Chapter 25: The Law of the Dark Forest

At the entrance to the Pet Paradise, Ye Luo and Lin An came across Luo Yaonan and his two companions, who were still visibly shaken.

“Boss! Brother Lin!” Luo Yaonan’s eyes lit up as he hurried over. “Are you all right?”

He glanced around, a note of surprise in his voice. “Where’s Sister Huo?”

Ye Luo pressed her lips together, offering no reply. Lin An’s face betrayed a sorrow he could not conceal.

The three men froze, their expressions dimming in an instant. In a place like this, when someone vanished, what other explanation could there be?

No one pressed further, a silent agreement passing among them.

Su Xiao spoke quietly, “We nearly got into trouble just now too. But then, that giant frog in the square suddenly appeared. With an axe, it smashed the entire venue to pieces. Luckily, our time was up, so we hurried out.”

“That frog is really something,” Luo Yaonan added, still rattled. “As we ran out, we saw it chasing those staff members in green uniforms. Did you know? The staff in green—turns out, they’re frogs in disguise. That giant frog was gobbling them up one after another, like it couldn’t get enough.”

Noticing that Ye Luo and Lin An showed no surprise, Luo Yaonan scratched his head awkwardly. “Boss, you must’ve figured it out long ago.”

Ye Luo answered calmly, “I only confirmed it for certain before heading to the last venue.”

She had tested the green-uniformed staff several times, noticing a subtle but distinct difference in how they treated her and Lin An compared to others.

It seemed they particularly despised the two of them.

At that time, she and Su Xiao had attacked simultaneously. Though her own attack was just a tentative probe, the staff member seemed terrified of being touched by her, dodging from afar—yet willingly caught Su Xiao’s punch with his hands.

That was when Ye Luo realized something more: the green-uniformed staff didn’t just dislike her—they feared her.

Yet under the current circumstances, she herself posed little threat to the staff.

Unless… what they feared was not her, but what stood behind her.

And behind her, apart from the Frog Prince, there was nothing else.

Ye Luo realized then that perhaps the Frog Prince was not confined to the square. Otherwise, the green-uniformed staff would not be so wary of her.

So then, how could she summon the Frog Prince here?

The phrase flashed once more through Ye Luo’s mind: Dark Forest.

In their world, the concept of the dark forest came from a science fiction novel.

The novel posited: if there were a dark forest, with a million hunters inside, and one hunter gave away their position in the darkness, the others would likely fire a shot at that spot—just to be sure.

On a grander scale, the entire universe was like that dark forest. A civilization that revealed its coordinates might well suffer annihilation at the hands of a more advanced one.

Thus, every civilization had to hide itself.

It was only a novel, originally.

But Ye Luo realized that, in this scenario, this might be a hidden rule.

Summing up the rule, it might be stated thus:

Rule Four: In this scenario, any creature marked by light will have its coordinates exposed, and is highly likely to be attacked by others.

Those three giant monkeys she had illuminated with her flashlight had died because of this rule.

Of course, if that were all, the flashlight would seem too powerful a tool.

Ye Luo figured that as the flashlight’s user, she must also bear some cost for wielding it.

But what would that cost be? She did not know—yet.

“Does anyone have a flashlight as their item?” Ye Luo asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

So she said no more, merely warning: “If anyone ever gets a flashlight, remember—avoid its beam.”

Every animal marked by the flashlight had come to a bad end.

Ye Luo still didn’t know what would happen if a human were marked. But it couldn’t be good.

Her thoughts wandered, leaving her companions confused—but they obediently nodded.

The giant frog was still rampaging through the Pet Paradise.

Ye Luo glanced back once and said, “Let’s go—back to the square.”

The giant frog was fast; by the time they returned to the square, it would likely have come back as well.

Ten minutes later, Ye Luo and the others arrived at the square, just as the giant frog was already there, dancing gaily with one of the guests.

Watching the comically clumsy frog on stage, Ye Luo and Lin An remained unfazed.

But Luo Yaonan, Chen Ziqian, and Su Xiao were swept up in the fervor of the cheering crowd.

Lin An glanced at his companions, who were shouting “Long live Lord Frog!” and felt his scalp tingle.

Clearly, the three had already danced with the frog before; now, upon returning to the square, they were instantly caught up in the same ecstatic mood.

Had he not clung to the “boss’s” side early on, he would probably be just like them.

After a round of dancing, the giant frog was in even higher spirits. Ignoring the line of guests, it grinned at Ye Luo: “You—come up here.”

“Yes,” Ye Luo replied coolly, stepping up onto the stage.

The frog’s delight was plain to see. “You’re good. After all these years, this is my first time feeling such joy. Now, tell me—what reward do you want?”

“A reward?” Ye Luo arched her brow. “Could I ask to pass the scenario directly?”

The giant frog chuckled, speaking with a mysterious air. “It’s not impossible. But I advise against it.”

Ye Luo frowned. Advise against passing directly? Why?

The frog’s toothy smile broadened. “Since you’ve helped me out so much, I’ll share a little secret for free. Scenario completions aren’t all the same. You’re in a beginner scenario—the highest clearance rating is S, which is a perfect pass. Then there’s A, then B, C, and the lowest, D. Of all the people I’ve seen, only three have ever earned S in a beginner scenario. Of those, one fell, but the other two became truly formidable. S is probably out of reach for you, but you might aim for A. The higher your rating, the stronger the abilities you can draw afterward.”

Ye Luo’s eyes narrowed slightly. The giant frog had indeed given her a crucial piece of information: passes were graded.

Aim for A, then?

She narrowed her eyes further and asked directly, “What are the requirements for an S rating?”

The frog’s bulging eyes darted to the empty space behind her. “You’ve already used the flashlight three times. A perfect pass is nearly impossible.”

“Nearly?” Ye Luo seized on that word.

Nearly. That meant there was still hope.

The frog’s grin grew wider. “You know, I absolutely despise those little frogs. But by the rules, unless I have their coordinates, I can’t go after them myself. Today, thanks to you, I got to unleash a bit of wrath. But the frogs in Pet Paradise are just a handful. If you can find their true lair and let me wipe them out, I’ll guarantee you an S rating.”

“Ding! Task invitation received: Find the little frogs’ stronghold and help wipe them out. Completing this task will earn you an S rating for the scenario.

Accept and complete the task: S rating.
Accept but fail: final rating drops by one level.
Decline: no effect.”

Ye Luo accepted the task without hesitation.