The Genius Game - Chapter 37

Wang Juanhua said, “I don’t know why either. When I asked for her name, she said she was Ding Zelan. She didn’t say anything else. After giving me these medicines, she ran off immediately.”

Jian Tanxi pondered, “Could there be other surviving players here?”

According to the rules of the Paper Man game, if someone dies while a group is playing, the remaining players cannot leave the instance.

However, being unable to leave doesn’t mean immediate death. Perhaps the remaining players can continue living within the instance indefinitely.

Could this Ding Zelan be a survivor from a previous game session?

Jian Tanxi couldn’t figure it out and didn’t have time to investigate. If the opportunity arose, she might meet that girl again.

After getting ready, they went to Ou Bao’er’s room.

Ou Bao’er declared, “I want to go swimming. Make the necessary preparations. There should be no unauthorized people near the pool, especially men. Also, I want twelve different types of freshly squeezed juice, each with a unique flavor.”

Just then, a mechanical voice chimed: “Ding dong! Main Quest Two triggered: Accompany Miss Bao’er for swimming. Time: 3 hours. Good luck, nannies.”

The players entered the nanny quarters and quickly assigned tasks.

Meng Yuening and Du Jiaojiao were tasked with juicing in the kitchen since their health points were lower. Working in the kitchen meant they wouldn’t have to attend to Ou Bao’er directly, reducing their risk of punishment.

Jian Tanxi and Shen Kexin were responsible for clearing the pool area, particularly ensuring no men approached.

Their health points weren’t high either, so this assignment allowed them to legitimately avoid staying close to Ou Bao’er.

Wang Juanhua and Qin Man were assigned to continuously watch over Ou Bao’er while she swam, ready to fulfill any of her requests at any moment. They had the highest health points and could withstand potential penalties.

After the division of labor was settled, Meng Yuening and Du Jiaojiao headed to the kitchen.

Du Jiaojiao claimed she couldn’t walk, but Meng Yuening didn’t indulge her and pushed her along.

Jian Tanxi and Shen Kexin went to clear the pool area first.

When they arrived at the pool, they found two handsome young men sitting by the edge.

Jian Tanxi stepped forward and asked, “May I ask who you are? Miss Bao’er will be swimming soon. Could you please leave for now?”

The two young men stood up and said, “We are the Third and Fourth Young Masters of the Ou family. Since Bao’er wants to swim, take good care of her and ensure nothing goes wrong. Otherwise, the consequences will be beyond your imagination.”

Jian Tanxi quickly replied, “Yes, rest assured, Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master.”

After the young masters left, Jian Tanxi breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the two young masters seemed young, their presence was overwhelmingly intimidating, as if they could tear the players to shreds at any moment.

The Ou family was a den of danger. Jian Tanxi had already experienced the stone room and wondered if there were even more terrifying instruments of punishment elsewhere.

She and Shen Kexin patrolled the area a few times and, finding no other unauthorized persons, returned to inform Ou Bao’er that she could come swim.

Ou Bao’er, dressed in her swimsuit, entered the temperature-controlled pool.

Jian Tanxi and Shen Kexin were on patrol duty to prevent anyone from suddenly approaching.

Wang Juanhua and Qin Man stayed by the poolside, attentively watching over Ou Bao’er.

After swimming for a while, Ou Bao’er lost her temper. “Where’s my juice? Why isn’t it here yet?”

Wang Juanhua replied, “Miss Bao’er, please wait a little longer. Nanny Du and Nanny Meng have gone to the kitchen to squeeze the juice.”

“Wait, wait, wait, how much longer do we have to wait?! Are you all pigs?!”

Just then, a mechanical voice sounded: “Detected Wang Juanhua’s anger level at 5. All nannies’ HP reduced by 5. Current HP: Jian Tanxi 67, Qin Man 92, Du Jiaojiao 21, Meng Yuening 60, Shen Kexin 60, Wang Juanhua 88.”

Wang Juanhua glanced apologetically at Jian Tanxi and the others. “I’m sorry, I tried my best to control my temper…”

Jian Tanxi replied, “It’s fine, not a big deal.”

Qin Man added, “Don’t worry about it, no need to blame yourself.”

At a time like this, internal conflict was pointless, it would only raise anger levels and further reduce everyone’s HP.

Wang Juanhua had once been a school disciplinarian. Now, being constantly scolded by a little girl, it was only natural for her to get angry.

A person’s temper is the hardest thing to change. Expecting her to suddenly become completely calm was unrealistic.

However, at that moment, the mechanical voice sounded again: “Detected Du Jiaojiao’s anger level at 5. All nannies’ HP reduced by 5. Current HP: Jian Tanxi 62, Qin Man 87, Du Jiaojiao 16, Meng Yuening 55, Shen Kexin 55, Wang Juanhua 83.”

Du Jiaojiao wasn’t even present. The only reason her anger would increase was likely because Wang Juanhua’s anger had caused her to lose 5 HP, making her angry in turn.

But now, her HP had dropped to only 16. They needed to give her a healing pill as soon as possible.

However, only Jian Tanxi and Qin Man had healing pills, and both were stationed at the pool. They couldn’t leave their posts without permission, or Ou Bao’er would get angry, and the consequences would be severe.

Just then, Meng Yuening, who had gone to the kitchen to make juice, returned. She was carrying a tray with twelve glasses of juice.

Originally, Du Jiaojiao had been with Meng Yuening, but her HP was too low, she might have passed out along the way, so only Meng Yuening returned.

Meng Yuening said to Ou Bao’er, “Miss Bao’er, here is the juice you requested.”

But Ou Bao’er flew into a rage. “Idiot!”

She climbed out of the pool and knocked over all twelve glasses of juice, pointing at Meng Yuening and shouting, “Are you a pig? You brought me twelve full glasses of juice, how could I possibly drink that much? Even if I did, I’d get high blood sugar! Can’t you even handle such a simple task? Are you even fit to be my nanny?”

Meng Yuening tried her best to control herself, but her anger level still rose by 1 point.

Now, all players’ HP were: Jian Tanxi 61, Qin Man 86, Du Jiaojiao 15, Meng Yuening 54, Shen Kexin 54, Wang Juanhua 82.

Meng Yuening patiently explained, “Miss Bao’er, didn’t you ask for twelve different kinds of juice?”

Ou Bao’er retorted, “I did ask for twelve kinds, but I never said to use such big glasses! Each kind should be in a small cup, don’t you even understand that?”

“Sorry, Miss Bao’er, I’ll prepare them again right away.”

“No need to prepare anything, just accept your punishment!”

Suddenly, a ball surrounded by lightning appeared in Ou Bao’er’s hand. She threw the lightning ball at Meng Yuening, who became trapped beneath it, unable to escape or move.

The lightning ball emitted bolts of electricity that coiled around Meng Yuening.

The crackling sound of electric currents filled the air, and Meng Yuening let out several agonized screams.

She was someone who could endure pain relatively well, but even she couldn’t hold back, proof of how excruciating it truly was.

After a while, Ou Bao’er retrieved the lightning ball.

Meng Yuening lay on the ground, unable to get up for a moment, with several patches of her skin scorched.

Seeing Meng Yuening’s disheveled state, Ou Bao’er burst into laughter.

Meng Yuening’s rage increased by 5, and all players’ HP decreased by 5. At the same time, Meng Yuening was injured by the lightning ball, reducing her HP by 20 points.

Current HP: Jian Tanxi 56, Qin Man 81, Du Jiaojiao 10, Meng Yuening 29, Shen Kexin 49, Wang Juanhua 77.

Jian Tanxi’s HP was only half left, and that feeling of extreme weakness washed over her again.

However, what worried her most wasn’t herself, but Du Jiaojiao.

Du Jiaojiao’s HP was down to just 10, teetering on the brink of death. She needed to be saved immediately.

But Jian Tanxi had no reason to leave this place.

Just then, Ou Bao’er spoke up: “I’m so bored. Go find someone to come swim with me.”

Jian Tanxi asked, “Miss Bao’er, who would you like us to find?”

“How stupid! Go find Ding Zelan. When she was at my house, I always had her accompany me.”

“Ding Zelan…”

This was the second time Jian Tanxi had heard that name.

Earlier, Ding Zelan had sent them a lot of healing medicine, but she had passed it through Wang Juanhua, so Jian Tanxi hadn’t actually seen Ding Zelan.

Wang Juanhua also realized that she was the only one among the players who had met Ding Zelan, so she volunteered, “Miss Bao’er, I’ll go find Ding Zelan. Do you know where she lives?”

Ou Bao’er suddenly flared up in anger: “How dare you call her by her name? I can call her Ding Zelan, but you can’t! You should address her as Miss Ding!”

“Yes… Where might Miss Ding be?”

“She lives in the Wutong Courtyard.”

The Ou family’s villa was very large, with many independent courtyards, and Wutong Courtyard was one of them.

The players had been tasked with taking care of Ou Bao’er as soon as they arrived, so they hadn’t visited any of the other courtyards yet.

Still, asking around for directions shouldn’t be too difficult.

Wang Juanhua said, “Alright, Miss Bao’er, I’ll go find Miss Ding right away.”

Jian Tanxi walked over to Wang Juanhua and slipped her a healing pill, whispering, “While you’re at it, look for Du Jiaojiao and give her this healing pill. She’s about to die.”

Wang Juanhua nodded and carefully stored the healing pill.

Not long after, a mechanical voice sounded: “Du Jiaojiao has consumed a healing pill, HP restored to 100. However, the players’ healing pills are running low, hehe… I bet you can only survive another day, or maybe just half a day, hahaha…”

That mechanical voice was truly twisted.

Everyone tacitly ignored it, but they couldn’t help feeling a bit heavy-hearted.

Their HP was dropping far too quickly.

Moreover, the HP setting was utterly bizarre, it was actually tied to rage. If one person got angry, all players suffered. And the players who got hit for no reason would then get angry themselves, creating an endless cycle.

If it weren’t for the fact that Jian Tanxi and the others were relatively good at controlling their emotions, they might have already died.

After a while, Wang Juanhua and Du Jiaojiao arrived together.

Following behind them was a young woman in a green dress. She appeared to be around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, pure and lovely, with a slender figure, though she seemed somewhat melancholic.

She must be Ding Zelan.

What was her identity? Was she a player from a previous batch, or an NPC?

Ou Bao’er spotted Du Jiaojiao and demanded, “Nanny Du, where were you just now? Why didn’t you come back right away?”

Du Jiaojiao was not one to tolerate disrespect, and her first instinct was to snap back. But then she remembered her mission and forced herself to speak patiently, “Miss Bao’er, I was so exhausted earlier that I fainted. I didn’t mean to be absent on purpose.”

“Hmph, fainted? More like you were trying to slack off! A lazy nanny like you needs to be taught a lesson! Someone, come here!”

Two female bodyguards approached and asked, “Miss Bao’er, what’s the matter?”