Chapter 166

Out of curiosity, and also to unlock Meng Kexin's affection panel, Yang Yixie still reached out and clicked the magnifying glass icon above her head.

【Name: Zhao Kexin (Lv. 9)】

【Title: Consciousness Prisoner】

【Age: 16】

【Race: Human】

【Faction: Mitra Academy】

【Affection: 0 (Wary)】

【Mutation Value: 14】

【Current Status: Healthy】

【Preferences:...... (To be unlocked)】

It even has a title?

Yang Yixie was somewhat surprised; among the NPCs he had contacted, only a few had titles, and Chen Mo Zhi, even at level 18, had none, yet it turned out that Meng Kexin, who seemed like an accessory, actually had one.

"Consciousness Prisoner"? It doesn't sound like a sunny, positive title at all.

But......

Yang Yixie looked at this pink NPC before him; the character's appearance was noticeable no matter where in the Academy, and she might have an important role later, but is her level too low?

Yang Yixie flipped through the unlocked NPC panel; if sorted by level, Meng Kexin was undoubtedly last, possibly even lower than ordinary NPCs.

He felt a bit contemptuous.

But precisely because she is extraordinarily weak, the possibility of her having a special plot increases.

Even if she might become an important NPC later, Ying Duo can only raise her affection for now, to see if she'll be useful later.

There's no way; compared to pushing the plot, his top priority is still grinding monsters and leveling up, and bringing Meng Kexin along would be no different from bringing a burden.

Moreover, she would split the experience, greatly reducing the player's experience gain efficiency.

Although Yang Yixie felt contemptuous, he still answered Meng Kexin's question; however, Ying Duo's hollow eyes remained firmly locked on Chen Mo Zhi, fearing this "key NPC" would escape.

There's no way; it came suddenly, and this place isn't really suitable for setting traps to block.

"Forming a mercenary corps, we need one more."

Meng Kexin loosened her grip on Ying Duo's arm a little, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

This guy illegally intruded into the Exotic Plant Garden, even drew his gun, just to invite Chen Mo Zhi to form a mercenary corps?!

Is his brain circuitry wrapped around the equator three times?

Chen Mo Zhi listened to this absurd reason, then glanced at Ying Duo's matter-of-fact demeanor.

Although he had heard from various channels about this Ying Guang Lu's abnormal brain, seeing it in person still hit him just as hard.

In his eyes flashed absurdity, and his tense killing intent dissipated considerably.

Getting angry at someone whose thinking is completely abnormal is truly a waste of emotion.

The red blood bar above his head turned back to green, but out of caution, the poison needle pinched between his fingers was not retracted immediately, remaining ready to be triggered at any moment.

Seeing Chen Mo Zhi's blood bar change color, Ying Duo swiftly flipped his wrist, and the energy pistol vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.

Seeing this, Meng Kexin finally relaxed, releasing her hold on Ying Duo's hand.

She lightly patted her chest, showing a somewhat frightened expression, and spoke softly:

"Ying Duo classmate, if you only wanted to invite the young master to join the mercenary corps, you could have explained the situation normally from the start......"

But Ying Duo tilted his head, showing confusion, and interrupted her.

"So forming a team has no affection requirement?"

He thought that for such a "recruiting teammates" key action, one needed to first raise the target NPC's affection to a certain value before it could be triggered.

So you can just ask directly?

Hiss, it turns out his thinking was limited by the games he had played before.

Yang Yixie began to reflect on himself.

Meng Kexin: "...... How could such a thing exist!"

She couldn't help but mutter a complaint, feeling that communicating with Ying Duo was outright a challenge to her intellect, a feeling akin to dealing with those bizarre clients she sometimes faced.

Meng Kexin instinctively glanced at Chen Mo Zhi, wanting to know his attitude.

Chen Mo Zhi finally put the poison needle back into his sleeve; his gaze at Ying Duo still carried obvious hostility.

He frowned slightly, neither immediately refusing nor agreeing.

That indicates Chen Mo Zhi had also considered forming a mercenary corps before.

Meng Kexin recalled that Chen Mo Zhi had indeed been organizing the wild exotic plant distribution map of Tianmian City lately, seemingly planning to personally go collect some exotic plants.

Perhaps...... this is an opportunity?

She tried to gather more information for Chen Mo Zhi, asking, "Ying Duo classmate, besides you, who else is in the mercenary corps?"

Ying Duo felt there was nothing to hide, and directly reported several names that Meng Kexin was not unfamiliar with.

"Shen Zexi, Qi Hengyu, Luo Jinyou."

Meng Kexin slightly widened her eyes; the names Ying Duo mentioned were all prominent figures among this year's freshmen at the Academy.

She silently clicked her tongue; although Ying Duo had a sick mind, his social connections were unexpectedly good?

She was about to ask for more details, such as team division and what difficulty of missions they planned to take, when she heard the usually silent Chen Mo Zhi beside her suddenly speak.

"I can join."

Both Meng Kexin and Ying Duo looked at him.

Chen Mo Zhi's gaze swept over Meng Kexin, then returned to Ying Duo, as he stated his sole condition.

"But she has to go with us."

"Huh?"

Ying Duo immediately turned his gaze toward Meng Kexin, openly scanning her up and down, his golden eyes blatantly writing the two words "disdain".

"She's too weak; besides having to waste effort protecting her, we'd have to give her a bigger share of the loot."

Players think simply and directly; bringing such a low-level teammate into a dungeon is pure effort with no reward.

Chen Mo Zhi frowned even tighter, "We don't need to split the loot."

The Chen Family is huge and prosperous; they certainly don't need this little thing.

He was mainly worried that, once he and Ying Duo left the Academy for the wilderness, Meng Kexin, left alone at the Academy, would likely be pestered again by her troublesome family.

Keeping her by his side would be safer.

Ying Duo still wanted to refuse this 'loss-making deal,' but Meng Kexin spoke up first.

Her face showed a hint of shame and sensibility; her voice was soft yet firm.

"Classmate Ying Duo is right; I really am too weak, following you would only hold you back, and I also really want to stay behind to spend more time learning potion-making."

Meng Kexin knows her own strength; going out to the wilderness now to face those ferocious Aberrant Species isn't training—it's just giving away heads.

Staying in the relatively safe Academy and using the Chen Family's resources to study is the most advantageous choice.

Chen Mo Zhi looked at Meng Kexin, as if weighing his options.

He certainly knew Meng Kexin lacked strength; he thought he could protect her, but this was Meng Kexin's own decision...

He fell silent for a few seconds, then turned to Ying Duo, abruptly changing the topic in a stiff tone.

"How long until we go on a mission?"