Chapter 13: Uninvited Guest (Extended)

What’s Xiaozhi doing?

Still groggy from low blood sugar, Wu Xiaomi stirred awake in a daze.

She vaguely heard voices nearby and instinctively held her breath to eavesdrop.

Bai Xiaozhi was staring at the girl, finally mustering the courage to speak:

“…Actually, I…”

“Thunk—!”

“……”

A pile of bricks and debris suddenly came crashing down from above.

From the mess of falling rubble, a blonde, blue-eyed half-blood girl literally fell out of the sky—right onto Wu Xiaomi’s face.

Thankfully, the girl’s butt was soft enough that the impact didn’t crack Xiaomi’s skull.

“Oww! Damn, that hurts! What the heck was poking me…” 

The girl was still clueless about the disaster she’d just caused, rubbing her sore butt with a grimace.

“…Could you… maybe move a little…”

A muffled voice came from beneath her.

“Eh!?”

The blonde girl shot to her feet like a spring-loaded cat.

Seeing the dazed Wu Xiaomi underneath her and the furious Bai Xiaozhi nearby with murder in her eyes, she swallowed hard and quickly begged for mercy:

“S-sorry! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to! I-I-I-I… I was just looking for something to eat!”

Wu Xiaomi sat up, holding her nose in pain.

Her eyes were watery from the sting, making her look pitiful and innocent.

Which only poured gasoline on Bai Xiaozhi’s simmering rage.

“Shing—”

A longsword slashed through the air, cold steel hovering at the intruder’s neck.

“I need an explanation,” Xiaozhi said icily.

“Don’t kill me! Boss lady, please don’t kill me! I came to join you!”

“Join us?”

So shameless. 

Wu Xiaomi glared at the blonde girl, furious.

“You ran out of points and came to freeload, didn’t you?”

She recognized the girl—

The one who had been blaring Good Luck Is Coming in front of the bulletin board earlier, only to get five “Thank You for Participating” messages in a row during her lottery draws.

“Ehehe, I mean, if I work for you awesome ladies, it’s only fair you toss me a meal now and then, right?” 

The girl said with a goofy grin, scratching her head. 

“Boss ladies, anything I can help with? Running errands? Backrubs?”

“I need you to die once,” Bai Xiaozhi replied, tightening her grip on the sword.

She was in a really bad mood now.

“No! No, wait! I’m useful, really!” the girl said, hands raised high.

“I know [Spell Sequence 114 – Wall Softening]! I’m still practicing, but my potential is totally there!”

Xiaozhi’s expression shifted in realization.

“So… you snuck onto the roof, tried to use [Wall Softening] to sneak in and steal food… but botched the spell and fell through instead?”

Nailed it.

The girl whistled and looked around, pretending not to hear.

Truth was, she hadn’t intended to sneak in. 

She just wanted to soften the rooftop, poke a hole, and scope out the layout from above.

She overdid it a little… and here she was.

“You just said… Sequence 114?” 

Wu Xiaomi asked, curious.

This was her first time hearing about anything past 100.

Nanalia had once said that in spell combat, each of the three caster paths had 120 sequences but everyone always started at Sequence 100.

Anything beyond that was shrouded in mystery.

“Sequences beyond 100 are special,” Bai Xiaozhi explained.

“You can’t learn them—only certain race-bound spirit sources can use them. Sequence 114 – Wall Softening is a racial trait from the ‘Raven Thief’ lineage… Basically used for sneaking and stealing. Really annoying.”

“Who are you calling a thief!” the blonde girl yelled, indignant.

“Just because we’ve got ‘Thief’ in our name doesn’t mean we’re nobodies! Three of the top ten assassins on the Nerrifa Continent are Raven Thieves! That’s serious prestige, okay? I’ve got potential!”

“Oh yeah? And the future top assassin is breaking into people’s houses to steal food?” 

Wu Xiaomi said grumpily, still clutching her nose.

It hurts!

“I’ve just hit a rough patch, alright? A temporary setback.”

The girl lifted her chin proudly. 

“My name is Lulutina. I will become a legendary figure, whether it’s here or in another world! You two should feel honored to have helped me in my humble beginnings!”

Wu Xiaomi and Bai Xiaozhi exchanged a look, brows furrowing.

“…She’s not right in the head,” Wu Xiaomi whispered, now mostly over her anger.

“So strip her and toss her out,” Xiaozhi said calmly.

“Sounds good to me.”

“What!?”

Lulutina went pale in an instant.

She looked about thirteen or fourteen, already curvy for her age.

Out there, with all the desperate scum roaming around, she’d be walking bait.

That golden hair of hers, radiant like sunshine, had the vibrant energy of a goddess—no doubt there were sickos dreaming of sullying it.

As Bai Xiaozhi reached out without hesitation, Lulutina’s brash, cocky attitude shattered.

“I’m sorry! I was wrong!”

Her voice cracked as she whimpered, stuck somewhere between a loli and a teenager.

“What exactly did you do wrong?” Bai Xiaozhi asked coldly, lips curling faintly.

“I shouldn’t have trespassed into someone else’s home…”

“And?”

“I shouldn’t have talked big…”

“And?”

“I shouldn’t have eavesdropped on your secret…”

Lulutina looked pitiful as she confessed. 

“Oh, and—if I’m not mistaken, based on what you were saying earlier, you were about to admit that you’re actually a top h—”

Bai Xiaozhi slapped a hand over her mouth.

Her amethyst eyes gleamed with such deadly intent that the air around them dropped several degrees.

Lulutina froze, her limbs numb from the chill of looming death.

I’ll die!

If she said those two words aloud— I’ll really die!

She trembled violently, teeth chattering.

“Top what? Top what now? Top Batman?” 

Wu Xiaomi asked, eyes sparkling.

“Top 100 up-and-coming creators,” Bai Xiaozhi said flatly, shooting Lulutina a death glare to keep her quiet.

“The video platform embedded in our accessories is actually a mirror of the ‘Bolo Bolo’ platform from the Nerrifa Continent. Every year, they select the Top 100 creators and invite them to the Eastern King City for an award ceremony. If I can achieve that, I might earn bonus strategy points. That’s what I’m aiming for.”

“Ohhh~” Wu Xiaomi nodded in understanding.

Xiaozhi was still as diligent and reliable as ever!

Lulutina was now shaking like a leaf.

She kept her mouth firmly shut, not daring to utter another word—her head hung so low it looked ready to bury itself in her lap.

Just when she thought she was dead meat—

The cold blade withdrew from her neck.

“Food.”

Inside the house, the shop function could be accessed freely— no need to visit the bulletin board.

Bai Xiaozhi tapped lightly with her slender fingers, and in front of Lulutina, clatter, clatter, a whole pile of instant food dropped down: bread, sausages, compressed biscuits—

All high-calorie, long-lasting emergency rations.

The blonde girl stared blankly at the sudden bounty before her.

She quietly wiped her eyes.

“Don’t forget the water,” Wu Xiaomi added, opening her own shop menu to exchange a few crates of mineral water.

Lulutina hadn’t cried even with a sword at her neck, but now, she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

She collapsed to the ground and burst into sobs, bawling so hard she couldn’t speak.

“What are you crying for? It’s not even expensive.”

“I… I asked so many people before this…” 

Lulutina choked out between sobs.

Before deciding to steal food from the “dragon’s lair,” Lulutina had already begged many other strategists for help.

These supplies weren’t pricey—just one point could get you a whole crate of water. 

Other food items were cheap too.

But ever since it was discovered that points could be used to buy Sequence Abilities, everyone had become extremely frugal. 

Not a single point could be wasted.

After all, Sequence Abilities were directly tied to survival.

To boost their chances in the next campaign, they had to save up and get stronger.

Well… unless you were someone like Wu Xiaomi, who had soloed as a Beast-Faced Tribe member and could afford to throw money around.

Most people only had around 500 points— the base reward for one round of strategy— just barely enough to survive.

Charity? Forget it.

Unless Lulutina could offer something of equal value…

“Thank you… thank you… thank you…”

The word was all that remained in Lulutina’s head.

She didn’t know what else to say— just overwhelming gratitude and guilt.

Bowing her head, she packed the food and water into her accessory storage.

Once everything was packed, she bowed deeply to Wu Xiaomi and Bai Xiaozhi again—

Then turned to leave.

“At the very least, I didn’t lie.”

In the courtyard, Lulutina’s hand rested on the iron gate.

“You won’t regret investing in me.”

The young girl’s voice was firm.

She glanced back at the big house one last time.

Even with a hole in the roof, it still looked like a warm, welcoming home.

Of course Lulutina longed to live there—

But she was sensible enough to walk away.

In a world where danger lurked around every corner, and betrayal was common,

Even if they let her stay, there’d always be suspicion, fear she might be the snake they’d unknowingly taken in.

They had already been kinder than she deserved.

Lulutina didn’t want to burden them further.

“Creaaak—”

She slid the latch, pushed the iron door open.

Stepping off the grass, she returned to that cold, milky-white world.

“Clang—”

The iron door shut behind her on its own.

Lulutina felt a pang of loneliness.

She wandered aimlessly forward, meandering between courtyards and along narrow white alleyways.

“So… There is a night here.”

She’d never gone to school, never read any astronomy books.

She didn’t know about southern constellations, northern skies, the ecliptic or celestial equators.

To her, the stars were still like scattered diamonds in the sky—no different from what she remembered.

Even the lonely wind blowing through the alley felt the same.

“Goodnight, Lulutina.”

She curled up by a wall, hugging her shoulders tightly.

Tap… tap…

Footsteps echoed from one end of the alley.

Lulutina stood quickly, alert, ready to dodge any stranger.

But then—footsteps came from the other end too.

“Lulutina… have you made your decision?”

Damn.

“A generous deal from the boss, and you still hesitate?”

Several thugs quickly surrounded her. 

“You want food and water? Fine. But you’ve got to give us something in return… You’re not completely worthless. You still have… your body.”

“Stay back! I don’t need food anymore!”

Lulutina shrank back against the wall, one palm discreetly beginning to soften it.

But… the spell was too slow!

“Running won’t help, kid,” sneered a thug with greasy dreadlocks,

“You think just because you escaped into that house, you’re safe from us?”

He pressed a knife against her cheek, grinning cruelly.

“You think those two are any better? Bai Xiaozhi, huh… In this world, everyone’s the same. They won’t take you in. No one will—except our boss. That’s your lucky break.”

“Pah!”

Lulutina slapped the knife away and spat in his face.

Then she made an “OK” sign with her fingers.

“Take your dirty points and go trade with some rats! With what you’re packing… tsk, maybe a mama rat would give you the time of day.”

Critical hit. 

Taunt successful.

“…Feisty little brat.”

The thug’s face twisted. She’d struck a nerve.

“I said I’m not trading with you! Get lost!”

“Come on, now. Don’t be rude. We’re just here to help…”

“Leave me alone!”

“Don’t be shy. Come with us, and we’ll treat you to a good life.”

Seeing that she refused to cooperate, the thugs reached out—ready to take her by force.

“Fwwip—”

“Aaaaaaargh!!”

A black crossbow bolt flew through the night, pinning a thug’s hand clean into the wall.

Agony shot through him like fire—his scream tore through the alley.

“Who?!” someone shouted.

Atop the wall sat the Empress of the Night—poised like royalty, cradling her beloved consort in her arms.