Chapter 30
Chapter 30: Find an Angel to Love You for Me
Qian Qi rubbed the raw spot on her forehead, pushed herself upright, and stared at the unfamiliar plains and the distant forest. Her eyes went wide.
“Whoa!”
No sun hung overhead, yet the whole world glowed with warm light—bright enough to sting. Wind skimmed her cheeks and whipped her already-messy hair into a full-blown disaster. The air smelled sweet and grassy, with a weird metallic tang underneath.
“Don’t tell me…” She swallowed. “Is this the legendary… space?!”
A perfect cheat. A personal storage dimension. The kind of golden finger that made protagonists rich and unstoppable—
The System’s panel flashed, utterly unmoved. “Honey, how many times do I have to tell you? Stop daydreaming. ^_^”
Qian Qi’s smile twitched. “Then what is this?”
The bad feeling in her gut sprouted teeth.
“…Wait. This isn’t a magic creature dungeon, is it?!”
“Congratulations,” the panel chirped. “You’re right. ^v^”
Qian Qi’s soul tried to climb out through her scalp. “System! Don’t mess with me! I’m a weak, fragile teenage girl with zero combat experience. If you drop me into a dungeon with no prep, I’ll die horribly!”
The panel flickered once.
And played dead.
Qian Qi stood alone on the open plain, the wind cold and uncaring, and hugged her own skinny arms like that would help.
After a beat, she started wiping nonexistent tears.
“Me, nineteen years old, still not a millionaire… still haven’t flirted with any pretty boys… haven’t even kept eight male models…” She sniffled dramatically. “And now I’m going to die quietly in a dungeon…”
The panel finally popped back up, irritated. “It’s an E-rank dungeon. What are you panicking for?”
Qian Qi turned her back to it and spoke in a mournful, royal tone. “This humble one is merely a tool unloved by System Lord. This humble one understands. This humble one will try to survive, so as not to shame Your Lordship…”
The panel said nothing.
“If this humble one dies,” Qian Qi continued, voice even more tragic, “System Lord mustn’t grieve. This humble one is too weak to deserve your sorrow…”
Still nothing.
“What a pity,” Qian Qi sighed, “that before dying, this humble one cannot find an angel to love you in my stead…”
“…Shut up,” the System snapped. “I can point you to a way out.”
Qian Qi spun around and smiled so fast it should’ve been illegal. “I knew System Lord was magnanimous—”
“Ten thousand yuan.”
Her smile fell off a cliff. “Ten thousand? You greedy, heartless merchant! Do I look like I’m worth ten thousand?!”
The panel’s tone went flat. “Pay or don’t.”
“Fine, fine!” Qian Qi caved instantly. She knew exactly how much she was worth in a dungeon. “But can’t you make it cheaper? Five thousand?”
“Sure,” the panel said sweetly.
Qian Qi’s eyes lit up—until the blue screen lazily typed: “Five thousand buys you half a life. ^v^”
Qian Qi stared. Then, with a grudge so deep it sprouted roots, she transferred the full ten thousand.
The blue panel zipped off toward the forest at the edge of the plain.
Qian Qi jogged after it, panting, scanning the dungeon as she ran. The grassland rolled forever, golden-green like an ocean under wind. Warm light spilled across it in soft halos. Beautiful—almost peaceful.
Then there was the Black Forest.
Light seemed to bend away from it. Even with the world so bright, the forest stayed dim, pale mist crawling between the trunks. It was the kind of place that invited curiosity…
…and punished it.
After nearly ten minutes, Qian Qi hit the forest’s edge, gasping. From inside came distant howls—layered, hungry.
She swallowed hard.
No way she was walking in unarmed.
Her gaze snapped to a nearby magic plant: Cloudthorn Sunflower. It looked gentle—soft white like a cloud—but its stalk was long and conical, ending in a vicious spike. Sharp enough to pierce an E-rank magic creature’s hide.
It wasn’t a popular weapon material. Not sharp enough compared to claws and fangs, and not deadly enough to justify the effort. Which meant it was cheap.
Perfect for someone broke and doomed.
Qian Qi pulled out the small knife she carried for “self-defense,” dug around the base, and yanked the plant free. She trimmed off the roots, cleaned the grip, then hurried to another magic plant.
Venom Magic Gourd.
A string of brown-red gourds, each holding about ten milliliters of venom. Squeeze it hard and it sprayed poisonous fog—enough to knock out humans. Draw the venom and inject it directly, and most E-rank magic beasts without poison resistance would go numb and drop within three minutes.
She’d analyzed it before. A classmate at school grew it.
Qian Qi sliced open the tops and poured the black venom over the Cloudthorn Sunflower’s spike. One gourd. Two. Three. Four. Five.
Only then did she dare step into the Black Forest.
Inside, it was damp and shadowed, the path barely visible under the dim glow. The air felt heavier, the silence sharper. Qian Qi forced her steps quiet and followed the blue panel deeper, listening to distant snarls like they were breathing down her neck.
After a long stretch of heart-hammering sneaking, the panel finally stopped.
Three thick arrows appeared on the screen, pointing down.
“? ? ?”
Qian Qi edged closer and found a strange new magic plant—one that wasn’t even recorded in the Magic Plant Studies textbook. It was covered in black thorns, with a huge, plate-like “face” that looked more like armor than fruit.
The panel’s instruction popped up: “Peel it open.”
Qian Qi stared at it. “Peel it open how? With my prayers?”
She wedged the hard “face” between two stones, found a hairline crack, pressed her knife tip in, and hammered the handle with a rock.
Crack.
The black shell split, revealing wriggling pink flesh inside.
With the System directing her like a smug supervisor, Qian Qi forced her hand into the sticky mess and fumbled out three small brown fruits, each about the size of a candy bean.
She shook the white slime off her fingers and activated her Analysis Technique.
“Magic Plant Name: Earth Tuber Fruit
Source Magic Plant: Earth Tuber Magic Eggplant
Rank: E-rank+
Effect: Grants ten minutes of physical defense after consumption; can withstand attacks from D-rank magic beasts and below.
Suggested Market Price: 30,000 yuan per fruit.”
“Holy shit!” Qian Qi blurted.
The panel puffed up instantly. “Hmph. See? D-rank defense. Isn’t that amaz—”
“One fruit sells for thirty thousand?” Qian Qi’s pupils turned into money signs. “This dungeon was worth it! System, I love you to death!”
And before the panel could flee, Qian Qi grabbed it and kissed it repeatedly like she’d lost her mind.
The panel froze. Then it vibrated with pure, internal indignation.
“…Huh?” it managed. “I thought you’d be excited about surviving, but you’re excited about money?! Also—stop kissing me! Your saliva is disgusting!”