Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Mo Ka Forest

The clearing exploded in blinding light.

The others shouted and stumbled, eyes squeezed shut in panic.

Ling Mo had already slipped on sunglasses before the flashbang fully went off. While they were disoriented, she lunged forward, snatched the vegetable basket from the thin man’s hand, and ran.

As she fled, she tossed a tear gas grenade behind her.

She didn’t stop until she’d dove into a patch of grass.

The vegetable basket she’d stolen didn’t display a name, but it held over a hundred thousand points.

Ling Mo transferred the points into her own vegetable basket. Her ranking jumped from seventh to third.

She didn’t take both baskets from the two men.

First, she didn’t want the white-dress girl linking her earlier disguise to her current one.

Second—and more importantly—she wanted them to turn on each other.

People never looked inward after disaster. They always blamed someone else first.

Now, among the three of them, only one person still had a vegetable basket. That meant only one of them could keep their qualification.

They could try robbing other players, sure—but strong targets were dangerous, and weak ones didn’t have enough points. There was no guarantee they could climb back into a safe ranking.

So the three of them would inevitably come for that last remaining vegetable basket.

Ling Mo glanced down at herself and sighed. She’d barely finished changing once, and now she had to do it again.

Back in pocket space, she swapped into looser athletic wear and sneakers. She replaced her cap with a light-colored sun hat and removed the cross earring.

When she returned to the forest, she eyed her clean clothes. Black could pass. Light colors couldn’t.

Too clean looked suspicious.

So she found a muddy patch of ground, lay down, and rolled until her clothes were properly dirty. Then she smeared mud across her mask for good measure.

All afternoon, she searched without finding any of the plants drawn on the seasonal slips. The disappointment gnawed at her as the hours dragged on.

Then, while she walked, her spirit sense picked up something different.

A cluster of players.

Quite a few of them, gathered close together.

Ling Mo immediately thought of the purple cactus slip. She crouched low, tightened her cloak, and moved carefully through the grass.

When she parted the weeds and peered out, she saw a sunlit clearing.

Unlike the forest, where light filtered down in scattered patches, the sunlight here was strong even in the late afternoon.

At the center stood a purple cactus-like plant. Smaller cacti grew around it in a rough ring.

Ling Mo pulled out the slip and compared it.

It matched.

The target wasn’t the cactus itself—it was the purplish-red fruit growing on top.

In the sunlight, the fruit looked almost translucent, like polished gemstones.

But the plant was enormous.

Ling Mo’s gaze dropped to the base.

She would bet anything there was a rich vein of Energy Rawstone beneath it. She just couldn’t sense it—her mental power seemed blocked by the plant itself.

Then she noticed the thorns.

Spines were embedded in nearby tree trunks. More were stuck in the soil. Some were smeared with blood that hadn’t fully dried.

Ling Mo went still.

Some of those spikes were longer than her arm, sharp enough that one puncture would carve a hole clean through flesh.

It reminded her of Glazed Spiny Velvet Grass.

She stayed hidden and thought fast.

She could store the entire plant into pocket space. But there were too many witnesses. She was the last one to arrive—if the cactus vanished the moment she showed up, she would be the first suspect.

Worse, if she brought it into pocket space, those thorns could injure the animals inside. She didn’t even know if she could safely enter afterward.

But leaving was unbearable, too—she didn’t want to walk away from that many points, or from the Energy Rawstone buried beneath the roots.

Just then, the grass nearby rustled twice.

Ling Mo already knew two people were hiding there. She’d simply pretended not to notice.

A young man with a boyish face slipped out and pointed in a direction.

Ling Mo hesitated—then decided to follow. If it was a trap, she had flashbangs.

Besides, the plant had plenty of fruit. Even if several people split it, there would still be enough.

She checked her gear, stowed her cloak, and carried a vegetable basket with barely any points as she moved toward where he’d indicated.

Before she even reached the spot, she could tell there were a lot of people.

Nine of them.

With Ling Mo, that made ten—six men and four women.

Other than Ling Mo, who had arrived last, none of them looked truly united. It felt like a temporary alliance at best, and their stances showed it—everyone positioned carefully, leaving space, watching each other.

The young man who had pointed her over stood with three other men. Of the remaining five, two men and two women seemed to be together. The last person was a woman on her own, with short, sharp-cut hair and a fierce gaze—someone who looked trained.

Ling Mo stayed at the back and kept her presence small.

No one spoke. The tension grew heavy as they waited.

A few minutes later, another trio arrived.

Ling Mo saw them and cursed silently.

Thin man. Fat man. White-dress girl.

They looked even more battered than before—injuries across their bodies, the girl missing a shoe, her hair a mess.

Most importantly, their only vegetable basket was in the thin man’s hand.

Ling Mo lowered her gaze again and waited with everyone else.

After several more minutes passed with no additional arrivals, one of the four-man group finally spoke.

“Everyone’s here because of the system’s limited-time ingredient quest,” he said. “We’ve already tested it. The moment anyone tries to get close, the plant’s thorns fire automatically.”

He glanced around at the group, voice hardening. “One or two people can’t do this alone. We have to cooperate. Its attack covers a full three hundred sixty degrees—no blind spots.”