Chapter 12: The Start of the School Year and a New A-Rank Yellow Mission (1)

The start of the university semester was bustling, and the freshman group chat was no exception. Xu Yiliu disliked "lurking" in group chats; she never said a word, merely checking the information for her assigned dormitory. At Haicheng University, all dorms were four-person rooms, allocated by major and class. Her dorm, however, was a bit unusual—it only had three people.

She arrived first, and after unpacking her bedding and clothes, she sat in her chair, scrolling through her phone to search for part-time gig platforms commonly used by alumni and a map of the campus. The upperclassmen were quite enthusiastic, answering almost every question she posed.

"System, can I take the initiative to accept missions?"

System: "Missions are mandatory and non-selectable."

Xu Yiliu scoffed at it: "If you don't actively generate results, do you even understand how to do your job?"

The system remained silent.

She had always been a loner, so once she gathered the information she needed, she left the dorm without waiting for her roommates. The start of the term was chaotic, and Xu Yiliu spent the whole day wandering leisurely around the school, enthusiastically asking the upperclassmen who were volunteering if she could join them.

The seniors were in a difficult spot, explaining that freshmen were generally not allowed to be orientation volunteers; no one had ever asked such a thing before. However, they added her on WeChat and invited her into the volunteer group.

One senior girl smiled and said, "There's a welcome event organized by seniors tonight at Lotus Lake. Most of it is probably just clubs promoting themselves, but if you're bored, you can go check it out later."

Xu Yiliu nodded. "Alright."

She had no intention of joining any clubs, but perhaps there would be some other benefits to joining the fray.

She wondered if her roommates had arrived yet...

On her way, Xu Yiliu glanced at the three-person group chat she had been added to earlier. It was still quiet; no one had said a word. Her two roommates were named Huo Zhiye and Ji Xianxing, their profile pictures being a cartoon rabbit and Van Gogh’s *Starry Night*, respectively. Since they hadn't chatted, Xu Yiliu could only guess at their temperaments from these fragments.

By the time she reached Lotus Lake, dusk had already fallen. Across the water, Xu Yiliu saw someone on the lawn plucking a guitar and singing. The sound equipment was decent; she could hear the melodic singing even before she stepped onto the wooden bridge.

Passing students were drawn by the performance, some taking photos with their phones, others crossing the bridge in groups toward the lawn.

Xu Yiliu felt the evening breeze, not in a rush to head over, and leaned against the wooden railing for a good stretch.

A peaceful and beautiful university life—it was what she had longed for most as a child. Back then, her grandmother was still around, and they would often dream about the future together.

She looked at the sunset. The surroundings were noisy, but her heart was calm.

The longing of that time had finally led her to this point, yet she found she felt nothing in particular.

"System, can you pick a better mission for me next time? One with low risk and high return?"

System: "Missions are randomized—"

Xu Yiliu was just about to tease the system, and having stood for too long, she turned to lean back against the railing. Unexpectedly, she heard a "crack," and before she knew it, she was enveloped in a sense of weightlessness, plummeting downward.

"Splash!"

She fell into the water backward. Caught off guard, she choked on a mouthful of water, hearing a muffled shout from above: "Someone fell in!"

Xu Yiliu lamented her own bad luck. Calming down, she adjusted her posture and, confirming she wasn't cramping, started swimming upward.

As she swam, she realized something was wrong. Why was this pathetic school lake so deep?

"Mission level identified as Class A. Mission area color identified as yellow..."

You have to be kidding me?

Xu Yiliu was so shocked she choked on more water, quickly picking up her pace toward the surface. Goodness, she didn't want to drown in a lake the moment she started.

Fortunately, while the water was deep, it wasn't so deep that she couldn't escape. Before long, Xu Yiliu saw a glimmer of light and clusters of lotus flowers and leaves, vaguely hearing the sound of footsteps nearby.

She kept her wits about her, not surfacing immediately. Instead, she controlled her breathing, hiding among the lotus plants to observe her surroundings.

The bridge was still there, but it wasn't the university bridge, and the people walking on it were definitely not students.

Xu Yiliu muttered, "Why did you throw me into ancient times..."

She felt a sensation and looked down, only to realize she was wearing ancient-style clothing. She wasn't good at history, though, and knew little about such things, unable to distinguish which dynasty it might be.

"Miss! Miss! Have you found the Miss? She’s in the lotus-pink dress! Lotus-pink!"

Xu Yiliu looked at her clothing; it was indeed lotus-pink. She sighed. It seemed she couldn't craft her own persona this time; the mission had already assigned her an identity card.

The system finally finished loading: "This mission is identified as Class A, and the mission area color is yellow. The host must complete the cleaning task as soon as possible to ensure survival."

"Mission objective: Find and clean pollutants 0/2."

"Detected: There are multiple other cleaners in this mission, quantity *5."

Class A? Xu Yiliu frowned, feeling a sense of foreboding.

Class B was already difficult enough; the hidden twists and turns meant one wrong move could cost you your life. Class A was likely even more treacherous.

At least the mission area color wasn't the terrifying red. Since it was yellow, just like the last mission, it meant the "people" here couldn't attack without reason.

This gave Xu Yiliu a bit of reassurance.

"Miss, Miss, where are you? Miss!"

A small boat rowed from under the bridge. The girl who had been shouting was on board, her face full of anxiety. Judging by her attire and speech, she seemed to be a maidservant for this identity.

Xu Yiliu waved at her. Unsure of this persona's personality, she lowered her voice and called out weakly, "I am here."

The maid looked back, overjoyed, and urged the boatman to row faster.

Xu Yiliu grabbed the maid's hand and climbed onto the boat, immediately being wrapped in a large, thick blanket.

The maid hugged her, tears streaming down her face: "You scared this servant to death! How did you disappear? If something happened to you, how could Ruyi ever go on living..."

Xu Yiliu patted her hand and sighed: "I don't know if it was from swallowing water, but I'm feeling terribly dizzy and have forgotten what just happened. Ruyi, where are we?"

The maid wiped her tears and said, "My lady, you are confused..."

After asking a few more questions, the fragmented pieces of information finally coalesced into the full script for Xu Yiliu.

This was the capital, where poetry gatherings were popular among young people. The social atmosphere was open, and it was common for wealthy heirs to rent out entire estates for spring outings, composing poetry and playing games. Xu Yiliu, the only daughter of the Xu family, was a member of a poetry club in the capital called the Snow Moon Pavilion. Led by Fang Xiaoyi, the eldest daughter of the wealthy Fang family, they had rented a scenic estate on the outskirts of the capital, planning to stay for half a month.

Today was only the first day. Everyone had planned to view the lotus lake, but for some reason, Xu Yiliu had woken up early and come here with her maid, Ruyi. They had encountered a pastry vendor on the way, and feeling hungry, she had sent Ruyi to buy some snacks.

By the time Ruyi turned back, Xu Yiliu had vanished without a trace.

After listening, Xu Yiliu asked, "How far is the estate from here?"

Ruyi replied, "My lady, you really are confused. The estate is right over there."

With her calling her "confused" at every turn, Xu Yiliu suppressed a laugh and looked in the direction she pointed, surprised: "So close?"

That estate was nothing like the grand manor Xu Yiliu had imagined. There were no walls, only rows of wooden structures. She could see people moving in and out, all looking busy and dressed in plain, rustic clothing, like village laborers.

"My lady is really..."

Xu Yiliu realized that "Xu Yiliu" probably had a personality similar to her own, so she interrupted her directly: "Do not call me confused again."

Ruyi, still shaken, nodded: "It is this servant's fault. This servant understands."

Xu Yiliu felt uncomfortable hearing the constant references to her as a "servant." But when in Rome, do as the Romans do; she couldn't risk her life to act noble, so she had no choice but to endure it.

Upon reaching the shore, Xu Yiliu clutched her blanket and suddenly heard a melodic song.

"Who is singing?" she asked.

Ruyi said uncertainly, "Perhaps it's those people from the juggling troupe. They practice their vocals in the morning, though it's quite late now. How strange."

Xu Yiliu also found it strange.

Why was there a juggling troupe here? She had assumed that such wealthy families would have booked the place exclusively.