Just then, a familiar mechanical sound echoed in Liu Ruoxi’s mind, accompanied by a blue light screen projected before her eyes.
“[Forming a Team, Chain Quest 01]”
Player Liu Ruoxi informs Shen Qing about the existence of the game. Reward: 20 points.
“[Forming a Team, Chain Quest 02]”
Player Liu Ruoxi invites Shen Qing to become a game teammate. Reward: 30 points.
“[Forming a Team, Chain Quest 03]”
Player Liu Ruoxi and her teammate complete a team quest together. Reward: 40 points.
“[Team Quest]”
Unlocked after completing the first and second stages of the team formation quest.
Time limit: Seven days!
Liu Ruoxi stared at the familiar blue light screen before her, her expression tense and bewildered.
Forming a team? Was this asking her to drag her best friend into this?
“Xiao Ba, get out here right now!”
Liu Ruoxi’s willow-like eyebrows furrowed, and she was instantly consumed by rage. What kind of damned game was this? Ruining her life wasn’t enoughβnow it wanted her to pull her best friend into this perverted game too.
“I’m here. And I’ve told you not to call me Xiao Ba. Please address me as Lord Barbarossa.”
“What’s the meaning of this quest?” Liu Ruoxi struggled to suppress the anger within her as she questioned it.
“Quests are triggered by the game’s program. It has nothing to do with me,” Barbarossa explained.
“Then what use are you?” Liu Ruoxi’s expression instantly turned grim, her voice cold as she interrogated. She was so furious that she ended up speaking aloud in reality, startling Shen Qing, who was sitting across from her.
“Ruoxi, what’s wrong?” Shen Qing was taken aback, looking at her with confusion.
“I exist to maintain the stable operation of the game, including explaining the game rules to players.”
“Player Liu Ruoxi, please be mindful of your status.” Barbarossa’s slightly cold tone echoed in her mind. From its tone, it was clear that it was also somewhat annoyedβthis player simply didn’t take it seriously.
Liu Ruoxi took a deep breath, her ample chest heaving violently, her face pale and grim.
She had never considered dragging her best friend into the game. Doing so would be harming her.
Becoming a player of the Fallen Angel game meant a lifetime of being controlled by others. Although the game offered all sorts of incredible items, the price was becoming something like a sexual slave.
Among the five game professionsβCompanion, Sexual Slave, Bitch, Milk Cow, and Toiletβonly the Companion could be considered somewhat normal. The other four professions were equivalent to being kept as pets.
Facing Shen Qing’s puzzled gaze, Liu Ruoxi struggled internally. She didn’t want to harm her friend, but if she didn’t complete the quest, she herself would…
After a few seconds of silence, she forced out the words with difficulty.
“Shen Qing, do you believe there’s a side of the world that we ordinary people have never encountered, an unknown side?”
“Huh… Ruoxi, have you been stimulated by something?” Shen Qing was speechless upon hearing this. She reached out to feel Ruoxi’s foreheadβno fever, so why was she talking nonsense?
“Move your hand. I’m being serious.” Liu Ruoxi swatted away the other’s hand, knowing full well that Shen Qing didn’t believe her. Her expression turned serious as she said, “I don’t know how to explain this to you. If I hadn’t encountered it myself, I wouldn’t believe it either, butεε…” She paused here, slowly uttering the final few words. “I encountered it.”
Hearing this and seeing Liu Ruoxi’s solemn expression, Shen Qing couldn’t help but feel startled and suspicious. Was Ruoxi not joking?
But then the thought vanished. How could that be possible?
“Care to elaborate?” She looked at Liu Ruoxi with interest, curious to see what kind of story she could fabricate.
She wasn’t foolish enough to believe everything she heard. Even now, she thought the other was joking, teasing her.
“Come with me.”
The two went upstairs to Liu Ruoxi’s bedroom.
“This all started the day Haoran was injured and hospitalized…”
After closing the door, Liu Ruoxi recounted the entire series of events to her best friend.
“Not a bad story,” a few minutes later, Shen Qing chuckled, teasing, “So, you’re saying there’s an evil game system in your head?”
“Good thing I’ve read some web novels, otherwise I wouldn’t even understand what you’re talking about, Ruoxi.”
“Look at my hand.” Liu Ruoxi didn’t say more. She extended her slender, delicate hand, fingers spread open, her pale, smooth palm empty.
“And then?” Shen Qing asked with an amused smile.
“Look again.”
In the blink of an eye, a thumb-sized glass vial appeared out of nowhere on Liu Ruoxi’s palm. Inside the vial was a transparent liquid, sloshing slightly.
The scene before her eyes stunned Shen Qing, who exclaimed, “Is this magic? Ruoxi, when did you learn magic?”
“This isn’t magic. It’s a potion that can stimulate brain neurons and improve learning efficiency…”
“This kind of potion is also exclusive to the game’s shop. I’ve checkedβno company in the world has ever developed such a potion.”
“I’ve tested its effects too. My verdict is that it’s not something producible with Earth’s current technology. It’s more like the creation of an alien civilization.” Liu Ruoxi had actually calmed down by now, speaking calmly. “I took it out from my game inventory. See.”
As she spoke, the glass vial on her palm vanished into thin air.
“Look again.”
Her right hand remained fixed in mid-air, palm open. The empty palm would sometimes hold a glass vial, and other times, it would disappear without a trace like a phantom bubble.
She repeatedly retrieved the potion from the game inventory into reality and put it back, doing this several times.
Shen Qing’s beautiful eyes widened as she witnessed this scene. An expression of disbelief spread across her face, as if she had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
“This…” Shen Qing’s voice trembled, her expression stunned. What she was seeing overturned the worldview she had built over thirty-plus years.
No matter how absurd or ridiculous something may seem, when evidence is presented, it becomes an indisputable truth.
“So… what you said earlier is true?” Shen Qing stammered.
“Would I lie to you?” Liu Ruoxi rolled her eyes.
“Then… can I become a game player too?” Shen Qing looked at Liu Ruoxi expectantly. The supernatural and the unknown deeply attracted her. Her ordinary, monotonous world seemed to have been illuminated by a dazzling light.
Liu Ruoxi hadn’t expected that before she could even invite Shen Qing, the latter would bring it up first. She had only mentioned that it was an evil game, omitting many details, such as the game professions, the controllers to whom players were bound, and those shameful tasks. She couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Facing Shen Qing’s hopeful gaze, she could understand the other’s curiosity and eagerness. If not for those evil game tasks, this game would indeed be something to dream of.
Hesitating for a few seconds, she still couldn’t overcome a hurdle in her heart and decided to disclose some key information to Shen Qing, letting her decide.
“Shen Qing, this game isn’t as good as you think. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”
“If you want to become a game player, I can invite you. But if you become a game player, you will be enslaved by someone. That person will be like your master, and you…” She found the following words difficult to utter, but she forced herself to continue. “You will essentially be that person’s sexual slave.”
Shen Qing’s eyes widened. “So, Ruoxi, have you also become someone’s sexual slave?”
Liu Ruoxi’s expression was complicated as she softly uttered, “Mmm.”
“Who is that person?” Shen Qing asked urgently, her tone filled with concern.
Sexual slave? This was no joking matter. With Ruoxi’s looks, if she had become someone’s sexual slave, the outcome must be utterly tragic.
Liu Ruoxi didn’t answer, remaining silent.
Ruoxi’s attitude made Shen Qing suspicious. She recalled everything that had just happened, especially Ruoxi’s excessive concern for Haoran. While a mother caring for her son wasn’t wrong, compared to Ruoxi’s usual behavior, it was rather intriguing.
“Is it Haoran?” Shen Qing said in an uncertain tone, but as she spoke, the feeling grew stronger. She stated with conviction, “That person is Haoran, isn’t it?”
“But why Haoran? Did he plan all this?”
Applying the principle of “whoever benefits the most is the prime suspect,” Shen Qing reasoned this far. She looked at her silent best friend, Liu Ruoxi, hoping she would provide an answer.