Strange Little Abilities

When leaving the Moral Education Building, Zhu Yan took a picture for Yang Zhanbai of the building hidden behind dark green tree canopies, pretending he had just found the teaching building.

"Got it, you guys take a rest."

"I am going in to fill out a form and pick up some things. I will be right there."

After doing all this, he opened his phone map and quickly walked towards the library.

Xishan University was not large; Zhu Yan only walked for about ten minutes.

The library was a square, modern building, about six stories high, with a glass facade reflecting the gray mist.

Zhu Yan gripped his student card tightly and slowly approached.

He observed that the glass on the right half of the building had been corroded very thin, faintly revealing a blood-red color with a muddy texture.

At this moment, the main doors of the library were wide open, and a familiar stench wafted out from inside.

Zhu Yan had a bad feeling about this.

He swiped open the access control and stepped onto the red floor tiles of the library. The sticky and bouncy sensation under his feet almost made him lose his balance.

The interior of the library had been completely eroded.

Zhu Yan looked around curiously.

The walls were covered with a thick layer of mycelium, and a faint, shimmering glow illuminated the massive space.

There were no bookcases here; a large number of books floated haphazardly in mid-air, becoming denser the higher they went.

The few books within his reach were all titled Coexisting with Taboo Objects, but when he actually reached out, the books dodged away lightly and gracefully.

Zhu Yan did not see a single table or chair. This library did not seem to have a study function.

Ten meters ahead grew a peach-pink spotted mushroom with a diameter of a full two meters.

Could this freaking thing be the front desk?

Zhu Yan waded forward, and the sticky, jelly-like ground immediately began to make squelching sounds, sending ripples out in all directions.

He steadied his center of gravity and finally made it to the front of the pink mushroom, only to hear a familiar voice coming from the mushroom cap.

"Welcome, my dear Hunter!"

Holy crap.

Zhu Yan looked up in a daze.

The giant slime that had received him for enrollment was actually resting comfortably on the mushroom cap.

"You..."

Zhu Yan was sure it had not been there a second ago.

"How did you get here?"

The slime extended a bone spur and waved it at him.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the librarian. How can I help you?"

Zhu Yan fell silent.

In other words, when this guy was in the teaching building earlier, it had deliberately hidden the fact that it was the librarian.

Very well.

He would remember this grudge!

"I want to look up three people in the Archive Department," he said. "Qi Yinming and Yang Zhanbai."

The slime waved its bone spur and muttered something in a weird tone.

Accompanied by a rustling sound, a brand new thick book flew down from the very top of the room and landed steadily on two of the slime's bone spurs.

"And the third person?" it asked, dragging out its words.

Zhu Yan stated his aunt's name: "Feng Yuan, born in 1982..."

After Zhu Yan finished reciting all the detailed information he knew about his aunt, the slime nodded and spat out a slime-covered card reader from its body.

"Pay up. That will be 25 bone coins in total. Do you have anything else to check?"

Asking when it already knew the answer.

Zhu Yan remained expressionless but sneered in his heart.

"I want to plunder other people's abilities. Please use my Hunter authority to check the instances I can enter."

"Also, if Feng Yuan is not dead yet, then look up the instances related to the people helping her. See what abilities her helpers have and whether there is any way for me to plunder those abilities."

Whoever was helping his aunt, he might as well deal with them too!

The slime nodded and changed the price.

"That will be 525 bone coins in total."

Zhu Yan could not help but feel a pang of heartache at the cost.

He reluctantly swiped his campus card and watched as the slime rapidly waved a few bone spurs, flipping through pages as large as banana leaves with a loud rustle.

"I have the results."

The slime said in a drawn-out tone.

It used a bone spur to cut a small piece off the page and handed it to Zhu Yan: "This is the instance information for your aunt and the people helping her."

"Please take a picture so you do not forget, you foolish player."

"As for Yang Zhanbai and Qi Yinming, please wait a moment."

The slime continued to wave its long bone spurs.

Zhu Yan lowered his head and carefully read the strange text on the paper.

"[Feng Yuan's Information]

Name of Inquired Person: Feng Yuan

Relationship to Inquirer: Inquirer's aunt

Abilities of Inquired Person: None

Special Identity: None

Living Relatives: Zhu Zeyu (??? Real name unknown), Feng Yaozu, Li Mei, Feng Qiang, Wang Lanhua

Benefactors: Feng Yaozu, Feng Qiang, Wang Lanhua

Total Assets After Deducting Debts: 100,000 yuan"

Zhu Yan had occasionally heard his aunt mention these people, but he had never met them.

Feng Yaozu was his aunt's younger brother, Li Mei was Feng Yaozu's wife, and Feng Qiang and Wang Lanhua were his aunt's parents.

These people were indeed all in Bailu City, but as far as Zhu Yan knew, his aunt had not interacted with them for a long time.

He wondered if these people had awakened abilities or participated in instances.

Zhu Yan focused his mind and continued reading.

"[Related Instance Information]

Enterable Instances: [Smash and Grab], [Family Banquet], [Messed Up Relationships].

Note: You can only participate in one instance at a time.

After surviving the first instance, you can freely choose to participate in other instances without any additional charges.

Instance Hints: Go to the neighbor's house to plunder supplies; you are the neighbor.

Eat at home; you are the dish.

Stumble upon a dark secret; you will be silenced.

Number of Participants: 6, 6, 3.

Plunderable Abilities: Feng Qiang [Telekinesis] Lv.5, Feng Yaozu [Infidelity] Lv.5, [Bring Honor to Ancestors] Lv.5, Wang Lanhua [I Must Take This Advantage] Lv.5, Li Mei [To Each Their Own Fate] Lv.3."

Zhu Yan stared at the four Level 5 abilities and froze.

What the hell.

He understood the logic, but wasn't this a bit too overpowered?

Assuming these people were exceptionally gifted and started with Level 3 abilities.

Then they must have cleared at least two instances!

The survival rate for two instances was not high at all.

What was the deal with this family?

"Are you surprised?" the slime mocked with a grin. "Kid, you haven't stayed in Bailu City. That place is like a Gu-poison breeding ground."

"I've seen plenty of weird abilities like these."

Zhu Yan said, "I want to look up the specific abilities of these four people. How much in total?"

Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy guarantees victory in every battle.

Zhu Yan believed he had not fought against many players.

These abilities were far too bizarre. Even with his [Roleplay] ability, he dared not act rashly!

"70 bone coins," the slime cracked a wide smile. "Li Mei is weaker, so I'll charge you 10 for her. The others are 20 each."

Zhu Yan paid decisively.

This time it took exceptionally long; only after ten minutes was a densely packed new slip of paper handed to Zhu Yan.

Zhu Yan looked it over repeatedly, his brows tightly furrowed as he struggled with a decision for quite a while.

He finally made up his mind and let out a breath of pent-up frustration.

"I will participate in the instance [Messed Up Relationships] first."

"When do I depart?"

The slime smiled: "The morning after tomorrow. There is still a long time to go. Go take a shower and get some sleep."

It tossed a plastic bracelet to Zhu Yan. "Put this on. Remember to get dressed and bring your weapons!"

"When the time comes, it will pull you directly into the instance."

"Good luck, player."

"These three instances are consecutive. Survive the first one, and you will immediately face the second and third."

That was perfect.

Zhu Yan slipped the bracelet onto his wrist, a plan already forming in his mind.

During the short rest period before the instance began, he would be able to claim his rewards from Carnival Paradise, and he could also head to Mount Fangcun to receive the Heart of Constancy!

Oh, right.

He also had to take care of his tuxedo cat, which he hadn't seen for two days. He just hoped it hadn't starved to death.