The grass was wildly swinging its branches and leaves, which were densely covered in sharp white thorns. It looked incredibly ferocious—not the kind of plant that would just stand still and let someone pluck its thorns.

Each of those white thorns was longer than her palm.

The problem wasn’t finding the herb.

The problem was how to pick it.

This medicinal plant was enormous and clearly not easy to deal with. If those thorns stabbed into her body, she’d be left with a row of bloody holes.

If the thorns broke off, that would be fine—like borrowing arrows with a straw boat. She could deal with a little blood loss and heal herself.

But what if the thorns didn’t break?

If they kept swinging at her over and over again, would she even have any intact skin left?

Ji He crouched in the grass, her mind racing as she desperately tried to find a solution.

Just as she was worrying, the grass ahead suddenly rustled.

Ji He looked carefully and thought she saw two people hiding over there.

Then, a branch poked out from the grass, with a strip of cloth tied to it, frantically pointing in one direction.

Ji He’s eyes flickered. Were they telling her to go that way?

She turned to look at the dangerous-looking plant in the grass. After thinking for a moment, she decided to go take a look.

That plant had so many thorns that even if ten people pulled at it at once, they wouldn’t strip it bare.

Right now, the issue wasn’t competing for resources—it was how to cooperate and successfully obtain the white thorns.

Ji He reached up and adjusted the mask on her face to make sure it was secure. Then she tucked away her cloak and slowly moved toward the meeting spot.

Before she even got close, she saw that five people were already standing there—two women and three men, split into four groups.

One man and one woman were standing together, while the other three stood separately.

As Ji He approached, all five of them glanced at her. But after seeing that she was just a frail-looking girl, they quickly lost interest and looked away.

No one spoke. Everyone just stood in their own spots, waiting.

A few minutes passed, and no one else arrived.

Then, the man from the pair finally spoke up. “Hello, everyone. My name is Yima Pingchuan, and this is Nian Nian Bu Wang. Since we’ve all gathered here, I assume we’re all trying to complete the white thorn collection mission?”

He waited for a moment, but when no one responded, he continued, “Before you all arrived, I already tested the plant once. Its branches are extremely tough. I tried cutting one with a knife, but it didn’t even break—just left a white mark on it.

“It’s impossible to complete this task alone. We have to work together.”

He glanced around, but still, no one spoke. Frowning, he added in a firm voice, “What do you all think? If anyone has ideas, you should speak up.

“We’re not competitors. You can all see how many thorns that plant has—probably thousands. There’s more than enough for all of us!”

“As long as we cooperate, we’ll definitely complete the mission!”

At this point, another voice spoke up.

“I agree. Cooperation is our best option. I counted—the plant has around twenty swinging branches. If one person faces them alone, there’s no way to defend against them all.”

The speaker was a young man who looked fresh-faced, like a college student.

“If we work together, each person only has to deal with about three branches. That’ll greatly reduce our pressure! I need sixty white thorns for my task. How about you guys?”

“Same here.”

“I also need sixty.”

Yima Pingchuan nodded in satisfaction. “Since we’re teaming up, shouldn’t we introduce our abilities? That way, we can coordinate better.”

At this, there was another silence. Even the talkative college student shut his mouth.

Whether they cooperated or not didn’t matter—abilities were their trump cards.

Everyone had seen how chaotic reality had become lately. No one could guarantee that these people weren’t terrorists. Who would be foolish enough to reveal their full abilities?

This game was connected to real life.

No one had just appeared out of thin air—they all had families.

If in-game conflicts spilled over into reality, the difficulty wouldn’t just be “hard mode” anymore—it’d be hell mode.

Not only would they have to survive natural disasters, but also defend against human threats!

Yima Pingchuan looked around, still met with silence. He was just about to speak again when the girl beside him tugged on his sleeve.

“Brother Chuan, it’s okay. If they don’t want to share, that’s fine. As long as we work together to get the white thorns, it doesn’t matter.”

After soothing her brother, she turned to the others with a gentle, sweet smile. “My brother has a bit of a temper, but he means well.”

“His ability is combat-based. He asked about yours just to minimize casualties. But if you’re uncomfortable sharing, that’s fine—we won’t force you. Just know that during the mission, we won’t be able to watch out for everyone.”

After speaking, she smiled at the group, her expression warm and understanding.

A clever move—retreating to advance.

Ji He glanced at the girl in the pink sportswear, then quietly lowered her gaze.

For some reason, she had an instinctive urge to stay far away from this person.

If it weren’t for how difficult that plant was to deal with, she wouldn’t want to cooperate with her at all.

This woman felt even more dangerous than the man beside her.

Soon, others began speaking.

“My ability makes me move faster.”

“I can harden my skin.”

“My hands can turn into sharp claws…”

When it was Ji He’s turn, she spoke without hesitation.

“My ability lets me summon a shovel to scoop up poop.”

Everyone turned to look at her, their eyes filled with deep sympathy. This had to be the most useless ability they’d ever seen.

Even Nian Nian Bu Wang glanced at Ji He, tilting her head in apparent curiosity. “Poop? Can you explain?”

“There’s a chance the shovel will generate poop. Not every time, but sometimes. I can throw it at enemies as an attack.”

Ji He lied smoothly.

In life, your identity was what you made it.

Who knew each other here? As long as she wasn’t embarrassed, the awkwardness belonged to everyone else.

She sounded so confident that the others believed her.

Nian Nian Bu Wang’s eyes flashed with disdain, and she was the first to look away.

Trash. Not worth her effort. She’d probably be the first to die.

The group started discussing strategies, chatting enthusiastically.

Ji He stayed silent, standing half a meter behind them, listening quietly.

But no matter how much they talked, they never reached a solid plan.

No one trusted each other. Everyone wanted someone else to take the lead.

In the end, they decided to just play it by ear.

Ji He: “…”

Then why did you waste time discussing in the first place?