Openly wielding weapons (11)
Shu Ningmiao wasn't actually looking at anyone.
Her gaze was fixed on the window that appeared in the void, with the figures behind it all blurred.
Condition: Kill at least three Corrupted Beings (Current progress: 1/3)
She stared at the window for a long time before she felt relieved.
Outside the system, most people's eyes were fixed on the screen in front of them, watching the scene just now in a daze—so far, this was the first student to fight against the contaminant.
Unlike the "Lightning" or "Light" abilities that most people favored, the first person to deal with the contaminated body was actually just an ordinary strength-enhanced student.
She didn't even cooperate with her teammates; she single-handedly killed the Corruptor in front of both teams.
The instructor of Class F instinctively praised, "Very crisp and clean movements, not bad."
Shu Ningmiao acted swiftly and decisively, landing lightly on the contaminated creature. Both attacks were clearly purposeful, ending the creature's life in an instant.
From a combat perspective, her movements can be described as graceful.
Yelü Qi suddenly remembered that during the first physical training class, he had unintentionally said that Shu Ningmiao's movements were not nimble enough. Now, looking at her movements, they were much faster than before. She had intentionally corrected herself because of his words.
A look of satisfaction appeared on his face. Geniuses are often arrogant and conceited. The little brats he used to teach were never this proactive and easy to manage.
Shu Ningmiao jumped up from the contaminated body, ignoring the group of people who were stunned in front of her, turned around and walked to Wei Shengqianheng, stretching out her arms covered in blood: "Can you clean it?"
Before she even started, she had already rolled up her sleeves, revealing snow-white arms covered not only with the blood and flesh splattered from the contaminant, but also with a pungent, filthy black slime that smelled like oil.
Shu Ningmiao felt like she was suffocating.
Remembering how Wei Shengqianheng had dried their clothes earlier, Shu Ningmiao stretched out her hand to Wei Shengqianheng, indicating that he should do it again.
Wei Shengqianheng squinted, and after a few seconds, he took her hand. Wet filth overflowed from between their intertwined fingers, making the sticky feeling even more obvious. Wei Shengqianheng's hand was soft and cold, and he pressed it against her hand, giving her a sharp icy blow. Goosebumps rose on Shu Ningmiao's forearm.
Even if it requires "contact," there's no need to get your hands covered in blood. Oh well, it's his own idea to touch her hand anyway.
Shu Ningmiao stared intently at his movements, trying to observe exactly how his superpower operated. Wei Shengqianheng lowered his eyes, and the dirt on her hands gradually disappeared into thin air. She could feel the dryness of the wind on her skin. The stickiness just now seemed like her illusion, leaving only the softness of his palm.
"Your ability isn't just about suppressing the abilities of those within your range, is it?" Shu Ningmiao's probing gaze fell on him: "'Forgiveness'..."
Wei Shengqianheng smiled strangely, his gaze passing over her shoulder: "They seem to know you."
Shu Ningmiao knew that he didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she didn't insist. She turned around and took in the people behind her.
Erici, the main character.
Su Ni is one of the targets of the romance plot.
You An is one of the targets.
Linlu, the protagonist's friend.
Rennagi, Yuan's teammate.
When did these five people get together? Shu Ningmiao put labels on each of their faces, then coldly crossed her arms and observed them.
When You An saw her, he looked pleased: "We meet again, what a coincidence!"
Rennagi bowed slightly to her, still maintaining a courteous demeanor.
Shu Ningmiao greeted her politely.
Hearing their previous conversation, Shu Ningmiao guessed that he and Lian Naqi had failed to find any information in the city, so they came out to try their luck, and unexpectedly ran into the pollutant.
As for why they met Erici, it can probably be attributed to the attraction between the protagonists.
Linlu raised an eyebrow: "Miss, shouldn't we have seen this first?"
"Then you'd better be quicker next time," Shu Ningmiao said nonchalantly. "Otherwise, I won't even know your names are written on this thing."
Linlu puts her hands on her hips.
Su Ni pulled Lin Lu aside, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards the person behind Shu Ningmiao: "Sister is on the other side of the pillar, she just didn't see us."
Eric followed behind him, nodding and echoing Su Ni's words, advising Linlu not to take it to heart.
Shu Ningmiao acted hastily upon seeing them, not giving them any time to react, fearing that one of them might attack and steal her credit.
Shu Ningmiao nodded: "I didn't see it."
Wei Shengqianheng glanced at her sideways.
"Let's not talk about that anymore. We can still fight the contaminated creature, right?" You An had somehow squatted down in front of the dead contaminated creature, curiously observing the creature whose head and body were completely separated. "Wow, you're really good at this. I thought you weren't good at it before..."
Shu Ningmiao was even more confused: "Not good at what?"
Are they close? Why does You An sound like he knows her so well when he says that?
“Because I saw you wearing a skirt during your first physical training session,” You An said bluntly, her eyes looking at her with a simple and pure emotion, without any mockery: “People who are good at sports don’t dress like that when they run.”
He then muttered in a low voice, barely audible to himself, "But it looks very good."
You Anxiang, who had never seen such a refined person before, stood there gracefully, like a soft and fragrant flower. Even from a distance, one could almost smell the fragrance. Even after running twenty kilometers in a disheveled state, she did not look ferocious. Her neck was beautiful and long, and her skin, bathed in sunlight, was even whiter than ivory.
He finished his run early, secretly observed Shu Ningmiao for two laps, and noticed that she was exhausted, so he went outside to buy her water.
To avoid seeming out of place, he bought water for everyone who stayed to run.
He finally managed to strike up a conversation, only to have Shi Yu interfere... After attending classes for a few days, he discovered that Shi Yu, who had taken the water he had given to Shu Ningmiao at the training ground, was Shu Ningmiao's boyfriend.
You An covered his head, and Shi Yu, being a man himself, must have realized it at that moment.
Moreover, even the most obtuse person could see how well-matched Shi Yu and Shu Ningmiao were—their social status, age, and appearance were practically a fairytale of a princess and a prince.
You An's young heart shattered before it even began to flutter.
Shu Ningmiao just wanted to spin him like a top. Who would have thought that she would have to run 20 kilometers on the first day of school, and she was wearing a formal uniform that met the standards of Cornunos!
She couldn't just stop running because the clothes didn't fit; if she heard that reason, Yelü Qi might not even give her a passing grade.
Most importantly, she had already wanted to erase the memory of barely completing the race in her ill-fitting clothes, but now You An was telling her that he remembered her disheveled appearance very clearly, which made Shu Ningmiao's face turn even worse.
Rennagi covered her face behind him and pinched his lower back wildly: "How rude of you to speak like that!"
Shu Ningmiao smiled slightly: "It's nothing."
She tugged at Wei Shengqianheng's sleeve and said, "Then we'll be going now."
She doesn't have time to chat with these people.
Su Ni suddenly took two steps forward and smiled ingratiatingly at her: "Sister, would you like to come with us? You're still missing a teammate, right? Would it be too much for two people?"
His gaze fell on Wei Shengqianheng behind Shu Ningmiao, implying that he felt Wei Shengqianheng, a support-type character, was of no help.
But he clearly hadn't discussed these words with his teammates, and Linlu glared at him coldly from behind.
Shu Ningmiao looked at them with interest: "Excuse me for being blunt, but if you had killed that contaminated creature just now, how would you have divided the spoils?"
The task of killing at least three infected is obviously a quota of one per person in the three-person team. If one person in the team can kill all three, that is also acceptable. In any case, there is no allocation problem within the team.
But if two teams kill a Corrupted Being, how should the kill count be divided? Should it be based on the team that contributed the most damage, or the team that killed it last?
Regardless, Shu Ningmiao killed the contaminated entity first precisely because she was worried about this.
Forty-eight hours is neither short nor long; there isn't much time to kill three contaminants.
Cooperation should be considered in the context of the situation. What are the benefits of cooperation in a place where pollutants are not prevalent?
Shu Ningmiao left without waiting for their reaction after saying that.
After walking a short distance, Wei Shengqianheng said thoughtfully, "Your younger brother doesn't seem to like me very much."
"He doesn't like anyone." Shu Ningmiao didn't take it to heart and casually replied, "He bites everyone he sees. You should stay away from him so he doesn't touch you."
Watching their figures disappear into the distance, Su Ni's expression shifted, and her fingers twitched nervously.
Linlu leaned against the ruins and rolled her eyes at him: "Can you please stop acting like a lapdog whenever you see her?"
Su Ni said softly, "Did I do anything to upset you? Why are you saying that?"
Erice was awkwardly caught in the middle, trying to smooth things over between the two of them.
Out of consideration for Eric, Linlu shut up and changed the subject, looking at Rennagi and the other person: "Let's go, let's look around the area again to see if there are any other pollutants."
You An said "Oh," but before she could come over, Lin Lu suddenly said, "Let's split up first."
——
As they continued along the edge of the coastline, Shu Ningmiao successfully killed several more pollutants. They never saw the pure white, humanoid pollutant they had encountered before again.
After killing these ordinary contaminants, Shu Ningmiao became even more certain that the contaminant she had encountered was not of T6 difficulty; thankfully, it flew away on its own.
Although she has already exceeded the original target for completing the task, Shu Ningmiao will still deliberately seek out new contaminants to ensure she gets the highest score.
Triggering the mission - Protect the residents
Incident: Residents of Pingyi are frequently troubled by pollutants, hindering their daily travel. Please do your part to protect the surrounding residents.
Category: Supernatural Abilities Practice
Difficulty: T6
Condition: Kill at least three Corrupted Beings (Current progress: 6/3)
Time limit: 48 hours (current remaining time: 9:28:12)
Rewards: 6 credits (basic reward) + 6 credits (hidden: first person to complete the task reward) + 12 credits (extra reward)
Failure penalty: Elimination (expired)
The sky quickly darkened. Unlike ordinary darkness, the sky in Pingyi was like an infinitely adjustable light bulb, changing from bright to dark without any color change, only a change in brightness.
If she were to return to the city now, she would have to travel a long way. The pollutants on the way here had been mostly cleared away, so Shu Ningmiao decided to rest on the spot and wait until the mission was over before going back.
What remains unsolved is the hidden quest Alan gave her. Alan said she lost her wind-up duck outside the protective wall, but the land outside the wall is so vast that finding a toy is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Shu Ningmiao wasn't discouraged by this. Just like when she casually asked Alan about unlocking the mission conditions, some missions might just require luck. If you're unlucky, there's nothing you can do if you can't find it.
Shu Ningmiao found some relatively clean discarded wooden planks, laid them on the black soil, and pieced them together to make something like a picnic mat. She sat on it and was able to catch her breath for a while.
Wei Shengqianheng sat next to her, watching the distant coastline where small white waves rippled, the subtle sound of the waves like a soft sob.
"Do you think there might be a fish with six arms crawling up from the sea?" Shu Ningmiao suddenly remembered the seafood she had eaten in Pingyi, and her face gradually stiffened: "Do you know how many arms Youkz has?"
The sea breeze made Wei Shengqianheng's voice sound soft: "Fish don't have hands."
As darkness fell completely, until the murky, blood-red color of the sea disappeared and the eeriness faded, all that remained was the endless expanse of the sea, its contours rising and falling, stretching towards the distant horizon.
The moon was not visible in the sky, and it was extremely dark all around. Shu Ningmiao was about to light a fire with the soil when she realized that if there was no light, how could she see the sea?
She looked at the sea again and saw that the surface of the sea in the distance was emitting a faint blue light.
The entire ocean was glowing.
She held her breath. The darker the sky became, the brighter the light in the sea became. The cold, magnificent blue waters were so stunning that they overshadowed the terror and eeriness of the daytime.
The blue fluorescence appeared and disappeared with the waves, moving like fish scales, with tiny specks of light scattered throughout the water.
Shu Ningmiao stood up, gazing intently at the unreal beauty of the sea. Wei Shengqianheng reached out towards the waves, his long hair blowing across his face, his beauty as enchanting as the sea itself: "This is the true color of Pandora."
“The textbook says Pandora is colorless,” Shu Ningmiao said, then paused and added, “Didn’t you say fish don’t have arms?”
Not far away, an unidentified object, washed ashore by the waves, stood up awkwardly.
The unidentified object was a fish as long as her arm, but it had four complete limbs and was running along the coastline on all fours.
“I mean,” Wei Shengqianheng said seriously, “things that can be eaten don’t grow hands.”
This fish is definitely a pollutant, but the shore it washed ashore was still some distance away from them.
Shu Ningmiao put aside her admiration for the sea and headed in that direction. After taking only a few steps, she noticed a soft light falling on the fish.
Enveloped in light, the fish suddenly stopped moving.
It seemed someone had gotten there first. Shu Ningmiao stopped and looked at the amphibious long-legged fish enveloped in light. A moment later, the light dissipated, and the fish fell into the black soil with a splash, its limbs gone.
The fish turned into a real fish.
Shu Ningmiao was surprised.
"Great, now we only need one more."
She heard a familiar voice again and looked in the direction of the voice. The speaker was Lin Lu, but it was not easy to recognize her in the dim light. Shu Ningmiao only recognized her when they walked to the fish.
Eric picked up the fish that had fallen to the ground and gently put it back into the sea.
Is this the protagonist's special ability?
Shu Ningmiao was deeply shocked.
She glanced back at Wei Shengqianheng. Compared to Wei Shengqianheng's special ability, Ai Ruiji's talent could be considered true "purification"... What was his?
Wei Shengqianheng smiled, not understanding why.
Shu Ningmiao walked back to her original spot, showing no intention of going forward again. At this time, most teams had already started hunting the Corrupted Beings. Even those who hadn't found the mission conditions had unlocked the mission by chance, just like You An and the others.
She saw many other teams along the way and found that having powerful superpowers and mastering them are two completely different things. Many people, when faced with the bizarre contaminants, simply couldn't remember how to use their superpowers to cause the greatest damage.
Eric's ability mechanism is just as overpowered as Su Ni's. If there were no restrictions, he might be invincible against the corrupted. No wonder he's a protagonist.
...But there must be limitations, right? Shu Ningmiao couldn't help but ponder.
Also, we've met so many people, where did Shi Yu go? Why haven't we seen a single person? Could he have fallen into the sea and been swept away?
Shu Ningmiao was thinking about these things, but she didn't show it on her face. She discussed it with Wei Shengqianheng and they decided to take turns keeping watch, each sleeping for three hours.
In this wilderness, she slept lightly, her attention alert, a hazy drowsiness enveloping her head.
Although they had spent some time together, she still didn't quite trust Wei Shengqianheng. The slightest noise would dispel her sleepiness, and as she slowly regained consciousness, she felt a vague coldness in her hands, as if something was touching them.
Shu Ningmiao tried to open her eyes, but found that her body suddenly felt as heavy as the mud and sand in the sea, and she couldn't open her eyes at all.
She initially thought Wei Shengqianheng was just touching her for no reason, and raised her hand to slap him, but suddenly realized that Wei Shengqianheng's hand was very soft, as if it had no bones, while the thing that touched her hand was cold and hard.
Shu Ningmiao instantly regained her senses.
There was a contaminant, and Wei Shengqianheng didn't call her.
He has been bitten to death by the contaminant?
Shu Ningmiao quickly came to a conclusion and comforted herself, "It's okay. Although Wei Shengqianheng is dead, his legacy remains. I'm sure the Yangsong Church won't mind."
She controlled the muscles in her arm, waiting for her sluggish body to regain sensation. At that moment, she suddenly stood up, twisted her wrist to grab whatever was touching her, and with a burst of amazing strength, flung it away.
She could vaguely sense her supernatural state, which was currently a combination of [anger] and [arrogance].
To her surprise, the contaminant that touched her was very short, only reaching her waist. After she shook it off, it lay on the ground for a long time, unable to get up.
She looked around but didn't see Wei Shengqianheng. Could he really be that bad?
The monster stood up unsteadily, with hair as dry as algae and an extremely thin neck, making its head appear as large as a bucket hanging from its neck.
This is the second humanoid pollutant she has encountered so far. Unlike the first pollutant she has met, this pollutant has a very weak aura and its face is severely distorted. The only distinguishable features on its face are its dense fangs.
This pollutant seems to be a bit malnourished.
Shu Ningmiao slowly drew the iron sword from her back and aimed it at the swaying superhuman in front of her, but did not make a move immediately.
This contaminant was more human-like than any other bizarre contaminant she had ever seen. Although it was deformed, it had complete limbs, hair, a mouth, and ulcerated eyes and nose.
The pollutant let out a threatening hiss at her.
Shu Ningmiao could attack monsters without hesitation, but she hesitated slightly when faced with the polluted creature that was similar to a human.
It really looks so much like a human.
It's very difficult for people to harm their own kind.
She knew perfectly well that everything in front of her was fake; she was data, and the monster was also data. Her fear and her empathy were meaningless.
Her mission is to 'kill the contaminated creatures'.
Shu Ningmiao held the iron sword and swiftly pierced the contaminated creature's chest, watching it slowly fall down without even struggling.
Not knowing how to face this weak polluted entity, Shu Ningmiao drew her sword, rewrapped the iron sword with the cloth strips, and walked to its side.
This contaminated body was different from the others. What was gushing from its chest was no longer blood, but a black liquid that looked like oil. When she pierced it with an iron sword, the black viscous liquid gurgled and bubbled, making one's scalp tingle.
Shu Ningmiao looked down for a while, and suddenly a window popped up in front of her.
She thought it was a pop-up message prompting her to kill the infected, and was about to close it without even looking at it, but when she glanced at it casually, she was suddenly stunned.
Trigger Quest (Hidden) - Find Items
Event: Alan, the daughter of a snack shop owner, asks you to find her lost toy outside the security wall.
Category: ? ? ?
Difficulty: None
Condition: Find the wind-up duck (Current progress: Found)
Time limit: None
Rewards: 6 credits (hidden), Alan's favorability x50, instant exit x1
Failure penalty: None
The hidden quest's progress has changed to "Found".
Shu Ningmiao froze on the spot, a very bad premonition rising from behind her. When did she find the wind-up duck? Just now?
She suddenly squatted down, her arm hovering in mid-air for several seconds before placing it on the contaminated body.
Shu Ningmiao grabbed the tainted body's tightly clenched hand. She had just noticed that the hand seemed to be holding something, and it was a size larger than the other hand that had touched her, but she hadn't paid any attention to it.
She gently pried open the dry, cold fingers and found a small yellow duck lying in one of its hands.
The plastic duck's rear end was completely rusted and had turned blackish-yellow. Shu Ningmiao picked it up from her hand, and a few drops of black liquid oozed from the gap between the toy and the wind-up mechanism.
Wait, it just touched her hand, was it trying to shove this into her hand?
Shu Ningmiao noticed that her fingertips were trembling strangely, but her mind gradually cleared up.
She picked up the contaminated object, looked up to observe its approximate location, and confirmed the direction she had just seen.
——
At this point, there were less than three hours left before Erici's mission ended, and they still couldn't find the last contaminated object. Other teams were also searching along the coastline, but they couldn't even find any leftovers. Linlu was a little frustrated: "I should have known better than to give that one to Youan and the others."
Eric whispered, "If we miss one, will we fail?"
"No way, two should be enough to pass, three should be a perfect score." Linlu held up one finger and shook it.
“That’s already great!” Eric clasped his hands together and smiled without any reservations. “It’s okay, this way we and You An can all pass.”
Linlu sighed helplessly, "You're just too easygoing."
Su Ni leaned against the corner of the broken wall, quietly watching the waves. Lin Lu kept her distance from him. She always felt that he was like a dog that couldn't bark; the quieter he was, the more of a headache he became.
Su Ni suddenly moved and said, "Sister."
Linlu rolled her eyes: "Are you crazy?"
Su Ni stepped aside slightly, and Lin Lu saw the whole scene. She stood up in shock. The blue sea behind Su Ni faintly illuminated the outline of the surroundings, and a figure emerged from the darkness.
The girl's face was calm and expressionless. She held an unidentifiable pollutant in her arms, from which thick black liquid continuously flowed, staining her clothes. Linlu was startled by her appearance and retreated repeatedly.
Shu Ningmiao knelt down and placed the contaminated object on the flat ground in front of them. She said to Eric, who was sitting at the innermost part of the room, "It's not dead yet. Use your ability on it. The kill count is yours."
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