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Chapter 70: Skynet World (Part 1)
Huang Junfeng barely made it past the line. His eyes widened in disbelief. He knew there were disparities in this world but hadn’t expected them to be this vast. What kind of brain did Xiao Muyu have? Her total score more than doubled his! “How do you even rack up that many points?”
Xiao Muyu said nothing. The extra points were because…
Shen Qingqiu glanced at Xiao Muyu when she heard the announcement. This woman was too brilliant.
Xiao Muyu’s sharpness wasn’t limited to logical thinking. Her ability to grasp details went far beyond the ordinary. She could always pinpoint the key amidst a web of clues.
The reason they had rushed in to save Old Sang was entirely due to Xiao Muyu’s comment: “His face shows signs of death.” Shen Qingqiu had followed her lead and discovered the gate to the grove.
The grave site in the backwoods was also a significant scene in this instance. It activated Big Xiao Mei’s original form. From her dialogue, they learned that another source of resentment among the children comprised the remaining 15% of the storyline.
One link led to another. They’d still be fumbling around if they had missed even a single step, much less clear the game by the third day. Shen Qingqiu didn’t need to explain this. Everyone understood it well. They each thanked Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu.
Xiao Muyu’s mind was indispensable. So were Shen Qingqiu’s skills. The three couldn’t have survived this far without them.
Xiao Muyu didn’t react much to their gratitude. She glanced at Shen Qingqiu and said, “No need to thank me too much. My presence may have made things easier for you, but it also held you back. Your scores would’ve been higher if you had done things yourselves. So, if you want to thank someone, thank her.”
Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but laugh. She waved her hand. “No need for thanks. I was merely clearing the instance.” Ignoring Yang Rui and the others, she leaned closer to Xiao Muyu. “You scored much higher than me. Is it because you redeemed them in the end?”
Xiao Muyu pressed her right index finger against Shen Qingqiu’s restless head and pushed her away. She gave a flat hum of acknowledgment and closed her interface.
The sudden head poke caught Shen Qingqiu off guard. After the push, she stared off blankly for a while. The sight of this striking woman making such an expression drew a few glances from the others.
Xiao Muyu realized her gesture—though made in refusal—had carried a subtle intimacy. Still, she maintained a composed expression.
“Now announcing ratings for the five players who cleared the game.” The system delivered the final results in a cold voice, “Xiao Muyu: S. Shen Qingqiu: A. Yang Rui: A. Zhang Yangfeng: A. Huang Junfeng: B.”
Huang Junfeng wasn’t surprised at getting a B. Despite his efforts, he knew he had survived this instance because of his companions. A B was within his expectations.
What puzzled them was Shen Qingqiu’s A rating.
“Miss Shen scored so high. Why does she only get an A?”
Arbiter No. 003 suddenly appeared beside them. No. 003 looked a touch more sophisticated in her black suit. She glanced at the five players before her and said, “Congratulations on successfully clearing the instance. You may now leave and proceed to the gacha segment.”
“Why does Shen Qingqiu only have an A rating?” Xiao Muyu frowned as she directed the question at No. 003.
This surprised Shen Qingqiu. It wasn’t like Xiao Muyu to ask such things. She wouldn’t care about her own rating, let alone someone else’s.
No. 003 answered promptly, “This is a story-driven instance with logic and deduction as the main focus. Your contributions were undeniably the greatest. However, Shen Qingqiu participated less overall. Her combat output was significant but not critical to the key stages. Based on a comprehensive evaluation, your rating is S, and hers is A.”
“She just doesn’t talk much. All our story-related points are nearly identical. Aside from the 12 points for persuading Xiao Qiu, her contribution matches mine. How can you claim she participated less? Are you judging participation purely by how much someone talks instead of how much they think?”
Xiao Muyu’s tongue grew sharper as she directly challenged the fairness of the system’s evaluation.
No. 003 frowned. “The system’s evaluation is final. Players may file an appeal if they wish to contest it. The rating will be adjusted when the appeal succeeds. If it is rejected, however, your clearance for this instance will be void, and you’ll need to start over. Do you want to try?”
What a shameless statement. It appeared to offer an option but was, in reality, a blatant threat. Who would risk losing clearance for the sake of a rating?
Xiao Muyu shot her a glance and let out a cold snort. Shen Qingqiu’s lips curved into a thin, icy smile. “An A is fine. No need to waste words. Let’s move on before we hold up the next players.”
No. 003 paused. Before anyone could respond, she transported the group back to the in-between room.
Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu were in the same one since they were teammates. Upon arrival, Xiao Muyu noticed the weakness in her body disappear, and so did the pain from the wound on her back.
Xiao Muyu turned to look at Shen Qingqiu. The woman swiftly unwrapped her sling and makeshift cast before stretching her right arm. Finally, she clasped her hands and cracked her knuckles, fixing her smirking eyes at No. 003. It was an unmistakable intimidation.
No. 003 gave her a sour look. She seemed disinclined to exchange pleasantries with them either.
“Level B has now concluded. Level A consists of three instances, including team-based ones requiring at least five members. You may start preparing and recruiting teammates ahead of time. Otherwise, you will get random teammates for the team-based instance.”
She also explained the teammate-binding rules. It was largely the same as what Shen Qingqiu had mentioned before.
After finishing her explanation, No. 003 waved her hand. Several cards appeared before her. She glanced at Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu. “The rules don’t need further explanation. Which of you will draw first, or shall one of you handle it for both?”
Xiao Muyu was slightly surprised. “Are you saying someone else can draw on our behalf?”
“Yes,” No. 003 replied. “You are a unique pair. Later team-based instances will also have team card draws with one designated representative.”
Xiao Muyu immediately turned to Shen Qingqiu, who shook her head. “Don’t count on me. As one half of the only unlucky duo to ever draw ‘Thanks for Playing’, I’m no better than you. Don’t worry—drawing that isn’t so bad.”
Xiao Muyu looked exasperated. “Can you not jinx1 me? I wasn’t counting on you anyway. Everything you draw is ridiculous.”
Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but laugh. She hadn’t expected Xiao Muyu to pull out such an old slang. It was so out of character for her.
In the end, Xiao Muyu drew first. While she had drawn weird cards too, nothing could be worse than ‘Thanks for Playing’.
Xiao Muyu picked a card without delay. The card spun rapidly before finally stopping in front of her. Three large words appeared. Her face instantly darkened. She glanced at Shen Qingqiu in silence, her expression a mix of grievance and frustration.
Shen Qingqiu quickly leaned over for a look. “Did I really jinx you?”
“‘Thanks for Playing’? The odds of drawing that are lower than you getting an S rating, and this is your second one.” Even No. 003 was stunned. The game was full of various strange items, with duplicates aplenty. However, ‘Thanks for Playing’, a card the system had made to infuriate players, was pitifully rare. To draw it twice? Xiao Muyu’s luck was amazingly abysmal.
Xiao Muyu wordlessly put the card away. The number “2” displayed on it made her reluctant to look longer.
“Your turn.” Xiao Muyu gave up and tossed the reins to Shen Qingqiu. Even something ridiculous would be better than another ‘Thanks for Playing’.
Shen Qingqiu was tempted to laugh but felt bad for her at the same time. Standing before the cards, she asked again, “Are you sure you want me to draw? I’ve drawn a ‘Thanks for Playing’ before. Might happen again…”
Xiao Muyu immediately stopped her, face clouding over. She picked another card and grumbled, “Shut. Up.”
It didn’t upset Shen Qingqiu. She stepped aside, watching her with veiled amusement.
Shen Qingqiu only shifted her gaze when the card stopped spinning. She grinned.
The weight in Xiao Muyu’s heart finally lifted. It was at least an S-tier card.
Kagome Kagome
Rarity: S
Drop Rate: Extremely low in a specific instance
Item Description: Music always brings joy. The sweet and captivating melody of Kagome Kagome will surely delight your ears. The card automatically plays Kagome Kagome upon activation. As the rhyme begins, all units within range are forced to spin in circles. The user can pick any unit to become their substitute when the song ends. The substitute will absorb all damage in the user’s place for 30 seconds.
Skill Cooldown: 48 hours.
Shen Qingqiu leaned closer to read the description. A hint of delight flashed in her eyes. “Well, that sure turned out for the best. This card is a life-saving talisman. Letting a substitute take your damage is as good as gaining an extra life.”
Xiao Muyu nodded, appearing far less enthusiastic than Shen Qingqiu. She pointed toward No. 003. “Go draw yours.”
Shen Qingqiu was casual about it. She randomly selected a card without even looking. But her expression shifted when she finally saw what was on it.
Xiao Muyu noticed her subtle reaction. She leaned over to look and froze. Her eyes darkened as she quickly examined the item description.
Shen Qingqiu’s card showed an illustration resembling a poker card. The image depicted a doll. The very same doll that corresponded to Shen Qingqiu in the third instance.
Xiao Muyu vividly remembered Little Two’s gaze on Shen Qingqiu when they left the bathroom. The unease in her heart resurfaced, especially when she saw the card’s rarity displayed a question mark.
Little Two the Doll
Rarity: ?
Drop rate: No precedence
Item Description: The doll named Little Two is a vengeful spirit from the instance. Activating this item summons Little Two to join the battle. The weaker the host, the stronger the doll’s combat abilities. The perfect bodyguard, right?
Note: Little Two chooses its host. This is unchangeable. Usable only once per instance.
Both women’s expressions turned peculiar after reading the description. Shen Qingqiu pointed at the card. “What does ‘chooses its host’ mean? And why does this item have an unclassifiable rarity?”
No. 003 shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t answer that. It was set by the system. The player must figure it out independently.”
No. 003’s response further convinced Xiao Muyu that this card was anything but simple. However, they couldn’t get any answers with the explanation ending there.
“When does the next instance start?” Shen Qingqiu didn’t plan to waste time pestering No. 003. The arbiters and the system were on the same side. Their attitude toward players mirrored the game’s design. They didn’t care about lives and left everything up to the players. The lack of sabotage was already a mercy.
“Players may rest well after finishing Level B. You will be informed three days ahead of when the next instance starts. Roughly in twenty days, based on previous schedules.”
Xiao Muyu exhaled slowly. While physical injuries healed upon exiting an instance, the mental toll wouldn’t be so forgiving. Clearing three consecutive instances had pushed her to her limit. And Shen Qingqiu came out covered in wounds each time. She must be utterly exhausted as well.
When the two returned to Skynet World, it felt like they’d been away for years. The streets were abuzz with noise and activity that seemed almost artificial, especially after leaving the gloomy orphanage. The contrast left their hearts feeling hollow.
“The talisman you bought in Wangliang Street didn’t seem to come in handy,” Shen Qingqiu remarked. She recalled how Xiao Muyu had gone out of her way to buy a talisman before entering the instance. Yet, it appeared she hadn’t used it.
Xiao Muyu pulled out the talisman. The originally worn-out paper talisman with barely visible symbols now bore scarlet cinnabar markings. Shen Qingqiu distinctly remembered what it had initially looked like.
“So, it did come in handy.” She glanced at Xiao Muyu and chuckled. “As expected, you never make mistakes. Finding something worthwhile in Wangliang Street is harder than uncovering a genuine antique in an antique marketplace.”
Xiao Muyu leveled a glance at her, then handed the talisman over.
Shen Qingqiu was surprised. She stared at it without reaching out to take it.
“It’s not much use, but it can alert you if something foul comes near.”
Shen Qingqiu looked even more puzzled. “Then why give it to me?”
Xiao Muyu considered it, pursed her lips, and put it away. She turned to head back to the hotel where they were staying.
Her actions baffled Shen Qingqiu. After they walked a few steps, realization finally dawned on her. Her brows arched in amusement. She quickened her strides until she walked alongside Xiao Muyu. Her smile made her arresting face shine more radiantly than the blazing sun in Skynet.
Xiao Muyu watched with a tense face as Shen Qingqiu cocked her head toward her. Those narrow eyes grew more fox-like as they curved. Her crimson lips quirked up. “Why’d you take it back?” she asked. “Changed your mind already?”
Xiao Muyu wished she could shove her earlier self far away. She schooled her expression and muttered, “What’s the point of giving it to you? Ghosts are always scared of you, not the other way around. I might as well keep it for myself.”
Shen Qingqiu didn’t say another word, but her smile lingered the entire way back to the hotel. Her beaming expression caught the attention of the young woman and Zhou Yuan working the front desk. Although eager to avoid her, he couldn’t help stealing a few glances.
Xiao Muyu gave her a resigned sidelong glance. She knew keeping quiet was the best course of action. Otherwise, Shen Qingqiu might immediately push her luck.
“They’re out?” spoke a man seated on the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling windows. He looked serene as his fingers idly tapped a cigar.
“Yes, Master Shiyi,” respectfully replied a man in a black suit standing behind him, his head lowered. “They’ve come out and looked in fine shape.”
“That’s good. Makes sense, though. It was only a Level B instance. She wouldn’t have had any trouble with it.” The man put down the cigar and rose, straightening his impeccably tailored black tailcoat. His eyes betrayed worry, though tempered by relief.
Footnotes:
D[Translator]
Been doing this for over a year now. I don't do simple translation but aim to retell a story as engagingly, smoothly, and true to the author's intent as I can, which means lots of editing and googling as well. Click on my ko-fi button if you want to support my work.