"Zhou Ruiyang, don’t you dare run away!"

The brown-haired girl shouted, but Zhou Ruiyang ignored her completely, vanishing around the corridor corner in a flash.

Watching the boy’s retreating back without so much as a glance, Mujin frowned slightly.

Three days had passed since the System assigned her gratitude-repayment quest.

And in those three days, she hadn’t earned a single reward!

She’d even risked exposure by reappearing as Yewanmu just for the reward. But when she lifted her skirt while Zhou Ruiyang was alone? Nothing. Zero System notification.

This was baffling. Wasn’t showing some skin supposed to trigger the reward?

Could it be… white undies didn’t count as a "benefit"?

For three days, Mujin had used her daily transformation time to chase Zhou Ruiyang relentlessly. Yet every attempt failed. Now, he’d bolt at the mere sight of her.

Dejected, she slipped into the restroom, shifted back into a sparrow, and flew listlessly toward the dorm.

[Sudden Quest: ‘Kindred Spirits’]

[A sparrow below is in mortal danger. Rescue it immediately.]

[Success Reward: 0.5% Progress Bar + Special Skill ‘Avian Tongue’]

Mujin glanced down. In the bushes, a sparrow pecked for food—unaware a black cat crept behind it like a stalking tiger, muscles coiled to pounce.

Just as the cat lunged, a shadow plummeted from the sky, landing squarely before it.

"*Meee-YOW!*" The cat arched its back, leaping backward in fright. Only then did it see—a sparrow?

The foraging sparrow shot skyward, trembling on a tree branch.

[Quest Complete. Reward: 0.5% Progress Bar + ‘Avian Tongue’ Skill Unlocked.]

Mujin would’ve done this anyway—saving kin mattered. But honestly? Free progress was free progress. With her transformation ability, she could always shift human and scare off any revenge-seeking cat.

As she turned to leave, the black cat hissed, "*Hssss!*"—furious.

Mujin shot it a dismissive glance, then paused. A trace of surprise flickered in her eyes.

From her tiny perspective, the snarling cat looked like a mountain-sized beast—just like the tigers she’d seen at the zoo as a child.

*Huh. Cats are cute from afar… but up close? Terrifying.*

No worries though. She was basically a mini Ultraman now. *What perks come with transforming?* she hummed a silly tune in her head. *Wrong answer—no magic fertilizer!*

She readied her mental chant—*Three… two…*—when heavy footsteps crunched nearby.

Mujin froze. People were walking past the bushes!

This patch of grass was too shallow. Transforming here would be like a person sprouting from weeds. Total exposure!

"*Mrowr!*"

The black cat pounced.

Claws grazed her beak before she could react.

**Emergency Enhancement.**

The cat’s vicious snarl twisted into shock mid-lunge.

This sparrow hadn’t fled. Instead, it gripped the cat’s neck with both wings and hoisted it into the air.

The cat thrashed wildly—but an unfathomable force locked it in place.

*Get lost!*

Mujin hurled it five meters away with a mighty wing-flap.

Even with just a girl’s strength, a cat was no match. Her sparrow-form reflexes tracked every twitch, every lunge.

"...new restaurant near the front gate—"

"*Whoa! What the hell was that?!*"

A black blur sailed from the bushes, crashing at pedestrians’ feet. The cat scrambled up, fleeing like a scalded rat into distant grass.

*Pfft. Think you’re tough ‘cause you’re a cat?* Mujin puffed her chest. *My big bro the sparrowhawk couldn’t eat me—I’d make you my sidekick!*

She spread her wings proudly—then froze. The rescued sparrow hopped down, chirping gratefully: "*Chirp-chirp-chirp!*"

Mujin’s eyes widened. The words didn’t translate to Chinese… but she *understood*.

She really had bird language now?!

She flicked her wings, playing it cool: "*Chirp-chirp-chirp! Chirp-chirp-chirp!*"

*No big deal. Just doing my part.*

With a leap, she soared into the sky—leaving the sparrow gazing starry-eyed from the grass.

······

Night in Dorm 302 was peaceful.

Mujin, perched on Zhou Ruiyang’s shoulder, still puzzled over the "benefit" requirement.

*Could it be… only my human form counts?*

She still had her transformation time-extension card unused…

After weighing it, she shook her head.

A girl appearing in a boys’ dorm at this hour? Too suspicious. One slip exposing her identity, and all progress would reset. This gratitude quest was a double-edged sword—master it, or get cut.

Around her, the dorm hummed with routine:

Zhou Ruiyang typed at his computer; Hao Ren scrolled anime memes on his phone; Meng Xianyong chugged protein shake post-workout, booting up a game.

Zhou Ruiyang cherished this easygoing dorm life—no suffocating exam-cramming or cutthroat competition like other rooms.

Then—

"*Bzzzzzz…*"

Hao Ren’s smile vanished. "*Dude! Mosquitoes in October?!*"

"*It’s barely October. Normal,*" Meng Xianyong shrugged.

"*Then close the window, Bro Yong!*"

"*It’s sweltering! And think: open window, they *might* leave. Closed window? We’re running a free buffet.*"

"*Are you kidding? Who leaves a free buffet hungry?! They’ll colonize us! And we have mosquito coils—light one!*"

Meng Xianyong sighed. "*Remember Dafei from next dorm? He borrowed ‘smokes’ from us last week…*"

"*What’s that got to do—*"

"*Turns out he smoked our entire coil pack.*"

"*He smoked MOSQUITO COILS?!*"

"*Addiction, man. Relatable.*"

"*So we’re human sushi platters tonight?!*"

"*Respect. Only a true otaku thinks of that niche,*" Meng Xianyong muttered.

Perched on Zhou Ruiyang’s shoulder, Mujin uncurled from her sleepy ball.

*Mosquitoes?!*

Her sparrow eyes scanned the room. In her pink-tinted vision, a mosquito hovered—then landed on Hao Ren’s neck.

Like a bullet, Mujin launched from Zhou Ruiyang’s shoulder.

"*YIPE!*" Hao Ren yelped as something pecked his neck. "*Ruiyang! Control your bird!*"

Zhou Ruiyang blinked—first at his lap, then at Hao Ren. Realization dawned. "*Oh. That* bird."

"*Chirp?*" he asked Mujin. "*What’s wrong?*"

Mujin couldn’t speak. She simply lifted her beak, displaying the mosquito like a trophy.

"*Ah. She’s hunting mosquitoes,*" Zhou Ruiyang explained.

"*She hunts mosquitoes?!*" Hao Ren held out his hand. Mujin hopped on. "*Holy crap, Ruiyang—you bought a treasure! Hunt them all! Wipe out every mosquito in this dorm!*"

"*Chirp!*"

Mujin took flight, entering extermination mode.

Humans lose mosquitoes mid-chase—their eyes can’t track sudden direction changes. Like a blurry camera shot.

But to Mujin? Mosquitoes glowed like neon signs in her avian vision.

She’d always hated mosquitoes. Now? They were both enemies *and* snacks. Two birds, one stone.

"*Chirp!*"

"*A-CHOO!*"

"*A-CHIRP-CHOO!*"

Within minutes, Mujin cleared the room.

"*I thought mosquito coils were unbeatable,*" Meng Xianyong breathed. "*Whose legendary general is this?!*"

Mujin landed on Zhou Ruiyang’s palm, chest puffed with pride.

Then—the System’s voice, long silent:

[Daily Quest Complete: Benefit Distributed. Reward: 1% Progress Bar.]