Chapter 23: Covered with a burlap sack, it annoyed me

The white light faded…

Nuo Ai’er felt the familiar touch of a soft mattress.

“Mm…”

The white-haired loli slowly opened her eyes, and the familiar ceiling came into view.

She was stunned for a few seconds before realizing she was back in the bedroom of Wei Ran’s villa.

“I’m back here again.”

Last time, when the little red riding hood instance ended, she also returned to the bed.

It seems the bed was set by the system as her respawn point after each game.

Suddenly, Nuo Ai’er’s mind flashed back to the just-finished PVP instance, the young miss with causality strong luck.

“That was close…” Nuo Ai’er patted her flat little chest.

Oh, right. There was still the most important thing!

She fumbled with the system panel, looking at the 110 points she had finally saved up. This time, she didn’t hold back and unhesitatingly chose to [Exchange Rest Time].

[1 point deducted. Exchange for 7 days of rest time]

[Confirm!]

[Exchange successful!]

[Remaining rest time: 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes]

“Phew.”

As the system notification sounded, Nuo Ai’er let out a long sigh and collapsed onto the bed.

Come to think of it, from the moment she turned into a loli to finishing two instances, it was almost continuous.

With such high-intensity work, Nuo Ai’er felt like she was about to go accompany Xuefeng Laoshi.

‘I have to rest…’

“Well… speaking of what just happened…” Nuo Ai’er muttered to herself, still shaken.

Facing the strong luck talent, she had almost hit a dead end.

Good thing she had thick skin.

Even though she won, the lingering fear hadn’t dissipated.

Nuo Ai’er rolled over, a terrifying thought suddenly popping into her mind.

What if the activation condition for her [Time Rewind] talent was death or game failure?

“Then in a PVP instance without a clear death outcome, could I really never lose?” Nuo Ai’er’s pupils trembled.

What if… I mean, what if…

In the future, she encountered a deadlock where she could neither die nor win, only keep losing. Would she be trapped in the cycle forever, repeating the scene of failure again and again?

Nuo Ai’er: Eeek (ǒ ǒa)

Thinking of this, Nuo Ai’er couldn’t help but shiver, hugging the blanket and trembling.

That kind of infinite loop despair felt a million times scarier than dying directly!

Nuo Ai’er: System! System, are you there? QAQ

She quickly called out the cold mechanical voice in her mind.

[System online.]

Nuo Ai’er: Um… I want to ask, if I encounter a deadlock where I’m sure to lose in a game, but I keep refusing to give up and keep rewinding, what will happen? Will the talent keep activating, and will I be forever trapped in the cycle?

The system was silent for a moment, then gave a reassuring answer:

[Time Rewind is a passive trigger mechanism. If Player Nuo Ai’er actively chooses to surrender or give up in a PVP instance, Time Rewind will not trigger, and the game will be directly judged as over.]

“Th-then, phew…” Nuo Ai’er let out another long sigh, completely relaxing.

“Scared me to death. You should have told me I can surrender voluntarily earlier…”

That way, the worst-case scenario is eliminated.

With the psychological shadow resolved, Nuo Ai’er’s stomach chose that moment to let out a “gurgle.”

“So hungry…”

Even though she had no appetite after all that, she couldn’t eat nothing…

Nuo Ai’er got out of bed, pushed open the bedroom door, and went to the living room.

“Hmm? Where’s that idiot witch?”

Nuo Ai’er looked around but didn’t see Wei Ran.

Then, she spotted a note on the coffee table, probably left by Wei Ran.

[For Nuo Ai’er-chan, big sister has some urgent business and needs to go to the [Witch Council] for a few days. During this time, stay home obediently and don’t run around. The food is all in the fridge; help yourself. -Wei Ran]

[P.S.: Whatever you do, don’t go wandering around. A cute little loli like you can easily get sacked and taken away in the inner world ♡]

“What does she mean by that last line? She just had to emphasize that I’m a loli now (`~’)”

Nuo Ai’er grumbled, then headed straight to the big refrigerator in the kitchen.

Speaking of which, what kind of delicious food do witches usually stock up on? (`*)

Nuo Ai’er opened the fridge door full of anticipation, but the next second, her smile froze.

The fridge was indeed packed, but…

“What the hell is this (O_0)”

In the left compartment, two strange eyeballs were squeezing each other—one with a laser eye, the other spitting green fire.

In the right compartment, a bundle of purple tentacles was slowly wriggling like snakes, covered in sticky liquid. When they saw Nuo Ai’er, they seemed to stir eagerly.

At the bottom, there was even a glass jar with some kind of strange worm soaking inside, looking like it could summon something.

“How can this be eaten? (/^4)/” Nuo Ai’er said angrily.

Just then…

“Hey, hey, stop! Don’t (“)”

The tentacle from the fridge reached out, wrapped around Nuo Ai’er’s arm, then slid into her sleeve, moving deeper into her clothing.

“Eeeek! (の>60<9)”

Nuo Ai’er quickly pulled her hand back and slammed the fridge door shut with a bang, her face pale.

This wasn’t food at all. It was clearly a tool to torment a little loli like her!

“What kind of weird stuff does that Wei Ran usually eat?!”

“And now I’ve completely lost my appetite…”

That said…

If she didn’t eat something, Nuo Ai’er would starve…

“Well (→←”)”

Nuo Ai’er patted her empty stomach.

“Anyway, I have points now. Only a hundred or so, but I should be able to go out and buy some normal human food, right?”

The inner world should have everything.

Having made up her mind, Nuo Ai’er put on her shoes and went to the villa’s front door.

But before going out, she thought of Wei Ran’s warning…

“Just going out to buy food. It should be fine.” Nuo Ai’er told herself.

After all, it’s not like there’s someone waiting right outside the door with a sack, ready to catch her.

Thinking that, Nuo Ai’er felt much better and opened the villa’s front door.

Mm, the inner world today was sunny and seemed to have no danger.

Nuo Ai’er then stepped over the threshold.

First, find a convenience store or supermarket nearby and buy some bread and milk… Nuo Ai’er planned in her mind.

However, just as she took a few steps out the door and was still thinking about which way to go—

“Whoosh!”

A huge shadow suddenly blocked the sunlight above her head.

“Huh? Ah, help! (∑QAQIII)”

Before Nuo Ai’er could react, a rough black sack fell from the sky, perfectly covering her.

“Mm?!”

Nuo Ai’er’s vision went black. Then, a pair of strong hands grabbed her arms from behind.

Ropes wrapped around and tied her hands behind her back.

“Mm! Help! QAQ”

The next second, Nuo Ai’er was completely stuffed into the sack.

She struggled desperately, her little feet kicking in the air, but the opponent’s strength was astonishing; she had no power to resist.

Then, Nuo Ai’er felt herself being slung over a shoulder, and with the person’s hurried footsteps, she was quickly taken far away from Wei Ran’s villa.