Chapter 2: Rescue, Rescue, Rescue... Is This All?
“System Brother? Sister? Are you sure I haven’t crossed into the wrong world?!”
No matter how much Di Qiu muttered to herself, the so-called support system gave no response.
“Turns out it’s just a chatbot.”
“No, you already detected the correct year I traveled to, so hurry up and take me back to the proper cultivation world.”
She had wasted ten years of her life here—she wanted to cultivate immortality! She wanted to fly on a sword!
Wait a minute, could this be urban cultivation? Di Qiu shook her head and immediately dismissed that thought.
Clearly not. In the education she’d received over these ten years, this was an ability world, not a cultivation world.
She could still tell the difference between an ability world and a cultivation world.
This had nothing to do with cultivation at all.
“Most importantly, where in this modern city am I supposed to find foundation-building demonic beasts that don’t even exist here?!”
...
Di Qiu paced around and stared at the system in confusion, but it still didn’t reply.
The excitement she’d felt earlier when she activated the system was now completely extinguished by this absurd mission.
In the end, with no other options, she hopped on her bike and rode along the rural path, stopping by a pond about a hundred meters from her home.
She got off, grabbed the fishing rod she had placed in the grass, dug up a few earthworms for bait, and found the best fishing spot to try her luck—adding some flavor to her high school graduation evening.
Though this village was a bit desolate, it was rich in wild game, so as long as she could use her hands, she wouldn’t starve.
Luckily, she was no stranger to fishing, and her luck had always been good.
Suddenly, a layer of clouds covered the clear sky, and a gentle breeze stirred up, giving an ominous feeling of impending storm and mountain destruction. The fish in the pond jumped out of the water from time to time.
Di Qiu worried if she could catch anything at this moment, but within two minutes, she caught her first fish.
[Mission 1: Newbie on the Road! Defeat ten mischievous demonic beasts (1/10)]
The mission box popped up unexpectedly, and Di Qiu froze.
She stared silently at the fish she caught, then glanced at the fish jumping in the pond, and asked with a soul-searching question:
“Huh?”
“Mischievous demonic beasts? You’re calling lively, jumping fish mischievous demonic beasts?”
Within a second, Di Qiu went from shock to confusion, then acceptance—a rapid series of mental shifts that helped her quickly adapt to this strange system.
After all, she had already traveled between worlds; nothing was impossible.
If the system said these were mischievous demonic beasts, then so be it!
Di Qiu had originally planned to catch one fish and leave, but now she had to stay here for twenty minutes.
She tried for a second catch, and sure enough, the mission box popped up again.
[Mission 1: Newbie on the Road! Defeat ten mischievous demonic beasts (2/10)]
By the third fish, the count changed to 3.
When she caught the tenth fish, a pleasant announcement sounded in her ears.
[Congratulations on completing Newbie on the Road, defeating ten mischievous demonic beasts, maintaining the village’s peace. Reward: Random talent ‘Great Fortune’]
[Ding! Congratulations on unlocking the title ‘Newbie on the Road.’ While wearing this title, attack power increases by 5%.]
Di Qiu blinked, “I actually completed it?”
“Great Fortune? Sounds pretty impressive.”
---
Di Qiu rubbed her chin, looking at the talent section on the panel, which had changed from empty to [Great Fortune].
What a rollercoaster of a day!
She glanced at a blue title in her backpack, clicked it, and sure enough, there was an equip button. Without hesitation, she chose to wear it.
Looking up, there was no visible title floating above her head like in a game.
As for that attack power increase? Di Qiu looked down at a fist-sized stone at her feet, clenched her fist, and punched it.
“Ouch,” she hissed, shaking her hand and looking at the stone, which remained unbroken.
Her little illusion was shattered.
Di Qiu tossed the nine fish she’d caught back into the pond, then bent down to pick up the last one, muttering:
“The attack boost isn’t much, but this talent might be a good start... yeah, right!”
Suddenly, a wet, dark, long-tongued creature crawled out of the water, making her so startled she scrambled clumsily onto the shore.
“Holy crap! That’s creepy!”
The weird creature from her textbook had actually appeared!
“I swear, Great Fortune? More like Great Misfortune!”
[Ding! Timed mission triggered]
[Winds rise and clouds shift, demonic energy surges. The Black Mountain Old Demon lurks here. Protecting the villagers is also your chance to regain your sect’s respect. Young one, if not now, then when? Draw your sword and make them never underestimate you again!]
“What the hell is this Black Mountain Old Demon? This is a living nightmare!”
“System Brother! Sister! Help me!”
“Who said the village was safe? This place is way too dangerous!”
[Timed mission: Defeat the Black Mountain Old Demon within one minute]
“...”
Di Qiu frantically ran along the village path, calling for help, listening to the nagging system in her ear, still holding a faint hope it would intervene. But when she heard the mission start, all hope drained away.
When the system first appeared, it claimed to be the strongest support system. Now Di Qiu sincerely thought it was unreliable.
Crossing into the wrong world was bad enough, but now the system was not only malfunctioning, it was gaslighting her, an honest person.
[Mission reward: Gain a random ability]
“Save me... huh? Unlock an ability?”
Di Qiu gritted her teeth. Since she might die either way, she might as well give it her all.
She slammed the brakes, spun around, and came face to face with the creepy creature.
—
Dandan Hope Middle School.
A middle-aged man with graying hair, smoking a cigarette and humming a tune, sealed the school gate with a sticker.
There was an indescribable sense of relief and happiness on his face.
He had been assigned to teach in this small village for decades. At first, he thought he’d stay six years and be done, but who knew it would turn into twelve.
These two remaining children had never passed the test cutoff. If it weren’t for supervisors from higher up coming every year for the graduation exams, he would have given them a pass and escaped this misery sooner.
What surprised him most was that this place actually produced an SSS-level ability user. At least that made it worthwhile.
As Zhou Guo turned to get on his electric scooter and report back, the black watch on his wrist suddenly emitted a fierce warning.
“Detected F-level aberration within five miles. Logistics personnel responsible for this area must eliminate immediately.”
A map popped up on his watch, with a red dot flashing wildly.
—
“Tsk, there’s an aberration here too!?”
Zhou Guo had never encountered one here in all his years—this place had few people, so the chance of aberrations was low, and he had cleared out any that appeared. There shouldn’t be any now.
Wait a minute!
Di Qiu!
This is bad!
Maybe she triggered the aberration seal.
Zhou Guo hurriedly rode his scooter toward the flashing red dot on the map.
—
At the brink of life and death, mere millimeters from disaster, Di Qiu’s pupils contracted, adrenaline surged, and she instinctively reached out with her other hand to choke the slimy, black aberration.
The moment she grabbed it, the slick, wet sensation sent chills down her spine.
Not to mention the sticky black liquid oozing down from the creature.
Her survival instinct hit redline. When its tongue wrapped around her neck, she shuddered all over, clenched her eyes shut, and slammed the creature repeatedly onto the ground.
“Save, save, save... that’s it.”
Only when the slimy feeling vanished did Di Qiu dare to open her eyes, staring dumbfounded at the disappearing aberration.
She opened her hand, revealing a black stone.
Her body, tense and trembling, collapsed like a sandcastle, and she sat down with a thud, hands still shaking.
After the adrenaline faded, Di Qiu experienced for the first time what it meant to tremble uncontrollably and feel weak in all limbs.
At the same moment, a system voice sounded in her ear:
[Congratulations on completing the timed mission, successfully killing the Black Mountain Old Demon. Reward: Random ability ‘Destruction’.]
“Destruction?”
Di Qiu thought for a moment, then tried to gently squeeze the stone with her still shaking hand. Instantly, the stone crumbled to dust—nothing more.
“...”
She could feel her strength had increased quite a bit. Usually, she could barely crush an ant.
Crushing a rock—that was a dream come true.
Strength called Destruction? Well, that works.
At least the system’s reward ability was somewhat useful.
Di Qiu opened the panel. In less than an hour, her initial stats had gained a few new entries.
[Character Information]
[Name: Di Qiu]
[Gender: Female]
[Talent: Great Fortune]
[Ability: Destruction]