“Damn, who wants to team up with you guys?” he mocked his teammates. “Protecting them… Such a time-consuming and laborious task, I’m not an idiot!”
Ji Nanquan had some items on him, which made him especially fearless. After hearing about the fates of the previous waves of players, what caught his attention wasn’t their tragic deaths, but something else—
The items they left behind.
In the Game, an item wasn’t just a means of survival; sometimes, it was life itself. Upon hearing that many players had perished in Jiang Village, what Ji Nanquan felt wasn’t fear, but opportunity.
Players who could survive in the Game might be foolish, but they would never be reckless. Reckless players rarely made it past the first or second rounds. Besides, the author wasn’t good at writing mindless antagonists either…
Thinking about the potential wealth, Ji Nanquan couldn’t help but feel his blood boil. For this reason, he carefully inquired with the village chief about the residences of past players and decided to search them one by one to acquire the items they left behind.
After understanding the mission content, he judged that the second task was more valuable than the first. As for the first task, the best approach was to protect the four people who would die on the fifth, sixth, and seventh days—those before them could be left to their own fate. Moreover, the earlier players were now being protected by his good teammates, so he could freely search for treasures without any psychological burden…
Having made up his mind, he finally found an opportunity to break away from the group activities and act alone. His seemingly reckless actions were just the prelude to his subsequent schemes.
Those treasures, he was determined to get them!
However, as he turned the corner, a charming voice called out from behind him: “Brother Ji, where are you off to?”
His heart skipped a beat, but he turned around with a frivolous expression: “Why isn’t the beautiful Yan following the team? Following me, huh? Could it be that you’ve fallen for me?”
Yan Chuchu covered her mouth with a laugh: “We’re both smart people, let’s not beat around the bush. Let’s speak openly—I already know your plan.”
“What—plan?”
Seeing Ji Nanquan play dumb, Yan Chuchu smiled even more coquettishly: “You deliberately left the team, didn’t you? It’s for the items left by the previous players, right? Brother Ji, you’re not the only smart one playing the Game.”
Seeing his plan exposed, Ji Nanquan immediately put on a cold expression. He sneered: “So, you’re here to compete with me?”
“Not at all, how could a weak woman like me compete with you?” Yan Chuchu feigned weakness. “But, acting alone is too dangerous. Two people are safer than one, don’t you think? Besides, there are some places… you might not find it convenient to enter.”
Seeing Ji Nanquan hesitate, she pressed on: “Don’t worry, I’m not greedy. After we get the items, we’ll split them fifty-fifty, how about that?”
“Why should you get fifty? I can get the items by myself.”
Yan Chuchu snorted and pointed to her eyes: “Because of my treasure appraisal skill. This skill allows me to sense the distribution of items. The more advanced the item, the stronger my perception. Brother Ji, that watch on your hand is an attack-type item, isn’t it?”
Ji Nanquan was stunned.
The watch on his hand was indeed an attack-type item. It could withstand two attacks from Nether Beings and could self-destruct at the last moment, taking the Nether Being with it. It was the best item he had drawn from the roulette. After confirming Yan Chuchu’s ability, he gritted his teeth and said: “Fine! But not fifty-fifty. I’m a man, I’ll do more work. At most, sixty-forty.”
Yan Chuchu cursed Ji Nanquan’s stinginess in her heart. If it weren’t for her lack of defensive skills, she wouldn’t have been forced into such a position by this man. But then again, after getting the treasures, how much she could get would depend on her own abilities. She still smiled and said: “Fine, sixty-forty then.”
Seeing Yan Chuchu agree so readily, Ji Nanquan became suspicious again. He said: “Let’s go, we’ll start by searching the village chief’s house.”
Both harboring ulterior motives, they walked towards the village chief’s house with smiles on their faces.
Behind them, a pair of eyes silently withdrew their gaze.
The two used the excuse of investigating clues to fool the village chief’s wife and entered the village chief’s house.
With Yan Chuchu’s help, things became much simpler. They found a recovery potion, a danger alarm, and a one-time message-delivering paper kite in the village chief’s house. Yan Chuchu took the danger alarm and handed the recovery potion and paper kite to Ji Nanquan.
Ji Nanquan actually felt a bit ashamed for a moment. Seeing that it was getting dark, he offered: “Let me walk you back.”
Yan Chuchu smiled sweetly: “Sure.”
When they returned to Granny Sun’s house, they bumped into a young man coming out of the door. Ji Nanquan glanced at him and felt that he looked somewhat familiar.
Granny Sun’s kitten was at the door, meowing to see them off. Du Xiaoyou was squatting beside the kitten, petting its head. Granny Sun scolded it with a laugh: “This ungrateful little thing, ignoring the family but being so attentive to outsiders.”
“Brother Ying has always been liked by cats,” Du Xiaoyou said softly. “Sister, isn’t that right?”
To Yan Chuchu’s surprise, the usually lively Du Xiaoran seemed listless. She didn’t say much, just stared at the roof in a daze.
Yan Chuchu only glanced at Du Xiaoran before quickly looking away. In her eyes, Du Xiaoran was just a soon-to-die NPC, and talking to her was meaningless.
Seeing both of them had come to the house, Granny Sun warmly invited them to stay for dinner. Ji Nanquan couldn’t refuse her hospitality and had to stay. After dinner, Yan Chuchu left first to take a bath. He stood in the yard, watching Yan Chuchu’s graceful figure, and couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild.
‘I shouldn’t have been so harsh this morning…’ he thought. ‘Such a beautiful woman, I haven’t seen many like her in real life…’
Thinking about how Yan Chuchu, despite having the ability to detect treasures, had given most of the items to him, he felt a bit ashamed again. But after a brief moment of shame, he felt even more justified.
It was only because he had skills and items in the Game that she paid any attention to him. In real life, a girl like Yan Chuchu wouldn’t even glance at him!
…But Yan Chuchu did seem to have some affection for him, otherwise why would she have given him two items?
Just as he was thinking this, Du Xiaoyou’s voice came from behind him: “Sister Chuchu… Oh, Brother Ji, you’re here too. Where’s Sister Chuchu?”
Ji Nanquan turned around: “She’s gone to take a bath.”
“Oh,” Du Xiaoyou said without suspicion. She took out a string of crystal bracelets from her pocket and handed it to Ji Nanquan. “This is Sister Chuchu’s. My mom found it while sweeping. Could you give it to her when she comes out?”
After saying this, she stuck out her tongue and happily ran back into the house to watch TV.
Ji Nanquan chuckled and picked up the crystal bracelet, but when the information transmitted into his mind, he froze.
“[Item] Evil-Repelling Bracelet [Level] Blue+ Each crystal can absorb a certain amount of Nether Being’s power when surrounded by ghostly energy and convert it into the user’s attack power.”
…This was.
He stuffed the bracelet into his pocket, and after a brief moment of shock, his face immediately showed anger.
…That woman, she dared to trick him!
The humiliation surged in Ji Nanquan’s heart. He spat on the ground and left Granny Sun’s house.
The sky had completely darkened, and Lin Huai and the others, who had been sitting indoors, began to feel sleepy.
They had stayed in the house all day. Even lunch was a makeshift meal at Feng Ailing’s house. However, the quality of the lunch was far from commendable. Feng Ailing’s house didn’t have advanced cooking facilities, making it impossible for Chu Tianshu, who couldn’t stand the food quality and wanted to cook for himself, to do anything.
Despite the poor taste, everyone picked up their chopsticks with the intention of filling their stomachs. Only Lin Huai looked sullen and unhappy.
‘Yesterday’s food was terrible, and today’s is just as bad…’ he looked up at the sky. ‘If this continues, I’m going to develop an eating disorder…’
Suddenly, a bold idea flashed through his mind, and he couldn’t help but show a kind smile.
Gradually, the “1” above Feng Ailing’s head began to fade, transforming into a weak “0.” She nervously looked at the sky, trying to find the number she couldn’t see, and then looked at the ground, where even a small shadow made her scream.
“Wild cat! There’s a wild cat!”
After the twentieth scream, Chu Tianshu finally couldn’t help but speak up: “Sister, there’s not even a mouse under your feet, let alone a wild cat. Where on earth are these wild cats coming from?”
“No… you don’t understand, there are so many wild cats, so many…” Feng Ailing kept repeating.
She rolled her eyes, scanning the room, looking like her mind had already collapsed: “She’s come for me… she’s come back for me…”
“Um, Sister Feng,” Cheng Xin spent a long time calming her down. “Who are you talking about?”
It would have been better if he hadn’t asked. As soon as he spoke, Feng Ailing showed an almost gnashing expression: “Who else! Of course it’s that bitch… that little bitch… why is she coming for me! It’s not like I was the one who threw her into the pond, she…”
In her fragmented ramblings, they finally learned the story of her feud with Ren Chun.
The story was long, but it could be summed up in four words: gossip is fearsome. Feng Ailing had always been someone who liked to take advantage of others. A few years ago, she had developed rheumatism and heard that eating cats could cure it. Her eyes rolled, and she set her sights on the cat kept by the Ren family.
The stray cat kept by the Ren family had been picked up by Ren Chun. After she moved to the city, it had been cared for by Ren Qiu. Feng Ailing eagerly went to their door, but was rudely turned away.
