Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Don’t Sweat the Details

Qian Qi nodded in relief and said with a smile: “I knew it, Miao Miao, you wouldn’t leave me behind.”

She stood, put on her jacket, washed up quickly, tucked her textbook under her arm, and went downstairs in flip-flops, just like yesterday.

Chen Miao Miao followed behind her and thought about pushing her down the stairs, but then she pictured Qian Qi’s thick skin and cockroach-like toughness. In the end, she dropped the idea. She was not some clueless extra in a drama. If she ever wanted to get rid of Qian Qi, she would need an alibi and zero suspicion on herself.

Qian Qi sounded almost disappointed as she muttered: “Why didn’t she make a move? I even planned to ‘defend myself’ and kick her down first.”

Blue System Panel popped up with a line of text: “So which one of you is the bad guy?”

Qian Qi waved it off and said: “Don’t worry about the details.”

After breakfast, Qian Qi headed into the Back Mountain again. She newly analyzed three kinds of Magiplant seeds, buried them in her test field, and began tending them with care.

Then she started roaming all over Back Mountain.

There were lots of students in the Magiplant Department. Counting all four grades, there were more than a thousand people. So while Qian Qi was darting around the Back Mountain, many students were also on the mountain, recording their Magiplants’ growth.

When this rare visitor, “Qian Qi,” showed up, they were clearly curious and also a bit worried.

Someone whispered from behind a notebook: “Why did that lunatic suddenly come to the Back Mountain?”

Another muttered: “Who knows. Do you think she’ll yank out the Magiplants we worked so hard to grow?”

A third student said with confidence: “I don’t think so. Besides, her grades are bad. She probably doesn’t know a Magiplant’s weak points. If she fights one, she won’t last.”

A senior leaned in and said in a hush: “Not so sure. You might not know this, but a few days ago Qian Qi stole Li Shu Yun’s Fire Qilin Fruit. I heard the Fire Qilin Lotus itself got smashed by a hoe.”

Someone gasped and blurted: “No way! Fire Qilin Lotus has strong defense and attack. And she still took it down?”

The hush-voiced senior added: “Not only that, I heard she wanted to eat the Fire Qilin Fruit, but for some reason she suddenly returned it to Li Shu Yun.”

Another student groaned: “Is she nuts? Eat a Fire Qilin Fruit? You can’t eat Magiplant fruit raw. That’s basic knowledge.”

A few seniors squatted together, their voices rising and falling. Their idea of “Qian Qi is crazy” grew stronger by the minute. One of them couldn’t help grumbling: “I don’t get how her parents raised her. They raised a total maniac.”

Qian Qi herself was also curious how the original girl’s parents had raised her. Sadly, her broken memories had no trace of them. Even the Light-Brain contacts list had no family or friends.

There was one regular contact, but with no note attached. Qian Qi didn’t dare call to ask who it was.

She rubbed her brows and thought: [Please don’t give me a family of awful deadweight. If that’s the case, I can’t promise who will be more unlucky by the end.]

Night fell. A cool wind blew over the ridge. Odd-shaped Magiplants swayed their branches and leaves. Moonlight cast huge, creepy shadows. Low, rough sounds rose from time to time in the cold black woods and made hearts race.

Su Xing Le stood at the foot of the mountain with a plastic box of Magibeast meat at his feet. The cold wind made him shiver. He rubbed his arms and tried not to look at those Magiplants.

At this hour, most Magiplant students were already asleep. He really didn’t get why Qian Qi wanted him to deliver Magibeast meat in the middle of the night.

He waited a long time and still didn’t see Qian Qi. Finally, he opened his Light-Brain and poked her in chat. Under the handle “Su City Young Master,” he typed: “Where are you? Why aren’t you down yet?”

“I Am Your Grandpa” replied right away: “Are you in a hurry?”

He answered as “Su City Young Master”: “Not… super urgent.”

Truth was, he was kind of scared. Some Magiplants could move on their own, though the academy banned planting those.

“I Am Your Grandpa” sent: “If you’re not in a hurry, turn around.”

Su Xing Le turned in confusion, and there was Qian Qi, smiling wide right behind him. He jumped in fright and yelped: “What the heck!”

When had she come over? How did she make no sound?

Qian Qi had a hoe on her shoulder, which made her hands full. She pointed at the box and said like she did this every day: “Help me carry it up.”

Su Xing Le didn’t dare refuse. He lifted the plastic box and followed her.

They walked on the “safe path.” It was only called safe because it stayed far from the test fields and out of Magiplant attack range. As they walked, Su Xing Le could clearly hear the crunch of twigs under their feet. In the silent dark, it sounded extra eerie.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw nearby Magiplants stretching their branches, trying to hit them. He tried to ease his nerves with small talk and asked in a shaky voice: “Um, Qian Qi, aren’t you scared?”

Qian Qi looked back at him, smiled for no reason, and asked: “Guess why I’m carrying a hoe?”

He thought hard and said: “To defend us? If a Magiplant attacks, you can fight back with the hoe?”

Qian Qi shook her head and answered in a calm voice: “Wrong. It’s in case the Magiplant tears you apart and I need a hoe to dig a hole and hide your body.”

Su Xing Le froze: “…”

Now he was even more scared. He had been afraid of Magiplants, but Qian Qi was way scarier than any plant.

After almost twenty minutes, they reached the spot. Qian Qi opened the plastic box and stared at the famous Magibeast meat. It looked like beef on the surface, but the fibers were tighter. She pinched it and found it was all firm, tough muscle.

She frowned and wondered: [It’s so tough. Can a Fire Qilin Lotus even digest this?]

She asked over her shoulder: “Is this hard to get?”

“Not that hard,” Su Xing Le said. “I know a graduated senior. He has a channel for buying fresh Magibeast meat.”

“Oh?” Qian Qi perked up and asked with interest: “What channels are there for Magibeast meat?”

Su Xing Le counted on his fingers and said: “Three. First, Awakeners enter Dungeons, hunt Magibeasts, and bring the bodies out. They sell the valuable parts to the Magibeast Research Institute. The leftover parts, like Magibeast meat, get sold to Beast Tamers as food for their Beast Contracting.”

He went on: “Second, the Magibeast Research Institute sells it on their official site. It’s more expensive, but the supply is steady, the price is stable, and they ship nationwide. No need to camp by a Dungeon gate hunting for Awakeners.”

He paused, then added: “Third is like my senior. After he joined the Magibeast Research Institute, he got hidden perks, like an exclusive right to sell. He buys Magibeast meat cheap inside the institute, then resells it.”

Qian Qi grew thoughtful. If she wanted to open a factory to make Hemostasis Potion later, she had to lock down a Magibeast meat supplier early. If she could connect with someone at the institute… for example, Su Xing Le’s senior.

Then she stopped herself and thought: [No, middlemen take a cut.]

She asked in a testy tone: “If your senior leaves the job, does he keep that exclusive selling right?”

Su Xing Le nodded and said: “Yes.”

A spark lit in Qian Qi’s eyes. Since that’s true, why not join the Magibeast Research Institute herself, get the exclusive selling right, then quit?

But she vaguely remembered you needed a Magibeast Department diploma and degree to work there. Looked like she still couldn’t avoid switching majors.

She clenched a fist and thought: [All right then. For affordable Magibeast meat, I’ll study hard and head for the Magibeast Department.]

She tossed one more thought to the sky and grinned: [Sweet retirement life, wait for me.]