63: Task completed

Fortunately, Lin Wanxing wasn't walking too fast. Jiang Ye didn't have to chase far before catching up to her on the sidewalk not far from the bar entrance.

She had already put on that long down jacket, zipped up to her chin, hugging her arms, head bowed, walking slowly in the cold night breeze. Her back looked somewhat frail and lonely.

Jiang Ye quickened his pace to catch up behind her and called out loudly, "Hey, beautiful! Wait a minute!"

Hearing the voice, Lin Wanxing stopped and turned around, looking puzzled.

Seeing it was the guy from the bar who was eating sunflower seeds, her brows immediately furrowed, her eyes filled with wariness: "What do you want?"

Jiang Ye caught the defensiveness in her eyes and tactfully took half a step back to show he meant no harm: "Don't misunderstand, beautiful. I just have a small favor to ask, just a little help."

Lin Wanxing remained unmoved, her tone cold: "What kind of help?"

Jiang Ye pointed at her hair, trying to make his voice sound sincere and not creepy:

"You... can you give me one of those hair clips on your head?... Don't look at me like that! I'm really not a Pervert! I'm a serious collector! Really! I can pay for it!"

Lin Wanxing snorted lightly through her nose, her face clearly saying "I'd believe that when pigs fly," and turned to continue walking.

"1,000 yuan!"

Jiang Ye quickly raised his voice: "One thousand yuan! For a used hair clip of yours! Or a hair tie or something small like that works too!"

Lin Wanxing stopped again, looking astonished, turned back, and scrutinized him from head to toe.

Seeing his serious expression, not like a joke, she couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. She reached into her hair, fumbled a bit, and took out an ordinary-looking black bobby pin, waving it in front of him:

"This one?"

Jiang Ye's eyes lit up, nodding repeatedly: "Yes, yes! That kind works!"

Lin Wanxing nodded, directly showing her phone's payment QR code, her tone tinged with sarcasm: "Scan it, one thousand."

"Okay! Right away!"

Jiang Ye, afraid she'd change her mind, quickly pulled out his phone, aimed at the QR code, "beep" went the sound, and swiftly entered the amount and password.

"WeChat payment received, 1,000 yuan."

Hearing the clear payment notification, Lin Wanxing was completely stunned, her face filled with disbelief and speechlessness.

She actually took 1,000 yuan!?

Has hitting on people gotten this competitive these days? Or... does this guy actually have some screws loose?

She looked down at the ordinary hair clip in her hand—the kind you could buy a whole pack of for ten yuan at the night market—and tossed it to Jiang Ye with mixed feelings, unable to resist standing there a moment longer to look at him a couple more times.

But she saw the man take the hair clip, didn't continue hitting on her, but instead held it in his palm like a treasure, then... just stood there motionless, his eyes glazed over, as if he'd fallen into some kind of daze, unresponsive to the outside world.

"What a weirdo..." Lin Wanxing muttered softly.

But getting 1,000 yuan for no reason did improve her mood, which had been soured by Zhang Wenhai earlier.

Looks like losing in love brings this kind of "side income" luck? Though the money came a bit inexplicably.

She shook her head, no longer paying attention to that bizarre "collector," turned, and continued walking along the street, her figure gradually blending into the night.

And at this moment, Jiang Ye had no mind for the outside world; his consciousness was completely immersed in the system interface in his mind.

Pleasant system notification sounds rang out one after another:

"Monthly Gentleman Mission: Collect three items of clothing worn by different women with charm values above 85. (3/3)"

"Mission Complete!"

"Congratulations, host, on completing your first monthly experience mission! Reward: Free refresh count +1!"

"Monthly mission function officially unlocked! Please proceed to accept and view missions."

"Done!"

Jiang Ye felt a surge of excitement, then a bit disappointed: "That's it? After all this trouble, just one free refresh as a reward? So stingy!"

But... what does "officially unlocked" mean?

He tentatively issued a command in his mind: "Accept monthly mission."

The system interface refreshed immediately:

"December 2025 Monthly Mission: Urban Legend - Guardian Knight of Shared Bicycles"

Mission Content: During late-night hours (23:00-02:00), find a shared bicycle with an embroidery needle maliciously stuck in its seat, and safely remove the needle without damaging public property (i.e., without damaging the bicycle seat).

Mission Difficulty: ★★★☆☆ (Requires luck + carefulness + a pack of tissues)

Mission Description: Become an urban night knight, specializing in curing all kinds of "lack of virtue." This isn't just gentlemanly manners; it's also +1 merit.

Mission Reward: [Universal Lockpick] (one-time-use item, can open any non-electronic lock) or 60,000 yuan in cash.

Jiang Ye: "..."

Looking at the mission description, the corner of his mouth began to twitch.

Spend 3 hours every night, searching the streets for a shared bicycle with a needle stuck in its seat?

What kind of insane luck would you need to run into that?

And even if you find it, squatting there pulling out a needle—what if someone thinks you're planting it and calls the police to arrest you?

He didn't even bother thinking about the crooked idea of "finding someone to put a needle and then pull it out himself"—from the occasional warnings the system gave when he was trying to get cashback, he knew such opportunistic behavior was definitely a no-go.

"Forget it, I just got a free refresh; might as well use it."

Jiang Ye sighed and issued the command: "System, refresh monthly mission."

"Refresh successful! Free refresh count -1."

"December 2025 Monthly Mission: The Art of Reverse Stalking"

Mission Content: Discover a woman with a charm value above 85 who is being followed by a suspicious person. You need to skillfully "reverse stalk" that suspicious person for at least 2,000 meters, ultimately ensuring the target woman safely enters her residence or another safe place. Must not be discovered by the target woman or the suspicious person throughout.

Mission Difficulty: ★★★★☆ (Requires observation skills, stealth, a bit of courage)

Mission Description: Go forth, our 'Shadow Guardian,' let the light of gentlemen shine in the night of this city!

Mission Reward: [Presence Reduction Halo] (one-time-use item, reduces others' attention to you significantly for 60 minutes after use) or 80,000 yuan in cash.

Jiang Ye: "..."

He felt the corner of his eye twitching too.

What the hell! What kind of underworld missions are these?!

The last one was like finding a needle in a haystack; this one's even better—first find a beautiful woman being stalked by a Pervert, then go stalk that Pervert yourself?!

Bush Gomen! Is this reasonable?

"System, how much does it cost to refresh a monthly mission once?" Jiang Ye asked with a last shred of hope.

"Based on the host's current account balance, refreshing a monthly mission once consumes 33.3% of the balance, i.e., 27,267 yuan."

Jiang Ye glanced at his WeChat balance of 81,850 yuan, cursing inwardly—sure enough, each refresh costs one-third of the current funds; this rule is really ruthless!

But the problem is, where is he supposed to run into an 85-point beauty who just happens to be stalked by a Pervert?

Isn't that probability even lower than finding an embroidery needle in a shared bicycle seat? Does he really have to spend over 27,000 yuan to gamble that the next mission might be more normal?

Just as he was agonizing over whether to grit his teeth and accept his fate, spending money to refresh, a suppressed, slightly familiar male voice suddenly came from not far beside him:

"Damn it! Lin Wanxing! Bitch! Acting all pure and innocent with me! Even hiding where you live like you're guarding against a thief! Fine! You're something! Today, I'm gonna secretly follow you home no matter what! See where you hide!"

Immediately after, a familiar figure—that Buddy named Zhang Wenhai from earlier—passed by him, sneaking stealthily and silently, following the slender figure in the long down jacket waiting at the red light ahead.

Jiang Ye: "..."

He stood there, watching Zhang Wenhai's sneaky, stalking figure recede, then looked at the "The Art of Reverse Stalking" mission prompt in his mind. His expression instantly became extremely vivid.

"Alright... I give up. This mission... I accept!"