030 Christine

The newcomer appeared to be exceptionally powerful and seemed to recognize Duan Qing, but that was not why Duan Qing and Xue Linghuanbing were so astonished.

Just a moment ago, a female voice had emanated from beneath the blue-robed figure’s hood.

The voice was incredibly soft and gentle, flowing through Duan Qing’s heart like a clear, babbling brook. However, a peculiar lilt at the end of her words made him feel as if a tiny kitten were playfully scratching at his heart.

He had heard her before he saw her, yet just from that first sentence, Duan Qing had already sketched out an image of this blue-robed woman.

Suddenly, a roar echoed through the air. Duan Qing turned his head to see the giant tiger, which had previously collapsed to the ground, leaping backward in a single bound. In the direction it had been facing, the long sword that had just unleashed a flash of sword light from the black-cloaked figure was now pointed diagonally downward; Xue Linghuanbing’s attempt to strike while the beast was down had failed.

The tiger hunched its body, growling lowly as it pressed against the ground. Its fierce eyes glared viciously at the group. After a moment, it retreated slowly, its form gradually fading into the shrubs until it vanished from sight.

Xue Linghuanbing stood upright, her long sword finally dragging on the ground. Freed from the state of extreme tension, she felt utterly exhausted. In the eyes of Meng Zhu, who had been hiding to the side, the woman who had fought so desperately finally sat down, took a few heavy breaths, and pulled a bottle of blue liquid from her waist, sipping it in small intervals.

"What is that?"

"Stamina restoration potion. It alleviates the sequelae of short-term muscular exertion, clears negative states caused by it, and... it can treat internal injuries."

"Internal injuries? Does this game even have internal injuries? And you just now..."

"If you were hit head-on by a Galahad tiger, even a burly man wouldn't feel too good, you know." It was not Xue Linghuanbing who answered Duan Qing, but the blue-robed woman walking slowly toward them from behind.

"Fate is truly favoring us, little brother." The owner of that soft, beautiful voice stopped in front of Duan Qing. It seemed she clearly remembered their encounter during that fierce battle in the jungle earlier—even though the distance between them had been significant, it was now clear that she had been aware of their presence all along.

Xue Linghuanbing cast a suspicious glance at Duan Qing. The latter shrugged, then put on a friendly, smiling expression. "Ah... thank you, miss, for saving our lives..."

"Twice, actually." He blinked, then added, "And about that 'Galahad' you mentioned..."

"Oh—hehehehe."

Before he could finish, the blue-robed figure interrupted him with a queenly laugh. "What an interesting little brother you are. You have quite the eye..."

She walked closer, reached up with both hands, and removed her hood, letting her golden hair cascade down.

She truly was a beautiful woman, Duan Qing marveled inwardly.

A slender face, full lips, and large eyes—beneath that hood was indeed a beautiful visage. Her eyes were particularly captivating, glowing with a deep, azure light. Combined with the curly golden hair flowing down both sides of her cheeks, a mature and enchanting aura hit them, stirring their hearts.

Her lips were pursed, and her gaze scanned Duan Qing’s body several times as if it were a physical touch. She laughed again, "Hmm, calling me 'sister'—what a delightful little brother. But it's very dangerous for little brothers like you to come to this place, you know..."

She looked around at the group. "Take my advice and hurry back to Green Stone Village."

She waved her hand dismissively, then looked toward the other two, who had slowly emerged after being unaccounted for during the fierce battle, and offered them a smile.

Facing such a mature beauty, Liu Qingniu was clearly stunned. Meng Zhu, being female herself, was likely not affected in the same way, but a trace of sadness hung on her small face.

"Uncle... Jie Cheng E Shao..."

"He just died, don't be sad. That's a normal part of the gaming experience." Duan Qing smiled and patted the little girl's head, only to have his hand swatted away. "Don't touch my head! I'm not a child. I’m just... just..."

"Just what? Oh... we'll pay him compensation when we get back, provided we have any money left..."

"That's not it! Forget it... forget it..."

The girl’s mind was clearly elsewhere. Even though she didn't say it, Duan Qing understood. The brutal battle and the loss of a team member had clearly shaken her confidence; even now, she hadn't recovered from the shock. Duan Qing could only offer a few casual remarks as a form of consolation.

"A-la-la-la, what a cold-hearted little brother, being so unconcerned about the death of a member..."

The blue-robed woman rested a hand against her cheek, putting on a pitiful expression. However, Duan Qing knew that someone as powerful as her must have seen many deaths and likely didn't care about such things. Still, he felt compelled to say something to maintain his position. "The life of an adventurer is just like this. Life and death are fated, and every member is prepared for this..."

"Hmm, the little brother has a good mindset..."

Xue Linghuanbing sneered inwardly. *If you were such a kind person, how could you have said those things to me earlier...* But that was no longer the priority.

Having encountered such a powerful NPC, there were many more variables to consider. The ideas she had been turning over for the past two days needed to be adjusted. If she could find a reason to build a connection with this mage, exploring the ruins might become much easier... It wasn't as if she hadn't used such methods to complete quests in her past gaming history.

Plus, she could get away from this annoying man...

She watched the conversation between Duan Qing and the blue-robed woman, calculating other possibilities. It wasn't long before the focus of the conversation turned to her.

"...For you youngsters, staying here is simply too dangerous. If..." The blue-robed woman cast a flickering glance at Xue Linghuanbing. "If it were this young lady’s strength, perhaps she could survive here for a while..."

Everyone’s eyes turned toward her.

"Uh..." Xue Linghuanbing was taken aback. Just as she was about to say something, Duan Qing spoke first. "Her strength is certainly far greater than ours. In fact, we are just passing acquaintances."

"When you saved her earlier, her team members had just been killed by that giant snake. We were just a passing group, and we’ve only been acting with her temporarily. Before that, we were just watching from afar... The strength of the people in her team must be as formidable as hers, and I wonder..."

Duan Qing scratched his head and chuckled. "I wonder what they were doing here..."

The blue-robed woman cast an inexplicable look at the black-cloaked figure, while Xue Linghuanbing had already begun cursing in her mind.

With just a few sentences, she had suddenly become a suspicious person with ulterior motives. This man was truly full of malice. However, seeing how they seemed to have known each other for a while, if he deliberately smeared her, she might really end up meeting her end here...

*If only I hadn't fought so hard earlier, I should have just left them to their fate...*

"Um, I..."

Though filled with resentment, she remained calm on the surface, trying to buy time. Her mind raced, looking for a way to explain her situation, while her right hand subconsciously rested on the hilt of her sword—a battle-hardened player would always prioritize self-preservation in an emergency.

Then, she felt a bone-chilling cold.

The blue-robed woman’s azure pupils had begun to glow faintly, and her beautiful, large eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh? I didn't expect that. Even though I saved your life earlier and there is some connection of fate between us, having such a bad temper won't do you any good, you know..."

*Saved my life? When...*

Xue Linghuanbing's thoughts raced, but her hand stopped moving. Just as she was about to speak, Duan Qing stepped in to control the situation again.

"Let's not do anything rash, miss... After all, she is our teammate now. And surely you saw her bravery earlier; she has saved our lives as well..."

Duan Qing wore a gentle, sunny smile. "She mentioned earlier that she would do her best to help us complete our quest. With a powerhouse like her around, ordinary play—ah, adventurers like us—will feel much more at ease, don't you think?"

Duan Qing spread his arms, looking at the blue-robed mage. She looked back at him, a slow smile forming at the corners of her lips, and the light in her eyes gradually dimmed. She bowed her head in thought, and then her soft, beautiful voice echoed once more.

"So, you are adventuring here, are you?"

She brushed a lock of hair aside. "How is your... adventure going? Is it going smoothly?"

*This is the chance!*

Xue Linghuanbing clenched her fists, subtly signaling Duan Qing with her eyes—if they could just show a bit of vulnerability and ask for help, perhaps they could get her to lend a hand and keep this seemingly powerful mage around...

Never mind the complex relationship between them; with a strong reinforcement, there was hope for what lay ahead. She could just re-plan things later and grind for favorability...

She didn't get a chance to think any further, because Duan Qing did not follow through as she had expected.

"Thank you for your concern. Despite the help of this swordswoman, our progress has been very slow..."

"In such a dangerous place, it's quite an achievement to just stay alive. Don't force yourselves to complete any commissions..."

"No, completing commissions is the duty of an adventurer, and it is our conviction." Duan Qing said firmly. "And we remain very confident."

"Mmm, what a group of adorable children. But you are still so young, I can't bear to watch you..."

"Adventurers are people who have made their resolve, as I said before." Duan Qing replied. "And only by doing this can we grow rapidly and explore a wider world."

Behind him, Xue Linghuanbing bowed her head, deciding not to say anything more.

"I see..." Seeing Duan Qing's resolve, the blue-robed woman put away her gentle smile. She pursed her lips and pondered for a moment, then asked slowly, "May I ask what your mission is?"

Duan Qing fell silent.

Players in *Free World* were accustomed to using the term "adventurer" in front of NPCs, because in the eyes of these NPCs, they were always running to dangerous places, risking their lives for weapons, equipment, resources, or even strange trinkets. Players were happy to use this term because it helped explain issues like life and death.

But even so, there were taboos. Just as one wouldn't easily ask about someone's income among friends, or a woman's age, in the adventures of *Free World*, others wouldn't easily ask what your mission objective was.

This unwritten rule was more lenient in standard virtual reality games, as such inquiries usually occurred between players. If a player in a tavern asked another team what their mission was or what they were planning to do, the other party would mostly be vigilant, laugh it off with a few vague words, and brush it aside—they would be wary of you "seeing profit and becoming greedy," spying on intelligence, or even running into "conflicting missions." NPCs, however, usually didn't ask such questions; that was simply how the game was designed.

*Free World* was different. Because the world here was too real, this kind of "cutthroat competition" naturally occurred between players and NPCs. So, driven by the players, this question was even less likely to appear in exchanges between adventurers.

And now, the blue-robed woman before them had asked this very question, and so naturally at that, which left Duan Qing and the others unable to decipher the meaning behind it.

"May I ask..." After thinking for a while, Duan Qing decided to be honest, but before that, he felt he should be more formal. "Your name, milady?"

"Oh, what a cute little brother indeed..." The woman covered her mouth and laughed again. On the back of her fair hand, some faint patterns were drawn, though no one could understand their specific purpose.

The next moment, the blue-robed woman straightened her expression and pulled her staff from her back once more. She tapped it against the ground and held it vertically in front of her chest.

"Mage Council, member of the Seven-Member Council, Christine." The blue-robed woman—Christine—said seriously. She then held the staff horizontally, tucked it against her chest, and performed a peculiar salute toward them.

"I follow the will of the elements."

The alluring big sister had suddenly turned into a serious mage, which gave Duan Qing and the others quite a fright. However, this state only lasted a few seconds before the charm and maturity of the woman returned to her.

"Alright, cute little brother, can you tell me now?"

Even though he had heard of an organization called the Mage Council, Duan Qing had no concept of what the "Seven-Member Council" was. He glanced toward the black-cloaked figure and found no reaction, so he sighed inwardly, concluding from the grandiose title that she was probably some high-ranking official.

"Ahahaha, long time no see... I mean, honored to meet you..."

Ignoring the varying degrees of disdain from the others, Duan Qing naturally took the lead and briefly introduced the quest they had received from the little boy. But from the moment the story of the boy began, a smile started to appear on the blue-robed, golden-haired woman’s face. She listened to the entire story appearing quite happy, and then covered her full, vibrant lips with her hand, letting out an "Oh-ho-ho-ho."

"Hearing such a thing makes me very happy, oh-ho-ho..."

*Someone tell me, is there something wrong with this woman...* Xue Linghuanbing remained on high alert, while Duan Qing began to rub his forehead.

"...So, you are the people little Benny found, is that right?"

"Uh, yes... wait, what?"

Duan Qing was startled.

When he told the story earlier, he had only mentioned a little boy and hadn't mentioned his name. How did this woman know?

*Hmm, the boy did seem to say it earlier...*

Before Duan Qing could react to the thought, her next words shattered his entire train of thought.

In fact, that sentence shattered everyone's composure.

"But his father, I'm afraid... is already dead."

She twirled her finger as casually as if she were talking about what she had eaten for lunch. "And... you should have already met him."

"Wh... what..."

The girl in the purple robe opened her mouth wide, unable to recover from the shock of the words. Duan Qing’s expression also turned grim. However, the first to retort was the hot-blooded youth standing to the side.

"You are talkin'... nonsense! We haven't seen a single living person on this road, how could we have met that, that... what was his name again?"

"Yeah!" Meng Zhu didn't answer A Niu's question, but she reacted as well. "And even if we did meet him, how can you say he's dead? Could it be that you killed him..."

"Quiet!"

Duan Qing reached out to stop his teammate's suspicions, suppressing that possibility, because it was the most terrifying one yet. He held one arm out, looking at her with a flat expression, hoping she would provide a reasonable explanation, though he was secretly preparing himself, hoping events wouldn't unfold as he feared.

However, the blue-robed woman’s explanation was even more unexpected.

"Oh? Why would I deign to lie to little children like you..."

Christine boredly tapped her full, vibrant lips with her finger, her voice laced with laziness. "Of course you have met Trick..."

She smiled slightly. "Just a moment ago."

The forest fell silent once more, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind echoing around them. At sunset, the group standing there seemed to tremble, like wild grass in autumn about to lose its vitality. When the cries of unknown birds swept overhead, Duan Qing’s voice finally broke the indescribable silence.

"Huh?"