She only realized she was already deeply trapped after the fact.
It was only then that she discovered she was in too deep to pull herself out.
He simply held up Luo’s small hand, urging her forward.
The narrow room was filled with an oppressive atmosphere.
Nai Li stood there blankly, staring at the long-haired loli who was smiling in front of her.
This faint, ghostly smile seemed to silently promise something— a promise to drag her down with them, until she could no longer escape.
By the time she reacted, it was already too late.
She could only continue to serve.
It’s better than simply being forced to log off in the proper way.
But compared to being dragged down by capable people covered head to toe in righteousness, it might be better to just develop more ordinary people as informants.
She had originally thought she could wait until the right moment, but by the time she realized it, her informants were already being dealt with by the faction’s proper operatives.
Nai Li didn’t spend too long pondering this.
Luo Shiyin’s small hand wandered from playing with her own thumb to fiddling with the hem of the OL uniform she still wore.
The girl lifted her head slightly, her face showing a somewhat forced smile.
“Miss Wend,” she said, “killing people and things like that…is really kind of scary. You’re so tiny— there’s no way you could possibly do something like that, right? Haha…”
“Mm.”
“Looks like we’ll have to add some stronger material to the mix.”
She tried to gently open the small tablet in front of her.
She tried to use a smile to deflect and change the subject, but looking at that face that refused to accept reality, Luo Shiyin narrowed her eyes.
The older girl then lightly patted her own lap, signaling the other to get down.
With the same gentle smile on her face, she looked at Luo Xue — that slightly tense expression was different from usual.
“You really think…”
“I’m a bad person?”
The girl swallowed hard, her throat bobbing.
But with that serious look of Nai Li’s, she instead stiffened and firmly declared: “Miss, you couldn’t possibly be a bad person!”
This, however, only made Luo Shiyin even more interested.
She watched as the long-haired loli slowly stood up from the bed.
Step by step, she walked over until she stood right in front of the girl, looking down at her from above.
That forced little smile on the girl’s face only became more helpless under this towering gaze.
“Although I’m very happy you trust me this much, ya know…”
The moment she finished speaking, her arm swept around, bringing that expression closer—
Although the smile on her face didn’t change, it was clear that her thoughts were shifting, bringing about a subtle transformation.
Since that was the case…
Suddenly, Luo Shiyin reached out and pressed down on Nai Li’s shoulder.
Wearing a silver half-mask, her pretty face leaned in close.
Although her smile remained, the atmosphere around her abruptly turned dangerous.
Even though Luo Shiyin hadn’t yet fully blended charm with danger into one perfect whole, the mere hint of that threatening aura was enough.
During this period, being surrounded by energy creatures and all sorts of dangerous beings had nurtured within her something far beyond what an ordinary assassin could possess.
Nai Li could only feel that the darkness itself seemed to come alive, watching that look in the other’s eyes.
In Luo Shiyin’s heart, a faint trace of delight curled at the edges of her thoughts.
“So now, my little cutie…”
Just like that, her complex aura — sharp and beautiful like a blooming rose bristling with thorns — began to spill forth.
If even this much was still within the range of what Nai Li could handle, then she was indeed quite the remarkable little specimen.
That intricate, thorny aura fully unfolded.
It was as if someone had suddenly shoved her deep beneath the ocean’s surface — her lungs starved for air, everything reaching a dizzying peak.
She couldn’t even breathe.
Her eyes seemed to go slack, like a toy that had been broken through overuse.
“Tell me…do you think your big sister here is a good person…or a bad person?”
Nai Li’s lips trembled, mumbling half-consciously.
Her body shivered ever so slightly, as if she had just witnessed something truly terrifying.
“…A bad person.”
“Hehe…good girl.”
At those words, the hand resting on her shoulder slowly lifted, cupping that delicate, swan-like face.
Fingers gently traced along her neck, then with a sudden tug, pulled her closer.
“Alright…come back to your senses.”
“Ugh…!”
It was as if Nai Li had just broken free from the depths of the ocean.
She sat up straight, mouth gaping, gasping for breath.
When she looked toward Luo Shiyin, her eyes were filled with terror.
But in the midst of that overwhelming fear, there was also something else — a faint, hazy thrill.
Luo Shiyin didn’t rush her.
She simply let Nai Li slowly recover.
Her hand, which had been gripping, now softened into a gentle caress, savoring the tender, delicate feel of the girl’s cheek.
Behind them, Luo Xue stood there, her thoughts unreadable.
Who knew what was running through her mind?
She didn’t even notice how long she had been staring.
She simply watched this scene before her — this girl who, so different from how she acted at the company, now looked so pitiful, eyes turning red as if about to cry.
Nai Li stood there dazed, as if trying to gather her scattered emotions, taking quite a while to calm herself down.
And opposite her, that black long-haired loli —
Luo Shiyin — watched on with serene amusement.
But then—
Nai Li suddenly felt her face grow hot, a flush creeping up her cheeks.
Seeing this, Luo Shiyin seemed a little surprised, almost dazed.
Did she…actually make the girl cry over something outside the bed?
“…How awful.”
Why…did I have to do that?
I clearly wanted to see Miss Wende as a good person…
But…
Looking at the black long-haired loli before her, Nai Li’s voice caught in her throat, trembling as she tried to speak.
Luo Shiyin just gave a soft laugh.
“So what if I am a bad person? Does it really matter, little cutie…if your big sister here is a bad person?”
“…No.”
“You see— even if Miss Wende does bad things, I’m sure…she must have her reasons.”
Just like that…even if she did something wrong, I’d still…
Hearing that, Luo Shiyin couldn’t help it.
She gently cupped Nai Li’s face again, brushing her tears away.
And with a voice tinged by a stubborn, tearful tremor, Nai Li added: “In the end, good people or bad people…it all just comes down to…the influence of the world around them, doesn’t it?”
“It’s just that…humans…”
Nai Li’s voice was low. “…for some things…even if they don’t understand them, they still—”
Just like how there are things that might break the law, or run counter to what’s right…
“Miss Wende, why…are you telling me all this?”
She simply let Luo Shiyin wipe the tears off her face, and then asked in a small, hesitant voice.
Nai Li wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but after crying, she felt the little cutie in front of her—that black long-haired loli—suddenly seemed…a bit more clingy.
Was that…really so bad?
Luo Shiyin felt a hint of strange amusement at the thought, but she quickly pushed it aside.
She withdrew her hand and stood up straight.
“Oh right,” she said lightly, “your family’s development company— how is it doing? The salary must be pretty high.”
“…But I…don’t really want to work anymore.”
Hearing that, Luo Shiyin paused.
Hearing this, Nai Li lowered her head, thinking for a moment, then slowly shook it.
“…No.”
Seeing that, Luo Shiyin simply gave a soft little laugh.
“That’s fine too. Because…even if you wanted to keep working there…”
“It’s unlikely you’d have the chance.”
“Tonight, the number of security officers who came was clearly far more than what was needed to handle some ghost rumor.”
“They were here to thoroughly investigate. And…they found quite a lot of evidence.”
“Most likely, the entire company will soon either be forced to change ownership— or just…shut down.”
“…The company…is gone?”
Nai Li stood there blankly, her mind going hazy, struggling to process it.
It was such a sudden feeling, yet somehow, not entirely unexpected.
It took Nai Li a moment to digest all this information.
She seemed unsure how exactly she should react.
Lose her job just like that…
Should she maybe try—
Work was gone, even if only temporarily.
So should she try…working under Luo Shiyin instead?
At least the girl in front of her— this Luo Shiyin, whose moods were so hard to read— seemed in unusually good spirits.
Across from her, Luo Shiyin casually offered, “Little cutie, why not come work for me instead?”