Suppressing bandits

The ancient map did not mark the bandits’ location. Fortunately, the armour pointed the group in the right direction. The three rushed toward the outskirts of the town. The Holy Sword was carried by Cao Qian—her combat skills were the best, and she could make the most effective use of it.

“I don’t know how many bandits there are, or what abilities they have,” Guan Ling said worriedly along the way. “We do have special abilities, but our preparations are still far too insufficient.”

Cao Qian frowned. “Come to think of it… vaguely, I feel like I once memorized combat strategies the way you memorize exam answers….”

Guan Ling and Cao Qian exchanged a look, becoming even more certain that they had cooperated in this game before.

Lu Mingze said, “We probably don’t need to worry too much about intelligence. I’ll check whether there are mirrors in the bandits’ den. Although mirrors are limited by surface area and the images they reflect are incomplete, you can still see quite a lot.”

By this time, the group had already reached the vicinity of the bandits’ stronghold and were hiding nearby, discussing how to fight.

Lu Mingze closed his eyes to sense the area. After a moment, he opened them again, visibly startled, and said to the other two, “There are so many bugs inside—this is terrifying!”

“What kind of bugs?” Guan Ling asked.

Lu Mingze replied, “I thought monsters would be the kind from stories—demons with black skeletal wings and stuff. Who would’ve thought there’d be so many bugs among the bandits! After night falls, they turn into these half-human, half-insect things, wriggling all over the ground. They live in caves, and the caves are covered everywhere with sticky residue left behind by crawling insects. It’s disgusting.”

Guan Ling rubbed his arms, goosebumps rising.

Cao Qian, on the other hand, said expressionlessly, “Show me exactly what they look like.”

Lu Mingze took out a small mirror he’d picked up in town and, suppressing his discomfort, displayed the image to Cao Qian. After looking, she said, “It’s fine. I can handle it.”

Holding the Holy Sword, she said, “You two stay here on standby. I’ll go alone.”

“How can that be okay?!” Guan Ling stood up. “We can’t let a girl risk herself alone. I think it’s gross too, but I can transform into a giant octopus—my combat power shouldn’t be bad.”

Lu Mingze also said solemnly, “I have a demon-exorcising QR code too. I’m coming as well. Even if I’m scared… worst case, I’ll just close my eyes!”

His face was pale with fear, but he still insisted on going in together with the other two.

“Alright,” Cao Qian said, looking at Lu Mingze with softened eyes. She couldn’t help reaching out to pat his head, radiating maternal instinct from head to toe.

Lu Mingze: “……”

Then he added, “But the demonic aura on those monsters seems corrosive. Once Guan Ling turns into a giant octopus, his body is protected by his item, so he won’t be affected. But your body—”

“I can restore Cao Qian’s injuries,” Guan Ling frowned, “but it has to be done all at once after the battle ends. During the fight, she’ll still be in pain.”

“I’m fine,” Cao Qian said calmly. “I can endure it.”

“That won’t do,” Lu Mingze said.

At that moment, his wristband heated up again. The wristband belonging to Qian Jinlai began to glow.

Lu Mingze realized that whenever he needed a certain ability, the wristband of the teammate who possessed that ability would light up. Did teammate Qian Jinlai have a way to heal Cao Qian?

Thinking this, Lu Mingze decisively tapped the wristband. A woman appeared before them—sweet-looking, about 165 cm tall, roughly twenty-four or twenty-five years old.

The first thing she saw was Lu Mingze’s face. Instantly, she forgot about where she was, cupping her cheeks and saying, “Am I dreaming? How can there be someone this handsome in the world?”

Lu Mingze said, “I’m your teammate, Lu Mingze. We need your help. Do you have defensive or healing abilities?”

Qian Jinlai hadn’t yet figured out what exactly was going on when she heard Lu Mingze’s words. She frowned slightly, as if thinking. About five minutes later, she nodded firmly and said, “I have a skill called ‘Steady Stream’. It continuously restores injuries for one hour. I can use it twice per day. Do you need this ability?”

“Not for me,” Lu Mingze shook his head and pointed at Cao Qian. “For her.”

Only then did Qian Jinlai notice there were two other people present. Her gaze swept over the unremarkable Guan Ling, then landed on Cao Qian’s striking pink hair. She frowned. “That’s strange—you look like a friend of mine…”

“I’m Cao Qian,” Cao Qian said calmly. “You’re Qian Daniu, right?”

“Hey, don’t call me by my childhood nickname!” Qian Daniu said. “Huh? You’re Cao Qian? Why is your height—did someone saw off your legs or something?”

Cao Qian replied coldly, “We’re about to fight. Tell us your abilities, items, and QR codes—quickly.”

“You two… know each other?” Lu Mingze asked in surprise.

Qian Jinlai chuckled and said, “I only got to know her these past few days—probably ill-fated karma. I somehow ended up owing the bank one hundred thousand yuan in credit card debt, and I don’t even know how it happened. It’s like there’s a black hole in my head—I only remember that one day I suddenly withdrew a hundred thousand yuan. I clearly didn’t have that much savings, yet the bank actually spat out that much money, and I spent it without a second thought!

“My income isn’t actually low, but suddenly having to repay a hundred thousand is still really tough. Just when my lease was up, I moved to a cheaper place. My roommate was Cao Qian. She’s amazing—on the first day she installed the water dispenser for me with one hand. Don’t look at how short she is now; in real life her height—”

“Cut the nonsense. Use your ability on me.” Cao Qian didn’t seem very friendly toward her roommate and said with a dark expression.

Lu Mingze looked at the two of them curiously. He felt that Cao Qian usually had a good temper—why was she so harsh toward Qian Jinlai?

Qian Daniu lowered her voice and said, “Our tastes in novels don’t match. She likes domineering, decisive female-lead power fantasies, while I love melodramatic romance web novels. We often argue over novels, and we even fight online over our favourite authors.”

“So that’s how it is.” Lu Mingze nodded. “But in this world, let’s not dwell on personal preferences for now. Help Cao Qian apply the healing buff.”

Qian Daniu nodded in agreement and cast ‘Steady Stream’ on Cao Qian.

She wasn’t a combat-type player and couldn’t enter the nest. After Lu Mingze confirmed that she had many items and QR codes, and that she was a fate-following player with a 99% luck stat, he felt reassured and entered the bandit lair together with Guan Ling and Cao Qian.

These bandits were creatures who had completely lost their humanity. When the Day of Disaster arrived, they had harmed many town residents. No matter how kind Lu Mingze was, he wouldn’t show them mercy—dealing with them meant only one thing: slaughter without restraint.

Cao Qian was the team’s main damage dealer. Standing at the cave entrance, she gripped the Holy Sword with one hand and swung it forcefully—the cave gate shattered instantly.

“Pretty sturdy,” Cao Qian said with satisfaction, squeezing the sword’s hilt and confirming she could fight without holding back.

Guan Ling, Lu Mingze: “……”

Thank goodness the Holy Sword was sturdy! Otherwise, if it broke with one strike, the task would be impossible to complete.

Cao Qian charged in first. With the Holy Sword’s demon-exorcising power combined with her skill and strength, she was completely unstoppable. Lu Mingze and Guan Ling, following behind, could only pick up rocks and smash the half-human, half-insect creatures that weren’t quite dead yet.

“I thought this mission would be really hard…” Lu Mingze said blankly.

“Me too,” Guan Ling said, lowering his head heavily.

They hadn’t expected the girl on the team to be this powerful—it was truly embarrassing by comparison.

Not only was Cao Qian strong, she also wasn’t afraid of pain. Her ‘Transformation Girl’ skill came with a pain-reduction buff; as long as she maintained her pink-haired state, she couldn’t feel pain.

With Qian Jinlai’s healing ability added on top, Cao Qian’s minor injuries healed quickly. She didn’t even feel fatigue or weakness.

This wasn’t just Cao Qian’s strength alone—it was the combined strength of three girls living under the same roof.

By the time Guan Ling and Lu Mingze rushed into the deepest part of the cave, Cao Qian had already eliminated more than seventy percent of the bandit insects. Holding the Holy Sword, she stood in the largest cavern, staring at a massive black mass.

“What is that thing?” Guan Ling asked.

“It seems like all the remaining bandits fused together into one powerful monster,” Cao Qian said. “This black mass looks like a cocoon.”

After speaking, Cao Qian slashed the cocoon with the Holy Sword. The black cocoon only trembled slightly and was completely unaffected by her attack.

“The Holy Sword isn’t working,” Cao Qian said. “Should we try that magic from before?”

Lu Mingze shook his head. “I don’t think now’s the time. We only have one reliable demon-exorcising ability right now, and QR codes don’t come with descriptions. We can’t use them recklessly.”

At that moment, the book in his hand vibrated. Lu Mingze opened it and saw the words written inside: “Let me reiterate: my initial skill, ‘Repainting Brush,’ can redraw QR codes without limit, activating half their power. However, intimacy must reach 80 before the item can use its ability.”

Lu Mingze: “……”

He had already guessed that he and Xing Ye must have had a very close relationship in past gameplay—perhaps their intimacy had exceeded 80, maybe even with a hint of ambiguity. But now that he didn’t remember, Xing Ye felt like a big bad wolf coaxing him into liking him, constantly trying to raise Lu Mingze’s affection level.

Lu Mingze wanted to like Xing Ye too, but feelings weren’t something you could control. He couldn’t just decide to like someone.

While he was interacting with Xing Ye, the black cocoon slowly split open. A massive bat-like wing emerged from inside.

The tips of the wing swept across the stone wall. Its sharp edge actually tore a crack into the cave, and several huge rocks fell.

“This is bad!” Lu Mingze said. “It’s so huge—if it fully comes out, this cave might collapse!”

Hearing this, Cao Qian immediately lifted Lu Mingze and Guan Ling—one on each shoulder—and sprinted out of the cave at full speed.

Lu Mingze, Guan Ling: “……”

In front of Cao Qian, they really felt useless.

Cao Qian moved incredibly fast. As she ran, the cave collapsed behind her. The moment she carried the two out, the entire cave completely caved in.

A gigantic black demon flew out of the ruins. Its single-wing span reached fifteen meters, its total body length nearly thirty-five meters, and its height reached ten meters. Every flap of its wings stirred up a violent gale—it was terrifying.

Cao Qian dropped the two of them, grabbed her sword, and charged forward. Dawn was approaching, and the Morning Star in the sky shone brilliantly.

Guan Ling glanced at the battle and shook his head. “Sister Cao can’t do this alone. I’m going too!”

With that, he activated the item in his wristband and rapidly transformed into a giant octopus.

The octopus wasn’t as tall as the flying monster, but its advantage lay in its fluid body, which could flexibly alter its shape. Guan Ling controlled his tentacles and slapped one against the monster’s wing. The corrosive tentacle left a scorched black mark on it.

It worked—he could damage the monster!

Guan Ling’s item only lasted ten minutes. During that window, he had to assist Cao Qian in taking down this massive demon.

Cao Qian was extraordinarily agile. Seeing Guan Ling join in, she leapt onto one of his tentacles, letting him fling her closer to the flying monster. She bounded through the air and struck precisely where Guan Ling had wounded it earlier. The monster let out a miserable scream.

It spat out black mist from its mouth, enveloping both Guan Ling and Cao Qian.

The black mist had no physical damage, but the two strangely felt a heavy mental oppression, as if certain negative emotions were being amplified.

But that was fine.

At the same time, a feeling arose in both their hearts—they had experienced being dominated by this kind of negative emotion before, and it had been even worse back then.

But they weren’t afraid.

They could overcome it, because someone had taught them to accept themselves.

Enduring the emotional pain, they continued fighting the flying monster. As they did, the sky gradually brightened. Lu Mingze watched the horizon nervously. At the moment the first ray of sunlight struggled onto the land, he quickly tapped the QR code he had obtained earlier in the church.

 

Translator : DarNan