Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Believe Nothing That Comes Out of Qian Qi’s Mouth

“Looks like before the boss refreshes, humans can go in and out of a Dungeon freely,” Qian Qi said, rubbing her chin. She had heard that monsters in E rank Dungeons respawn every 48 hours. Of course, what respawns is a new monster of the same type, not the exact one that died.

“What a pity,” she mused. “If the same lion head boss came back, it might have a mental shadow when it sees me and just surrender on the spot.”

That way, she wouldn’t need to work herself to death doing it personally. Qian Qi sounded truly regretful.

[She isn’t just a weirdo; she’s a devil,] the System thought.

“But can a Dungeon get stuck underground like this?” Qian Qi asked, staring at the portal wedged into the dirt with only a point sticking out.

“Of course,” the System said. “There can be Dungeons in volcanoes, on the sea floor, in desert quicksand, or even in swampy forest bogs.”

These sleeping Dungeons were the best kind for humans and for Contract Beast Evolution.

Sadly, humans didn’t know that.

Qian Qi looked thoughtful. She opened her Light-Brain, searched for a while, then chuckled: “If a Dungeon can be farmed, if I run it enough times, can my Strength Attribute reach C rank?”

“C is a stretch, but D+ is no problem,” the System said, already guessing what she planned.

“Even better.” Qian Qi gazed at the buried portal and smiled in a spooky way. As far as she knew, Dungeons were public resources in this world. Lots of people lined up to enter cleared Dungeons to kill the boss and get rewards.

But now… she could monopolize one.

Qian Qi suddenly stood very straight, turned to look around, and her eyes landed on a small stone on the ground. She crouched, put her hands together, and bowed with great sincerity: “Thank you, Stone Boss, for tripping me into the Dungeon. I’ll repay this favor one day!”

When she finished, she carefully picked up the little stone. She decided to set it on a shelf at home and worship it later.

The true culprit, the Blue System Panel, thought: [……]

[Unbelievable. This girl.]

Oblivious to the panel’s rising outrage, Qian Qi scratched her Chicken-Nest Hair 2.0 and looked down at her torn clothes. She decided to find something to wear first.

Before leaving, she hauled over a big rock and pressed it down on the Dungeon portal so the kids at the orphanage wouldn’t wander in by accident.

“No, still not safe enough,” she said after staring at it. She wiped her fingers on her charred clothes, then used the black soot to draw a snarling stick figure on the boulder.

Under it she wrote, extra big: Qian Qi exclusive, do not touch!!!

“Now it’s safe,” Qian Qi said, leaving the garden in a great mood.

The System Panel lingered, staring at the boulder: (??_?)……

[Yeah. It does feel safe. Even I don’t want to touch it.]

On her way back, Qian Qi passed the Dean’s office window. She was about to ask for spare clothes when she saw Xiang Wen Yun inside, holding a photo and wiping away tears.

“Mom, your daughter isn’t capable. I can’t keep the orphanage running,” Xiang Wen Yun said, gently stroking the picture of an older woman with a warm smile. She had inherited the orphanage from her mother, along with her mother’s will and faith.

When she was young, she never understood why her wealthy mother would run this orphanage at a loss. Her mother said she was following their ancestors’ will, and that she would understand when she grew up. Later, when she became an adult and ran the place herself, her mother didn’t have to say anything. She understood.

This world is too cruel to orphans.

Awakener Skills appear at random. Some people awaken when they are little; some not until middle age. In a world where having an Awakener Skill makes you superior, orphans who awaken early become prime targets. Trafficking, brainwashing, and exploitation in the shadows never end, and the stories are terrifying.

Children abandoned at birth because they failed to awaken, kids dumped because they didn’t meet “great expectations,” even those who enter normal orphanages often go hungry and cold while the staff nag them to awaken soon. Some orphans tasted love and then lost their parents in a Magibeast wave. Others were born with “love” that turned out to be fake and were thrown away. Which is sadder? No one can say.

Is it sadder to grow up poor and become timid and ordinary, or to be praised as an Awakener child and never have a will of your own?

Like her ancestors, Xiang Wen Yun wanted to protect them. At least let them eat well, dress warmly, grow up in warmth, then learn a skill so they can support themselves.

“If only I were an Awakener,” Xiang Wen Yun whispered, her gentle eyes full of unwillingness. The women on her mother’s side had all been Awakeners. Even when money was tight, they could enter Dungeons, hunt monsters, and earn money. But in her generation, she was ordinary. She could only watch the savings drain away.

“I even wanted to have a child to inherit the orphanage, but I’ve been too busy. I don’t even have time to date,” she said with a bitter smile. Her gaze fell on the fruit on the desk, and her mood lifted. “Oh right, remember the girl I told you about, Qian Qi? She came back today and even brought fruit.”

“I knew that child had a kind heart. When she first came to the orphanage, her Light-Brain album had the sweetest smile. It’s a pity about her parents,” Xiang Wen Yun sighed softly. “It seems entering the Magiplant Studies Institute has helped her untie some knots.”

“I hope she keeps getting better.”

Outside the window, Qian Qi listened, and her chest tightened. Sadly, she still couldn’t remember anything. Maybe it was the kind of memory the original her didn’t want anyone to see, so it was hard to recall.

After a long quiet moment, Qian Qi turned away. Better not go to the Dean right now. If she saw Qian Qi’s scorched, ripped clothes, she would ask all kinds of questions Qian Qi didn’t want to answer.

Where could she find clothes…

Sneaking along, Qian Qi’s eyes landed on a few rows of drying racks in the front yard.

[*smiles to herself*]

[You aren’t thinking…] the System started.

“So what! Why can’t I?” Qian Qi shot back.

Seeing no one around, she tiptoed to the racks and tugged down two pieces of clothing. Thankfully, there were some older kids in the orphanage, so the sizes would barely fit her.

She turned to find an empty room to change, and ran right into a kid’s stare.

“…”

“…”

The boy gave her a complicated look and said: “Do you have no shame? Stealing a kid’s clothes?”

Qian Qi’s face flushed as she said: “Shoo, shoo. Can’t you see my clothes are in pieces?”

He glanced at her shredded outfit, sighed like a little adult, then turned and said: “The ones you grabbed aren’t dry yet. Come with me.” He paused and added, a little stiffly: “I’m only doing this because of the candy.”

Qian Qi was touched. Putting the clothes back on the rack, she trotted after him and promised: “Don’t worry, I won’t take clothes for free. In a few days, I’ll have the Dean Mother buy you all new ones.”

He gave her a long, skeptical look. He didn’t believe women’s promises, especially not Qian Qi’s. He already knew the Dean Mother was out of money and the orphanage was about to be shut down. The kids his age all knew, but everyone pretended they didn’t.

Sadly, they were still too young and hadn’t awakened any skills, so they couldn’t help the Dean Mother earn money. Thinking that, he shot a glare at the oldest one here, Qian Qi.

[Useless. Nineteen and still hasn’t awakened anything.]

“Uh?” Qian Qi blinked.