Chapter 107.1 Merfolk Shore
Not everyone possessed the ability to descend from the fifth floor barehanded like Ji Yuanzhi did. He used an item during the process to speed things up.
Even so, Wen Shi got downstairs before him.
Wen Shi could see well in the dark. After talking, they chose to go to the cafeteria.
Probably a lot of players came for the quest tonight. Due to the limited space in the supermarket, evading pursuit in case of danger might be challenging. On the other hand, the school cafeteria, spanning across three floors, provided a more spacious activity area.
The cafeteria had red walls. In the night’s darkness, the uneven wall surface looked a bit disturbing.
The lock of the main door hung on one side, while the door stood open. Ji Yuanzhi looked at the lock and said, “Someone got here before us.”
The small store was only on the first floor. Wen Shi’s eyesight was excellent at the moment. He pointed in a direction and said, “Go straight to the left.”
At the same time, it leaped onto Ji Yuanzhi’s shoulder and said, “There are about six or seven people hiding at the corner of the second-floor stairs, trying to observe.”
Ji Yuanzhi mentioned something he hadn’t seen: “On the path we came, there were at least twenty people lying in ambush.”
When information was scarce, plundering directly was much safer than doing quests.
Each player had a different focus. Some would choose to go out around three or four in the early morning, as it was riskier outside the later it got. There would be fewer people lying in wait to rob at that time. Others would opt to go near dawn. The small team stationed above the cafeteria wasn’t there to rob. They mainly wanted to validate the store’s rules through other players.
But at this moment, they were deeply puzzled.
The light was too dim. Players could only see with the help of special items. They then saw a merfolk and a black cat.
“?”
NPC, or player in disguise?
How to explain that black cat?
Just as they were about to observe more closely, one player suddenly felt a chill at the back of their neck. They reached to touch it and used night vision goggles to look upward.
Water.
Droplets of water had gathered on the ceiling, and the air’s humidity had become several times heavier than in the dormitory building.
The player’s breathing started becoming irregular. The places touched by water felt bone-chillingly cold. As panic arose, the player couldn’t help but warn their teammates beside them, “Let’s retreat…”
Without completing a word, the player’s blood surged backward, and their entire neck felt frozen.
Cold, so cold.
They felt a pair of slender hands loop around their neck. With a gentle twist, accompanied by the sound of cracking ice, the player’s head and body separated. Their head tumbled down the stairs.
The night vision goggles were still on their head. The player’s eyes widened, and before their pupils completely dilated, they saw their teammates on the stairs.
A massive merfolk silhouette emerged behind them. The merfolk was at least over two meters tall, with well-proportioned features. Their lake-blue, wavy hair ballooned like seaweed, a few strands tightly entwining around the necks of the teammates.
The player’s head struck a corner of the table, and their consciousness faded completely. They could no longer see, yet they knew what would happen next.
This impromptu dormitory team would soon be severed, all of their bodies separated.
Such a loud disturbance naturally caught Wen Shi and Ji Yuanzhi’s attention.
Ji Yuanzhi’s disguise for the night was effective, but Wen Shi’s transformation under the moon wasn’t.
The merfolk didn’t prioritize attacking the thieves. Perhaps Ji Yuanzhi’s appearance managed to deceive them for a moment.
Unfortunately, that deception wouldn’t last long.
Several heads rolled down the stairs in succession. When they emerged carrying the cakes, the terrifying merfolk stood a few meters away, the air heavy with a strong scent of blood.
In the instant his gaze locked with those misty blue eyes, a flurry of thoughts flashed through Wen Shi’s mind. The merfolk-like features needed to be subtly acknowledged. Merfolk did indeed exist within the academy, hidden in the shadows, observing their every move.
The merfolk pendant was tucked into the backpack. Wen Shi could easily take it out for self-defense, so he wasn’t overly anxious.
He just wondered if Ji Yuanzhi had any life-saving tricks up his sleeve. As various thoughts converged, seeing the merfolk not launching an immediate attack but merely staring, Wen Shi was surprised. Could his transformed body truly have a restraining effect on the merfolk?
Worth a shot.
“Ngyaaaaaaa—” Lowering his body first, assuming a cheetah’s stance in attacking prey, Wen Shi let out a faux fierce growl. In the moment he opened his mouth, the bread he was biting onto dropped.
“……”
Very well, any blood-related suppression was just a fantasy. The merfolk’s cold, ruthless eyes still harbored killing intent.
The slender cat tail flicked Ji Yuanzhi’s leg, urging him to run faster. Wen Shi picked up the fallen bread again and dashed toward the main door.
The merfolk appeared and disappeared unpredictably. In terms of speed, they were no match. It made more sense to stand still and observe potential weaknesses in the opponent. Ji Yuanzhi was somewhat surprised by Wen Shi’s decision to flee at this moment.
Wen Shi’s reason for choosing to run was valid. First, his transformed body was agile enough. Moreover, when he tried to show off his “cat power,” the merfolk looked at him the way he often stared at the mini octopus.
…That was a look of someone seeing a fool.
Regardless of species, there was always a bit more tolerance for fools.
They didn’t really trigger the death rule, so for the merfolk, they were in the “could kill, could not kill” category.
“555~” Was it chasing?
Amid the sprint, an indistinct voice reached their ears.
Ji Yuanzhi was somewhat impressed with himself for actually understanding. He glanced back.
The entrance of the cafeteria was only illuminated by a small fan-shaped area of moonlight. The merfolk stood there quietly.
“It didn’t follow.” Ji Yuanzhi said.
He pretended not to acknowledge that this was a successful operation thanks to the fool.
The outside cold wind blew intermittently, and the dim streetlights offered a faint comfort.
Stopping their frantic sprint, the black cat flicked its tail. Ji Yuanzhi also halted. He used a dagger to sever a thin, sharp silver thread between two trees.
Behind the rule of preventing mutual slaughter, players came up with many new tactics: potions, traps, exploiting the rules, and so on.
The black cat looked at Ji Yuanzhi. There were only a few sparse trees beneath the dormitory building, not ideal for hiding. It would be safer to head there, but the distance to the dormitory was over a thousand meters. They would be vulnerable on the way.
Ji Yuanzhi stood still, his peripheral vision grazing the fountain nearby. He activated a speed-boosting item and dashed off quickly.
Behind the fountain statue, three players were hiding. One was knocked down by a flying kick, and the other two were struck in the stomach.
Ji Yuanzhi’s strength was well-calibrated. Similar to the way Li Nan had acted against Wen Shi before, this was knowledge garnered through numerous trials by various organizations.
“Let’s all take a step back. We’ll pay five hundred points…” During the ambush, things were ambiguous. Now, it was clear these were players. The big guy clutched his stomach, about to discuss the price, but Ji Yuanzhi promptly released the anesthetic gas used by unlicensed taxi drivers, forcing them to inhale.
He put a wig, purchased from the in-game store, on one person’s head. He instructed them to close their legs and look the other way, leaning against the fountain statue. The other two were posed in a kneeling posture. From a distance, it indeed had a faint atmosphere of believers kneeling before a merfolk.
Ji Yuanzhi: “While we were out, someone clever likely informed the dorm supervisor, claiming to have seen a merfolk.”
They just needed to wait outside the dormitory. When the supervisor came out to inspect, they would seize the chance to slip inside without even needing to climb the balcony.
Utilizing the alternating cover of shrubs and trees, both person and cat avoided the main path as they neared the dormitory building. In the distance, they spotted the lean dorm supervisor heading out.
Two players, assuming the roles of informants, trailed behind the supervisor.
After waiting for the group to move away from their hiding spot behind the trees, Wen Shi and Ji Yuanzhi immediately ran towards the distant dormitory building. The main door was open, and the shoddy wooden door creaked in the wind.
The corridor inside was eerily quiet. Taking advantage of the near-silent footsteps of a cat, Wen Shi led the way. Thankfully, the dormitory building was still safe on their first night. They made it back to their room unharmed.
The door of Room 502 wasn’t locked. Xiao Li and A’Zhuang, who slept by the door, weren’t pleased, but Jian Qingrong ignored them. Seeing him sitting near the door on guard, the two refrained from causing trouble.
At this moment, the dormitory door was pushed open.
The hallway was pitch black. They could only vaguely make out a figure walking in. The person went directly to the middle bunk to rest.
But where was Pei Wenwei?
Could he have been eliminated by an NPC due to the report in the afternoon? That would make this strongest rookie seem rather lacking.
Xiao Li thought nastily, a pity that they lost the chance to extract information from him and gain favor within the guild.
Locking the door, Jian Qingrong’s footsteps paused slightly as he passed the spot where the two had left their cups. Then, he continued to walk toward the third bed.
His tall frame easily placed the little cat onto the upper bunk, although he secretly wished to put it near his own pillow. In the darkness, the soft cushion of flesh stepped onto his hand. Jian Qingrong couldn’t resist lightly pinching it from behind.
Wen Shi hadn’t known about this sensitive spot on his body before. Coupled with the game’s designed foot pain while walking—tingling accompanied by a sting—he reflexively scratched Jian Qingrong with a claw.
His rationality quickly returned. Although he controlled his strength in time, there were still a few blood marks on the other’s wrist.
Wen Shi turned his head away, intending to apologize. But in the darkness, he noticed Jian Qingrong’s chest rising and falling a bit faster than usual.
…He was excited, stirred up.
Recalling Xie Tangyan’s advice, Wen Shi lowered his gaze.
Big Sister, this person is even more twisted than you’d imagine.
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