Chapter 48: Luo Mu

Once the system detects murderous intent, it can, with her permission, eliminate the threat immediately.

Lu Li was completely unafraid. With the system behind her, she had every reason to be confident. She lifted her head and commanded firmly, “Leave.”

The man shook his head slowly, took out a pack of cigarettes, tapped it, and poured out the last one.

With slender fingers, he held the cigarette, placed it between his lips, lit it, and took a calm drag. Then, he leisurely turned his head to blow out a smoke ring.

“Do you think that looks cool?” Lu Li stepped back, avoiding the smoke, disdainfully.

The man was taken aback, a flicker of killing intent flashing in his eyes as he looked at her. No one had ever spoken to him like that before.

Usually, which woman wouldn’t fear or swoon over him? Who else was as bold as she was?

In a flash, he reached out, aiming for her pale neck, but just as he was about to touch her—

His legs buckled, and he sat down hard. Looking up at her, all he saw was a challenging smile in her eyes.

Annoyed, he rose quickly, ready to strike again. The energy of a sixth-tier Esper burst forth in an instant.

Lu Li stood as steady as a mountain, seemingly unaffected.

The crowd gathered near the RV was helplessly pushed back by the energy and shouted anxiously, “Go get Boss Shen!”

Someone watching the scene remarked, “Has anyone ever seen Boss Lu lose?”

Indeed, no one had ever bested Boss Lu inside that RV. The crowd relaxed slightly and focused on the drama.

Shen Bing arrived late, not bothering to enter through the door; instead, she propped one hand on the table and swiftly jumped in.

“Lu Li, are you okay?!” She had just sensed the energy surge of a sixth-tier Esper.

Unsure if the RV or Lu Li could withstand it, she rushed over in a panic.

“Shen Bing? What the hell are you doing here?!” the man exclaimed.

Hearing the familiar voice, Shen frowned and looked at him. “Luo Ququ?”

Luo Ququ scowled. “Don’t call me that. Call me Luo Mu!”

“…” Shen ignored the name and directly asked, “What are you doing here? Did you get a contract to kill Boss Lu?”

Luo Mu nodded frankly, “Yes. The pay is high enough to keep me living comfortably for half a year.”

He suddenly realized, “Wait, you call her Boss Lu? You’re working for her? Shen Bing, you’ve really fallen!”

Lu Li stepped forward a few paces, standing between the two, extending one hand to each.

She turned her head toward Luo Mu and said, “Stop. Don’t talk about how much you’ll get for killing me in front of me. I won’t pay you double; I’ll just make you leave quickly!”

Then, she looked at Shen, “You, take your friend and get far away. I don’t want to see him.”

Shen glared fiercely at Luo Mu—it's all your fault if Boss Lu has a bad impression of me!

“Get far away” meant Shen dragged Luo Mu to the convenience store. As soon as they entered, Luo Mu gasped, “This? Bottled water?”

Shen replied coolly, “So what?” He was used to others’ surprise, after all, he had been the same way.

“So what?!” Luo Mu repeated in shock, circling around Shen a few times. “Is this all yours? Have you become a tycoon?”

Shen shrugged. “No, the store belongs to Boss Lu. I just work for her.”

Luo Mu was stunned again. “How much has she given you? You’re a seventh-tier Esper, the world’s only ice-element master, and you work for her?”

“Did I hear right? Who exactly is this Lu Li? Liu Wenchun offered me a thousand crystal cores to kill her!” Luo Mu exaggerated, raising a finger.

Shen frowned upon hearing that name—Liu Wenchun again?

Her status was not low—at least the daughter of a base commander. You couldn’t just take her out; it would have endless repercussions.

Seeing Shen silent, Luo Mu became used to it and started browsing on his own.

“Shen Bing, you even have instant noodles! My favorite old pickled cabbage flavor! I haven’t had this in years!”

“And even ham sausages! My favorite corn flavor. Oh heavens, what paradise is this? I don’t want to leave!”

Shen held a lucky cat figurine silently and followed behind him. Luo Mu turned abruptly and nearly bumped into him.

Patting his chest to reassure himself, he held several cups of instant noodles and a bunch of ham sausages in his other hand.

“Pay up.” Shen said coldly.

“What? You’re the host here and you won’t even be hospitable?” Luo Mu was shocked again, his narrow eyes widening.

Shen repeated sharply, “Pay!”

Reluctantly, Luo Mu pulled out crystal cores from his pocket, handful after handful, nearly dozens, and asked, “Is this enough?”

He secretly thought it wasn’t, considering how rare instant noodles were. Across the world, probably only a few boxes remained.

Due to the collapse of human civilization, along with water and power outages and a sudden population decline, factories naturally couldn’t operate.

Only in recent years had electricity barely been restored, but research institutes weren’t focusing on foods like instant noodles.

Their efforts centered on developing foods that increased satiety and energy.

A few crystal cores fell to the ground, jingling. Da Dong appeared just in time to pick them up.

Very politely, he returned them to Luo Mu and counted on his fingers, “You don’t need that many. Five are more than enough!”

Luo Mu was once again stunned, “That cheap?!”

He handed the cores to Da Dong, put away the items he was holding into his space storage, then dashed to the shelves, stuffing everything into his space and saying, “Come on, all of you, enter grandpa’s embrace. Let grandpa take you away!”

Shen was used to his madness and the pretense he put on in front of others.

Their acquaintance was actually quite amusing. Luo Mu was sent to kill Shen Bing but couldn’t win no matter what.

This was the only mission Luo Mu had ever failed in his career. They went from enemies to friends and have been together ever since.

A couple of years ago, the Central Base launched a social media app similar to Weibo. Luo Mu had quite a few followers on his account.

Many liked his carefree nature, even though his public persona was a ruthless killer, a bloodthirsty maniac.

Sometimes he wore a terrifying mask on missions, scaring children into crying that the bloodthirsty maniac would come get them!

Night fell, and the convenience store had fewer customers, which benefited Luo Mu as he emptied the shelves.

Shamelessly, he used the store’s hot water to make a cup of instant noodles and sat on the doorstep slurping them.

Luo Mu ate heartily, sitting there with a clear side view of the double-decker RV not far away.

He picked up his light brain, took a photo of the RV against the setting sun, capturing it fully.

He then stood up with his noodles and stepped back and back, taking a picture of the convenience store with its shelves packed full.

Through the glass, the interior was clearly visible: bottled water, instant noodles, spicy strips, ham sausages, and more.

Luo Mu lowered his head and posted the two photos on social media with the caption: “A hidden paradise.”