HM Chapter 34 (Prank Game arc end)

Yuan Yuxue's body was covered in numerous minor wounds, with large patches of bloodstains left by the monsters' attacks, exposing his bones and flesh, almost none of which were intact, all covered in crimson liquid.

They broke through the energy shield and rushed over, only to be confronted with this hellish scene.

Curly stumbled forward, even tripping and falling, scraping his knee and causing a bruise to form. He didn’t even notice, his eyes fixed on Yuan Yuxue's blood-streaked figure, his voice choked and rough.

As if he feared disturbing a fragile dream.

“Yuan, Yuan Yuxue.”

Curly’s voice trembled. He wanted to reach out but hesitated, afraid to touch the wounds and cause further pain.

The horrifying wounds left almost no place for his fingers to land, making any contact seem like torture. Curly dared not touch him and just kept repeating Yuan Yuxue's name, hoping for a faint response. No matter how many healing potions he used, they had minimal effect.

He didn't dare contemplate the worst outcome.

The others stared at the scene, equally afraid to act. Skirt's eyes were already red, and even though she didn’t want to show vulnerability, a sob escaped through her clenched teeth.

“Yuan Yuxue.” She nearly cried out, her eyes misty, “Please, don’t die…”

The word "die" severely affected those around her.

Fingers clenched tightly in their palms, pupils contracted, their faces pale, they wanted to stop her from speaking further. But at that moment, they saw Yuan Yuxue's fingers twitch on the sword’s hilt, drawing all their attention.

Yuan Yuxue's consciousness was hazy.

He couldn’t distinguish who surrounded him or how many there were, only knowing they weren't enemies.

He opened his eyes slightly, long lashes trembling, causing the blood droplets on them to quiver and fall.

His voice was faint.

“It’s okay.”

The players, overwhelmed by intense guilt, sorrow, and pain, didn’t notice a hidden observer watching them. It was silently observing these sorrowful humans, its gaze drawn to the injured, disheveled, yet unusually captivating figure in their midst.

[Task Complete. Returning to system space in 3 seconds.]

Then, a long, silent darkness swept over them.

...

The piled-up monster corpses, the pervasive stench of blood, and the anxious players kneeling nearby all vanished. Yuan Yuxue found himself in a space of pure darkness and silence. A system panel suddenly unfolded before him.

Dense beams of light like silver smoke gathered together, illuminating his still-bloodstained face. The scarlet colour made him look even more beautiful. He was look exceptionally pale and weak, as if he might dissipate into smoke at any moment.

Golden text flowed on the panel, turning into lines of settlement results.

[Game: Prank

Main Task: Survive 24 hours. (Completed)

Side Task: Assist Andre in completing a prank game (Completed)

Base Points for Completing B-level Game: 200 points

Extra Points for Side and Special Plots: 957 points

Survival Points: 500 points

Total Points: 1657 points

Single Player Game Rating: S-level

Final Points after Single Player Game Rating:

...

Final Points: 8285 points (Initial Points x5)]

[Game: Prank (Updated)

Main Task: Special Task (Completed)

Special Points: 10000 points]

The system's calm mechanical voice announced the points earned, yet there was no response.

After a moment, another mechanical voice sounded:

[Detecting player in extreme danger, initiating priority protection program, automatically redeeming repair tools.

...

Search successful.

Body repair in progress.

Redeeming special energy body.

10,000 points automatically deducted for you]

Yuan Yuxue didn’t expect to regain consciousness.

He wasn’t turned into scrap or lying in a lab for disassembly and reconstruction.

Though his body was still in poor condition, he had received external energy replenishment—Yuan Yuxue scanned his body in confusion, finding his energy reserves at precisely 10%, as if someone had carefully measured and charged him.

The place he was in felt like the “cocoon” used in the lab, dark and silent, but much more spacious, with no detectable boundaries. Yuan Yuxue thoughtfully looked at the system panel in front of him, skillfully searching through the command updates.

Yuan Yuxue saw the mission settlement points—it felt somewhat unfamiliar, as he had never received rewards or points for completing tasks before. He also noticed the points deducted for his energy replenishment.

“?” Yuan Yuxue tilted his head slightly, gazing at the data and text.

Was this a new feature developed by the lab, changing the energy replenishment method to… self-service charge?

To avoid the constant need to house combat robots?

Without a beginner’s guide, Yuan Yuxue explored the system interface like a child learning to walk.

Besides the points settlement panel and consumption notification, a secondary panel showed that the system store could now be opened.

Yuan Yuxue browsed through the items for sale.

The items had notes like “number purchased this week,” similar to a popularity index, ranked from high to low. The top item was a healing potion he had seen before, given to him by other players.

Yuan Yuxue tentatively purchased ten bottles of “Universal Healing Potion,” reducing his points by 200. Ten red potions appeared in his personal storage space. Yuan Yuxue retrieved and used one, noticing some of his wounds healing.

Interesting supplies.

But for the lab, this seemed overly generous, as such supplies were typically reserved for high-ranking humans.

Yuan Yuxue continued exploring, noticing another section of the system store labeled “Randomly Refreshed Items.”

—The items seemed related to the game he had just experienced.

The top item was “Special Energy Body,” priced at 1000 points. Upon redeeming it, Yuan Yuxue found his energy reserves increased to 11%.

As a combat robot, Yuan Yuxue’s eyes lit up slightly. He instinctively reached out and made a few more purchases.

…His energy reserves were now at 18%.

Satisfied, Yuan Yuxue withdrew his hand, realizing that his previously ample 7085 points had dwindled to a mere 85 points. He stared at the number for a moment before casually looking away.

Since it was a “reward” from the lab, he should be able to use it... it should be.

Even if new rules were established to restrict him, that would happen later.

Yuan Yuxue continued calmly browsing the other randomly refreshed items.