Chapter Four: Opening the Treasure Chest and Contemplation
A scroll and two treasure chests lay quietly in the storage space, surrounded by a faint white glow that lent an air of mystery and comfort. With a heart full of reverence akin to a pilgrim, Chen Qi focused his attention on the scroll.
[Random Basic Ability Scroll]
Quality: White
Category: Passive Skill Scroll
Effect: Upon use, learn a random level 1 basic ability.
Rating: 20 (Note: White items are rated from 1 to 20, with higher ratings indicating greater rarity.)
Description: A precious passive skill scroll. Who knows what ability you’ll acquire? The advantage is you can use it directly—no secondary fees.
Sale price: 800 universal points
[Open Random Basic Ability Scroll, Yes/No?]
Without hesitation, Chen Qi chose to open it. In his current situation, any ability would help him with the upcoming main quest.
[You have opened a Basic Ability Scroll and gained the following ability.]
[You have learned Basic Footwork lv.1]
[Basic Footwork lv.1] (Passive)
Skill Effect: Increases dodge rate by 4%, granting the user some rudimentary evasion and running techniques.
......
As the scroll vanished in a shimmer of white light within the storage space, Chen Qi felt a tingling sensation in his brain, as if he had suddenly mastered new dodging and running skills. These techniques seemed imprinted on his mind, as if he’d always known them.
“How incredible!”
Chen Qi gave the space a thumbs-up, suppressing the urge to try out his new footwork, and shifted his attention to the “+” symbol at the bottom of the skill.
[Would you like to upgrade Basic Footwork lv.1? This upgrade requires 1 Basic Skill Point and 500 universal points.]
“Basic Skill Point?”
Though Chen Qi had no idea what a Basic Skill Point was, that didn’t stop him from selecting “Yes” in his mind.
[Insufficient Basic Skill Points. Upgrade failed.]
The merciless prompt dashed his hopes of exploiting a loophole in the space, and after swallowing his brief disappointment, Chen Qi turned his attention to the treasure chests.
[Treasure Chest (White): Open? Yes/No]
A prompt appeared across his retina. Chen Qi took a deep breath and selected “Open.” The chest opened silently, suffused with soft white light, and then the notification followed.
[You have opened a Treasure Chest (White) and received the following items:]
[600 Universal Points]
[Small Pile of Pebbles]
Chen Qi frowned, taking the pebbles in hand.
[Pebbles]
Origin: Any world with stones
Quality: White
Category: Consumable
Effect: Hurts if you throw it at someone?
Rating: 1
Description: An unremarkable handful of pebbles. You could… hmm, throw them in someone’s eyes.
Sale price: 0 universal points
Resisting the urge to toss the pebbles into the toilet out of a spirit of frugality, Chen Qi turned his gaze to the remaining chest.
This time, he took three deep breaths, muttered “Amitabha,” drew a cross on his chest, and finally exclaimed, “Blessed be!” before choosing to open it.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the white light this time seemed marginally brighter than before.
[You have opened a Treasure Chest (White) and received the following items:]
[200 Universal Points]
[Inferior Fragmentation Grenade] x2
Chen Qi’s heart leapt with joy, and he quickly summoned the grenades into his hand.
[Inferior Fragmentation Grenade]
Origin: Any world with gunpowder technology
Quality: White
Category: Consumable
Effect: Pull the pin and it explodes after 10 seconds, dealing 10-50 explosive damage to all enemies within range (depending on distance from blast center). The shrapnel causes secondary injuries.
Rating: 6
Description: A crudely-made grenade, but no less deadly to infantry. Remember to count the seconds, lest the enemy throw it back.
Sale price: 100 universal points
Holding the weighty grenades, Chen Qi trembled with excitement.
This was the first time in his life he’d ever touched a lethal weapon.
He admired its smooth curves, the rough, cold texture, the deep olive casing—what man could resist such a thing?
He fiddled with the grenades, familiarizing himself with the safety mechanism, miming throwing motions beside the toilet. Fortunately, the stall was locked, sparing him from being seen; at this moment, he resembled a monkey leaping about—if anyone saw him, he’d die of embarrassment.
“No matter what, at least now I have the means to kill.”
Shaking off the gloom of being KO’d by Andre, the weight in his hand made him feel confident again.
After fiddling with the grenades for several more minutes, Chen Qi reluctantly returned them to his storage space and began contemplating his main quest.
The task was simple: survive for 24 hours. With over 22 hours remaining, it meant that this school would soon face a deadly crisis.
Yet the current peaceful atmosphere made it impossible for Chen Qi to imagine what the coming danger could be.
“All I know is, I’ll encounter a crisis. As an ordinary student, that means all the students could be in danger.”
Chen Qi considered calmly: “Earthquake? Fire? Viral outbreak? Ghostly revenge?”
The more outrageous his ideas became, the more he forced himself to stop and instead recall the previous live-action CS tournament.
This was one of Chen Qi’s strengths—he liked to reflect on past events.
Though he had yet to formally join the so-called “Germination Space,” he was certain that it was no charity; the earlier sense of unease surfaced once more.
“Would the space really assign a task that just encourages participants to play games?”
He casually asked the space, but received no reply.
Pushing his reasoning further: “If the space wouldn’t give such a frivolous task, could there be a deeper meaning? Is this… some kind of hint?”
At this realization, Chen Qi’s pupils contracted sharply.
“A shootout? Is a war going to break out on campus? No way, right?”
The thought of exchanging live fire with unknown enemies made Chen Qi’s heart clench. He couldn’t even beat Andre—how could he possibly survive?
He didn’t know the answer.
Fortunately, Chen Qi quickly composed himself, comforting himself: “According to my reasoning, supernatural events like ghosts can be ruled out.”
Being a modern, grown-up homebody, Chen Qi was naturally afraid of ghosts. For a guy who needed a plush toy for comfort during horror movies, facing ghosts head-on was the last thing he wanted.
“No matter what, I should at least go to the top floor of the teaching building and examine the school layout.”
He quickly made up his mind, left the restroom, and headed for the stairs.
Perhaps because the opening ceremony was in the afternoon, classes had yet to begin, and only a handful of students were wandering the halls looking for teachers.
Chen Qi swiftly climbed to the top floor and peered down the corridor:
Opposite (to the south) stood a three-story administrative building. Between the two buildings was the flowerbed path where the CS tournament had taken place. The school gate was on the east side, while the sports field lay to the west of the teaching building.
Watching students come and go, Chen Qi couldn’t help but mutter,
“Energetic bunch, aren’t they?”
After surveying the south side, Chen Qi decided to find an empty classroom to check the view to the north. Since the school wasn’t crowded, the fifth floor had many unused, dusty classrooms, most of which were locked.
Not wanting to keep searching, Chen Qi simply opened a window of an empty classroom and vaulted inside.
“Ugh, dust everywhere! And the window wasn’t even locked—what lax management.”
Trying to lighten his mood, Chen Qi brushed the dust off his hands and walked to the rear window.
Gazing out, he saw a three-story dormitory. Next to it was a two-story building bustling with people—the cafeteria, most likely. Nearby stood an assembly hall with pale pink walls and a marble floor, marking it as an important structure.
Having familiarized himself with the layout, Chen Qi let out a long sigh, found a desk, and sat down despite the dust.
If he recalled correctly, the opening ceremony would be at 1:00 PM. Glancing at his watch: 12:27.
There was just enough time to grab a bite before the ceremony, but the pressure of the main quest hung over him like a sword—how could he have any appetite?
Suddenly, inspiration struck: if the danger came from people, wouldn’t hiding somewhere unknown keep him safe?
The classic “If the enemy can’t find me, I’m invincible” logic.
Without hesitation, Chen Qi locked the window, stacked a few desks together, and sat on the floor, concealing himself behind them.
In the disarray of the empty classroom, the setup was inconspicuous, so he could wait for time to pass without worry.
As a procrastinator, Chen Qi felt a wave of relief once he decided to skip the opening ceremony.
“I wonder if this attitude is enough to survive in the space.”
Bored, he mused, “I hope I’m just overthinking. May everyone be safe.”
With nothing else to do, Chen Qi took out the grenade again and fiddled with it to pass the time.
Meanwhile, he rehearsed his throwing motion over and over in his mind, afraid that nerves would cause him to slip up when it mattered—after all, his very life was at stake.
“I must take this seriously!”
Chen Qi reminded himself repeatedly.