Chapter 14: The Big Shot Seeks Guidance

Lin An and the fashionable woman's banana were already with Ye Luo.

Of the remaining four people, two were the pair Ye Luo had encountered earlier. The two seemed to know each other already, their faces still youthful and bearing a hint of naive foolishness. Ye Luo guessed they might be university students.

The others were the scar-faced man and a taciturn woman.

The two young men didn’t hesitate and handed their banana to Ye Luo. “If not for your warning, we wouldn’t have gotten this banana. Giving it to you is only right.”

“Alright.” Ye Luo accepted it, then turned to look at the scar-faced man.

The scar-faced man sneered. “I don’t have a habit of handing my things to others.”

He was clear about his intentions.

Hadn’t this woman said the number plates would drop randomly?

What if his number plate appeared soon? Then there’d be no need to use his banana at all.

And who knew if this prop might be useful later.

Ye Luo gave him a meaningful glance, then asked the silent woman, “And you?”

The woman glanced at the scar-faced man with some fear.

He sneered, “Her opinion is mine. My woman isn’t like you, always trying to take the lead, without a hint of womanly behavior.”

Ye Luo ignored him and simply gazed calmly at the silent woman. “I’ll give you three more seconds to decide.”

“Three… two…”

The woman gritted her teeth and quickly handed her banana to Ye Luo.

The scar-faced man’s face changed instantly. He barked, “What’s the meaning of this? Are you deliberately defying me? Have you forgotten your place?”

He raised his hand to hit her.

The woman instinctively shut her eyes in fear.

Ye Luo gave a cold laugh, reached out, and grabbed the scar-faced man’s wrist.

He struggled with force, then realized in astonishment that, though he was a grown man, he couldn’t break free from Ye Luo’s grip.

“Lin An, take his banana,” Ye Luo said flatly.

She was born with unusual strength.

Originally, she hadn’t wanted to use force; it would seem too rough.

But now, since someone believed violence could control everything, she would let him experience what it felt like to be subdued by violence.

“You wouldn’t dare!” he roared.

Ye Luo merely sneered.

But before Lin An could approach, the woman at the scar-faced man’s side had already silently taken his banana and moved to sit beside Ye Luo.

Ye Luo glanced at her but did not refuse the closeness.

The scar-faced man’s face twisted in fury, and a stream of vile curses poured from his mouth.

Ye Luo waved her hand expressionlessly, and his curses abruptly ceased as he collapsed, unconscious.

She paid him no further mind, turning her gaze back to the chaos among the monkeys.

Within the troop, the first victor had been decided; the monkey impatiently devoured the banana and instantly fell into a frenzy.

But with so many monkeys fighting, its state was precarious, and it looked about to fall at any moment.

Ye Luo observed, then tossed two more bananas into the melee.

Instantly, chaos erupted again, even the frenzied monkey rejoining the fight.

Before long, the crazed monkey was beset and killed.

Two new monkeys became frenzied.

Seizing the opportunity, Ye Luo threw bananas specifically toward the strongest monkeys.

The strongest ones joined the fray at once—both inflicting injuries and becoming more susceptible to harm themselves.

Each time, Ye Luo threw the bananas with precise timing, ensuring both normal and frenzied monkeys were locked in continuous conflict.

Watching the brutal struggle, Lin An clicked his tongue in amazement.

These monkeys, encountering Ye Luo, were truly out of luck.

While Ye Luo was busy overseeing the scene, the others found themselves momentarily idle.

A curious young man asked Lin An, “I heard you call her ‘Sister Ye.’ Is she your real sister?”

Lin An grinned with pride. “Not exactly. It’s one-sided. In the last round, she was the one who helped me clear the stage.”

Everyone fell silent.

Why did Lin An sound so proud of clinging to a powerful figure?

He continued, “Tell me, isn’t it worth it to call her ‘Sister’?”

After a moment’s pause, everyone nodded.

It was, indeed, worth it.

One of the young men hesitated, “If I call her ‘Sister’ too, do you think she’d help me as well?”

Lin An gave him a disdainful once-over. “With your skinny arms and legs, what good are you?”

The young man quickly said, “Brother, can I call you ‘Brother’? Could you put in a word for me?”

Lin An gave him a reluctant look and finally agreed, “Fine. Once my Sister Ye is done, I’ll ask for you. If she doesn’t want to take you in, though, don’t pester her.”

The young man agreed happily.

The others quickly followed, hoping to be taken under the wing of this powerful figure.

Lin An, feigning helplessness, promised to speak to Ye Luo on everyone’s behalf.

“Brother, my name is Luo Yaonan, you can just call me Xiao Luo,” one of the men said enthusiastically, gesturing to his companion. “This is my cousin, Chen Ziqian. We were both students at Jiangcheng University. But... after the strangeness descended, classes were suspended.”

Luo Yaonan sighed.

Chen Ziqian offered only a shy smile. He was more introverted, not as outgoing as Luo Yaonan, and didn’t know what else to say.

“I’m Huo Qianqian,” the fashionable woman said softly. “If you don’t mind, you can call me Sister too.”

“Huo Qianqian?” Luo Yaonan’s expression changed with surprise. “Sister Huo, are you the CEO of Yulin Group?”

Huo Qianqian was briefly stunned but admitted, “Just a small business.”

Small business?

Luo Yaonan looked at her oddly. Yulin Group was anything but small. In recent years, Huo Qianqian had made quite a name for herself, a rising star in the business world.

Lin An, however, had no idea what Yulin Group was and didn’t care. He laughed, “I’m Lin An. But I might change my name to Lin Ming in the future. Lin ‘Dark’ isn’t very auspicious.”

Everyone introduced themselves.

The woman who had been with the scar-faced man was a bit nervous but spoke softly, “My name is Su Xiao. The one passed out is my husband.”

Lin An glanced at the unconscious man. “Your husband is really something. My Sister Ye only stepped in because she had no other choice.”

Su Xiao quickly said, “No, I’m not upset. I’m actually glad someone could deal with him.”

Seeing everyone’s confusion, Su Xiao gently rolled up her sleeve, revealing arms covered with bruises and scars.

Everyone’s expression changed at once.

“He did that?” Lin An gritted his teeth. “And he calls himself a man?!”

Su Xiao gave a bitter smile. “I was about to divorce him, but then everything fell into chaos, and there was no one to handle these things anymore. Because I dared bring up divorce, he’s beaten me even worse these days.”

“Scum,” Huo Qianqian cursed, unable to resist giving the scar-faced man a kick.

Su Xiao, however, was calm, a slight smile on her lips and a glint of hope in her eyes. “This time, entering the dungeon—it’s either death, or gaining powers and finally having the strength to resist. Either way, I’ll be free.”

After Su Xiao spoke, the group fell silent for a while.

On the other side, Ye Luo’s cold voice rang out.

“It’s done. Nine monkeys are dead. Together with the number 9 plate from before, everyone’s number plate should have dropped.”

Once the monkeys dispersed, they could go collect the plates.

And in Ye Luo’s hand, there was still one banana left.