Don't Get the Wrong Idea

"Su Mu."

The host teacher walked over, a trace of complicated emotion in his gaze as he looked at him. "Your theme was marked 'special.' That's rare even in our school's history. I applied on your behalf..."

The teacher paused and glanced at the information board. "The school has submitted a funding proposal for a special dungeon research project to the higher authorities. All three of the city's manufacturing groups have expressed interest in investing and can cover the full cost of research."

The discussion on the field erupted once more.

"What? Funding from the three major groups? Is a special dungeon worth that much?"

"Of course it is. Think about it: a type of theme that's never appeared before. What group wouldn't want a hand in it? Even if the research fails, they'll still have explored something new."

"Su Mu's luck is unbelievable. His core card may be useless, but he's getting funding for nothing. All his research costs will be covered, and someone else will pick up the tab if he loses money. He won't have to worry for the rest of his life."

"True. It's basically a long-term meal ticket. Sure, he'd be selling control of his dungeon, but for a dungeon with an F-rank stone card, he should be glad anyone's willing to buy it."

"Isn't he getting a huge bargain? If it were me, I'd sign for sure."

Under everyone's envious gazes, Su Mu spoke calmly. "Teacher, I'm grateful for the school and the groups' generosity. But I'd like to research it myself."

The air fell silent for a moment.

The host teacher didn't seem surprised. He simply nodded and said nothing more.

The discussion below the platform boiled over again.

"He refused? What gives him the right? For a special dungeon with an F-rank core card, wouldn't it be great to have someone bankroll him?"

"That must be a top student's pride. He'd rather break than bend."

"Pride, my ass. That's stupidity. Just wait a month. When his research goes nowhere, who's he going to cry to?"

"What a waste. Funding from the three major groups would have kept him fed and clothed for life. To put it bluntly, he just hasn't been beaten up by reality yet."

Su Mu ignored the voices.

What a joke.

Once he signed the funding agreement, all the research data on the entire dungeon would have to be made public. Every card build would need the groups' approval, and even control of the dungeon would be transferred.

When that happened, the dungeon would no longer belong to him. Whatever core cards he wanted to make, however he wanted to build them, he'd have to watch other people's faces for approval.

If it were just an ordinary special theme, he might have considered it.

But Journey to the West?

Once these people learned how high Journey to the West's growth ceiling was, the whole of Blue Star might explode.

Su Mu turned and walked down from the awakening platform.

"Brother Mu!" Li Ming jogged over to meet him, the shock on his face not yet fully faded. "You were so cool just now, turning down the big three like that. But... what kind of theme is Journey to the West, anyway? Those gods, buddhas, and monsters looked seriously fierce. If things don't go smoothly for you later, come find me, brother. We can team up."

Su Mu looked at Li Ming and gave him a sincere smile. "Focus on awakening your theme first. We can talk after that."

Li Ming scratched his head. "Okay."

A few minutes later, Li Ming stepped onto the awakening platform.

Core card: A-rank

Name: Biochemical Mothership

Attributes: biochemical / mechanical / production

Category: technological machinery

Dungeon theme: Biochemical War

Rank: A

Category: technological civilization

A stir ran through the crowd below. An A-rank technological civilization theme was one of the military's favorites.

It wasn't as dazzling as an SSS-rank theme, but technological civilization themes had one major advantage...

Their systems were extremely mature, their resource conversion rates were high, and there were plenty of precedents to follow. There was no need to feel their way across the river by stepping on stones.

For ordinary people, an A-rank technological civilization was already a ceiling many could never reach in their entire lives.

Li Ming came down from the platform and clenched his fists excitedly. Then he looked at Su Mu. "Brother Mu, I got A-rank! Biochemical War! Now I can carry you. Once I've built up my system, just tell me what materials you need!"

Su Mu was about to speak when a chill suddenly swept in from his side.

Ye Qingxue had appeared beside them at some point. She gave Li Ming a cold glance, then looked straight at Su Mu. She stood ramrod straight, like a young white poplar in the snow, with an air of icy aloofness and pride.

"He has a technological civilization. How is he going to carry you?" Ye Qingxue's voice was crisp, her tone matter-of-fact. "Legion-based damage output isn't compatible with his dungeon at all."

Li Ming was taken aback.

Then he said in puzzlement, "Ye Qingxue, what are you talking about? Why can't I carry Brother Mu? I have an A-rank core card, at least. Don't you know how strong legion builds are in the early stages? Technological civilization systems come together fast and can mass-produce troops efficiently. Once mine takes shape, I could steamroll a normal-difficulty trial nest."

He grew more animated as he spoke and even reached out to pat Su Mu on the shoulder. "Besides, we're teaming up in temporary cooperative combat mode, not forming a fixed secret realm. Each of our dungeons fights its own battle. We just link the entrances and divert the monsters between them. I fight with my biochemical legion, and he fights with his special rules. They won't interfere with each other, so there's no need to worry about compatibility at all."

Ye Qingxue paused at that, momentarily at a loss for words.

She opened her mouth, only to find she couldn't think of a suitable rebuttal.

Because Li Ming was right: cooperative combat mode and fixed secret realm mode were two entirely different things.

A fixed secret realm had one person at its core, with everyone else's dungeons embedded in the main dungeon as subsidiary modules. The core dungeon's rules governed everything, and the other dungeons could only serve as support.

And once a fixed secret realm was formed, it could not be separated. This was a mode usually chosen only by people who trusted each other most and were closest to one another.

When she'd heard Li Ming say he wanted to carry Su Mu, the first thing that had popped into her mind had been fixed secret realm mode. She hadn't even considered cooperative combat as an option.

At that thought, Ye Qingxue's face turned slightly red.

Why?

Why did I step forward without even thinking?

No, that's not it.

Ye Qingxue rapidly searched for a reason in her mind.

She must have thought that Su Mu couldn't give up on himself.

After all, although he had awakened a special theme, his core card was just a stone.

In other people's eyes, that setup was no different from being crippled. Any rational person would choose to attach themselves to a powerful dungeon as a cooperative combat partner.

But who was Su Mu? He was the only person in their three years of high school who had managed to outdo her in both soul power and dungeon design.

If someone like that became a cooperative combat accessory for an A-rank technological civilization, what would that make him?

How could someone who had surpassed her through his own abilities in high school debase himself like that?

Yes, that's it.

Then another thought occurred to her: she had never beaten Su Mu in dungeon design.

She, Ye Qingxue, wanted to win fair and square, not take advantage of someone in danger and throw stones at someone who had fallen into a well. That must have been what she was thinking.

With that thought, she suddenly felt her confidence return.

Ye Qingxue didn't look at Li Ming. Her gaze remained fixed on Su Mu's face. After two seconds, she turned her head slightly, her tone a little unnaturally stiff. "My Ice and Snow World still has an opening."

Everyone around them turned their eyes toward her at once.

"Ye Qingxue... is inviting Su Mu?"

"Holy crap, the school beauty is inviting a special theme with an F-rank core card? What's going on?"

"Could she like Su Mu?"

"Impossible. When has our school beauty ever paid that much attention to anyone? The way I see it, she resents Su Mu for outdoing her for three years. She wants to take him as a teammate, keep him close, and humiliate him bit by bit."

"That's possible. With an SSS-rank Ice and Snow World, what kind of teammate couldn't she find? There's no need to insist on bringing in an F-rank. Look, isn't it obvious? She brings Su Mu into the team, and he leeches experience off her. From then on, he'll be a head shorter than her whenever they meet. Clever. Really clever."

"If that's true, Ye Qingxue sure holds a grudge. But... how many people dream of getting into an SSS-rank Ice and Snow World to leech off it?"

"Damn it, a guy with a stone card got lucky."

Li Ming frowned and stepped forward, blocking Su Mu. "Ye Qingxue, what do you mean by this? You're not really planning to use Su Mu as a stepping stone, are you? You two had a bit of a grudge over your grades before, but there's no need... no need to go that far, right?"

He had meant to say, "There's no need to bully him like that," but as the words reached his lips, he suddenly realized that "stepping stone" might hurt Su Mu even more, so he glossed over it.

Ye Qingxue glared furiously at Li Ming and opened her mouth to explain, but when her gaze fell on Su Mu, it was as though something had caught in her throat. In the end, she could only turn her face away, the tips of her ears taking on a faint pink. It was unclear whether it was from anger or something else.

"Forget it. Just pretend I was meddling," she muttered, but she didn't leave.

Su Mu looked at her profile, somewhat surprised.

From what he had learned of Ye Qingxue over three years, she was a little proud, but she was actually very straightforward and not good at expressing herself. What she had said just now was most likely a genuine attempt to help him. It was just that, with her personality, making her say something like "I need your dungeon design ability" would be worse than killing her.

"Thank you, Ye Qingxue," Su Mu said gently. "But I have plans of my own."

Ye Qingxue paused slightly and turned to look at him.

Her eyes went blank for an instant, and then a barely perceptible trace of dejection flashed through them.

She gave a soft huff and turned to leave.

After three steps, she stopped again. Without turning around, she spoke even more softly than before. "Don't get the wrong idea. I just saw that your dungeon designs in our regular assessments were decent and thought they might be useful somewhere. That's all."