Chapter 137: A Way to Strengthen Gu Qiqi’s Will
At the moment she was pulled into the vortex created by the bamboo slips, Gu Qiqi felt as if she had died. Her eyes unfocused, her breath gradually halted, and her thoughts scattered rapidly.
Her emotions inexplicably turned silent, as if countless indifferent gazes were peering at her from all directions, and invisible threads connected to her body from the depths of darkness, constantly sinking with her body, snapping one by one, until something was stripped away from her.
Whether joy or anger, sorrow or happiness, be it memories of the past or aspirations for the future.
However, among those countless invisible threads, there was one particularly resilient one that was stubbornly pulling her, preventing her consciousness from completely plunging into the silence of d*ath.
In her ears rose numerous overlapping whispers, as if urging, tempting, and guiding Gu Qiqi to give up and leave quickly. Gradually, among those countless voices, a familiar sound began to become clearer. Though indistinct, she knew it was the voice of the system.
“Gu Qiqi…”
“Gu Qiqi… you can’t d*e. If you d*e, you have to start over…”
“Gu Qiqi… you have no money! Not a single cent will be left for you! You’ll even have to sell your paint cans for scrap metal!”
……
As the system’s words echoed, blurry yellowed fragments began to flash before Gu Qiqi’s eyes.
She saw a shadowy figure, entirely black, infiltrating her home.
She saw that figure picking at its toes on her beloved little sofa.
She saw that figure, resembling a sinister shadow spirit, wandering in her cozy nest, searching, exploring, and finally extending its dark, sinful hand toward her cherished piggy bank.
Then the bills—green, purple, blue, and none red—seemed to come alive, fluttering like little birds, following that figure as they flew into the sky and vanished…
……
Oh no! Money! My little money!
The images that flashed before her were like a miraculous elixir that revived Gu Qiqi, jolting her awake from the state of drifting consciousness and scattered spirit, prompting her to cry out.
In an instant, her long-silent heart, which had nearly stopped beating, sprang back to life, pounding with vigor, sending warm bl**d coursing through her body. Her pale face quickly flushed with color, accompanied by rapid breaths.
“Ah! No, you can’t take my money!”
Gu Qiqi shouted, startled awake from her faint state, her limbs flailing as if fiercely attacking an invisible foe, and with a sudden leap, she jumped up from the ground.
Once she steadied herself, her first words weren’t to inquire about what had just happened or to question what this strange black forest was, but rather…
“System! Someone is touching my money!”
System, “…”
Entering the Bamboo Slips Illusion through irregular means, the erosion and impact brought by the spirit energy fluctuation of fallen deities was quite terrifying. To avoid the outcome of d*ath, there were no shortcuts.
Either the spirit energy fluctuation was stronger than the fallen mythological species within the bamboo slips, suppressing its fluctuation, or the will was strong enough.
Gu Qiqi’s spirit energy fluctuation wasn’t that strong; she relied solely on her will to withstand the impact, which was something commendable and worth boasting about.
But…
The system thought, why did it feel so embarrassing to strengthen her will?
While Gu Qiqi was fainting and stepping toward d*ath, it had tried many methods to wake her.
The glory of saving the world, the longing for her missing uncle’s family, lavish seafood feasts, and the sweet romance yet to come…
What the system didn’t expect was that all these things couldn’t compare to the little savings she had!
Though I always say the same thing, this time, it’s true, Gu Qiqi is indeed the worst host I’ve ever had! the system thought, being so “materialistic” will lead to her downfall!
Seeing the system remain silent, Gu Qiqi urged anxiously, “System, system? Are you there?! Someone wants to touch my piggy bank; think of a way!”
“Gu Qiqi…”
“Hmm?”
“…” The system hesitated for a moment, then continued, “In fact, no one is going to touch your piggy bank.”
Who would bother with such a small amount of money?
“What if someone wants to touch it later? I can’t shake the feeling that someone wants to! Isn’t there an old saying? It’s not about fearing a thief but fearing that a thief is interested! Even thinking about it is not okay!” Gu Qiqi said, frowning.
System, “…”
I suddenly realized there might have been a deviation in the path I had planned for her. I thought her mind wasn’t very sharp, but her combat talent was very high, making her very suitable for the path of the Spirit Patterns of the Hercules.
But now it seems that perhaps she should try the paths of the God of Poverty or the God of Stinginess instead!
Although that type of spirit pattern isn’t strong in direct combat, once successful, the remarkable bad luck would yield impressive results in actual combat, the system thought.
“Gu Qiqi…”
“Hmm? Did you come up with a plan?”
“No!” the system growled, “But don’t worry about your little money; let’s solve the current situation first. If you can’t get out of here alive, your money will truly be gone.”
“System…”
“Speak!”
“I think you make a good point!” Gu Qiqi nodded thoughtfully, “So, what’s the situation now? Hurry up and issue the task? I’ll finish it in a jiffy and need to get back quickly!”
As she spoke, she swung her arms fiercely, creating gusts of wind, exuding a fierce aura that seemed to slay gods.
System, “…”
No need to be angry; it’s all familiar now.
“By the way, system, where exactly is this place? Why am I here?” Gu Qiqi looked around, and all she saw was a desolate and eerie landscape.
The sky was gloomy, filled with dark clouds, as if it could start raining heavily at any moment. The vegetation on either side exuded an unsettling hue.
Whether it’s the towering trees that three or four people could embrace or the shrubs only knee-high, their trunks were dark black, as if decayed, with only the leaves atop the branches and the weeds growing alongside the muddy path still showing some green.
Under the dim light of the sky, gray-white mist floated, and the primordial forest formed an endless maze with no signs of any animals.
An unprecedented desolation and silence, like the canopy overhead blocking out sunlight, concealed Gu Qiqi. Yet she was bold; invisible dangers didn’t count as dangers, and in this situation, she showed no signs of unease or anxiety.
If there were, it was probably due to the worry of being unable to solve her hunger in a place where not even a bug was visible. However, the likelihood of such anxiety was low; Gu Qiqi wasn’t unfamiliar with eating roots and chewing bark.
Gu Qiqi slightly recalled what had happened before she lost consciousness and continued, “System, I remember before I fainted, there was a little brother who… he…”
“What happened to him?” the system asked in a deep voice.
“He kissed me and touched me; isn’t that what’s called like?” Gu Qiqi said quietly, cupping her steaming face. As for the other things, she had never engaged in and didn’t know how to describe them; it just felt strange and inexplicably comfortable.
“d*mn it…” The system immediately realized something was wrong and couldn’t help but curse.
The initial spring charm was clear about its effects; besides causing some damage to urban legends, it also had the side effect of making the target feel that “spring” had arrived.
As for the word spring, its meaning, when delved into, became quite subtle.
At first, the system simply thought the calamity chose to create this type of charm merely out of poverty. Little did it know, it had other intentions—to disrupt Gu Qiqi’s will.
Making an innocent young girl experience a romantic feeling like a spring day in life, how could she handle enemies well? It was impossible unless she was given money!
In the past, hosts often had either true love or simply craved physical desire, constantly disturbed by calamity using various means to confuse their minds.
Ordinary youngsters, facing calamity’s apparent purity like the white moonlight, while having hearts as dark as the ashes on the bottom of a pot, would be played to d*ath—there’s no way they wouldn’t!
To avoid repeating mistakes, I purposely selected a female host this time, but unexpectedly, I still fell for it. The system thought, is there no one exempt from being treated this way?! Not even Gu Qiqi, who is still just a child!
After contemplating for a while, the system spoke, “Gu Qiqi, that girl you saw is not a good thing. Her ultimate goal is to be with you!”
“Eh?!” Gu Qiqi tilted her head in confusion, “Being together isn’t a good thing?”
“What do you understand? After being together, guess what will happen?” the system said solemnly.
“No, I don’t know,” Gu Qiqi responded weakly.
“Once you’re together, your things become hers! The money you earn from working, the food you buy, your child has to take her surname, and even half of your piggy bank belongs to her!” the system said coldly, “Do you think that’s still a good thing?”
“But, system, I can give her half of the money too! Her child has to call me mom, right?”
“You can, but can your naïve mind handle her?”
“Ah!” Gu Qiqi gasped, patting her chest and taking a deep breath, suddenly losing all interest in that little brother whose existence was uncertain.
Little brothers aren’t half as interesting as my little money!
“System, don’t say anymore; it sounds scary.”
“Now you realize it’s scary? I’m not the one saying this; romantic attachments really hinder a person from navigating the world!” the system said, then shifted the topic back to the main point, “Alright, Gu Qiqi, let’s talk about serious matters.”
“This place is what I previously mentioned, a realm where you can gain many magical insights. However, due to the manner of entry differing slightly from what was expected, the place you have reached is also somewhat different. Now you need to…”
Just as the system was midway through its sentence, preparing to issue Gu Qiqi a task, she suddenly exclaimed.
“System, look over there!” She pointed at the dense jungle in the distance, “It looks like there are people over there!”
Looking in the direction Gu Qiqi pointed, on a distant hillside stood several villagers, having appeared at some unknown time, all with gloomy looks, secretly observing this side…
Villagers? How could there be villagers here? The system was momentarily stunned; wasn’t it supposed to be those red lantern urban legends?
Before the system could withdraw its thoughts from doubt, Gu Qiqi suddenly whispered, “Something isn’t right; let’s go check it out!” and took off running toward those villagers.
