Chapter Two: The Budding Space and Side Missions

Watching the lines of text gradually fade from his sight, Chen Qi began to organize the information in his mind.

First, he had been chosen by an entity called the “Sprout Space” and sent into this world.

Second, the main quest was “Survive,” which meant there was some unknown danger lurking here; carelessness could very well lead to death. And death here meant he would never return to Earth—a foreign death in a strange land.

Though Chen Qi had read many scenes of endless worlds in novels—like the Lord God’s Space and the like—when such a thing happened to him, it still felt unreal.

After all, compared to protagonists in other novels, who were always burdened with deep vengeance and skilled in killing, Chen Qi considered himself nothing more than an ordinary person. Or, to be precise, a hopeless homebody who had never even killed a chicken. Now, he had to risk his life, and this made his head spin with dizziness.

“Besides, I don’t even know where the danger comes from. And what’s the deal with this gun?”

Chen Qi thought with a wry smile.

Not far away, a group of students was running around the playground—a perfectly ordinary scene. He couldn’t imagine where the danger to his life would come from.

Just as Chen Qi felt at a loss, a message emanated from the tattoo on his chest.

When he focused his consciousness on the tattoo, several lines of text appeared before his eyes.

One, Personal Information
Two, Storage Space
Three, Equipment
Four, Skills
Five, Quests

Insufficient permissions. Other functions pending activation... Please strive to improve your rank.

Chen Qi couldn’t wait to open the first option. He wanted to know what his condition really was.

Soon, rows of data appeared before his eyes.

[For ease of understanding, the Chosen One’s attributes are presented in numerical form.]

Personal Information:

Chosen One ID: 2FD957. (Each Chosen One/Contractor is assigned a unique number.)
Name: Chen Qi (Chosen One)
Rank: Tier One (You’re a rookie who’s just arrived in the Space.)
Health: 100% (This attribute cannot be quantified and changes based on injury severity.)
Mana: 60 (Intelligence x10)
Strength: 6 (As a sturdy man, you’re a bit stronger than the average person.)
Agility: 5 (Neglecting exercise for too long keeps you at an average level.)
Constitution: 7 (Ample nutrition has made you robust.)
Intelligence: 6 (As a college student, you’re a bit smarter than the average person.)
Charisma: 5 (Plain-looking, you’re no different from most.)

Note: The standard attribute for an adult male is 5 points.
Strength determines your attack power, carrying capacity, and critical hit rate; Agility determines your speed, mobility, and dodge rate; Constitution determines your resistance to blows, endurance, and abnormal status resistance; Intelligence determines your spell damage, mana, and perception; Charisma determines your social skills and affinity when summoning.

[Your body has been digitized. During adventures in the Space/World, if vital areas such as your brain or heart are injured, you won’t die instantly, but the chance of suffering a critical hit from that attack is greatly increased.]

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[Personal information is for the Chosen One’s reference only and does not equate to actual combat ability. While attribute values affect your physical quality, combat depends on more than just these. Please proceed with caution.]

...

“Damn, it actually says I’m plain-looking!”

Chen Qi’s mind was filled with the words “plain-looking” and he couldn’t help but complain. He opened the only other interface with content—the quest interface, which promptly appeared.

[Main Quest: Survive]
Quest Description: Survive for 24 hours in Sterlan High School.

Quest Info: Sterlan Town, located within the borders of the Osei nation, is a major hub and the country’s third largest city. The best high school in the area is Sterlan High School—almost every family here has a child attending this school. A bloody shadow is about to cover this place.

Quest Duration: None
Failure Penalty: None

...

“Of course there’s no penalty if you lose your life,” Chen Qi quipped again, turning his attention to the rifle in his hands.

[Side Quest Triggered: Real-Life CS Competition. Accept? Yes/No]

Quest Description: Win the real-life CS competition.

Quest Info: You and your friends are holding a real-life CS match. Use your signal gun to defeat them.

Quest Duration: Within 2 hours
Failure Penalty: None

“So it’s a fake gun. I knew it—how could a student be carrying a real one?”

Chen Qi complained once more, casually accepting this new side quest. In his view, any quest without a penalty for failure was worth taking.

“A Qi, what are you spacing out for? Let’s go get Andrei and the others!”

Just as Chen Qi was lost in thought, a bespectacled high school student called out to him from behind.

Chen Qi stood at 1.83 meters tall—an impressive height for a high schooler. Moreover, as a university junior, he was surprised that the high school student didn’t question his identity at all. Clearly, this was thanks to the Space’s abilities.

“How many are on the other team? How many do we have left?”

Chen Qi asked, probing for information without giving anything away.

“Both teams started with seven people. We two are hiding here in the flowerbeds, while the others went to the playground to look for the other team.”

The bespectacled boy added anxiously, “They’ve been gone so long—could they have been defeated? Let’s go help them!”

Chen Qi glanced toward the playground. The green fence had a gate wide enough for two people to pass through; inside was a ring of rubber tracks, and beside the gate stood a platform about as tall as a person, blocking most of the view of the field.

“If all five of them have been taken out, the two of us wouldn’t make a difference. Better to stay here and maybe catch them off guard.”

Chen Qi advised the bespectacled boy.

Though still anxious, the boy didn’t insist on leaving.

Lying on the grass, Chen Qi’s thoughts began to drift.

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He believed there must be a deeper meaning behind the Space giving him this side quest. Even if it was a benefit, the Space wouldn’t encourage Chosen Ones to “play” in other worlds just for fun...

The early autumn wind stirred the fallen leaves in the flowerbed and sent one brushing against Chen Qi’s face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He looked around. Several scattered trees stood in the center of the flowerbed, and between the deliberately trimmed lawns, a few narrow paths crisscrossed. At the end of these paths was the iron gate leading to the playground.

He had to admit, this was an excellent spot for an ambush. From here, he could see the playground exit clearly, while anyone coming out would be distracted by the trees and likely overlook someone lying in the grass.

Besides, the grass was soft and fluffy, and as he lay there with blades tickling his face and the early autumn breeze blowing gently, it was really the perfect place for a nap.

So thought Chen Qi.

“Chen Qi, look! It’s our teammate Ivan. Is he coming to get help? Let’s go help him!”

The bespectacled boy suddenly got excited and was about to stand up and dash over.

“Wait—stay down a bit longer.”

Chen Qi quickly held him back and spoke in a low voice.

Looking at Ivan’s conflicted expression, Chen Qi instinctively felt something was wrong. Even from a distance, he could see the complicated look on Ivan’s face—an expression hard to imagine on a student.

Ivan walked to the middle of the path, glancing around and calling out for both the bespectacled boy and Chen Qi.

“Don’t you notice Ivan isn’t carrying a gun? I suspect he’s from the other team, here to bait us!”

Chen Qi voiced his suspicion. The pressure from the Space’s quest seemed to have sharpened his observation.

The bespectacled boy quieted down, muttering,

“Andrei’s team is too devious. Who would think of a trick like this?”

Ivan called out a few more times, then turned around and shouted with relief,

“I told you they weren’t here! You just had to make me come and check.”

At Ivan’s shout, four middle schoolers stepped out from under the platform near the playground.

The leader, whose skin was a bronze hue and who stood a head taller than the others, gripped a signal gun tightly in both hands. His uniform fit snugly, making him look lean and sharp.

“Look at Andrei—his chest light is flashing yellow. One more hit and he’s out!”

The bespectacled boy said excitedly, readying his gun.

“Wait. Let them get closer before we shoot.”

Recalling scenes from wartime dramas, Chen Qi reasoned that with their shooting skills, firing from a distance was as good as gambling—the best they could hope for was to startle the enemy.

The four-person squad soon closed in on Ivan. A blond-haired middle schooler shouted,

“Let’s take Ivan out first. I don’t trust this guy.”

He raised his signal gun and pointed it at Ivan.

Ivan cursed them for breaking their word. The other team had promised to return his gun and let him rejoin the game if he helped lure them out.

As Ivan drew the attention of all four, Chen Qi made a swift decision:

“Fire! Shoot them!”

Chen Qi half-rose, mimicking the gun-holding posture from shooting games, and shouted to the bespectacled boy,

“Now!”