Chapter 6: Negative Effects

Mo Qi planned to contact Ruan Hongdou and Qi Qiaoyan through Guo Mingzheng. Ruan Hongdou had a past ambiguous relationship with Guo Mingzheng, and Qi Qiaoyan was in the same class as Ke Xiaoxi, so Guo Mingzheng should have been able to get her contact information.

Unexpectedly, they encountered other players so quickly.

Mo Qi considered himself only a novice player and knew he couldn’t defeat them directly. Instead, he decided to use a trick, leveraging players to gather information.

Knowing little about the game, he needed someone to help clear his confusion.

Mo Qi called Guo Mingzheng for a video chat, muted Guo Mingzheng’s phone, and hid it in a corner. He positioned himself in a distant location to observe the players through the video.

This approach required Guo Mingzheng’s cooperation. Fortunately, Mo Qi possessed the charming skill, and Guo Mingzheng willingly assisted him.

Guo Mingzheng’s nostalgic gaze made Mo Qi feel extremely guilty, prompting him to hastily leave.

To prevent ambient noise from being transmitted through the video, Mo Qi wore headphones. He even taped several layers over the microphone to ensure his own voice wouldn’t be leaked.

After a while, two figures appeared in the video, a man and a woman. Due to the limitations of the phone screen size and resolution, their facial features weren’t clear at first glance, only their body outlines and clothing styles could be discerned.

Their voices were not very loud, but at least Mo Qi could roughly hear what they were saying.

Mo Qi initially thought there was only one person, but he hadn’t expected there were two players.

The male player, who had called Guo Mingzheng, spoke first, asking, “Apart from Qi Qiaoyan, who else does your girlfriend have grudges with?”

“Who are you guys? Where’s my delivery?” Guo Mingzheng replied.

The female player said, “He’s been affected by the item card, he might not remember details related to Ke Xiaoxi. Should we lift the item’s effect?”

The male player complained, “Now we have to waste an R-level item card on him. If only we hadn’t altered his memories earlier.”

The female player added, “It’s unavoidable. This is a five-player game. Besides us, there are three other players. We have to prevent them from finding clues.”

Five people? Mo Qi, listening from afar, frowned. Besides these two and himself, there were apparently two more people involved.

In the video, the male player took something out and skillfully tapped Guo Mingzheng’s forehead with it. Guo Mingzheng’s expression instantly cleared up. He glanced at the two faces and shouted in alarm, then turned around and ran away in fright.

The female player swiftly caught up with a single stride, grasping Guo Mingzheng’s neck with one hand and delivering a harsh kick to his knee, causing him to kneel in pain.

“Now that you remember, be honest and answer our questions,” the female player said sternly. “Qi Qiaoyan’s phone is off, and she’s nowhere to be found in the dorm. Where is she?”

“I-I don’t know! I’m not close to her. I only heard a few things from Xiaoxi. Later, when things escalated between her and Xiaoxi, I found out. Please don’t hit me,” Guo Mingzheng replied fearfully.

“Who else has a grudge with Ke Xiaoxi?” the male player waved a glinting object, likely a dagger, in front of Guo Mingzheng’s eyes.

“No, no, there’s also Ruan Hongdou.”

“What grudge?” the female player demanded.

Guo Mingzheng explained, “It was when Ruan Hongdou and I were getting a bit close, Xiaoxi thought something was going on between us, but there wasn’t. It was just regular club activities. But Xiaoxi didn’t believe it and hit her. I can give you her phone number and her best friend’s? I also know where she lives.”

“You’re quite pathetic,” the female player remarked.

Male player: “Being pathetic is even better for us, makes it easier to get information.”

Guo Mingzheng provided the phone number and dormitory room number. After some further questioning, the two players confirmed that Ke Xiaoxi had no other conflicts in her social circle and finally let him go.

Female player: “Just to be safe, let’s alter his memory again.”

Male player: “We had to use points to get that R-level item card. It’s all because you didn’t ask enough last time.”

The male player grumbled and was about to produce something out of thin air to tap on Guo Mingzheng’s head when the female player suddenly said, “Wait a minute, how does he remember Ruan Hongdou’s contact details and dorm room number so clearly? Such a long phone number, he didn’t even need to look it up?”

Mo Qi gasped in shock. Guo Mingzheng remembered the details so clearly because he had hidden his phone to use for the video call; retrieving it to find the phone number would have exposed him. Mo Qi had instructed him to remember the details in advance, but now it had backfired.

Glancing at the time, Mo Qi realized nine minutes had passed. The deep affection effect on Guo Mingzheng would soon wear off, and he wouldn’t be able to help hide anything anymore. It seemed Mo Qi was about to be exposed.

As Mo Qi pondered his next move, Guo Mingzheng stuttered out an explanation, “I-I remembered because Xiaoxi deleted the number I saved, so I had to secretly remember the contact details.”

It was a plausible explanation, but the female player sneered, “Still claiming it’s nothing? Clearly, you were secretly thinking about her, scumbag!”

The male player added, “Enough. Don’t get all emotional about a Squeezed person.”

Finishing his statement, the male player lightly tapped Guo Mingzheng’s forehead, causing him to faint. Mo Qi breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.

He had intended to end the video call, but to his surprise, the two players hadn’t moved far. They were conversing in a place out of the camera’s view, yet their voices remained quite clear.

Male player: “I wonder how the other three players are progressing. Seems like we’re quite lucky to have locked onto Ke Xiaoxi so quickly. Apart from the initiator, we should have the fastest progress.”

Female player: “That’s not necessarily true. Who knows what skills the other players have? Maybe someone is just waiting for us to uncover the clues so they can benefit.”

After exchanging these remarks, they got down to business. The female player contacted Ruan Hongdou on the spot, and this time the call went through. She lied, claiming to be delivering a package and asked Ruan Hongdou to come downstairs to collect it.

The package trick was indeed effective once again, as Ruan Hongdou quickly agreed to come downstairs.

Afterward, they left their location and headed towards Ruan Hongdou’s dormitory building.

Mo Qi sighed in relief as he ended the video call, deciding to take the risk and go see Guo Mingzheng, at least to wake him up and send him back to his dorm.

Carefully making his way there, he didn’t spot the male and female players from earlier. He found the hidden phone first, unlocked it with Guo Mingzheng’s fingerprint, and deleted any WeChat messages and call logs related to himself before waking Guo Mingzheng up.

Guo Mingzheng blinked groggily as he opened his eyes. Mo Qi handed him the phone and said, “Thank you.”

“Who are you?” Guo Mingzheng asked, looking at him with a completely unfamiliar expression.

Mo Qi was taken aback. Did Guo Mingzheng not remember him this time?

Come to think of it, the male player had just made Guo Mingzheng forget “anything related to Ke Xiaoxi.” Mo Qi’s acquaintance with Guo Mingzheng was entirely due to Ke Xiaoxi, so this “related matter” naturally included Mo Qi.

Moreover, since the effects of “affection” had worn off, Guo Mingzheng’s feelings towards Mo Qi had vanished, and there wouldn’t be an immediate emotional attachment upon seeing him again.

Well, that was actually for the best.

Mo Qi stared at a small grass under Guo Mingzheng’s feet, using his “affection” skill not to charm this insignificant weed but to prevent Guo Mingzheng from being influenced by his charming aura again.

“Strange, how did I end up here?” Guo Mingzheng stood up and looked around.

Mo Qi replied, “Not sure. I found you passed out on the ground with your phone nearby. Are you low on blood sugar? Should we go to the school clinic?”

“No need, no need,” Guo Mingzheng impatiently brushed off Mo Qi. “I’ll just grab a meal. Thanks for waking me up. Bye.”

He left without a hint of attachment. Mo Qi watched him walk away and breathed a sigh of relief, finally putting an end to this inexplicable emotional entanglement.

Just as Guo Mingzheng left, Liao Ruxue sent a message: “Come help me with some work at 7:30 tonight.”

Mo Qi’s relieved breath caught in his throat again. There was another debt to settle here.

Fortunately, he had learned how to transfer his charming aura using a specific plant. Helping Liao Ruxue tonight shouldn’t involve any emotional complications anymore.

Mo Qi hurried towards the ideological and political education building on campus where the Student council office was located.

Unnoticed by Mo Qi, before Guo Mingzheng departed, the small grass he had gazed upon was inexplicably thriving. Its tender leaves transformed into long strands of grass, silently winding around his ankle.

Just as the grass was about to ensnare him, Mo Qi walked away. Failing to find its target, the grass strands angrily whipped the ground like a whip, making a “whooshing” sound. It continued to lash about furiously for over 10 minutes before slowly retracting and returning to its ordinary state as a small grass.

On his way to the ideological and political education building, Mo Qi tried calling Qi Qiaoyan, but like the two players mentioned, he couldn’t get through.

Ruan Hongdou seemed to have been preempted by the two players, so there might not be much to find directly from her now. However, the Student council might have information on subsequent events involving Ruan Hongdou.

Between the two, Mo Qi harbored more suspicion towards Qi Qiaoyan, but frustratingly, he couldn’t reach her.

The crystal box in the game interface showed no changes, but Mo Qi remained uneasy. He had a persistent feeling that the heart-shaped origami wasn’t just about Ke Xiaoxi’s fate—it concealed deeper secrets.

Deep in thought, Mo Qi arrived at the Student council office where Liao Ruxue was alone. Seeing Mo Qi’s troubled expression, Liao Ruxue remarked, “What’s wrong? You look pale. Did a client stiff you on payment?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. Just worried about my scholarship,” Mo Qi replied, his gaze drifting past Liao Ruxue to a tree outside the window. Only after confirming that his “affection” skill was active did he finally look back at Liao Ruxue with reassurance.

As long as he had that tree as his focus, Liao Ruxue wouldn’t be affected by Mo Qi’s charming aura.

“The next Student council president has been chosen. I still have some handover work to do here. Could you help me organize these documents and create an index for an easier transition?” Liao Ruxue handed Mo Qi a stack of files.

“Sure thing!” Mo Qi replied promptly.

He immersed himself in the task, periodically lifting his head to glance out the window. Of course, he wasn’t fixated on just one tree; rather, he was observant of every plant within sight, ensuring no opportunity was missed.

“Why? Are your eyes bothering you?” Liao Ruxue, standing by the door, couldn’t help but ask as he noticed Mo Qi repeatedly looking outside.

“Nothing like that, just preventing nearsightedness. I can’t afford glasses,” Mo Qi replied.

Liao Ruxue slowly walked from the door to behind Mo Qi. “Mo Qi, why are you so short of money?”

“My dad jumped off a building after gambling debts piled up, and my mom sold the house to clear the debt before leaving. I still want to continue my education, that’s all,” Mo Qi explained.

“You’ve been through a lot,” Liao Ruxue said sympathetically, reaching out from behind to pat Mo Qi’s shoulder.

“Unfortunately, I guess,” Mo Qi replied with a hint of optimism. “At least I didn’t end up drowning in debt. I’m an adult now, so I’ll walk my own path. I just make sure to remember one thing: cherish life and stay away from gambling.”

“Is that so? I feel like, with your tough life, instead of struggling alone, it’s better to walk with me,” Liao Ruxue’s hand rested on the back of Mo Qi’s neck.

A chill ran down Mo Qi’s spine, reaching his very core. He instantly became alert, not turning back but instinctively leaning to the side. A paper cutter grazed Mo Qi’s neck, leaving a thin, bloody trail.

Mo Qi elbowed Liao Ruxue behind him and simultaneously pushed himself up onto the table with one arm, finally breaking free from the chair’s restraint. He turned around to face Liao Ruxue.

Liao Ruxue was holding a paper cutter, staring at him with a sinister and twisted expression.

Mo Qi: “…”