Chapter 207 | Chapter 208 | Chapter 209
Chapter 207: The Truth Behind Everything, Player Card
Before Xie Linjia gave up her player qualifications, her talent had been called [Affinity].
Its effect was like a gentle spring breeze, allowing strangers meeting her for the first time to naturally develop goodwill toward her.
At first glance, the talent might not seem especially impressive, but in social interactions, it possessed extraordinary usefulness.
However, that was not the true reason Su Ning agreed to accept her mission so readily.
Xie Linjia was extremely grateful that Su Ning had agreed to take the task, but she still solemnly explained the full details of the protection mission.
“I’m really sorry. Perhaps I didn’t explain the task clearly enough before, which caused you to misunderstand what this mission truly involves.”
Xie Linjia looked troubled. She was genuinely afraid that once she explained everything completely, nobody would be willing to accept her mission anymore.
Afterward, she carefully described the entire situation surrounding the task, intending to see whether the person before her would still agree after hearing the truth.
“Are you a player?” Xie Linjia suddenly asked.
Although confused, Su Ning still nodded.
The moment Su Ning admitted it, a complicated expression flashed across Xie Linjia’s face.
There was envy.
Regret.
And even a trace of fear.
“Perhaps you don’t know this, but after my first dungeon ended, my ex-husband sweet-talked and persuaded me into giving up my player qualifications. So now… I’m just an ordinary person.”
In truth, Su Ning had long known the woman before her was an ordinary human. The Scavenger Eye had already displayed all of her information clearly.
[Ordinary Human: Xie Linjia]: A player who voluntarily abandoned her qualifications. All blessings granted by the survival dungeons have been completely reclaimed.
Whether talents or communication channels, all become unusable after giving up player qualifications.
So why bring up the past again?
Xie Linjia slowly continued her explanation.
A cloud of sorrow filled her face.
“For the sake of my family and child, I was repeatedly persuaded by my ex-husband into giving up my player qualifications. At the time, I was close to giving birth, and I truly believed there was no chance for me to survive future survival dungeons in that condition. I just never imagined that abandoning my qualifications would become the greatest regret of my life.”
As she spoke, Xie Linjia picked up a baby’s piece of clothing and painfully stroked it.
A trace of regret flashed through Su Ning’s eyes. The death of family members always brought unbearable pain.
Suddenly, Xie Linjia shouted hysterically:
“My husband betrayed me! He secretly got involved with my best friend inside the survival dungeons! No—it should be said they were already having an affair while I was pregnant! They deliberately convinced me to abandon my player qualifications so I would slowly walk toward death!”
“But what they never expected was that inside the very first dungeon I entered before giving up my qualifications, I obtained a special item. Even after abandoning my player status, I could still live extremely well with it.”
“Yet the moment those two found out, they actually used my child to threaten me in order to seize that item. In the end, my child died at the hands of his own biological father. I hate them so much! I hate myself for not being strong enough to personally kill that adulterous pair!”
At this point, Xie Linjia was nearly hysterical.
And honestly, it was understandable.
Her own child had been murdered by his biological father. How could a mother possibly not hate him?
Su Ning remained silent like a detached observer, quietly listening to her sobbing confession.
Perhaps because she had held it all in for too long with nobody to talk to, Xie Linjia had finally erupted like a volcano.
Her hatred.
Her love.
The betrayal she had suffered.
Every painful memory traced back to her ex-husband.
After calming down slightly, Xie Linjia wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and looked toward Su Ning.
“I’m sorry for making you listen to all my miserable experiences.”
Only then did she finally explain the true nature of the protection mission.
“For revenge… I want to become a player again.”
Hearing this, Su Ning froze in surprise, confusion filling her face.
She knew perfectly well that once someone abandoned their player qualifications, there was absolutely no way to become a player again.
Back in Shelter No. 6, many people who gave up their qualifications later regretted it bitterly after seeing the gains other players obtained inside survival dungeons.
Yet none of them could ever become players again.
Perhaps noticing Su Ning’s doubt, Xie Linjia explained:
“The reason I can say that is because I naturally have a method. It’s just that I can’t complete it alone, which is why I need one or more players to protect me.”
“I don’t know how strong you are exactly, but if you’ve survived in survival dungeons until now, then you should be very capable. Can I trust you?”
Su Ning raised an eyebrow.
“In that case, tell me first—how exactly am I supposed to protect you?”
Xie Linjia pulled out a card.
Su Ning looked toward it.
[Player Card] (Single-use)
Effect: Allows an ordinary person who has lost player qualifications to become a player once more. However, they must pass a trial by entering a random survival dungeon. Survive, and player qualifications will be restored. No participant limit. The card user may bring helpers into the trial.
“A Player Card? Another special item card.”
Su Ning immediately thought of the dungeon exchange card Li Ming had traded with her before.
Just who exactly was obtaining all these miraculous cards?
Why could other people get them, but not her?
Su Ning sighed emotionally, suddenly wanting to pull out the Luck Compass and see whether her luck had actually increased at all.
Xie Linjia continued:
“As for the reward for this mission, I don’t have any supplies to give you. But everything obtained inside the dungeon can belong entirely to you.”
Surviving in a survival dungeon was already difficult enough, let alone protecting an ordinary person at the same time.
Still, survival dungeons were also filled with resources.
As long as you entered one, there were many opportunities to profit.
Naturally, Su Ning agreed immediately.
“I accept this protection mission.”
Xie Linjia was overjoyed.
“Really?”
What reason did Su Ning have to refuse?
“Then let’s begin right away.”
Xie Linjia seemed impatient. She desperately wanted to regain her player qualifications as quickly as possible so she could hunt down that cheating couple for revenge.
Su Ning had originally wanted to say “wait a moment.”
After all, there was still someone waiting for her back home. If she left him locked inside the room alone for too long, something would definitely happen.
However, before Su Ning could speak, another knock sounded at Xie Linjia’s door.
Xie Linjia opened it and saw two more people who had come to accept the protection mission.
Lin Lele asked,
“Excuse me, is this where the protection mission was posted?”
Standing behind her, Nan Sheng looked extremely tired.
She truly didn’t understand where Lin Lele got so much endless energy from every single day. They had only just returned from a dungeon, yet she was already taking on missions again.
Nan Sheng genuinely admired her.
After returning, there was still an enormous amount of work waiting for her at the hospital. If players weren’t granted one day of rest after returning from dungeons, she felt she would probably die collapsed over the operating table.
Yet on this precious rest day, Lin Lele had dragged her out to do missions again.
Nan Sheng honestly felt helpless.
Hearing the familiar voice, Su Ning turned around and immediately saw Lin Lele and Nan Sheng.
Xie Linjia invited the two inside.
The moment Lin Lele saw Su Ning, she was equally shocked.
“Su Ning?! Why are you here?”
Lin Lele found it completely unbelievable.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 208: Accepting the Mission, The Encounter
Su Ning was honestly a little surprised to run into them here.
Seeing that the three of them knew each other, Xie Linjia invited Lin Lele and Nan Sheng inside as well.
Lin Lele looked somewhat dissatisfied as she complained to Su Ning,
“You came all the way from Shelter No. 6 to Shelter No. 5 without even telling me. I could’ve at least played host properly.”
Su Ning didn’t really care much and felt living anywhere was basically the same.
Nan Sheng also greeted her warmly.
“We meet again, Su Ning!”
Ever since the rescue operation back at Shelter No. 6, she had wanted to properly greet Su Ning again, but she had never managed to find her afterward.
At this moment, Xie Linjia interrupted curiously,
“You three know each other?”
Only then did Nan Sheng remember that she hadn’t come here just to chat with Su Ning. Looking toward Xie Linjia, she apologized somewhat awkwardly.
“Sorry, I just got excited seeing an old friend again.”
Xie Linjia didn’t mind at all. Instead, she said enviously,
“Being able to meet friends again in times like these is also a kind of blessing. Who knows whether tomorrow or disaster will arrive first.”
Nan Sheng hurriedly grabbed Lin Lele, who still looked eager to continue chatting with Su Ning, preparing to first discuss the mission with the employer before continuing their conversation.
Xie Linjia once again recounted her tragic experiences.
After hearing about the shameless actions of the adulterous couple, hot-blooded Lin Lele was furious.
“Sister Xie, you should’ve realized this earlier. Only by becoming strong yourself can you do whatever you want without being manipulated by others. Most importantly, you’d have the power to take revenge!”
Nan Sheng also sighed emotionally after hearing Xie Linjia’s story.
People truly only grew after experiencing pain.
It was just that the price Xie Linjia had paid was far too great.
Lin Lele declared directly,
“We’re willing to take this protection mission.”
After speaking, she looked toward Su Ning and Nan Sheng.
That look in her eyes could not have been more obvious.
Su Ning and Nan Sheng exchanged glances.
Su Ning spoke first:
“I already accepted it earlier. If you two hadn’t shown up, I would’ve gone back to prepare and started the protection mission already.”
The three of them unanimously decided to accept the mission.
Xie Linjia was deeply grateful for this.
Su Ning planned to return and bring Oleni along.
Nan Sheng and Lin Lele also needed to make some preparations.
After discussing things, everyone agreed to regroup there in one hour.
Xie Linjia prepared to walk the three of them out.
However, the moment the four stepped outside, they found themselves blocked by two people standing at the entrance.
The instant Xie Linjia saw them, her expression changed dramatically as hatred flashed through her eyes.
Grinding her teeth, she spat out their names:
“Liu Jun! Huang Juan!”
Liu Jun looked at Xie Linjia with a complicated expression.
Yet when he thought about the item in her possession—and the future livelihood of his entire family—he forced himself to harden his heart.
Meanwhile, upon noticing the subtle change in Liu Jun’s expression after seeing Xie Linjia, Huang Juan immediately felt displeased.
She tightly wrapped herself around Liu Jun’s arm and looked smugly at the woman she had once only dared secretly envy.
On the surface, Huang Juan and Xie Linjia had appeared to be close friends.
But that had merely been Xie Linjia’s one-sided belief.
In truth, Huang Juan had never considered Xie Linjia a true friend from beginning to end.
She had only ever been using her.
Before the apocalypse descended, Xie Linjia had come from a wealthy family. She possessed a gentle personality, excellent education, and outstanding beauty.
As for Huang Juan…
Aside from a face that could rival Xie Linjia’s, she was inferior in every other aspect.
Deep inside, Huang Juan was consumed by jealousy. Every single day, she dreamed of stepping on Xie Linjia and surpassing her.
And the apocalypse had arrived like perfectly timed rain, finally giving her that opportunity.
Not only had she successfully seduced Xie Linjia’s husband, she had also manipulated Liu Jun into convincing Xie Linjia to abandon her player qualifications.
From the moment Xie Linjia gave up her qualifications, everything Huang Juan desired had come true.
Xie Linjia would never rise again.
At last, she had truly surpassed her.
Afterward, Huang Juan no longer bothered hiding her malice. Like an invading conqueror, she openly barged into Xie Linjia’s life and forcibly stole Liu Jun away from her.
At this moment, Huang Juan looked down arrogantly at Xie Linjia from above.
Her expression carried both superiority and fake pity.
“Linjia, honestly, what should I even say about you? As long as you hand over that item, I’ll make sure you can live comfortably in Shelter No. 5.”
Although her words sounded pleasant enough, the threat hidden beneath them was sharp as a blade.
Liu Jun also chimed in:
“Xiaojia, as long as you hand over that item, I guarantee with my personal character that you won’t suffer.”
The moment Su Ning, Lin Lele, and Nan Sheng heard this, they immediately understood exactly who these two were.
A cheating bastard and a shameless mistress.
Guarantee it with his character?
Bullshit.
Even now he still wore that hypocritical expression of “I’m doing this for your own good.” It was genuinely disgusting.
Xie Linjia clenched her teeth, preparing to drive the two away.
Right now, she was merely an ordinary powerless woman, completely incapable of fighting against two players. She could only endure the humiliation for now and wait until she became strong enough to tear the two of them into pieces.
However, while she could hold herself back, someone else couldn’t anymore.
“So this is the cheating bastard and the shameless homewrecker!!”
After hearing Xie Linjia’s tragic story earlier, Lin Lele had completely empathized with her, almost imagining herself in her place.
If something like that happened to her, she felt she’d want to destroy the entire world.
Her hair fluttered wildly as if blown by fierce winds, clearly ready to teach the pair a lesson.
Nan Sheng quickly stopped her.
“Lele, don’t act rashly yet!”
Of course, Nan Sheng also despised men like Liu Jun to the extreme. She even had the urge to use her talent to directly slice off the root of all his troubles in one clean cut.
But inside Shelter No. 5, fighting wasn’t allowed casually.
Liu Jun and Huang Juan naturally understood this as well, which was why they hadn’t attempted to seize Xie Linjia’s item by force.
Liu Jun looked toward Su Ning’s group with sharp eyes.
“Who are you people?”
Lin Lele rolled her eyes at him without hesitation.
“What’s it to you? Trash cheating scumbag.”
After calming down slightly, Xie Linjia looked coldly at the two of them.
“You want my item? Keep dreaming.”
She truly feared she wouldn’t be able to suppress the urge to stab both of them to death.
Huang Juan secretly attempted to make a move, but Su Ning immediately noticed.
Su Ning found people like this utterly revolting and didn’t wish to waste another second dealing with them.
Cold as frost, she spoke:
“They say those who betray love will eventually suffer death by a thousand cuts. I only hope you manage to cling to life a little longer.”
The moment Liu Jun heard Su Ning’s words, he felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss, his entire body turning cold.
Yet he said nothing.
Instead, Huang Juan exploded in anger.
She glared viciously at Su Ning and shouted,
“What the hell are you supposed to be? Who gave you the right to speak here?”
The malice in Huang Juan’s eyes was as poisonous as a venomous snake, completely undisguised.
Lin Lele grew even angrier, wanting nothing more than to teach this shameless woman a brutal lesson on the spot.
Yet in the very next second, for reasons unknown, a flowerpot suddenly fell from above like a meteor from the heavens and smashed directly onto Huang Juan’s head.
Bang!
With a loud crash, Huang Juan’s eyes rolled backward and she collapsed onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Nan Sheng suddenly remembered Su Ning’s mysterious and incomprehensible ability and quietly gave her a thumbs-up behind her back.
The moment Liu Jun saw his precious darling get smashed, the cold and composed facade he had maintained instantly shattered.
Under Xie Linjia’s terrifying gaze that seemed ready to devour him alive, he could only awkwardly drag Huang Juan away and flee in embarrassment.
Chapter 209: The Hundred Treasure Pouch!
Only Xie Linjia’s vicious gaze remained fixed like sharp arrows upon Liu Jun and Huang Juan as the two gradually walked farther away.
Nan Sheng and the others also fell silent.
Soon afterward, Su Ning’s group made some simple preparations before gathering together once more.
Xie Linjia took out her Player Card and looked solemnly at everyone.
“I’m ready. I only hope we can all safely return from this random dungeon.”
Lin Lele patted her chest confidently.
“Don’t worry, Sister Linjia. With us protecting you, nothing can possibly go wrong.”
What she actually wanted to say was:
With Su Ning around, this protection mission was guaranteed to succeed.
Nan Sheng lifted the medical case she carried.
“No matter what injuries we encounter inside the dungeon, I can heal them.”
Xie Linjia was deeply moved, tears glimmering in her eyes.
“Thank you all so much for helping me.”
Su Ning replied calmly,
“We’re simply taking what we each need. That’s also why we accepted your mission.”
Meanwhile, Lin Lele stuck close to Su Ning like a clingy little bird and complained,
“Honestly, Su Ning, you’re always so unromantic.”
Xie Linjia finally laughed through her tears.
“Since everyone’s ready, let’s begin immediately.”
Deep inside, Xie Linjia secretly swore that no matter how dangerous the randomly generated dungeon from the [Player Card] might be, she would give it everything she had.
She absolutely had to succeed.
She absolutely had to take revenge on Liu Jun and Huang Juan.
Taking out the clown-printed Player Card, Xie Linjia activated it.
In an instant, a mysterious circle appeared beneath the feet of all four women, resembling a magical teleportation array.
The next moment, the four vanished completely.
During the teleportation process, the system’s cold mechanical voice echoed beside their ears.
[Ding! Player Card successfully activated. Random Survival Dungeon — Dark Forest!]
[Ding! Mission: Survive within the Dark Forest for one day!]
[Reward: Xie Linjia regains player qualifications!]
The mission looked simple.
But more often than not, the simpler a task appeared, the more difficult it became in practice.
The four women appeared inside a forest.
Once Su Ning regained her senses, she found herself surrounded by dark and gloomy trees on every side.
“We’ve entered the dungeon?”
Lin Lele immediately became alert and examined the surroundings cautiously.
Nan Sheng also began observing the environment around them.
As for Xie Linjia, after reentering a dungeon once more, she felt both excitement and overwhelming nervousness.
“From here on… I’ll be relying on all of you to keep me safe.”
Although she said this, she had no intention of entrusting her safety entirely to others.
Depending on others was never as reliable as depending on herself.
She also needed to stand on her own.
The surroundings were pitch-dark, perfectly fitting the name “Dark Forest.”
Nan Sheng voiced her thoughts.
“The mission only requires surviving in this dungeon for one day. So if we can find a safe place and stay there, we should be able to complete the mission, right?”
Lin Lele nodded.
“This dungeon actually sounds pretty easy. The previous dungeons we entered all required surviving for an entire week.”
Of course, despite thinking the mission sounded simple, neither of them relaxed their guard.
Danger often arrived precisely when people were most relaxed.
Su Ning also scanned the surroundings.
Every now and then, eerie faint cries echoed from deep within the gloomy forest.
It was impossible not to stay vigilant, especially with how dark everything around them was.
Xie Linjia looked nervous.
As she stared at the surrounding trees, she felt they looked horrifying somehow, like twisted monsters lurking in the dark.
“Don’t you all think these trees look terrifying?”
Naturally, Lin Lele and Nan Sheng had noticed it as well.
They simply didn’t think it was too big a problem.
Su Ning checked the trees’ information.
[Monster: Terror Tree]
Talent: Fear Aura — emits a terrifying atmosphere that causes discomfort and fear in living creatures.
Skill: None
Note: Pure atmosphere-building monster. Completely harmless.
After reading the description, even Su Ning felt speechless.
She truly hadn’t expected there to be monsters that were completely harmless, whose only ability was creating an atmosphere of fear.
“We should leave this place.”
Lin Lele rubbed her arms uneasily. The surrounding trees were genuinely making her hair stand on end.
Nan Sheng looked toward Su Ning, clearly waiting for her decision.
Xie Linjia also looked at Su Ning.
She had noticed that both Nan Sheng and Lin Lele admired Su Ning greatly, so she naturally assumed Su Ning was the strongest among them and subconsciously wanted to follow her judgment.
Su Ning: ??
Why is everyone looking at me?
Helplessly, Su Ning replied,
“If you don’t want to explore this dungeon, then I think it’s better for us to find a suitable place and safely settle down there.”
Even the surrounding trees were monsters.
Who knew what terrifying creatures might still be waiting ahead?
“I completely agree!”
The four quickly left the area filled with Terror Trees.
However, not long after leaving, Su Ning suddenly sensed that something was watching them.
Inside a forest, the most dangerous things were naturally the snakes, insects, and wild beasts hidden within.
At this moment, Su Ning clearly felt the gaze of a predator locked onto them.
“Be careful.”
Nan Sheng also sensed the faint but unmistakable feeling of being watched and immediately realized danger was approaching.
Lin Lele’s hair quietly began spreading outward, secretly setting traps under the cover of darkness.
At the same time, Xie Linjia took out a silver-black pouch, preparing herself for whatever came next.
At first, Su Ning assumed the pouch simply contained some items.
But after seeing its information, she was utterly shocked.
[Item: Hundred Treasure Pouch]
Effect: Contains one hundred magical items. Three items may be drawn from the pouch each day. Each item lasts for one day before disappearing.
Description: An item created by a mysterious existence!
Soon afterward, Su Ning watched as Xie Linjia pulled out three items from the pouch.
One of them resembled a whistle.
The whistle’s information immediately appeared before Su Ning’s eyes.
[Item: Hundred Treasure — Bird Summoning Whistle!]
Description: One of the hundred items within the Hundred Treasure Pouch.
Effect: Blow the whistle to summon dozens of birds out of thin air to assist the user.
The other two items were a whip and a ring.
[Item: Hundred Treasure — Auto-Tracking Whip]
Description: One of the hundred items within the Hundred Treasure Pouch.
Effect: Once swung, the whip automatically tracks and attacks designated targets.
[Item: Hundred Treasure — Defensive Ring]
Description: One of the hundred items within the Hundred Treasure Pouch.
Effect: Creates a defensive shield capable of resisting attacks.
These three items were the tools Xie Linjia had drawn for this survival dungeon.
The three corresponded perfectly to reconnaissance, offense, and defense.
Looking at the whistle in her hand, Xie Linjia softly blew into it twice.
Dozens of strange birds were immediately summoned.
Then Su Ning suddenly stared at one especially fat bird that looked like an oversized ground chicken, panting heavily as it landed in front of everyone.
Su Ning: …Can this thing really scout for danger?
She honestly had serious doubts.
Xie Linjia looked embarrassed.
After losing her player qualifications and being driven out by Liu Jun’s family, she had relied on the whistle to summon these plump birds as emergency food in order to survive.
Birds: So we’re just livestock to you now, huh?!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 212: Temptation Souls, Water Moss
The reason Su Ning was so shocked was because two figures had actually emerged from the mist, ghostlike in appearance.
Even Su Ning, who was usually calm and steady as a mountain, couldn’t stop the ripples rising in her heart the moment she saw them.
Those figures were none other than her long-deceased parents.
“How is this possible?!”
Her parents had long since passed away, so how could they possibly appear inside this dungeon and stand before her now?
The only explanation was that the suddenly appearing mist was causing all of this.
Su Ning swept her gaze across them.
As expected, the Scavenger Eye provided the information she wanted.
[Monster: Temptation Soul]
Talent: Soul of Transformation — like a chameleon, it can transform into the person or thing its prey misses most deeply and is emotionally weakest toward.
Skills:
Hypnosis — like a demon whispering into one’s ears, causing the target to fall into deep sleep.
Life Drain — greedily absorbs the target’s life force like a vampire.
Note: One of the most dangerous existences within the Dark Forest. Because it is a soul entity, it is immune to physical attacks.
After reading the information, Su Ning finally understood.
The reason the monster had transformed into her parents was because it could peer into the human heart and become the person its target missed most deeply and was most emotionally vulnerable toward.
“So it transforms into the person someone misses and longs for the most…”
Su Ning muttered softly to herself.
Ever since her parents passed away, she had been forced to mature rapidly.
If she had remained as weak and fragile as before during the apocalypse, she probably would’ve died long ago.
Yet even though she clearly knew the beings before her were monsters, her heart still trembled uncontrollably.
She didn’t know what the monsters looked like in the eyes of the other three, but judging from their expressions, she could guess they were seeing the deepest wounds in their own hearts as well.
Even so, Su Ning absolutely could not allow those monsters to approach them.
These creatures not only possessed hypnotic abilities, they could also drain life force.
They were extremely dangerous.
And because they existed as soul entities immune to physical attacks, they were even harder to deal with.
Su Ning waved her hand, summoning Honghong beside her.
“Honghong, I’ll leave these monsters to you.”
Honghong: Leave it to me!
Against enemies immune to physical attacks, Honghong immediately unleashed its ultimate skill—[Lightning Storm]!
Su Ning quietly stared at the monster wearing the faces of her parents, trying her best to engrave this image into her memory.
Her father and mother smiled gently at her, as though saying:
“You’ve worked hard all this way.”
Su Ning tightly pressed her lips together.
Then Honghong’s attack descended instantly.
Accompanied by sharp screeches, the monsters were annihilated in an instant.
Meanwhile, tears filled Xie Linjia’s eyes.
In her vision, the Temptation Souls had transformed into her parents holding her child in their arms, repeatedly beckoning for her to come over.
For a brief moment, Xie Linjia almost believed her parents and son were truly standing there.
However, because Su Ning stood in front of her, she was unable to move closer.
Then she watched as Su Ning summoned another monster pet, which unleashed thunder and lightning toward the figures before them.
Pain stabbed through her heart, and instinctively she wanted to stop Su Ning.
But she also knew her parents and child were already dead.
What stood before her now could only be illusions.
In the end, she could only turn away, not daring to look again.
Yet even knowing they were fake, when her son appeared before her eyes, she still found herself unable to resist looking.
It had simply been too long since her child had appeared in her dreams.
“My child… are you blaming Mommy too? Blaming me for failing to protect you?”
Tears streamed down Xie Linjia’s face.
The Temptation Souls were completely incapable of resisting Honghong’s Lightning Storm and were directly obliterated by the terrifying electricity.
After everything ended, Su Ning turned around and saw that all three women’s eyes were red.
After a brief pause, she recalled the Temptation Souls’ talent.
“These were all illusions. You all—”
“I know.”
Xie Linjia wiped the corners of her eyes.
She could no longer remain this weak forever.
“I have a request.”
Xie Linjia suddenly spoke up.
Nan Sheng and Lin Lele also looked toward her after calming down emotionally, though both of them still looked somewhat depressed.
Hearing her words, Nan Sheng said softly,
“Go ahead.”
Xie Linjia clenched her fists.
“I want to become stronger. I want to learn how to fight. I don’t want to keep hiding anymore—I want to take the initiative.”
As she spoke, she looked awkwardly toward Su Ning and the others.
She felt embarrassed.
After all, Su Ning’s group had accepted this mission to protect her, yet now she was asking for something that would clearly increase the mission’s difficulty.
“We’re here to protect you anyway. Whatever you want to do, you don’t need my permission.”
Lin Lele immediately added,
“Sister Xie, I can teach you how to fight!”
As she spoke, her hair twisted together like a whip and lashed violently toward the distance.
Nan Sheng lifted her medical case.
“I’m a healer to begin with. It’s not like I should just sit around doing nothing.”
Afterward, the group stopped remaining in one place and began moving around the forest, searching to see if there were any useful resources they could bring back from the dungeon.
Whenever they encountered monsters, Su Ning no longer eliminated them immediately, instead allowing Xie Linjia to practice fighting against them.
And so, Xie Linjia gradually began learning combat.
She understood very clearly that Su Ning’s group could only protect her this one time.
Once she regained player qualifications, she would only be able to rely on herself.
Compared to other players, she had already fallen far behind.
She was nowhere near capable of competing against Liu Jun and Huang Juan.
If she wanted revenge, she would need to work even harder.
With Nan Sheng and Lin Lele watching over Xie Linjia, Su Ning wandered nearby investigating the dungeon’s environment.
What interested her most were the various plants.
Since she possessed the planting space, Su Ning habitually transplanted plants from survival dungeons to increase the biodiversity within her space.
Unfortunately, most of what she found turned out to be useless.
In truth, Su Ning still hoped to discover spiritual plants like the Spiritfire Peppers.
But plants like those were incredibly rare and depended entirely on luck.
Because it had rained earlier, numerous mushrooms had sprouted throughout the area.
Su Ning used the Scavenger Eye to identify which mushrooms were edible and which were poisonous.
“These mushrooms would make an amazing hotpot broth base.”
The moment she thought of hotpot, Su Ning immediately began salivating again.
No matter how often she ate hotpot, she never got tired of it.
“Hm? What’s this?”
While picking mushrooms, Su Ning suddenly discovered a strange green moss-like plant growing around rocks and tree roots.
The plants emitted a faint glow and looked extremely peculiar, instantly attracting her attention.
[Spiritual Plant: Water Moss]
A spiritual plant capable of absorbing enormous amounts of water, known as the “plant water reservoir.”
Su Ning also noticed that the area around the Water Moss was extremely dry.
If it hadn’t just rained earlier, she might’ve doubted whether the rain had happened at all.
“Even though it can’t be eaten, this is definitely something amazing for dealing with humidity!”
It could absorb water and moisture.
The only question was how much water a small patch of it could actually absorb.
Su Ning first transplanted some into her planting space.
While storing them away, she discovered the moss wasn’t only growing around rocks and tree roots—there were also huge patches spreading across tree trunks.
At that moment, cheerful sounds came from Xie Linjia’s direction.
Clearly, she had successfully defeated a monster by herself.
Originally intending to run over and share the good news with Su Ning, she instead found Su Ning busily collecting the glowing green moss.
“Su Ning, why are you collecting this moss?”
Lin Lele asked curiously.
Su Ning smiled faintly.
“Don’t you think something around here feels different?”
Nan Sheng possessed extremely sharp observational skills and immediately noticed how unusually dry the surrounding environment had become.
(End of Chapter)
