When he woke, the first thing Fu Qin saw was the large, round moon.
‘Am I… dead? Hell has moonlight as well?’
“Stop dreaming. You’re not dead.” A melodious voice spoke up from the side, causing Fu Qin’s mind to clear up.
He supported himself and sat up. Across from him sat a young woman, her back facing the majestic moon. The moonlight gave her an aloof aura while shedding a thin layer of light on her features, making them look as ethereal and exquisite as a figure in a dream.
It was as if… this was what she ought to be like. One with the brilliant moon and clear breeze, and as aloof as an immortal.
But her words caused chills to run up one’s spine; the callousness and ridicule in her tone caused that image to come crashing down. She was more like a bold and arrogant demon of malevolence who did as she wished and could end your life at any time.
“Do you want to have another taste?” Shi Sheng bent over to meet Fu Qin’s gaze and spoke deliberately, “Death isn’t scary. What’s scary is… I won’t let you have it.”
Fu Qin stared at her in silence.
“Do you know what the most painful thing in the world is?” Shi Sheng sat up straight. Fu Qin shook his head.
“It’s when you’re so close to death, yet can never reach it. When you’re forced to keep forging on in a world grown over by thorns, unable to rest even when your body is covered in wounds. When you have to live, unable to control your own life.” Shi Sheng’s voice was a bit distant.
“You said you’ve sought death many times but never succeeded once. Ask yourself: Do you really want to die? When one truly wishes to die, no one can stop them.”
Shi Sheng turned, revealing the sinister smile on her face. “If you want to die, I can help you out. If you jump from here, I guarantee you’ll be as dead as you can be. Don’t worry, no one will know you died here.”
“You really are… utterly fearless.” Fu Qin wracked his brains to find a phrase that fit.
“Quit wasting time. Since I dare to be so fearless, I naturally have the ability to back it up.” Shi Sheng violently spoke these unbridled words.
To her, it was just a mission in a game. Even if she died, it wouldn’t impact her in any way. And as for System’s so-called “termination”…
‘Let’s see if it has the ability to.’
Fu Qin had probably never met such an arrogantly wild person. ‘How can she be so fearless? Doesn’t she know that pride comes before the fall? This isn’t just arrogance anymore—it’s conceit!‘
Our “conceited” Shi Sheng was currently pondering whether or not to kick this fellow off again. He had pissed her off quite a bit before.
Fu Qin spoke. “I want to go back.”
“You don’t want to die anymore?”
“I don’t want to die… like this.”
He didn’t want to die in such a deserted area.
Shi Sheng frowned slightly. ‘Don’t want to die like this? Then how do you want to die?’
Shi Sheng went through all the different methods of dying she knew in her head, her imagination bringing up all sorts of bloody images. The result made her do something impulsive: she kicked Fu Qin off again.
‘Your great grandpa! So fussy even when it comes to dying!’
Fu Qin once again got to experience the sensation of free falling. It wasn’t as bad as before; when the sword caught him, he didn’t faint like before.
Shi Sheng sent Fu Qin back to his room and circled the room Ji Xiaoyu left for a bit.
The next day, Shi Sheng asked some of the early riser students whether they knew who was staying there, but none of them did. Only after she had hacked into the hotel’s system did she find out.
It was Gao Anlang, the fellow whom Bei Zhi had maimed. He was the main target of Bei Zhi’s vengeance.
Since Shi Sheng’s resources {funding and influence} were too scarce, even though she had collected information on Gao Anlang she had never made a move. She hadn’t yet been able to deal with the Gao Family.
‘How did he get acquainted with Ji Xiaoyu? System, there’s something wrong here!’
[The plot can only act as a reference. Not everything will go according to what was planned. Host, you should’ve already discovered that these worlds are not ‘dead’. They are very much alive. Their inhabitants are alive and have their own thoughts.]
‘A.I. NPCs that don’t obey their programming? So… the plotline is now all for the sake of issuing main quests? And pretty much useless otherwise?’
[……] ‘I really can’t handle this Host, Master!
…Can I go on strike?! The plotline has become a decoration in the Host’s eyes!’
‘Since Gao Anlang and Ji Xiaoyu are acquainted, regardless of what happens with the plot from now on, the situation isn’t looking too good.’
Gao Anlang was a bad seed from a young age. Drinking, whoring, gambling—all of these were common activities for him. And he particularly liked those girls who were young and pretty.
Because the Gao Family was powerful, he was able to do as he wished.
“Xiaozhi.” Lin Yin called out from afar, interrupting Shi Sheng’s thoughts. “How come you got up so early? Even the teachers aren’t up yet.”
“You didn’t rest well?”
There were dark bags under Lin Yin’s eyes, and though they’d been covered by makeup, Shi Sheng could still spot them.
Lin Yin’s face fell. “Ji Xiaoyu snored a lot last night. And she drools too…
There was only one bed in the room so I had to make do with the sofa.”
Lin Yin didn’t even want to think about last night’s trauma. It was an absolute torture.
“Rest a bit first. I’ll go get breakfast for you. Beauties have to always look their best!” After Shi Sheng had finished teasing Lin Yin, she went to where the food was being given out.
By the time she came back with breakfast, Lin Yin was already leaning against the table, fast asleep. Shi Sheng ate first. When more people started entering, the noise woke Lin Yin up and she gobbled down her breakfast.
……
After breakfast, everyone gathered up. Today they were heading into the mountains, where they would take part in wilderness activities.
The teacher highlighted the areas that they needed to pay attention to. Of course, the third years who had already gone through this before weren’t listening, so this explanation was for the sake of the first years undergoing their first time.
When Shi Sheng returned to her room to pack up, she met Uncle Jian and Fu Qin’s bodyguards.
Uncle Jian glared at Shi Sheng before reluctantly handing a box over to her.
“The Young Master’s medication is inside…” Uncle Jian then went on to spout a bunch of stuff for her to take note of.
“I—”
[Chain Quest 18: Spend the remainder of the camp with Fu Qin.] System issued the quest before she could finish.
‘—was only in charge of bringing him here… not babysitting him… System ah, you’re forcing me to take you apart here!’
She looked at the box in Uncle Jian’s hands and reluctantly took the medicine.
“Ms Bei, I’ll have to trouble you with the Young Master then.” Uncle Jian suddenly spoke seriously.
Shi Sheng, “…”
……
“Ze, what are you looking at? We have to leave already.” Ji Xiaoyu followed Bei Ze’s gaze and only managed to see a few black-clothed bodyguards clearly.
But…
‘Aren’t those Senior Fu Qin’s bodyguards?’
“Nothing. Let’s go.” Bei Ze helped Ji Xiaoyu with the stuff she was holding and walked away. Ji Xiaoyu glanced around between the bodyguards and Bei Ze’s departing back before jogging to catch up
Everyone split up into their groups again. Each group had three teachers following them as they split up and made their way into the mountains.
The path going into the mountains was even harder than the path for climbing up the mountains. As someone who had been born to a poor family, Ji Xiaoyu’s advantage became apparent; while all the other girls were complaining and helping each other along listlessly, she was still energetic.
Towards the end, even the guys were having a tough time.
“We’re resting for a bit now.” The teacher leading the group spoke. Upon hearing his words, everyone tossed aside any concept of preserving their image as they sat down on the muddy ground.