Chapter 31: Lin Xiaoxia

After Fuyeli finished speaking, she winked at Duya, then walked quickly to Linglan’s side and said with a smile.

“I’m going to change my clothes and I’ll be out in a bit. I’ll leave things here to you for now, Little Ling.”

Under Duya’s gaze, Fuyeli flew into the back room.

After the door closed, Duya’s gaze fell back on Linglan.

Because of Fuyeli’s tip, he was on high alert, fearing that she might suddenly undergo some kind of strange transformation.

At the same time, he took out the system and scanned the young girl in front of him.

Soon, the system provided the girl’s attributes.

Name: Linglan (?)

Race: Human

Level 5

Note: She is a romanceable character, please do not miss out.

Duya looked at the information provided by the system, then looked at the girl named Linglan.

‘Why is there a question mark in her name?’

And more importantly… she had a Level.

He had been in this world for a long time and had seen monsters with levels, but this was the first time he had seen an NPC with one.

“Excuse me, sir, what would you like to ask about?”

Looking at Linglan’s professional smile, Duya silently took a step back.

Just then, his phone suddenly emitted a series of beep beep sounds.

“Wait a moment.”

Duya picked up his phone and walked outside.

He opened his phone to see a message sent by Ye Xiao.

According to our speculation, that girl named Lin Xiaoxia should have also entered the game world.

Maybe you can find her.

I’ll send you her photo and file.

If you have the time, please help look for her.

Immediately after, Ye Xiao sent over a file.

Duya clicked it open, and a photo appeared before his eyes.

In the photo was a girl who looked rather introverted.

She wore glasses and had her hair in braids.

If placed in a crowd, she would probably vanish instantly, never to be found again.

But looking closely, if this girl took off her glasses and undid those braids… why did she seem a bit familiar?

Wait?

Duya looked back into the guild and fixed his gaze on Linglan.

If he looked carefully, the person in the photo seemed to share some similarities with Linglan.

No, if the girl in the photo dyed her hair blonde, let down her braids, and took off her glasses, she would look almost exactly like Linglan!

‘Did Lin Xiaoxia enter the game and choose to work as a receptionist in this guild?’

With this question in mind, Duya returned to the guild.

He watched Linglan as he walked.

He had to admit, in such a bizarre place, the “romanceable character” tag given by the system smelled a bit like a trap.

Duya stood calmly at the front desk, carefully comparing the photo with the girl in front of him.

Linglan didn’t seem to notice his gaze.

She still had her back to Duya, preoccupied with organizing the items on the shelves.

Her movements looked a bit clumsy, like an intern who had only just started working.

“Ahem!” Duya cleared his throat, drawing Linglan’s attention.

“I have a few questions. I wonder if you’ve seen a girl with white hair and purple eyes in town?”

Hearing Duya’s words, Linglan turned around and spoke softly.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I haven’t seen the white-haired girl you mentioned.”

Duya wasn’t surprised by this result.

He continued his questioning.

“Then how much do you know about Britney’s grandfather?”

“I’m afraid I cannot disclose information regarding the privacy of our residents.”

Linglan’s tone was very natural, but it was precisely that naturalness that made Duya feel something was off.

Her smile was too perfect, like a carefully designed program.

Whenever she spoke, the expression on her face never changed.

Seeing that Duya didn’t speak, Linglan tilted her head, maintaining that professional smile.

“Sir, you should probably stop asking about news in town. I have some commissions here that might be more suited to your interests?”

After she said those few words, Duya stared at her face, especially her eyes.

He essentially confirmed his suspicion and spoke bluntly.

“So… you know someone named Lin Xiaoxia, right?”

The hand Linglan used to hold the commissions suddenly stopped.

The air seemed to freeze.

The girl’s fingers gripped the paper so hard that her knuckles turned white.

Although the smile remained on her face, the curve of her lips had stiffened significantly.

“We don’t… we don’t have such a person here.”

She murmured, but her voice was lower than before, sounding as if she lacked confidence.

Duya did not miss the subtle changes in her expression.

He leaned forward slightly, his fingers lightly tapping the counter, creating a rhythmic tap, tap.

“Is that so?”

Duya slowly took out his phone, displayed the photo from the file, and said, “Is this person in the photo you?”

Upon seeing the photo, Linglan’s pupils constricted, and her breathing became rapid.

Her eyes involuntarily drifted to the side, seemingly trying to avoid Duya’s gaze.

“T-that’s not me…”

Her panicked appearance allowed Duya to essentially confirm her identity.

“No, this is you, Lin Xiaoxia.”

Duya hadn’t expected to find another person who had been pulled into the game.

“…”

Seeing that her identity had been seen through, Linglan’s hands slumped weakly at her sides.

She lowered her head.

Duya couldn’t see her face, nor did he know what expression she wore.

“I don’t want to go back…”

“I don’t want to go back…”

“I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK…”

Once her identity was exposed by Duya, Linglan began to repeat that single sentence without stopping.

Eventually, she clutched her head and crouched on the ground.

At this moment, Duya could see that her eyes were filled with fear and despair.

Her expression was on the verge of a total breakdown.

“Are you having some kind of trouble?”

Duya could infer that the place she didn’t want to return to was likely the real world.

After all, she was different from him.

His logout button had been locked by some bastard, but Linglan’s logout button should still work.

She could log out whenever she wanted.

“Why don’t you want to return to reality? You should know that this place is dangerous.”

“Go back?”

Linglan forced a smile that looked more painful than crying.

“Go back for what?”

“To continue being that ‘freak’ that everyone can step on?”

“I don’t want to go back… I don’t want to go back…”

Linglan looked up, her eyes bloodshot.

Her gaze was filled with a calmness that bordered on total despair.

While staring at Duya, she stood up and walked toward the back room like a walking corpse.

“I’m not going back, I’m not going back…”

The girl turned her head.

Now that her disguise had been pierced, she looked like a piece of shredded paper, with a bizarre smile on her face.

“Sir, it’s actually quite nice here. I hope you can stay too…”

BANG!

The door to the inner room was slammed shut, and Duya continued to stand in front of the counter, his gaze lost in thought.