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Liao Ruxue was left with only half of his body, weakened by using the assassin’s skill that deals a fatal blow, which also diminished his control over his shadow. His half-shadow body struggled to support his clothes.
Inside the exhibition hall, he made a great effort to manipulate his shadow to keep his clothes upright and maintain his dignified posture. However, this could only be sustained for a short time. After leaving the hall, his half-body collapsed, leaving him with only one leg, making walking difficult.
Mo Qi was also exhausted, hungry, and in pain, walking very slowly.
“This is wasting too much time,” Liao Ruxue gritted his teeth. “I’ll enter your shadow and push you forward.”
Mo Qi disagreed, “Your shadow transformation time has already exceeded one hundred minutes. We have a tough battle ahead; we can’t afford to waste any more time. Let me carry you.”
With only half his weight remaining, Liao Ruxue wasn’t too heavy to be carried on Mo Qi’s back.
“You can barely walk yourself, and you want to carry me?” Liao Ruxue frowned.
“I have a plan,” Mo Qi insisted, lifting Liao Ruxue without hesitation. He retrieved the rope previously used by Madame to tie Liao Ruxue securely to himself. Then, he tied the other end of the rope to a big-mouthed sharp-toothed creature nearby. Addressing the creature, Mo Qi said, “Speed up, and I’ll follow you.”
The selected big-mouthed sharp-toothed creature was pleasantly surprised, speeding forward with Mo Qi.
Mo Qi, feeling like a person being dragged by a horse, struggled to keep up by pulling on the rope. He could have let the big-mouthed sharp-toothed creature carry him, but its appearance was so sorry that it was hard to approach.
“You really know how to waste your skills,” Liao Ruxue remarked.
According to the map, there were three cafeterias in the school. Comparing it with the town map, they deduced that the largest cafeteria in the school should be where the town’s food supply was stored. With the help of the big-mouthed sharp-toothed creature, they swiftly arrived at the largest cafeteria.
As they neared their destination, Mo Qi untied the rope and instructed the big-mouthed sharp-toothed creatures to step back. The creatures covered their mouths and quietly watched Mo Qi, seemingly waiting for something.
Mo Qi hesitated for a moment, then reached out and patted each creature on the head. The creatures then happily crouched down in a corner.
Mo Qi: “…”
Liao Ruxue stood by, observing coldly without speaking.
Mo Qi’s “affection over time” ability was terrifying indeed. If Liao Ruxue possessed such an ability, he could assemble an army.
First, he would control some of the big-mouthed creatures, locate other creatures affected by negative effects, and use the controlled creatures to eliminate those effects. Then, he would control more big-mouthed creatures to capture new ones. Afterwards, he would lead the creatures into battle, intentionally letting enemies harm him to trigger “Lamenting Over Flowers and Treasuring Jade” in a damaged state.
Even if the big-mouthed creatures couldn’t fight desperately, “Lamenting Over Flowers and Treasuring Jade” would deactivate if there was a life-threatening danger. However, using them to clear out minor enemies would be very easy.
Moreover, with this unlimited group technique, as long as he controlled enough of them, there would be almost no life-threatening danger except for the final boss. Following this method, their path would be much easier, focusing only on dealing with the final boss.
In addition, there are also cards in the pool that can exert mental control, making the big-mouthed creatures believe they won’t die. When combined with the “Lamenting Over Flowers and Treasuring Jade” skill, these creatures can effectively drain the boss’s strength. They would wait for both sides to be weakened, and then reap the benefits from the situation.
The moment Liao Ruxue learned about Mo Qi’s ability, he quickly conceived of a plan for an easy victory. However, he chose not to alert Mo Qi.
Liao Ruxue understood that whatever he could think of, Mo Qi could think of as well, but Mo Qi wouldn’t choose to do it.
Mo Qi held peculiar ethical standards, reluctant to owe others too much, whether in money or favors. The “Lamenting Over Flowers and Treasuring Jade” skill was a form of emotional debt for him, and he wouldn’t easily exploit emotions to incur debts, even if it was just a group of soulless big-mouthed creatures.
Arriving near the cafeteria, Liao Ruxue hid in the shadows while the two of them silently approached. In front of the cafeteria doors stood a group of big-mouthed creatures dressed in school uniforms, alongside a corpse dressed in a school uniform.
Upon seeing this scene, Mo Qi couldn’t help but chuckle.
The grand general could only act in the rain; once the rain stopped in the scene card, he would naturally turn into a dried corpse.
At this moment, the grand general’s younger brother arrived with a team of men carrying numerous buckets of water. Deputy Officer Tan followed closely behind the grand general’s younger brother, directing his subordinates, saying, “Pour the water.”
Deputy Officer Tan was the grand general’s trusted confidant. Previously, Mo Qi and Liao Ruxue had discussed that in the grand general’s absence, Deputy Officer Tan might contemplate seizing power. As predicted, once the grand general awakened, Deputy Officer Tan immediately followed his lead.
The soldiers systematically poured bucket after bucket of water onto the dried corpse’s head. After approximately three buckets, the corpse’s skin gradually became hydrated, and the grand general revived.
Upon awakening, the grand general sniffed the air and turned towards Mo Qi. “There’s another person’s scent. Go check it out.”
The grand general’s younger brother led his men towards Mo Qi’s direction. Though Mo Qi felt nervous, he wasn’t afraid. Fighting wasn’t allowed on campus, so even if these people were formidable, they couldn’t harm him. The only trouble was that if he was discovered, he wouldn’t be able to observe the grand general discreetly.
Seeing the grand general’s brother getting closer, Mo Qi hesitated on whether to use “Gaze” and “Resonance” to control him.
At that moment, the shadow beneath Mo Qi suddenly expanded, enveloping him entirely. The grand general’s younger brother and his men arrived and looked around. Scratching his head, the brother reported to the grand general, “There’s no one here.”
The grand general sniffed, “Indeed, there’s no scent anymore. Maybe it’s because it’s not raining, so my nose isn’t as effective.”
The grand general’s brother and his men departed. In the embrace-like sensation of the shadow, Mo Qi felt as though he was being hugged by someone.
He suddenly recalled how Mo Xiaohong had stopped him from using Gaze on Captain Mu before, sacrificing her arm to deal with those soldiers and preventing him from using Gaze.
Mo Qi also realized abruptly that during the campus mission, Xiaocao had turned leaves into propellers to attack Xiang Zhuo. He had initially thought that individuals who had been Gazed upon would attack others who had also been Gazed upon. However, he later discovered that this was not the case. Xiang Zhuo got along well with Chang Rui, and Liao Ruxue and Xiaohong got along well, although the latter two did not initially like each other
When Xiao Cao attacked Xiang Zhuo, it seemed to be right after Mo Qi had just used “Gaze” on Xiang Zhuo.
Xiao Cao has become so strong now, yet I’ve never seen it use the Leaf Propeller skill again. It seems this skill isn’t easy to use. Xiao Hong lost an arm dealing with Captain Mu, and as for Liao Ruxue, even controlling shadows to support his clothes is difficult for him. Now he has to wrap his body with shadows, which must also be challenging.
Liao Ruxue, Mo Xiaohong, Xiao Cao… These three individuals seem strongly opposed to him using “Gaze” on others, even willing to injure themselves to prevent him from doing so. What could be the reason behind this?
On the other side, Young Commander said to Commander, “Brother, it seems like we’ve suddenly arrived at a strange place. We can’t take off these clothes, and we can’t fight. What should we do next?”
Commander, as the mission boss, still had some ability. He replied, “This space was artificially created. It won’t last long, probably until the end of the snake hour, then we can return to the town.”
“Snake hour” refers to the time between 11 AM and 1 PM. The scene card lasts for 9 hours, and they entered the scene around 3 AM, so Commander’s estimate of the time is correct.
“We just need to wait until then, right?” Deputy Tan said. “This water was fetched from the lakeside. Shouldn’t we wait there to prevent Commander from becoming… halfway through due to lack of water?”
“No need, just prepare more water,” Commander said with a serious expression. “This space follows its own rules; it won’t allow us to stay smoothly until noon.”
Deputy Tan responded, “Commander is wise. Only you can lead us like this. Commander, how long do you need to maintain this state? When will you recover?”
“You are indeed loyal to me,” Commander patted Deputy Tan on the shoulder. “I won’t hide it from you. Originally, tonight was when I planned to drive all the hungry people in this town into the underground palace, that would have been my moment of greatness. But unexpected events arose, and there’s a group secretly opposing me. Today, I must eliminate them!”
“Commander, give the order!” Deputy Tan affirmed.
Commander pondered for a moment before saying, “To eliminate this group, we need to do two things. First, find two porcelain dolls in the campus. Send someone to search—these monsters are useless. Once you find the dolls, try not to let them see you. Attack from behind or from the side, and use a gun to shatter them.”
“But we can’t engage in violence here,” Deputy Tan said, troubled.
“It’s that students can’t fight each other, not that we can’t shatter two porcelain dolls,” Commander stated confidently, seeming sure that Mo Xiaohong and Xiang Zhuo were not students. “The second task is to find a way to counterattack here. Try to eliminate Secretary Liao and Shopkeeper Mo before returning to town.”
“But how do we find a way to counterattack?” Deputy Tan asked.
Commander squinted towards the dormitory building nearby. “There are people here, right? Once the dormitory opens, I’ll try various methods. However, I’ll keep these residents useful; I can’t let too many people disappear. We need to be sparing with them.”
His tone lacked any sympathy towards the residents, seeing them merely as tools.
After saying this, the water on Commander’s hands and face began to evaporate slowly, and his skin started to dehydrate. He scooped up a ladle of water and poured it over himself.
“The parts of the clothes soaked in water dry slowly. Wear gloves on your hands and occasionally wipe your face with a wet handkerchief to prevent turning into a dry corpse. It’s a good method. Who came up with it?” Commander asked.
Deputy Tan and the soldiers looked towards Young Commander, who had always been timid. He chuckled and scratched his head.
“You’re smarter than I imagined,” Commander said. “While it’s still dark, go find those two porcelain dolls. Once the dolls are destroyed, dealing with the rest will be easy.”
“Understood!” Deputy Tan led a squad of soldiers away, leaving Young Commander with dozens of people and the Big Mouth Monster to protect Commander.
With Liao Ruxue’s help in manipulating shadows, Mo Qi closely followed the squad of soldiers, watching as they avoided the dormitory building and searched floor by floor.
Liao Ruxue remarked, “It seems possible…”
Mo Qi immediately responded, “Use them to gain more political and ideological scores.”
“Simultaneously weaken Commander’s side in battle,” Liao Ruxue added.
“But the side effects of the SR card are significant,” Mo Qi cautioned.
Both of them simultaneously thought of an SR card with an area-of-effect skill—Drowsiness Infection.
This card cannot be used on “In-betweeners” or ordinary people who have undergone transformation. Its sole purpose is to induce ordinary people into a deep sleep. It may seem useless at first glance, but when Mo Qi drew this card, she immediately thought of using it to protect ordinary people or prevent them from undergoing transformation.
This card requires players to gather ordinary people in one space and use it to put them to sleep. While asleep, all physiological functions of ordinary people, including transformation, will be significantly slowed down. If an ordinary person would normally transform in 1 hour, using this card would slow that process to 10 hours or more.
The only trouble is that the negative effect of this card would also put the user to sleep, just like ordinary people. If Mo Qi or Liao Ruxue were to use this card, they would essentially be incapacitated for the next period of time.
“Others can use it,” Liao Ruxue said confidently. “The tranquilizer I use can sense the timing and location of its use. My second aunt should wake up in a few minutes. She’s in the temporary dormitory of the student council in the administration building, where you’ve also stayed.”
“Why isn’t she in the collective dormitory?” Mo Qi wondered aloud.
Liao Ruxue responded, “I think it’s related to our special player identities. While the town’s residents are inside the dormitories, we’re outside. The rules of this game seem to differ for players, residents, soldiers, transformed monsters, and bosses. The scene card evolved from a campus mission. I’m the student council president and an In-betweener in the campus, so after entering the scene, I was forcibly separated from you and settled in the administration building. As for my second aunt, she’s my family member and also a player, so she’s placed in the student council dormitory. Hmph, is this game setting her up for me to favor her?”
Mo Qi understood, “As a player and the shopkeeper Mo, I have an independent identity, not someone’s appendage, so that’s why I stayed put. Meanwhile, Lady Daifu, who sleeps in the old temple, is a player, but she’s identified as Commander’s family member, so after the scene swap, she should show up alongside the even though even did whom
“Xiang Zhuo is a player, but Commander just said he’s also a porcelain doll, which sets him apart from us. Instead of being treated as students, he and Mo Xiaohong were treated as porcelain doll pieces and remained in school,” Mo Qi said. “The most likely place for porcelain dolls is at art exhibitions and colleges dedicated to porcelain design and craftsmanship.”
“I’ve checked everything in the exhibition hall; there are no porcelain dolls,” Liao Ruxue replied.
Mo Qi recalled the map, “The porcelain design program at this school seems to be grouped with sculpture and fine arts, all within the Sculpture Academy.”
With the likely location of the porcelain dolls deduced, Mo Qi and Liao Ruxue now needed to deal with the soldiers posing a threat to the dolls.
Due to the side effects of the SR card, neither Liao Ruxue nor Mo Qi could use it themselves and needed a scapegoat. At this moment, Mo Qi’s second aunt in the student council dormitory was the best candidate.
Mo Qi found the Big Mouth Sharp Fang creatures hiding silently nearby and instructed them to swiftly carry her and Liao Ruxue to the administration building. There, they located Mo Qi’s soon-to-awake second aunt in the temporary dormitory. Surprisingly, Mo Qi’s second aunt was quite attractive.
Liao Ruxue stared at her sleeping face and remarked, “The credits for helping students sleep will definitely go to your second aunt. Such a waste of so many credits.”
Mo Qi, seeing Liao Ruxue’s reaction, couldn’t help but test the waters. “Actually, there’s a way. I can use ‘Gaze’ and ‘Resonance’ to control my second aunt and make her use the card. Her actions would be under skill control, so the ideological scores would likely still belong to me.”
“No way!” Liao Ruxue firmly refused. “You absolutely cannot use ‘Gaze’ on anyone else.”
“Maybe it won’t trigger the negative effects,” Mo Qi argued logically. “My second aunt is a player and our opponent. When she wakes up, she won’t be greatly affected, just a brief infatuation for about 30 minutes. Besides, if she helps us subdue those soldiers, it’s a contribution to the game. In the end, she might even gain some points in settlement, which would be a win-win situation. This way, my psychological burden would also be significantly reduced.”
“I disagree,” Liao Ruxue stared at Mo Qi, lifting his left hand to gently touch her face, his eyes holding many unspoken words. Finally, he said, “You haven’t resonated with me yet, but you want to find someone else. I can’t accept that.”
Mo Qi asked, “President, do you know something but refuse to tell me?”
“If you want to know, resonate with me and read what’s in my mind,” Liao Ruxue nodded towards his own head.
Mo Qi sighed, “Forget it. Convincing my second aunt won’t be that difficult anyway. At most, I’ll have to give up some ideological scores.”
With that said, he asked a Big Mouth Sharp Fang creature to wake up his second aunt. About a dozen of them gathered around, and one extended its claw, patting her face gently.
After the sedative wore off, Mo Qi’s second aunt, already on the verge of waking, slowly regained consciousness. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw over a dozen monsters standing before her. Their skin was covered in fish scales, mouths gaping wide with sharp, terrifying teeth inside.
Upon seeing Mo Qi’s second aunt wake up, the Big Mouth Sharp Fang creatures squinted their green bean-sized eyes, seemingly delighted.
“Ah!!!” Mo Qi’s second aunt screamed in shock, summoning the system immediately to attack the creatures.
Liao Ruxue raised his gun, pressing it against her forehead. “Quiet down. Put your hands on your clothes and take a good look at the school rules. Of course, if you want to die quickly, I don’t mind if you attack these ‘students’ right away.”
Upon seeing Liao Ruxue’s face, Mo Qi’s second aunt calmed down and placed her hands on her school uniform, reading through the school rules. “So that’s how it is.”
Seeing that she could communicate normally now, Mo Qi briefly explained the situation to her, ending with, “You’ve been asleep for four days in the game, and your teammates are still sleeping. The chance of clearing the game is very slim. It might be better to help us out and earn some points.”
Liao Ruxue added, “If you’re willing to help, you can join those soldiers in sleeping. If you refuse to help, I don’t mind giving you another shot to keep sleeping until the game ends. Choose how you want to sleep.”
Mo Qi’s second aunt remained silent, contemplating her options.
“So, no matter what, he’s going to sleep?”
He glanced at Mo Qi, whom he quite liked, attempting to drive a wedge between them: “Look at Secretary Liao, missing half his body and still crazy. Why don’t we team up and take him out? What do you say?”
“Let’s just let him sleep and find other players,” Liao Ruxue said decisively.
“He didn’t tell Second Auntie that there are no other players left; those remaining are either asleep or have lost their intelligence. The most pitiful one, Liao Ruxue, has long been deleted.”
“Wait!” Second Auntie saw that Liao Ruxue really intended to continue sedating him. She quickly weighed the pros and cons in her mind, raised her hand, and said, “I agree to help. Getting a few points is better than nothing, but I don’t have that SR card.”
“I have it. I’ll give it to you later,” Mo Qi said.
The three reached an agreement. Mo Qi had the Bigmouth Monsters restrain Second Auntie, and they all proceeded to the building where Deputy Tan and others were going to search next—the school gymnasium.
“The scope of ‘Infectious Sleepiness’ must be within the same building. Once you’re out of it, it won’t work anymore.”
Mo Qi handed a card to Second Auntie, who naturally received a prompt asking whether to add Mo Qi as a friend. He winked and said, “Let’s be friends.”
Since they still needed to cooperate, Mo Qi added Second Auntie as a friend.
In this campus with mobile phones, players could use their phones to send messages.
Second Auntie entered the gymnasium with the card. After waiting for a while, Mo Qi noticed that Deputy Tan’s people had all entered the gymnasium. Immediately, he sent a message to Second Auntie.
Second Auntie activated her skill, while Mo Qi and Liao Ruxue went to lock the doors of the gymnasium, preventing the soldiers from getting out.
Before long, they peered through the windows and saw everyone had fallen asleep. Mo Qi received a scene notification because he had provided the card to Second Auntie, earning him 50 political education points from the system.