I was the fourth disaster in Yokohama and was loved by everyone.

Oh well, who cares? I just hope the kid doesn't cry when the mission fails.

He wore a feigned look of regret on his face, his slippers lightly tapping the ground as he adopted a leisurely, spectator-like posture.

"Are you really not considering asking me for help?"

Thinking of the 30 million in Zhu Yu's hands, Zen Temple Shen'er was also a little envious.

Although he has given up his horse racing hobby under his wife's urging, the family's daily expenses are still considerable.

Without taking on high-risk tasks, income naturally isn't as high as before.

Tsk, raising kids is so expensive.

Thinking about the money that would be spent on Hui's food, clothing, shelter and transportation, Zenji, a guy who had no concept of saving money and would never save money for tomorrow, suddenly felt a sense of urgency.

It would be too risky for him to handle this deal alone, and he wouldn't take the risk now. However, working with the kid in front of him would be very promising.

Besides, he still owed her a favor, so it wouldn't hurt to take the opportunity to repay some of it.

"How about a 30/70 split? You get 70%, I get 30%, that's the biggest concession I can make." He crossed his arms behind his head, feeling incredibly grateful for his generosity. In the past, he wouldn't bother to offer anything unless it was 70% to him and 30% to her.

Zhu Yu's eyes widened slightly.

Are they trying to take money from the players again?

"I'll give you ten, you give me zero." Her eyes were firm.

"...Trying to get something for free?" Zen Monk Shen Er looked back speechlessly. "Even more greedy than me?"

Ultimately, the two failed to reach an agreement, and Zhu Yu left with a slight regret at not being able to benefit from her teammate's combat power for free.

*

Tianyuan has existed for a thousand years and possesses the technique of "immortality". However, not dying does not mean not aging. When it ages to a certain extent, the technique will recreate the physical body and use the power of the star slurry to prolong life.

Tengen possesses superb barrier techniques. As the central hub of the Japanese barrier, the main barriers within Japan are enhanced through Tengen's power.

In order to reset its physical body, Tianyuan will assimilate with its suitable host, the "Star Essence Body," every five hundred years, interrupting the process of evolving into a cursed spirit due to the physical body decaying to its limit.

If the will of the Heavenly Origin disappears, the power amplification it provides will also disappear, and the spell barrier defense system will face collapse.

The importance of the Heavenly Origin is self-evident, which is why the world of sorcery attaches great importance to the assimilation of the "Star Essence Body".

The two main forces holding the opposite attitude are the curse master group "Q" and the religious group "Panxing Cult" composed of ordinary people, both of whom intend to prevent Tianyuan from assimilating with "Star Essence".

The former sought to create chaos, while the latter believed in the concept of Tianyuan and held that Tianyuan should not be assimilated with corrupt humans.

As the party that issued the task, Panxing Sect, Kong Shiyu took Zhu Yu to meet the person in charge.

The person in charge emphasized that the final payment would only be made after the "astromatter body" was examined.

Alright... for the sake of the mission.

*

The wind, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, rustled through the leaves of the trees lining the girls' school. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light on the road, like scattered diamonds.

As Riko and her friends walked around the corner, they startled several sparrows that were pecking at food, which fluttered and flew toward the brick wall covered with ivy.

As they walked towards the auditorium, they glanced up and spotted an incongruous figure beside a flowerbed filled with white daisies—

Her jet-black hair fluttered slightly in the wind, and her wide trousers draped over dew-kissed blades of grass. Her slender fingers were gently caressing the stem of a daisy, her movements as tender as if she were handling a precious jewel.

The sunlight gilded her with a faint golden edge, and even the tips of her hair were sparkling with tiny specks of light.

She seemed oblivious to the people passing by; her eyes shone even brighter with focus, leaving only half of her fair profile visible to onlookers.

The sight of the girl with black hair and black eyes crouching among the flowers resembled a misplaced painting.

Riko suddenly froze on the spot, her breathing unconsciously becoming softer.

Chapter 145 Passing by?

she......

Riko's gaze fell on her clothes—not the uniform of a girls' school, but the most common white T-shirt and trousers combination seen on the street.

Having spent so much time with her classmates on campus, she would at least remember their faces even if she didn't remember their names, but this girl's face was completely unfamiliar to her.

She must be from another school, how did she get in?

The Renji Girls' School, where Riko attends, has strict management of visitors. Anyone entering or leaving the school needs to apply, and strangers from other schools are not allowed to enter the campus.

Just as she returned to school shortly after being attacked, strangers suddenly appeared on campus again.

Could it be the curse master that Gojo and Natsumi mentioned who came to assassinate her?

Riko's fingers tightened subtly, and she nervously tugged at the hem of her skirt.

The girl in front of me looked extremely harmless—a loose T-shirt covered her body, making her appear somewhat thin, and a tuft of unruly hair stuck up on the top of her head. Her black-rimmed glasses had slipped down to the tip of her nose, revealing a pair of calm and bright eyes behind the lenses, with an innocent look in her fluttering eyelashes.

She looks no different from any ordinary girl you could see on the street.

Perhaps she was just passing by?

Thinking this, Riko relaxed a little, only to see the girl who had been quietly stroking the flowers suddenly move—

"Shh-"

She deftly plucked the innocent little daisy and stuffed it into the small bag behind her.

Riko Tendai: ? ? ?

She continued her actions, then reached out and unceremoniously stripped half of the entire flowerbed bare, stuffing the flowers behind her without even looking up, not even sparing the buds on the branches.

The scene resembled bandits raiding a village, leaving only a few wilted flowers hanging from the ravaged flowerbeds.

Riko's tense nerves finally relaxed completely, and the corner of her mouth twitched uncontrollably. This wasn't some curse master who might have come to assassinate her; he was clearly just an ordinary person who had accidentally wandered in.

Would a curse caster squat in a flower bed and destroy green plants?

That's really strange.

But even for ordinary people, it's actually quite strange to squat down and randomly pick flowers and plants, isn't it...?

Although she is a "stellar body," she actually lives more among ordinary people, and Riko silently complains.

With the crisis over, she finally couldn't help but speak up and curiously struck up a conversation with the other person.

"Oh..." She told her friends to go to the auditorium first, while she slowly approached the girl. "Are you there?"

*

Following the system's guidance, Zhu Yu arrived at a school.

The mission objective is inside.

She glanced up at the wall, which was at least three or four meters high, took two steps back, and then suddenly accelerated—

It nimbly vaulted over the school wall and landed on the soft lawn inside the school.

Having unlocked the new location and glancing at the lit up, collectible spots within it, she suddenly felt that she wasn't in such a rush to complete the mission anymore.

Let's explore first!

Just as she was engrossed in picking flowers and herbs to replenish the number of flowers and herbs in her backpack, trying to reach the storage limit of "999+" for each type of flower and herb, an NPC came to talk to her.

?

The NPC's voice was as soft as willow catkins falling on water, but it still caught her attention.

Looking up, she saw a girl in a sailor uniform looking down at her curiously. A single braid slipped from her shoulder, and a white hairband tied between her hair made her look exceptionally elegant and refined.

Seeing her suddenly look up, the girl took a half step back like a startled animal, then stopped abruptly, her obsidian-like eyes staring silently at Zhu Yu, waiting for her answer.

Wow, this new NPC is quite cute.

Zhu Yu's gaze lingered on the new NPC's face as she patiently replied, "Picking flowers."

"Um... I know you're picking flowers." Riko was momentarily speechless at her words, then quickly composed herself with a polite smile. "I'm a little curious why you're picking flowers?"

Picking flowers is just picking flowers, why do you need a reason?

But when an NPC takes the initiative to talk to you, it's often the start of a new quest. Zhu Yu thought for a moment and tentatively replied, "Do you want flowers? If so, I'll share some with you."

As he spoke, he reached into his bag and pulled out a flower that was still warm from his hand, handing it to the NPC.

"Ah, this..." Riko was startled by Zhu Yu's sudden action, and her eyelashes trembled slightly.

Wow, weren't we just talking about why we pick flowers? How did it suddenly fast-forward to giving me flowers?!

The young, inexperienced middle school student, Riko Tenten, had never seen anything like this before, and a faint blush crept onto the tips of her ears.

His fingers curled up unconsciously, then hesitantly extended.

“Thank you…”

Her voice was stuck in her throat, half a octave higher than usual. She awkwardly took the bouquet, holding it in her arms as if it were a soft cloud, unsure of what to do with it.

Her gaze drifted to the flowers, then she quickly glanced at the other person, a small, flustered smile forming at the corner of her lips.

Sending me flowers, does it mean you want to be friends with me?

At this point, we should exchange names...

"Um, my name is Riko Tenten. May I know your name?"

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down quickly and make herself appear less flustered.

Little did Zhu Yu know, a thunderbolt had already struck her mind.

No, no way, Riko Tendai?

What a familiar name.

Upon opening the task list, I saw the message: "Astral Matter (Tenchi Riko)".

She looked up at the NPC several more times, and the quest indicator arrow from the system was hovering above the NPC's head, undoubtedly another heavy blow to her.

I was just talking to a pretty NPC and didn't even notice!

Zhu Yu stared at the friendly green above Tian Lizi's head with a conflicted expression.

She hesitated to attack this well-designed, green-named NPC. If it were as plain and unremarkable as the leader of the Panxing Cult NPC, she could have ruthlessly chopped it down...

The good-looking NPCs are getting fewer and fewer as they drop, but we can't skip the quests...

She reluctantly gave him the name of the person wearing the vest.

It would be great if the NPCs were now marked as red...

Just as Riko was happy that the two had successfully exchanged names, a chill suddenly ran down her spine, making her shiver involuntarily.

She came to her senses and realized that she hadn't made it to the auditorium yet. Worried that she would be late, she had no choice but to say goodbye to her new acquaintance, Kawakami-san, with regret.

"I have to go now. You sneaked in, didn't you? Be careful not to get caught."

Riko winked at Zhu Yu and raised her index finger to her lips, indicating that she would keep it a secret that Zhu Yu had sneaked in.

Then he ran quickly towards the auditorium.

Zhu Yu stood there, watching the NPC's hurried departure, caught in a mental struggle, deciding to—

Chapter 146 Uncertain, let's wait and see...

Since things have come to this, let's explore first!

*

After thoroughly exploring the campus and ensuring there were no lights in sight, Zhu Yu looked at her "achievements" with great satisfaction.

Alright, it's time to go find the mission target.

Upon opening the mission panel, one sees the small triangle symbolizing the objective gradually receding from the map, moving at high speed.

???

Not sure, let's see...

Oh no, the mission target has escaped!