Welcome to Rule City

The place to feed small animals was at the home of that seemingly shy college student; to be precise, it was in a small garden about 50 meters behind his house.

The garden was enclosed by a wooden fence about two meters high. People could look inside through the gaps. After Jin-Ge led Mu Ai to the gate, he didn’t go in directly but instead issued a threatening warning: “Later, whatever I tell you to do, you do it. If you see any eggs, you are not allowed to touch them. Got it?”

Mu Ai nodded repeatedly, “Okay, okay.”

Jin-Ge didn’t really think this man could cause any trouble. He was a member of the “Number” organization, and he ran a fixed Dungeon once a month purely for some extra money. He also had to challenge the Random Instance; otherwise, it would be hard to pass the regular assessment.

As for the man beside him-a newcomer, neglected training, never enhanced-Jin-Ge thought even if he just stood there and let the man hit him, he might not be able to break through his defense.

As for whether the man was the real one, Jin-Ge had weighed this, but as far as he knew, there weren’t any items that could maintain the disguise for so long, so he let that tiny possibility go.

Entering the garden was simple: just put your assigned token into the matching slot. Jin-Ge went first, Mu Ai followed, and the fence gate opened for them. The two walked in one after another.

All the animals in the garden were kept in pens, each with its own enclosure. Before Mu Ai and Jin-Ge entered, the animals were either strolling leisurely or foraging. However, as soon as the two bipeds stepped into their territory, every animal instantly pricked up and stared at them.

White rabbits, deer, alpacas, sheep… bear?

Well. Mu Ai glanced at Jin-Ge, feeling quite pleased-her luck was good this time, a carnivorous animal appeared at the start, so she didn’t need to force a refresh with her collected methods.

Jin-Ge scanned the animals and assigned tasks with practiced ease: “Ignore that bear. Go feed the deer and alpaca. The food is in the automatic dispenser over there, one portion for one Purple Coin. Check the instructions to see how many portions you need to feed-if you didn’t bring money, I can lend you some, with 100 times the interest.”

Tsk, so ruthless, saving money for a grave plot? Too bad, you probably won’t need it.

Mu Ai complained inwardly but nodded on the surface, “I brought money, I brought it. I’ll go buy the food now.”

Saying this, Mu Ai pretended to walk over to the alpaca’s pen, as if checking how many portions to buy, but in reality, she pulled out a prepared item from her belt and quickly tossed it into the next pen, where the White Bear was watching.

[Beef-flavored Pet Snacks

A snack much loved by carnivorous animals; they will temporarily obey you just to satisfy their appetite, though only for a short 30 seconds.

Notes: When you run out of snacks, guess what it’ll want to eat next?]

[Fresh Raw Bone Meat

Extremely delicious meat; no animal can resist its flavor. The only drawback is that the smell of the resultant waste is overwhelming-even animals can’t bear it and will become irritable.

After consumption, induces a feeling of fullness for 3 minutes, during which the animal won’t want to move.

After the fullness passes, the animal enters a waste-expulsion stage, followed by 30 seconds of stunned blankness. Once the blankness ends, the animal will go berserk until the waste is cleaned up or it gets 5 meters away from it.

Notes: If you want to eat it yourself, find a restroom beforehand. If you want to feed it to animals, it’s recommended to use the Poop Shovel.]

[Poop Shovel

Let automation free your hands and your frustration. Whatever creature’s waste, we can handle it.

After use, your relationship with the “shoveled” will reach friendly. Cherish this wonderful bond.

Notes: A one-time luxury item. Most people lose all desire once they see the price.]

After Mu Ai brought up her plan to take out Jin-Ge, the others Under the Bronze offered their help, but she refused. This was her personal grudge, not worth dragging everyone into danger-even if they thought running a fixed Dungeon was just a vacation.

Although Mu Ai’s physical ability and combat skills had improved a lot lately, she was still no match for a Number member. Sano had specifically gathered info on the other side-even those who weren’t combat specialists had formidable strength.

So Mu Ai had to rely on the rules within the Dungeon to fight back, aiming for surprise and as much beneficial chaos as possible, so the opponent would be too distracted to respond.

Actually, the Trial Ground Dungeon or the Sun Island Dungeon would both be suitable, but the former required tricking Jin-Ge into entering, and the latter’s entrance could not be found at all. Mu Ai could only target this Scarlet Moon Village Dungeon, which Jin-Ge had to run, and lock onto the animal stage based on collected guides.

Just as there are no useless roles, only useless players, even the most trivial-seeming item can be surprisingly effective if used at the right time.

Mu Ai threw the Beef-flavored Pet Snacks first. The White Bear swallowed it in one gulp and gained the “desire to eat” and “30-second Obedience” states.

“Attack him!” Mu Ai pointed at Jin-Ge, her command brief and clear.

The White Bear let out a growl, leaped from its pen, and pounced straight at Jin-Ge.

Now Jin-Ge finally realized-if he still didn’t get that this man wasn’t the real deal, he’d be insulting his own intelligence.

During the project, there were only two ways to leave: complete the task, or wait for the door to open automatically after four hours. Right now, even if he wanted to run, there was nowhere to go. He could only draw his twin blades and step forward to fight.

Meng Hao didn’t pin all her hopes on the White Bear. She also drew her own Meat Cutter Knife and seized the opportunity to stab at Jin-Ge.

With the extra fighting lessons from Meng Hao and Sano, Mu Ai’s combat skills had already far surpassed those of the average person. Compared to Jin-Ge, she might still be a little lacking, but with the White Bear’s help, she landed hits again and again.

Now was the time to praise the Meat Cutter Knife-a tool that, even if your aim isn’t perfect, as long as you touch Jin-Ge, it slices off a piece of flesh. Not fatal, of course, but pain is often a most effective way to weaken an opponent’s fighting strength.

“Who the hell are you!” Jin-Ge’s body was already drenched in blood. He glared at Mu Ai with a ferocious look, dodging her sneak attacks while also guarding against the White Bear, which looked ready to devour him whole, bones and all.

“One of those people you tricked into this Dungeon.” Mu Ai maintained the form of that man-the appearance and movements might be a bit ugly, but her agility remained.

As she answered, she didn’t let her guard down. After all, she needed to throw a pet snack over before the 30 seconds ended, or the White Bear would enter an indiscriminate attack state-in fact, the piece of flesh just sliced off by the Meat Cutter Knife had already been eaten by the bear.

Mu Ai didn’t want to be eaten herself, and she needed to end this quickly, to finish everything within the three Beef-flavored Pet Snacks-meaning, within one minute and thirty seconds. Otherwise, even she would have no way to escape.

So, Mu Ai launched another fierce assault on the battered Jin-Ge. After the second feeding of the White Bear, Jin-Ge seemed to realize there might be a time limit, and instantly changed tactics, hoping to stall for more time.

Would Mu Ai give him that chance? Of course not. Just like Batman always has countless Plan Bs, when she made her plan, she had considered every possibility.

“Time to do your homework!”

Mu Ai didn’t want to talk to Jin-Ge. She threw a homework book at him.

Under the irresistible force of the item, Jin-Ge was forced to freeze and start doing homework. Ten seconds later, dragging his half-crippled body, he uncontrollably edged toward Mu Ai in terror.

While Jin-Ge was doing homework, Mu Ai was too far away to stab him more than once, and didn’t hit anything vital… But the White Bear lunged and, with a few savage bites, tore away most of the flesh from Jin-Ge’s left shoulder and spine.

It was impressive, really. Even with his left arm bitten off by the White Bear, Jin-Ge still tenaciously continued writing homework with his right hand. Such a diligent spirit for study is truly admirable. Those people who always find excuses to avoid homework should really take a good look and learn from Jin-Ge.

The following battle could be described like a turn-based RPG game: dull, repetitive, and with the BOSS’s defeat only a matter of time.

‘The White Bear deals 450 points of critical damage to Jin-Ge!’

Jin-Ge is seriously wounded.

‘Mu Ai deals 110 points of damage to Jin-Ge!’

Jin-Ge is seriously wounded.

Jin-Ge takes out a Bandage to heal himself, but the White Bear smacks him away.

Jin-Ge takes out Lemonade to heal himself, but Mu Ai pierces the bottle with the Meat Cutter Knife. The Lemonade spills everywhere.

‘The White Bear deals 310 points of damage to Jin-Ge!’

Jin-Ge enters a near-death state.

The White Bear’s “30-second Obedience” state is lifted. It starts eyeing Mu Ai hungrily.

Mu Ai throws the White Bear a Beef-flavored Pet Snack. The White Bear gains the “30-second Obedience” state.

Jin-Ge cries for help, but no one comes.

Jin-Ge begs Mu Ai for mercy, but she ignores him. 🙂

‘The White Bear deals 580 points of critical damage to Jin-Ge!’

Jin-Ge falls unconscious.

Mu Ai deals 1 point of damage to Jin-Ge.

Jin-Ge is dead.

A Rulebook appears on Jin-Ge’s body. Mu Ai touches the Rulebook and receives 15,872 Purple Coins and 2 Item Cards.

The battle ends. Mu Ai and the White Bear are victorious.

Mu Ai had no time to check her spoils. With only 2 seconds left on the White Bear’s “30-second Obedience,” she tossed over a chunk of raw bone and flesh. As the bear devoured it and entered a satiated state, Mu Ai quickly moved to the other enclosures.

“I’m here to set you free. You’ll never have to face that demon again.” Mu Ai gently repeated this to each white animal, but her hand held no mercy as the Meat Cutter Knife slit their throats.

The NPC wanted players to help him feed the animals, thinking that keeping them alive was atonement. But he never reflected on his own past sins, nor cared whether these little animals wanted his care, or whether they burned with a desire for revenge.

All the non-white animals, all the carnivorous animals, were products born from resentment-they existed for vengeance. Unfortunately, the cunning NPC never set foot here, so their hatred could only be vented on the hardworking players who came to feed them.

As Mu Ai killed the last obedient, unmoving white animal, she was teleported out of the project. At the same time, the garden became dilapidated, a [Damaged] sign hung on the fence gate.

‘[Destroy 1 paid project (Completed)]

Task complete. Mu Ai had dealt with her greatest hidden threat. She took one last look at the ruined garden, hands in her pockets, casually chose a direction, and continued her exploration of the village.

The map wasn’t at 100% yet. Best not to leave this sort of thing for last. While the others were still busy with their projects, Mu Ai decided to get this done now, then find a quiet spot to rest. Tonight, she still had to dance under the moonlight.

Hehehe, just thinking about it made her happy~