Chapter 22: The First Wave Of Casualties
“My students, come, gather here. No one is to act independently. You are to follow the school leaders’ arrangements.”
Cui Xueren shouted in a severe tone. It sounded like he would expel those who wouldn’t listen to his instructions.
Upon hearing what he declared, those used to following orders gathered towards him.
“What about us?”
Zhuo Wen didn’t want to go over to Cui Xueren.
“Just ignore him; we’ll go at it on our own.”
Shen Jingran didn’t have a good impression of that middle-aged man.
“Stop zoning out and come over.”
Cui Xueren scolded when he saw that there were students who didn’t gather towards him.
Now that he was here, he had to do his best to clear the game.
He knew that these well-behaved students were easy to manipulate and control.
“Idiot!”
Tang Tang rebuked and walked towards the mushroom forest with Tang Yan behind her.
Hearing someone rebuked him, Cui Xueren was angry and ready to admonish the person. When he realized who the two of them were, he instantly acted as though he hadn’t heard anything.
What could he do when the twins’ parents were both high-ranking officials? They were people he couldn’t afford to offend.
With someone taking the lead, those who weren’t willing to listen to the school leaders and wanted to decide their own fates slowly trickled away.
“Come, mosquito, accept my friend request.”
Sun Yuan opened his game panel.
“Sun Yuan, add me as a friend too!”
Shen Jingran pouted cutely yet felt helpless at the same time.
As the goddess of the foreign language faculty, when have I ever taken the initiative to add a friend!
To think you made me do it twice!
How depressing.
Wang Xu and Zhou Ze were envious of this scene. They had once asked Shen Jingran for her contact number but were thoroughly rejected.
Even though they were friends on WeChat, she didn’t even bother to reply when they sent a greeting.
They don’t even know how to enter her circle of friends.
They weren’t even given a chance to praise the goddess.
“Why isn’t it sending?”
Zhuo Wen doubted.
“I don’t know, but it should be due to some restriction here.”
Sun Yuan actually knew that the communication function of the game panel only works outside the tower of god. If you wanted to converse over a long distance within the tower, you had to purchase a specific item meant for communication.
“Come on, let’s go. We can talk while we walk.”
Shen Jingran pressed.
“I feel that we can follow and work with Dean Wang.”
Li Wan suggested.
“Everyone needs three honeydew mushrooms to clear the game. If you follow Dean Wang, to whom does the mushroom you picked belong? Does it belong to the group or you?”
Shen Jingran retorted.
Li Wan had nothing to say to that.
This was a game where you would die if you failed. The honeydew mushrooms were practically their chances at survival.
“Let’s go.”
Sun Yuan said as he walked towards the mushroom forest.
“Quick, let’s go get some mushrooms!”
Chu Yuntao called towards his group of unruly friends.
As the number of players leaving increased, some started brisk walking. The anxious ones even started running.
They all understood that competition would be fierce, with so many of them searching for honeydew mushrooms in the primeval forest.
Those who fell behind would likely fail to obtain anything.
Five minutes later.
“Sun Yuan, you’re too fast. Can’t you wait for us?”
Zhao Limin pleaded.
Stopping himself, he turned to find everyone panting furiously.
“Zhen Yu, how about you?”
He asked.
“I…I can continue!”
She knew that she couldn’t be a dead weight in their current situation.
“Good!”
Sun Yuan nodded and continued onwards without changing his pace.
“Sun Yuan, can’t you spare a thought for us?”
Zhao Limin complained.
“Didn’t you join Chu Yuntao’s group just now?”
He retorted.
“Hmph!”
She had nothing to say, for he was right. Strictly speaking, she had abandoned him once before.
“This kind of mission is dependent on speed. Whoever gets the mushrooms first wins, so you guys must persevere no matter how tired you are.”
He sped up as soon as he was done speaking.
With a dexterity of 10 and an endurance of 9, he was fit enough to participate in a marathon. It was only because of Zhen Yu and Zhuo Wen that he held himself back.
Shen Jingran began to slow down after another five minutes.
“Sun Yuan, you should carry on. I’ll take a short break here.”
She panted roughly with both palms on her knees.
What was the point of reaching the mushroom forest in her state?
She was exhausted.
They couldn’t replenish their energy as there wasn’t anything to eat in the wilderness.
“Okay!”
It didn’t matter to him.
“Uh…”
Her eyes rounded.
Do you really have a crush on me?
Why can’t you show some consideration?
I don’t need you to carry me on your back, but can’t you wait as I rest for a few minutes?
“Great Saint, I…I can’t run anymore!”
Seeing Shen Jingran give up demoralized him; he wanted to give up too.
It was too tiring.
“Mosquito, you must persevere.”
Sun Yuan urged.
“It’s too painful. I can hardly breathe.”
Zhuo Wen gave a bitter smile, “Go pick the mushrooms, don’t let me hold you back.”
“…”
Sun Yuan was silent. Everyone had their own aspirations. What could he do if the other party wasn’t willing to put in sufficient effort? He couldn’t possibly carry them all the way.
“In that case, you should be careful. Only act after you observe how the mushrooms are picked.”
He gave a word of caution before he left.
He couldn’t straight up tell Zhuo Wen that there was a trap. He would be killed by Silver Trojan if he was known to be a closed beta player.
Zhen Yu kept up with him without a word of complaint.
They reached the mushroom forest half an hour later.
Putong!
Zhen Yu lost all strength in her legs as she fell to her knees.
“Why are you pushing yourself so hard?”
Walking to her side, Sun Yuan helped her into a sitting position and massaged her swollen and sore calves.
He never expected her, a female streamer, to last as long as she did.
“I’ll definitely die if I leave your side!”
As it was the first time she was touched by a guy, she subconsciously pulled away. She only let him do as he pleases because the massage felt wonderful.
“I have learned one thing as a streamer, and that is to never let go of any opportunity that comes my way!”
She blinked and looked towards Sun Yuan with her large eyes, “Many of my rich fans want to sleep with me because I’m beautiful, but you’re different. I’m dispensable in your eyes. I can’t be a burden unless I want to be abandoned by you.”
“I’ve finally figured out how you achieved success as you did.”
Sun Yuan sighed.
Zhen Yu was adamant and strict on herself; his classmates couldn’t even compare to her.
“Heehee, I was praised by senior!”
She smiled sweetly.
If she hadn’t endured the hardship of running here and given up midway, she would have had to search for the mushrooms alone. But with Sun Yuan’s personality, he would give her a helping hand if it wasn’t too much trouble.
“But senior, isn’t your stamina too high?”
She was suddenly struck with a thought and commented sarcastically, “Going at it seven times a night must be no problem for you. Your girlfriend must have been very satisfied.”
“You stay here and rest; I’ll go search for the mushrooms.”
Sun Yuan instructed, “Do not touch a honeydew mushroom if you spot one.”
“Roger!”
Zhen Yu saluted with her fingers to her brows.
Sun Yuan was convinced that she was a natural optimist. To think she could even joke around in their circumstances, she really was the MVP in keeping her surroundings happy.
The gigantic mushroom formed a canopy that covered the sky in the forest, dimming the forest ground. The place was a little chilly and gave people goosebumps.
Stepping on the soft ground littered with dead leaves and broken branches was exceedingly uncomfortable.
He caught sight of a honeydew mushroom but did not approach it. Instead, he climbed up a gigantic mushroom and took out his Owl goggles to observe his surroundings.
He spotted a lake about three miles away to the northwest.
He slid down the mushroom stalk and headed towards the lake. He kept his eyes trained on the ground while he walked to look out for any signs of a beast.
How could the survival games in the tower of god be as simple as picking mushrooms?
While Silver Trojan did provide accurate information during the mission announcement, it didn’t give them all the details. There exists a species of explosive mushroom in this mushroom forest. Not only was it numerous, but it could also mimic a honeydew mushroom.
The scariest part about this explosive mushroom was that it would explode on contact.
That was why Sun Yuan had warned Zhen Yu not to touch a honeydew mushroom even if she found one. He was afraid she would trigger an explosive mushroom and injure herself.
Boom!
An explosion rang out from a distance. Someone must have been tricked and touched an explosive mushroom.
“Whoever designed such a game must be a pervert!”
Sun Yuan was rejoicing over the fact that he was a closed beta player. Otherwise, he would have been caught off guard by an explosion as well.
…
“Sun Yuan was too heartless; can’t he just wait for us?”
Zhao Limin was fuming.
“We only have ourselves to blame for not being able to keep up with him!”
Li Wan made a fair judgment.
“Just wait till I strengthen my body; I’ll be stronger than him.”
Zhou Ze muttered with his eyes wide open as he scanned his surroundings. Suddenly, a mushroom the size of his palm entered his vision.
“F*ck me, it’s a honeydew mushroom!”
He didn’t think he would be lucky enough to find one right off the bat. Wang Xu, who was by his side, immediately dashed towards the mushroom before he could even process what had happened.
“F*ck, I was the one who found the mushroom!”
Zhou Ze berated and chased after Wang Xu.
Similarly, everyone ran towards the honeydew mushroom.
As Zhou was fitter than Wang Xu, he caught up with a few strides. Grabbing Wang Xu by the shoulders, he pulled back with all his strength.
“What’re you doing?”
Wang Xu growled.
“I was the one who spotted the mushroom.”
Zhou Ze shoved Wang Xu to the side as he ran towards the mushroom. He reached out to grab the mushroom, but the moment he made contact…
Boom!
The mushroom exploded.
A ball of fire rose towards the sky while the force of the explosion threw Zhou Ze back.
Argh!
Zhou Ze screamed.
Swish!
Everyone stopped and was rooted to the ground with fear.
What the hell just happened?
Why did the mushroom explode?
“M-My arm!”
Zhou Ze was crying in agony.
He only had half a palm left on the arm which touched the mushroom. His flesh was tattered and charred while his blood kept flowing.
It was a tragic scene. It was as though Zhou Ze had cooked a grenade, but it exploded in his hand before he threw it.
Wang Xe soon approached with a chill down his spine. He was relieved that he was slow; otherwise, the one taking the brunt of the explosion would have been him.
“This… What should we do?”
Li Wan panicked as she approached Zhou Ze. Although everyone wanted to help, they only knew how to call an ambulance. None of them knew first-aid.
They were willing to help but were unable to do so.
“If only Sun Yuan was here!”
Li Wan felt useless and burst into tears.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As more players entered the forest and started to pick mushrooms, explosions could be heard sporadically.
Many students and teachers were injured.
“Why did it explode?”
Wang Shuyuan was stunned as he looked at teacher Li’s injured hand. He was sure that the mushroom picked was as described previously.
“Did we harvest it incorrectly?”
When Wang Shuyuan found another honeydew mushroom, he probed it with a stick, and it exploded.
This shocked everyone; what were they supposed to do?
How were they supposed to pick the mushrooms?
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…
Sun Yuan patrolled along the lake and almost jumped in joy when he spotted a bunch of messy footprints on the ground.
Animals frequent the area to drink water from the lake.
He quickly retreated into a bunch of tall grass, 30 meters away. Sun Yuan hid within as he waited for his prey.
~~~