Chapter 75: Quarrel

As Qin Feng finished speaking, the cheerful atmosphere instantly chilled.

The first to become stiff-faced was Lin Bufei. Usually careless and carefree, the man lowered his head, unconsciously touching the scar on his face. The shadow from the lights hid his expression.

“Qin Feng, why can’t we work together? Is it because Lin Bufei has a scar on his face?”

Ji Linmo, who hadn’t spoken until now, finally moved. He raised his glass, arching his brows at the young man across from him.

“That sort of discrimination isn’t good. Besides, Lin Bufei may seem unreliable, but he’s a decent person—I can vouch for that.”

“Ha... vouch for him? As expected, Mr. Ji, you’re quite close to him.” Qin Feng laughed, his gaze growing even darker. “But rest assured, I’m not refusing to cooperate for some superficial reason like a scar. I simply don’t trust people I’ve just met.”

Ji Linmo rubbed his brow, thinking the boy before him was intentionally stirring trouble. After a brief pause, the man reached out as if to comfort him, gently tousling Qin Feng’s hair.

“Qin Feng, stop it. I know you’re wary, but you can trust Lin Bufei. I’ve known him for years—I know him inside out.”

But the boy suddenly grabbed Ji Linmo’s wrist and pulled him forward.

Crash—

The table shook violently from the impact, beer spilling from the glass. Ji Linmo hadn’t expected Qin Feng to be so strong; he nearly toppled forward and had to steady himself with a hand on the table.

“Mr. Ji, don’t you already have me?” Qin Feng lifted his head. The peach blossom eyes that usually sparkled with humor now shimmered with a hint of loss.

“Mr. Ji, if I insist on refusing, who would you choose between Lin Bufei and me?”

Under the crimson lights, Ji Linmo gazed at the boy and noticed, for the first time, his proud and radiant features drooping, stripped of their usual confidence—like a forlorn puppy.

“Hey, hey, enough already. If someone didn’t know better, they’d think Ji Linmo here is the most sought-after prize in the whole neighborhood!” At that tense moment, Lin Bufei lifted his head, reverting to his lazy, carefree demeanor.

He showed no sign of displeasure at Qin Feng’s earlier disparagement. Instead, he picked up a napkin and wiped the beer from the table in front of the boy.

“To be honest, little charmer, if Ji Linmo asked me to be his teammate, I’d refuse. I value my life! Being with him is bound to be dangerous, so after this cooperation, I’ll be gone—you don’t need to worry, I won’t be your teammate.”

Lin Bufei, still meek in front of the boy, lowered his voice, whispering into Qin Feng’s ear, “So relax, handsome, no one’s competing with you for Ji Linmo’s teammate spot.”

Qin Feng looked up, staring deeply at Lin Bufei, his eyes as dark as a bottomless pool. It was as if the man before him had perfectly pinpointed his greatest fear.

“Heh… so now that everything’s been said, are we alright?”

Lin Bufei spread his hands, grinning as he poured himself another drink. The scar across his cheek glowed red under the lights.

Qin Feng chuckled softly and poured himself a glass.

“Yes, it’s fine now.”

Just as he was about to drink, his glass was suddenly covered by a hand.

Looking up, Ji Linmo raised his brows at Qin Feng, took away the glass, and handed him a juice adorned with a decorative paper umbrella.

Watching the little flower umbrella glint under the lights, Qin Feng took it, smiling subtly.

“Now that we’re working together, do you have any plans?” Lin Bufei unceremoniously slapped Ji Linmo’s shoulder.

“I’ll head back to the first-floor convenience store, try to find that red-dressed ghost I mentioned earlier, and investigate thoroughly.”

Ji Linmo seemed to recall something and pondered for a moment.

“Looks like you’ll be busy. But I just thought of something I need your help with.”

Lin Bufei wiped his hands with a napkin.

“Tomorrow, a big client’s coming. Our head chef needs to lead the cooks to the fourth floor to select the best rabbit meat. I wasn’t planning to get involved—fourth floor sounds ominous—but now, there’s no other way. Want to go investigate?”

Fourth floor?

Ji Linmo’s eyes brightened. The fourth floor was where the rabbit meat was selected, and he’d been looking for a chance to check it out. But he’d already noticed in the elevator that the fourth-floor button didn’t work; it seemed you needed a special method to access it.

“Then I—”

“Mr. Ji, why not leave it to me? As deputy manager of the convenience store, I can leave the shop alone,” Qin Feng interrupted, speaking ahead of Ji Linmo.

Ji Linmo didn’t reply. For some reason, he felt uneasy about leaving Qin Feng and Lin Bufei together.

“Oh, what a coincidence! I was hoping to bond with this charming fellow and explore the fourth floor together.” Lin Bufei clapped his hands in agreement.

“Luckily, the selection takes place both morning and afternoon, with only a short gap between. So I can sneak both of you onto the fourth floor and bring you back later in the afternoon, no problem.”

Ji Linmo insisted they all go together for safety, so after confirming the time and route, the trio made their decision.

In the morning, Qin Feng would go to the fourth floor first; in the afternoon, Ji Linmo would follow.

“Faceless man, did you fall in the latrine? Why are you resting so long? The kitchen is crazy busy, you know!” A roar echoed from the front desk of the “Delicious Rabbit Meat Shop.”

Ji Linmo looked up to see a monster in a chef’s uniform bursting from the kitchen, yelling into the hall.

Lin Bufei didn’t linger, gulped down his last sip of beer, and hurried off to work. Ji Linmo finished his own drink, stood, and signaled they should head back.

On the way, neither spoke, both in silent understanding.

When they returned to the shop, everything was tidied up and business resumed as usual. The odd, one-eyed manager, Niu Haoshou, was so excited to see Ji Linmo and Qin Feng that he hugged them both.

Even the old staff were visibly moved.

What had happened?

Ji Linmo was about to ask when he noticed something strange.

—The children’s clothing shop diagonally opposite, now lay in ruins.

“Thank you! Thank you both! If not for you, we’d have ended up just like the shop across the street!” Niu Haoshou’s bloodshot eyes brimmed with fear, still shaken by the earlier encounter with the red-dressed ghost.

After some probing, Ji Linmo learned the truth: the ghost in red, after leaving the convenience store wearing socks, hadn’t left the mall but continued wandering the first floor. Somehow, she entered the children’s clothing shop.

Suddenly, the entire store was reduced to rubble. All fifteen employees, including the manager, died gruesomely—no bodies could be pieced together.

“Manager, what’s the story with that red-dressed ghost?”

“Story? What story could a madwoman have?” Niu Haoshou’s eyes widened as he rubbed his arms, still terrified.

“Before the mall was built, the red-dressed ghost wandered outside on the street. They say she could still communicate normally back then. Rumor has it she had a daughter, always holding her skirt as they wandered around here. But once the mall opened, her daughter vanished.”

Niu Haoshou’s words left Ji Linmo deep in thought.

“The Rabbit Mother’s magnetic card.”

So the red-dressed ghost is the Rabbit Mother? Then who is the rabbit? All this rabbit meat, the little rabbits among the diners—are they all related to her?

By now, it was past four in the morning. The night shift workers at the convenience store were preparing to leave. Given all that had happened, performance evaluations were canceled for the night.

“Mr. Ji, aren’t you going to rest in the dorm?”

Ji Linmo shook his head at Qin Feng, not leaving with the others. With Niu Haoshou’s permission, he headed alone toward the ruins of the children’s clothing shop.

Qin Feng followed closely behind.

The store was nothing but broken walls and debris, no trace of its former self. Ji Linmo searched carefully among the remnants.

Torn skirts, clothes, hats for children hung like scraps throughout the ruined shop.

—The red-dressed ghost hadn’t acted without reason.

She must have come here for something she needed, but evidently, she hadn’t found it, so she destroyed the entire shop.

What had the red-dressed ghost wanted from this place?

Ji Linmo suddenly noticed a flash in the corner. He hurried over, searching for the source, carefully extracting the object.

A flash of white revealed what he held—a small hat.

[Congratulations, player! Important clue found: “Children’s Rabbit Hat.” Instance progress +25%]

[Children’s Rabbit Hat]

[Item quality: Medium]

[Item description: A white hat shaped like a rabbit, once a little girl’s favorite. Even as the building was about to collapse, she still wore it.]

[Task 2: Find where the rabbit is (Clue: 1/4)]

[Current instance progress: 25/100%]

[Kind reminder: If the instance ends before progress reaches 100%, the player will die instantly.]