Chapter Three: Side Quest Rewards

The signal gun in Chen Qi’s hand emitted a sound reminiscent of a laser, making the opponent’s four signal lights on their chests flicker wildly. The four adversaries were entirely focused on Ivan, never expecting someone lurking nearby in ambush. In a flurry of panic, they failed to fire at Ivan.

Ivan, lost among the crowd, reacted swiftly. He darted toward the blond youth, attempting to seize his gun.

A sharp click resounded—the signal gun in Chen Qi’s hand seemed to have exhausted its ammunition, letting out a mournful whine as if malfunctioning. Chen Qi quickly took cover behind a tree, pulling a magazine from his pocket.

“I didn’t expect even these laser guns to require reloading. The craftsmanship is so realistic—it’s almost unsettling,” Chen Qi muttered inwardly as he swapped magazines, his eyes scanning the four opponents.

The student at the front of their group was struck squarely in the chest, the signal light turning black—indicating he was out of the game. Andre, in the center of the group, reacted quickly, rolling on the ground in a practiced move—clearly an experienced player. Still, he couldn’t avoid being shot; his signal light flashed a dangerous red.

The other two members of their squad were engaged in a frantic duel with the bespectacled boy. One realized the situation and began a fierce exchange of fire with him. Meanwhile, the blond youth was locked in a struggle with Ivan, both clinging desperately to their guns.

Andre, after rolling on the ground, glanced at the bespectacled boy in heated combat, took aim at his torso, and fired several shots. The bespectacled boy, intent on pulling the trigger, failed to dodge. His signal light instantly glowed red, startling him into abandoning his opponent and diving behind a stone table for cover.

Now, six people remained on the field. Andre and the bespectacled boy’s indicators glowed red; Ivan, whose light shone green, was wrestling for a weapon with another student; and the student dueling the bespectacled boy had been hit once, his light flashing yellow.

Chen Qi cursed the bespectacled boy’s poor marksmanship—his sneak attack hadn’t eliminated a single student. Normally, at his age, he wouldn’t complain about such trivialities, but in this mysterious space, any chance to increase his odds of survival had to be seized. He was determined to win this real-life CS match—to see what reward the mission would bring.

With this in mind, Chen Qi began to flank the opponents, hoping to catch them off guard again.

“Bang! Bang!” Andre reacted quickly, shifting his attention from the bespectacled boy to Chen Qi and firing several shots at his position. Luckily, the distance, the trees, and Chen Qi’s rapid movement prevented him from being hit.

Meanwhile, another member of the opposing team realized what was happening and aimed at Ivan, hoping to free the blond youth. Ivan, seeing the situation worsen, locked himself in a clinch with the blond, shouting Chen Qi’s and the bespectacled boy’s names.

Ivan and the blond tangled together, making it difficult for their teammate to intervene. The bespectacled boy finally recovered, replaced his magazine, and, with most of his body pressed against the stone table and bench, fired wildly at Andre, hoping to eliminate him. Though Andre avoided being hit, the random gunfire created intense psychological pressure—one more shot and he’d be out.

Chen Qi finally reached his ideal position. After a brief consideration, he aimed at the student with the yellow light and pulled the trigger decisively.

“Hit!” Chen Qi silently cheered as he charged at the student, firing as he went.

Chen Qi was under immense psychological pressure. The strange main quest left him uneasy, so much so that, as an adult, he found himself shouting to vent his stress.

Perhaps it was fate’s favor, or perhaps Chen Qi’s marksmanship was simply good, combined with the fact that the student was wholly focused on eliminating Ivan.

“Beep, beep!” The signal light turned black, making the student stomp in frustration and drop his gun.

Chen Qi was thrilled—now, if he could just hit Andre one more time, victory would be assured, and he could complete his first task since joining the space.

“I wonder what the reward will be?” Chen Qi mused with anticipation.

The early autumn sunlight fell across Chen Qi’s profile, making him look spirited and confident.

Suddenly, Andre made a move that surprised everyone: he rushed forward and closed the distance to Ivan, who was still grappling, and with a swift side kick, sent Ivan sprawling, freeing the other student from Ivan’s grip.

Under the stone table, the bespectacled boy was still firing in vain. The freed student shook his head, dazed from the prolonged struggle, and readied his gun to aim at Chen Qi.

The situation took a sudden turn. Chen Qi, unable to halt his forward momentum, steeled himself and threw his empty gun at the student, then accelerated his charge.

“Am I, a grown man, afraid to fight a high school student hand to hand?” Chen Qi gritted his teeth, shouting to the bespectacled boy to take care of Andre.

The thrown gun struck the high school student squarely on the hand.

“So aggressive? It’s just a game, is it worth it?” The student was shocked, and his gun was knocked away by the flying signal gun.

“Go pick up your gun, I’ll take care of Chen Qi,” Andre called out, steadying the student’s nerves as he lunged at Chen Qi.

“Don’t blame me—I really want to win!” Chen Qi shouted, then threw a punch at Andre’s chest. The wind whistled around his fist, and sunlight bathed his form; at that moment, Chen Qi felt like a god of war.

“Smack!” Andre calmly ducked the fierce punch and countered with a blow to Chen Qi’s abdomen, making him stagger back in pain, his face contorted.

Taking advantage of Chen Qi’s unsteady footing, Andre landed another signature side kick to his arm.

“Boom!” The force sent Chen Qi flying, crashing painfully to the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut, overwhelmed by the agony of impact.

“Is my first quest going to end in failure?” Chen Qi began to doubt himself. “Will I even survive this?”

The situation was a harsh blow; he hadn’t expected to be no match for a high school student.

“Biu, biu~” The sound of signal gunfire from behind interrupted Chen Qi’s tangled thoughts. The bespectacled boy, mustering his courage, charged forward and fired several shots, eliminating Andre.

Meanwhile, the student retrieving his gun was entangled by Ivan once again. Seeing Chen Qi and his teammate closing in, he had no choice but to surrender.

Chen Qi watched in delight—he hadn’t expected such a dramatic turnaround.

A prompt immediately sounded from the space.

[You have completed the side quest: Real-life CS Match]
[Rewards are now being distributed]
[You have received a random basic ability scroll]
[Your signal light is green, granting an extra reward of 1,000 universal points]
[None of your four members were eliminated, granting an extra reward: 2 white treasure chests]
[This is your first time acquiring items; storage space unlocked (10 square meters), which can be upgraded with universal points upon returning to the space]
[As a chosen one acquiring items for the first time, item grade introduction begins]
[Items are graded: white, green, blue, purple… insufficient rank prevents access to further information; please explore on your own]
[As a chosen one encountering universal points for the first time, universal point explanation begins]
[Universal points can be used to trade with the Sprout Space or other contractors/chosen ones, to upgrade skills, etc. This is the sole universal currency of the Sprout Space]
[Warning: Use each universal point carefully, for they are your capital for survival and growth]
……

The eliminated students who had been watching from afar came over, while the students on Chen Qi’s side shouted in excitement, celebrating their victory.

The intense celebration interrupted Chen Qi’s thoughts. The students clustered together, discussing the details of the match.

Ivan shouted, “You all ganged up, outnumbering us with no sense of honor, and made me play bait to trick my teammates. Luckily my teammates were sharp, or our friendship would’ve capsized!”

“All’s fair in war!” Andre replied with a sly smile, walking over to Chen Qi.

“Are you alright after that kick? I really wanted to win,” Andre apologized.

Displaying the graciousness of a victor, Chen Qi smiled and assured him it was nothing.

Seeing this, Andre insisted on treating Chen Qi to lunch in the cafeteria as a gesture of apology.

“Hurry up and eat—there’s a school opening ceremony this afternoon,” someone called out from the crowd.

After a few more exchanges, Andre, seeing that Chen Qi truly bore no grudge, boasted, “Pretty impressive kick, huh? Two years of training.”

Chen Qi felt like punching Andre’s smiling face, annoyed and faintly embarrassed that he’d been KO’d by a high schooler.

The group chatted as they headed toward the cafeteria. Chen Qi’s thoughts were nowhere near food; he was eager to find a place to open the treasure chests and scroll.

Muttering a quick excuse about needing the restroom, Chen Qi slipped away from the group, returned alone to the school building, found a quiet bathroom, and focused his attention on the storage space.