Because the woman’s appearance was truly disheveled, after calming her emotions, Lu Qingjia took her to a café on the street to have a drink and learn more about her situation.
He learned that her husband’s surname was Lan, so let’s call her Mrs. Lan.
Mrs. Lan had been a wealthy lady just six months ago, with family assets in the tens of billions, holding a place in the local elite circle.
However, not long ago, she experienced a drastic change; her company went bankrupt, and overnight, she transformed from a wealthy lady worth hundreds of millions to a destitute housewife.
Mrs. Lan had been beautiful in her youth, marrying and having children right after graduating from university, and had never worked a day in her life, living a life of luxury and indulgence for over a decade.
Now, her monthly living expenses were even less than what she used to spend on a pair of shoes or a handbag. How could she bear such a stark contrast?
What devastated her the most was that her once-proud beauty, after stopping her skincare regimen, had aged rapidly; at not even forty, she looked like a woman in her sixties or seventies.
At this moment, Mrs. Lan almost regarded Lu Qingjia as a lifeline, not doubting him, or rather, unwilling to doubt him from the bottom of her heart.
Upon hearing that Lu Qingjia had accompanied his family for beauty treatments, she subconsciously believed he was knowledgeable about these matters.
She said, “Everyone knows their formula is not to be revealed, but I’ve never heard that stopping maintenance would lead to this!”
Mrs. Lan covered her face and cried in despair, “At first, when my skin started to deteriorate, I thought it was just a matter of stopping maintenance and that I would return to the state I should be at this age. I never expected it to keep worsening. Isn’t this the same as being deceived?”
“It’s also my bad luck. If I hadn’t run out of money, how could I have fallen to this point?”
Lu Qingjia naturally wouldn’t foolishly ask what the so-called hidden source was.
He had his suspicions and probed, “Your experience has served as a warning for us. However, the unfortunate reality is that everyone who has used it has been effectively held hostage by this hospital. Even if we now know that stopping use has serious side effects, we can’t break free, so we all have to hold our noses and keep this hospital running to avoid losing our looks overnight.”
“If it weren’t for this, they wouldn’t be so brazen.” Lu Qingjia took a sip of coffee and casually asked, “But speaking of which, I’m a bit curious. Why did you all use such materials so resolutely, knowing full well?”
“I also advised my family at the time, but she was too eager to be beautiful and wouldn’t listen to anyone.”
With a sigh, she put on a worried expression.
Mrs. Lan smiled bitterly, “You don’t understand a woman’s obsession with beauty, especially for beautiful women. They can’t stand even a single wrinkle on their face.”
“There are quite a few cosmetics and skincare products that contain animal fats. As long as you cross that psychological barrier, human fat isn’t a big deal. Besides, although the source is not to be revealed, it’s not life-threatening. It’s somewhat consensual, so it’s not that hard to reconcile.”
Lu Qingjia smiled, “That’s true; the effects are indeed unmatched by any product or technology in the world.”
He didn’t say this lightly; after learning about her identity and adding her contact information, it was easy to find Mrs. Lan’s past social media accounts.
This wealthy lady was 38 years old and didn’t have a naturally youthful appearance. Even with good maintenance, she couldn’t possibly compare to a girl in her early twenties.
However, looking at the photos on her social media, Mrs. Lan had a sophisticated aesthetic, and her photography skills were good, with no filters used.
Perhaps just to flaunt her beauty and condition, anyone with a bit of photography knowledge could tell that Mrs. Lan presented an appearance very close to reality.
She had quite a few followers on her account, and due to her youthful appearance that didn’t match her age, she was even dubbed an ageless goddess.
However, her photos from two years ago weren’t as sophisticated; while she was still beautiful, the traces of filters and editing were evident.
This meant that her current state was a result of the beauty hospital’s operations, which sufficiently explained the miraculous effects of the so-called skincare products. It was no wonder these wealthy ladies were willing to pay exorbitant fees.
Lu Qingjia continued to chat casually to extract the information he wanted. Seeing that he couldn’t dig up anything else from Mrs. Lan, he decided to take her home.
They agreed to meet at the café the next day, and he would take her back to the beauty clinic for treatment.
Upon returning to the apartment he rented next to the beauty clinic, he found that the construction had indeed stopped. The workers were sitting outside, and two people in uniforms from the relevant department were pointing at something on-site.
Seeing Lu Qingjia return, they asked sternly, “Are you the owner here?”
Lu Qingjia replied, “Not really, just a tenant.”
“Then why is there such a commotion next door? I heard you want to ferment stinky tofu here? This is a beauty hospital; it should be clean and fragrant when you enter. How can you bring in stinky tofu and ruin their business? Are you looking for trouble?”
Lu Qingjia quickly denied it, “It’s all a misunderstanding. The person in charge was rude, and I just made a joke to counter him. I’m just renting a place to do a small business.”
“This is still considered a hospital, right? They sell fruit over there, and you’re selling light meals for post-operative care over here. Just wait; the big cold storage and kitchen equipment will be delivered soon.”
The two were taken aback, not expecting it to be just a misunderstanding from a verbal dispute.
They lectured him a bit more, telling him to keep it down and that they would come back to check tomorrow before leaving.
This was a bit unexpected for Lu Qingjia, but it was also within reason.
He had thought that the first ones to come knocking would be thugs, but it turned out to be the labor department directly warning him.
Such loopholes were everywhere, and it was uncertain when the beauty hospital would get into trouble. Generally speaking, they wouldn’t have much protection.
However, judging from Mrs. Lan’s former status and her current situation, there was clearly more to it than met the eye.
Lu Qingjia settled the workers’ wages, temporarily dismissed them, and since it was getting late, he went to the pedestrian street for a meal. After that, he didn’t return to the hospital but directly found a hotel to stay overnight until the next day.
When he woke up in the morning, he received a call from Yang Qian.
The tone of the other party was quite exasperated: “I’ve never seen someone so adept at navigating the game. If I say you’re not proactive, your mind is racing fast.”
“If I say you’re seriously navigating the game, on the first night, while everyone was scrambling for information, you didn’t think of a way to infiltrate the hospital but went to a hotel to sleep.”
“Dude, although we’re temporarily on the same side, can’t you be a bit more cunning and less sincere? What do you expect me to say as an insider?”
Lu Qingjia was brushing his teeth while holding the phone: “You say, whether the news is true or false, that’s for me to judge.”
Yang Qian: “… It’s basically confirmed now; it’s a four-to-one situation. The tasks for the other three are the same, and the situation at the hospital is currently centered around the doctor, who is quite accustomed to giving orders.”
“That nurse isn’t anything special; she’s just a little green tea. She doesn’t have any other skills but is good at triggering men’s protective instincts. Her judgment and reaction are average, and her usual method of navigating the game is probably to hide behind others and pick up the scraps.”
“The caregiver is quite skilled, speaking without leaking any information. She seems to play the role of a lubricant, but for now, both the nurse and I are leaning towards the doctor, and there are no conflicts in the team, so she hasn’t had a chance to shine.”
“The last doctor is decent, quite shrewd, and ambitious, but he’s too full of himself. He’s already uncovered quite a bit of key information.”
“Based on task completion, he’s probably ahead of you now.”
Lu Qingjia didn’t care: “If his advantageous identity can’t achieve even this level of progress, he’s simply unworthy of the game’s arrangement.”
He added, “Let’s talk about last night; you must have seen ghosts.”
“How do you know?”
“Because the faster you exorcise the ghosts, the higher the probability of my task failing.”
Yang Qian felt a wave of speechlessness. She was wrong; although that doctor was annoying with his arrogance, when it came to extreme arrogance, it was still this seemingly harmless guy.
What this meant was as if all the difficulties in the game were set up for him, and the players’ existence was similarly defined.
But then Yang Qian reacted: “I remember your task is to obtain the perfect formula? So, does that mean the perfect formula is also key to our exorcising the ghosts?”
Lu Qingjia: “That’s one possibility, but I’m more inclined to think that the ghosts themselves are also part of completing the perfect formula, so I can’t let you exorcise them early.”
Yang Qian chuckled: “I don’t see why you’re in such a hurry.”
She added, “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll see your progress is too slow, your chances of winning diminish, and I’ll switch to the doctor’s side, exorcising all the ghosts ahead of time?”
Lu Qingjia smiled: “Let me give you a piece of information for free. Although players can’t kill each other, if the tasks conflict, this iron rule becomes void.”
“This should be a privilege for mid-level games and above, but clearly, someone in this round has made an exception for the game, either wanting to eliminate me or wanting to eliminate someone who doesn’t fit the game’s aesthetic and won’t even reach mid-level.”
“If you guys manage to exorcise the vengeful spirits first—though that’s impossible—if such a situation arises, I’ll try to kill all of you. This way, even if you miraculously survive and escape the game, the losses on your side will be so severe that the evaluation and rewards you get will be far less than what I promised.”
“…”
Yang Qian broke out in a cold sweat. She didn’t have the intention to bet on both sides, but rationally, she leaned more towards Lu Qingjia. As long as he wasn’t completely without a chance of winning, she wouldn’t choose to tear her face with him.
She found it strange why someone so cunning and intelligent would be so unguarded against her, sharing information too generously. Some crucial clues that he didn’t mention would leave her spinning in place for a long time.
Compared to the doctor, who was stingy and relied on his advantageous clues to manipulate other players, ensuring that most people listened to him, Lu Qingjia’s generosity made that guy seem utterly unremarkable.
But Yang Qian never expected that the seemingly harmless and generous Lu Qingjia had long been prepared for a reveal of his true intentions. He wasn’t some kind-hearted person who was unguarded against human nature; on the contrary, he had envisioned a bloody and brutal scenario once he realized the uniqueness of this side quest.
Yet his tone was too relaxed, as if this wasn’t the final desperate option but merely a part of the progression of events that could occur and be faced, not a threat, but simply serving his own interests as always.
Lu Qingjia’s voice rang out again, lightheartedly: “But don’t worry, as long as you maintain the clarity and rationality you had at the beginning, we should be able to cooperate until the end. I can see you’re a good person.”
“By the way, didn’t you say you saw ghosts last night? Tell me about it.”
Yang Qian felt that there might be something more to his words. No, from the way he responded after she joked, it seemed he had already given her quite a few hints.
But now that Lu Qingjia was asking, she had to suppress her thoughts for later. Yang Qian didn’t even realize that, originally betting on both sides, her actions had already taken on the characteristics of a subordinate.
Finally, she couldn’t help but ask, “How did you know this rule?”
She was referring to the rule that players couldn’t kill each other, which turned out not to be absolute.
Lu Qingjia replied lightly, “I have my own sources of information; it’s just a matter of analysis and extraction.”
“I’ll bring Mrs. Lan over shortly; try to arrange for me to avoid the other three players, at least until Mrs. Lan is confirmed to be received.”
This was simple; the other three players were busy gathering information, so it would be easy to divert them and let Lu Qingjia slip in.
When Lu Qingjia arrived at the agreed café, Mrs. Lan was already waiting there. Seeing that he hadn’t stood her up, she visibly relaxed.
The two went to the hospital lobby, where the security guard initially wanted to stop them, but after Lu Qingjia displayed his financial power, they had no choice but to let them through.
Yang Qian quickly contacted the doctor from the skin management department, and as Lu Qingjia had predicted, there were no client records for previous VVIP clients like Mrs. Lan in the front desk’s computer.
The doctor seemed to have a deep impression of Mrs. Lan. When he received the call from the front desk, he initially wanted to send her away.
However, upon learning that she had recharged her membership card with a million, he immediately had her taken up via a special elevator.
As soon as Mrs. Lan and Lu Qingjia entered, they were warmly received, a stark contrast to the harsh treatment they received yesterday.
The other party’s thinking was simple: a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. Even if these wealthy individuals went bankrupt, who knows what valuable items they might still have.
After all, their beauty clinic was in business, and as long as they could generate revenue, they were good customers.
The doctor had no impression of Lu Qingjia, so Mrs. Lan introduced him as her cousin, who had previously been supported by her to start a business and had been doing well in the past two years.
The doctor immediately understood; Mrs. Lan was lucky to have a wealthy relative who had helped a poor cousin.
However, her project fees were high, and it was uncertain how long she could sustain it.
After Mrs. Lan finished her examination, she was taken for her treatment. Since it was a full-body project, Lu Qingjia naturally couldn’t go in with her.
However, he took a look at the beauty clinic’s equipment beforehand, which was similar to that of an ordinary cosmetic medicine hospital, nothing particularly special.
According to Mrs. Lan, her previous care methods were just applying ointments and simple massages.
Given this situation, it was clear that the problem lay solely with that ointment.
When the beautician pushed a small cart over, she gestured to Lu Qingjia, who wisely stepped outside.
As he passed by, he glanced at the small bucket of yellow ointment on the cart, which had some pinkish impurities mixed in, looking like freshly extracted fat.
But the texture was clearly different; he didn’t know what kind of chemical reaction was occurring, and it was even bubbling occasionally.
Rather than bubbling, it seemed that the substance was alive; with Lu Qingjia’s current dynamic vision and precision, he could see what appeared to be small flesh-like lumps wriggling, not merely the cart shaking due to instability or a chemical reaction.
Looking back at Mrs. Lan, she had already been given an eye mask, which was certainly to enhance the user experience, as not many women could bear to see such a liquid.
Because this beauty liquid had become an unspoken secret among the wealthy clients, under the premise of Lu Qingjia being the financier, this level of observation was still acceptable.
Once Lu Qingjia exited the beauty room, he used a suggestion skill to minimize his presence, making people ignore him.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he made a round of the entire hospital.
The hospital had six floors, not small in size, and even had an inpatient department.
However, certain areas were strictly managed, and he occasionally saw covered bottles being pushed into the operating room, requiring special cards to enter, with two security personnel outside who didn’t look like amateurs.
At this moment, trying to sneak in would likely alert the guards, so Lu Qingjia didn’t linger there to raise suspicion. After noting the general layout and functional distribution of the hospital, he headed to the back garden.
Yesterday, when he came here with Yang Qian, they only stood outside the back door, but now that he entered, he found that despite it being summer with bright sunshine, standing outside for even a minute felt sticky, yet the garden exuded an inexplicable chill.
The sunlight didn’t directly shine here, being blocked by the walls and the hospital, but the flowers inside were blooming nicely.
Lu Qingjia touched the leaves of a flower, and to his surprise, there were dense water droplets on them, particularly moist, but when he touched the droplets, they were chilling to the bone.
At that moment, Lu Qingjia heard a slight ripple from the well behind him.
Honestly, if the garden’s style could barely be said to be a result of the decorator’s lack of coordination with the overall design, then this well was clearly out of place.
After all, this wasn’t a private residence; it was a hospital with people coming and going. There could be children among the guests, and users who had undergone treatments might have temporary visual impairments. A well standing in the middle of the backyard, with no obstacles around, could easily lead to accidents.
Lu Qingjia walked over and leaned slightly to look into the well. Aside from the cold air hitting him, he saw the well water, dark as ink in the dim light.
This kind of well water was also found in Lu Qingjia’s hometown; it was cool in summer, and fruits like watermelon and plums were great. After soaking for half an hour, they would be cooler than anything from the fridge.
But this chill was clearly excessive.
“Splash~~”
The water surface of the well was disturbed, and something flashed by.
It looked like a big fish, but its texture resembled that of a loach; calling it a loach would be an understatement.
Lu Qingjia estimated that the thing was at least as thick as his thigh. Although it hadn’t fully revealed itself, it was staring at him menacingly from the well’s mouth.
Lu Qingjia smiled, flicked the cigarette butt he was holding into the water, extinguishing the spark, and swaggered away.
Due to his deliberate low profile, the other three players didn’t notice that Lu Qingjia had slipped in. He even saw the three of them separately.
They were busy with their work while observing something.
It seemed that none of the three had the ability to counter mental skills; at least during the day, amidst the crowd, their limited observational skills overlooked him.
Mrs. Lan had finished her treatment, and two hours had already passed.
When Lu Qingjia received the call to go up, he saw her wrapped up like a mummy.
Some unavoidable exposed areas showed her skin was now red, but compared to her previous dry, wrinkled, and aged appearance, she now looked noticeably plump, with most of her wrinkles gone.
The effect was indeed immediate.
Lu Qingjia praised, “How do you feel? I can’t wait to see you restored to your former self.”
Mrs. Lan’s mental state was euphoric, as if she had taken opium, floating in anticipation of regaining her beauty.
“Thank you, Jiajia. If it weren’t for you, I really…”
“Don’t cry!” Lu Qingjia took a cotton swab and wiped the corners of her eyes. “Let’s talk after you’ve recovered.”
He then asked the doctor beside him, “She needs to stay in the hospital for observation for a few more days, right?”
“Yes, because Mrs. Lan’s restoration was quite extreme, a single session isn’t enough. The treatment plan we designed has a cycle of one week, during which she needs to stay in the hospital.”
Lu Qingjia nodded, “Arrange a bed for me too; I’ll stay with her.”
“This—” The doctor seemed a bit troubled.
Lu Qingjia said seriously, “My cousin has been in a state of mental collapse since half a year ago and even attempted suicide. Of course, you share some responsibility in this.”
“Although she is currently unable to recharge her membership card, your hospital is being rather heartless and rough with her.”
“It’s not that we don’t trust your technology, but please understand our concerns as family members.”
The doctor couldn’t find a legitimate reason to refuse, so he had to call his superior to report the situation.
Fortunately, they agreed, but after settling in, Mrs. Lan told Lu Qingjia, “These people really do treat others differently; in the past, when we occasionally had major projects that required hospitalization, we always stayed in the VVIP rooms.”
From what Lu Qingjia could see, this room was already quite nice, with two beds, spacious enough, a refrigerator, a television, and a private bathroom—definitely a high-end ward.
However, according to Mrs. Lan, the VVIP rooms were not even in this area and required a special elevator to access.
Clearly, since they believed Mrs. Lan no longer had long-term spending power and were uncertain how long Lu Qingjia, this ‘cousin,’ could support her, some privileges at the hospital would temporarily not be available to her.
Lu Qingjia didn’t mind; he ordered a light meal for Mrs. Lan, and after she finished eating, he arranged for her to sleep.
After nine o’clock in the evening, the hospital ceased operations, and the entire building fell silent.
Yang Qian sent a message, asking Lu Qingjia to meet her in the changing room, the same place where the haunting occurred last night.
Upon receiving the message, Lu Qingjia quietly left his room. The corridor of the inpatient department was eerily quiet, with a dim yellow light at the end of the hallway.
Suddenly, a creaking sound came from the adjacent patient room, and a figure emerged, seemingly heading toward the restroom.
This figure was wrapped in bandages, walking stiffly and slowly, their body remarkably thin, almost resembling a skeleton. At first glance, one might think a ghost had appeared.
However, Lu Qingjia knew otherwise; the person was clearly alive, just exceptionally weak, yet in a surprisingly relaxed mood, even humming a tune while occasionally patting their flat stomach.
Lu Qingjia approached to help the person push open the restroom door, smiling as he said, “Be careful, don’t exert yourself and open your wounds.”
The person looked up and saw a handsome guy, immediately revealing a shy and grateful smile: “Thank you.”
Lu Qingjia replied, “Did you just have liposuction? The results look good.”
The girl nodded, perhaps feeling embarrassed to show her vulnerable side in front of a handsome guy: “I had no choice; I was born fat and couldn’t lose weight. Now it’s better.”
Lu Qingjia nodded, “Make sure to rest and take care of yourself post-surgery. I won’t disturb you any longer.”
As he turned to leave, the smile on Lu Qingjia’s face faded.
Just liposuction alone could not possibly transform someone from a large fatty to this extent. Not to mention the technique and risks involved, the post-operative swelling would not show such obvious visual effects in a short time, let alone someone so thin.
Previously, Lu Qingjia thought the frequent liposuction procedures here had not caused any issues because the standards for both technology and personnel were relatively high. But now it seemed there was more to it than that.
Lost in thought, Lu Qingjia climbed the stairs to the agreed floor and encountered a woman in a red dress with disheveled hair, her head bowed, blocking the door.
Lu Qingjia realized he couldn’t get in without going around her.
Seeing this, Lu Qingjia smiled and said, “Could you please let me pass?”
The woman slowly raised her head to ‘look’ at Lu Qingjia. The reason for the quotation marks was that her eyelids were sewn together with red thread, and her mouth was similarly stitched, leaving only a small gap that did not completely hinder her vision or speech.
Lu Qingjia could feel her gaze piercing through the narrow slit of her eyes, sizing him up with malice.
Her voice was hoarse and rough, as if she were responding to Lu Qingjia’s words with a delay: “I can’t find my way back to the ward. Can you take me back?”
Lu Qingjia showed a troubled expression: “I’m in a hurry too.”
“Is it really not possible?” The woman’s voice grew increasingly eerie, and her facial features twisted into a smile that radiated malice.
Lu Qingjia had no choice but to reluctantly say, “Alright then.”
He then supported her arm, ignoring her icy body temperature, and began to move backward step by step.
If someone had been watching Lu Qingjia from behind, they would have noticed that the shadow beneath the woman’s feet seemed to fracture as she moved forward, as if it couldn’t keep up.
That shadow did not chase after its owner; instead, it followed Lu Qingjia, slowly trailing behind, then desperately trying to merge with Lu Qingjia’s shadow.
But as they passed a window, a sudden change occurred—a red thread quickly bound the woman’s body, and at the same time, Lu Qingjia lifted her as if he were shaking off a piece of clothing, compressing her into a size that resembled a deflated down jacket, even tying a knot.
Next, he tore off a piece of curtain to tightly wrap her up. The shadow, having been severely injured, was expelled and stepped on by Lu Qingjia: “Where do you think you’re running?”
He ground the shadow beneath his foot and then swung the bundle against the wall several times, causing it to exhale more than inhale.
Then he coldly said, “I usually like to show courtesy to ladies, but men should know their place and get lost.”
“Especially men pretending to be women to take advantage.”
The author has something to say:
Lu Ge: He’s not this rough with me, does that mean I’m special? (Imagining for thirty minutes)
