Chapter 123.2 Merfolk Shore
These three minutes should pass without encountering any monsters or demons. Three minutes later, please stay away from him, must not burden him.
Luis caught sight of that flamboyant big tail. A grinding sound echoed in the darkness. He felt like giving it a tug to vent his frustration.
Just as his claw was about to reach out, Ji Yuanzhi blocked him.
“Don’t get handsy,” Ji Yuanzhi reminded him.
“……”
With their speed, three minutes were enough to cover quite a distance.
Wen Shi, who had already bypassed the school clinic, said, “Seeing you off on a thousand-mile journey, we shall eventually part ways.”
He was almost about to write “Don’t provoke me” on his face.
Luis halted, his regular breathing pattern disrupted due to his agitation.
Use and discard. Wen Shi stared straight ahead, no longer speaking playfully. His expression gradually turned serious, “Carry more lucky items, endure for fifteen minutes, and wait for my message.”
With those words, he stepped onto the seemingly endless path alone.
While Luis searched for lucky items, his gaze followed Wen Shi’s figure. The slight anger on his face gradually faded, replaced by a sigh. “Was he intentionally saying those things to venture into danger alone?”
Exploring the principal’s dorm definitely carried a significant level of danger. Someone who would eat meat in the cafeteria and deduct a hundred points from other players was now asking for nothing.
The words “wait for my message” represented a commitment, a promise that he would selflessly share information upon his return.
Ji Yuanzhi glanced at him but didn’t say anything.
Luis: “Pei Wenwei indeed qualifies as a good teammate. No wonder you’re always willing to team up with him.”
All the elements of analysis were correct, but Ji Yuanzhi knew that this conclusion was formed under deliberate influence. The smarter the player, the more they tended to overthink things. Amid these distractions, Luis had overlooked the most basic question: he had been used by Pei Wenwei’s “Heavenly Sacrifice”.
That demand for a hundred points in the cafeteria had unexpectedly become a reference point. In the end, everyone praised Pei Wenwei.
Ji Yuanzhi sensed that the other party’s act of using the tail to save people was only one aspect. More so, it was an attempt to gauge the impact caused by the tail, collecting data to better judge its future use.
•
It was quite dark, with no streetlights on either side.
Moving past the clinic, only trees and occasionally rusted distribution boxes remained. A sudden rustling sound came from the nearby trees, followed closely by the flapping wings of birds.
Even Wen Shi now resembled a skittish bird, any movement of the grass causing cold sweat to break out.
Wen Shi retracted his【Tail Fragment】, choosing not to transform for the moment. The sudden appearance of the merfolk made him realize that moving around the campus was better done in his human form.
After walking for about a kilometer, a gloomy low-rise building came into view.
Two poorly illuminated lampposts stood in the nearby courtyard.
Squinting through the lamplight, Wen Shi looked at the building. It seemed quite old, without any renovations. Large sections of the wall were peeling off, with weeds growing out of the cracks.
Currently, there were no lit room doors. The entire building was shrouded in darkness.
One unit per floor, the first floor came with a little flower garden. Only the principal lived on the ground floor. There were no protective railings, and the windows were slightly ajar.
This didn’t quite match the principal’s cautious persona, causing Wen Shi to become even more cautious.
He silently stood behind a tree, observing. Suddenly, Wen Shi noticed something beside the uniquely shaped boulder in the little garden.
…It was a dog.
Once he noticed one, he quickly realized that other aggressive dogs were also lurking near the stones.
Wen Shi took a couple of steps forward, and he saw many iron basins on the ground filled with bloodstained bones. This indicated that these dogs were fed raw meat regularly.
The entire little garden was more like a dog kennel. Stepping in recklessly would undoubtedly lead to being bitten to death and torn apart for food.
He didn’t carry the usual scent of the school administrator. Whether he forced his way in through the unit door or climbed through the garden window, it would surely cause quite a commotion.
“Grand Sealing Art,” Wen Shi silently chanted.
Utilizing the ability he inherited from the old lady, he sealed his aura. With just a minute’s window of time, Wen Shi ultimately couldn’t avoid using his transformation skill. A nimble black cat effortlessly darted into the little flower garden.
The large dog lying on the ground stirred its ears. By the time it opened its eyes, a shadow had already slipped through the crack and entered the room.
Inside the room, there wasn’t much furniture. Everything was meticulously arranged with a sense of order.
The game’s notification tone sounded:
“You have successfully entered the principal’s dormitory. You are the second player to enter.”
Second player?
Wen Shi realized that the first one to enter was Lily’s class representative. According to the information Ji Yuanzhi gathered, that class representative was already out of the running.
“You have two choices: leave immediately and find Mr. Ruan to trigger a side quest, or if the player doesn’t withdraw within one minute, a new side quest will be automatically accepted.”
Wen Shi certainly wouldn’t leave. Other players were all rushing to complete the introductory quest after entering the turning point. He had even less reason to recklessly charge in.
Seizing the opportunity, Wen Shi explored the room. It was a three-bedroom apartment, and the study seemed to hold the most promise. It was the only slightly disheveled area, with several unfinished books still lying on the table.
Exactly one minute later, the prompt sound chimed in as scheduled:
【Side Quest: The Lost Heart
Quest Details: The principal possesses half of the Merfolk King’s heart. The whereabouts of the other half are unknown. He has been fervently searching for the remaining portion over the years. Your task is to deduce who has hidden the other half of the heart within half an hour.
Rewards will be given upon completion of the task.
Note: If the quest fails, you will pay a price greater than half of the heart.】
This quest was triggered in the principal’s residence, and the time limit was quite tight. Surveying the room, Wen Shi understood that the game intended for him to deduce based on the clues present.
“It’s a bit ironic.”
The very thing the principal was desperately seeking might very well be right under his nose.
He recalled the merfolk’s earlier words and sneered, “Is everyone under the light but in the dark?”
The black cat leaped nimbly onto the table, grabbed a book, and headed to the windowsill. Bathed in moonlight, it flipped through the pages, searching for clues. After flipping just two pages, its tail involuntarily shot up.
With the principal relying on half of the heart to become the master of the academy, if I can find the other half…
The black cat’s pupils dilated even further, its paws tightening, a rumbling sound emanating from its throat.
So, in the future, could it just knock down an NPC with a single punch?
Miao-fu combo, invincible against any instance.
Filled with anticipation for a brighter future, the black cat wholeheartedly embarked on the journey to find the other half of the heart.
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