Chapter 8: The Rescue Mission

When Ning Yun was very young, her parents sacrificed their lives. In her memories, the person who stayed by her side the longest was her grandfather.

Her grandfather was a professor at a prestigious university, and during his lectures, he would always bring little Ning Yun along with him. But most of the time, she preferred to run wild and play with other children.

Xiao Qichen was a neighbor who moved in when she was seven. He was always alone and solitary. Back then, Ning Yun was cheerful and outgoing, always eager to make friends. Xiao Qichen was the first friend she reached out to, and he left the deepest impression on her.

At that time, he spoke stiffly and was a rigid person—either in class or on the way to class. But she constantly dragged Xiao Qichen into skipping lessons. When she climbed trees, he stood watch beneath them. When she was goofing off, he guarded her shoes on the bank.

She had always believed they were best friends and spent nearly seven years together like that. But one day, suddenly, Xiao Qichen disappeared without leaving any trace.

The next time Ning Yun managed to contact him was just two days ago. Her phone unexpectedly received a message filled with survival game instructions. It was signed by Xiao Qichen.

"You’ve been selected to join too!"

Back then, Xiao Qichen had told her to leave a secret code in the chat channel, just in case. If both of them entered the game, they could look out for each other. But she never imagined he would actually come.

Could it be that the number of players in the beta test was more than a thousand?

Xiao Qichen stared at her intently. His throat tightened involuntarily, and after a long moment, he replied with a single word, “Yes.”

Though there were so many things he wanted to say, seeing Ning Yun appear before him left him utterly speechless.

A gust of wind swept through the cave, bringing a chill, and Ning Yun pulled her neck in. She put away her dagger and rubbed her arms.

“It’s so cold here. Let’s find somewhere else to talk.”

But Xiao Qichen’s response was to take off his windbreaker and drape it over her shoulders.

“Put it on.”

Ning Yun was stunned. “Your voice…”

Though Xiao Qichen was only a year older than her, his voice was rough like sandpaper scraping against the ground—hoarser than an old man’s voice, as if he hadn’t spoken in a very long time.

Yet this was no time to ask about it.

They stepped out of the cave and faced a vast grassland. Yellow sand, dry grass, and withered trees weighed heavily on their hearts, as if in this enormous prairie, they were the only living beings and all else was lifeless.

“What exactly is this mission? I don’t think I received any tasks.”

Ning Yun put on the windbreaker, feeling warmth spread through her body immediately.

The man pulled a black jacket from his backpack and slipped it on, which made him look even more grim and formidable.

“The captain has the tasks. I will share them with you.”

Xiao Qichen was gradually regaining his ability to speak, though long sentences still strained him.

Ning Yun seemed not to notice this. “Great, then share them with me quickly!”

For some reason, despite six or seven years apart, she felt no unfamiliarity or fear that he might have changed into someone harmful.

She trusted that quiet boy who had always protected her wouldn’t hurt her.

“Oh, here,” she took from her backpack a silk quilt and a lighter. “This is extra. Take it. It gets cold at night. You can make a fire to keep warm, and the quilt can be spread on the ground to sleep more comfortably.”

Fortunately, her critical hit talent made her quite well-off. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had so many extras.

Xiao Qichen’s gaze softened, and the sharpness in his demeanor eased somewhat.

“No need. I have these.”

Not only did he refuse Ning Yun’s items, but he also handed her a large pile of supplies.

Just the kitchenware alone made Ning Yun’s eyes sparkle.

And there were all kinds of food and drink, even equipment that enhanced attributes.

“That’s enough, enough! My backpack is about to be full!” Ning Yun finally understood what it meant to have the happy problem of too much stuff.

“Do you have enough space? I still have expansion vouchers here. Want some?” These were reserved especially for him.

Xiao Qichen didn’t take any, but instead pulled out two vouchers identical to the one Ning Yun held.

“Did you… snatch from the system?” she asked, bewildered by how he got so many good things.

Her exaggerated expression made him smile.

“We can kill monsters at night.” He said nothing about what kind of monsters or how dangerous they might be.

But Ning Yun, recalling the eerie sounds from the night, knew that killing monsters wouldn’t be easy.

“Forget it. These are your adventure spoils; keep them for yourself. My backpack now has 25 slots, enough for me.”

“You also just gave me blueprints. Once I build a storage cabinet, I won’t have to carry so much in my backpack.”

Although players could store items in their houses, there was no insulation function. Over time, food would rot.

But the storage cabinets and other furniture provided by the system had storage functions that ensured food wouldn’t spoil.

However, Xiao Qichen was far more stubborn than Ning Yun.

In the end, she accepted the items and expanded her backpack to 40 slots, no longer worrying about running out of space.

They had already eaten lunch and did not need to replenish food now.

With only four hours allowed in this instance, and three and a half hours remaining, Ning Yun urged him to complete the mission quickly.

Their task was simple: to revive the “Jade Purple Tree,” the very tree Ning Yun had seen upon entering the instance.

“That tree looks quite lush to me.”

Its branches were thick, its leaves abundant, thriving vibrantly.

Xiao Qichen’s speech gradually returned to normal speed.

“What you see is only the surface. I’ll take you to see the back.”

They entered the cave again. The closer they got to the Jade Purple Tree, the more uneasy Ning Yun felt.

When they reached the tree’s backside, Ning Yun was shocked.

The once jade-like trunk was almost hollowed out, a massive wound oozing black smoke, giving off a sinister aura.

Suddenly, a vision flashed before Ning Yun’s eyes.

On the once vibrant grassland, fireballs rained down from the sky, scorching almost all plants. Animals hurried into the cave seeking refuge.

But those fireballs seemed to have eyes, one after another smashing into the hill, forcefully carving out a hole!

She was trapped inside the cave, unable to move, forced to watch everything around her being destroyed.

Until one fireball came hurtling straight at her.

“Ah!” Ning Yun seemed startled awake from the hallucination.

“Is this… the Jade Purple Tree’s memory?”

She had just become the tree, witnessing the tragedy on the grassland.

Xiao Qichen’s heavy hand supported her back, warmth spreading through her, giving Ning Yun a sense of comfort.

“Yes.” He had seen that memory too.

“Thank you,” Ning Yun steadied herself and thanked him.

“So this big hole was burned by the fireballs. But how do we save it? Water it?”

She took a bottle of water from her backpack and tried pouring it at the tree’s roots.

Unfortunately, nothing happened.