Zhou Qingqing looked at the three options before her, the corners of her eyes twitching twice.
No matter which of the three options she picked, they were all utterly terrible, especially when she saw Option One.
Her entire composure crumbled.
“Saintess’s Flesh Prison?! Are you! Are you kidding me?!!”
‘Does the Saintess have designs on me, too?!’
Zhou Qingqing backed away two steps, her face darkened.
It was as if she couldn’t believe anything she was seeing.
Dealing with the existence of the Witches or the chaotic factions was already enough of a headache, but now her own superior wanted to have a go at her.
‘If the Saintess wants to do that kind of thing to me, doesn’t that mean if I return to the Holy Court Headquarters…’
‘I’ll have to sell my body?!’
The sudden appearance of Option One seemed to directly cut off her possibility of escaping back to the Holy See.
It was a choice designed entirely to force her not to be a deserter.
Now, Zhou Qingqing suspected that the System inside her body had provided this option specifically because it heard her previous justification.
The worst part wasn’t just this option; Option Two even blocked her final path.
If she wanted to go head-to-head with the [Land of Desire], she would end up becoming a Seedbed for the succubi.
In the end, there wasn’t even an option for a heroic death.
But thinking about it, in the game, encounters with succubi almost never ended in a character’s death.
At most, one would lose some HP and gain quite a few Lust points.
Sometimes, when one’s HP was nearly empty, the opponent would even perform healing actions.
However, Zhou Qingqing wouldn’t develop a favorable impression of a succubus just because of that.
Between being dragged back as a Seedbed and choosing Option One, she’d rather take the latter.
But if she did that, she would truly become the Saintess’s Canary.
‘Do… do I have no choice but to sell my backside?’
‘And if it’s just the Saintess alone, it shouldn’t hurt too much…’
Zhou Qingqing’s face was pale.
She still found it difficult to accept that the Saintess was also eyeing her.
However, thinking it over, it was somewhat logical.
She held a high position despite being a low-order weakling.
Zhou Qingqing had almost been brainwashed by the Little Nuns under her command into believing she was some grand strategist.
Now it seemed the Saintess had deliberately given her a high-ranking position just to keep her within the Holy See.
She already owed the woman a debt of gratitude, yet she refused to submit to her.
That was likely why she had been sent to this most dangerous border.
It explained why someone of the Ninth Order like herself was serving here as a Central Nun.
It was definitely a ploy to use the [Land of Desire] to make her soften up so she would run back to the Holy Capital in disgrace and become a plaything in the other woman’s bed.
Looking at it this way, the Saintess, who appeared the most holy and selfless in the game, was actually quite dark on the inside.
This was the first time Zhou Qingqing felt a headache because of her excessive charm.
Facing a powerhouse standing at the peak of combat strength, there was no telling how badly she would be played with.
She felt even more concerned about her identity as the Mysterious Eastern Girl and felt a surge of worry.
According to those previous options, the Holy See was a place she couldn’t escape; it was only a matter of time before she was recalled.
‘At least being summoned back would give me some dignity. If I flee back, I’ll probably really be…’
‘Come to think of it, since the first time Option One appeared, it has been trying to lead me into a pit of fire…’
Zhou Qingqing suddenly remembered that when she faced the Ice Frost Witch, Bai Shuang, if she had chosen to ignore her and enter the Holy See’s main storyline, she would have fallen into the Saintess’s hands back then too.
Thinking back, her decision not to choose Option One out of her own selfish desires had been the correct choice.
Otherwise, not only would she have lost a soft, cute girl like Bai Shuang, but she would have also ended up in the Saintess’s grasp.
Furthermore, her identity as the Mysterious Eastern Girl would likely have turned her into a toy between the woman’s fingers.
It was quite possible that, just like the stories in those illicit books, she would be “worked” when there was work to do, and “worked” when there wasn’t.
By then, even if such things happened, Zhou Qingqing wouldn’t have the slightest power to resist.
It was only because the Saintess represented the Goddess that she still maintained some semblance of principles.
Otherwise, with that kind of strength, what couldn’t she do?
She was an existence capable of transmitting the Goddess’s Oracle.
Zhou Qingqing knew better than anyone how powerful and authoritative the Saintess was.
‘But fortunately, the Saintess isn’t perfect…’
In the game, Zhou Qingqing had used the Saintess’s character card, so she naturally knew the pros and cons of such a high-quality card.
Although the Saintess’s card was powerfully perfect, Zhou Qingqing had given it up after only one try.
Not only did Witches have a flat -100 favorability toward the Saintess, but her strength was so great that there were constraints on her activity areas.
The only benefits were the ability to contact a hidden Witch and having 100% authority within the Holy See.
‘If I can’t return to the Holy Capital and I don’t want to become a Seedbed for succubi…’
After much hesitation, Zhou Qingqing’s gaze finally landed on Option Three.
Trading with a Witch.
Although she looked at the summary of the three options and felt Option Three was barely different from Option One — after all, the description mentioned [Witch’s Toy].
Just hearing that summary made it clear it wasn’t anything good.
Saintess’s Flesh Prison and Witch’s Toy were essentially the same thing.
No matter which option she chose, it seemed she couldn’t escape the fate of having to sacrifice herself.
Zhou Qingqing was completely stunned.
Choice-based games were terrible like this; you never knew how bad a choice would turn out.
‘Am I really going to fall here?’
As Zhou Qingqing’s fingers trembled, unsure of how to make the choice, a thought suddenly struck her.
The only Witch she currently knew was Bai Shuang.
She only knew of the Desire Witch’s existence through one-sided information.
That Witch named Lillian didn’t know her at all, so how could she even talk about making a deal?
‘Trading with a Witch… what could I even trade?’
‘I have nothing. I’m empty-handed. This is nothing more than a trick to make me submit to a snake…’
Zhou Qingqing felt as if she had caught a loophole in the System.
Option Three told her to trade with a Witch but didn’t specify which one.
Bai Shuang was still young and hadn’t awakened to become a true Witch yet.
But who said a Half-Witch wasn’t a Witch?
If she struck a deal with Bai Shuang, wouldn’t that mean nothing bad would happen?
After realizing this, another trace of hesitation surfaced.
‘But if I trade with Bai Shuang, I won’t be able to resist the encroachment of the [Land of Desire]…’
Zhou Qingqing rubbed her aching head.
Although trading with Bai Shuang could bypass the immediate choice, it wouldn’t solve the underlying problem.
For Bai Shuang to become an existence capable of competing with the Desire Witch, it would take at least several decades.
She had to grow into the Ice Frost Witch known as the Zero Degree Cataclysm first.
By the time that happened, it wasn’t even certain if Zhou Qingqing would still be alive.
‘It’s a dead end again…’
‘Could it be that trading with a Witch means I have to personally enter the [Land of Desire] to beg the Desire Witch, Lillian, not to strike?’
The problem was that she wouldn’t even need to go inside; just wandering around the outskirts for a while would probably result in her being captured by a succubus.
That would lead straight back to the summary of Option Two.
Going in alone was no different from seeking death.
If she couldn’t even see the Desire Witch’s face, how could they negotiate a deal?
‘Maybe I should trade with Bai Shuang first. At least a little girl doesn’t pose much of a threat to me…’