Bai Feifei stared at the line of text for a few seconds, frowning slightly in confusion as she repeated, “On the way?”
What did she mean by “be careful on the way”? It was already so late; in another hour, the Voting Assembly she knew so little about would begin.
Was someone going to cause trouble at a time like this?
Bai Feifei put down her phone and fell silent for a moment.
She remembered that a few days ago, when Xu Mo learned she would be participating in this assembly, he had told her that based on his experience with “game storylines,” the system probably wouldn't let her attend such an event so smoothly.
That was why he had warned her not to sleep too soundly these past few nights...
Yet, nothing had happened. She had spent the last few days quite comfortably at school. She hadn't expected Wan Qianhong to send a warning at this exact moment.
The two of them hadn't met in a long time, and she wondered if Wan Qianhong had heard some rumors.
“What do you think?” Unable to figure it out, she asked the Old-Timer in her mind.
In her mind, Xu Mo spoke up:
“Which harem member's message are you going to reply to first? Just reply to both. It's not like they'll know anyway.”
“Only noobs make choices. Why not just take them all!”
“What are you talking about?! They're just friends!” Bai Feifei instinctively retorted, only to realize a moment later that she shouldn't have taken the bait.
“I mean... what do you make of this text telling me to be careful?”
She replayed the message on her screen in her mind. Wan Qianhong's warning to “be very careful” weighed heavily on her heart.
“What do I think?” Xu Mo sneered. “With your eyes. Anyway, just hurry up and get going. Don't dawdle on the road.”
“Also... hehe, don't worry, we'll just tell everyone they're ‘just friends’.”
Bai Feifei: ...
The streets outside were eerily quiet.
The Voting Assembly was the most solemn day in Dawn City. By law, all production, trade, entertainment, and other activities throughout the city had to be suspended.
The roads were cleared for the attending representatives, and residents along the route were not allowed to go outside without permission, as the entire population was theoretically required to watch the live broadcast of the assembly.
This was the only mandatory decree from the City Lord, effectively forcing the citizens of Dawn City to pay attention to policy-making.
As a result, Bai Feifei walked alone down the empty street. The entire city was deserted, resembling a ghost town.
“This atmosphere...” Bai Feifei murmured, looking left and right with a sigh.
Xu Mo found it novel as well. He had never paid much attention to this unique “holiday” before; it seemed he had skipped it whenever possible in the past.
There were quite a few useless yet novel settings in this game.
“If that's the case, ambushing and assassinating you on the road today would actually be the perfect opportunity,” Xu Mo remarked casually in Bai Feifei's mind.
“For example, right over there, in that bush—there's someone crouching, waiting to kill you.”
Bai Feifei froze. She instinctively drew her long sword, slipping into a defensive stance as she scanned her surroundings.
“Where?”
“Just kidding. There's no one. Don't you know what an example is?” Xu Mo replied, completely shameless.
“If there really was someone, wouldn't you feel it yourself? You can't rely on me for everything.”
Bai Feifei: ##
Wasn't it you who said it?!
Her fists clenched in irritation. Taking a deep breath to suppress her anger, she decided to keep moving.
She kept walking, and soon, the white hall came into view at the end of her line of sight.
It was the central building of Dawn City, entirely pure white, standing out like a piece of foreign ivory in the dusty, gray city.
Every Voting Assembly was held there, symbolizing the most just rulings of Dawn City and the public power shared with its citizens—at least, in name.
Bai Feifei quickened her pace.
She had a habit of being punctual. Now that her destination was in sight, an instinctive sense of urgency washed over her; she disliked making others wait due to her tardiness.
But after walking for a while, she realized something was wrong.
The white hall was clearly at the end of her field of vision, appearing to be only a few hundred meters away.
She was now a Level 45 Scavenger, and her physical fitness had long since reached the level of a Rank 5 Scavenger. Why was the hall still just as far away after she had been walking for so long?
The size and distance of the white building in her vision hadn't shifted in the slightest, giving off the illusion of a mirage.
She began to run, quickly confirming that this could not possibly be a natural phenomenon.
Bai Feifei stopped, her brow furrowing deeply.
It felt like... she was walking in circles...
She immediately activated her Heart of the World Medal, and the sound of a heartbeat suddenly amplified in her ears.
Thump, thump, thump—
It wasn't just her own heartbeat. At that exact moment, she clearly heard the pulsations of other things.
There was another heartbeat.
No, there were several other heartbeats!
Right nearby.
“Looks like company's here,” Xu Mo's voice echoed in her mind. This time, there was no teasing, but rather a hint of amusement.
“See? I told you. I can still predict the general patterns of this world!”
The bracer on Bai Feifei's wrist had already transformed into a dagger. She asked, “Hostile?”
“We're the ones who are hostile,” Xu Mo said. “And we're definitely not friendly!”
Bai Feifei remained silent, her gaze locking onto a specific direction.
At the same time, a voice rang out.
It was impossible to tell where the voice originated from; it seemed to echo from all directions at once before converging right in front of her.
The voice wasn't loud, but every word carried a patronizing, mocking contempt.
“Did it really take you this long to notice? How foolish.”
Bai Feifei spun around.
There was no one in front of her.
However, the scenery before her eyes began to warp.
The air in front of her suddenly distorted, and one mirror wall after another materialized out of thin air, arranging themselves around her and reflecting countless images of her figure.
In each mirror, Bai Feifei was performing a different action—some turned their heads, some drew their daggers, and some stood frozen in place, as if she had been trapped inside a kaleidoscope!
The sight made Bai Feifei's skin crawl.
Almost instantly, she felt a long-lost sense of pressure—the kind of dread that threatened to drain her Sanity.
In the next second, all the mirrors shattered simultaneously!
The shards swirled and recombined in midair, coalescing into a human figure.
The figure stepped slowly out of the fractured light and shadow. With every step they took, the surrounding air seemed to grow increasingly stagnant.
It was an extremely androgynous individual, wearing reflective clothing that looked as if tiny shards of glass had been glued to their body. Covering their mouth, they chuckled:
“Surprised, little girl?”
“Someone wants you dead, but I've been watching for so long, and you're actually completely alone?”
“It seems your rumored background was nothing but a massive lie.”
“Are you prepared to die here?”
Enduring the mental pressure, Bai Feifei heard Xu Mo's excited voice in her mind:
“Damn, ‘surprised’? I'd be surprised if you didn't come to kill me.”
“I knew it. There's always got to be something like this.”
“Don't worry, they're only Level 62. Go get 'em, Bai Feifei. Kill them.”
Rate on N.U.
