Chapter 54: Spirits

[Queen of Chess: What do you mean you can't kill anything? Didn't you choose your base ability already? You have to whip them with your Water Whip.]

Zhenzhen felt like crying when she read the suggestion and looked up at the cute flying Wisps. How was she supposed to kill them? They deserve to live too!

[Little Bunny: I can't… They are too cute… Can I kill them with my love instead?] 

[Queen of Chess: No.]

The short answer killed Zhenzhen's spirit. She didn't expect the game would be so realistic and required her to kill. She even failed the tutorial since the weakest opponent she had to kill was a cute white rabbit. No one told her it would be so hard!

She sat down pitifully on a boulder and gazed at the other players fighting the poor animals.

"So cruel…" Zhenzhen muttered when she received another message. 

[Queen of Chess: How about you join other players and form a party? You can leech some of their experience until you get over your fear. Fighting is not as scary as you think.] 

Oh!

Zhenzhen exclaimed and swiftly looked around in search of anyone who wasn't busy. Coincidentally, a group of four male players walked out of the Newbie Village. 

[Little Bunny: I found some! Wish me luck!] 

She closed the virtual window and skipped in front of them in a ladylike manner. "Excuse me~" 

She fixed her long brown hair off her forehead before brushing it innocently against her chest. All she had was a simple white dress that provided her with no protection at all. At the same time though, it made her look cuter and purer.

"Whoa… So pretty..." The male players reacted accordingly, taken aback by her beauty. "It's the first time I see a female player in a dress. Did you get it from the tutorial?"

"Mhmm, I had it from the beginning," Zhenzhen nodded shyly and asked, "Would you mind helping me, please?"

She smiled brightly while blinking with expectations. She looked different from real life but her actions and character didn't change in the slightest. Her skin was tan and her facial features sharper. Despite trying to look more badass though, Zhenzhen couldn't get rid of her innocent smile. 

"Of course we will help. What do you need?" the leading man nodded eagerly as they approached her. 

"Would you mind if I joined your party? I'm still new and don't know how to play games," Zhenzhen asked straightforwardly. "What do you think?"

The four men froze on the spot and looked at her level after exchanging glances. 

[Little Bunny - Lvl 1] 

[HP: 10/10]

[MP: 10/10]

"Ehem… We are all level 7. Do you think you can handle monsters at that level…?" the leader asked awkwardly while scratching his head. "Did you even spend any points on your Intelligence? Your Mana didn't increase at all."

"Oh, I won't fight. I will just stand on the side and cheer you on while I leech experience," Zhenzhen admitted honestly. "I don't think I can kill anything in this game."

"..." The four men looked at her speechlessly. "So you don't plan to contribute to the battle at all?"

"Nope," Zhenzhen shook her and smiled while waiting for their response. 

"Errr…" the leader hesitated before sighing, "I am sorry but we are four friends and the party has only four spots… If there were just three of us we would definitely help you out…"

"Oh…" Zhenzhen raised her eyebrows in surprise. "So your party is full then… Don't worry, I will somehow manage. I will just..." 

She looked back at the boulder and patted it with a smile. "I will just sit here and wait. A lot of people pass this way so I will eventually find a kind soul that can help me." 

Zhenzhen bowed politely and sat down while cheering them sweetly, "Please, have a good hunting day~ You can do it!" 

The four blushed immediately as they couldn't move from the spot. 

"Ehem, can't you just start by farming from low leveled monsters?" the party leader advised. "They are really harmless and even if you never played games, you should handle them."

As if to show how to do it, he created three Ice Projectiles and shot them at the nearby Wisp. It turned red before dying immediately but Zhenzhen swiftly shook her head while averting her eyes. 

"I can't…" Zhenzhen muttered with puppy eyes, causing all four to sigh. How was she supposed to play this game if she couldn't even kill the wisps?

"How about those bunnies? They won't even attack you and will run instead."

When Zhenzhen followed his gaze and her eyes widened. 

"Nooo! You can't kill them!" Zhenzhen called out sternly and rushed to the little rabbit. "Look how cute it is!"

Zhenzhen carried the white rabbit back to them and hugged it cutely, "Isn't it pretty? I think I will keep it."

Little Bunny carrying a little bunny was too much for the young boys' heartstrings and they couldn't help but melt. 

"Anyway, you all should get going. Don't worry about me," Zhenzhen assured while sitting back down. "I already held you back long enough. You are right not to accept me. I would only be a burden for you." 

She smiled while crossing her graceful legs and patted her new pet. "Experts like you wouldn't want to bother with a newbie like me. I understand. Don't feel bad and just go. I will ask someone else."

The four remained still even after her assuring words and suddenly the party leader decided for them all, "I guess we can make an exception for you…"

"Oh, didn't you say that you only have 4 spots?" Zhenzhen questioned confused. "I don't want you to split for me… I would feel bad."

"No, no, don't worry, we can just rotate to even out the experience," the party leader assured while elbowing his friends. "We are so efficient that you will catch up to us in no time, right?"

"Cough, that's right, you are not a burden at all," his buddies confirmed after clearing their throat. A normal person would get the hint he was trying to make but Zhenzhen thought he was just shy. 

"That's awesome! Thank you!" Zhenzhen exclaimed happily. "You are so kind. I will make sure to tell my big brother to reward you later. He is quite an expert himself."

"Oh, what's his level?" the party leader asked casually as he sent the invite. They didn't seem to care much until Zhenzhen's next words. 

"I am not sure but he is already on the mainland with my big sis. I am supposed to join them later," Zhenzhen muttered after thinking. "Talking about my big sis though, her Elite Guild is going to be famous in the future. I will tell her to invite you as a thank you for help."

The guys looked at each other with their eyes shining. 

"Anyway, let's go," the party leader continued the advance but then they saw Zhenzhen carry the rabbit along with them. "Are you going to carry this rabbit the whole time?"

"Yes, it's my friend now," Zhenzhen nodded eagerly as she let the bunny bury his nose in her chest. "Hehe, I think he is feeling comfy."

"Yeah… What a lucky rabbit…" 

The Newbie Village was friendly to new players so even if Zhenzhen didn't contribute anything, she would still receive 50% of the experience. It wouldn't work the same in the Mainland but she wasn't aiming to be a pro player. 

Leveling up without killing a single monster in a game focused on killing? Only Zhenzhen would take that route.

"Aww… It has fallen asleep. So cute," Zhenzhen muttered on the way and gently kissed the rabbit on the head. "Don't worry… I will protect you." 

She had no idea but at the moment of her kiss, the rabbit's spirit left its body and floated around while observing her. After a moment, it flew towards the nearby tree branch and sat down while tapping with its fluffy ears. It was soon joined by another, this time a spirit of a blue bird. 

It flew around the rabbit in confusion only to be led towards Zhenzhen who was casually leeching experience from her party. She looked pained to watch the bloody killing so she simply averted her eyes and busied herself with the sleeping rabbit. 

The two spirits seemed to be conversing with each other with various sounds before splitting apart with the rabbit returning back to his own body. The bird stayed around for a short moment before sinking into a tree. 

It only appeared after a few minutes in another part of the game world. It flew towards a blond woman under a sky-blue cloak and landed on top of her finger. 

Chirp! 

"Huh? You found someone with potential?" Katherine questioned in surprise and disappeared on the spot. 

When they appeared again, she was hovering above Zhenzhen and her eyes immediately widened. 

"Not only Liu Ye but also his little sister… Gosh, this family has good genes…" Katherine muttered before rubbing the bird's head. "You can do whatever you wish. From what I investigated, she is a good girl. You can observe her further if—"

She wasn't able to finish as the bird flew away and landed on Zhenzhen's shoulder. Katherine couldn't help but give Zhenzhen another look, never seeing the spirits so excited. 

"Did those two have any benders in the family…?"