chapter 17

Seeing that Zhao Liang had shed all the honest simplicity he displayed before Cheng Miao and the others, Tong Qian did not dare ask anything else. Unsteadily, she climbed onto the counter beside the sink.

Bowls as large as cooking pots were stacked together, slick with grease from substances she could not identify.

Tong Qian leaned forward and carefully opened the faucet.

Chug, chug, chug…

The pipe sounded as if it had been clogged for years. Only after rattling for a long while did liquid emerge.

A thick yellow non-Newtonian fluid resembling pus fought its way from the faucet, releasing a nauseating stench like a rotting fish carcass.

Ugh…

Thoroughly revolted, Tong Qian squeezed the web of her hand hard to keep herself from vomiting.

She turned and saw Zhao Liang looking equally sick. He removed his outer shirt, tied it over his nose and mouth, and exposed a greasy white undershirt clinging to his body.

“What are you staring at? Hurry up and wash the dishes, you useless thing!”

A twisted pleasure filled Zhao Liang. In the real world, he had spent his life as a low-level office worker ordered around daily by a female superior.

What use was beauty inside the Game? A new player still had to trail behind a veteran and do the dirty work.

Tong Qian said nothing. She turned toward the sink, where a thin layer of slime had already accumulated. The drain was blocked…

Sudden alarm flashed through her. She hurriedly twisted the faucet shut while puslike fluid still oozed from it. Then she looked at the filthy sink, closed her eyes, crouched, and jumped to the bottom.

The viscous, jelly-textured liquid coated her calves. Every step felt like wading through a swamp.

Holding her breath, Tong Qian bent down despite her revulsion and submerged one hand. She searched inch by inch. When her fingers found a plug the size of a fist, her eyes brightened.

In the bedroom, Cheng Miao and the others watched the task disappear from the schedule and released long breaths of relief.

Their general approach was correct. If they completed the bears’ scheduled tasks, they could prevent them from waking and going berserk.

Before long, the line about washing the dishes vanished as well. Tong Qian and Zhao Liang had completed their task.

Tong Qian returned reeking of fish. Her wet pant legs clung to her calves. She looked green and dry-heaved at intervals, but her eyes held far more life than before.

Between retches, she described the task with an expression of total despair.

“That liquid was disgusting, but for some reason it cleaned stains incredibly well. The grime vanished as soon as I rinsed the bowls.”

Bai Jiang regarded her with equal parts sympathy and approval. “It’s a good thing you thought to pull the plug first. Once the level rose, no one could have dived through that puslike liquid. The task would have become impossible.”

Cheng Miao also viewed the delicate beauty in a new light. Despite her cold appearance, Cheng Miao liked intelligent people first, attractive people second, and intelligent, attractive people most of all.

Tong Qian had started out timid and had even considered using her beauty to attach herself to someone strong.

But after recognizing the realities of the instance, she swiftly committed herself to the Game. She possessed more talent than many veterans.

“You did well.”

Receiving praise from both experts, Tong Qian blushed and awkwardly wiped the back of her hand against her clothes.

Hearing Cheng Miao praise Tong Qian, Qi Jiajia’s gaze shifted between the two women. She gave an inexplicable cold laugh.

Tong Qian looked at her in confusion, unable to understand how she had offended the little princess.

Cheng Miao glanced at Qi Jiajia but did not indulge her temper. Instead, she asked about Zhao Liang.

Tong Qian frowned in disgust. “He’s still in the kitchen, circling that basket of fish. He didn’t help at all.”

“Papa Bear’s porridge is the only task left. Let’s all take a look at the kitchen.”

Before Cheng Miao and the others reached it, a sharp crash came from inside. Remembering the bowls on the stove, Cheng Miao’s expression changed.

Sure enough, Zhao Liang ran out in a panic, covered in sticky porridge.

Seeing everyone’s pale faces and hostile stares, he smiled awkwardly.

“I-it wasn’t my fault. Miss Cheng said we needed to identify Papa Bear’s bowl, so I thought there might be a clue on it. I didn’t expect it to be that hot. That’s how it spilled.”

“Someone as clumsy as you actually survived the newcomer Game?” A crack opened in Qi Jiajia’s hostility, and icy malice poured through.

Zhao Liang started to reply, only to meet Cheng Miao’s cold gaze. For some reason, the eyes of this woman in her twenties made the hair on his back rise and left him feeling completely exposed.

“All of you, shut up. Haven’t you noticed the snoring stopped?” Cheng Miao’s gaze was grave. Only after her warning did the others realize that the deafening snores had vanished.

Tension thickened through the air. Suddenly, one bear sprang upright on its bed and stretched its neck to sniff.

“My porridge! Someone touched my porridge!” the giant brown bear roared, its voice booming like a bell. Its bulb-sized eyes turned bloodred with rage.

This time, it did not ignore the tiny creatures in its home. The moment it spotted the intruders, it bellowed and lunged.

“Split up!” Cheng Miao shouted. She turned and ran for the kitchen. Zhao Liang, drenched in porridge, was clearly the culprit, and the bear chased him relentlessly.

The enormous animal appeared clumsy and could not run very fast. Its destructive power remained terrifying. A single swipe shattered the bedside lamp.

Tong Qian reacted first and squeezed into the gap between a cabinet and the wall. Bai Jiang rolled backward beneath a bed.

Though small, Qi Jiajia lost her composure when the bear erupted. By the time she remembered to hide, every nearby refuge was occupied.

Tong Qian was closest. Seeing the bear still pursuing Zhao Liang, she hurried out, grabbed Qi Jiajia, and pushed her into the narrow gap.

Qi Jiajia had never expected the woman she kept targeting to help her at a moment of life and death. She pressed her lips tight, forced herself farther inside, then leaned half her body out and reached for Tong Qian.

Zhao Liang was stout. Once he realized the bear was chasing him, panic overwhelmed him. He knew separating and hiding was most effective, but humans were social creatures, and fear drove them instinctively toward crowds.

The rush of air behind him grew louder. In his desperation, he spotted Tong Qian, only half inside the crack. His fat-squeezed eyes brightened. He seized her shoulder and shoved her backward.

Tong Qian had been inches from safety when fingers clamped around her from behind.

Before she could cry out, she was yanked backward and thrown down. By the time Qi Jiajia realized something was wrong, Tong Qian had slipped from her grasp. She could only watch as the woman landed before the bear.

The brown bear studied the small woman. She lacked the smell that had made the fat man so appetizing, which gave the hulking animal pause.

Instead of smashing Tong Qian’s head, it caught her right arm.