“Xiao Xi, I’ve already defeated the natives, so why aren’t you happy yet?”
“Oh! I get it, it’s because that woman is still standing in the way of our happy life. She hasn’t been completely erased yet, right? Don’t worry, Xiao Xi. I’ll make her… disappear forever and ever!”
“Clean living, Nishang.”
Under the setting sun, that springlike silhouette stretched out its hand toward the person lying on the ground, just like a devil showing no mercy and reaping life.
Xia Mengxi, who was raising a branch high in her hand, was so startled by the shocking scene that she dropped the branch on the ground, not even realizing it for a long while.
She was just someone who had come from a Zhitong family. To witness such a terrifying scene—she was already doing well not to have fainted on the spot.
She stood dazed until the smell of scorched flesh drifted over, and, along with it, the long-absent Divine Script appeared in midair, finally pulling her out of her trance.
[Target of Strategy No.1, Li Siqi, has been confirmed dead. So, young lady—this round… GG!]
The appearance of the Divine Script marked the complete failure of Xia Mengxi’s current strategy route.
As Lin Xue’er began walking toward her, she couldn’t even move a finger.
“Alright, Xiao Xi, let’s go home~”
Again with that terrifying smile? No… please, no…
This time, Lin Xue’er was already frightening to begin with. Xia Mengxi had angered her so many times that she didn’t even need to think to know what kind of torment would come next.
Just as Xia Mengxi was feeling hopeless, the Divine Script appeared once more.
(Because the young lady has brought much amusement to the Supreme God—me—I shall mercifully reveal to you one of the conditions to activate the reversal ability!)
[One of the conditions to trigger the reversal ability: The strategy target must harbor true intent to kill you.]
Intent to kill… Isn’t this just like the last reversal? But the Lin Xue’er walking toward her now radiated madness from every pore. There wasn’t a trace of that dread or desire to cherish her as before!
No! If the other side doesn’t attack, she has to make her attack! That’s it—maybe if she tries to escape now, she can lure out Lin Xue’er’s killing intent?
Clinging to hope in this special ability, Xia Mengxi felt strength return to her body. Quickly, she bent down to pick up the branch, then grabbed a small stone and hurled it in Lin Xue’er’s direction. Since she couldn’t tell where she was aiming, she just picked a random direction and made a run for it.
Lin Xue’er, dodging the little stone, tilted her head and gave Xia Mengxi’s fleeing figure a foolish smile.
“Xiao Xi—are you playing hide-and-seek? Then I’ll be the seeker, and you can hide. If I catch you… Heh heh…”
Not knowing how far she’d run, Xia Mengxi felt as if her lungs were about to burst. She had no choice but to stop and catch her breath.
All the while, she kept scanning her surroundings, ready to spot Lin Xue’er at the first sign of her appearance. But, much to her surprise, even after she calmed her breathing, Lin Xue’er still hadn’t shown up.
Could it be… she’d lost Lin Xue’er? No, impossible. Knowing Lin Xue’er as she did, Xia Mengxi was sure the only reason the girl hadn’t appeared was to let hope blossom in her heart—only to crush it mercilessly when she let her guard down.
If it were before, she might truly have been beaten down as Lin Xue’er wished. But now, Xia Mengxi’s goal wasn’t simply to run, and Lin Xue’er’s way of playing actually gave her space to think.
“Still, even so, what should I do to provoke Lin Xue’er into truly wanting to kill me?”
Frustrated, Xia Mengxi slammed her fist into a nearby tree trunk. Whether the tree was hurt, she didn’t know, but her hand was throbbing with pain.
“If I’d known, I would have pushed Li Siqi even harder before. Maybe that would have made Lin Xue’er so furious she’d want to finish me off…”
Thinking of Li Siqi, Xia Mengxi’s heart ached. Yes, she could use her skill to reverse things, and Li Siqi could come back from the dead. But this time, Li Siqi was truly gone forever.
And what troubled her more was that Li Siqi had died for her. So even if they met again after a reset, nothing could make up for the fact that Li Siqi died helping her this time.
“If I’d been more careful, I wouldn’t have gotten her killed by such a simple and obvious trap. It’s all my fault.”
Mourning Li Siqi’s death, Xia Mengxi fell into deep gloom, even blaming herself. If only she hadn’t made that tiny mistake, she wouldn’t have killed anyone, and things wouldn’t have fallen to this point.
But there are no ifs in this world. If you’re wrong, admit it, learn your lesson, and don’t fall into endless self-blame and guilt.
Xia Mengxi understood this principle well. So for now, she tucked away her grief for Li Siqi in a corner of her heart and focused her attention on what she had to do next.
“Xiao Xi—are you listening~”
A chilling voice echoed from not far away. Xia Mengxi turned and saw Lin Xue’er already within her line of sight.
Seeing this, she immediately turned and ran the other way. Noticing her movement, Lin Xue’er let out a laugh that echoed through the mountain valleys.
“Xiao Xi—Xiao Mengxi~ I found you~!”
“Run, hurry, run faster~ If you’re slow, I’ll catch you~”
As she ran, Xia Mengxi glanced back at the figure chasing her, and couldn’t help but break into goosebumps at that cheerful yet chilling laughter.
This special, three-layered Lin Xue’er was truly terrifying! Whether physically or mentally, she could inflict devastating armor-piercing damage. No matter how strong Xia Mengxi’s willpower, she was powerless to resist.
The deadliest part was, this special Three Stages was vastly different from before. Back then, Lin Xue’er’s killing intent was born from her desire to keep Xia Mengxi by her side forever, at the cost of her freedom.
Now, though, the Three Stages was about breaking her spirit completely, making her lose her sense of self—far more terrifying than just losing the ability to move.
So, what could she do to make Lin Xue’er change her mind?
Xia Mengxi noticed one thing: no matter what, Lin Xue’er wanted her to stay alive by her side. It didn’t matter if she had any will of her own. All that mattered was that she became a controllable puppet, not an unruly plaything.
In that case… maybe she could try this.
With a possible solution in mind, Xia Mengxi took a deep breath, then deliberately led Lin Xue’er toward the edge of a cliff.
“Hey, Xiao Xi, there’s nowhere left to hide up ahead!”
“Hide? Who said I wanted to hide?”
With her back to the cliff’s edge and Lin Xue’er closing in, Xia Mengxi shouted loudly, “Stop! Take one more step and I’ll jump!”