After choosing to ignore that matter, the atmosphere between the two eased up a bit.
Duya looked at Fuyeli’s exquisite little face and couldn’t help but ask.
“By the way, how long have you lived here in Crescent Town?”
“About a few years, I suppose?”
Of course, Fuyeli could never tell him exactly how many years she had stayed in this place.
The noses of these investigators were like hounds; there was no telling if they would discover some clues based on the date she gave.
The best method was simply not to say.
“I see…”
Duya fell into deep thought.
Since Fuyeli was a native of this place, she must know what exactly happened to this small town.
The situation last night was definitely not an ordinary mysterious incident; thank goodness this was a game, as if it were reality, it would have been quite a terrifying affair.
Ye Xiao had also told him that he might try to cooperate with Fuyeli; perhaps he could find traces of the Bubble Shadow.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and tentatively said to Fuyeli.
“Since you have been in this small town for so long, Fuyeli, I want to ask, last night… what was that situation?”
A sweet smile hung on Fuyeli’s face, giving off a comfortable feeling like a spring breeze: “As long as you don’t go out at night, you won’t encounter any danger. This world is still very beautiful, and besides, Master Player, I don’t even know your name.”
Hearing this, Duya was slightly stunned.
Only then did he remember that he had met Fuyeli so many times, yet he had never told her his ID.
This made him scratch his head in a bit of embarrassment.
“Just call me Duya.”
“Very well, Master Duya,” Fuyeli bowed slightly: “If you want to investigate the truth of this small town, please go to the inn on East Street. That is where you will find the answers you want.”
Hearing this, Duya felt a surge of joy.
It seemed that Fuyeli, this system sprite, really did know something, so he continued.
“I am looking for a young girl with white hair and purple eyes, so I would like to ask for your help to find this person.”
Seeing Duya extending an olive branch to her, Fuyeli still smiled faintly.
“I am sorry, Master Duya, but I am no longer your system sprite. My permissions have been stripped by the system, and I have no way to provide you with normal game services for now. Regarding this… you had best look elsewhere.”
Help this guy find her?
No matter what, her brain hadn’t been caught in a door; how could she ever agree to such a request?
Therefore, she naturally rejected the other party without hesitation, while also enjoying the pleasure of rejecting someone else.
It couldn’t be helped; after all, wasn’t joy something built on the suffering of others?
A trace of playfulness flashed across Fuyeli’s face.
Hearing Fuyeli’s refusal, Duya’s face revealed a look of discouragement, just as expected, and he let out a sigh.
If heaven gave him a chance to do it all over again, he definitely wouldn’t have tried to strip Fuyeli’s clothes… right?
“However, you can stay in this place.”
“Huh?”
Duya was stunned after hearing this; he didn’t expect Fuyeli to actually let him stay here.
“Is it really that surprising, Master Duya?”
Fuyeli revealed a warm smile: “After all, you don’t have anywhere else to live, right?”
“Ah… indeed.”
“Doesn’t that settle it?” Fuyeli nodded: “Stay here. Although the room isn’t big, it is at least a warm home.”
Upon hearing the last word in Fuyeli’s speech, Duya was completely stunned.
Home…
It seemed he had never had a home.
Whether it was in reality or in the game.
Ever since he could remember, he had never seen his parents.
According to other investigators, his parents had perished in a tsunami while out at sea.
Thus, the concept of a “home” was quite illusory and ethereal for Duya.
If not for having a younger sister, the concept of a home would have had no tangible reality for him.
So he never expected to hear this word from an AI sprite.
“However… there is only one bedroom here.”
“That is natural,” Fuyeli said with a smirk: “So you sleep on the sofa.”
Having said that, regardless of what Duya thought, Fuyeli pushed open the door and flew out into the world.
Leaving this man behind, dumbfounded and at a loss for what to do.
Just then, his phone suddenly rang.
“Did your heart skip a beat?”
“Oh, come on!”
Hearing Ye Xiao’s voice, Duya was so startled he nearly jumped.
“What is going on?”
“What else could be going on?”
Ye Xiao seemed to be teasing Duya from the other end: “It’s just that you didn’t hang up the phone.”
Only then did Duya hurriedly look at his mobile phone; the accumulated 30-minute call time shown on the screen made him feel a bit ashamed.
It seemed that because Fuyeli had appeared so suddenly, he had forgotten to hang up the phone!
“How much did you all hear?”
“Not much,” there seemed to be many people behind Ye Xiao trying to stifle their laughter: “It’s just that we were all quite curious—did you really do something indecent to that little sprite last night?”
At the same time, behind her, there were intermittent teasing remarks like “a rotten tree blooming” and “iron trees flowering.”
“How could that be?”
Duya was thick-skinned; he naturally refuted the other party’s words with righteous indignation and continued.
“The other party is an AI; how could I possibly develop feelings for an AI?”
“That’s not certain, you know,” Ye Xiao laughed while saying: “After all, android technology is quite advanced now.”
“…”
Seeing that the other party would not let it go, Duya knew he couldn’t win an argument against this female boss.
Or rather, ever since he started working here, he had never managed to get the upper hand over her.
“I’m done yapping with you guys; I’m going back to continue my investigation.”
With that, regardless of what the other end was thinking, Duya hung up the phone completely.
He looked at the bright sunshine outside the window and couldn’t help but exhale.
“Now that things have reached this point, let’s go check on Bulanni first.”
…..
Fuyeli flew forward slowly on the streets of Crescent Town.
Compared to the night, the temperature here during the day was much warmer, and that eerie, terrifying atmosphere had vanished without a trace.
If one were to look at it now, someone who didn’t know the situation might mistake this for a sunny, charming vacation town.
But Fuyeli knew that this was by no means a vacation town; when night fell, this town would truly eat people alive.
However, it was daytime now, and daytime here could be considered quite safe.
The pedestrians coming and going on the street saw Fuyeli and greeted the little sprite kindly.
Walking along the street, Fuyeli soon arrived in front of a guild.
She flew inside, sat on the front counter, and watched the busy street, unable to stop a sigh from escaping her.
“Today is another day full of hope.”