Chapter 47: Into Nature (6)
For the inexperienced Su Qiong, the ecological park had already seemed enormous.
He had never imagined that in human society, a park was merely one insignificant little place. Beyond it were streets, towns, provinces, and entire countries.
After stepping off the bus, Su Qiong stood beside the road and watched the endless stream of people passing by. He asked blankly, “Is the Circle Lord the owner of this country?”
“Squeak, squeak.” Yu Qimiao was still in chipmunk form and could only shake his head while chirping to indicate that the answer was no.
In modern society, there was almost no such thing as “the owner of a country.” Even presidents and chairpersons were not qualified to own an entire nation.
Even if they could barely be called the nation’s rulers, there were over a hundred countries in the world. There could not possibly be that many Circle Lords.
“So I guessed wrong. Then who could the Circle Lord be?” Su Qiong thought hard, muttering his analysis aloud. “The system gave us a clue that the animals replacing humans work in professions related to animals. What about the Circle Lord?”
“Did the Circle Lord also replace a human?” The thought occurred to Su Qiong, but he immediately found it unlikely. “Since the one who replaced ERROR wasn’t the Circle Lord, this rule probably doesn’t apply to the Circle Lord. After all, no other player is as unlucky as he is.”
Yu Qimiao: “?”
Just how catastrophically unlucky was ERROR in your mind?
“Squeak.” Yu Qimiao remembered something. He jumped into Su Qiong’s palm and struggled to write several words with his tiny paws:
International Animal Organization.
If the Circle Lord’s work was also related to animals, this was the largest animal organization he could think of.
“You mean the Circle Lord might be there?”
“Squeak.”
“Then let’s take a look.”
Five minutes later, Su Qiong arrived at the headquarters of the International Animal Organization.
He put on his mimetic cloak and successfully infiltrated the organization, only to discover with disappointment that there was not even half an animal inside.
Despite being called an animal organization, everyone inside was human. Animals appeared only in photographs.
Furthermore, the people working there viewed animals primarily as research subjects. Fundamentally, they did not particularly love them. Some even treated animals as experimental materials and commodities, buying and selling them or conducting drug trials.
“…The Circle Lord isn’t here.” After carefully observing the organization, Su Qiong reached a conclusion.
He could be certain mainly because there were no unusual fluctuations in the surrounding aura.
Furthermore, Su Qiong’s instincts told him that the Circle Lord of Into Nature would not like this place.
The Circle Lord had transformed players into animals and forced them to experience animal life firsthand. Ultimately, it wanted them to truly understand that all lives were equal.
Yet even if all lives were equal in birth and death, how could their experiences throughout life ever be equal?
No matter how powerful an animal was, it would never treat other animals as research subjects or merchandise.
That was why the animals within the Circle had stripped humans of their identities and transformed human players into animals—to make them experience the injustice caused by differences in position.
If the Circle Lord had been a member of this organization, it would never have understood something so profound.
“I have a theory now,” Su Qiong whispered to Yu Qimiao. “The Circle Lord might not be human.”
Supporting an entire Circle required more than abilities and levels. It also demanded powerful will.
The Order Staircase had wanted to create a world that obeyed order.
The Fairy-Tale Princess had wanted to create a world filled with happiness.
The Circle Lord of Into Nature must possess equally powerful will, one determined to create a world where all life was equal.
There was no true empathy in the world. Without standing in the position of the exploited, no one could develop such overwhelming determination.
“Squeak.” Yu Qimiao agreed.
From the current evidence, the Circle Lord could have only two identities.
An animal, or an animal that had stolen a human identity.
Su Qiong was more inclined toward the first.
“Let’s go back to…” the habitat.
Before Su Qiong could finish, someone entered from outside. Upon seeing him, the person greeted him as though it were perfectly normal.
“Why are you still standing there? The meeting is about to start. Hurry into the conference room.”
Su Qiong froze briefly before agreeing.
Yu Qimiao sighed emotionally.
A meeting.
What a familiar word.
Su Qiong followed his “colleague” into the conference room, which was already filled with people.
Today’s topic concerned endangered and protected animals.
A projection screen stood at the front of the room, displaying photographs of various endangered species.
“As of this week, three more species have been classified as critically endangered. They include this small freshwater fish, named the spindlefish because its body resembles a spindle. Only three spindlefish remain within the currently observable range.”
“The smallest spindlefish was born recently and has extremely weak signs of life. The other two have already reached the limits of their lifespan…” At that moment, the presenter received a message and corrected himself. “They have died. Therefore, the spindlefish is now considered functionally extinct.”
After all, a single isolated fish could not continue reproducing.
The presenter calmly announced the news, and the people in the conference room barely reacted.
Ever since humans had formally become the masters of Earth, countless animal species had gone extinct.
The spindlefish was an obscure species with no historical, commercial, or research value. No one cared even if it vanished.
Its extinction had no effect whatsoever on humans.
The presenter lightly turned the page and continued discussing other endangered animals.
Even among animals, lifespans and treatment were unequal.
Species with exceptional ornamental or social value had received protection long ago, allowing humans to help them escape extinction.
Some animals had been domesticated by humans and were raised in enormous numbers.
The spindlefish had been abandoned not merely because it was fragile, but because it possessed no value to humans.
It was ugly, difficult to raise, and tasted bad. It also demanded extremely clean water and could not tolerate even slight pollution.
But where could anyone find unpolluted water now?
Whenever people discussed the species’ inevitable demise, they dismissed it with a single sentence:
“Natural selection. Survival of the fittest.”
Su Qiong sat quietly, studying every indifferent face in the room.
Suddenly, he understood why Circle Three existed.
“We can’t leave yet,” Su Qiong whispered to Yu Qimiao. “The Circle Lord of Circle Three may be an animal on the verge of extinction, or one that has already gone extinct but whose will remains. We need to obtain information so we can find it more quickly.”
“Squeak, squeak.”
Yu Qimiao said: Leave it to me.
Although he was currently a chipmunk, he understood human society well.
Besides, gathering information was practically part of his profession.
Yu Qimiao’s response was slightly too loud and immediately attracted the attention of someone nearby.
“What was that sound?”
A sharp-eared colleague looked toward Su Qiong and spotted the chipmunk hidden in his pocket. His expression changed dramatically.
“My god! You actually brought a rat into the conference room.”
“What are you doing?” A man who appeared to be a leader frowned in displeasure. “How many times have I emphasized that pets are forbidden here? Your funding for next month will be deducted!”
Su Qiong did not particularly care about losing funding.
He looked toward the logo at the front and could not help wondering:
Wasn’t this an animal organization?
Even the world’s largest animal organization rejected animals so strongly. No wonder the Circle Lord had allowed animals to steal human identities.
Su Qiong casually made an excuse and left the meeting room, bringing Yu Qimiao into the archives.
Under Yu Qimiao’s direction, Su Qiong printed every available record concerning recently extinct and nearly extinct species.
Carrying a thick stack of papers, they left the organization.
Not long afterward, they saw an elderly woman and her grandson feeding stray cats in the city.
The boy held half a sausage but fed it only to the large cat with the sleekest, most beautiful fur.
When a blind, limping cat approached, he stamped his foot fiercely and shouted, “You don’t get any!”
“How can you do that? Give it some,” the grandmother corrected him. “If you only feed pretty stray cats, you might as well feed none of them. Cats came into this world to survive, not to please humans. The same goes for every other animal. They’re all working hard to live.”
The boy glanced at the ugly cat again and reluctantly held out the sausage.
“Good boy,” the grandmother praised. “You need to learn these principles when you’re young. Don’t wait until you grow up. Some things you fail to understand as a child may remain beyond you for your entire life.”
After hearing their conversation, Su Qiong lowered his head and asked Yu Qimiao, “She loves animals more than those people do. Why didn’t she join an animal protection organization?”
“…”
Yu Qimiao did not know how to answer.
An international organization of that scale was fundamentally a battlefield of power and influence. Love alone made it difficult to gain a foothold.
Yu Qimiao strongly agreed with the grandmother.
Many principles, if not understood during childhood, would remain forever incomprehensible.
Those “organizational leaders” who had fought their way to the top were probably people who would never understand.
Su Qiong did not ask again.
The human world was far more complicated than he had imagined. If he insisted on understanding everything, he might spend his entire life asking questions.
Su Qiong brought Yu Qimiao back to the habitat and found the other companions. He distributed the files among them and sent a copy to Xi Huaiji as well.
“The Circle Lord should be hidden among these species,” Su Qiong said with certainty.
“Understood.” Xi Huaiji received the clue and clearly believed in returning favors. “If our guild locates the Circle Lord, we’ll contact you immediately.”
“Thank you.” Su Qiong thanked her sincerely.
His earnestness made Xi Huaiji feel slightly embarrassed.
“You found such an important clue, and I still don’t know how to repay you.”
“You truly want to thank me? Then…” Su Qiong’s eyes immediately lit up, revealing his desire for KPI.
The unfortunate Extremity Guild was once again collectively sold by its leader.
After happily collecting the KPI, Su Qiong looked around but could not determine the correct direction.
“Oh, right. I gained a new ability today.” Su Qiong activated his new lovers’ ability, To the Ends of the Earth, which could transport him to somewhere within sixty-five meters of ERROR.
After witnessing the useless ability, Yu Qimiao found it baffling.
Sixty-five meters was so far away. Wouldn’t following the pink diamond’s guidance be faster?
What reason did this ability have to exist?
Su Qiong seemed to notice Yu Qimiao’s confusion and proactively explained, “Our intimacy is too low, so I can only be transported to within sixty-five meters. Once our intimacy increases, I’ll be able to appear right beside him!”
“Squeak?”
Do you know how to increase intimacy?
“…” Su Qiong understood what Yu Qimiao meant and answered blankly, “I don’t.”
Unlike other data, intimacy could not be increased through quests or supplemented with KPI.
Even now, Su Qiong did not understand the conditions that caused intimacy to rise.
“Squeak, squeak.”
This child was beyond saving.
Yu Qimiao stopped bothering with him.
The lovers’ ability transported Su Qiong to a position sixty-five meters from ERROR. Following his aura, Su Qiong found ERROR and also saw Moi and Qiyi nearby.
The twins were participating in their survival challenge and were extremely well protected.
ERROR stood beside them. Forget ordinary predators—even nature’s rulers would give him a wide berth.
Upon seeing Su Qiong, ERROR asked in surprise, “Weren’t you exploring human society? Why did you return so early?”
“Because I found a clue about the Circle Lord!” Su Qiong eagerly shared everything with ERROR.
He could have spoken with Yu Qimiao too, but Yu Qimiao could currently only squeak, which had nearly suffocated the talkative NPC.
“I see. Your theory makes sense. But…” ERROR flipped through the information Su Qiong had brought back. “There’s far too much.”
Even after limiting the targets to extinct or nearly extinct species, there were still dozens of possibilities.
Some of them even possessed “large populations” numbering in the double digits.
Investigating them individually would not be easy.
“That’s why I told Xi Huaiji and asked her guild to help us search.”
“They may not find it.” Based on his understanding of the system, ERROR reached that conclusion. “The Circle Lord hasn’t appeared voluntarily, which proves it intends to hide.”
Finding a Circle Lord that had concealed its aura somewhere in the vast natural world would be extraordinarily difficult.
Su Qiong understood. “So we need to find more clues.”
“Mm.” Seeing his disappointment, ERROR raised a hand and ruffled Su Qiong’s lamb-like curls. “If we act together, we’ll find more clues soon.”
That was true.
One of them was a system NPC capable of triggering hidden prompts, while the other was an extraordinarily unlucky top player constantly targeted by the system.
Based on their previous experiences, any high-risk quest would definitely be triggered by them first.
“That’s true.” Su Qiong immediately brightened and praised him with a smile. “You’re amazing!”
ERROR: “…”
For some reason, he did not particularly want that compliment.
At dawn the following day, the survival challenges ended.
Every player who had not reclaimed their human identity received a new identity card.
Whether by coincidence or deliberate arrangement, every one of them drew an endangered species.
Yu Qimiao’s new identity happened to be the spindlefish they had heard about the previous day—the species with only one surviving member in the world.
“Fishy really became a fishy!” Lu Shufan remained the undisputed king of reckless jokes and looked delighted by his own cleverness.
Yu Qimiao merely glanced lazily at him.
“You should all reclaim your identities as quickly as possible today. Otherwise, if we encounter the Circle Lord, we’ll be placed at a severe disadvantage.”
“Understood, Guild Leader.” Lu Shufan instantly became serious.
“What about you?” Shi Yuntian asked.
Judging by Yu Qimiao’s tone, he did not seem to intend to reclaim his identity.
“Yesterday, Su Qiong and I infiltrated human society and heard about this spindlefish. Supposedly, only one remains in the entire world,” Yu Qimiao said. “Although we entered the animal organization voluntarily, those words could not have been shown to us without reason. So I want to retain this form and investigate whether it triggers any additional clues.”
“That’s too dangerous!”
“Exactly! If you die, the spindlefish will become completely extinct.”
Yu Qimiao: “?”
Are you concerned about the fish or about me?
An’an raised no objection. He walked over and said, “I’ll act with you today.”
Lu Shufan immediately relaxed.
“With Boss A there, it’ll be completely safe.”
The moment he finished speaking, Su Qiong adorably reminded him, “You can call him by his name now.”
“His name?”
Several pairs of eyes turned toward An’an.
An’an did not avoid them. He introduced himself again.
“My name is An’an. As in safety and peace.”
“So it really is a repeated name.” Yu Qimiao had long known the name contained two identical syllables, but not which character they represented.
“Is that why your codename is A?”
“What an adorable name! Little An’an~”
An’an gave Lu Shufan an icy sideways glance, immediately frightening him into silence.
Yu Qimiao remained fearless and continued asking, “Is An your surname?”
“I don’t have a surname. My younger brother gave me the name,” An’an answered.
“I see. Actually, if you added a surname, the name wouldn’t sound quite so… adorable.”
“For example, Lu An’an!” Lu Shufan shouted loudly.
“That sounds even more like a little girl than the original. Shi An’an is better.” Shi Yuntian eagerly offered his own surname.
“Boss Shi, say less. You called An’an a little girl. Aren’t you afraid he’ll cut you down?”
Moi joined the conversation. “He could also be called Yu An’an.”
“Hahaha! Still so adorable.”
“ERROR’s surname gets censored by the system, so that leaves…” Someone suggested, “Why not take Little Pastry’s surname? Su An’an.”
“Su An’an sounds pretty good!”
An’an looked toward Su Qiong. The emotions in his eyes were deep and impossible to interpret.
“Huh?” Su Qiong looked confused.
How had An’an suddenly ended up sharing his surname?
ERROR spoke slowly. “The character Su can mean preservation. Preserving safety and peace.”
“That meaning is wonderful too!”
An’an said calmly, “That works.”
“What?” Su Qiong could not understand at all. “Humans either take their father’s surname or their mother’s. Who takes the surname of a random NPC? Besides, I don’t even know where my own name came from.”
“Huh? You don’t know?”
“Our IDs are entered by the users themselves. I thought you chose your own name.”
“I didn’t.” Su Qiong shook his head. “I already had this name when I first awakened.”
An’an looked directly at ERROR, narrowing his eyes slightly.
If it was Su Qiong’s original name, then ERROR, who had written the original program, should have possessed the authority to change it.
But if ERROR had chosen it, why had he given Su Qiong such a complicated and obscure name?
ERROR merely listened quietly to their discussion and showed no intention of answering.
After the brief exchange ended, Su Qiong and ERROR’s task for the day was to visit every habitat and see whether their combined “luck” could trigger clues about the Circle Lord.
During the previous few days, their habitats had included grasslands, deserts, and lakes. They had also visited the forest several times.
The only unexplored habitats were the polar region, the mountains, and the ocean.
The Fairy-Tale Kingdom had contained regions similar to the mountain and ocean zones.
Su Qiong preferred exploring unfamiliar territory, so he set his sights on the polar region.
Before they departed, Yu Qimiao took out the new clothes he had promised Su Qiong and purchased with points. He carefully helped Su Qiong put them on.
“I don’t know whether you can feel cold, but you should wear more layers when going somewhere covered in ice and snow.”
“Please. He’s a system NPC. How could he freeze to death in a snowy wasteland?”
“Hahaha! There’s a kind of cold called ‘your mommy thinks you’re cold.’”
“Shut up!” Yu Qimiao glared coldly, radiating the pressure of a guild leader.
“Thank you!” After changing into his new clothes, Su Qiong happily spun around. “Do I look good?”
Before entering the game, Yu Qimiao had possessed only one standard for fashionable clothing:
Bespoke suits.
But Su Qiong clearly did not suit a formal suit. Following his stereotypical impression of snowy weather, Yu Qimiao had exchanged for a red padded jacket decorated with fluffy pom-poms and a fur-lined hood.
How should it be described?
It was certainly cute, but any child over twelve would probably refuse to wear it.
Only Su Qiong remained blissfully delighted, radiating cuteness toward the entire world.
“Cute.”
Qiyi said, “You look like my little brother.”
Su Qiong saw nothing wrong with resembling the twins’ little brother. He grabbed ERROR and rushed toward the distant polar region.
The moment they arrived, Su Qiong shivered from the cold and silently condemned the system for tormenting a marshmallow.
Why had it given him such sensitive temperature perception?
ERROR still wore an ordinary jacket and trousers and did not appear cold at all.
He took Su Qiong’s hand, his palm pleasantly warm.
Because the polar region was unsuitable for human habitation, there were almost no traces of human activity. Only a few scientific expedition teams remained inside their bases and rarely ventured outside.
The region contained enormous white polar bears with thick fur and adorable penguins that waddled awkwardly.
Normally, these two animals lived at opposite ends of Earth and could never be seen together.
However, the Circle Lord of Into Nature had not perfectly reproduced Earth’s geographical distribution and had forcibly shoved polar bears and penguins into the same place.
How should it be described?
This was exactly how Lu Shufan shipped couples—forcing them together no matter what.
ERROR observed the two species from a distance, curious whether the game world could answer an age-old question:
Would polar bears eat penguins?
After watching for a while, he discovered that neither species intended to prey on the other. It was currently the coldest part of winter, so both moved slowly. Most polar bears were hibernating, while the penguins were preparing to breed.
Su Qiong approached. After nearly slipping several times, he realized he was walking across a glacier.
He stretched out both arms for balance and waddled like a penguin toward the animals. He poked one, touched another, then turned and shook his head at ERROR.
“No prompts.”
Before ERROR could answer, the polar bear Su Qiong had poked unexpectedly spoke.
“Obviously. You poked me. Why would that trigger anything?”
“Huh? Sorry! I didn’t expect a person to be hidden beneath the polar bear’s skin.” Su Qiong immediately withdrew his hand and stared for a while before recognizing him.
“Obey Me and Win!” Su Qiong called out his ID.
Obey Me and Win covered his ears, looking deeply embarrassed.
“Don’t call me that. My name is Little Shunshun now!”
Back when he had first entered the game, Obey Me and Win had believed that possessing a guide meant he would dominate the world of IF.
Then what happened?
His glory lasted only briefly before his true abilities were exposed in the beginner Circle. Once the other players learned his limits, they stopped gathering around him.
Left isolated and unsupported, Obey Me and Win had wanted to join a guild. However, he failed to meet Extremity’s requirements, while his pride prevented him from joining Everyone Survives, which had no entry threshold.
He remained alone.
Later, when Su Qiong opened the Circle boundary, he somehow stumbled into the next Circle and intended to rebuild himself.
Unfortunately, Obey Me and Win’s older brother had never cleared the beginner zone, leaving him completely ignorant about the Circles. He could only survive with his tail tucked between his legs.
During that process, he discovered the playstyle most suitable for him:
Hide.
He lowered his presence and followed behind other players, surviving whenever possible.
As a result, he somehow endured until Su Qiong destroyed the Order Staircase and the Fairy-Tale Princess opened the Circle boundary, stumbling into Circle Three.
After entering Circle Three, he repeatedly drew animals that needed to hibernate. As long as he hid inside a nest or among a group and slept, he could safely survive day after day.
Today, Obey Me and Win was the ruler of the polar region—a polar bear with immense attack power and a position at the top of the food chain.
If he still possessed his beginner-zone personality, he would definitely have used his species advantage to charge into a chaotic zone and slaughter everyone.
But after being repeatedly beaten down by the game, all Obey Me and Win wanted was to sleep through the day.
What was so impressive about ruling a chaotic zone?
The true winner was the one who survived until the end.
“All right, Little Shunshun.” Su Qiong cooperatively changed how he addressed him.
Su Qiong did not particularly like Obey Me and Win, but neither did he strongly dislike him.
After all, when the game began, every one of Su Qiong’s senses had been exchanged with Obey Me and Win’s help.
Later, Su Qiong had used that sensory system to obtain a key.
Su Qiong believed in reciprocating favors. Previously, he had assumed Obey Me and Win was dead and had felt somewhat regretful.
Now that they had encountered each other, the kind and courageous white-name NPC naturally had to save this useless polar bear!
“You’re the ruler of the polar region today. You should hurry and reclaim your identity to complete the main quest!”
Obey Me and Win lay down and gave up.
“What main quest? I only want to sleep.”
“Don’t you like points? Completing the main quest will give you lots of points.”
“Hah. What use are points? Staying alive is more important.” Obey Me and Win buried his head in the snow and said gloomily, “The NPCs here are all stronger than the last. I can’t defeat them.”
“It’s all right. I’ll help you.” Su Qiong took out his wand, looking gentle and innocent.
“You?” Obey Me and Win appeared extremely doubtful.
ERROR appeared beside him at the right moment and reminded him, “He’s a Circle Lord.”
At the words “Circle Lord,” Obey Me and Win finally remembered.
He normally hid whenever possible. If he encountered even a slightly high-level NPC, he would flee as far away as possible, much less actively provoke a Circle Lord.
After surviving through three Circles, Obey Me and Win had never even touched the hem of a Circle Lord’s clothes.
Still, he had vaguely heard rumors about Su Qiong.
The powerful and beautiful Circle Lord of the beginner zone had voluntarily destroyed his own sacrifice ritual and released every player.
He had even spent the KPI earned within the Circles to painstakingly maintain the beginner zone, ensuring that players who had “died” inside the game would not become homeless wanderers.
Obey Me and Win could not reconcile those rumors with the marshmallow he had known.
He felt even more fortunate that reason had stopped him from attacking the Circle Lord back then.
“C-Circle Lord!” Obey Me and Win’s bear brain reappeared. “You’ll really take me through the quest?”
“Of course. The system gave you an extremely easy quest.” Su Qiong looked toward the distant expedition base.
There was no need to guess. The NPC who had stolen Obey Me and Win’s identity had to be inside.
The system was excellent at tailoring difficulty to the player.
It made ERROR’s quests impossibly difficult, but for a useless person like Obey Me and Win, it nearly reduced the difficulty to the absolute minimum.
As expected, the NPC who had stolen Obey Me and Win’s identity was only slightly above Level Twenty.
Upon seeing Su Qiong and sensing the overwhelming pressure from him, the NPC barely resisted and cooperated in exchanging identities, transforming back into a polar bear.
“That’s it?” Obey Me and Win’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The quest he had considered harder than climbing to heaven had been completed effortlessly by Su Qiong.
What exactly had the marshmallow experienced while they were separated?
After completing the quest without effort, Su Qiong looked toward Obey Me and Win, who had returned to human form and was shivering with his arms wrapped around himself. Without much hope, he asked, “Do you have any clues?”
“I~don’t~have~any~” Obey Me and Win had been a pampered rich second-generation heir before entering the game. Without his bear skin, he could not tolerate the polar cold at all.
“You should leave the polar region quickly.” Su Qiong could no longer bear watching him and abandoned the idea of obtaining clues from him.
Obey Me and Win’s teeth chattered.
“There are so many bears here.”
“…”
You were one of them moments ago, and now you’re already afraid.
Left with no choice, Su Qiong turned and looked at ERROR.
“He helped me before.”
“I understand.” ERROR impatiently grabbed Obey Me and Win, dragged him away, and threw him into the expedition base.
The base had heating equipment, maintaining a temperature above twenty degrees. Obey Me and Win finally recovered and looked as though he had narrowly escaped death.
ERROR was preparing to leave when his gaze casually landed on a computer running nearby.
A document concerning polar animal research was open on the screen.
According to the file, an unprecedented new species had been discovered in the polar zone. Only one individual existed. The discovery had not yet been reported to any organization, and the species remained unnamed.
The polar expedition team had held several expert meetings but still could not accurately determine the new animal’s classification.
From previous encounters, they had confirmed only that it was extraordinarily powerful—far stronger than the polar region’s ruler, the polar bear.
Its body was enormous, its movements agile, and it tolerated both extreme cold and high temperatures…
It was practically a bug-level existence.
“Su Qiong!” ERROR called him inside. “Look at this.”
“What is it?” Su Qiong leaned closer.
Before he could see the contents clearly, he triggered a system prompt.
[System: Congratulations to Player ERROR and NPC Su Qiong for locating the Circle Lord and triggering the quest: Circle Lord’s Wrath.]
[Quest Description: The Circle Lord of Into Nature is the concentrated resentment of countless extinct and endangered animals, as well as animals deprived of their habitats. It possesses no weakness. Whenever humans enter a certain range, the Circle Lord attacks indiscriminately. Find a way to calm the Circle Lord’s anger to leave this Circle.]
[Hint: There is more than one method of clearing the Circle. Players must explore independently.]
“Here we go again.” Su Qiong no longer needed to think deeply when hearing such a familiar prompt. “The system is telling me that killing the Circle Lord is also a valid way to clear the Circle.”
“Do you intend to kill it?” ERROR asked.
Su Qiong thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“I can’t defeat it. Besides, it’s pitiful too.”
The expected answer.
From Circle One until now, the only Circle Lord Su Qiong had truly destroyed was the Order Staircase.
Its order had demanded the sacrifice of others’ freedom and had been far too extreme.
The Circle Lords of Circle Two and Circle Three had not committed unforgivable crimes. Their intentions were not evil, so Su Qiong had never considered killing them.
ERROR was actually rather curious.
If Su Qiong became serious, where was his upper limit?
“In any case, let’s meet the Circle Lord first and ask why it’s angry.”
“All right.” ERROR had barely answered when he noticed someone nearby desperately shrinking and lowering his presence.
“You can go if you want. I’m not going.”
“…” Su Qiong was speechless. “I wasn’t planning to bring you.”
Leaving Obey Me and Win behind would cost them only a dozen levels of combat power.
Bringing him would require an unknown amount of strength merely to protect him.
Thinking of that, Su Qiong could not help commenting, “You seem like a completely different person.”
“This is called knowing how to protect yourself!” Obey Me and Win stubbornly defended himself.
Su Qiong did not waste more words. Together with ERROR, he followed the information recorded in the files toward the Circle Lord’s location.
They advanced through the blizzard. The wind striking their faces felt like knives, becoming increasingly fierce, while the thick ice beneath their feet began to tremble.
“Careful. It’s coming,” ERROR warned.
Su Qiong tightened his grip on his wand.
The instant an enormous creature burst through the ice, he released his bandages and vines.
ERROR reacted quickly, stepping onto the vines and running upward until he landed steadily on the monster’s head.
When the creature emerged from beneath the ice, both of them were stunned.
Its body was unbelievably enormous. Even the largest blue whale in nature would appear insignificant beside it.
ERROR stood on its head and looked no larger than a chipmunk.
The Circle Lord was covered entirely in white fur. It possessed a head and four limbs and resembled the legendary yeti.
Sensing a human presence and discovering ERROR standing upon its head, the yeti became furious. It thrashed its head violently, trying to throw him off.
ERROR grabbed a fistful of fur on top of its head to avoid being flung away.
When the yeti realized shaking was ineffective, it unexpectedly breathed blazing fire from its mouth.
Wherever the flames passed, the ice instantly melted into deep grooves.
“So dangerous!” Su Qiong barely dodged the flames and felt lingering fear.
No wonder the files claimed yetis feared fire. Researchers had probably witnessed a yeti dancing amid flames.
Had they ever imagined that the fire was actually being breathed by the creature itself?
“Su Qiong, are you all right?”
“I’m fine. What about you?”
“I’m still alive. This monster really is powerful, and it’s extremely easy to anger.”
Su Qiong looked up at him and reminded him slowly, “That’s because you’re standing on its head.”
Any NPC with a temper would become furious after suffering such humiliation.
And the yeti was a noble Circle Lord.
“Really?” ERROR answered as though entirely justified. “You never do.”
He often ruffled Su Qiong’s hair, but the marshmallow had never become angry.
“Huh?” Su Qiong suddenly realized something. “Were you bullying me when you did that?”
In that case, should he become angry now?
The moment the thought appeared, a notification sounded.
[System: Congratulations. The intimacy between Player ERROR and NPC Su Qiong has decreased by 1%.]
ERROR: “???”
What the hell?
Decreased by one percent?
Did it understand how much damage one percent caused him?
That was fifty times their original intimacy! An entire fifty times!
Su Qiong had little understanding of what fifty times meant. He merely felt confused.
Was this something worth congratulating them for?
The system sounded extremely happy.
“Su Qiong, what did you do?”
It was the first time ERROR had questioned him like that. Su Qiong inexplicably felt guilty and answered in a tiny voice, “I’m angry.”
“…” ERROR could roughly guess the cause. “I apologize. Stop being angry.”
“Then you…”
“I’ll do it again next time,” ERROR said.
[System: Congratulations! The intimacy between Player ERROR and NPC Su Qiong has decreased by 2%!]
Su Qiong could hear that the system’s voice had become even more cheerful. It had even added an exclamation mark.
ERROR had remained indifferent despite being targeted by the system in every possible way, but this time, he genuinely became anxious.
“Su Qiong!” ERROR called his name. “Pay attention to me first.”
“That’s right!” Remembering that ERROR was still trapped atop the Circle Lord with no easy way down, Su Qiong immediately put away his anger and released all three offensive pink-diamond fragments.
“Hide!” Su Qiong shouted.
The pink diamonds immediately transformed into a barrier. Thousands of needles and blades appeared inside it.
Su Qiong did not worry that the attack would kill the yeti—or even seriously injure it.
Although the pink diamonds had originally belonged to the Fairy-Tale Princess, their offensive power decreased according to their current wielder’s level.
Furthermore, the yeti was the lord of Circle Three and far stronger than the princess. How could it be subdued so easily?
Upon hearing the warning, ERROR immediately hid within the yeti’s thick fur.
The pink diamonds transformed into sharp weapons and rained down, piercing its fur and driving it into an even greater frenzy.
It breathed furious flames, only for the pink-diamond barrier to block them. Meanwhile, an irritating person continued crawling around inside the fur on its head.
“Roar!” The yeti bellowed furiously, clenched its fists, and beat its chest.
“Is it a gorilla?” The gesture looked familiar to Su Qiong.
ERROR clearly sensed the yeti’s rage and hurriedly shouted, “Su Qiong, run! Get as far away as possible!”
It was the first time Su Qiong had heard him sound so tense. Without pausing to think, he turned and ran into the distance while shouting, “What about you?”
The yeti had been thoroughly enraged. It certainly would not spare ERROR.
“As long as you run far away, I have a way out.”
The chest-beating seemed to be some kind of ritual. The harder the yeti struck itself, the more powerful its flames became.
At last, the pink-diamond barrier could no longer withstand the attack, and a crack appeared.
Su Qiong extended a hand and recalled it into his wand, then looked back worriedly.
The yeti gathered all its strength and slammed a fist into its chest. Its entire body trembled violently as it prepared to force ERROR out and kill him.
Knowing he could no longer hide, ERROR voluntarily revealed himself and stuck something onto the yeti’s forehead.
Before it could attack, he activated the lovers’ ability and transported himself to a point sixty-eight meters from Su Qiong.
Because Su Qiong had not run far enough and ERROR’s minimum transportation distance was so large, the yeti nearly caught him.
Su Qiong hurriedly hooked him with his vines, preventing ERROR from losing an arm or leg.
“The transportation distance became longer again.” ERROR looked meaningfully at Su Qiong.
“I’m sorry…” Su Qiong lowered his head guiltily.
If their intimacy had been high enough, ERROR would not have encountered such danger.
But how exactly was intimacy supposed to increase?
Did Su Qiong need to like ERROR a little more?
The moment the thought occurred, the system announced in an extremely unwilling, dejected voice:
[System: Congratulations. The intimacy between Player ERROR and NPC Su Qiong has increased by 10%. Please continue your efforts.]
“Ah! It went back up!” Su Qiong looked toward ERROR with an expression that openly demanded praise.
“Is this a roller coaster?” ERROR was clearly delighted. He ruffled Su Qiong’s hair. “You’re amazing.”
Although ERROR had just explained that the gesture could be considered bullying, Su Qiong did not resist having his hair ruffled. Instead, a few thoughts quietly emerged.
If he thought about liking ERROR more, their intimacy increased.
Then what did ERROR think?
Had ERROR never once thought about “liking Su Qiong a little more”?
While a certain innocent string of code struggled with questions of affection, an enormous figure rapidly approached them.
The yeti Circle Lord: Had this shameless dog couple forgotten something?
