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[1] "Send the Cleanup Crew" (洗地): Internet slang originating from Stephen Chow's 2004 film Kung Fu Hustle. After the Axe Gang murders someone, a gangster casually shouts "Police, come clean up!"—implying corrupt officials will cover up the crime. The term now means "handle the aftermath," often with sardonic undertones.
"Holy crap, this stuff actually works?! What a find!"
Chen Shu had always assumed it was useless junk, but the system reward turned out to be absolutely broken. Two minutes later, the Slime's body reappeared.
"I only used a tenth of the dose, which means the potion can sustain invisibility for twenty minutes!"
Chen Shu mulled it over, then took a sip himself. Sure enough, his body vanished too. He recalled the Slime and sprinted toward the dark alley entrance—time was limited!
He quickly reached the end of the alley, where a three-story building with a courtyard stood. With a soft creak, Chen Shu gently pushed open the gate and was about to step inside.
"Hm?"
A voice suddenly rang out. Chen Shu froze in place, terrified of being discovered.
"Why didn't you guys lock the door?"
Footsteps approached. Chen Shu slipped into the courtyard before the man got close, and immediately spotted eight people gathered in the yard. Baldy Liu had taken off his pink cotton jacket and was complaining, "This thing is suffocating. Makes me look like a lunatic."
A middle-aged man spoke up. "It's all to lure the Spirit Suppression Bureau people here."
"Brother Li, are we really gonna kill Spirit Suppression Bureau agents?"
A young man's eyes were filled with anxiety and fear.
The bespectacled man replied, "Only by stirring up chaos in Nanjiang City can we slip away in the confusion."
Right now, the Spirit Suppression Bureau still thought Baldy Liu was operating solo—even if they came to arrest him, they wouldn't send too many people. If they got counter-ambushed, the Bureau would suffer catastrophic casualties!
"So what do we do now? That student who escaped saw all of us. The Bureau won't give us another chance."
"We still have time. Let's finalize our escape plan first!"
Chen Shu listened from the side, not expecting this group to be so ruthless. He scanned the surroundings but saw no sign of Xie Sunan or Xu Xingxing. Taking advantage of the Invisibility Potion's effect, he slipped into the three-story building. In the innermost room on the first floor, he found the two of them unconscious.
"Well, that makes things easier."
Chen Shu summoned his Golden Slime and fed it the rest of the Invisibility Potion.
"Ah, you've really forced my hand here!"
The invisible Slime drifted silently into the courtyard.
"Roll out, Slime!"
Chen Shu didn't use the Gigantification skill—a ten-plus-meter Slime could easily demolish the building with one wrong move, potentially hurting nearby residents. Besides, he wanted to make these bastards suffer a little first.
The invisible Slime activated its Charge skill and barreled straight into the crowd. The bespectacled man was in the middle of an impassioned speech, his face radiating positive energy.
"Everyone, don't be pessimistic! We need to work hard, really commit to it! Collectivize! Scale up! Franchise! Break even in three years, double profits in five, IPO in ten! Let's create our brand new futu—"
WHAM!
The orating man's body twisted violently, as if he'd been slammed by a semi-truck. He went flying and smashed hard into the wall, then crumpled to the ground, twitching intermittently.
"???"
Everyone was completely dumbfounded. What kind of show was this?
Someone called out, "Brother Li, cut the act! Get up so we can talk financing!"
"Acting my ass! My guts are hanging out!"
Someone instantly caught on and surveyed their surroundings warily.
WHAM!
Another thunderous impact. Another body went flying, coughing up blood mid-air, writhing in agony.
"Enemy attack!"
Finally, everyone snapped to attention and summoned their contract spirits. This group were all at least Level 8 Beast Tamers—not only were they powerful, but their coordination was impeccable. That's how they'd survived in Nanjiang City for so long.
One man stood behind his contract spirit, secretly relieved. But at that very moment, he felt a rushing wind at his back—and then he too went flying.
"It's an invisible contract spirit! Attack everywhere!"
Baldy Liu reacted fastest, curling up in a corner of the courtyard. His Black-tailed Scorpion lashed out at everything in front of it.
Invisibility didn't mean invincibility—you just couldn't be seen. You could still be hurt.
Chen Shu watched from inside the building, a smile tugging at his lips.
The invisible Slime suddenly stopped and activated its new exclusive skill: Sleep Kill!
Zzz... Zzz...
A series of snoring sounds filled the air. The surviving criminals in the courtyard were utterly baffled.
"What the hell is that?"
Baldy Liu's eyes were full of confusion, unable to comprehend what was happening. But all he could hear was the snoring getting louder, as if something was closing in on him.
WHAM!
The Black-tailed Scorpion's tail made contact with the Slime but failed to penetrate its defense.
"It's here?!"
Baldy Liu instantly commanded his Scorpion to use its skill. A dark glow appeared on its tail—but it was already too late.
WHAM!
The Slime snored away while rolling forward, and Baldy Liu was killed instantly. An ordinary human couldn't withstand a flesh missile impact.
The remaining criminals grew even more terrified—the snoring sounded like Death itself calling for them.
With its defense explosively boosted, the Slime tanked hits from the other contract spirits while continuously ramming everything in the courtyard.
In under five minutes, the entire criminal gang was wiped out!
The Slime's all-attribute boost had risen by 20%, giving it another significant power-up.
"Yo! Uncle Wang! Send the cleanup crew!"
Chen Shu dialed Wang Qian's number and gave him the exact location.
He recalled the Slime, propped up Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing—one under each arm—and hauled them back to school.
...
The next day.
"Boss! Please don't kill me! I've got an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old still nursing!"
Xie Sunan jolted awake and sprang up from his bed.
"Dude, Old Xie, was it really that scary?"
Chen Shu had been woken up too and looked at Xie Sunan with exasperation.
Xie Sunan was still dazed. "Huh? I'm back in the dorm? Was it a dream?"
He remembered falling off the Slime and getting captured by the criminals.
"Of course it wasn't a dream!"
Chen Shu yawned. "With me around, nothing bad was gonna happen."
After his lengthy explanation, the two of them finally—albeit reluctantly—believed that Chen Shu had rescued them.
Chen Shu picked up his phone. Over ten missed calls were waiting for him.
"Yo! Uncle Wang! I was exhausted last night—passed out the moment my head hit the pillow."
"You slept great while I was up all night! Now tell me the truth—how'd you deal with that criminal gang?"
"They had internal conflict. Someone asked which came first, the chicken or the egg. They argued endlessly, started fighting, and fought until they all died."
Wang Qian fell into prolonged silence.
"Uncle Wang, don't I at least deserve a 'Model Citizen' award this time?"
Wang Qian replied, "You won't be shortchanged on rewards. Right now the Bureau's going crazy because of that gang—turns out every single one of them was on the wanted list!"
"Well, you keep busy then!"
Chen Shu hung up and headed to class with Xie Sunan and Xu Xingxing. After last night's ordeal, the three of them had grown even closer.
Fun is fun, games are games, but the Nanjiang Bandit's got your back!
...
"Today we'll officially be distributing the awards from yesterday's competition!"
Shen Wushuang stood at the front of the classroom. "When I call your name, come up to receive your prize!"
"First place, Chen Shu!"
At this, everyone's expressions varied. Getting first place with an F-rank Slime really messed with people's heads.
Chen Shu smiled and nodded, sweeping his gaze across every student in class.
"First place, Chen Shu!"
Still, nobody went up to the podium.
Shen Wushuang's mouth twitched as she looked down at the class. "Seriously, Chen Shu, are you deaf?"
Chen Shu explained with a straight face, "I could hear you. I was mainly worried the others couldn't!"
"..."