lab problem, and by then it was noon.

His senior offered to buy him lunch, but Duan Hong refused—he still had a ghost to deal with.

The noon sun shone warmly overhead. Squinting at it, Duan Hong muttered: Ghosts fear sunlight.

His roommates were busy with their own things now, and he didn’t want to bother them again.

It was just an extorting ghost, wasn’t it?

Pumping himself up, Duan Hong went shopping again, this time buying double offerings before heading back to find the ghost.

When Quan Liping saw him coming with even more offerings, his knees buckled.

Boohoohoo… please! Don’t bring me more offerings! I’ll never dare again! You’re the real ancestor here!

—

The next day there were classes, so Zhan Yan wanted to quickly check the situation and catch up on some accumulated tasks.

He started by checking on his dad’s side.

[The Chongming Demon King took the corpse-flower demon plant to Mount Chaofu, seeking help from the River of the Dead Ghost King in developing a method to quickly detect “Heart-Marks.”]

Oh oh, looks like that cooperation was going well.

[The Nine-Tails King went to the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau to discuss cooperation, ran into old rival Da Wule, and they fought after trading barbs.]

[Tianshi went to negotiate with the Infinite World player faction “Retirees’ Alliance,” discovered the wanted Insect King Tong Shu hidden among them, and fought with them.]

[The Retirees’ Alliance was outraged: You’re just bullying us because our strongest, Deep Shadow, isn’t here!]

…

Aside from the first one, nobody’s cooperation seemed to be going smoothly…

Zhan Yan scrolled through the gossip feeds, checking what grudges these groups all had—wasn’t there any way to reconcile?

[After relentless research, Insect King Tong Shu finally bred cold-resistant mosquitoes and mutant cockroaches.]

[Insect King Tong Shu was listed as a wanted criminal by the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.]

Anyone who read that couldn’t help agreeing with the Bureau.

Well deserved!

That said, the current situation was troubling.

The “Heart-Mark” was new to their world. Even in the Infinite World it was a rare item, with only a few dozen drifting into reality. The Bureau and the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance had never encountered it before and had no way to understand it.

Now, with Heart-Marks surfacing, the ashes of the Infinite World weren’t just smoldering with sparks of revival—they also hid venomous dangers. They needed someone who knew more about Infinite’s past to help them sift through these buried threats.

The Bureau and the Demons’ Alliance had dealt with Infinite players before.

But those who joined the Bureau were never top-tier—hardly any had even heard of Heart-Marks. Understandable: real powerhouses from Infinite could never tolerate the Bureau’s controlling style. The ones who joined were just survivors seeking protection.

The Demons’ Alliance attracted a few more, but remained wary of humans, only accepting a handful of professions that passed magical scrutiny.

Most Infinite survivors didn’t join any faction. They either vanished into the crowd, became lone wolves like Gu Jiancheng, or formed their own groups, such as the black market brokers or the Retirees’ Alliance.

These groups might cooperate with the Bureau or the Demons’ Alliance, but always cautiously. The players didn’t trust the authorities to treat them fairly, and the authorities didn’t trust players scarred by Infinite to obey earthly rules.

The prime example was Deep Shadow.

That guy secretly captured a glitched anomaly and advanced at lightning speed. But being a wanted man, he had to work alone, and he seemed to suffer some unknown side effect.

Zhan Yan worried he’d push too recklessly and burn himself out.

Better to quickly find a healing-type esper who could help him.

Everyone wanted the same thing—so why couldn’t they just unite?

Zhan Yan sighed.

If only he had good relations with all these big shots, maybe he could mediate somehow.