Late at night, with everything in absolute silence, the hour hand had long since passed midnight, yet in the pitch-black room, Silver Bell still sat cross-legged in front of her computer.
The faint glow of the screen illuminated her intensely focused face.
The girl’s hands moved with practiced skill, and the character she controlled on the screen was currently dodging and weaving, flawlessly catching every pre-attack of the boss to evade or block, and seizing every opening to strike back a few times.
After a hard-fought battle, as the boss finally fell, an Achievement for a flawless clear popped up in the lower right corner of the screen.
Only then did Silver Bell let out a long sigh, toss her controller aside, take off her headphones, and stretch with a huge yawn.
People often wondered why the combat style of the Silver Flame Dragon Princess was so bold, sweeping, and oppressive, with all those Quick and Slow Blade techniques and seemingly impossible-to-block Heavy Attacks that always left her opponents drenched in sweat.
Many speculated she had received specialized combat training and developed her own unique fighting style… but in truth, it was all nonsense.
Every single one of Silver Bell’s combat skills had been learned from bosses in various Soul Games.
One of Silver Bell’s three favorite types of games was Soul Games.
Titles like X Wolf, Dark X Soul, and Elden X Ring—she had all cleared them with every Achievement and without taking a single hit.
Most importantly, by learning fighting moves from game bosses, she could completely avoid having to interact with real people.
After finally grinding out another Achievement, Silver Bell patted her stomach, ready to get up and grab a Convenience Store Bento from the fridge to heat up.
But as soon as she stepped forward, she accidentally kicked over a messy pile of takeout boxes on the floor, sending a cascade of containers tumbling down.
Silver Bell hunched her shoulders… Maybe she really should fix her schedule?
She’d been staying up later and later these days.
Forget about whether it was healthy or not, this room was definitely getting messier and messier.
At that moment, Silver Bell suddenly perked up her ears. The late-night air was very quiet.
She had been so focused on her game with headphones on, but now, after taking them off, she heard a faint, intermittent sound of sobbing.
Was… was it coming from next door? Was someone crying?
Silver Bell pressed her ear against the wall. Though it was hard to make out clearly, she could indeed hear a whimpering noise—and it sounded like that Sirius’s voice!
Could something have happened in the middle of the night? The thought instantly popped into Silver Bell’s mind.
She was someone who hated trouble—especially this kind that sounded like it would be nothing but a hassle. Normally, she’d avoid it as much as possible, but…
Silver Bell suddenly realized this was the perfect chance to fulfill the task Muxingge had given her.
Wasn’t this exactly the time she needed to check on Sirius?
If she did this well, her botched attempt to greet her earlier could be completely written off, and she wouldn’t have to apologize to Xingge anymore!
Sirius must have run into something bad; why else would she be making those “woo woo” noises in the middle of the night? What else could it be but crying?
Silver Bell hesitated and gave herself half an hour of mental prep before finally standing in front of the neighboring apartment’s door, nervously raising her hand to knock.
“I-I’m coming…”
It was a long while before Xiaoxi finally came to open the door. She was hastily dressed, her clothes and hair a mess, cheeks flushed, and there were still sparkling tears at the corners of her eyes.
Silver Bell immediately grew more alert. Why did Xiaoxi look so pitiful? Could it be… domestic violence?
She knew that the one who came to North Blossom City with Xiaoxi, Ye Xinglan, was the Blood Moon Witch.
The Astrologer lady had specifically told her that Ye Xinglan was one of their own, and Silver Bell had never had any issues with her.
But come to think of it, maybe the Blood Moon Witch was actually a violent person in private?
Seeing Silver Bell, Xiaoxi’s previously muddled mind suddenly sobered up in fright, and she hurriedly hid most of her body behind the door.
No wonder she hadn’t seen anyone through the peephole just now—it was Silver Bell at the door… This kid was just too short!
“Um… Are you okay? I thought I heard someone crying next door…”
Xiaoxi’s frazzled thoughts from earlier—thanks to Ye Xinglan—instantly cleared… Crap! Silver Bell really did hear her! How embarrassing!
“Y-you really heard? How much did you hear?”
“Ah, sorry, sorry! I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose, I just accidentally heard a little sound…”
Silver Bell immediately waved her hands nervously. Just then, Ye Xinglan came jogging out, having gotten dressed.
“What’s going on? Don’t tell me we actually disturbed someone? Sorry, sorry!”
Ye Xinglan looked a little guilty, but it was mostly because Xiaoxi’s tearful face just now had been so pitiful, it made anyone feel guilty. This… this couldn’t be entirely her fault, right?
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing!” Silver Bell shook her head like a rattle-drum. “You didn’t disturb me! Really! I didn’t come to blame you, I-I was just worried something happened, so I came to check!”
When Silver Bell got anxious, her stutter would turn into a rapid-fire string of long sentences.
She watched as Ye Xinglan naturally wrapped her arm around Xiaoxi’s waist, and Xiaoxi gave her a reproachful push, meaning, ‘there are other people here’…
These two didn’t look like they’d just been fighting or dealing with domestic violence.
Strange. So why was Sirius crying for so long earlier?
“Oh, it’s nothing. Um… We were just playing a game, and Xiaoxi’s too bad at it—she couldn’t beat me, so she got frustrated and cried~”
You little…
Xiaoxi, furious, pinched Ye Xinglan’s waist hard where Silver Bell couldn’t see.
If you’re going to make up an excuse, at least find a better one!
You just had to embarrass me in front of an old teammate, didn’t you?
“R-really? Sorry, sorry, I was overthinking it and disturbed you…”
So, so these two were also night-owl gamers?
Silver Bell shrank her neck. She wasn’t familiar with the two of them, so it wouldn’t be right to pry any further.
Judging by appearances, nothing was actually wrong, right?
Well… that was that. If she kept talking, her CPU would overheat again.
Acting concerned like this was enough to report back to Xingge.
No problem. If there really was something going on, she could always listen more closely after she got back.
After repeatedly apologizing, Silver Bell practically fled back to her apartment.
She didn’t notice that, just as she turned away, Xiaoxi suddenly clamped her legs together and covered her mouth to stifle any noise.
“You’re going to get us killed! She hadn’t even left and you’re already getting handsy—what if we get caught! I told you to be quiet, and you brought her over from next door!”
Xiaoxi had truly been startled. By rights, Silver Bell shouldn’t have been so nosy.
“Sorry, meow… But that kid didn’t seem to realize what we were up to, so relax~ She looks so innocent, she definitely wouldn’t suspect anything.”
Xiaoxi secretly rolled her eyes—she was worried about being exposed exactly because she knew Silver Bell wasn’t innocent!
She knew all too well that this kid’s three favorite types of games were Soul Games, galgame, and Xiaohuangyou!
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