Sasha~ Sasha Sasha~
In the silent stillness of the night, moonlight poured like water, yet it couldn’t penetrate the thick darkness hovering over the Second Layer of the Saint Ruins, making the surroundings exceptionally dim.
Su Qi cautiously followed the Cangyou Wildcat Team.
With every step he took, the rustling sound of plants being crushed underfoot and the crisp snap of dry branches breaking rang out clearly.
In this quiet environment, these sounds were amplified, and occasional unknown animal cries echoed through the Saint Ruins like scenes from a horror movie, sending chills down one’s spine.
Back in school, Su Qi had imagined countless times what the Saint Ruins would be like.
In his imagination, the Saint Ruins were a wondrous green realm, full of various Spirit Beasts and Spirit Plants, entirely different from the harsh Iron Society of reality—a place people would long for.
But now, with his vision limited to just ten steps in the darkness, surrounded by impenetrable blackness and a sinister atmosphere, Su Qi finally understood the saying: ideals are rich, but reality is harsh.
“Ten meters ahead, there’s a sleeping zombie. Everyone be careful not to step on him.”
“Fifty meters out, there’s a Half-Orc. We need to take a detour to the left to avoid disturbing him.”
“There’s a mud swamp about a hundred meters ahead. It’s probably home to new Spirit Beasts. Let’s go around to the right.”
Following the Cangyou Wildcat Team toward the Purple Forest where the Serpent Spirit Fruits grew, Su Qi occasionally heard soft, cute prompts from An Xiaoling’s doll-like voice, coming from the branches above.
He had to admit, having a scout in a team was really important.
Along the way, guided by An Xiaoling’s map, although some scattered Spirit Beasts were suddenly provoked by their disturbance and attacked Su Qi’s group, Lin Xue, Brother Hao, and Big Mountain easily dealt with them, saving the team from unnecessary fights.
After about thirty minutes inside the Saint Ruins,
Su Qi suddenly noticed that the vision, which had been faint and limited in the pitch-black night, began to shimmer with tiny glowing purple lights.
Those lights flickered like fireflies in a TV drama, and as he drew closer, more and more purple lights appeared, forming a sea of purple before his eyes.
Seeing such a scene, only ever witnessed in dramas or special effects, Su Qi—perhaps softened by having become Su Qi’s Junior Schoolmate—felt a uniquely feminine sentiment swell inside him.
Faced with this profoundly romantic and beautiful spectacle, Su Qi couldn’t help but open his mouth slightly, letting out a soft, adorable gasp, while his pale hands instinctively rested on his gently rising chest.
Seeing Su Qi’s cute reaction, Lin Xue, who had been standing beside him all along, parted her red lips slightly and let out a quiet laugh.
“Boss Su, if you find out what those purple lights actually are, I’m not sure if you’ll still be laughing.”
At first, Su Qi didn’t understand what Lin Xue meant.
It wasn’t until they drew closer to the forest that he realized… the glowing purple lights weren’t fireflies at all.
They were one purple Spirit Serpent after another, their entire bodies shimmering purple as they coiled asleep among the branches.
Every time they breathed, their small purple heads glowed softly.
Upon this discovery, Su Qi gained a new perspective on the Adventurers Guild’s B+ level mission.
Emmmmmmmm, this was apparently much more difficult than he had imagined.
If the serpents caught him picking the fruit and attacked in a swarm, he’d probably be wrapped up in a living serpent ball in an instant!
Just imagining that made Su Qi shudder.
Just then, An Xiaoling, who had been observing from the treetops, flashed down gracefully from the branches, bringing fresh news.
“Sister Su, there seems to be another newcomer over there, also doing the ‘Picking Serpent Spirit Fruit’ interview task. But that person is probably an Assessment Guard. I suggest you check out their way of clearing the mission first!”
Interview task?
Hearing these details in An Xiaoling’s words, Su Qi felt a bit puzzled.
It seemed this Serpent Spirit Fruit mission wasn’t some sneaky trick Lin Xue had set up to make things difficult for him after all; it was a common interview task for Ability User Squads.
Had he misunderstood Senior Lin?
Feeling somewhat reassured, Su Qi nodded in agreement with An Xiaoling’s suggestion.
Though his own test was about evasion and self-protection, and the other’s was guarding—quite different—the chance to observe the Purple Spirit Serpents’ behavior and attack patterns would be valuable.
Seeing Su Qi agree, the rest of the Cangyou Wildcat Team tacitly kept silent about An Xiaoling’s early tip to observe the serpents, which technically counted as cheating in the interview.
Under An Xiaoling’s guidance, Su Qi’s group carefully skirted around the edge of the Purple Forest until they were near the other candidate.
Getting closer, bathed in the purplish glow from the Spirit Serpents, Su Qi suddenly realized…
Emmmmmmmmm, this world was surprisingly small.
The person here doing the guarding assessment was none other than Li Jian, the former classmate who had bullied him a few days ago, only to be shut down by Su Qi himself.
Li Jian was currently looking up at a mature Serpent Spirit Fruit hanging deep within a Serpent Spirit Tree, cautiously stepping forward.
At first, the Spirit Serpents curled on the branches were still asleep.
But as Li Jian approached the tree,
Hiss~
Perhaps sensing the fruit was coveted, some lightly sleeping purple serpents stirred awake, baring their fangs and issuing warning hisses at Li Jian.
With the first serpent’s warning, other serpents were quickly roused.
Within just a second or two, like a disturbed beehive, more and more serpents awoke, gathering densely in a writhing purple mass.
Some braver serpents even slithered down from the branches, seemingly ready to attack Li Jian.
Seeing this, and perhaps sensing Su Qi’s concern, a hoarse feminine voice, deliberately pitched by Brother Hao, sounded from behind Su Qi.
“Boss Su, don’t worry. Spirit Serpents are quite special creatures. They usually eat the Serpent Spirit Fruits and are docile by nature, with almost no poison and shallow fangs. Even if you get bitten, it won’t be fatal—just painful. That’s why many teams use this place for their interviews. But one thing to note: although picking the fruits angers the serpents, during the interview, you must never kill them. Doing so will enrage the entire Serpent Tribe, and they’ll attack in a swarm.”
Listening to Brother Hao’s serious and carefully pitched explanation about the Spirit Serpents, Su Qi felt moved—and also a little weird.
After all, as a guy, he really didn’t want another guy teasing him with a bubbly female voice!
No matter how he thought about it, it felt strange.
Fortunately, before Su Qi could complain, An Xiaoling, holding his arm, beat him to the punch as his spokesperson.
“Hey, Haozi, is your voice broken or what? You can’t talk properly. That voice just gave me the chills. Stop it, I’m starting to feel nauseous.”
“Huh? You little loli, what’s that supposed to mean? Looking for a fight? I’m an absolute egalitarian.”
“Blah blah blah… you wanna fight me? Big dumb pig.”
As An Xiaoling and Brother Hao launched into their usual verbal sparring match,
On the other side, Li Jian made his move.
He scoffed—
Facing the serpents lunging at him, he barked loudly, took off his shirt, his well-developed muscles flexing, closed his eyes, and regardless of the serpents wrapping around him, hugged the tree trunk and began to climb.
As Li Jian climbed higher, more and more serpents gathered on him, repeatedly baring fangs and biting.
However, perhaps due to activating his fitness Ability,
Li Jian’s muscles were unusually tough, and many poisonous serpents couldn’t do any harm.
Seeing this scene, Su Qi was stunned.
Emmmmmmmm, just climb through it like that?
That was way too straightforward.
But amid his surprise,
Su Qi, observing the serpents leaping onto Li Jian, made a rough prediction.
It seemed the Spirit Serpents’ speed was still a bit slower than his own current 50-point agility.
As long as he dodged carefully, the serpents wouldn’t be able to touch his clothes.
Just as Su Qi finished observing the serpents’ movements and was about to start the trial of picking the Serpent Spirit Fruit,
Plop~
Suddenly, a heavy object dropped to the ground ahead.
Su Qi looked toward the sound and saw Li Jian, who had been climbing the tree just moments before, had fallen.
Seeing this, Su Qi was a bit confused.
Aren’t Li Jian’s muscles supposed to be impervious to the serpents?
Why was he knocked down?
Could there be a serpent king in this forest?
While Su Qi was pondering, his gaze involuntarily swept below Li Jian, catching glimpses of purple light flashing inside the black pants.
The next moment, Su Qi instinctively squeezed her snow-white legs clad in silk together.
Hiss, that… actually hurt a bit!!!
Nahhhhhh