Chapter 12
by GideonChapter 12: Snow Mountain Town 12 — No Cat Can Resist the Temptation of a Yarn Ball
Jiang Qibai slept fitfully, her mind preoccupied with the next day’s trip to the can factory. She woke up at six o’clock sharp.
The first thing she did was check her private messages from Mr. Tree. The chat history was empty. It seemed the Fuel Search Team was still inactive, so their schedule wouldn’t clash with her trip to the can factory.
Next, she checked today’s daily quest. She hoped it would be simple. If it turned out to be too troublesome, she would have to give it up and prioritize searching the can factory.
To her surprise, today’s quest was different from the previous ones.
[ Weekend Welfare Quest: Kill any monster. Note: The type and number of monsters will affect the quest rewards. Quest duration: One day. ]
Today was indeed the seventh day since Jiang Qibai had entered the Snow Mountain Town Dungeon. This Weekend Welfare Quest could be interpreted differently by different players. For instance, players who were already struggling just to complete the daily quests could choose to take a day off, and killing a single Shadow Ghost would be enough to symbolically complete the quest. Meanwhile, players who still had the strength could go on a killing spree today to farm more rewards.
Jiang Qibai felt a twinge of anxiety. She hoped for a decent reward, but she also didn’t want today’s trip to the Canned Food Factory to go poorly. Then again, she thought, none of this is in my control anyway. The thought quickly dispelled her worries.
Before heading out, she glanced at the Robbery Cat perched on top of her storage cabinet.
The Small Storage Cabinet had been her reward from yesterday’s daily quest. It was a low cabinet, about waist-high, which she had placed near the Safehouse door, directly across from the mailbox.
As soon as she’d set up the cabinet, Jiang Qibai had immediately moved the Robbery Cat onto it. The cat’s original stand—a wheeled shelf she’d brought back from the barbershop—was far too unstable. She was terrified that a single accidental bump would shatter the A-rank Item.
After relocating the Robbery Cat, Jiang Qibai reviewed its attributes once more.
[ Robbery Cat ] Quality: A-rank Description: The Robbery Cat naturally accepts all offerings but never promises any rewards in return. Note: Humans, surrender everything to the cat!
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Qibai placed a few “offerings” before the Robbery Cat.
The pile included the vegetable packets from her instant noodles, a thin sweater with a large rip in the back, and a pair of disposable slippers from the hotel.
All these items could be summarized in a single word:
Trash.
Jiang Qibai lived a tight-fisted life; she had no good things to offer. Besides, humans and cats were worlds apart. Who could say for sure that what Jiang Qibai considered “good stuff” would hold any appeal for the Robbery Cat? Never try to guess the mind of a wicked cat.
“Huh?”
Jiang Qibai glanced over and noticed the items she’d left out had been moved. The vegetable packet was covered in bite marks. The disposable slippers had been stretched tautly, as if something massive had been stuffed inside, causing them to fall apart. As for her sweater, it had miraculously vanished, replaced by a messy ball of yarn.
The scene was actually quite eerie, but the thought of the culprit being this ceramic cat—squinting with a wicked grin—instantly made it feel less frightening.
Jiang Qibai picked up the yarn ball and was surprised to find it was actually an item.
[ Yarn Ball Quality: D-rank Description: A single-use item. When thrown, it will attract enemies for 30 seconds. Note: No cat can resist the temptation of a yarn ball. ]
She seemed to understand why the Robbery Cat was rated A-rank now. It could produce items!
What a good cat, a peerless, wonderful cat!
Jiang Qibai quickly stowed the yarn ball away and gave the cat’s smooth ceramic head a pat. “Wait for me. I’m going out to hunt. I’ll bring you back something good.”
Jiang Qibai set out at seven in the morning. The eastern sky showed no hint of dawn, and sunrise was still at least an hour away.
Fortunately, the night sky was ablaze with stars, and the moon offered a sliver of light, allowing Jiang Qibai to see the path ahead.
She walked for a while with her flashlight on, but after noticing that its swinging beam was drawing attention, she decisively switched it off. Instead, she kept the Mutated Shadow Ghost employee close behind her—if any Shadow Ghosts tried to ambush her, it would be able to detect them in time.
Three reckless Shadow Ghosts tried to block their path along the way, but Jiang Qibai and the Shadow Ghost employee teamed up to take them down.
The weather was getting colder, and this was the coldest part of the day. The frigid wind swirled down her neck, and Jiang Qibai shrunk her shoulders, pulling the zipper of her jacket up a little higher.
The hand gripping the baseball bat turned red from the cold, but Jiang Qibai didn’t dare tuck it into her pocket for even a moment of warmth, fearing she wouldn’t react in time if a Shadow Ghost suddenly lunged at her.
She actually had a pair of high-quality ski gloves, but they were too thick. Wearing them would make her movements clumsy.
I really wish I had a pair of fleece-lined gloves that were both snug and warm.
Jiang Qibai soon arrived at Central Square.
She scanned her surroundings, looking for the others. Surely I’m not the first one here?
Not far off, the headlights of an off-road vehicle flashed twice.
Jiang Qibai walked over.
The car door swung open, and the person inside gestured for her to take a seat.
Only after seeing that Luan Qi Ba Jiao was already in the back did Jiang Qibai bend down and climb into the vehicle.
It was a five-seater, and with her addition, the car was now completely full. The driver was a young woman who looked to be in her twenties.
[ Player: Sweet and Sour Fish | Status: Good ]
Sweet and Sour Fish glanced back at Jiang Qibai. “Now we’re just waiting for Lingling Eight.”
Another person? Jiang Qibai was surprised. She looked at the back seat where she now sat. Besides Luan Qi Ba Jiao, there was another young man. All three of them were of average build—Luan Qi Ba Jiao was even a bit on the thin side. If they absolutely had to squeeze in one more person, it wasn’t impossible.
I just hope Lingling Eight isn’t fat.
Luan Qi Ba Jiao caught Jiang Qibai’s eye and made a series of exaggerated, comical faces, yet he never managed to free his mouth to speak.
Jiang Qibai’s gaze couldn’t help but linger on the other young man in the back seat. His username was [AAA Professional Antarctic Penguin Wholesale and Retail Xiao Yang].
Luan Qi Ba Jiao, whose status was set to “On Interview,” was chatting with him, the two of them spouting nonsense.
“It’s freezing this morning.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. The safehouse is drafty. I’m terrified I’ll wake up one day with facial paralysis from the cold.”
“It’ll be better once we pay off the mortgage.”
“Almost there, almost there.”
“…It’s getting even colder.”
“Ah, right, right.”
Luan Qi Ba Jiao finally wrapped up his “street interview” and turned to greet Jiang Qibai, complaining, “It’s already seven-thirty. Where’s Lingling Eight?”
The moment the words left his mouth, a massive figure appeared outside the car window. He yanked open the back door and said in a deep, nasal voice, “No room to sit.”
Everyone stared at him. Lingling Eight was wearing a bulky black cotton jacket and a fleece-lined hat. If you didn’t look closely, you’d think a bear had stood up on its hind legs.
The three people in the back seat silently shifted inward. Lingling Eight glanced at the remaining space, which was barely the size of two palms, and wondered if it could even fit one of his thighs.
He said to Sweet and Sour Fish, “You’re small. You sit in the back. I’ll drive.”
Sweet and Sour Fish was still wary. “Can you even drive?”
She was the one who had mentioned the player with the resource-gathering Talent, and she was also the one who had secured the car. She treasured the off-roader and was reluctant to hand it over to just anyone.
Lingling Eight slapped his chest in a guarantee. “Of course I can! I’ve been driving for twenty years. I’m an old hand—I’ve driven everything.”
The team was supposed to have five people, but Sweet and Sour Fish had insisted on bringing an extra friend at the last minute—the player currently sitting in the front passenger seat. Since the car belonged to her, the others hadn’t complained. They figured they’d just have to squeeze. But they hadn’t expected Lingling Eight to be so massive; he really was too big for the back seat.
“Be careful,” Sweet and Sour Fish said after a long moment of hesitation. She finally got out of the car and sat down next to Jiang Qibai.
Lingling Eight was extremely talkative. As soon as he sat down, he started organizing things. “This is our first time working together, so let’s all introduce ourselves and share what skills we have. That way we’ll know what to expect and won’t panic when things go south.”
With that, he took the lead. “Lingling Eight. You can call me Old Eight. My Talent is Rapid Wound Healing.” Given his massive build, he was a natural tank.
Luan Qi Ba Jiao chimed in, “You all know my Talent—Street Interview and all that.”
He had interviewed four of the five people in the car. He had also organized this activity, but he was only on casual terms with them—they weren’t exactly close.
When it was Sweet and Sour Fish’s turn, she shrugged. “My Talent is Treasure Hunter. I can pinpoint the approximate location of resources within a certain range.”
The player in the passenger seat, a guy named Tan Xiaotian who had been keeping a low profile, spoke up. “My Talent is Pain Suppression.”
Jiang Qibai stuck to her usual script, omitting the healing skill this time. “Beast Tamer. I can command a monster to fight for me.”
Lingling Eight’s interest piqued. “Any kind of monster?”
“One weaker than me.”
The others subtly sized Jiang Qibai up. To be fair, in a Doomsday Dungeon, there was no direct correlation between one’s strength and their appearance. But since everyone here was a rookie with only one or two Dungeons under their belt, no one could claim to be exceptionally powerful.
As a result, they viewed Jiang Qibai’s Talent as useful, but not something to place too much stock in.
Their hopeful gazes then turned to the last person, praying for a Main DPS.
Faced with their expectant stares, [AAA Professional Antarctic Penguin Wholesale and Retail Xiao Yang] stammered awkwardly, “Just call me Xiao Yang. I can apply buffs to my teammates.”
A Support.
It wasn’t that being a Support was bad, but with two other teammates whose Talents were completely unrelated to combat, adding another Support wouldn’t do much to boost their overall strength.
The car fell silent for a moment.
“I’ll form the party then,” Lingling Eight said.
Everyone joined up.
Lingling Eight started the car.
In her seat, Jiang Qibai silently reviewed everyone’s Talents, trying to match each one to its owner.
She had long ago realized that her own Talent was unique.
The “Achievement Party” didn’t come with any innate Skills. Instead, the rewards she unlocked—whether they were Skills, attributes, or items—were all triggered by her own actions.
Most Players, however, were different.
Their Talents came with two or three innate Skills. That was why Jiang Qibai had revealed two of her own Skills when facing Mr. Tree.
Today, aside from Luan Qi Ba Jiao, whom she knew well, everyone in the car had hidden their full skill set. No one had disclosed both of their Skills.
In truth, Jiang Qibai had done the same. After all, they were teammates who had only met once. No one was foolish enough to lay their trump cards on the table. Everyone understood the unspoken agreement to keep their secrets, and they tacitly said nothing.
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