NOVEL NEXT Ch. 24
Chapter 24: Shameful! But the Reward Was Just Too Tempting!
Library, reading room.
Mophis stared at that glaring line of text on the light screen—“Underwear Set.” Then she looked at the forum where the players were already going wild, and felt her temples throbbing.
The way things had developed had gone completely beyond her expectations.
She had originally intended to use a method of “public execution” to curb the players’ increasingly perverse enthusiasm, to make them learn some restraint.
But the thickness of these LSPs’ skin was clearly beyond her imagination.
Not only did they not feel any shame, they instead treated it as a sort of “officially certified” honor. Every one of them looked immensely proud, as if only a step away from carving “I am a pervert and I am proud” right on their foreheads.
“These people… are hopeless.”
Mophis covered her face and let out a powerless groan.
Now, the eyes of the entire server were fixed on her “judgment.”
Reject?
She had no doubt that if she dared to click that 【Reject】 button, the group under 【Data Emperor】 could, within minutes, churn out a hundred-thousand-word analysis paper. They would “prove” that “behind Wife’s rejection lay hidden meaning,” that “she was testing our determination,” or “she was hinting that our offering wasn’t perfect enough.”
By then, the players would only grow even more frenzied. For all she knew, next time they might directly send her a lace set from the 【Liberation】 series—and at that point, she really would die on the spot.
So, rejecting was absolutely impossible.
That left only one option—【Accept】.
“Hmph, you want me to accept? Not so easy.”
A sly glint flashed in Mophis’s eyes.
Since they treated this as a “game,” then she would play along properly.
She thought back to the 【Moonlight Grass】 she had been gnawing on for the sake of her health. That stuff had some effect, but ultimately, it was the lowest-grade recovery item. Eat too much of it, and it was no different from chewing grass.
The truly effective, top-tier rare treasures that could improve her frail body’s constitution were either in the hands of the major guilds, or guarded by powerful world bosses—completely beyond the reach of a helpless Librarian like her.
But now, she had the strongest “tools” in the entire server—【Mophis Wife Knights】.
These players dared to take on world bosses for her sake. What couldn’t they do?
A perfect plan of “knocking a bamboo stick” took shape in her mind.
She was going to use this “approval” to issue herself a “bounty quest”!
She immediately sank into concentration and began modifying the backend code of the “approval list.”
That feature was automatically generated by the system based on the rules of her “Royal Letter,” but the core permissions were still in her hands.
She swiftly added a new line of logic: when she clicked the 【Accept】 button, the system would not immediately complete the approval. Instead, it would pop up a new window, allowing her to input “acceptance conditions.”
Only when the gift-giver fulfilled those conditions would the gift truly be delivered to her.
After completing everything, Mophis nodded in satisfaction.
“You perverts—now I’ll make you pay the price for your own perversion!”
She drew in a deep breath, and then, under the eyes of the entire server, decisively clicked the 【Accept】 button on the glowing screen.
……
Outside the library.
The moment players saw that 【Accept】 button light up in golden brilliance, the plaza erupted in an earth-shaking cheer!
“She accepted! Wife accepted it!”
“Ahhhhh! I’m dead! I could die happy now!”
【LaceSupremacy】 and her friends hugged each other tightly, crying tears of joy in excitement.
Their efforts, their love, had received Wife’s most direct response! What greater honor could there be?
However, their cheers had barely lasted three seconds before the content on the light screen changed again.
The line 【‘Pure Guard’ Series Underwear Set】 did not, as they imagined, enter the “Approved” list.
Instead, right after it appeared a whole new set of words, marked in blood-red font.
【Acceptance Conditions】
【- Please present ‘Dew of the Fountain of Life’ x10 drops.】
【- Please present ‘Blessings of the Lightwing Elves’ x3 portions.】
【- Please present ‘Tear of the Morningstar Dragon’ x1 piece.】
【(Only when the above conditions are fully met will this offering be completed.)】
The moment those few lines of blood-red text appeared, the entire plaza fell into a deathly silence.
All cheers were strangled mid-throat, as if by an invisible hand.
“Th-the… Dew of the Fountain of Life? Isn’t that the exclusive drop of the level 60 world boss, 【Mother of the Forest】? And with an abysmal drop rate at that!”
“The Blessings of the Lightwing Elves… damn, that requires going to the elven holy land, the deepest part of the 【Moon Whisper Forest】, and completing an insanely twisted chain quest to get! I heard even the elite team from 【Immortal-Demon Residence】 got wiped multiple times trying it!”
“The T-t-tear of the Morningstar Dragon… does that thing even exist? I’ve only ever seen it in the lore of the game’s backstory! Supposedly, it was a single tear shed by the Creation Dragon God, capable of reviving the dead and regenerating flesh and bone! This… this is practically a divine artifact!”
One knowledgeable player explained, voice trembling, about the origins of these items.
After hearing him, everyone sucked in a cold breath.
This… this wasn’t “acceptance conditions.”
This was blatant extortion!
For… for a set of underwear, they had to pay so many legendary, even artifact-level materials?
Was this underwear made of gold, or diamonds?
Just as some players started thinking it all a bit too absurd, 【Data Emperor】’s “god-tier interpretation” once again arrived, not early but never late.
【Urgent Analysis! This is not extortion. This is Wife’s cry for help!】
“Everyone! You’re still hung up on the value of these materials? Can’t you broaden your perspective a little?”
“Look closely at the properties of these items! 【Dew of the Fountain of Life】—restores vitality! 【Blessings of the Lightwing Elves】—purifies the soul! 【Tear of the Morningstar Dragon】—rebuilds one’s very foundation!”
“What does that mean? It means Wife’s body is even weaker than we imagined! The official lore says she ‘feeds eternally on loneliness’—that’s not just a metaphor! She’s genuinely been in a state of long-term malnutrition and spiritual exhaustion!”
“She isn’t extorting us! This is her way of crying out for help! She’s telling us she needs these things to survive!”
“That underwear set? It doesn’t matter at all! It’s just a ‘key’—a trigger for her to send out this plea for help! She knew we’d do anything for her, so she used this method to reveal her deepest longing to us!”
“Why doesn’t she just say it outright? Because she’s a proud noble! She cannot cast away her dignity! So she can only cover up her fragility through this kind of ‘trade’! What kind of forbearance is this—what kind of heart-wrenching tenderness?!”
These words, like a thunderclap, woke all the players who were still weighing pros and cons.
That’s right!
How could they measure Wife’s health with money?
She was already so frail, and they were still thinking about underwear?
“Uuugh… I was wrong, I actually wondered if the underwear was worth it… I deserve death!”
“Wife… she really… I’m crying myself to death… She would rather ‘trade’ in this way than directly ask us for help. She’s too heartbreaking!”
“LSPs! No—Knights! Our true mission has arrived! Saving Wife’s health is our most sacred task!”
In an instant, every player’s love and pity surged to the extreme.
That momentary hesitation caused by the “sky-high price” of the materials vanished like smoke.
In its place was an even stronger, more fervent resolve.
“Brothers! What are you still standing around for!”
【LaceSupremacy】 was the first to react. She wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes and raised her voice in the Knights’ channel:
“This is no longer just a mission for our 【Underwear Research Division】 alone! This is the mission of our entire Knights!”
“For Wife’s health! To let her drink a drop of that 【Dew of the Fountain of Life】! We must take action!”
“Money! Our division will provide it! We are willing to spend all of our guild’s funds! We only ask for the great ones of the Combat Division to help us, help Wife, obtain these materials!”
Her words lit the final fuse.