Chapter 9: Chased away
“Senior, aren’t we taking the spore monsters too lightly by riding on the road out in the open like this?”
Zhen Yu was worried.
“Our rest time now was stipulated by Silver Trojan. The spore monsters will never attack unless you go within a 10 meters radius.”
Sun Yuan explained, “You’ll understand when the hour is up. Once the spore monsters discover a player, they will chase them to the end of the earth. They will not stop until they fulfill their sole purpose of implanting their eggs.”
This was one of the main reasons why Sun Yuan was out to farm some points; it would be hard to do so when the spore monsters grouped up.
“That’s too terrifying!”
Zhen Yu was appalled, “These monsters transformed because they were drenched in that pink rain, right? What about us? Are we in any danger?”
Although the drizzle was thinning, Zhen Yu’s clothes were still wet from the selfies she had taken in the rain previously.
“The rainwater contains spores which infect humans upon contact. That was how the first type of spore monsters appeared.”
Sun Yuan patiently explained.
“The second type of spore monsters are those implanted with eggs.”
There was actually a third type that would arrive through the tower of god, but Sun Yuan couldn’t talk about it. How was he supposed to explain how he knew such information?
“W-will I transform into one of them?”
Zhen Yu panicked as her heart thumped.
“If you lived a healthy lifestyle and kept your body healthy, you won’t be infected.”
Sun Yuan comforted her.
“I’m doomed! I stay up late every night!”
Zhen Yu wanted to cry, but her tears wouldn’t flow, “I swear I’ll stop staying up late to watch dramas and play video games as long as I don’t transform into a spore monster!”
“Hehe!”
Sun Yuan expressed his skepticism with a slight chuckle.
“But now that the rain is thinning, the risk of infection would drop as well, right?”
Zhen Yu asked hopefully.
Sun Yuan kept quiet as he looked at her white nape.
Most people were either panic buying at the supermarkets or hiding away, many of them in groups. Once the break was over, some unlucky people who were previously caught in the rain would start transforming.
It was like a trump card to initiate the infection within the crowd. If they were not quickly dealt with, the infection would only propagate exponentially.
People who had experienced the coronavirus pandemic would understand how terrifyingly fast it spread. It represented a vast amount of potential spore monsters.
But the game was fair. Every player who survived the beginner levels would be immune to the spore-infested rainwater. However, they would still transform if they were implanted with eggs.
Hence, there was still a possibility of Zhen Yu transforming into a spore monster.
If that were to happen, her legs would be sorely missed.
As the two of them conversed in low voices, they arrived at canteen 1.
Gu Cheng University had a massive campus with over thirty thousand staff and students. It had four canteens to ensure everyone was well fed, with one canteen specializing in halal food for the Muslims.
Canteen 1 was the biggest of them all. There was a small open square before its entrance where movies would be screened. When clubs and societies were recruiting members, they would also set up their booths there.
The canteen experienced the most traffic after all.
Even now, over fifty spore monsters were wandering about on the square.
“Go fetch some stones.”
Sun Yuan ordered.
“Okay!”
Zhen Yu was well-behaved and didn’t question his intentions. She quickly got off the scooter and ran towards the nearby lake.
As Sun Yuan watched her picking pebbles, he felt like he was in a dream.
If his dorm mates caught wind of how he ordered the popular Nangong Yu’er to do his bidding, he would be harassed for several nights.
“Senior, are these enough?”
Zhen Yu ran over and showed him all the pebbles she collected.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how much did you earn a month as a large content creator?”
Sun Yuan was a little curious, “My roommate told me that you guys earn over a million yuan a month.”
“It’s only a couple hundred thousand; how was it possible to earn over a million? If I’m lucky enough to receive a sponsorship from a big brand, that’s when I earn more.”
Zhen Yu burst into tears as soon as she finished speaking.
Her wonderful days were over.
If she had known the world would be gamified, she would have spent all her money instead of leaving them to rot in the bank.
“That’s still a lot!”
Sun Yuan was tongue-tied.
“Senior, I’ll give you all my money.”
Zhen Yu took out her wallet and handed him her ICBC and CCB card1, “I’ve given most of my money to my mum, but there are still a million yuan here.”
“Why would I want your money?”
Sun Yuan’s expression darkened as he felt insulted.
“Just think of it as an entrance fee. I feel bad being nothing but a burden to you.”
Zhen Yu grinned as she spoke.
She was a smart person and had long figured that money was useless in the current world. The points Sun Yuan mentioned earlier were the new currency now. All her savings might not even be worth 100 points!
At the very least, her million yuan would not get her his bat.
“I don’t want it.”
Sun Yuan refused her money.
“Senior, back when I was playing online games, I spent a couple thousand every month on power leveling and equipment. We’re playing in the real world now, and I only have one life.”
Zhen Yu felt embarrassed as she continued, “In fact, I’m taking advantage of you.”
“Enough, I haven’t helped much.”
Sun Yuan sighed, “You don’t need to be so cautious around me. Just treat me as you would a friend. I won’t abandon you.”
“I’ll add you as a friend!”
Zhen Yu fished out her mobile phone.
They then exchanged numbers and added each other on WeChat.
“Actually, cell towers are going to be abandoned, and our mobile phones will soon stop functioning. Even the basic amenities such as electricity and running water will soon cease.”
Sun Yuan had long been aware of such a world from the game.
“What then? Do we revert back to a primitive lifestyle?”
Zhen Yu shuddered at the thought of going through summer without an air conditioner.
“Bring up your game menu and add me through the system. We would be able to communicate freely that way.”
Sun Yuan quickly changed the topic.
In the mobile game, China would have seven safe zones, also known as the seven main cities. Sun Yuan was prepared to conquer the main tower of Gu Cheng city before setting off for Shang Jing.
He would first obtain some land in the main city since land was always a limited resource.
Ultimately, everyone wanted to live in a big house.
All his plans were still far away. He had to conquer the impending tower first.
“To be the only name on your friend list, I’m honored!”
Zhen Yu saw that Sun Yuan’s friend list only contained her name and was immediately proud of herself.
Dingdong!
[Player Sun Yuan sends you a party invitation.]
“Whoa!”
Zhen Yu happily accepted the invitation.
“Let’s go, time to farm some points.”
Sun Yuan parked the scooter by the side of the square and dismounted. He threw a pebble at the nearby spore monster.
Pah!
The pebble hits the spore monster on the chest. It was immediately alerted as it rushed towards Sun Yuan.
“If it wasn’t for the rest time, we would have been surrounded by all the spore monsters. This tactic couldn’t be used then.”
Sun Yuan explained to Zhen Yu.
“Got it.”
She nodded.
Sun Yuan waited for the spore monster to pounce before hitting a home run on its head.
It was as easy as smashing an egg.
It couldn’t be helped; the Explosive bat and Street Fighter gloves were too powerful, significantly boosting his abilities.
[Your party member has killed a spore monster, + 5 points.]
Zhen Yu was surprised by the sudden notification.
She didn’t know that party members were able to leech some points.
She felt that Sun Yuan treated her well.
She felt greedy as she stared at the five points but ultimately decided to leave the party.
[Player Sun Yuan, your party has been disbanded.]
“What’s wrong?”
Sun Yuan looked back as he fended off the second spore monster with ease.
“I can’t leech on your points without contributing anything.”
Zhen Yu explained.
“No worries!”
Sun Yuan replied as he laughed.
[Player Sun Yuan sends you a party invitation.]
She immediately received another party invitation.
“Senior, instead of sending me the invitation, you should focus on the battle!”
Zhen Yu had to hand it to him, “Can’t you show the spore monster some respect? It’s too dangerous to be sending messages while in combat!”
“Haha!”
Sun Yuan felt that she was worthy of being a content creator; she couldn’t stop talking.
But the fact that she didn’t accept his invitation made him see her in a different light.
She could resist temptations and knew how to behave.
There were some levels in Civilization Attack where party members were needed; it was impossible to clear them alone.
Instead of forming a party with unfamiliar players, he might as well raise members he could trust.
He decided to place her under observation.
After his third kill, a tall student rode up to him on a scooter as he shouted, “Stop!”
“What’s wrong?”
Zhen Yu wondered if he was an animal rights activist and was here to protect the spore monsters.
“These monsters belong to brother Chu!”
The student didn’t seem to have arrived with any good intentions as he carried a U-lock. However, he quickly hid the U-lock behind his back when he noticed the bat in Sun Yuan’s hand.
“…”
Sun Yuan was speechless; was he getting chased away?
“How unreasonable, did you think your brother Chu raised them?”
Zhen Yu began to argue.
“Save your words for brother Chu!”
Liao Wei snorted, “Brother Chu led a group to the laboratory building to kill the spore monsters. He will be here soon.”
“Who is this brother Chu?” Zhen Yu asked.
“Chu Yuntao.”
Liao Wei looked towards them expectantly as he answered.
As he expected, the beautiful junior showed a change in expression.
“Senior, why don’t we leave?” Zhen Yu suggested.
Chu Yuntao was not someone they should mess with.
There were four influential figures in Gu Cheng university; they were known as the four princes of Gu Cheng. And Chu Yuntao was one of them.
He was a top-tier silver spoon, and he liked women as much as he liked extreme sports. He was extremely wild. It was rumored that over ten women had to undergo an abortion because of him.
He was the scum of the earth.
“Why should we leave?”
Sun Yuan ignored Liao Wei as he threw another pebble.
“Courting death!”
Liao Wei cursed in a low voice, “When brother Chu gets here and discovers that the spore monsters are gone, he’s going to kill you!”
“Sure, I’ll wait!”
Sun Yuan didn’t care.
It didn’t matter if he was a silver spoon or a golden fork; now that the world has been gamified, everyone was a player. And he was the best player in the game.
Chu Yuntao had to get past the Explosive bat first if he wanted to deal with Sun Yuan.
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1 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and China Construction Bank
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