Chapter 10: Rampaging Grass

Mo Qi’s ankle wound still throbbed faintly. He keenly guessed that this creeping grass line, spreading from somewhere unknown, was one he had previously ‘gazed’ at with his skills.

Throughout the day, in his quest to understand skills and the hidden ‘charming’ aura, Mo Qi had ‘gazed’ at countless flowers and plants—during class to test skill effects, while with Guo Mingzheng, and before being ambushed by Liao Ruxue. The number of ‘Entities’ affected ranged between 10 to 20. According to a 10% probability, at least one ‘Entity’ intended to kill him, with a maximum of two.

At present, it appeared that the number was two: Liao Ruxue and this little grass.

Mo Qi squatted down and tugged at a handful of grass threads, finding that the slender line was more resilient than he had imagined. It could cut into his hand and leave a blood mark, but with a bit of effort, he could still break it.

However, the growth of the grass thread had already exceeded his understanding. In a few more days, who knew what this little grass would transform into.

According to the description of the “Gaze” skill, “Loving You to the Point of Killing You” and “Frenzy” were two different things. For instance, while Liao Ruxue wanted to kill him, his physical condition remained unchanged. This little grass, however, was evolving in an unpredictable direction.

Therefore, while Liao Ruxue had simply developed a murderous intent, the little grass had entered a frenzied state.

This skill… No wonder SSR-level players often met their demise in the first world due to the negative effects of Attribute Cards.

Following Mo Qi’s gaze, Xiang Zhuo also squatted down and pulled at the grass thread.

The little grass was trying to strangle Mo Qi’s fingers with the thread. The moment Xiang Zhuo touched the grass thread, three sharp leaves suddenly sprouted from the part that was attacking Mo Qi. The leaves began spinning like propellers and viciously lunged towards Xiang Zhuo.

“What the heck!” Xiang Zhuo, caught off guard, retracted his hand, already missing a chunk of skin from his thumb. The pain twisted his face in agony.

The spinning leaves, now tainted with Xiang Zhuo’s blood, instinctively caused him to open his hand towards them, his expression serious.

The few drops of blood were instantly absorbed into the leaves. The spinning ceased abruptly, and the leaf tips pointed downward, plunging deeply into the soil.

Moments later, from the spot where the leaves had entered the ground, a dark purple flower bloomed. The flower grew over a meter high before stopping, with blood-red thorns winding around its stem.

At the same time, the grass thread that had been giving Mo Qi such a headache quickly turned into silver dust and dissipated into the air. The dust trail extended far into the distance. Following the direction of the silver dust, Mo Qi saw that it led towards the girls’ dormitory of the Social Sciences Institute, where he had previously “gazed” at a little grass nearby.

So it had gone into a frenzied state back then. In just five or six hours, the little grass had grown to such an extent. Thankfully, it was discovered in time; otherwise, the consequences in another couple of days would have been unimaginable.

“Is this your skill? It doesn’t seem like an Item,” Mo Qi asked Xiang Zhuo.

“Yes,” Xiang Zhuo replied, “What is this grass? This mission doesn’t seem like the type where such monsters would appear.”

Mo Qi retorted, “How should I know? Are you sure you’ve killed it?”

“No idea,” Xiang Zhuo said. “If it’s a mission monster, then the chances are good that it’s dead. But if it’s a skill from another player, it depends on the attribute values.”

Attribute values? Mo Qi recalled that his Charming Aura card had attribute values listed, divided into Execution Value, Construction Value, and Affinity Value. Both his Execution and Construction Values were 0, but his Affinity Value was 100.

“Each time a player levels up, their attributes increase by 10%. The base total attribute value for an SR-level player is 80, and for an R-level player, it’s 60. I’ve leveled up twice, so my current attribute value is roughly 97. If the opponent’s attribute value is higher than mine, that grass isn’t completely dead yet,” Xiang Zhuo replied.

Mo Qi’s mouth twitched. He was an SSR-level player, and although he hadn’t leveled up yet, his total attribute value was 100, surpassing Xiang Zhuo’s 97. That grass was probably not entirely dead.

He’d have to head over to the Social Sciences Institute dormitory and get rid of the grass.

Xiang Zhuo, not sure from where, pulled out a piece of gauze and wrapped it around his thumb, deliberately avoiding the flower as he did so, seemingly a bit in awe of it.

“What about your ability?” Mo Qi asked, finding the situation intriguing.

“No one would disclose their skills to a stranger,” Xiang Zhuo replied, finally managing to resist the affection he felt towards Mo Qi. “Just remember to stay away from that flower. The negative effects of my skill are quite formidable.”

Mo Qi, valuing his life, wisely distanced himself from the flower. Having temporarily dealt with the issue of the little grass, it was now time to focus on more important matters. Before proceeding, he needed to assert his control over the situation.

“You mentioned earlier that you wouldn’t kill me before completing the mission. Since we need to cooperate for a while, I’ll share the clues I know with you,” Mo Qi offered proactively.

“Are you serious?” Xiang Zhuo didn’t trust Mo Qi entirely.

“Of course,” Mo Qi responded, trying to gain Xiang Zhuo’s trust. He continued, “You were wandering around here earlier to find the body of the first wisher, Qi Qiaoyan, right?”

“The first wisher is named Qi Qiaoyan?” Xiang Zhuo asked, looking surprised.

It seems Xiang Zhuo was completely unaware of the specifics regarding the first wish. Mo Qi continued, “Yes, she was indeed around here. Why were you unable to find her earlier when you had that item?”

“You mean this Clue Tracker?” Xiang Zhuo lifted the compass. “This thing is a disposable R-grade item. It randomly locates a crucial mission clue. The downside is that holding it causes you to get lost, and the closer you are to the clue, the worse the confusion. The best way to use it is through cooperative teamwork, where one person bears the negative effects while the other follows the directions.”

Watching these veteran players already figuring out how to resist negative effects, Mo Qi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

“No need for the compass now; I know where Qi Qiaoyan’s body is,” Mo Qi said, leading Xiang Zhuo behind the artificial mountain. Fortunately, Qi Qiaoyan’s body was still there.

The moment Xiang Zhuo saw Qi Qiaoyan’s body, the compass in his hand vanished instantly, confirming it was indeed a disposable item.

“Do other players have this thing too?” Mo Qi asked.

Xiang Zhuo said, “You really are a newcomer, huh? Haven’t even opened the Points Store, I bet. The Clue Tracker is a common item card in the Points Store. Players in the same team can use it once per mission. Other players in this game definitely have it too, but the clues they randomly receive will be different from ours. The game ensures that mission clues don’t repeat.”

“Once per team?” Mo Qi noted the quantifier Xiang Zhuo used.

“Of course, otherwise, if five people team up in the game and each finds a clue, wouldn’t the game be completed very quickly?” Xiang Zhuo explained.

Mo Qi remembered the two players interrogating Guo Mingzheng. He had always been curious about how those two knew about Ke Xiaoxi’s death, likely also through the Clue Tracker.

Xiang Zhuo pulled Qi Qiaoyan’s body out from behind the artificial mountain. Mo Qi noticed he tried his best not to touch Qi Qiaoyan with his injured thumb.

“What we need to do now is find out what wish she made and how she achieved it, and what criteria the crystal box used to select wishers are,” Xiang Zhuo explained as he searched through Qi Qiaoyan’s pockets.

“Her wish was to kill Ke Xiaoxi,” Mo Qi said.

“Who is Ke Xiaoxi? How do you know that?” Xiang Zhuo asked, surprised.

Mo Qi realized he knew more than the veteran player’s found clues. He briefly explained the grudge between Ke Xiaoxi and Qi Qiaoyan, then took out Qi Qiaoyan’s phone.

He positioned Qi Qiaoyan’s right thumb over the fingerprint reader on the phone and easily unlocked it.

“The fingerprint reader on this phone is well-suited for using the thumb,” Mo Qi explained to Xiang Zhuo.

“This is Qi Qiaoyan’s phone… How did a newcomer like you manage to gather so many crucial clues?” Xiang Zhuo looked somewhat dumbfounded.

“Maybe I just got lucky,” Mo Qi said. “Ke Xiaoxi happened to die right in front of me.”

Xiang Zhuo’s face turned pale. “Do you know that in this game, the scariest thing is having good luck?”

“What do you mean?” Mo Qi asked, while browsing through the information on the phone.

“Because this game values balance the most. For every advantage, there’s a disadvantage. The higher your level of abilities, luck, or items, the greater the risks you’ll face. If your luck is exceptionally good in this game, constantly stumbling upon clues to advance, then death is not far behind,” Xiang Zhuo cautioned.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Mo Qi said casually, dismissing the warning.

This afternoon, from people to grass, seemed intent on killing him. Now encountering Xiang Zhuo while searching for a body, Mo Qi felt he had already had enough bad luck.

Seeing Mo Qi’s indifferent demeanor, Xiang Zhuo suddenly asked, “Forgive me for being forward, but what level is your Attribute Card? I hope it’s R-grade, not higher than SR.”

Mo Qi’s gaze shifted from the phone to Xiang Zhuo’s face. “Why do you ask?”

“Because the difficulty of a mission matches the level of its initiator. If it’s an SSR-level mission, the likelihood of a wipeout is very high. In the game, most SSR-level players don’t survive past the first mission. It’s rare to encounter SSR-level missions, but I just remembered, isn’t this your first mission?” Xiang Zhuo asked cautiously.

“Coincidentally, I happen to be an SSR-level player,” Mo Qi replied with a faint smile.