Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Find an Angel to Love You for Me

Rubbing the red bump on her forehead, Qian Qi pushed herself up and stared at the strange plain and the dark forest around her, her eyes going wide: “Wow!”

She breathed out in wonder, squinting at the empty sky that somehow still poured down bright, warm light: “Could this be the legendary space?” She straightened, [Me, Qian Qi, getting a perfect cheat like a personal space? No way!]

[Dear, I’ve told you ten thousand times, stop daydreaming~ ^_^]

Qian Qi froze, [???]

She lifted a hand to shield her face from the steady wind as her messy nest of hair whipped around and asked, “Then what is this?” The sky had no sun, yet the light was almost blinding and warm. A breeze brushed her nose and carried a faint, strange, sweet-fishy smell of grass. A bad feeling rose in her chest as she whispered: “Don’t tell me this is a Monster Dungeon?!”

[Congratulations, you got it right~ ^v^]

Qian Qi’s mouth fell open, [!!!]

She yelped at the air, “System, don’t mess with me! I’m a weak girl who can’t even tie up a chicken. If I walk into a dungeon without any prep, I’ll die so fast!”

The Blue System Panel flickered once, then played dead.

Left alone in the wind on the empty plain, Qian Qi hugged her thin arms around herself. After a moment, her eyes watered. She sniffed and muttered, “Nineteen years old and in my prime, not a millionaire yet, haven’t even flirted with a cute boy, and I definitely have not kept eight boy models on a salary, and now I’m going to die quietly in a Monster Dungeon…”

[…]

[It’s just an E rank dungeon. What are you chickening out for?]

Turning away from the panel, Qian Qi spoke in a dramatic, ancient-court tone: “This lonely one is only a tool unloved by Lord System. I understand. I will try to live and not shame Lord System…”

[…]

“If I die, Lord System must not be sad. Someone as weak as me is not worth your tears…”

[…]

“It’s a pity I can’t, before I die, find an angel to love you for me…”

[…Enough. Stop talking.] The System finally snapped: [I can show you a way.]

Qian Qi spun back with a bright grin, “I knew Lord System had a broad heart…”

[Ten thousand yuan.]

Her smile flipped to a scowl in an instant: “Ten thousand? You greedy, heartless shopkeeper, do I look like I’m worth ten thousand to you?!”

[…Are you paying or not?]

“I’ll pay, I’ll pay.” Qian Qi’s swagger died at once. She knew her limits, and she did not want to add “seeking death” to the list.

She tried anyway, rubbing her fingers together as she wheedled, “Can you make it cheaper? How about five thousand?”

[Sure~]

Qian Qi lit up, already thinking the System was being oddly kind today, when the Blue System Panel lazily printed a line: [Five thousand buys you half a life~ ^v^]

Qian Qi’s smile froze, […]

Grinding her teeth, she transferred the full ten thousand.

At once the Blue System Panel went whoosh toward the forest at the edge of the plain.

Qian Qi hurried after it at a trot, taking in the E rank dungeon as she ran. It was not as scary as she had imagined. Warm light laid a pale halo over an endless sea of gold-green grass. When the wind came, the flat grass rippled like waves, rolling and rolling until she could not look away.

Deep in the middle stood a black forest packed with strange trees. Even though the sky was bright, the light seemed to bounce off those trees and vanish, leaving the inside dim and heavy. Mist-white damp crept between the trunks, mysterious enough to pull you in and still make you hesitate.

After nearly ten minutes of running, she reached the forest edge, breathing hard. From within, she could hear magibeast howls rising and falling.

She swallowed. She could not just walk in.

She refused to step into danger without a plan, especially after hearing beasts inside. Her eyes swept around fast, then stopped on a magiplant.

Cloudspike.

Its color was soft and white like a cloud, but its body was a long cone like a nail, the top needle-sharp, able to pierce the tough hide of passing E rank monsters. Its killing power was small though, and its sharpness could not compare to the claws of other E rank magibeasts, so weapons made from Cloudspike were unpopular and cheap.

Qian Qi patted her pocket and pulled out a small self-defense knife. She dug the soil loose around the Cloudspike’s base, pried out the whole plant, shaved off its soft, tangled roots, and smoothed it down so it wouldn’t rub her hands. Then she moved to another magiplant.

Venom Spirit Gourd.

A string of small brown-red gourds held about 10 ml of black poison inside. Squeezed hard, it sprayed a poisonous mist that could make humans faint. If you extracted the liquid and injected it, an E rank magibeast without Poison Resistance would go numb and pass out within three minutes. A classmate at school had grown these, and she had studied them before, so she knew the details well.

Qian Qi sliced off the top of a gourd and poured the black poison onto the tip of her Cloudspike. After opening five small gourds in a row and soaking the spike tip, she finally had the courage to step into the black forest.

The Blue System Panel waited quietly. When she finished, it turned and zipped deeper between the trees.

Qian Qi stepped into the forest’s shadow. It was dark and damp in here, the weak light only showing a narrow path on the ground. With magibeast roars echoing around, she slowed her steps to near silence and followed the panel.

After a tense sneak, the Blue System Panel stopped.

[]

Three thick arrows blinked on its screen. Qian Qi crept closer and found a new magiplant not listed in Magiplant Studies.

[Peel it open .]

Qian Qi stared at the plant. It had black thorns all over and only one big plate-shaped head: […]

Where was she supposed to start?

She took out her knife, pinched aside the thorns, and finally found a small crack point. She wedged the big black plate between two stones, set her knife tip on the crack, then grabbed a small rock and hammered the knife handle hard.

Crack.

The shell split. Inside wriggled pink, fleshy growths. Following the System’s prompt, Qian Qi grimaced and reached in, feeling around until she fished out three brown, candy-sized fruits.

Shaking stringy white slime off her fingers, she triggered her Analysis Skill on the fruits.

[Magiplant Name: Tuban Fruit
Host Magiplant: Tuban Nightshade
Rank: E+
Effect: After taking, gain 10 minutes of physical defense; can resist D rank magibeasts and attacks at D rank and below;
Suggested market price: yuan per piece]

“Whoa!” Qian Qi blurted.

[Hmph. See? It can block D rank damage. Pretty impress-]

“One piece sells for thirty thousand! This dungeon wasn’t a waste at all. System, I love you!” Qian Qi grabbed the Blue System Panel and peppered it with kisses.

[…Huh?] [I thought you’d be happy you could live. You’re happy about money? And stop kissing the great me! Your drool is gross!]