Chapter 34

With the item they’d gotten from killing the brown bear BOSS as a foundation, the dangers Chu Yunmiao ran into on the rest of the adventure were all easily dealt with. She fulfilled her earlier promise perfectly—

As a master, she would protect her little rabbit.

As for Yu Changning, even after ten minutes, she still hadn’t changed back.

She was like a real little rabbit; cute and obedient. Aside from showing concern in a way ordinary pets wouldn’t whenever her master fought, she could only be held in Chu Yunmiao’s arms and do nothing at all.

Chu Yunmiao guessed that repeated water-gun magic had extended the transformation duration, which was why Yu Changning still hadn’t returned to her true form. But that suited her just fine. As long as she was sure Yu Changning wasn’t in any danger, she was more than happy to keep the little white bundle tucked in her arms.

And so, this bizarre one-person-one-rabbit combination actually overtook most of the teams; with Chu Yunmiao alone, they made it all the way to the castle’s base.

By then, nearly forty minutes of game time had already passed. Everyone with the strength to reach the end had arrived around the castle. Before long, Chu Yunmiao spotted Lin Mo and Stephanie.

Holding Yu Changning in her arms, Chu Yunmiao originally had no intention of meeting up with them. But before she could dodge away, the sharp-eyed Lin Mo also noticed her and immediately dragged Stephanie over. At that point, Chu Yunmiao couldn’t leave either; she could only steel herself and greet them.

The three of them found a hidden spot to talk.

“Class monitor, are you okay?” Remembering everything they’d gone through along the way, Lin Mo looked a little grim. “This lousy game is such a trap. The items boost people’s abilities too much; if you’re not careful, you’ll get screwed over.”

Chu Yunmiao asked in return, “I’m fine. Did something happen to you?”

Stephanie grinned with obvious malice. “We didn’t pay attention at first and relied on being Alphas to pretty much walk sideways through the forest. Then we ran into a team that had gotten game items before us. Lin Mo wasn’t careful and nearly got eliminated.”

Lin Mo shot her a glare, clearly annoyed that she was talking too much. But Stephanie knew her personality and wasn’t afraid of her in the least; she even stuck out her tongue at her brazenly.

“‘Nearly’ is the key word, isn’t it? In the end, I still counter-killed those last two.” Lin Mo rubbed her nose, then seemed to remember something and suddenly asked Chu Yunmiao, “Huh? Weren’t you teamed up with the instructor? Where is she?”

Chu Yunmiao unconsciously tightened her hold on the little white rabbit.

The little white rabbit’s ears twitched, and she looked up at her innocently.

Chu Yunmiao coughed lightly. “Ahem, the instructor and I... have other arrangements.”

She spoke very vaguely, because she didn’t want Lin Mo and Stephanie to know that Yu Changning was currently in her arms. After all, as the “culprit” who had turned Yu Changning into a little white rabbit, she naturally didn’t want to expose her “crime.” But to Lin Mo and the others, those words were naturally interpreted in another way.

“Oh, so you and the instructor split up?” Stephanie sounded a little admiring. “The danger level in this game is impossible to predict. Lin Mo and I never dared separate. But if it’s you and the instructor... both of you are so strong individually. Now that you’re acting separately, your efficiency is definitely higher than ours!”

Chu Yunmiao lowered her head and absentmindedly scratched the little rabbit’s chin. “Mm, I suppose.”

Lin Mo got interested. “Then what items did you get along the way? The castle is right above us; we should organize our resources while we can. This lousy game only lets two people enter as a team, but we can absolutely form an alliance privately!” She asked, “Did you and the instructor agree on a meeting point? Or should we go find the instructor first, then share information and resources?”

Chu Yunmiao waved a hand. “No need. She... probably won’t be able to rejoin us anytime soon. We’ll act as a group of three for now.”

Lin Mo and Stephanie trusted her as always, so they had no objections at all and began actively sharing what they’d obtained along the way.

When it was Chu Yunmiao’s turn, she started introducing the items she’d acquired. At last, Stephanie couldn’t hold back and stretched out a hand toward her. “Class monitor, let me hold the rabbit for you.”

Chu Yunmiao froze. She had already forgotten where she’d gotten to in her explanation. “What?”

Stephanie pointed at her chest. “Your rabbit.”

She smiled. “I wanted to ask just now; where did you find such a rabbit? All the monsters we ran into along the way were fierce birds of prey, eagles, crocodiles, that sort of thing. I haven’t seen anything this cute before.”

Chu Yunmiao instinctively tightened her hold on Yu Changning.

“No need,” she refused.

Stephanie looked a little regretful. “Huh? But won’t it get in the way if you keep holding it?”

“Of course not.” Chu Yunmiao lifted the little rabbit up in front of her.

She met the wet, glossy eyes of the pygmy rabbit, and for some reason her face suddenly blossomed into a big smile. The little rabbit had been quiet and still, but at that moment her cute three-petal mouth suddenly moved. Chu Yunmiao thought she was going to run, and hurriedly tucked her back into her arms, covering her tightly and blocking Stephanie’s curious gaze. “It doesn’t get in the way at all. I can carry her myself.”

“...Oh.” Stephanie blinked, then pointed at the little white bundle in her arms. “But class monitor... it looks like you’re about to smother it to death.”

Chu Yunmiao looked down and only then realized that Yu Yunmiao had been squeezed against her chest, not moving at all. She was startled and was about to take her out, but the moment her fingers touched the tip of Yu Changning’s ear, the other party shuddered violently as if frightened.

Chu Yunmiao didn’t dare move anymore, and asked in a tiny voice, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

If Yu Changning could speak right now, she would definitely give an honest answer: “I’m fine... it’s just too soft...” But right now she was only an innocent, pure little rabbit. So, taking advantage of her small and nimble body, the rabbit buried her head and kept rubbing deeper into Chu Yunmiao’s arms, leaving only a tiny white, soft little backside outside.

Stephanie watched with envious eyes and reached out, wanting to poke it, only for Chu Yunmiao to stop her just in time.

She looked a little confused. “Class monitor... not even a touch?”

Chu Yunmiao’s face was red as she answered righteously, “No!”

She herself had paid attention all the way here and hadn’t touched any part of Yu Changning that she shouldn’t have. How could she let someone else get there first? Thinking of that, Chu Yunmiao put on her usual authority, her face stiff as she said, “Don’t get distracted. Keep checking the items.”

Only then did Stephanie suppress her itching hands and answer seriously, “Yes.” As for Lin Mo, who hadn’t paid any attention to the little rabbit from the start, she studied Yu Changning with some suspicion for a couple of glances, puzzled by her class monitor’s unusual protectiveness toward the rabbit. Fortunately, Chu Yunmiao quickly got back to the point, and her attention was drawn back to the game task, so she no longer dwelled on it.

The three of them exchanged information and items, even tentatively worked out two battle strategies, then continued toward the castle.

As luck would have it, because they’d been delayed a little along the way, by the time they reached the castle, the final battle had already begun. Many players wearing strange animal accessories were gathered around the five-story-tall giant lizard-black dragon, attacking it in waves.

Lin Mo tugged at Chu Yunmiao’s sleeve and pointed toward the terrace on the castle’s third floor. “Look.”

Chu Yunmiao followed her gaze and narrowed her eyes. “That’s... Ms. Lucy?”

Lin Mo nodded. “I think so too.”

Stephanie leaned in. “They’re pretty good. It’s clearly just an Alpha and a Beta, but they actually got here before us. What’s she doing up so high? Isn’t she afraid of falling?”

Lin Mo remembered something. “Wasn’t she from the command track?”

As she spoke, she rubbed her chin. “People in the command track are all slick operators. Their combat ability might not amount to much, but their little schemes are endless. Since she’s there, there must be a very important reason.”

Chu Yunmiao nodded and followed her line of thought. “Do you remember what our mission said? Besides defeating the dragon, we also have to rescue the princess.”

Stephanie came to an understanding. “I get it. She doesn’t have much combat ability, so she can’t go head-on against the dragon; she can only go look for the princess.” She looked at the huge castle in front of them and sighed. “This castle is so big. Finding the princess is probably going to be a real workout.”

Lin Mo looked at Chu Yunmiao. “What do we do? Since the dragon is being held off by the others, do we join those players or go into the castle to find the princess?”

Chu Yunmiao didn’t hesitate for long. She looked at the weakest of the three, Stephanie. “We split up. Stephanie, leave two defensive items behind and give me the rest. Lin Mo and I will slip down there and find a chance to slay the dragon; you go into the castle. Inside the castle, focus on self-preservation. If you run into anything you can’t handle, contact Lin Mo and me immediately.”

Stephanie trusted Chu Yunmiao completely, and at once nodded. “Okay.”

The three of them reorganized their equipment. Before Stephanie left, Chu Yunmiao finally made a decision.

She lifted Yu Changning out of her arms. “Um... take the rabbit in with you. It’s too chaotic outside; I’m worried I won’t be able to protect her properly.”

Yu Changning’s body jolted; she turned back and waved a foreleg at her, clearly dissatisfied with the decision.

But Chu Yunmiao had no intention of listening. She pinched the little rabbit’s paw. “Be good. If you stay with Stephanie, I won’t worry.” She leaned close to Yu Changning’s ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, “When you can change back, come support us.”

Stephanie had long since been unable to hold back. She reached out both hands. “Class monitor, hurry up and give me the rabbit.” She wore a stupidly lovestruck smile. “Good little bunny, come into big sister’s arms.”

Even though using a rabbit’s face to make a human expression was almost impossible, Yu Changning still rolled her eyes under the three of them’s gaze.

Stephanie felt deeply insulted and was just about to point at Yu Changning and complain to Chu Yunmiao when Yu Changning kicked off with her hind legs and leaped straight over her into the castle. The rabbit was small and delicate-looking, but her movements were astonishingly agile; in the blink of an eye, she vanished through the castle gates.

Chu Yunmiao gave Stephanie a shove. “Catch up.”

Stephanie finally came to her senses. Pointing at Yu Changning, she stammered, “This rabbit is seriously a spirit or something, isn’t it?”

Chu Yunmiao couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Yu Changning was definitely the sort who had her own ideas. She’d probably been stifled with anger after being held by force this whole time. Thinking of that, Chu Yunmiao said to Stephanie, “It’s fine. Maybe she just hasn’t been tamed yet. You... forget it, focus on your own mission. Don’t deliberately try to catch her. Wait until she, cough, gets tired of playing around; she’ll come back on her own.”

Stephanie was only regretful that she hadn’t been able to hold the little rabbit herself, so she had no other objections. “Got it.” She waved to the two of them in farewell. “I’m going in first. Be careful.”

After that, she wasted no more time and hurried into the castle after the pygmy rabbit.

“Let’s go,” Lin Mo called. Seeing that Chu Yunmiao looked somewhat solemn, she assumed she was worried about Stephanie and comforted her, “The biggest BOSS is here; there shouldn’t be much danger inside the castle. We’re in a rough spot right now, so let’s think about how to deal with that giant thing first.”

Chu Yunmiao came back to herself and nodded at Lin Mo.

She lifted her head to look at the terrifying black dragon not far away, roaring with its head raised; then she took out the animal items they’d obtained along the way and, together with Lin Mo, went to meet it head-on.