Leo sensed that the atmosphere around him wasn’t right, and he suddenly felt a chill in his hindquarters.
He turned his head stiffly. When he saw the figure at the entrance, the wine glass in his hand nearly slipped.
“Mother?!” The color drained from Leo’s face instantly.
The Marchioness — or rather, in the eyes of the patrons at this moment, she was simply a strict mother who had come to drag her naughty son home.
She merely stared at Leo with cold, piercing eyes. She stepped forward along the path the crowd cleared for her, approaching him step by step. Her silent posture carried more weight than any words could.
*Thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack—*
Those soft sounds were exceptionally clear in the suddenly quiet tavern, and they were exceptionally intimidating.
As if being jerked by an invisible string, Leo stood up abruptly. He even forgot to put down his wine glass as he stammered, “I… I’m going back! Right now! Immediately!”
“Come here.” The Marchioness’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an unquestionable command.
Leo slumped his shoulders, looking dejected as he shuffled toward the door one step at a time.
When he passed by Feng Qin, he even stole a quick glance, seemingly hoping to find a trace of sympathy on that perennially expressionless face…?
But he saw only a calm, waveless lake of ice.
The Duchess nodded slightly to the people in the tavern as a greeting. Then, she grabbed her son’s back collar like she was picking up a disobedient kitten and turned to leave.
The tavern door closed gently.
The silence lasted for only a few seconds.
“Pfft—” Someone finally couldn’t hold it in and laughed.
Immediately, a louder burst of laughter erupted, filled with cheerful and well-meaning banter.
“Hahaha! I told you! It’s the same ending every time for Young Master Leo!”
“I’ll bet one copper coin that he’ll definitely be jumping around trying to find a way to sneak out again tomorrow!”
“Five strikes in one second. The Marchioness’s rattan cane technique is truly improving by the day!”
The atmosphere became lively again, even more joyful than before. After all, what entertainment was more interesting than watching a young noble being dragged home by his mother’s hand?
Feng Qin watched the scene silently, his heart untroubled. Expressionless, he put away the few gold coins remaining on the bar and used the system to mark this NPC.
Time passed unnoticed amidst the noise.
Feng Qin habitually glanced at the bottom right corner of his vision. A translucent system time display and a floating function menu should have been there.
**[Otherworld Time: Year 377 of the scarlet moon calendar, Week 2, 21:47]**
‘It’s about time,’ Feng Qin thought. ‘Today’s exploration goal has been reached. Time to log out.’
As he had done countless times in the past, Feng Qin concentrated his thoughts and silently recited the command.
A familiar light blue, semi-transparent interface unfolded silently in his field of vision.
**[Status] [Skills] [Inventory] [Quests] [System Settings]**
Everything looked normal.
His consciousness moved like a mouse cursor, precisely hovering over the final **[System Settings]** option, intending to select **[Log Out]** as usual.
Then, Feng Qin’s movements froze along with his thoughts.
The sub-menu for **[System Settings]** expanded under his will.
**[Graphics Settings]**, **[Audio Settings]**, **[Control Settings]**, **[Game Help]**… The familiar options were all lined up.
But it wasn’t there.
The option he had used tens of thousands of times, one so familiar it had become an instinct…
**[Log Out]**
It was gone.
His heart seemed to skip a beat.
‘Is it lagging? A display error?’
Feng Qin’s consciousness quickly and carefully swept over every option and every sub-menu, leaving no corner unsearched.
Nothing.
It wasn’t anywhere.
It had disappeared.
In his vision, the swaying candlelight of the tavern became abnormally sharp, as did the noisy faces of the NPCs. The cold wooden texture of the bar and the sour smell of ale in the air… At this moment, every sensory input was more vivid than ever before.
The night was long. For the first time, Feng Qin experienced the feeling of seconds feeling like years in the game. No matter how many times he opened the system, the logout button remained missing.
The tavern’s crowd dispersed as people headed to their respective homes.
Feng Qin felt a bit tired; this kind of feedback really made it feel like he was at work. After the tavern closed, he returned to the small attic room provided for the servants.
This was also where the game provided basic supplies and recovery for players who lacked resources in the early stages.
Following the normal process, one only needed to find a bed and lie down, and then various options would appear. Upon closing one’s eyes, time would pass in an instant, and one would wake up in perfect condition.
But nothing happened.
Feng Qin lay on the bed, feeling a bit panicked. After so many attempts at verification, it was certain.
He had transmigrated.
Moreover, he had transmigrated into the female character he had just created.
‘If this is real… perhaps…’
Feng Qin pulled open the collar of the shirt. This action, which had never occurred in the game, now carried a strange sense of bashfulness.
In the game, whether it was a male or female character, one could not remove basic clothing. Even with a bug, there were no sexual characteristics.
But the heavy feeling on the chest felt very real.
When hands pressed down, the rebounding sensation was something he had never felt before, yet there was no reaction a man should have.
The realistic texture and temperature exploded at the fingertips, making him — no, making her realize that this was no longer a string of cold data and code.
The moonlight from outside the window slanted through the yellowed glass, casting a distinct line between light and shadow across her body.
“Ha…” Feng Qin let out a short laugh.
‘Back in reality, I bet no one is even helping to collect my corpse. I probably died quietly in that rental room, and no one cares.
No father, no mother, living aimlessly. Digital data became one of my few emotional supports.’
“It’s truly… ridiculous.”
Feng Qin stood up and walked to the mottled full-length mirror in the corner.
Reflected in the mirror was a strange young girl with short silver-white hair and twitching wolfkin ears.
After staring for a moment, she suddenly reached out and untied the belt at her waist, letting the lapel slide down her shoulders.
The graceful lines of her neck connected to exquisite collarbones, leading down to a petite and elegant figure that exuded an entirely unfamiliar, soft beauty.
‘The system interface is still here, but the logout function has disappeared. In that case, can the other game functions still be used?’
**[Status Window]**
Name: Ailiya
Race: wolfkin (silver frost bloodline — Tier 1)
Main Class: Assassin Lv. 2 (165/200)
Total Level: 5 (Assassin Lv. 2, Warlock Lv. 1…)
HP: 120/120
Stamina: 100/100
MP: 80/80
[Attributes]
STR: 8 (Slightly higher than a human)
AGI: 12 (wolfkin talent, agile)
VIT: 10 (Average)
PER: 14 (wolfkin talent, keen hearing and smell)
INT: 8 (Determines MP, recovery speed, focus, and resistance to mental shock)
CHA: 11 (Cool temperament and exotic race bonus)
[Traits]
Silver Frost Bloodline (Tier 1): In cold environments or under moonlight, all attributes increase by 10%. Detection values for vision, hearing, and smell are doubled.
Indifference: Minimal mental fluctuations, different from ordinary people. Not easily affected by mind-based checks.
[Sub-classes]
Maid Lv. 1 (80/100)
Warlock Lv. 1 (40/100)
Blacksmith Lv. 1 (90/100)
[Professional Skills]
Basic Combat Lv. 2: Muscle memory has formed; can even suppress veterans in close combat.
Danger Sense (Lv. 1): Provides a vague warning of incoming malice.
Stealth (Lv. 1): Movement is nearly silent. Merges into shadows; difficult for ordinary people to detect.
Precise Throw (Lv. 2): Can hit any target within 20 meters.
Handicraft (Lv. 3): Dexterous hands can not only kill but also sew clothes and repair precision machinery.
Chores (Lv. 1): Cups are polished brighter.
[Skills]
[Assassin] Weak Point Insight (Lv. 1): Marks an enemy’s defensive weakness for 3 seconds.
[Assassin] Sprint (Lv. 1): A sudden burst of speed to dash in any direction.
[Warlock] Flash Spell (Lv. 1): Instantly emits a blinding light. Can briefly blind enemies at close range and has a deterrent effect on undead creatures.
‘A pity… I didn’t transmigrate with a max-level account with god-tier gear. Otherwise, I might have truly experienced the pleasant life of a novel protagonist.’
‘But now, this is my reality.’
Feng Qin looked at the self in the mirror and whispered one word at a time.
“Since I can’t go back… then in this new world, I will live on as Ailiya.”
Hmm, this system interface is quite advanced.