Lu Ran was awakened by hunger.

When he woke up from his sleep, he realized it was already two in the afternoon.

"Ugh." Lu Ran rubbed his head, still feeling somewhat sleepy.

Lu Ran had gone to bed very late, as he had been experimenting with the Black Lamp Evil Technique since waking up at midnight.

Especially since he had woven a beautiful dream for the little civet cat.

While Cat Sister was comfortable and enjoying herself, Lu Ran was mentally exhausted and quite tired.

"Meow~" In his arms, the little civet cat lay lazily, its fluffy tail sweeping back and forth.

Looking at the little one's adorable appearance, Lu Ran couldn't help but kiss its little head again.

He held the little civet cat, lying on his side, and casually picked up the cellphone by his pillow.

Unexpectedly, there were many messages in the four-person group chat, Lu Ran had thought that after yesterday's events, everyone would be very quiet.

Lu Ran opened the group chat and saw the last message sent by Chang Ying just over ten minutes ago:

"Staying at home is so boring, let's go out and play?"

Sadly, no one responded, and the group chat cooled down.

Lu Ran thought for a moment, tapping the screen with his finger.

Ran: "Go out and relax?"

Seeing someone supportive, Chang Ying immediately sent another message: "Good good! Where shall we go?"

Seeing this, Lu Ran was in a quandary.

Rain Alley City is so small, what fun places could there be?

The city only meets people's basic living needs, as for the rest...

There isn't even a single amusement park here, only a cinema that's half-open at best.

Chang Ying: "How about we go for some cold drinks?"

Ran: "Cold drinks in deep autumn, you really have nowhere else to go."

Chang Ying: "Why are you picking on me again, I'm about to cry!"

Ran: "My treat."

Chang Ying: "Wow, Ranbao is the best!"

Lu Ran looked at the text on the screen, his expression quite colorful.

Three words could describe his expression right now: metro, elderly, cellphone.

Ranbao?

It's been a long time since he had seen this nickname.

A stir arose in Lu Ran's heart, had he inadvertently brought back this nickname during yesterday's battlefield scenes of "bah"?

Indeed, people's feelings and reactions were quite similar.

Tian Tian: "Going for cold drinks?"

Ran: "3 o'clock, West River, Snow Alley Cottage."

Tian Tian: "Good~(ﾟ▽ﾟ*)"

Lu Ran smiled as he put down his phone, got up, and headed straight to the bathroom to wash and shower.

Twenty minutes later, Lu Ran left home wearing a duckbill hat, a round-neck sweater, and jeans.

Since becoming a Believer, Lu Ran rarely had the opportunity to wear casual clothes.

He also rarely had the chance to wear the dark red knitted scarf someone had given him.

It was quite warm.

Lu Ran exhaled a little white breath, feeling the chill of Rain Alley City's deep autumn.

In the residential area, some of the plane trees still had a few orange-red or dried-yellow leaves hanging.

A gust of autumn wind blew, and a few more leaves fell.

Like dried leaf butterflies fluttering in front of his eyes, finally quivering to the ground.

"Crunch~"

Lu Ran stepped on a leaf, making a distinctive crisp sound.

At this moment, he was supposed to be in the pitch-dark Demon Cave, fighting bitterly.

An accident had brought him back home, where he saw this somewhat familiar scene.

In Lu Ran's mind, the image of someone leaving during that beautiful deep autumn lingered.

He imitated that person, pulling up the large knitted scarf to cover his lips.

Mmm... Lu Ran felt pretty good.

In this crappy world, harboring one more concern also brought more hope.

As for the motivation to survive, Lu Ran didn't need anyone to provide that.

Regarding exterminating all Evil Demons in the world, the desire in Lu Ran's heart would only burn hotter as his strength gradually grew stronger.

...

2:50, Snow Alley Cottage.

This cold drink shop was unique, resembling a wooden cottage.

What was even more unique was that standing in front of the cottage was a tall, bald woman.

Bald woman?

Lu Ran was surprised, and the closer he got to the cottage, the more astonished he became.

"Team Lu!" The bald woman grinned, continuously waving at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran's expression was peculiar: "Calling me Ranbao in the phone, but changing to Team Lu in person?"

"Hehe~" Chang Ying placed a hand on her smooth head.

"Don't you care about your image at all?" Lu Ran approached Chang Ying, looking up at her bald head.

You wouldn't believe it, but it's quite round?

Chang Ying in the past was both wild and beautiful, but now...

Only wilder.

When Tian Tian sees you later, won't she be scared to tears?

Chang Ying pouted, "My hair was burnt and charred, looking at it was annoying, so I just shaved it all off."

Lu Ran laughed: "Then you should have worn a hat!"

"Thanks." Chang Ying casually took off Lu Ran's white duckbill cap, putting it on her own head.

Lu Ran: ???

Chang Ying warmly wrapped an arm around Lu Ran's shoulder: "Thanks, Ranbao... er, thanks Team Lu for inviting me for cold drinks and for the hat."

Lu Ran: "..."

True·Eat and take!

Chang Ying looked curiously at Lu Ran: "This scarf is really pretty, is it hand-knitted?"

"Not this one!" Lu Ran quickly shook his head.

Everything else was material, but this scarf absolutely could not be stolen by this bald bandit.

"Stingy." Chang Ying muttered under her breath, pushing Lu Ran towards the shop door, "Let's go."

"Ding Ding Ding~"

The wooden door opened, and the bronze bell on the door jingled, its sound crisp.

"What would you two like?" The female store employee stood up from behind the counter, curiously sizing up Lu Ran.

The employee had noticed the bald woman standing outside earlier and was very curious about what kind of boy she was waiting for.

Now it made sense.

Hmm... this guy seems a bit thin.

Is this small frame up to it?

"3 to 4 people." Lu Ran looked around and directly headed to a booth.

Chang Ying happily said: "Then shall I order?"

"Get some food; I haven't eaten all day." Lu Ran casually replied, settling into a wooden chair.

From outside the booth Chang Ying's voice could be heard: "I want this, this, this, this..."

Lu Ran: "..."

Why don't you just throw the menu in the employee's face and ask for a book instead?

A few minutes later, while Lu Ran was eating a hash brown, Tian Tian arrived.

Unexpectedly, Deng Yutang, who hadn't been active in the chat, also arrived.

"That aunt went to my house." Deng Yutang sat down on a wooden chair.

"She hasn't left?" Lu Ran was somewhat surprised.

Yesterday, that aunt had sent everyone home one by one, and after expressing her thanks, she had driven off.

Deng Yutang nodded: "Yes, she came bearing gifts, apologizing and expressing gratitude."

Tian Tian quietly said: "This morning, the aunt also came to my house."

Lu Ran thoughtfully nodded.

After all, the small team had saved her and her daughter's lives; no amount of gratitude would be excessive.

"Next are our houses, right?" Chang Ying looked at Lu Ran.

"Should be." Lu Ran shrugged his shoulders.

Chang Ying immediately perked up, looking at Deng Yutang: "What gifts did the aunt bring?"

Lu Ran suddenly spoke: "I've always wanted to apologize to you guys."

"Hmm?"

"Ah?" The others turned to look at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran embarrassedly said, "The Demon Cave was my choice; you all accompanied me, and then..."

"That's nonsense!" Chang Ying interrupted Lu Ran directly, "Every Demon Cave is dangerous, accidents can happen anywhere!

You can't predict the future! If anyone should apologize, it should be me."

As she spoke, Chang Ying's face was full of remorse: "At the critical moment, I drew a bad lot, useless in helping out."

Tian Tian looked at Chang Ying, retorting: "You gave the most; you were always at the front.

I am the team's commander, I should bear the greatest responsibility."

Tian Tian's voice grew softer and she lowered her head more and more: "I made a unilateral decision, leading the small team into danger.

If not for Lu Ran taking command and leading us out, we all might have..."

The small booth fell silent, the relaxed atmosphere once again becoming tense.

They had agreed to come out and relax, but it turned into a self-criticism meeting.

Deng Yutang suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence: "I was wrong too."

Chang Ying curiously looked at Deng Yutang: "What did you do wrong?"

On the battlefield, this Red Scarf Believer had performed exceptionally well, obeyed orders, and never fell short in his duties.

"I... I..." Deng Yutang struggled for a while but couldn't articulate anything.

Maybe the mistake was just wanting to fit in too much.

While the three teammates were reflecting, Deng Yutang being there felt... well, slightly awkward.

Eventually, Deng Yutang picked up some juice: "Surviving is our greatest success, the most worth celebrating!

We must quickly regroup, as there are still many dangers ahead!"

Self-reflection is necessary, but surviving in this dangerous world, you can't dwell too long.

Growth inevitably involves experiencing some storms and learning some lessons.

And focusing on survival is people's top priority.

"Okay." Lu Ran picked up his juice, and the four clinked glasses.

The crisp sound was like a boundary marker.

Deng Yutang took a big gulp of orange juice, directly asking, "It's still early in the day, shall we go to the Demon Cave for training?"

At this moment, the traits of a Red Scarf Believer were fully manifested in Deng Yutang.

Just yesterday, they had all experienced life and death, seeing the horrifying Evil Nest.

For others, not only would it take several days and nights to recover, but they might be shadowed for life.

Yet, the Red Scarf Believer was ready to take up arms again!

"I'm about to advance to Stream Realm Third Rank." Tian Tian quietly said, "I want to train before Divine Sculpture."

It was rare for Tian Tian to be so brave and express her wishes.

Training in the Demon Cave did speed up cultivation, but it was still inferior to training in front of a divine shrine.

Tian Tian's choice was understandable; after all, she was just a 17-year-old student wanting to ease her mind, which was perfectly reasonable.

"I feel like I'm about to advance too." Chang Ying chimed in.

"Alright, then I'll also focus on cultivating at home." Deng Yutang did not insist.

After all, he was close to advancing too, and the Stream Realm Third Rank Divine Technique was also very tempting for him.

"What about Lu Ran?" Chang Ying looked at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran shook his head: "I just advanced to the third rank about ten days ago, I still need some time."

Chang Ying: "Strength to you, you're the most likely to catch up to the Great Competition."

Deng Yutang confidently asserted: "Brother Lu must catch up, the term isn't over yet!

There are still four months until the next term starts, advancing to River Realm should be a breeze for Lu Ran, right?"

Chang Ying suddenly thought of something, laughing: "That's true, maybe by next term's start, our school will only have one River Realm.

A contest with just one person, victory without a fight!

Grabbing awards and points till your arms tire, blissful~"

Lu Ran, however, laughed: "That's a nice thought, but with four months to go, how could I be the only River Realm?"

The need for River Realm was because within this realm, Believers could assemble flowing water armor.

In the context of this special era, Da Xia needed to encourage students to strive forward while also avoiding casualties to the greatest extent.

Thus, between people, there's an unspoken rule for a good-natured contest: if the flowing water armor breaks, you lose.

"Cut~" Chang Ying countered, "After Stream Realm Third Rank, there really is a barrier every step.

Especially breaking through from Stream Realm Fifth Rank to River Realm, it's really tough...

I remember, in the last semester of the senior year, there were only 2 or 3 River Realm Believers at the start of the second half?

The top three were decided in just a few minutes."

Lu Ran: "Ma Tianchuan should be able to do it. Haven't heard from him in a while, wonder how his cultivation is going."

Deng Yutang: "If you really encounter Ma Tianchuan, Brother Lu, you must teach him a lesson, haha!

Our two teams' contest has been postponed until now, you can represent our team.

Oh, and there's Wu Shanshan..."

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