Chapter 24: This time, it seems to hurt a little

Rustle~ Rustle~

In the silent night, moonlight spilled like water but couldn’t pierce the thick darkness of the Second Sacred Ruins’ canopy, rendering visibility dim.

Su Qi cautiously followed the Cangyou Wildcat Team, each step crunching through plants and snapping dry twigs. The sounds, amplified in the quiet, mingled with eerie animal cries, evoking a horror movie atmosphere that sent chills down her spine.

As a student, Su Qi had often imagined the Sacred Ruins as a magical green realm teeming with spirit beasts and plants, a fantastical escape from the steel-and-concrete real world. But now, adjusting to the darkness with a ten-step visibility limit, the black, ominous ambiance taught her the harsh gap between dreamy ideals and grim reality.

“Ten meters ahead, there’s a sleeping zombie. Watch your step,” An Xiao Ling’s cute voice called from the treetops.
“Fifty meters out, a beastman. Let’s veer left to avoid it.”
“A hundred meters ahead, a new swamp has formed—likely a new spirit beast. Go right.”

Guided by An Xiao Ling’s map and scouting, the team navigated toward the purple fruit forest. Occasional spirit beasts, disturbed from sleep, attacked, but Lin Xue, Haozi, and Da Shan dispatched them effortlessly, saving energy on pointless fights.

After thirty minutes in the Ruins, the pitch-black night began sparkling with faint purple lights, like fireflies flickering in and out. As they drew closer, the lights multiplied, forming a purple sea.

Mesmerized by the surreal, almost cinematic beauty, Su Qi’s Crisp Wife form leaned into a feminine sentimentality. Her mouth parted in a soft gasp, hands resting on her slightly heaving chest.

Lin Xue, ever by her side, let out a faint chuckle. “Boss Su, let’s see if you’re still smiling when you realize what those purple lights are.”

Puzzled at first, Su Qi understood as they neared the forest. The glowing “fireflies” were no insects but sleeping purple spirit snakes, coiled on branches. Each breath made their tiny heads pulse with purple light.

This revelation reframed the B+ mission’s difficulty. ‘This is way tougher than I thought. If the snakes catch me picking fruit, I’ll be swarmed into a snake ball!’ The mental image made her shudder.

An Xiao Ling, leaping lightly from a branch, brought news. “Su-jie, there’s another newbie nearby, also doing the Spirit Snake Fruit mission, but testing as a guardian. You should watch their approach first!”

Another newbie? Same mission? Su Qi blinked, relieved. ‘So this isn’t Lin Xue-jie’s plot to “eat” me. It’s a standard team interview task. Did I misjudge her?’

Nodding at An Xiao Ling’s suggestion, Su Qi agreed observing the snakes’ patterns and attacks would help, even if her test focused on evasion rather than guarding.

Though An Xiao Ling’s tip bordered on cheating, the team tacitly ignored it.

Guided by An Xiao Ling, they crept around the forest’s edge to the other candidate’s location. In the snakes’ purple glow, Su Qi froze.

‘The world is so small!’

The guardian candidate was none other than Li Jian, her former classmate who’d mocked her days ago at school, only to be humbled by her.

Li Jian was eyeing a ripe spirit snake fruit high in a tree, cautiously stepping forward. The coiled snakes slept soundly.

But as he reached the tree’s base, a faint hiss broke the silence. A light-sleeping snake stirred, baring its fangs in warning. Its hiss woke others, and within seconds, the tree buzzed like a disturbed beehive, purple lights flickering as snakes slithered awake.

Bolder snakes descended, poised to strike.

Haozi, noticing Su Qi’s worry, spoke in a deliberately high-pitched, feminine voice. “Boss Su, no need to fret. Spirit snakes eat these fruits and are docile, with shallow, non-lethal fangs. Bites hurt but aren’t deadly, so teams use this as an interview spot. Just don’t kill any snakes—it’ll enrage the colony, and they’ll swarm.”

Su Qi appreciated the info but cringed at Haozi’s bubbly tone. ‘I’m a guy! I don’t need another guy flirting like that!’ It felt… wrong.

Before she could retort, An Xiao Ling jumped in. “Hey, Haozi, is your throat broken? That voice gave me chills. Stop it, it’s gross!”

“What’s that, loli? Wanna fight? I’m all about gender equality!” Haozi snapped.

“Pfft, catch me first, you big pig!” An Xiao Ling taunted.

As their banter flared, Li Jian made his move.

Roar!

Facing the oncoming snakes, he tore off his shirt, muscles bulging, and charged the tree, ignoring the snakes wrapping around him. He climbed, undeterred, as more snakes bit his toughened skin, hardened by his fitness ability.

Su Qi gaped. ‘Just… climbing through like that? So hardcore!’

Observing the snakes’ attacks, she noted their speed was slower than her 50 agility. ‘If I dodge well, they won’t touch me.’

As she prepared to start her trial, a loud thud rang out. Li Jian had fallen from the tree.

Puzzled—‘His muscles blocked the bites, so why’d he fall? Is there a snake king?’—Su Qi glanced at Li Jian’s lower body, spotting purple flashes beneath his dark pants.

Instinctively, she clamped her white-stockinged legs together.

‘Ouch… that’s gotta hurt!’