Seeing Gu Qiuxue's startled reaction, Lin Jichen feigned ignorance and moved closer.
Gu Qiuxue's eyes darted around nervously. "Little Chen, you... you stay right there."
"So, you agree to let me take a break from school?" Lin Jichen asked with a mischievous grin.
"Yes, yes, I agree. Go make some money in the game, hurry up," Gu Qiuxue urged.
Lin Jichen flashed a triumphant smile and swaggered back to his bedroom.
Gu Qiuxue leaned back on the sofa, her blush slowly fading. She sat there, lost in thought, staring at the blank TV screen. A smile crept onto her face, like a flower blooming.
The old Lin Jichen would never have acted . Especially after starting college, he had grown distant, even avoiding her when she visited his university, afraid of any misunderstandings.
But now, Lin Jichen was completely different.
"This naughty brother, he's really changed a lot..."
Gu Qiuxue murmured, then whispered to herself, "He seems to have grown up too..."
Her face turned red again, embarrassed by her own words.
Meanwhile, Lin Jichen had logged back into the game.
With Panda Xiong as a guard, the night passed without incident.
As the time approached, fifty players logged in one after another. However, two players were late, keeping Lin Jichen and the others waiting for nearly half an hour.
Just when they thought the two wouldn't show up, they finally logged in.
They were two female players.
"Why are you late?" Lin Jichen asked, frowning.
One of the female players replied in a coquettish voice, "I overslept~ Girls need their beauty sleep, you know. If we don't sleep well, our skin suffers, and we won't look pretty~"
Lin Jichen was speechless at her tone but didn't want to make a scene. He gave a verbal warning instead.
"If you're late again in the next three days, I'll deduct your experience points."
The girl's face fell immediately, while the other girl retorted indignantly.
"Who are you to deduct our points? So what if we're a little late? Girls have the privilege to be late, don't you know that?"
Lin Jichen's expression turned cold.
"If that's your attitude, you can leave. I can't take you with us."
Despite having a mission, Lin Jichen wasn't willing to accommodate such nonsense. He'd rather fail the mission and take it again later.
"Are you even a man? Where's your chivalry? You're so petty."
"Yeah, we thought you were cute and wanted to flirt, but now you owe us an apology. We'll Give you our contact info."
Just as Lin Jichen was about to lose his temper, Su Wanling stepped in front of the two women, her aura of authority palpable.
"You think being late is justified? We've been waiting for you two for half an hour. Even superstars wouldn't dare be late in front of me."
The female player sneered, "Yeah, right. Who do you think you are?"
"It doesn't matter who I am. People like you, who never own up to their mistakes, are the most annoying. Waste my time again, and I won't need Lin Jichen to kick you out; I'll personally send you back to the sect!"
Seeing the menacing looks from the Moon Shadow members and other players behind Su Wanling, the two women swallowed their pride and kept quiet.
Ignoring them, Lin Jichen led the group into Storm Valley.
The experience officially began as Lin Jichen guided them through Storm Valley for the next three days.
Storm Valley, located south of Mu Xian Province, was formed by two converging mountain ranges. The winds and waters from the mountains often created fierce storms, hence the name.
The valley was filled with overlapping ridges. Even flying, it would take days to traverse the entire area.
The valley was teeming with beasts. The outer areas were manageable, but the deeper one ventured, the stronger the beasts became. Gathering Spirit Realm beasts were common, and even Elemental Infant Realm beasts could be found.
The Sword Sect disciples' mission was to complete tasks in the outer areas. Lin Jichen's job was to ensure their safety, not to help with their tasks. He just needed to make sure all fifty of them returned safely.
"It's best if you stick together. Don't spread out too far. If you get attacked by beasts or evil spirits and I can't reach you in time, don't blame me," Lin Jichen advised.
Everyone agreed, recognizing the safety in numbers.
They didn't know Lin Jichen had his own mission, but they wanted to complete theirs too. Dying would waste the three days, and experience missions often had generous rewards.
Lin Jichen and the disciples had a mutually beneficial relationship, but he couldn't help them complete their tasks.
The fifty Sword Sect disciples moved as a group, searching for their mission targets in Storm Valley.
Lin Jichen asked Su Wanling about their mission: each person needed to collect ten Wind Spirit Fragments, totaling five hundred fragments.
Initially, Lin Jichen thought it would be manageable, but he knew they would eventually split up to gather more fragments individually.
Staying together was inefficient.
By noon, everything was calm, and Lin Jichen had been idling around. The group hunted beasts together, making quick work of them.
But the peace didn't last. Internal conflicts arose by midday due to the low efficiency. They had collected less than a hundred fragments, leading to arguments over the fragments.
Soon, someone suggested splitting up.
The group quickly divided into smaller teams. Lin Jichen, though unwilling, had no authority to stop them.
His burden increased as he had to use Sword Flight to move between the different groups, ready to assist anyone in danger.
This nanny-like job frustrated Lin Jichen, but he had no choice.
"Ah! This beast is so strong! I'm dying, help!"
Hearing the cry for help, Lin Jichen flew over on his sword, finding the two late female players in trouble.