NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30
Chapter 30: The Sea Without Light Part 30
Su Rong’s high school math was indeed at zero level. She could only do the first two questions of multiple-choice math problems and not even be sure they were correct. For the long-form questions, she knew nothing at all. All she would write was the word “Solution”.
Kui Xin asked her how much she understood about functions; she said she had barely any understanding. When asked whether she could solve triangle problems, she replied in the negative. She had no clue about conic sections either.
Each question Kui Xin asked made Su Rong feel more like a fool. Her inability to answer any of his questions led her to feel so mortified that she wished she could sink her head to the ground.
Kui Xin selected a worksheet of moderate difficulty from her summer homework assignment for her to complete. In just fifteen minutes, she finished it. Given the few math problems she knew, writing them was exceptionally quick.
Kui Xin had to flip open her first-year high school textbook and explain everything from scratch because she had no foundational knowledge.
Three hours later, she felt exceptionally defeated.
“There’s no shame in not understanding these things,” Kui Xin straightforwardly stated. “The fear is not about you not knowing, but about being discouraged and deciding not to learn anymore. You’ve performed well in Chinese and English, which somewhat compensates for your weaker subjects. Learning is a long process; you can’t expect immediate results.”
Su Rong sighed and said tiredly, “I know, Xinxin. I’ll keep trying even if it kills me.”
Kui Xin said, “Do you still have the test papers and learning materials your school has issued since high school? Find them.”
Su Rong retrieved a thick stack of mostly blank math papers from her bookshelf.
Kui Xin flipped through her papers, circling a few simple multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions on each paper. Given Su Rong’s current math proficiency, those were the only types of questions she could solve at the moment.
“Finish these questions before I come for class tomorrow. Don’t look at the answers. If you get something wrong, I will explain it to you,” Kui Xin said. “It’s impractical for you to learn the entire math textbook from start to finish. Instead, we will mainly focus on scoring by practicing problem types. We will skip difficult questions but must score on the simpler ones.”
“Okay,” Su Rong nodded humbly.
At six o’clock in the evening, Kui Xin politely declined Su Rong’s mother’s invitation to stay for dinner and went home alone.
As she was walking, her mobile phone vibrated with a notification from the meteorological bureau about a heavy rain warning. Kui Xin looked up and saw dark clouds covering the sky, probably signaling an impending storm.
She hurried into the subway station to avoid getting caught in the rain.
Coincidentally it was during peak下班时间（commute time）when the trains were crowded with people. Kui Xin maneuvered through the crowd and finally found herself on board the train.
“Oh my goodness, it’s terrifying. Look at this news,” two young men murmured while chatting inside the subway carriage. “The whole family died… it’s due to the evil cult.”
Since both aspects of Kui Xin’s body had started merging, her physical strength, endurance, agility, and senses had improved dramatically. She could hear the quiet conversation between the two young men despite the noise on the subway.
“Sis!… Killing one’s own family? How mad could someone be? From the looks of it, he seemed quite normal.”
“If he wasn’t insane, how could he join an evil cult? There’s a police-issued wanted poster for him with a reward of 100,000…”
Kui Xin picked up the key terms and anxiously pulled out her mobile phone to search for the news.
Xueyao Shu had mentioned before that the Secret Cult in the Second World didn’t just exploit superstitions and the consumption of divine blood; they also committed exceedingly cruel acts such as live human sacrifices. Hence, the federal government had increased its suppression of religious groups in response.
Individuals who consumed divine blood would have their bodies mutate, and over time, they would gradually lose their sanity and become mad under its influence.
This was the day Kui Xin reintegrated into the real world, and she had to contemplate further.
The moment Kui Xin opened her phone, a news pop-up appeared about a wanted fugitive with a blue background. The basic physical characteristics and place of residence of the suspect were clearly noted on it, along with the reason and the charges for the issuance of the arrest warrant. According to the description, the suspect killed his entire family due to mental disturbances caused by his belief in an evil cult.
Last night, the killer committed murder and fled immediately afterward. The location where the crime occurred was close to Kui Xin’s residence in another city, only a 20 to 30-minute high-speed train ride away.
“Regional mission triggered.”
A luminous screen flashed in front of Kui Xin’s eyes, and her pupils contracted as her mood sunk to the bottom.
Why… Why can tasks activate in the real world too?!
Kui Xin had experienced only one task previously; she had accepted the task to investigate the harbor explosion in the Second World, a task yet to be completed.
Yet, she never expected regional missions to trigger in the First World, especially a task related to local events. This was a new type of mission she hadn’t encountered before.
[“Mission Description”: An unknown disturbance has arisen in your hometown, in a region familiar to you. The peaceful city and life you once knew are no longer so. Myriad shadowy, extraordinary forces have crept into your life. To maintain peace and stability in your hometown, you may be required to thoroughly investigate these frightening incidents.]
[“As a regional mission, not just you will receive the mission notice. Other players living in the same area will also receive mission reminders. You can choose to work together or conduct investigations individually.]
[“You may accept or decline the mission.”
“Accepting the mission carries certain risks, whereas refusing allows for temporary peace. After all, such troubles occur rarely and randomly.”
[“Mission Content”: Investigate the case of the worshiper-murdered family.]
At this moment, Kui Xin could no longer hear the commotion within the subway carriage.
Clenching her lips tightly, she held onto a handrail for a long time, standing motionless until the train arrived. It wasn’t until then that she joined the flow of people, alighting from the train.
The gap between the First and Second Worlds was shrinking, causing Kui Xin’s unease.
There are two worlds, two game arenas – Cyber Online and Earth Online.
The reality she inhabits was undergoing changes she did not recognize.
As her two worlds’ bodies were converging, it seemed as though the differences between the First World and Second World were also diminishing.
And thinking about it further, the physical convergence may not be a rare phenomenon; perhaps it occurs among all players. However, most players are ordinary, without significant changes in their physical capabilities.
If a player accidentally transmigrated into a member of the Secret Cult, consuming divine blood, leading to a transformation of their body, would their bodies in the First World also experience similar transformations?
Would their minds also sink into madness alongside the members of the Secret Cult?
Could the murderer who killed his family last night and fled overnight be a player?
Raining heavily when she got off the metro, she ran home, soaked to the bone.
She could not help but think of the initial days after transferring to the Second World, when it was raining every day in Hei Hai City.
Upon returning home, she immediately took out her mobile and logged into the forum.
“Shall we establish a secret signal? The Jiangchu region; regional mission.”
1L: Confirmed. I’m in the southern part of this province, quite far from the crime scene. But I still received a mission prompt. How extensive is this regional mission? Is everyone in the province notified?
2L: Perhaps the entire province. I received it as well. Will there be anyone who accepts the mission? It’s too dangerous.
3L: I wonder how many players in Jiangchu Province there are?
4L: Based on population density, there should be around seventy players.
5L: What in heaven’s name are you talking about? Regional mission?
6L: Terrible… Is this still our homeland? I am greatly afraid, friends. The danger is too close. For the first time in my life, I feel so alienated from my hometown. Upon returning to the First World, we are not leaving danger behind; on the contrary, danger is approaching our lives, which goes against the inherent structure of our world.
Kui Xin shut down her device, changed her clothes and shoes, and stood by the window, gazing at her city.
Through a drizzling rain, the neon lights shone brightly. A multicolored light tube illuminated the bridge spanning a river, and cars with headlights turned on congested the streets… Meanwhile, she stood in a run-down old neighborhood, with broken paving stones and damaged street lamps at the foot of the building. It stood in stark contrast to the bustling city.
This era was evolving too rapidly, creating cities with dual appearances — the stunning and the dilapidated coexisting.
At this moment, Kui Xin suffered a severe delusion, as if she were still in a foreign land — Hei Hai City instead of her hometown.
Kui Xin disliked the Second World. She did not want her reality tainted by elements from the Second World.
Awakeners, heteroblooded individuals, the Secret Cult, and cult members… These things ought not exist.
And with them, the world was transforming irreparably, including herself.
Control had slipped away — control over the course of her life, over the tranquility she once held dear. Kui Xin prided herself on planning and scheduling her studies and daily life meticulously. She felt secure only when she possessed absolute control over her time and arrangements.
But fate was like an untamed stallion, out of her grasp.
Just as the mission described, the city, once peaceful, was no longer so, nor was her previously secure life. Those ordinary days were now distant, and she found it nearly impossible to return to the life she had before the bloodshed, death, and near-life-or-death experiences she endured.
Despite everything, Kui Xin resolved to guard the piece of purity left. Not for a mission or others, but for herself, solely herself.
To achieve this, she must cleanse all polluting and unrestful elements from her life.
“I accept the mission,” Kui Xin silently whispered to herself.
“You have accepted the mission.”
“[“Task Progress”] : 0%.”
Kui Xin discovered the game system had a certain pattern in issuing tasks; it didn’t provide specific instructions.
The game system simply said “investigate” without specifying “dispose of.” In other words, the game system’s tasks only offer directions to the executors, leaving whether or not to kill a target or to apply additional measures entirely to the executor’s discretion.
This significantly increases the freedom. Kui Xin can do anything she desires.
For her, the task given by the gaming system served as a warning, reminding her that her life was changing.
Therefore, Kui Xin received this mission with a markedly different mindset this time, compared to before.
When she accepted the task of investigating the explosion, her only intention was to clarify the cause and effect. Now, however, she accepted the task to investigate the murders carried out by cult members, not aiming to merely investigate.
She aimed to “eliminate” and remove the pollutants and instability she perceived. Just as the investigation bureau hunted down xenomorphs and captured heteroblooded individuals, Kui Xin decided to thoroughly eliminate all pollutants and instabilities in her surroundings, ensuring nothing remained, eradicating all potential threats.
Gazing out at the city lights, Kui Xin sank into deep contemplation.
After ten minutes, she opened her mobile phone and noticed that no one had responded to the thread asking for information about xenomorphs, leaving the relevant posts empty and void of replies.
So Kui Xin posted her inaugural thread on the forum since logging in.
“I wish to explain what xenomorphs are, what the Secret Cult means, and what it involves to be a heteroblooded individual.”
Less than a minute after posting, the forum exploded.