Forest Area.
“Where in the world is she…”
The golden-haired girl in the red hood wandered alone through the dense forest.
Leinata muttered to herself, her red hood casually draped over her shoulders, her wolf ears slightly drooping. Her usually sharp and cold eyes were now filled with anxiety and frustration.
At the start, everyone was scattered across the huge, complex instance map. She had searched for a long time along the trails, combing through most of the woods, but still hadn’t caught the slightest trace of Nuo Ai’er.
Without finding Nuo Ai’er, her heart felt empty…
To Leinata, the guild competition didn’t matter. The only reason she came to this instance was to protect Nuo Ai’er when they team up to clear dungeons in the future.
But this damn instance actually separated them from the beginning!
“Why can’t I find her…”
Leinata’s pace quickened, and the irritation in her heart grew layer by layer.
‘Where is she… Nuo Ai’er, my Nuo Ai’er…’
And then, at that moment–
BOOM–!
A heavy sound of wind breaking suddenly exploded from the woods to the side!
An orange-red figure bursting with immense brute force rushed out of the thicket!
“Take this!”
The newcomer was an orange-haired girl, with a nimble figure and fierce sharpness in her eyes.
She was holding a giant black heavy hammer high with both hands, clearly extremely destructive.
She was obviously from the Falcon Guild.
She locked onto the lone Leinata at a glance, then unexpectedly swung the hammer with all her might, slamming it down hard toward the top of Leinata’s head!
…But facing this terrifying blow, Leinata didn’t even bother to lift her eyelids.
She simply raised one hand casually, her palm steadily meeting the falling giant hammer.
Thud!
“…Huh?” The orange-haired girl was stunned.
The imagined scene of Leinata being smashed into a pancake didn’t happen.
Her giant heavy hammer was caught effortlessly by Leinata’s single hand, all force dissolved, motionless.
“T-this isn’t right” The orange-haired girl’s pupils contracted, her face full of disbelief, and she was completely frozen in place.
The next second, Leinata’s lowered eyes suddenly glowed with a faint red light.
“I’m in a really bad mood right now… Don’t get in my way.” Around Xiao Hong Mao, a faint aura of killing intent quietly spread.
“Ah… aah…”
The orange-haired girl stood frozen, her arm holding the hammer trembling slightly, losing even the courage to strike again.
***
Meanwhile, at the abandoned cabin.
“Ugh, I can’t move”
Nuo Ai’er, who had failed in her sneak attack, was now completely tied up and subdued.
Her hands were firmly bound behind her back with a solid rope, the knot locked tight.
She was lying face down on a soft fabric sofa, her small body fully pressed down, her limbs restrained obediently, in a quite curious position.
“Dammit, let me go, let me go…”
The white-haired loli squirmed lightly in frustration, trying to struggle free, but the rope was too tight; all efforts were in vain.
Completely unable to move.
Just then, light footsteps came from behind.
Blue-haired ponytailed Tina held a thin rope, walking slowly step by step closer, her cool little face expressionless:
“Don’t waste your energy. I’m an expert when it comes to binding and tying.”
“Binding expert?”
Nuo Ai’er was stunned.
‘No way! You’re clearly a healer support with healing abilities!’ ‘A healer is supposed to be gentle, saving people, kind-hearted…’
“Why is there a binding expert character? That’s out of character…”
The moment Nuo Ai’er voiced her complaint, the next second–
Slap!
“Ouch”
The thin, tough rope gently struck Nuo Ai’er’s back.
“I’m different from Sister Stella,” Tina said slowly.
“I’m not interested in slowly interrogating you. You attacked me from behind just now, which shows you still have ill intentions.”
Tina stepped closer:
“Since the captive isn’t obedient, you’re no different from a time bomb. There’s no need to keep you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to eliminate you directly (0.0)”
Nuo Ai’er: (* ° °)!!
At those words, Nuo Ai’er’s eyes widened.
‘Could it be!’ ‘Stella still wants to keep me as a hostage, so she wouldn’t kill me.’ ‘But this Tina really intends to directly eliminate me!’
‘Great, nya’
Instead of panicking, Nuo Ai’er secretly breathed a huge sigh of relief.
‘Finally, I can time rewind and restart.’ ‘But I should get some intel first this round.’
Her mindset instantly calmed, and Nuo Ai’er spoke again:
“Y-you, if you eliminate me now… won’t your sister Stella be angry? She clearly said she wanted to keep me to interrogate for information.”
She had only asked casually, hoping to squeeze out a bit more enemy intel.
But these words precisely struck the most suppressed emotion in Tina’s heart.
Tina, who had always been expressionless and indifferent, now rarely frowned, her eyes showing obvious anger. She was genuinely mad.
Her tone carried a hint of long-suppressed grievance and resentment:
“She’s not my sister… I have never acknowledged that person who only plays around, does whatever she wants, and never considers my feelings, as my sister.”
Tina’s voice was soft, but it hid accumulated resentment:
“It’s just because she’s the guild master of the Falcon Guild, so everyone has to call her sister, has to obey her orders, and I have no choice but to follow along.”
“I’ve been fed up with her for a long time…”
Nuo Ai’er’s ears perked up instantly, and her mind started racing.
‘There’s drama… ah no, there’s intel.’ ‘So that Stella is the guild master…’ ‘But I didn’t expect the Falcon Guild to have internal conflicts~’
“Then why don’t you leave the guild?” Nuo Ai’er asked.
“I can’t. If I leave the guild, I’ll die… Leaving the Falcon Guild only leads to death.”
“Why? Will they hunt you down, or–“
Nuo Ai’er was about to continue extracting intel.
But this time–
“You’ve talked too much. You’re stalling for time, aren’t you? Once Sister Stella comes back, I won’t be able to kill you.”
Tina had completely lost all patience.
She didn’t want to talk about the troublesome matters concerning Stella and the guild anymore, nor did she want to give Nuo Ai’er any more chances to speak.
Tina stepped forward and leaned over Nuo Ai’er’s back.
“What are you going to do… oh hoh?!”
Tina’s slender hand picked up the thin rope, gently wrapped it around from behind, and then viciously cinched it around Nuo Ai’er’s delicate neck.
“Oh oh oh oh”
Her breath was instantly cut off, and a suffocating feeling slowly crept in.
Nuo Ai’er’s mind, which had been calculating, gradually went blank, and her vision slowly blurred.
Exhaustion and weakness engulfed her body, and her consciousness sank little by little into darkness.
The moment she completely died–
[Player death detected.]
[Innate Talent: Time Rewind triggered!]
[Rewinding…]
“Pwah?!”
Nuo Ai’er’s eyes snapped open.
Familiar small room.
“Sit tight and stay there.” Outside the door was the warning of the twin-tailed girl.
‘I see…’ ‘It seems I’ve returned to the moment just after Stella threw me into this small prison, alone in confinement.’
“Good.” Nuo Ai’er clenched her little pink fist.
‘At least I have intel now. There’s a breakthrough.’ ‘Next, I just wait for Stella to leave, when I’m alone with Tina…’ ‘Then the opportunity to turn things around will come.’
This white-haired loli was full of confidence.
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