Bai Yue Ling climbed out of the gaming pod and stretched lazily.
Cursing and then logging off—how thrilling!
Glancing at the time, she realized it was already afternoon, and she hadn’t eaten dinner yet.
She headed to the fridge to see what food was left.
But as she reached the living room, a knock came at the door.
The knocks were soft but rapid, like a silenced Gatling gun with six barrels—tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
“This knocking… it’s gotta be Mu Yao, right?”
Wearing only underwear and white stockings, Bai Yue Ling hurried back to her bedroom, threw on clothes and a skirt at lightning speed, and gave herself a quick check in the mirror before opening the door.
“Zero-Zero~!”
A girl with a coffee-colored ponytail bounced in, her cat-like, lively eyes sparkling with a smile.
The girl, Mu Yao, was Bai Yue Ling’s neighbor. They’d attended the same kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school.
Born in the same month and year, Mu Yao was just three days older, but an injury in elementary school had forced her to take a year off, making her Bai Yue Ling’s junior now.
Notably, though they were childhood friends, Bai Yue Ling, the flirtatious yuri girl, had surprisingly little interest in Mu Yao.
First, they were too familiar, more like sisters. Second, Mu Yao was too pure, lacking allure.
And third, most importantly, Mu Yao wasn’t a big sister.
“Zero-Zero, you haven’t eaten yet, right?” Mu Yao slipped off her shoes, revealing feet wrapped in black ankle socks.
“My mom’s not home, so no one’s cooking for me. Wanna order takeout together?”
Bai Yue Ling pouted. “Call me Little White. I’m not a zero!”
Mu Yao tilted her head. “Are you a ‘one’, then?”
“Ahem… of course I am,” Bai Yue Ling said seriously.
Mu Yao didn’t dwell on the nickname, hopping onto the sofa and rolling around with her phone. “Zero-Zero, let’s get fish~”
‘She eats fish every day and still hasn’t grown a brain…’
Bai Yue Ling thought, tossing a pair of pink slippers by her feet. “Whatever you want.”
“How about a plate of grilled fish and some greens?” Mu Yao expertly navigated her phone.
“Extra spicy, two portions of rice, plus discounts, coupons, and membership rewards… total’s 10 bucks. I’ll cover it!”
“How do you make it so cheap?!”
Mu Yao’s family wasn’t poor, but she had an uncanny talent for saving money.
The takeout would take half an hour, so the two sprawled on the sofa with nothing to do.
“Hey, Zero-Zero, you’re playing World of Fate, right?”
“Yup, started yesterday.”
Mu Yao’s eyes lit up. “I’m playing too! My game name’s ‘EatFish,’ and I spawned in a place called Misty Rain City as a beastman catgirl.”
“Uh-huh, I know,” Bai Yue Ling said, her eyes half-closed.
In every cycle, she’d heard of a small-time merchant named “EatFish” who traveled between major cities for petty trade.
That was Mu Yao.
Suddenly, Mu Yao scooted closer, her clear eyes blinking as her black-socked foot playfully nudged Bai Yue Ling’s pink, translucent white-stockinged foot.
“Zero-Zero, what’s your game name?”
“Uh… well… um…”
Bai Yue Ling froze, not wanting to reveal her game identity in real life to avoid trouble.
So she made something up.
“I’m called… ‘QiyeCakeDiary’.”
Mu Yao tilted her head. “That long? Isn’t the limit five characters?”
“Uh… my bad. It’s actually ‘StirFriedSprite’.”
“Such a weird name.”
Bai Yue Ling wasn’t worried about Mu Yao checking, since the game only allowed adding friends in person, and names couldn’t be searched.
The strict friend system saved her a lot of hassle—otherwise, with “Priest Hero’s” fame, her friend requests would’ve been flooded.
So far, Ying Ye was her only friend in-game.
“Speaking of which, Little White, have you heard about that super popular Priest Hero?”
Mu Yao asked casually.
That’s me… Hearing her game name, Bai Yue Ling’s heart skipped a beat.
Her fame had exploded this cycle, with half the forums buzzing about Priest Hero’s exploits.
It wasn’t surprising Mu Yao had heard of her.
Bai Yue Ling played dumb.
“Priest Hero? Never heard of her. What kind of idiot picks such a weird name?”
That idiot was, of course, the game system.
“You don’t check the forums? This Priest Hero is amazing!” Mu Yao said excitedly.
“She took on a hundred players and crushed the famous Sky Treader Guild!”
Bai Yue Ling kept up the act.
“Wow, she’s that good? With skills like that, she’s gotta be a total beauty in real life.”
Mu Yao nodded.
“I think so too!”
Bai Yue Ling couldn’t help but smirk inwardly.
Hah, this girl has no idea Priest Hero is sitting right next to her.
The forum video was shot from a distance, too blurry to show her face, so Mu Yao hadn’t recognized her childhood friend.
Plus, during character creation, players could adjust their appearance by up to 30%.
Since Bai Yue Ling was unconscious at the time, the system auto-tweaked her look, giving her a slightly more delicate, mischievous vibe.
Even someone as close as Mu Yao couldn’t recognize her from afar.
“Everyone’s talking about her skills and pets, but I think her movement is the best. One dodge roll evaded so many fireballs and arrows,”
Mu Yao said, her tone full of admiration. “I want to be a gaming god like her. If I ever meet her, I’m definitely asking for tips.”
Bai Yue Ling chuckled. “You could ask me for tips too.”
“Eh? Zero-Zero’s pretty good at games, but you’re not quite at Priest Hero’s level.”
Bai Yue Ling shrugged, not arguing.
Please, my skills were honed through ten cycles of feet-curling torment.
No ordinary pro can compare.
The two girls lounged on the sofa, chatting idly. Soon, the doorbell rang—takeout had arrived.
The delivery person was a big sister in a yellow vest and black shorts, enthusiastically handing the food to Bai Yue Ling, who couldn’t help but marvel at how wonderful this world of beautiful girls was.
But beauty was only enjoyable if you survived to appreciate it.
So, after finishing lunch, Bai Yue Ling bid Mu Yao farewell, stripped off her clothes, and dove back into the gaming pod.
***
[Welcome to World of Fate.]
With the system’s gentle prompt, Bai Yue Ling returned to the castle.
Logging back in, she immediately scanned her surroundings warily.
Seeing Ying Ye’s status as “offline” in her friend list, she sighed in relief.
With Ying Ye, the one most likely to make her “curl her feet,” gone, handling the other three big sisters would be a breeze, right?
Ming Die and Luoluo Yue were still playing chess, bickering now and then.
Aiya was kneeling in a corner of the castle, having retrieved her silver skirt armor, meditating intently.
Over an hour had passed, and the big sisters seemed to have forgotten Bai Yue Ling’s parting taunt.
She hurriedly scampered to Aiya, her face full of urgency.
Aiya opened her eyes, looking at her puzzled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Aiya…” Bai Yue Ling grabbed her hand. “While Ying Ye’s gone, let’s elope!”