Chapter 12: The PR Company Starts Its Work  

Emerging from the gaming pod, Bai Yue Ling shook her slightly uncomfortable head and walked to the wardrobe, casually picking out a skirt to wear.

It was already 1 p.m., the sun shining brightly. 

She opened the window to let in some air, then grabbed a few ingredients from the fridge to whip up a simple meal for herself.

Though only 16, Bai Yue Ling had been living alone for years.

Her two mothers had mysteriously disappeared a few years ago, leaving behind a house and a bank account with enough money to support her for a decade.

She’d sought help from the federal police regarding her mothers’ disappearance, but after years of no leads, the case went cold, and she’d been fending for herself ever since.

Fortunately, Bai Yue Ling wasn’t lazy. 

She kept the house tidy and could cook simple meals from online tutorials without starving.

***

As she carried her food to the computer, her phone rang. 

The caller was “Teacher Ming.”

“Little White, when are you coming back to class? I’ve reserved the back-row window seat just for you~” 

The voice on the other end was so gentle it tickled Bai Yue Ling’s heart.

Glancing at her gaming pod, Bai Yue Ling declined politely. 

“Sorry, Teacher Ming, I might need to take a few more months off…”

“But, Little White, you’ve already been absent for a whole year,” 

Teacher Ming said with concern. 

“Is something going on in your life?”

“N-No… I just need a break, that’s all.”

“Then rest well at home. If you want to study, I can come over in the evenings to tutor you for free…”

“N-No need! Thank you, really, thank you, Teacher…”

Hanging up, Bai Yue Ling let out a quiet sigh.

Teacher Ming was such a great teacher—beautiful, kind, only 27, and still single.

But no matter how much Teacher Ming tried to persuade her, Bai Yue Ling wouldn’t go back to school.

She’d been on a leave of absence for a year now, driven by her desire to avoid interacting with anyone. 

In short, she was socially anxious.

Yes, social anxiety.

In-game, she might be a bit of a loli villainess, but in real life, Bai Yue Ling was a bona fide social recluse.

She stammered when talking to people, couldn’t meet their eyes, and sat alone in the corner of the classroom. 

She never initiated conversations with classmates, and during group activities, she was always the one left out—because no one even knew her name.

By the time she reached high school, Bai Yue Ling found such a school life meaningless and dropped out to play games at home.

Luckily, her severe social anxiety only flared up in real life. 

Online, she could interact normally.

This trait was why, in her previous life, she’d become a shut-in gamer, diving headfirst into the digital ocean.

After being hit by a car and reincarnating into this world, she’d tried to connect with people in real life, but the results were crushing—failure!

This failure warped her personality further, turning her into a bizarre hybrid: a socially anxious recluse in reality and a flirty loli villainess online.

“Without games, I’d probably dye my hair pink, grab a guitar, and star in Lonely Rock…” 

Bai Yue Ling plopped into her gaming chair, swinging her white-stockinged feet. 

“But… thank goodness for games!”

She suddenly threw her arms wide, shouting at the ceiling, 

“The real world has nothing left for me! A loser like me belongs in games, chasing comfort~”

Whatever.

Time to eat.

While eating, Bai Yue Ling opened the World of Fate forum.

As mentioned before, she wasn’t one for forums, but starting today, she’d change that habit.

Though it was only the first day of the server, the forum was already buzzing with posts—mostly about stat allocation, mob farming, and game lore. 

Bai Yue Ling skimmed a few, finding them mostly nonsense. 

The game had just launched, and the real strategy experts were still busy exploring it.

Scrolling down, she let out a soft “huh,” spotting a post about herself.

[Rational Discussion: Did “Priest Hero” Pay for a Carry to Get the World First Kill?]

Clicking in, the original poster’s analysis was oddly convincing:

“First, anyone with a name like ‘Priest Hero’ is definitely a priest, a class with no damage output. Second, everyone knows ‘Ying Ye’ is a famous assassin who could solo a BOSS with her skills. So, isn’t it possible that ‘Priest Hero’ paid ‘Ying Ye’ a ton to carry her through the BOSS?”

The post sparked plenty of agreement:

“+3 EXP, OP’s got a point.”

“Case closed—‘Priest Hero’ is ‘Jin Litui’ alt account.”

“Reporting to HQ: We’ve secured the second reply! .jpg”

“False intel, get lost.”

Bai Yue Ling just chuckled at the comments.

Solo a BOSS?

Anyone who’d actually fought a BOSS knew that players at this stage couldn’t solo one. 

The original poster probably hadn’t even seen a BOSS and was Dolores was still grinding boars at the village entrance.

Sure enough, there were counterarguments below. 

Bai Yue Ling noticed Ying Ye’s reply.

Ying Ye: 

“Yup, I made a cool 1 million from ‘Priest Hero.’ Wanna make that much? Come solo a BOSS with me! y(^ヮ^)y~”

There were replies like “Big fan of the goddess!” 

Clearly, it was the real Ying Ye, not an imposter.

“‘Ying Ye,’ is ‘Priest Hero’ really a priest?” — “Yup, 100% legit priest.”

“Goddess, take my knees! How’d you clear the BOSS?” — “Got lucky. The BOSS was weak.”

“Coach, I wanna play assassin!” — “I learned my assassin skills from ‘Priest Hero.’ Go ask her.”

Ying Ye’s got a sense of humor, Bai Yue Ling thought.

With Ying Ye’s response, the original poster backed off, and the thread derailed into speculation about whether Priest Hero was an alt account of some assassin pro.

Heh… 

Bai Yue Ling gave a wry smile. 

I’m just an old player forced through ten cycles.

Back at the forum homepage, she noticed a glaring post at the top, with over a hundred replies in minutes. 

The title read—

[World First Kill Player “Priest Hero” Suspected of Cheating.]

“Me? Cheating?” 

Bai Yue Ling raised an eyebrow and clicked.

The poster’s name was a random string of letters, with a forum level of barely 3 and an account less than a month old. 

They’d posted nothing else.

Bai Yue Ling knew—the Sky Treader Guild’s PR company was in action.