Chapter 64 The Woman in Red

“You all seem to be getting the hang of the work—very good, very good!”

With a chime, the convenience store door swung open.

Niu Gaoshou waddled in from outside, his belly protruding as he staggered forward. He surveyed the bustling supermarket with satisfaction, nodding approvingly.

Huang Zhonghou, busy in the fresh produce section, spotted the boss and hurried over, nearly tripping over himself in his eagerness.

“Boss, you’re here!”

“We’ve been working for four hours now—just look at these numbers! It’s all thanks to your fine leadership, boss!” Huang Zhonghou, his hair dyed a garish yellow, rushed to pull up the sales figures for Niu Gaoshou.

Niu Gaoshou glanced at the report, his face lighting up with delight. But as he scrolled further down the numbers, his expression changed in an instant.

[Daily Necessities Section (Sales): 0]

“What’s going on here? The night shift is the busiest time—how is it that not a single cent has come in?”

Huang Zhonghou glanced nervously at Niu Gaoshou, swallowing hard as he watched the boss’s single large eye grow round with anger.

“Boss, this can’t be right… The daily necessities section is manned by Ji Linmo and Qin Feng. Those two troublemakers may be respectful to you in the morning, but it’s not like they’d slack off this blatantly during their shift,” he muttered, lowering his voice as he sneaked a look at the two men stationed in the daily goods aisle.

He knew full well that daily necessities never attracted the ghostly clientele, but since those two were never the boss’s favorites, he figured he might as well heap all the blame on them.

As soon as Huang Zhonghou finished his deliberate complaint, Niu Gaoshou’s eyes filled with bloodshot rage. Brandishing the brass gong in his hand, he stormed over to Ji Linmo and Qin Feng.

“You two—yes, both of you—get over here!”

Ji Linmo glanced at Niu Gaoshou, his face expressionless as he stepped forward in silence. Qin Feng wore a careless smile, exuding a rakish air.

“What’s the meaning of this? Why haven’t you made a single sale?”

“No customers,” Ji Linmo replied truthfully.

“Then how come everyone else has customers but you?!” Niu Gaoshou was clearly dissatisfied, his eyes nearly bulging from their sockets.

“Boss, you can’t blame us. If we were posted in the fresh food section, we’d have plenty of customers too,” Qin Feng shrugged, gesturing toward the produce.

Niu Gaoshou looked as if he would explode from rage, his eyes rolling madly in their sockets as he glared at Qin Feng.

“You just wait, you pair of freeloaders! If tomorrow’s sales are still this dismal, I’ll personally send you both up to the third floor and instruct the manager to crush you to a pulp, grind you into mince!”

The two men remained utterly unfazed, as though nothing had happened. This pushed Niu Gaoshou over the edge. Forgetting there were other customers in the store, he roared at them in fury.

“Huff… Huff… I’ve worn myself out yelling! I don’t care what you do, just find a way to attract customers—anything is better than this!”

He wiped the sweat from his face, breathing heavily, and slowly made his way to the entrance, preparing to leave.

At that moment, a woman pushed open the door and entered.

Her hair hung in tangled disarray, veiling her face. She wore a long red dress, her deathly pale fingers swollen and waterlogged, grotesquely bloated.

She stretched out a finger and murmured something unintelligible to Niu Gaoshou, her voice so indistinct it was impossible to tell what she was saying.

The store’s lights flickered. The other customers all froze in terror—Niu Gaoshou included.

“It’s the Lady in Red! What is she doing here?!”

Liu Datou, standing in the tobacco and liquor section, was wide-eyed with fear.

“Liu Datou, what’s going on?” Ji Linmo sensed something was wrong and hurried over, only to find Liu Datou shivering uncontrollably, his terror plain to see.

What was this? Liu Datou and Niu Gaoshou were no ordinary people—they were ghouls themselves.

Why were they this frightened?

“We’re finished… If we don’t meet the Lady in Red’s demands tonight, we’re dead!” Liu Datou clutched his oversized head in despair, squatting down and muttering prayers for the Lady in Red not to notice him.

“Don’t go over. Something’s off,” Qin Feng, for once, furrowed his brow and pulled Ji Linmo back.

“That woman’s aura—it’s unlike any other ghost.”

[Lady in Red]

[Level: Special-Grade Ghoul]

[Profile: The woman in scarlet who haunts the streets—pray you never cross her path.]

Ji Linmo’s frown deepened as he read the notification before him. For all his experience, he had never encountered an NPC of special grade.

How could such a figure appear in a mere A-rank scenario?

“Lawless…”

Qin Feng, standing beside him, spoke suddenly.

“A special-grade ghoul is lawless… No one knows what they’re thinking, and no rules can restrain them. Their actions are pure chaos; you can never satisfy them.”

“All rules are dictated by their whims, but they themselves don’t know what they want.”

Ji Linmo listened quietly, then turned his gaze back to the entrance.

Niu Gaoshou, now pale with terror, wrung his hands and stammered, “Uh… uh… honored guest, what… what can I get for you?”

“Shoes…”

The woman in the red dress muttered, but her words were blurred, impossible to make out.

“Deputy Manager! Why are you standing around? Get over here and serve the customer!” Niu Gaoshou couldn’t stand the pressure any longer and shouted for Huang Zhonghou.

Huang Zhonghou pointed at himself incredulously, his lips bloodless.

“Me? Boss, don’t joke around. I just started here—what if I mess up? That’d be the end of me!”

Even though he’d never encountered a special-grade ghoul NPC before, the sight of this woman in red convinced him she was no ordinary patron.

“You… you! I said get over here, so get over here! Listen to what the lady wants—if you don’t, you’ll answer to me!” Niu Gaoshou’s voice trembled with urgency.

Under the threat in his eyes, Huang Zhonghou very reluctantly approached, inching closer to the woman in red.

“Shoes… I want shoes…”

She stood at the entrance, her voice an icy, spectral moan.

“Boss, she says she wants shoes!” Huang Zhonghou finally understood and hurried back to report.

Niu Gaoshou’s eyes darted downward—on the woman’s feet, a pair of red high heels, battered and filthy with mud and grime. The heel of the right shoe was even broken.

His gaze traveled up, taking in her legs, bluish and swollen, veins bulging and ready to burst.