Kong Yu and Xu Wenzi ran all the way back to their dormitory. Only after slamming the door shut did they confirm that the security guard hadn’t followed them.
Both of them leaned against the door, hearts still racing, gasping for breath. It took them a long while to calm down.
“That incense…” Xu Wenzi realized that it had been the incense paper she had thrown that distracted the guard, giving them a chance to escape. She could never have imagined that it had such a miraculous effect.
What was originally a forced trade had ended up saving their lives.
Kong Yu glanced down at the incense paper she had bought, lost in thought. “…We should try it again sometime.”
This thing seemed even more powerful than their skills or items. If it could truly influence NPCs, their chances of survival would increase significantly.
She examined the incense paper and saw that each set contained seven incense sticks and seven money papers.
“I wonder what happens if we use them separately,” Kong Yu pondered. “Next time, I’ll try just one stick. If a single stick can distract an NPC, we’ve hit the jackpot!”
Soon enough, they found an opportunity to test it.
An experienced player named Li Jiandong sent a plea for help in the chat. He had gone into the principal’s office to search for evidence but was discovered by the NPC principal and was now being attacked.
Kong Yu and Xu Wenzi arrived to see Li Jiandong’s neck clutched by the principal, his eyes rolled back. The situation was critical.
A few other players had also arrived. Seeing the scene, their expressions darkened. Based on experience, rescuing someone from an NPC usually came at a high cost. Everyone paused, thinking carefully, no one dared act rashly.
Amid the silence, Kong Yu suddenly tossed an incense stick toward the principal.
The principal caught it reflexively, stared at it for a few seconds, then slowly released Li Jiandong. He held the incense stick under his nose, sniffing it repeatedly. “So… fragrant… I like it…”
Kong Yu: !Xu Wenzi: !
So, the incense really could attract NPCs’ attention!
And even a single stick worked!
Kong Yu was the first to react. She quickly rescued Li Jiandong, then ran to a corner to observe the principal’s response, seeing if he would follow them.
The principal was so absorbed in sniffing the incense that he ignored them completely. Only when Li Jiandong escaped did his empty eyes glance briefly at the scene, then he resumed his indulgence.
Kong Yu: !
It was confirmed—the NPC wouldn’t bother them once it got this incense!
Even more effective than catnip!
Xu Wenzi grabbed her hand excitedly. “This is amazing!”
Kong Yu felt invigorated. She still had six incense sticks and seven money papers left. That meant thirteen chances to fend off NPCs!
This was far more cost-effective than using skills or items. Her traded item [Telekinesis Retrieval] could only be used once a day and wasn’t guaranteed to block NPC attacks.
What she had feared—that losing an item would make surviving the dungeon nearly impossible—had unexpectedly turned into a windfall. They now had something even more powerful!
Other players watched curiously.
“What item did you just use?” someone asked, unable to hold back.
Kong Yu took a deep breath. She wanted to know too—what kind of item was this incense paper?
And what kind of shop was that incense store? Who was that young shop owner, and why did their items enthrall NPCs so completely?
Xi Mufu had no idea her incense shop’s items were so potent. After Kong Yu and Xu Wenzi left, several prompts suddenly appeared in her mind:
[Transaction with otherworldly guests completed.][Item acquired +1][Skill acquired +1]
Detailed descriptions of the item and skill were attached.
Xi Mufu: ???
She wondered if she was hallucinating, but the prompts persisted. Even after a night’s sleep, they were still visible the next morning.
So this wasn’t a hallucination. Those two girls had truly been visitors from another world, and the item and skill she gained were rewards for selling them incense paper.
This was incredible!
She could sense that it was harmless to her, but she didn’t dare experiment. She was worried about causing a scene or attracting attention from otherworldly visitors.
After breakfast, she opened the shop as usual, busy enough to forget the prompts—until the afternoon, when she returned from delivering goods to the countryside and passed by the town’s kindergarten, only to find a crowd gathered.
A drunken middle-aged man had taken a little girl hostage to vent his anger at society. Police were trying to rescue her. City officials were present, special forces deployed, and snipers in position—but the man had chosen a hidden spot, so the snipers couldn’t shoot, and the standoff was ongoing.
“Please, take my place! Just let my daughter go…” Xi Mufu squeezed through the crowd and saw the girl’s mother kneeling, crying uncontrollably.
The police tried to reason with the criminal: “Anything you want, we’ll agree to it.”
But the man wouldn’t relent, holding the knife tightly against the girl’s neck. Her face was pale, and she kept crying.
Xi Mufu despised these kinds of revenge-driven scum. They didn’t dare attack authorities or capable men, but targeted children and women.
The criminal seemed to enjoy the attention, eyes glinting with excitement. He slowly tightened the knife. A small cut appeared, and blood trickled down the girl’s neck.
Her father wailed in desperation, and her mother fainted.
The police grew anxious, the crowd worried.
Xi Mufu’s heart twisted. The morning had been sunny, she had enjoyed fresh air in the countryside, and her mood had been light—but now she was confronted with such horror.
In panic, she remembered the prompt:
[Telekinesis Retrieval: You can retrieve any object you want within 500 meters once every 24 hours. Note: living beings excluded.]
Could she retrieve the criminal’s knife from afar?
She had never used the item before and didn’t have full confidence. She feared causing disturbances…
Yet the girl’s uniform was already half-stained with blood. If things continued, she could die from blood loss.
Maybe… it was worth trying.
No matter the consequences, she would bear them herself. Saving the child came first.
Xi Mufu made up her mind, nervously biting her lip as she selected [Telekinesis Retrieval], targeting the knife in the criminal’s hand.
The next second, the knife appeared in her hands out of nowhere.
Xi Mufu: !The crowd: ?
Everyone froze, including the criminal.
The police were the first to react. One officer shot the criminal’s arm to prevent further harm, while another rushed to grab the girl and carry her to a waiting ambulance.
Xi Mufu stared at the knife in her hand, whispering, “So… it really works…”
The process had been smooth and simple, without causing a scene or attracting otherworldly attention.
While she was still in shock, the lead officer approached: “Ma’am, hello.”
Xi Mufu was startled—she had acted openly, in full view of everyone.
She slowly looked up and saw everyone watching her: city officials, SWAT officers, and familiar neighbors.
Xi Mufu: “…”