Chapter 213 | Chapter 214 | Chapter 215
Chapter 213: Regaining Qualification, The Returner
Nan Sheng quickly noticed the strange change in the surroundings and soon discovered the green plants Su Ning was collecting.
“This place is so dry… could it really be because of this moss?”
Filled with curiosity, Nan Sheng walked over to the large tree and carefully examined the emerald-green moss.
Lin Lele’s eyes sparkled brightly.
“It actually glows. That’s seriously amazing.”
As she spoke, Lin Lele reached out and poked the Water Moss.
With a sudden squish, the moss burst under her pressure and sprayed water everywhere.
“Ah! What the heck?!”
Lin Lele had never expected such a tiny patch of moss to suddenly “attack” her.
Xie Linjia also noticed how different this place was from the surrounding areas.
Anywhere the Water Moss grew was unusually dry, as though the rain from earlier had never existed at all.
“Could these things really be the reason this place is so dry?”
After wiping the water from her cheek, Lin Lele stared at the moss in growing shock.
“Does this moss actually absorb water or something? Otherwise why would so much water spray out after just squeezing it lightly?”
Su Ning replied calmly,
“You’re right. This moss’s ability is precisely absorbing water—and in very large amounts.”
As she spoke, Lin Lele grabbed another fist-sized piece of moss and twisted it like wringing out a towel.
Instantly, streams of water poured out of it like a miniature waterfall.
The scene left all three women stunned.
“Oh my god, that’s so much water! This moss absorbs water insanely well!”
“So the reason this place is so dry really is because of these mosses.”
Nan Sheng’s eyes lit up immediately.
Thinking about the upcoming flood disaster, she understood that while this moss probably couldn’t stop a flood entirely, it could definitely provide major benefits to the shelter.
Turning toward Su Ning, she asked,
“Su Ning, can I collect some too?”
Su Ning glanced at the huge patches of moss surrounding them.
“There’s so much of it here. Of course you can take some. It’s not my personal property. All of you can collect it too.”
Lin Lele wasn’t stupid either.
She immediately realized something this useful could definitely earn a huge amount of contribution points back at the shelter, not to mention improve living conditions.
Now that the extreme cold was ending, the melting snow and ice were producing enormous amounts of dirty water. Seeing that even a palm-sized patch of moss could absorb so much moisture, Lin Lele instantly wanted to gather some to bring back.
Soon, it wasn’t just Su Ning collecting moss anymore.
The other three joined in enthusiastically as well.
Of course, unlike Su Ning, they didn’t possess storage spaces, so each could only carry about a basketful.
Still, Nan Sheng and Xie Linjia were already extremely satisfied.
Suddenly, Xie Linjia smacked her forehead.
“Ah! I completely forgot what I wanted to say earlier. Once I saw this moss, I got distracted collecting it.”
As she spoke, she pulled out a rabbit bound tightly by her whip.
Actually, even without the bindings, it clearly wasn’t escaping.
Its eyes had already rolled back—it was long dead.
“While practicing combat earlier, I found a whole nest of fat rabbits. Do you all want to catch some to bring back?”
Lin Lele answered instantly without hesitation.
“Of course! The dungeon’s almost over anyway.”
Xie Linjia felt incredibly excited inside.
In the end, each of them managed to catch one large fat rabbit.
Looking at the pitiful rabbit in her hands, Lin Lele muttered softly,
“Rabbits are so cute…”
Nan Sheng initially thought she had suddenly become soft-hearted.
Then came the rest of the sentence.
“…which is exactly why they should be cooked extra spicy!”
Nan Sheng: I really overestimated her.
Xie Linjia also began imagining various rabbit dishes in her head.
Spicy rabbit heads.
Braised rabbit meat.
The more she thought about it, the faster saliva gathered in her mouth.
“From now on, I’m definitely going to treat my stomach properly and never let it suffer again.”
Lin Lele nodded firmly.
“Obviously. Once we get back, this rabbit’s going straight into the pot.”
Afterward, the group continued wandering through the Dark Forest dungeon for another hour.
Technically speaking, the dungeon wasn’t safe at all.
But who could blame them when Su Ning existed as such an outrageous variable?
In truth, the most dangerous creature within the Dark Forest was undoubtedly the Temptation Soul.
Immune to physical attacks.
Possessing hypnosis and life-draining abilities.
Combined with its terrifying transformation power—which allowed it to become the person its target most desperately longed to see and was emotionally weakest toward—it was an absolute nightmare for ordinary people.
Unfortunately for it, Su Ning’s Honghong simply erased it with a single Lightning Storm.
As for the remaining monsters, Lin Lele and the others could easily handle them themselves.
During this one day inside the dungeon, they gained quite a lot.
Not only did they gather plenty of meat, they also obtained the unique spiritual plant known as Water Moss.
Finally, when the remaining time expired, the system’s voice rang out beside their ears.
[Ding! Congratulations players, the random survival dungeon — Dark Forest — has officially ended!]
[Ding! Congratulations ordinary person — Xie Linjia — mission completed successfully! Reward granted: Player qualification restored.]
Xie Linjia’s face instantly filled with joy.
“I’m a player again!”
“Congratulations!”
Nan Sheng sincerely offered her congratulations.
Looking at the tearful Xie Linjia, Lin Lele patted her shoulder.
“You finally have the power to fight back against the people who hurt you.”
Xie Linjia nodded heavily.
Then she looked toward Su Ning again, filled with gratitude for everything Su Ning had done.
Su Ning merely smiled lightly.
“There’s no need to thank me. Getting rid of that cheating bastard and his mistress will be the best repayment for us.”
“Of course!”
Su Ning then looked at Xie Linjia’s updated information.
[Player: Xie Linjia]
Talents:
- Affinity — increases all targets’ favorability toward her, lowering their guard.
- Returner (Unique) — a special talent obtained after regaining player qualifications. Allows the user to return once per day to any dungeon previously entered for one hour.
Skills: None
Now that she had become a player again, Xie Linjia’s entire status had changed.
She was no longer classified as an ordinary person.
However, that wasn’t what interested Su Ning most.
What truly caught her attention was Xie Linjia’s new talent.
“Returner talent?”
This clearly wasn’t an ability Xie Linjia originally possessed.
And after reading its effect, Su Ning became deeply intrigued.
“Returning once per day to previously entered dungeons… even if it only lasts an hour, that’s still incredibly powerful. One hour alone would be enough to gather huge amounts of useful resources.”
For example, the Water Moss inside the Dark Forest.
Su Ning was genuinely shocked by such a talent.
And it was even a Unique talent, just like Zheng Yaxian’s Regressor talent.
At that moment, Su Ning silently began considering obtaining some of Xie Linjia’s blood.
Her Gene Plunder ability allowed her to temporarily acquire the talents and powers of blood targets.
She could completely use Xie Linjia’s blood as a kind of teleportation skill.
“Mhm… once we return, I’ll get some blood the same way I did with Zhang Li last time.”
In truth, what Su Ning wanted even more now was Zheng Yaxian’s blood.
A Regressor.
If she could use Zheng Yaxian’s blood, perhaps she could exploit the loophole and gain the power of regression herself.
If that worked…
It would practically be equivalent to obtaining a second chance at life.
Of course, for now this was merely wishful thinking.
No one even knew where Zheng Yaxian currently was.
Meanwhile, the Zheng Yaxian Su Ning had just thought about was actually not doing nearly as well as Su Ning imagined.
Inside the [Witch Hunt] dungeon, Zheng Yaxian had encountered the greatest failure of her entire life.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 214: Some Problems — Players and Ordinary People
Zheng Yaxian’s face was filled with gloom, as though covered beneath a heavy shadow.
“Damn it! Not only did I fail to obtain the special item I desperately wanted during this S-rank dungeon, I even ended up getting targeted by those organizations!”
Zheng Yaxian gritted her teeth in hatred.
What shocked her even more was just how bizarre Li Ming’s ability truly was.
In her previous life, Zheng Yaxian only knew that the [Lucky Compass] could increase one’s luck, and Li Ming—the one who obtained it—possessed absurdly outrageous fortune.
However, she had never expected that his luck had already developed to the point where he could literally turn disaster into fortune.
Several times she had attempted to make a move against him, only for him to avoid danger flawlessly every single time.
Worse still, she herself had nearly died while trying to scheme against Li Ming.
“Even my Peerless Beauty talent and Seduction skill are completely useless against him. Is this guy seriously not interested in women at all? Why can’t I lower his guard no matter how much I tempt him?”
Although Zheng Yaxian had gained quite a lot from the Witch Hunt dungeon, without obtaining the [Lucky Compass], everything else felt meaningless.
At the moment, she still needed to recover from her injuries.
Because of Li Ming’s almost heaven-defying luck, she had brushed past death multiple times.
“As expected of Li Ming, the so-called Lucky Star. Compared to Su Ning, that Disaster Witch, they’re practically complete opposites. The great flood is coming soon. Since I failed to get the Lucky Compass, I can only develop things step by step now. I absolutely can’t let that organization notice me.”
As she spoke, she activated her talent, controlling several people like puppets and setting them into motion.
…
Su Ning once again used her Mind Control ability, leaving Xie Linjia completely dazed while drawing quite a lot of blood from her.
Su Ning discovered that one small bottle of blood could only activate the [Returner] talent once.
And the effect wasn’t even as strong as when Xie Linjia used it herself.
If Su Ning used it, it became a one-way ticket.
She could enter the dungeon but wouldn’t be able to return unless she used another bottle of blood.
Left with no choice, Su Ning silently apologized to Xie Linjia and drew even more blood from her.
Fortunately, afterward Su Ning used Universal Medicine on her, restoring her completely. Xie Linjia looked perfectly healthy afterward, not at all like someone suffering from blood loss.
With the Dark Forest dungeon completed and the protection mission finished, Su Ning bid farewell to the other three and returned home.
The people within Shelter No. 5 remained endlessly busy.
As Su Ning prepared to head back to her tiny rented room, she overheard nearby conversations.
“The extreme cold just ended and now it’s already starting to rain outside. Judging by this situation, floods are definitely coming soon. Seriously, these disasters never give people a chance to breathe.”
“Exactly. Those players are fine—they can get resources from dungeons and grow stronger. No matter what disaster comes, they can survive it. But what about ordinary people like us who gave up player qualifications?”
The speaker sighed deeply.
“If I’d known things would turn out like this, I never would’ve given up my player status. Then I could’ve lived freely like those players too.”
“I’ve got some gossip you probably haven’t heard yet. My neighbor decided his wife wasn’t useful anymore because she wasn’t a player, so he secretly hooked up with another female player outside. Apparently she’s living comfortably inside dungeons and doesn’t care about her husband in reality at all.”
“Sure, gossip’s interesting, but who even has time for this now? I’m more worried about finding missions tomorrow just to get food. And honestly, our new shelter leader isn’t any good either. He clearly favors players and sidelines us ordinary people.”
“We’re the ones doing most of the hard labor outside building flood prevention measures, but whenever good resources appear, players get first pick while we only receive leftovers.”
“What can we even do about it? Fight them? You want to die?”
The two continued complaining before once again lamenting their past decision to abandon their player qualifications.
Su Ning had never expected that besides natural disasters, the tension between players and ordinary people had also become such a serious issue.
Returning to her room, Su Ning found the surrounding area mostly inhabited by ordinary people.
Most of them spent the daytime outside doing missions in exchange for survival supplies.
Zhang Li also hadn’t returned yet.
After shutting the door, Su Ning entered her space.
Inside, Oleni looked extremely unhappy.
He was angry that Su Ning had gone out without bringing him along, leaving him stuck inside the space together with No. 1 and the other zombies.
However, he didn’t dare disobey Su Ning’s orders.
So he could only sit alone in the corner, holding a Meat-Meat Chicken while angrily plucking its feathers to vent his frustration.
Meat-Meat Chicken: What did I ever do to you?
From that moment onward, in the eyes of the Meat-Meat Chicken, Oleni became another deeply hated existence after Youyou, the “female tiger.”
It even secretly swore never to let him eat its eggs again.
After resting briefly, Su Ning began transplanting the [Water Moss] she had collected from the Dark Forest into a designated area.
She always felt this Water Moss would become extremely useful during the upcoming floods.
After all, a moss capable of absorbing massive amounts of water had to have its moment to shine eventually.
“It’s just that there’s far too little of it for now. I’ll plant what I can first.”
Su Ning dug out the last remaining bit of [Giant Fertilizer] from storage.
Thanks to the title [Breeder] and the enhancement effects of [Giant Fertilizer], her planting space had become incredibly prosperous.
Aside from the few animals she raised, all the crops and spiritual plants she cultivated were growing exceptionally well.
“I wonder how much this last bit of Giant Fertilizer can help the Water Moss grow.”
Originally, Su Ning had worried about running out of Giant Fertilizer.
Although she had stolen quite a lot from the [Breeding Farm] dungeon initially, the number of things planted inside her space kept increasing, and so did the demand.
In order to make her plants grow quickly, she never hesitated to use the fertilizer generously.
And thus, her supply was finally nearing depletion.
“Luckily, now that I’ve obtained blood carrying Xie Linjia’s [Returner] talent, I can use Gene Plunder to re-enter the [Breeding Farm] dungeon and steal more Giant Fertilizer.”
Not only that—
The moment Su Ning thought about all the strange creatures inside the Breeding Farm, especially things like the [Star Fruit], she became excited again.
That dungeon was practically a giant treasure vault.
Just thinking about it made Su Ning impatient to return there immediately.
Still, she quickly forced herself to calm down.
She couldn’t stay away from reality for too long.
Otherwise, major events could happen outside without her knowing anything.
After organizing the Water Moss, Su Ning took out a flowerpot and spread some of the moss across its surface.
Then she left her room and placed the Water Moss flowerpot nearby.
Just as Su Ning was tidying up the small room, noisy commotion suddenly erupted outside.
Her sharp ears instantly caught a familiar voice.
It sounded like Zhang Li had returned.
However, mixed into the noise were several unfamiliar sounds that immediately raised Su Ning’s suspicions.
Frowning slightly, she muttered to herself,
“It sounds pretty chaotic out there… did something unexpected happen?”
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 215: Pursuit? [Mind-Reading Sticker]
Su Ning gently pushed open the door. The moment her gaze swept outside, she saw Zhang Li together with several other people.
At that moment, Zhang Li looked visibly irritated.
Who would’ve thought that simply accepting a shelter mission would result in a troublesome pest sticking to her like chewing gum no matter how hard she tried to shake him off?
Especially after using the [Mind-Reading Sticker] she had obtained in a dungeon and learning what this man was truly thinking, Zhang Li became even more annoyed.
“Zhang Li, do you believe in love at first sight? If not, I’m willing to prove it to you. From the very first moment I saw you, I already fell for you.”
Zhang Li looked speechlessly at the man blocking her path.
“Ma Tong, I’ve already said I have no feelings for you. Please stop interfering with my life.”
Her voice was cold, her rejection unmistakably clear.
Zhao Fuqing also glared viciously at the man named Ma Tong.
The moment Su Ning heard the man’s name, she almost burst out laughing.
Ma Tong… Toilet!
That name was honestly too hilarious.
However, although Ma Tong appeared outwardly determined to pursue Zhang Li after supposedly falling in love at first sight, his inner thoughts were anything but sincere.
“If the boss hadn’t taken a liking to your brother’s metal control ability, why would I bother with you?”
After all, Ma Tong was considered somewhat influential within Shelter No. 5. Yet despite him taking the initiative so enthusiastically, Zhang Li still refused to appreciate it. Truly shameless.
Ma Tong was already considering whether he should teach Zhang Li a lesson.
Zhang Li wasn’t stupid either.
She understood perfectly well that this so-called love at first sight was merely an excuse for Ma Tong to approach her. She knew her own worth clearly enough.
All she wanted was to live peacefully together with Zhao Fuqing, yet somehow they had still caught the attention of the shelter’s upper ranks.
The sound of Su Ning opening the door wasn’t loud, but because of the close distance, it still drew Ma Tong’s attention.
The instant Ma Tong saw Su Ning’s cold and beautiful face, his heart began pounding wildly like a runaway horse.
Only now did he feel what true love at first sight really was.
Zhang Li also noticed Su Ning’s appearance and inwardly cried out in alarm.
“Please don’t let me drag Su Ning into trouble too…”
She knew exactly what kind of person Ma Tong was.
Especially with powerful backers among the upper echelon of Shelter No. 5, he wasn’t someone easy to offend.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have chosen avoidance in the first place.
“Su Ning, did our noise disturb you? Sorry about that. It’ll be resolved soon. If there’s nothing else, you should head back inside.”
Zhang Li truly didn’t want things spiraling out of control.
She understood Su Ning very well. If Ma Tong provoked her, his ending would definitely be miserable, and afterward there would only be endless trouble.
But on Ma Tong’s side, a new idea had already formed.
“This young lady seems acquainted with Zhang Li. How about I invite you all to dinner together? I’ll personally prepare all the ingredients and guarantee your satisfaction.”
However, Su Ning completely ignored his invitation.
She merely looked at Zhang Li.
“You can handle it yourself.”
She directly disregarded everything Ma Tong had said.
That left Ma Tong standing awkwardly off to the side as the smile on his face gradually vanished.
“So this young lady refuses to give me, Ma Tong, any face at all?”
Only after sensing the sinister chill radiating from him did Su Ning finally glance at him.
[Player: Ma Tong]
Talent: Mimic Voice — capable of imitating all kinds of sounds.
Skills: Boxing, Flying Kick, Charging Punch, Assassination!
After looking through his information, Su Ning concluded he was a close-combat player. His talent was somewhat interesting though, allowing him to imitate different voices.
Still, someone like this could be handled with nothing more than a single glance from her.
Naturally, she paid no attention to the implied threat in his words either.
Ma Tong’s appearance quickly sparked discussion among the surrounding crowd.
“Isn’t that Captain Ma Tong? The head of shelter security. Why’s he here?”
“How did this young girl offend that guy? Sigh… her future’s probably doomed. Ma Tong’s definitely not a good person.”
“Tsk, I really don’t know what the shelter leader was thinking, putting that guy in charge of public security. At this rate things will only get more chaotic.”
“Seriously… these people are getting more and more lawless. Could it be he took a fancy to those two girls and came to harass them?”
Ma Tong obviously wasn’t deaf.
He viciously swept a glare across those gossiping people before looking back toward Su Ning and Zhang Li.
“Seems I came at a bad time today. I won’t disturb you two any longer for now. But I, Ma Tong, won’t give up so easily. Zhang Li, I truly like you.”
Although he said this, his eyes were fixed on Su Ning the entire time.
Then he turned and left.
Zhang Li sighed helplessly.
“Sorry… feels like I dragged you into trouble.”
Su Ning didn’t really care.
This man hadn’t shown any genuine malice toward her yet.
And even if he did, she wouldn’t need to personally make a move.
Her [Misfortune] talent alone would ensure he died miserably.
So naturally she wasn’t bothered.
“It’s fine. How exactly did you end up provoking this guy?”
Judging from the surrounding conversations, this man clearly wasn’t simple. He was even the captain of the shelter’s security force.
Zhang Li also looked helpless.
All she had wanted was to complete missions and earn some survival supplies.
But Zhao Fuqing’s talent was simply too eye-catching, causing people with ulterior motives to target them.
Pulling Su Ning into the room, Zhang Li began explaining everything in detail.
Zhao Fuqing looked deeply troubled, never expecting that he himself would become the source of trouble for his sister.
“Sis, I’m sorry… this is all my fault. I caused you trouble.”
As he spoke, his eyes even reddened slightly.
After months of relying on each other for survival, Zhang Li had already come to see Zhao Fuqing as her real younger brother.
How could she possibly blame him?
“How could this possibly be your fault?”
After saying that, she looked seriously toward Su Ning.
Su Ning immediately understood Zhang Li had something important to tell her.
“Su Ning, Shelter No. 5 isn’t nearly as peaceful and beautiful as we imagined.”
Zhang Li’s expression was grave, her tone solemn.
Those words stunned Su Ning slightly.
Although Xie Linjia and Lin Lele had previously analyzed how signs of chaos were appearing in shelters everywhere, Su Ning still hadn’t expected Zhang Li—who had only recently arrived at Shelter No. 5—to say the same thing.
Frowning slightly, Su Ning asked,
“What do you know?”
Zhang Li fell silent for a moment, internally struggling over whether she should reveal her special item.
Su Ning remained completely unhurried, patiently waiting for her to speak.
After hesitating for quite some time, Zhang Li finally made up her mind and pulled something from her clothes.
Su Ning’s gaze immediately locked onto the item in Zhang Li’s palm.
[Item: Mind-Reading Sticker]
Effect: Obtain 3 stickers daily. Anyone tagged with the sticker will have their inner thoughts overheard by the item user. Duration: 3 minutes.
Seeing the item, Su Ning couldn’t help feeling surprised.
This ability was extremely unique and rather miraculous.
Zhang Li slowly explained the item’s power.
“When Ma Tong approached me earlier, I secretly stuck a sticker on him while he wasn’t paying attention. During those three minutes of mind reading, I learned a lot of his secrets.”
Originally, Zhang Li had thought moving to Shelter No. 5 would allow her to live peacefully for a while.
Yet she never expected this place was also on the verge of erupting into internal chaos.
Many people had already begun coveting the position of Shelter No. 5’s leader, hoping to imitate the lord of Sin City.
(End of Chapter)
