Chapter 23: The Game Begins

Feng Jingxuan recovered from his initial shock. "You, you, you!!! How could you just!!!"

He felt an urge to shake her violently until all the water in her brain spilled out.

Xiao Ningxue sighed helplessly. "I'm sorry, but... please don't expose me."

Feng Jingxuan was frantic and puzzled. "Why?" If it were him, he would have been thrilled to death.

Xiao Ningxue frowned. "This is my own secret."

People who are overly lively share one trait: sometimes they inadvertently try to pry into others' privacy, even if they don't mean to.

Feng Jingxuan refused to give up. "But..."

Zang Zexin interrupted, "It's about time. Let's find a spot to jump."

Feng Jingxuan's attention was instantly diverted. "Right, right! Let's hurry and find a place."

Seeing the two of them discussing it with such enthusiasm, Xiao Ningxue felt a sense of relief.

"You two go find your own place to jump; I'll take a different one."

Xiao Ningxue knew she had become the public enemy of all the beastmen in this match. Although she wasn't afraid, she felt it would be better to separate so her two roommates could have a better gaming experience.

Feng Jingxuan and Zang Zexin turned back simultaneously.

"What are you saying?" Feng Jingxuan was rarely angry. "We're a team. How could we possibly split up?"

Xiao Ningxue assumed he didn't understand, so she explained, "You just saw it—I made a female cry. I'm a public enemy to everyone in this game. Basically, anyone who sees me will want to kill me..."

"You don't think we realize that, do you?" Feng Jingxuan looked at Xiao Ningxue strangely.

Xiao Ningxue was stunned. "Huh?"

Zang Zexin added, "Of course we understand, but we are roommates, aren't we?"

Xiao Ningxue was also a wood-element ability user; they couldn't just leave her behind.

Xiao Ningxue said dismissively, "Oh! I was just worried you wouldn't have enough fun! Since you don't care, then I certainly don't either."

Accustomed to being a lone wolf in the apocalypse, she subconsciously didn't want to drag others down. Since the two of them didn't mind her current situation, she didn't mind either.

"Don't you think this is exciting?" Feng Jingxuan looked thrilled. A desperate escape! He had always wanted to take on everyone by himself, and now he could finally make it happen!

Xiao Ningxue didn't know whether to laugh or cry; she really didn't understand the heart of a "chuunibyou" teenager.

A flash of madness crossed Zang Zexin's eyes as well, showing he was clearly interested.

Xiao Ningxue noted that she had experienced this feeling before; in a life-or-death crisis, it was actually quite terrifying. It was a different story when there was no real danger to life.

"Fine. If you don't mind that I made a female angry, then I have nothing to mind. Come on, let's link up; you choose the location." Xiao Ningxue was too lazy to think, so she simply linked up with the two of them.

Linking parachutes on the plane ensured they would land in the same spot. Feng Jingxuan and Zang Zexin, unaware of her abilities, had no objections.

Zang Zexin warned her, "Make sure you stay behind us. Keep up."

Xiao Ningxue nodded. "Got it."

The two whispered to choose a location and jumped down with Xiao Ningxue. Not far from the ground, the three of them pulled their parachute cords.

"I really don't get it. We wouldn't be hurt if we jumped from this height in reality. Why do we need parachutes for a game? And if you don't pull this thing, you lose health points."

That was correct; the parachute wasn't mandatory, but failing to deploy it would cost twenty percent of one's health bar. In the game, everyone started with the same amount of health, and no one wanted to lose twenty percent right at the start. That was a full one-fifth!

Landing safely in an open area, the three of them immediately masked their presence and hid. The spot they chose was a bit remote; when the combat zone eventually shrank, they would have to head toward the center.

They had wasted some time on the plane, but there was no news of anyone being eliminated yet, which wasn't a good sign. It meant everyone had formed alliances. Everyone wanted to eliminate her first to avenge the female.

Xiao Ningxue covered her forehead. "I never imagined I'd be the center of attention like this." She was experiencing the treatment of a celebrity from before the apocalypse.

Feng Jingxuan poked her with a sly look. "How does it feel to be so sought after?"

Xiao Ningxue pretended to think for a moment. "Pretty good. I'll strive to keep it up."

Feng Jingxuan was speechless. Zang Zexin's eyes flashed with a hint of amusement.

"What random abilities did you get assigned in the game?" Feng Jingxuan asked in a low voice.

Xiao Ningxue sensed her power and felt a flicker of surprise. "I have the wood element!"

Zang Zexin followed up, "Strength element."

Feng Jingxuan was surprised. "You both kept your original abilities? Me too; I have the lightning element."

Only then did Xiao Ningxue learn her roommates' abilities. Not everyone could awaken abilities, but piloting mechs required the assistance of abilities. Strength and physical mutation abilities were the most common in the Mecha Department, while those with powerful offensive abilities joined the Ability Combat Department. The wood-element ability had its own separate department called the Botanical Academy.

Xiao Ningxue mused, "Maybe it's just the first round, letting us adapt?"

The guide hadn't mentioned this.

Feng Jingxuan shook his head firmly. "Whatever. It's to our advantage that our abilities didn't change. Let's go scavenge for equipment."

The other two nodded. "Agreed."

Feng Jingxuan sighed with regret. "Why didn't we pull a student from the Command Department over? It would be much more interesting to fight that way."

Xiao Ningxue smiled. "It's fine. We'll win with raw skill. Everyone is a new player right now with little experience; whoever has more skill has a higher chance of winning."

The main thing was that no one had anticipated this situation, so there was no point in being frustrated. Besides, with a female involved, it was hard to say if a Command Department student would have stayed with them in the end anyway.

Zang Zexin nodded. "Qingyu is right. Strength is king."

No one was familiar with the map; everyone was still in the exploration phase.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Just as the three were about to move, three sets of footsteps approached from behind to the right.

"Damn it! I don't know where that brat went! There's no news anywhere, and he actually dared to make a female cry. I'm going to kill him so many times he'll never dare to enter this game again."

Xiao Ningxue's mouth twitched. She really hadn't done anything!

[Snow (Xiao Ningxue): My goodness, you people in the Federation are just way too... concerned about females.]

Xiao Ningxue said in the team chat. Both of them knew she wasn't a Federation citizen, and upon hearing this, even Zang Zexin became curious about Xiao Ningxue's home planet.

[Federation's Finest (Feng Jingxuan): Isn't that how it should be? Don't tell me your planet doesn't care about females?]

Xiao Ningxue: ...

How was she supposed to explain this?

[Snow: Ah... well... that's a secret.]

Xiao Ningxue didn't even dare to say anything like "if you ever get a chance to visit my planet." If they actually went, it would be nothing but trouble.

Seeing she wouldn't say, the two didn't press further.