Chapter 32

Flames licked at the Bloodsucking Grass as Nan Yuan landed steadily inside the enclosed circle.
He was calm and sharp, like a wandering god of death, his blade rising and falling as he reaped clusters of Bloodsucking Grass.
Tao Shushu stared unblinkingly at the screen, ready at any moment to pin down any sneaking Bloodsucking Grass.
The two cooperated seamlessly, and before long, they had cleared out a patch of the grass.
Nan Yuan bent down and listened to the movements underground. "The roots below are still growing."
Tao Shushu jabbed a finger into the ground, digging out a large hole.
Inside the hole, faint green sprouts could be seen emerging, Bloodsucking Grass from outside the isolation zone, finding their way underground when the surface path was blocked.
As someone playing the game, Tao Shushu felt a chill run down her spine. The intelligence of the Bloodsucking Grass colony was indeed quite high.
Nan Yuan quickly collected over a dozen bottles of corrosive mucus and, luckily, found an energy orb on one of the roots.
He thought for a moment. "Let's attack a few more points."
Tao Shushu asked, "Cub, are you trying to confuse the Bloodsucking Grass colony?"
Nan Yuan hummed in agreement.
Tao Shushu immediately thought, as expected, her cub was smarter. Although the Bloodsucking Grass colony had a collective mind, directing their attacks precisely, her cub’s solo assaults from multiple directions would leave the colony unable to pinpoint the enemy’s location. They would have to regroup toward the center, slowing their exploration outward and buying them more time.
Tao Shushu supported Nan Yuan as they repeated the process at five selected points.
By the time they reached the fifth point, the Bloodsucking Grass colony’s attacks had clearly intensified.
The entire patch of grass rustled softly in the night breeze, each blade standing tall with its stem and leaves erect.
Nan Yuan noticed it too. "The Bloodsucking Grass reacts quite quickly."
After just four encounters, the colony had already adjusted its tactics.
"It’s like they’re well-trained soldiers," Tao Shushu marveled.
A sudden idea struck her: if she could raise some Bloodsucking Grass herself for defense, the base would be much safer.
Hearing Shushu’s thoughts, Nan Yuan stopped attacking lethally. "Should I pull out a few plants then?"
Tao Shushu thought for a moment. "No need. Let’s just dig out a small patch from the edge."
The intelligence of the Bloodsucking Grass colony was high, and each blade acted like a detector, gathering and exchanging information while coordinating resources.
But if their numbers decreased, she wasn’t sure if they would remain just as clever.
In the end, Tao Shushu and Nan Yuan went to the edge of the area, selected a patch of land, and dug out an isolation ring.
Nan Yuan took out a small packet of powder. "This is a plant powder I discovered outside a couple of days ago. Wherever this plant grows, other plants refuse to grow nearby."
Nan Yuan sprinkled the powder along the isolation circle to prevent the roots from growing over.
Tao Shushu said, "Let's come back in a couple of days to observe."
Nan Yuan smiled. "Okay."
Seeing the cub happy, Tao Shushu felt her own mood lift. She ruffled his hair. "Cub, are you happy now?"
Nan Yuan nodded.
Tao Shushu said softly, "No matter how many challenges lie ahead, I’ll face them with you."
Nan Yuan whispered, "Thank you, Shushu."
After spending some exciting time outside with the cub, Tao Shushu felt much better.
She had studied intensely all day, attended physics competition training in the evening, and practiced spoken English, leaving her somewhat exhausted.
But after playing with the cub for a while, her mind seemed less weary.
Refreshed and energized, Tao Shushu took out her notebook and began another round of late-night studying.

The next morning happened to be the English self-study session.
Tao Shushu circled a few sentence structures she was unsure about, planning to ask the teacher.
She arrived at the classroom quite early, with only a few others present.
Li Anyu clicked her tongue in amazement. "Shushu, you’ve been so diligent lately, it’s not like the old you."
"Really?" Tao Shushu asked without looking up, writing vocabulary words on her paper.
Li Anyu said, "You used to arrive at school just in time, but lately, you’ve been coming early, and you’re in such a good mood in the mornings."
Tao Shushu thought to herself, It’s all because I get to see the cub as soon as I wake up. I want to study hard and earn gold coins to improve their life, so I’m full of motivation.
"Shushu, since you’re working so hard lately, I want to study more too. Help me out," Li Anyu said.
"Sure, then stop playing on your phone, especially during class," Tao Shushu glanced at her friend.
Li Anyu reluctantly handed her phone over to Tao Shushu.
As Tao Shushu took it, the phone vibrated, a message from the gossip group Li Anyu had joined: Wang Tianba’s grandfather has returned to Yancheng.
Hearing the vibration, Li Anyu peeked at the message and asked worriedly, "Old Master Wang is very protective. Has Wang Tianba been bothering you lately?"
Tao Shushu wasn’t too concerned. "I’ve made some preparations."
"But he has influence. I’m afraid if he can’t target you directly, he might interfere with your family’s business," Li Anyu said.
Old Master Wang had quite a network in Yancheng’s political circles.
Tao Shushu replied, "Don’t worry, I’ve foreseen it and already prepared."
Even so, Tao Shushu was concerned her parents might be affected. In her past life, Old Master Wang had been very friendly with the female lead, Su Momo, due to antiques, and Su Momo had used that influence to suppress many people.
After school at noon, Tao Shushu went to a high-end internet cafe and quickly drafted several sensationalist articles.
She published them all online.
[System, push these information streams to Old Master Wang. You can do that, right?] Tao Shushu said.
The system yielded. [I can.]
Tao Shushu erased all traces, ensuring no one could trace it back to her.
On her way back to school, a car sped past her, and an empty bottle fell out, nearly hitting her.
Tao Shushu looked up to see the car screech to a halt at the gate.
Wang Tianba got out, carrying Su Momo’s backpack, and walked around to the other side to open the car door.
Through the open door, Su Momo shot Tao Shushu a disdainful glare.
Tao Shushu passed by a few meters away and inconspicuously kicked a pebble the size of a grain of rice.
Su Momo was gracefully stepping out of the car, holding the hem of her skirt, when she suddenly stumbled and nearly lost her balance.
Fortunately, Wang Tianba swiftly reached out and caught her in his arms.
Su Momo trembled, too startled to care about being held by Wang Tianba, and said in a shaky voice, "I, something just scurried under my foot."
Wang Tianba looked puzzled. "There's nothing there."
Several students turned to look in their direction.
Only then did Su Momo realize she was still in Wang Tianba's embrace. Just as she was about to push him away, a group of students walked by carrying robot models.
One of the boys remarked, "Wow, club president, I told you early dating is getting really common these days."
Su Momo's face flushed bright red, and she pushed Wang Tianba away.
Wang Tianba, however, looked delighted.
After a moment of silence, Su Momo suddenly looked up and glared at Tao Shushu. "It was you. You deliberately tried to make me trip."
Tao Shushu shrugged, held up a bottle, and rushed toward the teacher who was coming over to maintain order. "Teacher, someone in this car threw trash out the window."
Su Momo, who had been about to confront Tao Shushu, was left speechless.
Tao Shushu blinked innocently. "Classmate, you accuse me of plotting against you, but I could say you threw something out of a moving car trying to hit me. We can check the surveillance footage."
Because of the earlier embrace, both Su Momo and Wang Tianba were taken away by the teacher.
Tao Shushu, on the other hand, received a few words of praise from the teacher.
Back in the classroom, Tao Shushu's expression shifted.
Su Momo must have consulted her system and figured out that Tao Shushu had intentionally kicked the pebble.
However, Tao Shushu had simply been walking normally, and the stone she kicked was so small it wouldn't raise suspicion on camera. In contrast, Su Momo's action of throwing the bottle was far more noticeable.
Tao Shushu shook her head, pulled out her test papers, and focused on studying.
Meanwhile, the scene at the entrance had already blown up on the school forum.
After just one class, Li Anyu rushed over. "Shushu, give me your phone. I have to check out the gossip."
Li Anyu took the phone and began reading aloud as she scrolled. "There's a photo of Su Momo and Wang Tianba hugging."
Tao Shushu leaned in to look as well. Some student had captured the moment, and the shot was surprisingly good. Wang Tianba might not be much of a person, but he was quite tall.
Su Momo, frightened, looked delicate and pitiful.
They actually seemed like a perfect, doting couple.
The discussion thread hadn't gained much traction initially, but then Wang Tianba himself replied with a comment: "Got a problem with that?"
This statement was interpreted as a declaration of sovereignty.
Tao Shushu chuckled to herself, it seemed Su Momo was going to be quite busy lately.
Indeed, Su Momo wasn’t in a good situation.
Wang Tianba was still playing on his phone in the faculty office, acting arrogantly. Given his background, the teachers didn’t bother to discipline him much.
But Su Momo was reprimanded a few times. Although the teacher spoke tactfully, Su Momo’s face burned with embarrassment.
She couldn’t help but glare at Wang Tianba, only to have the awkward scene witnessed by Shen Yichen, the president of the Robotics Club.
What would Shen Yichen think of her now? Would he assume she was dating Wang Tianba and start keeping his distance?
In Su Momo’s plan, she was supposed to join the Robotics Club and win over Shen Yichen, her "target." But because of today’s incident, the difficulty level had just increased.
Wang Tianba, however, misinterpreted Su Momo’s glare as a plea for help. He stood up and shielded her, saying, "It’s just a bottle, it didn’t hurt anyone. Teacher, aren’t you overreacting?"
The teacher was instantly infuriated.
"Fine, fine! Since you two are dating and littering so recklessly... then I’m punishing both of you to clean the schoolyard for a week. Do it yourselves, no hiring others!" The teacher stormed off to find the principal.
Wang Tianba comforted Su Momo, "Don’t worry, Momo. It’s just sweeping. After we’re done, I’ll walk you home."
Su Momo felt her vision darken.
As if that weren’t enough, Su Momo suddenly received a call from Old Master Wang.
At noon, they had chatted happily, and Old Master Wang had even considered her a close friend despite their age difference.
Receiving a call at this hour made Su Momo’s heart skip a beat.
Clenching her hand, she answered the phone.
"Su Momo, did your grandmother leave you a jade pendant? Did you sell it to a foreign tycoon?" Old Master Wang’s tone was sharp and unfriendly.
Su Momo froze, how did he know?
"No, I..." Before she could finish explaining, the call ended abruptly.
Wang Tianba picked up his phone, listened for a moment, and looked utterly confused. "Momo, my grandfather told me to keep an eye on you and not let you run off."

Author’s Note:
Moving the plot along.