She said “darling” again, she said “darling” again! This shameless Heroine actually had the nerve to say such weird things to her with an innocent face again!!
Su Wanli covered her flushed cheeks and huddled in a corner of the gaming room, screaming silently.
Even though it was only a title like “Darling Lord Hero” and not “Darling Miss Su,” the lethality of such words coming from a top-tier beauty like Meng Wange was still not to be underestimated. If she hadn’t reacted quickly enough and used the excuse of getting the second gaming console to leave, she probably would have lost another large chunk of Female Villain Value.
‘Inhale… exhale… calm down, just calm down.’
‘It’s nothing more than a despicable tactic the Aura of Main Heroine came up with to swallow her pride in front of me. I don’t need to react at all. In fact, if I have even a slight emotional reaction to this title, I lose!’
After holding her head and venting against the wall for a while, Su Wanli finally stood up again and let out a long breath toward the ceiling.
All right, that was enough. She had relaxed somewhat. Next, she would focus her energy on the upcoming task.
After being manipulated at will by the System, her remaining goal for today was no longer just to keep Meng Wange awake before 8:00 PM. Instead, she had to make Meng Wange clear a game while dragging that sickly body of hers along.
Furthermore, even if Meng Wange was so sleepy that her eyelids were fighting to stay open, Su Wanli couldn’t call for a stop. She couldn’t give her even a moment of rest. This was practically the most malicious “bullying” she had committed since coming to this world…
‘However, that has nothing to do with me. I’m just a tool for completing tasks. If she wants to blame someone later, it won’t be my fault… whatever. Although it sounds ridiculous, since the System said so, I’ll just do it.’
Since Meng Wange had already chosen the typical ARPG, *Continent of Erozeal*, Su Wanli needed to think of a strategy before they officially started.
The classes were fixed in advance — she would play as a Warrior, and Meng Wange would play as a Priest, with the other two being AI teammates. The world-building followed the most common, generic trope: “The hero’s party assembles to defeat the Demon King.”
Even though it was just an ordinary video game, it was a golden opportunity for her. Role-playing games were perfect for building a strong bond between comrades.
‘Hmm… if I want to build a bond, my growth path should definitely be the orthodox “Paladin” route. I’ll save the world through classic friendship, passion, and bonds, and while I’m at it, I’ll save my own precarious future…’
With that thought, Su Wanli straightened her back, tidied her appearance, and walked back into the room.
“Hey, Meng Wange, the time for you to lie lazily on the bed is over. From now on, act as my health pack and stay behind me. Work like a dog for me in the game too!”
As if she hadn’t heard Su Wanli’s cold mockery, Meng Wange sat on the edge of the bed and smiled, waving at Su Wanli to show her the gaming console in her hand.
“Ah, Miss Su, you’re back. I want to choose this race. What do you think?”
“…Huh?”
Su Wanli raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at the game screen in Meng Wange’s hand.
The race was a tall, slender Half-Beast. Amidst the light brown hair, a pair of reddish-brown fox ears were particularly eye-catching. One of them would droop down limply from time to time, twitching slightly.
In the character creator interface, Meng Wange had quickly sculpted a character that bore some resemblance to her — she had clearly finished it while Su Wanli was out grabbing the second gaming console.
‘So… cute…’
‘No, now isn’t the time to be a fangirl over a character! What time is it? The game hasn’t even started yet!’
Su Wanli shrugged slightly, swapped the gaming console in Meng Wange’s hand for the one she was holding, and switched to the save file of the black-haired Elf she had just created.
“Hmph, it’s nothing but an appearance. Once you put on equipment, these faces will be completely covered. There’s no need to waste too much time on this.”
“Is that so? But being able to operate a character that looks a bit like yourself in another world makes it easier to immerse yourself, doesn’t it?”
“It’s a role-playing game. What’s the point of looking like yourself? You might as well choose a face you like more.”
“Hmm, you have a point.”
Meng Wange nodded with a smile and then operated the controls quickly. In less than one minute, she had recreated a character —
Wait, what she recreated seemed to be… a black-haired Elf that looked almost exactly like Su Wanli!?
“Hey!? What are you doing? We won’t be able to tell our characters apart like this!”
Meng Wange pursed her lips and looked at Su Wanli with a look of genuine confusion.
“But, Miss Su, the black-haired girl on the screen right now is my favorite look.”
‘W-What!? Is this a confession!? Is this some brand-new form of confession!? And so suddenly! At least let me prepare myself mentally!?’
Saying “this is my favorite look” so calmly while looking at a character that was almost identical to her was basically the same as seriously saying ‘I like you the most,’ wasn’t it!?
**[Calm down, Host. Although it seems Meng Wange is expressing this on the surface, in reality, her true inner thoughts might be to replace you and become the heir of Sujia herself.]**
“She wants to replace me, huh? Then she probably just wants my status, not just my face!”
Regardless, there shouldn’t be two “Su Wanlis” in the hero’s party. It was too strange. Just looking at it felt completely out of place, let alone trying to build some kind of bond…
“No! You’re not allowed to choose this face. Change it back to that fox look from earlier. At least then we can distinguish your character from mine.”
“All right, Miss Su.”
Meng Wange nodded obediently and quickly changed back to the Half-Beast image. She then chose the Priest class and entered the game’s opening cutscene with Su Wanli.
“2,000 years ago… the Continent of Erozeal… the guidance of the Goddess… the assembly of heroes… they defeated the Demon King, and peace came to the world… now the Demon King has returned… the descendants of the heroes assemble once more to embark on a journey again…”
‘Wow, such a classic Western fantasy plot.’ The game graphics looked very old, like a 1990s arcade style.
Thinking about it, these two gaming consoles she brought into the room might have been earlier models to begin with. The more advanced equipment was on the consoles connected to those luxurious large screens next door. It was normal for the games here to appear simplistic.
Listening to Meng Wange’s serious mumbling and seeing her solemn expression, Su Wanli shook her head helplessly, but the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but turn up slightly.
‘Heh, this kind of game just requires constant grinding to level up and then going all the way to the final BOSS, right? To actually remember such a poorly made backstory word for word — Meng Wange really is a gaming novice with no experience.’
‘Perfect. Even though the graphics look very old, old games have their own benefits — mechanics and plots that are too complex would only increase the difficulty. All I need is a stage where I can fight side by side with Meng Wange.’
‘Come on, I’ll personally take action as someone with plenty of experience — ‘
‘I’ll turn something mediocre into a masterpiece and let Meng Wange feel the charm of ARPGs!’
‘More accurately, let her feel my matchless, supreme charm when I’m fighting with all my might!’
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