Chapter 151 - 149: Oddly Touching

Chapter 151: Chapter 149: Oddly Touching

"Crazy in what way?" Feng Ling asked him.

"The operation to kill the Maze Administrators seems to have been planned by the Star Association," Li Qing replied.

In Li Qing’s view, defying the game’s rules was the ultimate form of insanity.

Feng Ling smiled at his words. "If that’s the case, then we have even more reason to cooperate. I can ensure your safety. I can even find a way to rescue any Administrators you can contact, as long as you provide me with clues about the Star Association."

Li Qing hesitated. "They just want to go home. They don’t want to get involved with the Inspection Bureau..."

"I can keep it a secret," Feng Ling promised immediately. "Li Qing, you should help me. Only by becoming stronger can I conquer those Mazes. And only when the Mazes are conquered can your Administrator friends log off normally and return home safely."

Feng Ling extended her right hand to Li Qing and said with a smile, "Let’s cooperate. We can help each other out, like friends. What do you say?"

Li Qing silently stared at her hand, not saying a word for a long time.

He wasn’t Huangfu Miaomiao; he wasn’t naive enough to believe a few days together could foster some so-called friendship.

The respective positions of humans and Alien Species destined him and Feng Ling to never be friends.

The only reason Feng Ling was being so pleasant to him now was because he was useful to her.

’Refuse?’

’Or accept?’

’...Do I even have a choice?’

’If I want to investigate why the players lost control, where would I even start? I don’t even have the ability to protect myself right now. Maybe some random player would kill me before I could even contact the other Maze Administrators.’

For the past six months, he had been living a quiet and stable life as a Daoist on the mountain. Although he had learned a lot through the internet, he would still face many difficulties trying to operate in society as a human...

Li Qing felt like he could understand Huangfu Miaomiao now.

Why would a player stick so close to a hidden boss? ...Because it was just too convenient, too safe.

He looked up at Feng Ling, overcame his various psychological barriers, and silently extended his hand to shake hers.

Feng Ling paused, slightly stunned. "Not that hand."

Li Qing didn’t register what she meant. Feng Ling dropped his hand, reached straight into his clothes, and felt for the long, furry creature. She found the Green Weasel’s little paw and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"There, that’s more like it," Feng Ling said with a laugh. "Now we’ve reached a preliminary agreement to cooperate."

Li Qing: "..."

"Next, let’s talk about our respective plans," Feng Ling said, letting go of the paw. "You go first."

Li Qing pondered for a few seconds. "...I plan to go see a Maze Administrator. He was attacked by players not long ago but was lucky enough to survive. If you can rescue him, you might get some information about the Star Association."

"Where is he?" Feng Ling’s spirits lifted. "Let’s go find him right now."

Li Qing frowned and asked her, "What about your plan...?"

"My plan *is* to go find him," Feng Ling answered decisively.

Li Qing: "..."

’You don’t have a plan at all, do you!’

Outside the RV window, Huangfu Miaomiao’s figure appeared in the distance.

The evening sun cast a long shadow from her small body. Probably finding it too hot, she picked up her pace, jogging toward the RV with a paper bag in her hand.

Feng Ling glanced over, then looked away. "You should go take a shower first," she said to Li Qing. "We’ll talk about this later."

She paused, then added, "A real one. The little paw is pretty smelly."

Feng Ling went to the sink, squeezed out some hand soap, and meticulously washed the hand she had used for the handshake.

Li Qing’s feelings were too complicated for words. He turned and went into the bathroom.

...

...

Feng Ling had originally rented the RV to transport her two cubs, but it turned out to be even more convenient for Li Qing to live in. ’Isn’t this a form of foresight?’ she thought to herself.

She drove the RV back to the city and parked it in a public lot not far from the Inspection Bureau. The next day, she brought Huangfu Miaomiao back to the RV to hold a small meeting with Li Qing and formally create a plan of action.

The first thing to do was gather supplies.

Food, water, and changes of clothes for the three of them, as well as the most important item: weapons and equipment.

With the experience from the last Maze, Feng Ling wanted to redeem more weapons and also find a place to learn about firearms.

She had an abundance of Contribution Points. The lump-sum reward of 80 Contribution Points for clearing the Maze, in particular, had launched her from the middle of the Hunter rankings straight to the top.

Although the ridiculous inflation had caused the value of one Contribution Point to drop to around 600,000, she was now, for all intents and purposes—

Financially free!~

For the first time, Feng Ling experienced what it meant for money to be just a number.

She didn’t have many material desires herself. Once her basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter were met, the number in her bank account became purely abstract, no longer causing her any sense of urgency or pressure.

Her desires had shifted to her Cards.

’I want to become stronger, more perfect, to become a breathtaking existence.’

She wanted that eye to become a part of her.

Pei Xianjue had been trying hard to become "sisters" with Feng Ling, so she naturally granted her every request. Upon learning that Feng Ling wanted to learn about firearms, she proactively lent Feng Ling her own coach and training grounds.

She even trained alongside Feng Ling, ostensibly to "deepen their bond."

After Feng Ling had been in immersive special training for three days, she suddenly received an emergency recruitment notice on her phone.

To be honest, if she hadn’t received this message, Feng Ling wouldn’t have even known that a Hunter’s phone had this kind of function—

Just like a player accepting a quest, clicking on it revealed the mission details, reward information, and even a quest guide.

[Esteemed Hunter, a large number of Pollution Bodies in the north are destroying the containment fence. We are now recruiting Hunters from across the nation to participate in a cleanup operation. Every contribution you make will make our homeland more secure. Those interested, please proceed to Yanjing City or Yunhai City to board the Hunter Special Train. —National Alien Species Safety Supervision Bureau]

"A large number of Pollution Bodies in the north are destroying the containment fence? Wasn’t the Maze Master already killed by Ye Zheng? How could there still be so many Pollution Bodies...?"

Feng Ling found it strange and looked at Pei Xianjue. "Did you get the recruitment notice?"

Pei Xianjue picked up her own phone. There was no recruitment notice, but there was a directive from her superior.

"My superior says the situation in the north is severe and has ordered all Inspectors to raise their guard and ensure urban safety." Pei Xianjue thought for a moment, then took Feng Ling’s phone and read the recruitment notice.

"It seems the spread of pollution from the Maze is more severe than we imagined, and the expedition team’s operation wasn’t as perfectly successful as the news claimed," Pei Xianjue said with a frown, analyzing the situation. "Moreover, they’re only recruiting freelance Hunters from the general public instead of mobilizing the more combat-experienced Inspectors. This is likely a precaution against Alien Species taking the opportunity to cause trouble. Of course, it could also be laying the groundwork to further promote the Hunter program. Any decision from the higher-ups is the result of a gamble. Without going there yourself, no one can say for sure what the situation really is."

Pei Xianjue asked Feng Ling, "Are you going?"

"I guess so..." Feng Ling glanced at the recruitment notice. "Look what it says here, ’make our homeland more secure.’ It’s surprisingly moving."