Chapter 7: A quarter

This scene was strikingly similar to the previous attack by the sparrows, except this time the scale was a hundred times greater. It was no longer a minor injury like pecking a finger; it was deadly.

But something was off!

The sparrows’ attack was due to anger over their rejected gift of insects and ceased once the “Gaze” effect wore off.

Liao Ruxue, however, had no ill intentions during the “Gaze” effect, and Mo Qi had tried his best to prevent him from being influenced by the charming aura. How did things escalate to this point?

There was no time to ponder further. This wasn’t the moment for a chat. It was crucial to subdue the person first.

Mo Qi had been hustling for a living for years, which gave him exceptional physical stamina and agility. Liao Ruxue, on the other hand, was an academic prodigy with decent physical fitness, but his endurance couldn’t quite match Mo Qi’s.

After some evasive fighting in the office, Mo Qi skillfully dodged Liao Ruxue’s attacks with a paper cutter. He swiftly grabbed Liao Ruxue’s wrist, snatched the cutter away, and pinned him down on the desk. He then punched him a few times, aiming for spots that hurt but wouldn’t cause serious injury. Only when Liao Ruxue was exhausted did Mo Qi speak up, “President, calm down!”

Mo Qi’s blows were targeted at painful but non-critical areas, so Liao Ruxue likely had a lot of bruises on his body. However, his face remained untouched, still wearing the glasses that gave him the scholarly appearance, though he now looked a bit weary.

He gazed deeply at Mo Qi, his eyes brimming with countless complex emotions that Mo Qi couldn’t decipher in that moment. The myriad of shifting feelings were beyond his understanding.

Mo Qi believed that communication was possible with anyone, even someone harboring murderous intent toward him. He was determined to understand what was going on with the broken attributes and skills the game had bestowed upon him.

Perplexed, Mo Qi asked, “President, why did you suddenly attack me when we were just working and chatting peacefully?”

Liao Ruxue didn’t respond. Instead, he gave a silent, enigmatic smile.

Mo Qi thought for a moment and decided to be blunt, “President, if you don’t express your feelings, I’ll never understand them, not even until the day I die.”

These words seemed to stir something in Liao Ruxue. He began speaking slowly, “When you first joined the student council in your freshman year, I noticed you right away.”

“That’s quite normal,” Mo Qi replied naturally. “On the day of the freshman welcome party preparations, you caught me and made me help organize the prizes. We were busy until midnight. If you don’t remember that, it would be really heartless.”

Liao Ruxue’s eyes had drifted into a nostalgic gaze, but Mo Qi’s words brought him back to the present with a hint of annoyance in his tone. “You’re really someone who only has eyes for part-time jobs, prizes, and making a living. When will you start paying attention to other things?”

“Why do you keep bringing up the prize?” Mo Qi asked. “Is it just because I took a single electric pot after the freshman welcome party? Staff members were allowed to choose from the leftover prizes, and everyone took something!”

During that freshman welcome party, Mo Qi had stayed behind to help precisely because he had his eye on that single electric pot. With it, he could cook instant noodles in his dormitory, which saved money compared to eating in the cafeteria. In the first half of his freshman year, Mo Qi hadn’t found any part-time job opportunities and had relied on that electric pot to get by. What was wrong with the electric pot?

Liao Ruxue’s flood of emotions was shattered by Mo Qi’s matter-of-fact response. Frustrated, he said, “All you ever see is making a living. You never appreciate the beauty in life. It’s such a waste of a person like you.”

“President, what you’re talking about is life; for me, it’s survival,” Mo Qi sighed. “Just staying alive is a challenge. How could I have the mind to think about anything else?”

“Exactly,” Liao Ruxue replied, “which is why I’ve come to understand that if we can solve the problem of just staying alive, you can become your true self. I’m eager to see you unburdened by the struggle for survival.”

Mo Qi was taken aback. “…You mean you want to kill me just because of that? When did you come up with this idea?”

Liao Ruxue said, “Just this afternoon, when you asked me to look into Ke Xiaoxi, I thought, how unfortunate. I want to help you break free from your constraints. And you don’t need to be afraid; I’ll be with you through it.”

So it was because of that unconscious use of his skill in the afternoon. Mo Qi hadn’t expected that Liao Ruxue would harbor murderous intent towards him since then. No wonder he kept texting him, insisting he come to the student council for help in the evening.

Liao Ruxue wanted to kill him, but Mo Qi couldn’t bring himself to kill Liao Ruxue. Left with no other choice, he found a bundle of rope used for events in the student council’s cabinet and tightly bound Liao Ruxue. Only then did he have time to check his phone.

After triggering the “Liao Ruxue Assassination Event,” the game app had indeed updated again.

The “Gaze” skill had now acquired a negative effect.

[Negative Effect: In the interest of fairness and justice, SSR-level attribute cards, item cards, and scene cards also come with SSR-level negative effects. The “Gaze” skill has currently revealed two negative effects: First, those affected who cannot obtain the object of their affection will backlash against the player. Second, there is a certain probability of activating the dark side of the affected person, triggering an “Love you to death” event, with the possibility of them going berserk. The current probability is 10%, and the more familiar the affected person is with the player, the higher the probability.]

[Note: Simultaneously activates the negative effect of the Charmer attribute, “Love you to death,” with the probability being only 1% if using only the Charming aura.]

Mo Qi: “…”

He was at a loss for words to describe this negative effect.

If he didn’t use “Gaze,” the Charming aura would indiscriminately affect those around him. Out of a hundred people, there would be one who wanted to kill him. And this was just one of the negative effects; there might be other negative aspects yet to be discovered.

Using “Gaze,” on the other hand, would trigger attacks from those who experienced unrequited love, with a 10% chance of activating the negative effect. That probability was alarmingly high—one in ten people would want to kill him!

No, it might not necessarily be people. It could be flowers and plants too. Although the attack power of flowers and plants was relatively weak, even if a leaf slapped him, he might not even notice it.

This SSR-level talent skill was indeed difficult to control. Mo Qi was now uncertain how to effectively harness this ability.

Grimacing at his phone, Mo Qi was caught off guard when Liao Ruxue, focused on him, suddenly said, “I will strongly oppose you receiving this scholarship.”

Mo Qi’s gaze shifted from his phone to Liao Ruxue. “Why? It’s one thing to talk about killing me, but why deny me the scholarship?”

Scholarship eligibility was assessed comprehensively, considering academic performance, ideological scores, peer and faculty votes, and votes from the student council. Their school’s top scholarship amounted to 5000, while the lowest was 1500. Mo Qi had excellent grades and a good track record, so as long as he didn’t mess up his final exam, he was certain to qualify for it. However, if Liao Ruxue actively intervened, Mo Qi might end up with the lowest tier instead.

The money was meant to cover tuition fees, and for a student, the difference between 1500 and 5000 was enormous!

Mo Qi felt a wrenching pain in his heart, far worse than the thought of Liao Ruxue wanting to kill him.

“You’re really resilient,” Liao Ruxue chuckled softly. “Today made me realize that killing you is impossible, so I’ll have to strip away your ‘survival’ in other ways.”

Mo Qi knelt in front of Liao Ruxue, gritting his teeth. “President, can we discuss this issue rationally?”

“Choose between staying alive and the scholarship,” Liao Ruxue said.

“Can’t I choose both?” Mo Qi asked.

“What do you think?” Liao Ruxue’s gaze was stubborn, with a hint of madness creeping into his smile.

This was hopeless. There was no way to communicate with this person normally.

Mo Qi sat down heavily on the ground and muttered to the app, “You said before that the game blurs the line between reality and fiction. Tell me straight, none of this is real.”

If the game’s effects on people around him were real and persisted beyond the game’s end, what was the point of struggling so hard to complete the tasks? Especially if he lost the scholarship!

His words didn’t trigger any response from the app, lacking the crucial keywords for the beginner mode.

Frowning, Mo Qi recalled the conversation he had seen between the two players in the video, where they described Guo Mingzheng as a “squeezed person,” a term he now deemed significant.

“What does ‘squeezed person’ mean?”

[Squeezed person is an ordinary individual implicated in the game. Whether the effects they experience in the game will carry over to reality depends on the player’s progress in completing the game. Their state is caught between reality and the game, hence they are called squeezed people.]

Mo Qi read the passage several times, confirming that Liao Ruxue was indeed the “squeezed person” affected by his skill. It seemed that to remove this influence, he would have to make progress in completing the game.

With this realization, Mo Qi felt slightly relieved. But now, how should he handle Liao Ruxue?

After some thought, he said to Liao Ruxue, “President, let’s make a deal. How about this: I release you, and you can continue seeking opportunities to kill me, but please don’t interfere with my scholarship.”

Mo Qi’s plan was a double-edged sword: it accounted for Liao Ruxue’s weaker physical condition compared to his own and kept him wary of the President, reducing the likelihood of a successful assassination. With this arrangement, even if Liao Ruxue remained influenced by the game until the end, Mo Qi could still secure the scholarship.

Liao Ruxue raised an eyebrow. “You’re just going to stand there and let me kill you?”

“You wish! I reserve the right to self-defense!” Mo Qi retorted.

“Your physical fitness gives you the advantage; I don’t stand a chance,” Liao Ruxue bargained, surprisingly coherent despite his semi-mad state.

Mo Qi argued logically, “President, you shouldn’t underestimate yourself like this. It’s not just about physical strength; it also requires strategic thinking. You’re such an intelligent and wise person; I’m sure you can come up with many ways. Have you watched Detective Conan? You could find inspiration there.”

With over a thousand episodes, finishing all of Detective Conan in seven days was almost impossible.

After contemplating for a moment, Liao Ruxue accepted the suggestion. Mo Qi untied him, but Liao Ruxue attempted to seize his neck. Mo Qi responded by landing two punches, forcing Liao Ruxue to relent.

After shaking hands and making peace, the two of them cleaned up the office as if nothing chaotic had happened during their fight. During this process, Liao Ruxue picked up the mop twice, swung a chair three times, and even attempted to break the glass door of a storage cabinet, using the glass shards as weapons.

Mo Qi, vigilant throughout, promptly intervened to stop him. As they cleaned, Mo Qi remarked, “President, can’t you think of a method more befitting your intelligence? Don’t you find this kind of violent attack lacking in artistry? Imagine a beautifully artistic painting at an art exhibition!”

Finally, these words touched Liao Ruxue. He paused his actions, deep in thought.

The two cooperated amiably to finish their work. After a candid conversation, Mo Qi no longer felt hesitant to ask Liao Ruxue for information directly:

“Qi Qiaoyan’s phone is off. Where is she most likely to go?”

Liao Ruxue replied, “How would I know?”

“Just ask around. I have a feeling Ke Xiaoxi’s death is related to her, but I also feel like it’s more complicated than that,” Mo Qi insisted, staring at Liao Ruxue. “Please!”

With both the Charm effect and the negative effects triggered, Mo Qi focused solely on Liao Ruxue, ignoring everything else around him.

“I’m torn between wanting to kill you and not being able to refuse you,” sighed Liao Ruxue.

He called the head of the Literature Department’s publicity office, whose somewhat loud voice came through, “Qi Qiaoyan, hmm, I remember after Ke Xiaoxi reported her last time, she disappeared for a while. The counselor was worried she might be in trouble and mobilized classmates to look for her.”

“Did they find her?”

“Of course they did. They checked the surveillance and found her hiding behind the fake mountain by the lake. Quite a clever hiding spot,” the publicity head said.

“Thank you, I’ll go take a look,” Mo Qi said, swiftly getting up.

Liao Ruxue followed closely behind. “I have to come with you. If you hide and I can’t find you again, how will I ever kill you?”

Mo Qi couldn’t refuse, so he reluctantly allowed Liao Ruxue to tag along. The two hurried to the lake, finding the fake mountain as described by the publicity head.

The fake mountain wasn’t far from where Ke Xiaoxi had fallen into the water. Being nearby, they hoped to gain some insight into what had happened at that time.

Mo Qi cautiously circled around to the back of the fake mountain. There, he found a large crevice where a petite girl of around 1.6 meters could curl up and remain hidden from view.

Qi Qiaoyan was sitting with her eyes closed inside the crevice. Her complexion was pale, lips dry, and she held a phone with a shattered screen in her hand.

Approaching gently, Mo Qi checked Qi Qiaoyan’s breathing. She was already deceased.

Inside the crystal box, the heart-shaped origami was fully unfolded, its red paper melting like blood into the transparent heart-shaped groove. A quarter of the heart was stained with this blood-like color.

On the game interface, a message appeared: “Exchange failed. Compensation provided with the wisher’s life. Next wish in progress.”