Chapter 65: The Center of Attention

"Shoes! What are you standing around for? Hurry up and find her a pair of shoes!" Niu Gaoshou impatiently kicked him.

Watching as Huang Zhonghou rummaged through the storage and finally produced a pair of women’s sandals, he secretly let out a breath of relief. Tonight, no matter what, he had to get rid of this harbinger of disaster. Otherwise, both he and this store would be utterly doomed—obliterated without a trace.

“Here... here are the shoes,” Huang Zhonghou stammered, his voice trembling as he held the sandals out to the woman in red.

She picked up the sandals and touched them, inch by inch, with her hands.

“Shoes... pretty... shoes... pretty...” she murmured, hugging the sandals tightly to her chest.

But in the next moment, Huang Zhonghou’s eyes widened in shock. He reached up, bewildered, to touch his neck, feeling a slick warmth between his fingers.

Strange...

As his vision slowly tilted backward, he stretched out his hands, desperately trying to hold his neck together. But with a sticky, slithering sound, his neck gradually slid back along a perfectly smooth plane.

With a thud, Huang Zhonghou’s head toppled from his neck and rolled to the ground, his eyes still wide open.

“Aaaah!” Not far away, Li Feifei, her hair tied in a ponytail, let out a piercing scream.

Everyone saw it: the woman in red had done nothing, yet Huang Zhonghou’s head had fallen cleanly from his shoulders.

“Shoes... I didn’t want shoes... What I wanted was socks.” The woman in red raised her head, flinging away the shoes she had just clutched so tightly.

“Socks... I want socks...”

Niu Gaoshou’s throat produced a rasping sound. He glanced at Huang Zhonghou, who now lay in a widening pool of blood, his huge eyes rolling frantically, darting from one employee to another.

Don’t pick me! Don’t pick me!

All the staff bowed their heads desperately, praying not to be chosen by Niu Gaoshou.

“Daily... daily goods staff! Ji Linmo, Qin Feng! You two—hurry up and find her a pair of socks!”

Cold sweat dripped from Niu Gaoshou’s forehead as he shouted at Ji Linmo and Qin Feng.

“Going means certain death...” Qin Feng’s gaze was abyssal.

“That woman in red, she doesn’t even know what she wants.”

“Everyone in this store is going to die tonight.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than another scream pierced the air.

The woman in red suddenly raised her hand and pointed to a trembling female employee.

“You... your shoes... ugly...” she intoned. “I... hate... hate... die...”

The terrified employee clapped her hands over her mouth, looking down at her own shoes—just an utterly ordinary pair of sneakers.

“I... no...” she started, as if wanting to explain.

But a droplet of red suddenly fell from above, splattering onto the floor. The woman stared in disbelief as the red liquid pooled and spread, pouring down in a torrent, forming a crimson stream at her feet.

“Boss, save... save me...” she pleaded, her eyes vacant as she stumbled toward Niu Gaoshou.

In the next instant, her body collapsed like a pile of blocks, splitting into smooth, flesh-colored pieces that crashed to the floor.

Before their very eyes, another employee had been disassembled by this vengeful spirit.

Screams echoed continuously. Everyone trembled, staring in terror at the woman in red standing by the entrance.

No order, no rules, no reason.

The woman in red could kill you without warning, for reasons you could never guess.

“Anyone, who will... who will serve this customer?” Niu Gaoshou’s voice was already broken, his enormous eyes brimming with terror and tears. “Do it well, and I’ll make you assistant manager... no, you can have the whole store...”

Yet the woman in red, wild-eyed and unhinged, swung her gaze to her next victim.

Blood and brains blossomed once again like a ghastly flower.

“Qin Feng, do you have any ideas?” Ji Linmo’s brow furrowed deeply, his eyes clouded.

He bent down and picked out several pairs of suitable socks from the bottom shelf.

Just as Qin Feng said, everyone in the store was doomed to die here tonight. The woman in red would slaughter them all.

If they wanted to survive, they had to do something.

“An idea...” Qin Feng’s finger brushed over the neatly folded socks, his voice low.

“What if I told you I don’t have any good ideas either? What would you do then?”

“Then I’ll take a gamble,” Ji Linmo replied.

He opened his inventory, summoned the dungeon item “Guardian Ring of Love,” slipped it onto his finger, and pressed a gentle kiss to it.

“It’ll bring me luck.”

[Guardian Ring of Love]

[Item Quality: High (S Grade)]

[Effect: When worn, the ring automatically activates a defense. Each day, it blocks one fatal attack, reducing damage by 10–30%.]

“Wait, Mr. Ji.” Qin Feng suddenly stepped in front of him.

“Before you go, why not add a bit more charm? A higher charm value means you’re more likely to earn her goodwill—even a special-class vengeful spirit isn’t immune. Of course, if you don’t have a charm-boosting item, you can borrow mine.”

The young man’s words reminded Ji Linmo. He immediately pulled out a bottle of perfume and sprayed himself several times.

[Charm Perfume]

[Item Quality: Intermediate (B Grade)]

[Special Note: When stacking charm, the total cannot exceed 80% of the user’s maximum charm value.]

[Player: Ji Linmo]

[Charm: 100 + 60 (Universally Adored)]

[Maximum attribute reached: 80%]

“Wow~” Qin Feng let out a soft exclamation and straightened Ji Linmo’s collar.

“What is it?” Ji Linmo asked.

“So handsome it’s tragic, Mr. Ji. You’ll be the brightest star in the room.”

With that, Qin Feng, like a gentleman inviting his partner to dance, took Ji Linmo’s hand and led him forward.

“Good luck, Mr. Ji.”

Ji Linmo said nothing, but forced his most amiable smile and slowly walked toward the woman in red.

“Ma’am, you wanted socks, didn’t you? How about these?” he said, lifting his hand to display the socks he’d chosen.

Colorful socks, as bright as pennants, fanned out in his hand.

“Ma’am, look—white socks are the most versatile, but these black stockings would suit you beautifully as well...”

Ji Linmo introduced the socks with measured cheer, as though he were nothing more than a dedicated salesman, intent on making a sale.