Chapter 109: We’re Joining This Incident Too!

“Cough, cough.”

The young woman seemed a bit awkward, as if she wasn’t used to such a cute little girl like Ling Xiaoyou thanking her.

She coughed lightly a few times.

“Don’t call me ‘sister’ or anything. I’m really not used to being called that.”

“My surname is Lin. Just call me Lin.”

“Lin?”

Ling Xiaoyou tilted her little head.

“Is it the ‘Ling’ for spirit?”

“No, it’s ‘Lin’ as in forest.”

The young woman… Lin explained.

Ling Xiaoyou let out an ‘oh’, thinking she had met someone with the same surname as her.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore.”

As if she thought the topic was going too far, Lin waved her hand, her gaze sweeping over the group, lingering for a moment on Su Lihua, who was trying her best to lower her presence, then landing on Ling Xiaoyou and Bai Shuanglian.

“Alright, your detective game ends here.”

“Eh?”

Ling Xiaoyou was stunned, not quite understanding what Lin meant.

“It means, from here on out, you kids shouldn’t get involved anymore.”

Lin looked at the group seriously.

“Leave the rest to our Regulatory Division. You all should go home and do what you need to do. Get out before you get completely caught up in this incident.”

Hearing this, Ling Xiaoyou understood.

She pouted.

Such a cliché—officials in novels and comics always try to persuade the protagonist to leave the incident behind.

“But the children you’re talking about destroyed a Devil stronghold and saved dozens of Spirits kidnapped by Devils.”

Bai Shuanglian looked at Lin, speaking calmly.

Beside her, Ling Xiaoyou heard Bai Shuanglian’s words and quickly nodded her little head in agreement.

That’s what she thought too!

Su Lihua, on the other hand, had been silent since Lin appeared, as if speaking would get her captured by Lin.

“……”

Lin was silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

“That is indeed our failure. I can’t argue with you.”

“But…”

Lin looked seriously at Bai Shuanglian.

“If it were just a small case, I wouldn’t care. With your abilities, you could handle it easily.”

“But this case is different. It…”

Lin paused, as if organizing her thoughts.

After a moment, she spoke in an uncertain tone.

“It looks too ordinary.”

“Do you know? In fact, similar incidents of Devils kidnapping Spirits and Cultists abducting humans have occurred many times in the past century.”

“Ah?”

Ling Xiaoyou was stunned, then seemed to think of something.

“So that’s why you all seemed so calm—because you have so much experience dealing with this?”

“Not exactly calm, but we still try our best to resolve the cases.”

Lin defended herself, then continued.

“But when too many of these ordinary things pile up, it becomes abnormal.”

“And…”

Lin glanced at the old lady, who now seemed to leave the conversation to Lin and lay on her lounge chair, eyes closed as if napping.

“As the Lady Proprietor mentioned to you, a certain power has arranged everything for the Devils.”

“But what if I said that what we discovered wasn’t a single power, but many—big and small, unconnected, even conflicting forces, who by coincidence managed to help the Devils blend smoothly into this orderly human society?”

“What kind of situation do you think that is?”

Ling Xiaoyou shivered inexplicably.

“Could it be that the Devils have already turned Eastern Radiance into a sieve?”

“No. Devils are outsiders, after all. They couldn’t do all this alone.”

Lin shook her head, denying Ling Xiaoyou’s words.

“You mean there’s an even greater power hiding in the shadows?”

Bai Shuanglian furrowed her elegant brows, looking at Lin.

“This is just my personal speculation. I can’t confirm if it’s correct.”

Lin sighed softly, looking at them.

“But I still don’t want you involved. It’s too dangerous for children like you.”

Ling Xiaoyou was silent.

Even just hearing Lin’s description made her realize the danger.

But then, she glanced at the System Panel that had appeared beside her at some point, looking at the task that had shown up after Lin spoke:

[Long-term Mission] — Destroy the Plot of the One Who Seeks Immortality

Mission Reward: Mysterious Grand Prize (Quality increases or decreases depending on mission completion)

This was Ling Xiaoyou’s first time encountering a Long-term Mission.

Just from the name, she could tell it would be a long and troublesome task line.

But…

This time the mission reward was a Mysterious Grand Prize!

And the reward’s quality would rise or fall depending on how well Ling Xiaoyou completed the mission—meaning, if she did well enough, the prize would be extraordinary.

Honestly, as a gamer, she had always been unable to resist this kind of mysterious grand prize.

So Ling Xiaoyou really wanted to accept this mission.

But she also knew her own limits.

If she did it alone, even if she could complete it, the quality probably wouldn’t be that high.

So, Ling Xiaoyou wanted help from her companions—but she didn’t know if they wanted to keep getting involved.

If they didn’t, she’d have to think about how she could finish the mission by herself.

Ling Xiaoyou looked at Su Lihua.

Though Su Lihua had been trying to lower her presence the whole time, she had been listening to the conversation.

Seeing Ling Xiaoyou’s gaze, Su Lihua thought for a moment, then shook her head, indicating that even so, she still wanted to keep going.

Ling Xiaoyou wasn’t especially surprised that Su Lihua wanted to continue.

After all, she had come here on her own before, acting as if she absolutely had to resolve things.

Ling Xiaoyou could guess she’d want to keep going.

Then, Ling Xiaoyou looked at Bai Shuanglian.

The cool, calm girl seemed to have been waiting for Ling Xiaoyou’s gaze.

She smiled gently, squeezed Ling Xiaoyou’s small hand without a word.

Ling Xiaoyou’s cheeks flushed for a moment, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly, but she quickly forced it down—this wasn’t the time to be happy.

She looked at Lin, speaking calmly and seriously.

“We’re not children. Even if it’s dangerous, we’re not afraid.”

“Even if we have to fight through thorns to overcome difficulties, we won’t back down.”

“So, we want to join this case too.”

Lin was stunned, wanting to argue.

“But this really is very dan—”

“So what if it’s dangerous?”

Ling Xiaoyou interrupted.

“We’ve already destroyed two Devil groups. We’ve already stepped into this.”

“Or are you saying you can guarantee the Devils won’t take revenge on us?”

Lin fell silent.

She truly couldn’t guarantee that.

After all, even in hell, the Devils of the Blood Banquet were among the craziest—they normally wouldn’t worship evil gods at all.

For a long while, Lin seemed to weigh her thoughts.

Finally, she let out a long sigh, helpless.

“Fine, fine, do as you please.”