Chapter 497: Chapter 497: Furnace (Part Two)_1 Chapter 497: Chapter 497: Furnace (Part Two)_1 The strangeness of this assignment was indeed a bit out of the ordinary.
The process by which it was leaked also featured all kinds of peculiarities, vastly different from previous experiences.
The number Task 1-005 made it impossible to think of it in simple terms.
There was always a feeling of jumping into a pit!
Sitting in his seat, Fu Qian lamented for a while.
The detailed task prompts and the clear interactive feedback.
Such game-like settings indicated that his flexibility would be greatly limited, with many judgments harshly illogical, leading to unforeseeable dead ends.
Of course, these were of no consequence.
He had completed assignments filled with danger at every turn before.
Not to mention instructions this clear.
Currently, the key point was this—what exactly was this assignment?
Advancing like a puppet on strings often meant losing the capital to foresee danger.
This really didn’t fit his style.
Fu Qian’s fingers drummed thoughtfully on the desk.
Unfortunately, the information he had at hand was very limited.
The next moment, his gaze fell on a locked drawer.
According to Fu Qian’s extensive gaming experience, a place with a time limit for leaving, coupled with a locked drawer.
This kind of setup often meant there would be critical information or usable items inside the drawer.
And what he had to do was to find the key within the five-minute time limit, unlock it, retrieve the contents, and leave before the time was up.
This was a very classic approach in gaming and remained entertaining for a long time.
The next moment, Fu Qian pinched a black hairpin and casually poked it into the lock.
He had found this in another drawer just moments before.
Although the place was small, searching for the key shouldn’t take much effort, but Fu Qian preferred to rely on his skill.
Besides, many people like to hide keys in places like shoes, and Fu Qian wasn’t interested in rummaging through a strange woman’s clothing.
Click!
Five seconds later, with a soft sound, the lock on the drawer sprang open.
Not bad!
Fu Qian nodded, quite satisfied with his efficiency.
Without practice for many days, his condition was still quite good.
He casually pulled the drawer open, but unfortunately, there were no Divine Artifacts like clawed gloves or spiked maces, just a brown paper file folder.
Seeing that equipment was out of the question, Fu Qian reached for the file folder.
The folder wasn’t sealed, and he promptly dumped its contents onto the desk.
It was a stack of color photographs.
Fu Qian quickly leafed through the photos.
The photographs belonged to four individuals, all young males, with the look of students.
Some of the photos on the back had names and ages noted, indeed all were of high school age.
The handwriting on the photos obviously belonged to the same person.
This couldn’t be…
Fu Qian rubbed his face, realizing he might have discovered something.
A good teacher with personal guidance?
This one was quite benevolent.
In most civilizations, teacher-student romances are not exactly accepted.
Especially one-to-many situations like this.
It made sense now why this drawer was locked up.
In a certain sense, he had indeed discovered something quite significant.
If he wanted, he could even use it for blackmail.
Unfortunately, such secrets were far from what he was looking for.
For the moment, Fu Qian felt a profound disappointment, repacked the stuff back into the folder, threw it into the drawer, and glanced at the electronic clock on the desk.
The five-minute limit was almost up, and by all accounts, he should have left, but—he didn’t really feel like going.
Fu Qian sat back down in the chair with no intention of getting up.
If he couldn’t find any valuable information, then he would just have to test things himself.
Now Fu Qian was very curious, what would happen if he didn’t act as required and stayed here for five full minutes? When the time was up, what then?
Even if he ended up failing and having to start over, the mission had only just begun, so the loss would be minimal.
…five, four, three, two, one!
The five-minute countdown ended in the blink of an eye.
The moment the time limit was reached, a clicking sound of a lock being opened could be heard.
Without a doubt, the lock of the office was being opened from the outside.
A slender figure then pushed the door open and entered.
But before this person could do much else, a tall figure that followed close behind grabbed and pulled them over.
Mmm!
With a soft gasp, the two were already kissing.
Accompanied by the sweet sounds of panting, the whole space seemed to heat up; as their heads leaned close, a great deal of intimacy was inadvertently revealed.
To such an erotic scene, Fu Qian paid no attention whatsoever.
Right now, a prompt was resounding in his ear.
[Mission failed, SAN Points reduced by 1]
He had just lost SAN Points directly? Although straightforward, the key question now was…
Fu Qian looked around, but everything appeared unchanged.
While the punishment for failing had been applied, the mission had not restarted.
[The current mission has been updated: return to your residence before sunset]
Not only that, a new mission objective had emerged.
Fortunately, it seemed to be a fairly normal one.
Fu Qian rubbed his temples.
What if he did not go home when the time came? Would he lose another SAN Point?
However, he wasn’t afforded much time to think; in the next moment, the passionate young man out of the corner of his eye caught sight of Fu Qian.
A scream welled up from the throat, reverberating between the two pairs of lips as the figure instinctively pushed away the person in their arms.
The lady facing away from him was clearly aware of the anomaly, and although startled, she was not as panicked as the other.
She put her hand over the man’s mouth to prevent further screaming and composed herself, turning back around.
About thirty, with meticulously styled hair and a hint of sternness in her brow, she could still be considered a traditional beauty overall.
Such a teacher was indeed likely to be the object of affection for boys in their adolescence.
And now this beautiful teacher was squinting calmly at Fu Qian, her expression collected.
She patted the shoulder of the man beside her, signaling him to leave first, and then turned around to close the door.
“Fu Qian?”
“Teacher Medea.”
Fu Qian nodded.
He had already seen her name in the pile of documents he’d looked at earlier.
And from her reaction, he was likely one of the students at this school.
That would make things much easier.
“How did you end up in my office?”
Medea’s voice was gentle without any fluctuation; she seemed surprised by Fu Qian’s composure.
“I clearly locked the door; how did you come in?”
“Actually, I’d like to know that too.”
“Just now, I stumbled, and by the time I came to, I was here,” Fu Qian answered quite honestly.
It seemed that the purpose of that five-minute mission requirement was to keep him away from this couple.
“What?”
Medea’s eyebrows knit slightly, not understanding what he was talking about.
However, as an adult, she had some basic deductive skills.
The next moment, she seemed to realize something; her eyes became strange, her tone both probing and expectant.
“Did you come here looking for me?”
Sure enough, confident people are the most charming.
Seeing the blush still present on her face, just as Fu Qian was about to say something, another prompt appeared in his ear.
[Accommodation condition met: escape from the Furnace before SAN Points reach zero]