Chapter 39: The Old Hipster

In a fifth-floor bedroom of an ordinary residential building in Huangjiang District, a family of three was peacefully asleep.

The windows were wide open, and the hot, humid wind blew in from outside, gently swaying the clothes hanging on the balcony.

Downstairs, in a dimly lit alleyway, a nearly seventy-year-old man, stark naked, with shifty eyes, scanned his surroundings. Only after confirming no one was watching did he raise his arm and make a beckoning gesture.

Whoosh, whoosh!

A set of men’s clothes mysteriously floated over from the balcony above and landed in his hands.

Without wasting a second, the old man darted deeper into the alley and hastily began dressing.

This individual was none other than Little Wolf Warrior, once again relying on a “borrowed corpse” to return to life. He’d had a rough couple of days. After stealing a body in Suhang City, his second attempt had become significantly more challenging. No hospital wanted to risk the PR nightmare of a stolen corpse.

When someone loses a loved one, the family’s emotions are already fragile. Imagine preparing for cremation only to find the body gone. The resulting outrage could destroy a hospital’s reputation. Hospitals in the nearby cities had already tightened their security. Morgue security was now on par with that of financial vaults.

Additionally, Little Wolf Warrior could only use corpses that had died naturally or from minor illnesses. Those involved in car accidents, violent altercations, or severely mutilated bodies were of no use to him.

With these restrictions, the range of viable bodies was minimal. After searching extensively, he finally settled on a modest district hospital’s morgue and selected an exceptionally elderly body.

But he wasn’t happy about it. He knew combat was inevitable, and this frail, old body wouldn’t hold up. Even a kick from a kindergarten kid might break a leg. Moreover, such a body wasn’t fit for using special abilities—it wouldn’t last.

Still, he had no choice. His soul form had grown extremely weak.

Without inhabiting a physical body, his soul couldn’t survive in the living world. Prolonged wandering would ultimately lead to complete annihilation.

Little Wolf Warrior was a player trapped in the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate under unique circumstances. His physical body was lost, leaving only his soul to act. To retrieve his body, he needed to clear the instance.

This was why he had returned to the real world.

Victory required meticulous planning, whether in Qingliang Prefecture or the real world.

He had to endure.

Looking at the loose, wrinkled skin and the bony, frail frame of his current form, Little Wolf Warrior tried to muster some courage.

But as he bent down to put on his pants and glanced downward, he froze in anger.

It was utterly lifeless—barely noticeable.

“Stand tall! Hold your head high!” he muttered fiercely.

No response.

Fine, he gave up. With a sigh, he donned a bright green, oversized CLOT T-shirt, paired it with STAGE cargo pants, slipped into a pair of brand-new Nike high-tops, and topped it off with a backwards baseball cap.

Five minutes later, a frail, expressionless old man dressed in ridiculously trendy streetwear confidently strutted out of the alley.

Snap!

Under the streetlamp, Little Wolf Warrior snapped his fingers coolly.

“To the east… I’m in the east…”

A faint voice whispered, as though a ghostly woman was murmuring into his ear.

He paused momentarily, then began walking eastward.

At the Bell Society’s hideout, the clever female player sat on the bed, waving her hand and shouting, “I really feel uncomfortable. Take your tongue away! Take it away…!”

…

Day turned to night, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the following evening.

Ren Ye crouched beneath the eaves of a rooftop, calmly eating a snack, his expression as composed and steady as ever.

Stakeouts like this were nothing new to him from his previous job. They had cultivated his excellent patience— the greater the urgency, the calmer he became. Since yesterday, he had rotated through three surveillance spots and even took time to go downstairs for snacks.

This was primarily to avoid detection by Bell Society players. According to Bull Terrier, Mr. He had sent two players to monitor Li Feng, and they were likely hiding somewhere nearby.

Boom!

A deafening clap of thunder echoed as a long-anticipated torrential rain finally descended upon Shanghai.

In an instant, the entire city was enveloped in white mist. The sky darkened with thick clouds, and pedestrians on the streets gradually disappeared.

Huddled beneath the eaves, Ren Ye peeked down the side of the building. His pupils constricted.

Li Feng, dressed in an old tracksuit and carrying a small backpack, was standing inside a supermarket entrance, looking around. He appeared to have ordered a rideshare and was waiting.

Swish!

Without hesitation, Ren Ye stood up, quickly cleaned up his trash, and headed downstairs.

The rooftop he had been staking out was above a small shopping mall. By now, many people had gathered at the entrance to take shelter from the rain.

“Excuse me…”

Ren Ye pushed through the crowd, intending to find a shared electric scooter. However, he suddenly felt his hand grow damp.

Looking up, he saw a delivery rider in a raincoat standing outside, smoking.

His eyes lit up as he grabbed the rider’s arm. “Hey, brother, come over here for a second.”

“What do you want?” The delivery rider raised an eyebrow.

“Are your motorbike and raincoat for sale?” Ren Ye asked with a smile.

“Are you crazy? If I sell them, how am I supposed to work?” The delivery rider rolled his eyes.

“Four thousand.”

“Fuck it, I quit. Here, take it!” The rider hesitated for a moment, but seeing Ren Ye pull out real cash, he immediately handed over the keys.

Ten minutes later.

Li Feng got into a regular rideshare, while Ren Ye followed closely behind on a very shabby motorbike, clad in a raincoat.

…

At the Bell Society’s hideout.

The cripple on Tongren Road sat on the sofa, smoking a cigar with an air of authority. “Old Yin is dead, but that crazy woman from the Fraudulent Merchants Association seems like she won’t let me off either. Luckily, I hid; otherwise, she would’ve made her move last night.”

Mr. He frowned. “That’s strange. I previously speculated that she was furious because we interfered with her target—Ren Ye. But now it seems… if she wants to kill even you, this can’t just be about interests.”

“It is strange,” the cripple nodded slowly. “Something that seemed simple is suddenly becoming very complicated.”

At this point, the two fell silent.

Ring, ring!

A phone rang, breaking the quiet. Mr. He lazily answered, “Hello, Little Dot?”

“Sir, the shut-in writer has moved,” Little Dot reported over the phone. “Before leaving, he called Ren Daguo. I overheard it.”

“Did he mention a location?”

“No, he just asked Ren Daguo to send him a location pin.”

“Any unusual activity?” Mr. He pressed further.

“None. So far, I haven’t noticed any players in the vicinity,” Little Dot replied with certainty.

“Alright, I understand.” Mr. He hung up the phone, his captivating phoenix eyes narrowing slightly as he turned to the crippled man. “…A good show is about to begin.”

The cripple stood up with the aid of his crutch and extended a hand. “Need our help? I can call in a few players to go with you.”

“No. Sometimes, having too many people just complicates things and makes leaks more likely,” Mr. He said, shaking the other’s hand. “The two outsiders Old Yin was investigating are also crucial.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Much appreciated,” Mr. He replied sincerely.

The cripple looked at him, his eyes gleaming with a layered meaning as he cryptically remarked, “No one knows if that day will ever come, but we all wait for it….”

“Of course!”

The conversation ended, and Mr. He departed with four members of the Copper Bell Society.

As they approached their vehicle, Mr. He turned and instructed the group, “You all go meet up with Little Dot first. I’ll go alone—I have something to take care of.”

“Understood,” the four responded with nods.

Five minutes later, Mr. He was alone, seated in the back of a rideshare car. He leaned forward slightly and asked the driver in a low voice, “Is this heading to the theater on Minhuang Road?”

“Yes,” the driver confirmed, stepping on the gas.

As the car moved through the rain-drenched streets, Mr. He retrieved a sealed envelope from the inner pocket of his suit jacket and glanced at it.

The envelope contained information on the “Tomb of Princess Jingguo” that he had purchased earlier from Little Wolf Warrior. This lead was crucial and one of his key gains in Shanghai. Although the details had already been shared online with Guo Cair and Xing Tao, Mr. He insisted on keeping the physical document with him for safekeeping before handing it over to the higher-ups.

…

The downpour showed no signs of letting up, and traffic was still crawling.

Ren Ye, meanwhile, had been tailing Li Feng for nearly half an hour on his rickety moped. As he followed, a sense of familiarity began to creep into his mind.

Have I been here before?

Ren Ye’s suspicion grew stronger as they passed two more intersections, the surroundings becoming increasingly familiar.

Finally, as he watched Li Feng’s car pull into an alley and stop, realization dawned.

Wait a minute—this is the same suburb I followed Dad to that night! The alley Li Feng just entered leads straight to that roadside eatery a few hundred meters ahead. Editor Old Xu and Dad had a meal there that evening!

This is too strange. Why would Li Feng come back here?

Ren Ye felt a chill run down his spine as he parked his moped and slipped into another alley, navigating the rain-drenched streets based on his memory.

Braving the heavy rain, Ren Ye sprinted for several minutes before arriving at the base of an apartment building. Shortly after, he spotted Li Feng approaching from the other direction, holding an umbrella.

Huh?

Hiding in the shadows, Ren Ye watched as Li Feng walked straight into the very apartment building where his father had vanished.

Why here? Why that building?

Ren Ye was utterly baffled, his mind a chaotic swirl of unanswered questions.

“Crack!”

A clap of thunder jolted him from his thoughts. Looking up, he noticed a dwarf-like man with a babyish ponytail standing not far away, also staring blankly at the apartment.

“Whoosh!”

Ren Ye vanished into the shadows.

…

Inside the same apartment building, in the same layout of a room.

Ren Daguo was still hunched over a dining table, typing furiously like a man possessed. “Almost there! I’m almost done! Just a bit more and I can submit it!”

Across from him, Old Xu sat casually in a chair, picking at his toes. “You never let other writers meet me. Why’d you call someone over this time?”

Ren Daguo flicked some ash from his cigarette and replied, “I gave Li Feng a free opening scene before, but I forgot the details of the plot. He spent ages yesterday digging up the draft and is just dropping it off today. He’ll leave right after.”

Old Xu sipped his soda and nodded.

“Oh, by the way, you two aren’t allowed to exchange contact information, alright? Respect my rules,” Ren Daguo added bluntly.