Jiangcheng University.
Lecture Hall, Bo Xue Building.
The annual student club recruitment fair was in full swing.
Yu Jin stared blankly at the faint gray text hovering before his eyes.
[You have successfully tamed and sheltered the Tier-3 Mutant Beast King Shadow Panther. Wasteland Points +800!]
Just a few minutes earlier, he had casually fed a stray calico kitten a sausage, and this line of text had suddenly appeared.
After some quick testing, Yu Jin discovered—
The text was visible only to him.
For example, his vice president, Tang Yunxuan, currently seated across from him, was completely oblivious to the translucent panel.
That guy, instead, was staring wide-eyed at the cute freshmen across the hall at the dance club's booth. Yu Jin even heard him swallow audibly.
Yu Jin shook his head, tore his gaze away from Tang, and focused once again on the floating words.
"Tier-3 Mutant Beast King?"
"Shadow Panther?"
He rolled the terms around in his head, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't connect them to the adorable little calico he'd just fed.
"…Been pulling too many all-nighters? Am I hallucinating?"
He shook his head hard, until he felt dizzy, yet the text remained crystal clear.
"System?"
Yu Jin was an old hand at webnovels—he'd read enough on Qidian to know the tropes. Instinctively, he tried calling out in his mind.
No response.
"Deep Blue?"
"…"
"Brother System?"
"…"
"Claim reward?"
At last, after several attempts, the panel shifted.
Below the first gray line of text, a tiny button appeared.
On it were three bold characters: [Awesome!]
Yu Jin fell silent.
…Why did this feel suspiciously like logging in to MapleStory to collect a daily login bonus?
Still, he reached out and tapped the floating button.
[Reward claimed successfully!][You have obtained Wasteland Points: 800!][Notice—][Once Wasteland Points reach 10,000, the Points Shop will unlock!][Please keep striving to survive bravely in the perilous wasteland world!]
Yu Jin stared at the last line, once again falling into deep thought.
"A perilous wasteland world?"
"Survive bravely…?"
He lifted his head.
The lecture hall was brightly lit.
The central air conditioning hummed, pushing cool air through the room and keeping the summer heat at bay.
Energetic freshmen, with clear eyes and youthful naivety, bustled around the recruitment booths, chatting and laughing.
"Wow, the Gaming Club's weekly activity is renting a whole row of computers at the internet café!"
"The dance club's girls are so many, so fair-skinned, so gorgeous!"
"I've loved dance since I was a kid! I love it so much, I'm crying!"
"Pfft. Love dance? You love dancers. You're drooling over their bodies. You shameless dog."
"…."
Meanwhile, the Environmental Club booth in front of Yu Jin remained deserted, ignored by the crowd.
Still, that didn't stop him from reaching a firm conclusion—
This was a peaceful, stable, thriving modern society.
What wasteland? What peril?
"This system's gotta be bugged."
"Doesn't matter. Since it's here, no harm in playing along…"
"After the fair ends, I'll feed a few more strays, rack up that 'Wasteland Point' counter to 10,000, and see what this Points Shop is all about."
That was Yu Jin's plan.
But just then—
Waaah!
The lecture hall erupted in a chorus of shocked gasps.
"Holy crap!"
"Yin Yao actually showed up at the recruitment fair!?"
Seated beside Yu Jin, his vice president—and the only other member—Tang Yunxuan, shrieked with excitement.
"Yin Yao?"
Yu Jin muttered the name, following Tang's gaze.
At the lecture hall's entrance—
A girl stood quietly, as if haloed in her own light.
Tall and slender, her white dress was simple yet elegant, outlining graceful curves. Her waterfall of hair gleamed, highlighting skin as pale as snow.
Her features were exquisite, her brow carrying a natural air of nobility.
As the acknowledged campus goddess of Jiangcheng University, countless boys' dream girl, Yin Yao's background was said to be unfathomably powerful.
Her sudden arrival hushed the noisy hall. Dozens of gazes landed on her, but none dared linger too long.
Boys held their breath, hearts pounding; girls looked on with barely concealed envy.
"President, what are you doing here?"
From the center of the hall, a tall girl broke away from the crowd surrounding the Dance Club booth.
Yu Pan'er—the dance club's vice president. Her beauty and dancer's grace had already attracted admirers of her own.
But standing before Yin Yao, her presence seemed to shrink by several magnitudes.
Yin Yao only shook her head in response. She didn't answer.
Instead, her gaze lifted slightly, scanning the hall… searching.
And then—
Her eyes seemed to lock onto someone.
Across the way, Yu Jin frowned faintly.
"Crap!" Tang Yunxuan squealed under his breath. "Old Yu, she's looking this way—she's looking at me! She's coming toward me!"
Click. Click. Click.
In the suddenly silent lecture hall filled with hundreds of students, only the crisp sound of Yin Yao's heels echoed.
Moments later—
To the shock of every freshman and even the seasoned upperclassmen, Yin Yao walked straight to the Environmental Club's lonely little table.
"Y-Yin… Senior Yin!"
Tang Yunxuan's face turned crimson, his voice breaking as he stammered.
How could someone like him be so blessed, that Goddess Yin herself would approach him?
"Hello."
Yin Yao spoke. Her voice was oddly stilted—normally so cold, yet now forced into politeness, even… eagerness?
"H-hello!"
Tang Yunxuan blurted, practically bouncing in his seat.
But Yin Yao wasn't even looking at him. Her clear eyes were locked straight onto Yu Jin, as if trying to read something from his expression.
"Do you… need something?"
Yu Jin frowned. He couldn't think of any time he had crossed paths with her.
And honestly, he didn't want any ties.
Already, he could feel the glares of a hundred jealous boys stabbing into his back.
"I want to join your Environmental Club."
Yin Yao's soft voice carried surprising firmness, as though she had prepared herself long before.
Her words left the hall dumbfounded.
Especially Yu Pan'er, who had followed behind.
Their club president… wanted to join another club?
And not just any club—but the loneliest, most pitiful club on campus, with exactly two members: one president, one vice president?
Yu Pan'er felt her nose sting, like something was about to sprout right out of her face.
Just moments ago, she had naively thought her president had come to help promote the Dance Club!
And then, the next words exchanged between Yin Yao and Yu Jin completely shattered her world.
"You're the president of the Dance Club. Joining us doesn't seem very appropriate."
"…I can quit."
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