Where's the cute girl we were promised? She's completely wiped out S-rank dungeons!

The village chief's expression didn't improve much when he saw Qiao Ran enter:

"It's Xiao Qiao? Oh, is this your friend?"

"Yes, she and I are together." Qiao Ran said, winking at Song Yuan. "We're planning to go back to the dorm to prepare for class. We're teaching the kids tomorrow, and we can't let everyone down, right?"

The village chief seemed quite pleased with this, nodding in satisfaction, "That's true, then you can go." He added, "The mountain path is difficult to walk, so after dinner, get some rest and don't wander off!"

"Yes, village chief, we understand."

As Song Yuan and he walked out of the classroom, Qiao Ran's first words were: "We were unlucky this time; we ran into a formidable opponent."

"I've never been lucky."

Song Yuan followed him to the back of the house: "Are they from the three major guilds again? Just how powerful are these 'powerful' characters you mentioned?"

"You'll see when you see it."

The two went around to the small window at the back of the classroom and peered through the cracks in the bricks from a clever angle to see what was happening inside.

Inside was a place resembling a teacher's office. Two men and a woman were sitting there. The man wearing glasses was of average appearance, while the other was quite handsome, even somewhat dashing. The woman was very beautiful, and was currently leaning softly against the man's chest, saying sweetly:

"On my way to school just now, a little kid hugged me and asked if I could be his mom. Haha~ The kids in this game are so cute."

The man tapped the woman's nose: "And you? What did you say? Did you agree?"

"Of course I'll say yes! Kids say whatever comes to mind, there's no need to hurt their feelings."

"Oh my god—Mengmeng, you are so kind~ I am so lucky to have such a kind girl like you."

As the man spoke, he reached behind the woman and caressed her intimately, "But don't go around claiming other people's children as your sons anymore. If you want to be a mother, the two of us can..."

The woman giggled, clenching her fists and repeatedly pounding the man's chest: "Ugh! You rascal!"

The man pulled the woman onto his lap and kissed her without a care in the world: "Hahahaha! I'm a scoundrel, only with you, so what? Hey you over there, come pour some tea!"

"Okay! Alright!"

The bespectacled boy, who had been silent all along, finally agreed and happily went to boil water in the kettle. After brewing the tea, he presented it to the two of them with a fawning expression.

"Hehe, Brother Xiao, please have some."

The man took it and sipped it. "Hmm, not bad. Remember, if you behave and do as I say, I'll help you clear the game, understand?"

The two people outside the window:

Song Yuan couldn't bear to look: "...I don't know about the other two, but I've seen the one with glasses before."

The person serving tea inside was none other than Cui Xiaofei, one of the two who had challenged Song Yuan in the lobby just half an hour earlier.

Qiao Ran was also a little embarrassed: "Cough...that's true, you two just met not long ago. Wang Daqiang has always had a bad temper, so he probably thought he was useless and threw him in here."

Song Yuan pointed to the two people who were embracing and kissing passionately: "Who are the other two? The formidable characters you mentioned, you mean that man, right?"

She guessed based on the degree of obsequiousness Cui Xiaofei showed towards the two men.

Qiao Ran nodded: "Yes. The man's name is He Zhixiao, and the woman's name is Zhao Meng. This is the first time I've met a female player like Zhao Meng; she's probably a newbie. But this He Zhixiao is not so simple."

He belongs to one of the three major guilds, [Midnight Ghost], and is the vice-leader's nephew. His talent is strength enhancement, but its strength is very average.

But his uncle was willing to spend money on him, so his overall rating is now A, while his talent has already reached S. Plus, over the years he's killed players and looted equipment, collecting a massive amount of high-level items. These include items specifically designed to resist mental attacks; my skills can be intercepted or even reflected.

As the vice president's nephew, he'll definitely try every means to kill us two wanted criminals in the game.

"Yeah......"

Song Yuan turned around and leaned against the wall, pondering a solution.

In this situation, it's definitely best for them to avoid He Zhixiao—no matter how incredible her attack power and agility are, she's still made of flesh and blood. He Zhixiao isn't like an NPC; she can just pull out any item or weapon, and if they encounter her, they're doomed.

However, this would greatly limit their range of movement. In a puzzle game, finding clues is all about who strikes first. If they keep hiding and acting timidly, they will be trapped in the instance and will still die.

Before she could figure out exactly what to do, she suddenly felt a few light taps on her shoulder:

Looking up, Qiao Ran smiled expectantly: "Hey~ I said, it's come to this, so don't keep it from me anymore. Just tell me already~"

Song Yuan was baffled: "What am I hiding from you?"

"Ugh, do I really have to tell you straight up?" Qiao Ran pouted and asked bluntly, "What are your talents and skills? New players all get talents and skills after completing their first game. Tell me so we can discuss our next plan."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Song Yuan cracked her knuckles and asked, word by word:

"You just said...every player has it?"

"Yeah, yeah." Qiao Ran inexplicably sensed a murderous aura, hugged herself and shivered. "Hiss, why is it suddenly so cold here... Can you feel it?"

Damn system, you're deliberately making things difficult for players, you're absolutely insane!

Song Yuan took three deep breaths before she could barely suppress the urge to smash the wall. Too lazy to explain further, she simply showed Qiao Ran her personal profile:

"See? I have no talent or skills."

After reading it, Qiao Ran silently clasped his hands together and bowed to her.

"I'm sorry, I offended you."

You might be being targeted. Try running more dungeons in the future, and you'll definitely get it.

Anyone would be angry if they had to grind countless dungeons to get something that was supposed to be a free reward for first-time completion. I'm truly sorry.

Song Yuan waved her hand, dismissing the matter: "Alright. Let's discuss what to do next."

......

[Ding~ Player Qiao Ran has purchased "Volume Sleeping Pills" and 10 Antidotes for Volume Sleeping Pills]

After finalizing their plan, the two quietly left the school.

Night fell after seven o'clock.

The teachers' dormitories were arranged in a side building on the west side of the back of the school: two rooms. One room was for the female teachers, and the other was for the male teachers.

Cui Xiaofei wisely left the male teachers' dormitory, making it easier for He Zhixiao and Zhao Meng to be alone. An hour later, He Zhixiao came out shirtless to smoke.

He glanced at the female teachers' dormitory next door; Cui Xiaofei was nowhere to be seen. Looking at the pale moonlight bathing the ground, He Zhixiao scoffed irritably.

"Tsk...a bunch of useless bastards! They're terrified just hearing my name."

His original plan was to capture a player with decent intelligence, then use items to force that person to help him find clues. He would then kill the player near the end of the game.

After all, his IQ is only 60. In games themed around fighting monsters and collecting items, he could easily win by using items. He could win without even thinking.

Seeing that Zhao Meng was young and pretty, he wanted to show off in front of the girl, so he secretly dragged her into this new game, saying he would help her complete it.

He'd been wandering around this run-down village all day and hadn't found a single clue. Cui Xiaofei was obedient, but his skills and weapons were utterly useless; he was completely unreliable. It made him lose face in front of the beautiful woman.

The other two newcomers were both wanted criminals on the list. They were quite intelligent, but since entering the game, he hadn't even seen a trace of them.

Damn it! If he catches him, the first thing he'll do is kill that woman, and then slowly slash Qiao Ran's face to death—after all, he hates men who are more popular with women than he is.

The pale moonlight fell upon him, and the only sounds were the chirping of cicadas and the croaking of frogs. He took a deep drag on his cigarette, then suddenly sensed footsteps behind him.

"Who—bang!"

He immediately threw away his half-smoked cigarette, summoned his weapon—a black revolver—and fired a shot in the direction of the sound without hesitation:

A figure, almost blending into the darkness, nimbly dodged to the side; a bullet struck the base of the wall with a loud thud. The person crouched down with a "whoosh," obediently raising their hands:

"I've come to seek refuge with you, don't shoot."