Play, Play (1/3)

Just as Wang Chuyun was spacing out, the other party had already walked up to her and looked down at her.

Only when the other party drew close did Wang Chuyun realize how absurdly tall she was. Beneath the blue-and-white swimsuit was skin so pale it was nearly translucent, while her strange smile gave her an inexplicable, inhuman air.

Then, a stone ended Wang Chuyun's life.

The last thing she saw was that meaningless smile, along with the words, "So weak. You must always rank near the bottom on exams, right?"

"You're the one who ranks near the bottom, damn it!"

Waking from the Dreamscape, Wang Chuyun slammed her hand against the nearby chair, feeling her mood sour completely.

Dying as soon as she entered the Dreamscape was one thing. That happened all the time and couldn't break her defense.

But that Pseudo-human had looked far too strange, and what it said had been far too hurtful.

Who ranked near the bottom?

I'm first in my grade, okay!

On countless nights, she had burned the midnight oil studying, wishing she could spend every moment on her schoolwork.

If others slept two hours, she slept one. She read while eating, and even in her dreams she Highlighted Key Points. That was how she had maintained her position as first in her grade.

You ignorant non-player character, and you just walk up and say I rank near the bottom? Do people these days have no eye for talent at all?

After taking several deep breaths, Wang Chuyun finally suppressed the wicked fire in her chest, then became deeply dissatisfied with Heaven Origin Morning Light Co., Ltd.

This Morning Light was truly awful!

(That's enough to make you angry? I thought you'd be more even-tempered. Looks like you're nothing special after all.)

"Shut up!"

After cursing the Evil God in her mind, Wang Chuyun steadied her Dao Heart, picked up her phone again, and sank back into the Dreamscape.

This time, she would definitely slaughter that Pseudo-human!

Fuming, she reentered the Dreamscape, only to come back out cursing again.

This was infuriating!

She had not died immediately this time, but she failed to get anything useful from several questions and was promptly slaughtered by the other players.

With her belly full of rage, Wang Chuyun entered the Dreamscape once more.

Although she had failed twice, she now fully understood the Dreamscape's rules. She knew the first twenty seconds were not meant to be wasted, but used for observation.

During that time, she needed to distinguish Pseudo-humans from players. Then, upon entering the Dreamscape, she had to immediately avoid the Pseudo-humans, stay away from players who had randomly obtained good weapons, and quietly build herself up afterward.

At the same time, she needed to observe the environment, determine her future direction, and then factor the random elements into her plans.

After failing another five times, she gained some new insights.

Although the Dreamscape's core consisted only of answering questions and fighting, there were actually quite a lot of elements involved.

The rewards from each question were random, but every question also restored her health to full.

As long as she made good use of that mechanism, she could absorb some damage and count it as a margin for error.

And it did not matter if she failed to randomly obtain anything good. Each match only lasted fifteen minutes. As long as she could survive until the end, she could still succeed.

Biting the temple of her Glasses, Wang Chuyun reviewed everything she could think of. Then she took out a notebook and recorded her findings in delicate, neat handwriting.

She had yet to realize that she had already poured too much effort into Quiz Melee, far beyond her original plan.

Not until the moon shone bright and the stars grew sparse, when the afternoon classes had ended, did she wake from the Dreamscape and let out a satisfied breath.

Slumped limply in the stone chair, her face was flushed with bliss. The hand clutching her phone unconsciously relaxed, allowing it to fall aside.

"I finally won once! Damn Pseudo-humans, now you know who's boss, huh!"

Her previous frustration finally turned into satisfaction, and the pressure she had been holding in transformed into excitement. It felt as if she had claimed first place again, filling her heart to the brim.

Only after her emotions settled did she sit up and write down her experiences one by one in her notebook.

[Don't get greedy. Absolutely don't get greedy. Answer the question within five seconds, then leave immediately. Never linger.]

[My Reserve of literary knowledge is still a little weak. My accuracy on literature questions is only ninety-five percent. I need to keep improving it.]

[Talisman Arts feel a little strange. The question setter seems to have their own understanding of Talisman Arts, but for some reason, it also feels very reasonable.]

[Pseudo-humans must die! The moment I see one, I have to kill it! Never let them open their mouths!]

After finishing her notes, she checked the time, and her expression suddenly darkened.

Nine o'clock...

She had actually played for nine hours.

Seeing how much time she had wasted for nothing, Wang Chuyun bit down harder and harder on the temple of her Glasses, while dissatisfaction rose in her heart.

This Morning Light was truly awful!

Why did he have to make the quiz Dreamscape so fun!

After hurriedly packing up her stationery, she was about to leave and return to her dorm to catch up on her studies when a notification sound from her phone drew her attention.

[Great fortune tonight, chicken dinner! Congratulations on taking first place in Quiz Melee. Your reward of ten points of mana has been sent to your phone. Please check it. We hope you will continue working hard and achieve further success.]

After reading the message and looking at the ten points of mana credited to her account, two little figures popped into Wang Chuyun's mind.

The one on the left said, "While you're on a roll, hurry up and keep playing—no, keep making money!"

The one on the right said, "Entertainment is a crime. We should study. But studying is for the sake of making money. Now that we can skip the studying stage, it doesn't matter."

Wang Chuyun looked at the two little figures and nodded.

That's right. I'm not having fun. I'm making money.

Having formed a logical closed loop in her mind, Wang Chuyun dispelled her concerns and sank into the Dreamscape again.

Thanks to her 430-point intellect, the strategies she had summarized worked flawlessly in the Dreamscape. Her odds of getting a chicken dinner soared to thirty percent, and she began ruthlessly farming rewards.

Just as she was crazily earning mana, the Evil God in her mind let out a smug laugh.

Play, play!

Just keep playing!

Play until you lose all ambition, play until you go completely mad, play until you have no time to study and your grades hang by a thread. Then you'll come begging me!

When that time comes, you will surely become my loyal slave, kneel beneath my banner, and spread my glory!

While the Evil God laughed triumphantly, Chen Yu was also feeling pleased with himself.

Play, play!

Give me all the Negative Emotions you can, then win my Positive Mana away!

A Constitution truly was the greatest cheat for cultivation. This feeling of creating something from nothing and having others work for him was simply wonderful.

Humming a tune as he watched Positive Emotion continuously decrease and Negative Emotions steadily rise, Chen Yu smiled in satisfaction.