Chapter 31
Happy Kindergarten
Three days passed slowly as Shi Mo waited, almost doing nothing. Finally, on the morning of the fourth day, news came from Lin Chen—new fluctuations in the instance had been detected.
"It's an F-rank instance," Bai Xu said to Shi Mo through the communicator, his tone somewhat subtle, "'Happy Kindergarten'. Are you... interested?" He asked hesitantly, after all, sending someone who was suspected of being able to dismantle an A-rank instance to an F-rank one felt like using an anti-aircraft gun to kill a mosquito.
Shi Mo was idly tapping the table with his fingers when he heard this, and he paused. "F-rank?" He repeated, his tone revealing neither disappointment nor anything else.
[Host! F-rank is fine too! Every little bit helps!] The system quickly urged in his mind, [Something is better than nothing! And there are rewards for clearing the level!]
"Hmm." Shi Mo responded calmly into the communicator, "Something is better than nothing. I'll go."
Bai Xu seemed relieved, yet also more worried: "Alright, get ready. We'll be teleporting in half an hour. The rules should be simple, but don't be careless."
After hanging up the communication, Shi Mo asked in his mind, "System, what are the usual rewards for completing this F-rank dungeon?"
[Host, the basic rewards for clearing dungeons are mainly attribute points!] The system immediately retrieved the data: [Clearing an F-rank dungeon guarantees 2 attribute points, E-rank 5 points, D-rank 9 points, C-rank 14 points, B-rank 20 points, A-rank 27 points, and S-rank and above offer even more generous rewards, but the specific values vary. In addition, you may receive extra items or resources based on your mission completion rate and performance.]
"2 o'clock..." Shi Mo calculated it. The efficiency was indeed very low, but as he said, something was better than nothing. Little by little, it was better than just waiting around.
Half an hour later, the familiar gray mist enveloped Shi Mo. He was teleported along with nine other contestants. This time, the proportion of newcomers seemed higher, their faces filled with panic and confusion.
They appeared in a brightly colored, whimsically decorated kindergarten activity room. The walls were covered with cartoon animal stickers, and building blocks and plush toys were piled up in the corners, but there was a faint, strange smell in the air, like a mixture of crayons and disinfectant.
A cold, robotic voice broadcast:
Welcome to Happy Kindergarten, new teachers!
Please strictly adhere to the following staff guidelines to ensure the safety and happiness of the children:
Rule 1: Always be patient and smile; children need loving care.
Rule Two: Fulfill all reasonable requests from children.
Rule 3: Ensure all children are asleep quietly during nap time (12:00-14:00).
Rule 4: The child must be handed over to the parent at 4 PM sharp, and the parent's identity must be verified.
[Rule 5: Staff must remain in their assigned faculty and staff dormitories at night (6:00 PM to 8:00 AM the following morning) and must not leave the premises regardless of any noise they hear.]
[Task Objective: Serve as a teacher at Xingfu Kindergarten for three days and ensure that the children in your assigned class achieve the required level of satisfaction.]
Have a pleasant day at work!
There were five rules, but they did sound much simpler and clearer than the previous ones. Many of the candidates showed a slightly relaxed expression.
"Kindergarten? It doesn't sound that scary?" a young girl whispered.
"As long as you keep an eye on the kids and don't let them go out at night, it should be fine, right?" A middle-aged man wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Just as the broadcast ended, a system notification sounded in Shi Mo's mind:
[Ding! Hidden quest detected in the F-rank dungeon [Happy Kindergarten]: Uncover the Truth.]
[Task requirement: Investigate the reason behind Rule Five, "Never go out at night."]
[Task Reward: 3 extra attribute points.]
[Hint: This hidden quest has a relatively low difficulty level; clues may be found in daily interactions during the day.]
Hidden quest? 3 extra attribute points?
A glint flashed in Shi Mo's heterochromatic eyes. Although the reward wasn't generous, it at least added a bit of "fun" to this overly simple task. Find out why they couldn't go out at night? That sounded a bit more interesting than simply taking care of the kids.
The door to the activity room opened, and a kind-looking "principal mom" wearing a pink apron walked in and began assigning class and dormitory keys to the ten "new teachers." Shi Mo was assigned to the middle class, responsible for five children, and her dormitory was room 204 on the second floor.
A simple dungeon, clear rules, and a minor hidden quest.
The "work" at Happiness Kindergarten has begun.