Chapter 74: Skynet World (Part 5)

Su Jin and her group’s apartment was in Building Eight, Unit Two. It wasn’t far from the apartment Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu had been considering. The windows even conveniently faced each other.

When Su Jin brought the two to her place, Chen Kaijie and Zuo Tiantian froze upon seeing them. After a moment, their faces lit up.

“Ms. Xiao, Ms. Shen!”

Xiao Muyu gave them a small nod, while Shen Qingqiu merely gazed at them with a half-smile, offering no greeting.

Chen Kaijie and Zuo Tiantian didn’t mind. They’d grown accustomed to her aloofness. Instead, they busied themselves pouring tea.

Although it had only been a little over a week since they’d parted ways, each one had gone through an instance in that time. The reunion felt precious and filled with emotion.

“Did you have a smooth run this time?” Xiao Muyu took a sip of water, eyes on Su Jin.

Su Jin nodded. “My second instance was surprisingly simple. It was much easier than the one I went through with you. I managed to get an S rating this time.”

Chen Kaijie chuckled, though his face still showed lingering fear. “Even though it was the last instance in Level B, I don’t think it was as tough as Deadly Room Numbers. But it was a survival instance, and I had awful teammates. I went four days without eating and was tortured to my limit. My rating was only an A.”

Zuo Tiantian, meanwhile, had undergone significant change. The once timid girl prone to screaming in terror now showed no trace of that fragility. When she saw Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu earlier, her reaction was restrained despite her evident excitement. Even her tone had grown steady.

“One person in my instance had two S-tier items, both offensive. As soon as we got in, he pressured others into joining him and maliciously seized their items. So… I barely made it through.” Zuo Tiantian didn’t explain much. But from the veiled fear and anger in her eyes, Xiao Muyu could tell she had gone through a painful experience in that instance.

Su Jin looked at her, eyes filled with concern.

Xiao Muyu didn’t ask, either. “It’s all in the past now,” she calmly said. “Coming out safely is the most important thing.”

Her voice was as placid as water. Yet, when she looked at Zuo Tiantian, her gaze was soothing and understanding.

Zuo Tiantian lowered her head, holding back her emotions. She mustered a smile.

During their conversation, the topic shifted to Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu renting a place. Chen Kaijie and Zuo Tiantian’s reactions were similar to Su Jin’s. They tried to advise against it.

Xiao Muyu briefly explained her and Shen Qingqiu’s opinions. The other three shook their heads. However, considering these two big shots’ performance in the instance, they felt it made sense.

“Another thing. There might be team-based instances starting from Level A. Have you guys thought of forming a team?”

Xiao Muyu considered herself someone with little emotional attachment. She didn’t usually spend much time thinking about others. But the upcoming instance made it necessary.

Although not the most outstanding players, these three had completed three Level B instances. That was still an impressive feat. Moreover, they weren’t bad people. Teaming up with them seemed like a good choice.

Chen Kaijie stared at her for a while. He had wanted to team up with the two since the last instance. However, Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu were so strong and reserved. So, he hadn’t the courage to bring it up, much less expect Xiao Muyu to propose it first.

“You… you mean, we can team up with you?” Zuo Tiantian asked a bit incredulously, testing the waters.

Xiao Muyu nodded.

Before they could be too happy, Shen Qingqiu interjected indifferently from the side, “Muyu has a good impression of you three. But to be honest, I’m not impressed. With your current performance, don’t even think about clearing a Level SSS instance.”

Zuo Tiantian and the others’ expressions changed slightly. They wanted to refute but couldn’t. After all, they agreed with that assessment.

“The ultimate goal of forming a team is to survive. Don’t even talk about teaming up if you aren’t determined to make it to the final level. Of course, determination alone isn’t enough. Relying solely on item cards and luck is meaningless to me. Muyu can usually draw two cards. She’s far better than you three combined.”

The undeniably harsh words didn’t offend Su Jin and the others because this woman had the strength to back up her arrogance.

However, just because they weren’t angry didn’t mean they were unaffected. As each word hit its mark, Su Jin’s expression grew serious. She straightened her posture and looked Shen Qingqiu directly in the eye.

“So, what exactly are you telling us, Ms. Shen?” she calmly asked.

“If you’re willing to team up with us, remember. Improve your skills. I’m one person, and my priority is to protect my Muyu. I detest weaklings, and I detest those who hold others back even more.” Shen Qingqiu ignored Su Jin’s eye-roll and continued, “Of course, if you can’t stand my temper or don’t want to put up with me, forget it.”

Su Jin was a perceptive person. She knew Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu were meticulous thinkers. They were far from ordinary individuals. Yet, because of their exceptional abilities, they didn’t bother to hide their true selves. Over time, she had gained a sense of their personalities.

At first glance, Xiao Muyu seemed beautiful and aloof—unapproachable. Yet, underneath that exterior lay a soft heart. She would help within her capacity as long as one didn’t cross her.

Shen Qingqiu, on the other hand, had a sharp tongue and a bad temper. However, when it came to Xiao Muyu, she transformed into someone else. As Shen Qingqiu had admitted, she might not be a good person, but she despised those who do bad things.

Su Jin sincerely wished to team up with them.

“I’m well aware of the gap between us,” Su Jin said. “If I managed to survive my third instance, please save me a spot.”

She understood their ultimate goal was to tackle Level SSS. Running into someone willing to lend a hand in this game was like encountering a benefactor. However, no one could ride someone else’s coattails to pass the final challenge.

A teammate was not a tool to save you in life-or-death situations. They were a friend you could entrust your life to at critical junctures.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes held a trace of surprise. She subtly smiled. This Su Jin remains intriguing, she thought.

Chen Kaijie and Zuo Tiantian looked at each other. “We’re not exactly at your level right now…” one of them cautiously spoke. “Wouldn’t you think we’re too…”

“Too what?” Shen Qingqiu interrupted. “Some people are gifted, like her.” She gestured towards Xiao Muyu. “Her mind just works better. Others are hardworking, like me. A good brain is inherent, while combat skills are not. Besides, you’ve reached Level A, so you’re not hopeless. If you’re willing to join, join. If not, never mind. Don’t hem and haw about it.”

She glanced down at her watch. “It’s getting late. We have other things to do. Think it over yourselves.”

“No need to think it over,” Chen Kaijie said immediately. “If you’d have us, we’d be honored. And while we may be a bit weak, we’re not useless. Once we team up, we’ll make sure to pull our weight.”

Chen Kaijie prided himself on his performance in the past few instances. These two were just too incredible, leaving little room for him to shine. However, he was confident he wouldn’t be too useless with the valuable item cards he had now.

Shen Qingqiu finally looked satisfied. Her harsh words had been a test.

However, in the next breath, her tone turned cool again. “Team binding without an item requires ten thousand gold coins per person. You guys will have to handle that. Somebody here is so worried about me being a spendthrift that they confiscated all my points. My hands are tied.”

Chen Kaijie gave a resigned smile. “We wouldn’t dream of letting you cover the cost for us.”

Spendthrift? Confiscated everything? Still the same old bit, showing off how close you and Big Boss Xiao are publically and in private, he thought.

“Now that it’s settled, go prepare.” Xiao Muyu cast a sideglance at Shen Qingqiu, saying blandly, “Also, I’m not ‘gifted’.”

Shen Qingqiu: ……

“But Su Jin still has one more instance to clear,” Chen Kaijie voiced his concern. “It’s the day after tomorrow. We might have to wait until the next instance to team up.”

Xiao Muyu contemplated this before giving Shen Qingqiu a look. The glance was all it took for Shen Qingqiu to catch on to her intentions. “That’s easy,” she casually said. “When the time comes, we’ll just redo the instance with her. We don’t even need an instance reset card. Opportunities like this don’t come often.”

“Redo?” Zuo Tiantian and Chen Kaijie looked startled.

“That’s right. Don’t think clearing instances as fast as possible is always the best. The levels only get harder. If your experience and skills aren’t up to par, rushing ahead means an early demise. In Skynet, players with the option to redo an instance will never pass it up, especially Level B instances. Not only can you draw some items, but you can also farm points. It’s better to dominate in the beginner’s area than suffer in a new instance.”

“Additionally, the time spent redoing an instance doesn’t count into your rest time in Skynet,” Shen Qingqiu explained openly. “Since we’re forming a new team, building teamwork and trust are the most important. Running instances is the fastest way to do that. I don’t think any of you want us experimenting in an A-level instance.”

She revealed information even Xiao Muyu didn’t know. Chen Kaijie and the others were speechless.

But if Shen Qingqiu told the truth, redoing a previous instance would be worth it.

Once they had finalized the details of team formation, Chen Kaijie and the others asked the two women to stay for dinner. Since they had to sign the lease in the afternoon, Xiao Muyu didn’t refuse. The two stayed.

After dinner, the five of them held their first team meeting.

Xiao Muyu looked at the four people staring at her. She took a deep breath, straightened her expression, and spoke.

“Although Shen Qingqiu did all the talking so far, her words are my words. Clearing instances is not only about intelligence. Physical strength is just as important. But the most important is mutual trust. Having a team will only harm everyone if you can’t trust your teammates. So please think this through seriously. Once you join, if any of you harbors ulterior motives, damages the collective interest, or goes against our original goal of leaving Skynet, I will not be lenient. You won’t just get kicked out. You will pay the price. Do you all understand?”

Xiao Muyu wasn’t that forceful compared to Shen Qingqiu. To the other three, her strength lay in her intellectual dominance. However, the woman sitting before them now, slender and seemingly frail, had incredibly piercing eyes. She didn’t express her emotions overtly, yet instinctively made the three tense up and nod firmly.

After she received their affirmation, they all shared their thoughts and then reached a consensus. The first priority was to know each other’s hand—items and points—so everyone could get a clear picture.

As it stood, Su Jin had 186 points, Zuo Tiantian had 240 points, and Chen Kaijie had 196 points. If they were to form a team, it wouldn’t leave them many spending points.

However, the three didn’t seem worried about that. Chen Kaijie proposed going out to buy some groceries and then picking up a team formation card to establish their team.

Xiao Muyu didn’t bring up sharing points. She needed further observation for a first-time team-up. As someone who didn’t trust others blindly, Shen Qingqiu was already enough exception.

Everything progressed smoothly. The group didn’t discuss it. They unanimously assumed Xiao Muyu was the team leader and quickly bound themselves to her team.

Xiao Muyu watched the names steadily populating her interface. Unwittingly, her expression changed, and her lips quirked. She glanced at Shen Qingqiu, betraying no emotion. She quickly tapped a few buttons on her interface, then said, “Everyone, check your info.”

A new section appeared on each of their interfaces. It displayed team information.

The [Leader] field showed Xiao Muyu’s name. Her team members were Zuo Tiantian, Chen Kaijie, and Su Jin. The three had [Member] tagged behind their names. Strangely, Shen Qingqiu’s name came directly after Xiao Muyu’s and had no tag.

Chen Kaijie found it odd. “Leader Xiao, why doesn’t Ms. Shen’s name show her as a team member?”

Xiao Muyu’s expression didn’t shift. “She and I are bound by a different item, not a team formation card, so there’s a distinction.”

Chen Kaijie didn’t doubt her. Shen Qingqiu, standing off to the side, glanced at Xiao Muyu with a subtle fox-like smirk.

“Looking at this way, you two are like a couple bringing along three kids. Haha.” Chen Kaijie exercised his not-so-funny sense of humor to crack a joke.

Xiao Muyu’s face grew even colder. She spared him no glance before heading towards the door. “It’s almost time to sign the lease.”

Shen Qingqiu glanced at Chen Kaijie and chuckled. “I’ll accept the ‘couple’ part. But three grown kids? Pass.”

Shen Qingqiu’s charming smile brightened her cold and striking features. The demonic image she had initially left on the three instantly dissipated. Chen Kaijie quickly shook his head to shake off the illusion.

“Ms. Shen’s smile is too much,” he muttered. As a married man, Chen Kaijie promptly reminded himself not to look at her disrespectfully.

Su Jin’s expression was complicated. “If you observe, you’ll notice she often smiles at Ms. Xiao… I mean, Leader Xiao, warmly.”

Chen Kaijie pondered for a moment. “Do you think they might be a couple?” Same-sex relationships were few but far from unusual.

Su Jin looked at him. “You better not make baseless comments. Ms. Shen will end you if you provoke her.”

Meanwhile, Shen Qingqiu leisurely caught up to Xiao Muyu. “Did you block my tag?” she teased. “What does it show me as?”

Xiao Muyu glanced at her interface again before replying, “Bed warmer. Would you like them to see that?”

Xiao Muyu looked so serious that Shen Qingqiu couldn’t tell if she was joking. Still, she seemed delighted. “I wouldn’t mind if it actually says ‘bed warmer’. Let them see.”

Xiao Muyu’s eyebrow twitched. “You sure know how to humble yourself.”

Shen Qingqiu blinked, then threw a flirtatious wink at her. “Warming your bed would be a privilege to me.” She received a cold glare in return, which she had fully expected.

Xiao Muyu’s response convinced Shen Qingqiu she was joking. However, the joke revealed a clue.

“Does the red thread directly bind people in matrimony? Have I become your wife?” That might explain why Xiao Muyu hadn’t let her see last time.

“I told you I’m not interested in women.”

“Mm, I know. But the red thread has decided. You can’t do anything even if you don’t like it.”

Shen Qingqiu’s mischievous behavior left Xiao Muyu both speechless and exasperated. “Others go to instances to live again, Shen Qingqiu. Not to look for marriage partners.”

Xiao Muyu felt she might be right after saying that. Otherwise, why would the damn system give her Arsonist of the Heart and the red thread? Like it was afraid she couldn’t find someone to marry.

“When you put it that way, you might be right. Once we settle into the new place, I’ll present whatever is haunting it to you as an engagement gift. What do you think?”

Xiao Muyu’s expression became unreadable. She looked at Shen Qingqiu and said, “I think you’ll die alone.”

Shen Qingqiu: ……