Please Choose Your Romance Target

[Welcome to the beginner Trial Zone for Help! I'm Surrounded by Them!.]

[The classic map Campus Romance has been unlocked.]

[Please choose your romance target:]

[A. Pure and Cute Deskmate]

[B. Beautiful and Juicy School Beauty]

[C. Cold and Scheming Straight-A Student]

[D. Brother with Eight-Pack Abs]

[E. Old-fashioned Married Homeroom Teacher]

[F. Brother Who Likes Singing Dancing and Basketball]

[G. Fair and Tender Neighbor Auntie]

[H. A fiery sports school beauty with a fiery personality and a sizzling figure]

[Each romance target can be selected by only one player.]

[The options are temporarily locked. Selection will officially open when the 100-second preparation period ends.]

[The preparation period begins:]

[99--]

[98--]

[97--]

The countdown kept ticking across the glowing screen suspended overhead.

Wen Nan shifted his gaze from the screen and looked around.

He was standing in the middle of a boys' dorm room.

The dorm was a complete mess. Soda cans, water bottles, and milk tea cups almost covered the floor.

The stink of sneakers and socks, sour sweat, the peculiar odor of flowers, and the smell of instant noodles all mingled together, flooding his nostrils.

Besides Wen Nan, three other boys stood in the dorm: a tall, muscular sports student; a chubby guy who had kicked off his designer sneakers and was wearing them like slippers; and a short, scrawny guy with glasses.

Judging by the bewildered looks on their faces, they had entered the beginner Trial Zone as players, just like Wen Nan.

[Beep!]

[Welcome, dear Nine Times a Night!]

[I am your system, 9527.]

[If you have any questions or need help during your romance攻略, just call my name at any time. I'll be happy to assist you!]

[Now, displaying your status panel--]

A cold, mechanical voice rang in his mind. Immediately afterward, a screen appeared before Wen Nan's eyes:

[Name: Ye Jiu]

[Level: lv1]

[Strength: 2/100]

[Agility: 3/100]

[Armor: 1/100]

[Charm: 4/100]

Wen Nan furrowed his brow slightly and discreetly observed his three roommates.

It seemed the system generated each player's personal status panel, visible only to that player.

That made sense, but...

His stats were way too low!

Wen Nan called out in his mind: [9527.]

9527: [I'm here.]

Wen Nan: [How do I increase my stats?]

9527: [Completing romance objectives, exploring the map, or buying equipment and items from the shop will increase your level and stats.]

Wen Nan: [Open the shop.]

A classic game shop interface immediately appeared before Wen Nan. Most of the equipment and items were locked, with a message saying his level was too low to buy them.

The cheapest of the only three items available at lv1 cost 200 coins.

Wen Nan glanced at the upper-right corner of his account. His starting balance was only 100 coins.

He asked the system again: [How do I earn coins? Do I have to spend real-world money?]

He'd spent so many years in the hospital, and now he didn't have a penny to his name. If this was one of those games where paying players ruled, then...

9527: [No. Currency used in a player's original world cannot be used on this map.]

[Players can earn coins during the romance攻略 in only the following three ways--]

[1. The livestream's total popularity, converted into coins at a ratio of 10,000:1]

[2. Viewer tips in the livestream, with 50% deposited into the player's account]

[3. Players place bets, and livestream viewers wager on them]

[Options 1 and 2 are exchanged in real time. Option 3 is settled at the end of each mission.]

Wen Nan paused at that.

A livestream?

The game had a livestream?

Was everything he did being broadcast in real time to some livestream room?

Why couldn't he see the livestream interface? Where were his viewers?

9527: [Livestream access will be granted to players when this romance攻略 officially begins.]

Wen Nan glanced at the countdown overhead. Only the final 20 seconds remained.

[Beep!]

A crisp notification sounded in his mind.

9527: [Congratulations! You've received a beginner's gift pack! Would you like to open it now?]

Wen Nan: [Open it.]

9527: [The beginner's gift pack has been opened. Choose any one stat to max out for a three-hour trial.]

[Please select the stat you wish to increase:]

[Strength] [Agility] [Armor] [Charm]

As Wen Nan considered his options, the three roommates beside him suddenly began to glow gold.

The short, scrawny guy with glasses rapidly grew muscular. The sports student's limbs stretched out, while his wrists and ankles grew slender. The chubby guy's skin visibly thickened.

It looked like they had each used their trial cards on strength, agility, and armor, respectively.

The stat increases changed their bodies directly. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie, and the visual impact was undeniable.

[Please select the stat you wish to increase.]

The system urged him on in his mind.

Wen Nan quickly chose: [Charm.]

Golden light flashed around him, and he felt a brief itch across his skin and bones.

9527: [Your stat has been increased. Current charm: 100/100.]

Wen Nan was about to find a mirror to look at himself when he glanced up and noticed the other three staring at him with complicated expressions.

"You... increased your charm?"

The guy with glasses asked.

Wen Nan nodded. "Yeah."

If this had been an ordinary game, he would've boosted his strength, agility, and armor, but...

This was a romance game.

What did he need strength, agility, and armor for when romancing girls?

Of course he had to max out his charm!

The guy with glasses looked at Wen Nan, wanting to say something but holding back.

Just then, the countdown overhead began flashing an intense red. A shrill clang-clang rang out, like a fire alarm.

[The preparation period is about to end. Players, take your positions immediately!]

[10--]

[9--]

[8--]

Wen Nan looked up at the countdown again and thought, We're just choosing a romance target. Is there any need to make it so tense?

Anyone would think this was some kind of survival game.

Wen Nan looked back at the options. Pure and cute deskmate, beautiful and juicy school beauty... They all sounded like suitable romance targets.

But hadn't some weird options slipped in there?

[3--]

[2--]

[1--]

The countdown ended. The sports student sprang up from the spot, extending his arm in a perfect slam-dunk pose as he smacked the glowing screen overhead.

Smack!

His palm landed precisely on--

F. Brother Who Likes Singing Dancing and Basketball?!

Wen Nan was stunned.

Wait, bro, so you're...

Wen Nan finally suppressed the urge to roast him and settled for showing his respect.

He looked at the other two players, hoping to see the same expression he felt on their faces. Instead, he found the two of them staring at the sports student with... deep resentment and envy in their eyes.

Wen Nan: ?

Was something off here?

While he stood there, dumbfounded, the chubby guy dragged over a table and prepared to climb on it, hoping to claim one of the remaining options as quickly as possible.

The guy with glasses saw him and immediately rushed over, grappling with him.

In the end, the guy with glasses, whose strength was maxed out, easily beat the chubby guy, whose armor was maxed out. He climbed onto the table and made his choice--

D. Brother with Eight-Pack Abs!

Wen Nan: ?

Who knew his tiny dorm room would be so diverse?

Wen Nan looked at the chubby guy, who was slumped beside the table.

His face looked awful, as if someone in his family had died.

The chubby guy gritted his teeth and looked at the panel with two options crossed out, thinking grimly:

Everyone knows this is a horror survival game. Just like the title says, every boss in this game is a female ghost!

Since all the bosses are female ghosts, it's reasonable to assume that the two male characters in options D and F can't be bosses. They must just be ordinary, neutral NPCs.

These options are probably beginner perks. Snagging one is a guaranteed win.

Unfortunately, he'd been too slow, and the sports student and the guy with glasses had beaten him to it.

Now he'd have to settle for the next best thing.

The remaining options were all women, but they were obviously not all equally difficult to romance--

Everyone knows that in this game, the prettier and more attractive a woman is, the scarier she is.

So...

Smack!

The chubby guy stood up and slapped his palm onto--

E. Old-fashioned Married Homeroom Teacher.

Wen Nan stared at the option the chubby guy had locked in, falling silent.

Was this guy's surname Cao?

While he was muttering to himself, the sports student said, "We've picked ours. You're the only one left."

Wen Nan smiled. "You guys are so nice, helping me eliminate three wrong answers."

He wasn't joking. He was genuinely grateful that the players in this round had such unique tastes.

For some reason, though, the three of them gave him that same complicated look again.

"If it were me, I'd pick C from the remaining options..." The guy with glasses pushed up his glasses, thinking that a top student was probably male and definitely unattractive. The uglier, the safer.

"I think you should pick A..." the chubby guy chimed in.

He thought a deskmate wasn't necessarily a girl. And someone that cute had to be a boy, right?

But when they looked at Wen Nan, they saw him shake his head, climb onto the table, and raise his hand--

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

[Player Ye Jiu has successfully locked in--]

[A. Pure and Cute Deskmate]

[B. Beautiful and Juicy School Beauty]

[C. Cold and Scheming Straight-A Student]

[G. Fair and Tender Neighbor Auntie]

[H. A fiery sports school beauty with a fiery personality and a sizzling figure]

Having claimed all five targets for himself, Wen Nan curled his lips into a grin and let out a cackling laugh:

"Kids are the ones who choose. Adults, of course, take them all!"