Upon hearing that, Bai Xue raised an eyebrow, her pretty face twitching slightly.
If it weren’t for the mask covering her, her expression turning darker by the second would’ve been plain to see.
‘Why aren’t you dead yet!?’
‘Was that even something a person should say?’
Bai Xue could swear to the heavens—if her strength was just a bit higher than Mu Ling’s, she’d have rushed over and slapped her.
One slap to the left, one to the right.
Perfect symmetry.
“I didn’t die. Is that really so surprising?” she said unhappily.
Getting hit with that kind of comment right off the bat—anyone would lose their temper, no matter how good-natured they were.
Ye Lian was also stunned, though she didn’t plan to get involved in their conversation.
“Surprising? Very surprising,” Mu Ling nodded, her expression still tinged with lingering shock.
Because, in her memory, Deep Snow had died a long time ago.
Deep Snow was Bai Xue’s in-game name.
A player who was supposed to have died during the early closed beta—how was she still alive?
Mu Ling was completely baffled.
‘Could it be… because of me?’
If that were really the case, she would actually feel happy.
Because it would mean her efforts hadn’t been in vain.
“…”
Bai Xue clenched her fists in fury, her body trembling slightly.
She really wanted to give Mu Ling a proper lesson.
They had no grudges or bad blood, so why was she speaking so venomously?
In an instant, Bai Xue’s impression of Mu Ling plummeted to rock bottom.
She had thought Mu Ling seemed like a decent girl.
Clearly, she was just being naive!
“No, I really am glad you’re still alive.”
Mu Ling said it calmly, with a blank expression.
***
At that moment, Ye Lian really wanted to lend her a copy of [Basic Emotional Intelligence 101].
“Wow, well thank you so much!” Bai Xue huffed, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
Mu Ling tilted her head slightly, confused.
“I said I was happy… so why aren’t you?”
“Alright, enough. You two—just say one less sentence each,” Ye Lian quickly jumped in to play the peacemaker.
In her understanding, Mu Ling had only been surprised that Bai Xue was still alive.
After all, the death rate in this game was ridiculously high.
But the more Ye Lian thought about it, the more something felt off.
‘Wait… I remember when the game first started, none of the players usernames were visible, right? How did Mu Ling know…? Oh, right—Bai Xue did say she met Mu Ling out on the plains. Could it be that Mu Ling saw her username back then? If that’s the case, then it makes sense.’
Still, that was just Ye Lian’s own speculation.
To know the truth, she’d have to ask Mu Ling directly.
***
“White Knight, you’ve crafted health recovery potions, haven’t you?” Mu Ling suddenly asked, cutting off any chance Ye Lian had to question her.
‘There it is again.’
Inside her armor, Ye Lian narrowed her eyes slightly.
That same strange feeling from before welled up once more.
‘What was Mu Ling?’
‘Did she have mind-reading abilities? Or was it some kind of demonic spell?’
‘How did she even know about the health recovery potions Ye Lian had crafted?’
Bai Xue’s scalp tingled, all her anger vanishing on the spot.
Mu Ling’s words had genuinely frightened her.
That had been a secret between her and her master!
‘How did she know about it?’
If Mu Ling and her master already knew each other, that’d be one thing.
But based on their conversation so far, Bai Xue hadn’t heard anything that suggested they did.
It almost felt like Mu Ling somehow understood her master better than anyone else.
“You didn’t refine it?” Mu Ling tilted her head slightly.
She wondered to herself, ‘Could this be my fault too?’
Ye Lian fell silent.
She had a strange feeling that Mu Ling was trying to hint something to her.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t grasp the meaning.
Bai Xue was observing the two of them, her mind in complete chaos.
She touched her mask, feeling oddly unsettled.
‘Logically speaking, with this mask on and my voice slightly altered, Mu Ling shouldn’t be able to recognize me. So why did she say something like that earlier?’
It felt like… she had somehow figured out Bai Xue’s true identity.
‘But how could that be possible?’
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became.
“I did make one, but I haven’t tested its effects yet.”
At that moment, Ye Lian opened her game panel and took out a pale red potion.
“Perfect. I’ll test it for you.”
Mu Ling said this casually.
She was already down to half her health—testing a few more times wouldn’t be an issue.
Bai Xue was stunned.
‘Was this Mu Ling really that trusting of her master?’
It was still just a beta potion—’wasn’t she worried it might have issues?’
Ye Lian hesitated for a moment but still handed the potion to Mu Ling.
She had full confidence in her own alchemy.
There was no reason to be concerned.
Mu Ling took the potion and, without a moment’s hesitation, tilted her head back and drank it.
She then opened her status panel to monitor the changes.
Ye Lian and Bai Xue exchanged glances—both clearly had many questions.
But neither said anything more.
Now wasn’t the time.
***
A few seconds passed before Mu Ling spoke.
“One bottle restores 20 HP.”
Hearing that, Ye Lian snapped back to reality and took out several more potions to hand over.
Since Mu Ling had volunteered for testing, she might as well test them thoroughly.
After going through several bottles, the data remained consistent.
But there was also something new.
“I just gained a status called [Beginner Vitality]. It boosts HP recovery speed by 50% for one minute.”
Mu Ling explained.
Ye Lian wasn’t surprised at all.
Her potions were better than the ones issued by the system.
A result like this was only natural.
***
While Mu Ling was busy testing the potion, more and more players entered Ink City.
The last group alone had over twenty people.
By now, counting Ye Lian and the others, there were 99 players in the city.
The number was surprisingly high.
But even this wasn’t the full count of survivors.
Some were still hiding in what they believed were safe spots out in the wilderness.
They had no intention of entering the city.
From Dancing Elephant’s perspective, this was practically suicide.
‘How could the wilderness compare to Ink City?’
Yes, the city had its dangers—but at least there was a sliver of hope here.
“White Knight, while we still have time, make as many HP and MP recovery potions as you can.”
Mu Ling suggested after the tests were done and she had fully recovered.
“I was thinking the same.” Ye Lian nodded lightly.
These two types of life-saving potions—she definitely needed more of them.
Even if she didn’t use them herself, she could trade them for other items—or help others survive.
‘Giving them away for free?’ Not a chance.
“I’m heading out for a bit. You two, stay inside the workshop as much as possible.” Mu Ling glanced at the time, her usually calm expression turning serious.
Ye Lian didn’t ask where she was going.
Instead, she took out the remaining HP potions and a few MP recovery ones, placing them on the counter.
“Take these with you.”
She was just waiting for the beta test to end.
After that, all her questions would be answered.
There was no need to ask anything now.
“Okay.” Mu Ling pressed her lips together and accepted the potions without hesitation.
Then she turned and walked out of the alchemy workshop without looking back, cold blue light flickering in her eyes.
She had to act before it was too late—to minimize the coming disaster!
Not long after Mu Ling left, a new wave of customers arrived at Ye Lian’s shop, leaving Bai Xue with no chance to ask her questions.
Elsewhere, Dancing Elephant and his team were negotiating with Boyang of the Atlantic Federation.
“If we work together, our chances of surviving will go up significantly. I hope you’ll seriously consider it.”
Dancing Elephant said sincerely.