The Dark Fall was swiftly completed.
Since Bai Yue Ling had reached level 13, her constitution was far stronger than at level 1, so this time she didn’t faint, only falling into severe weakness.
Trineph, however, passed out for some reason.
According to Dark Lisa, her overwhelming grief made her spirit too fragile to withstand the impact of Dark Fall, causing her to faint.
After some discussion, the trio decided that Bai Yue Ling and Ying Ye would stay and wait for Trineph to wake, while Aiya went to find new horses.
They settled on a high slope.
With Trineph unconscious, it was just Bai Yue Ling and Ying Ye alone.
Given Ying Ye’s increasingly dark tendencies, such a rare moment alone would typically lead to her getting handsy with Bai Yue Ling.
Yet, perhaps shaken by Trineph’s ordeal, Ying Ye sat quietly, still immersed in faint sorrow.
Bai Yue Ling understood completely.
When playing games, she’d also feel heartbroken over the death of a minor NPC, even knowing they were just game data.
She’d reload saves for hours to achieve a perfect ending where every NPC survived.
Of course, World of Fate wasn’t just a game—it was a real, living world, and NPCs weren’t mere data but flesh-and-blood people.
At that moment, Bai Yue Ling felt a slight tremor in her ring finger—the Ring of the Dead given by Ming Die, signaling activity in the group chat.
She stole a glance at Ying Ye, who hadn’t noticed, and activated the skill Styx Communication with confidence.
A faint magical aura swirled around her fingertips, and a translucent screen appeared in her vision, displaying messages from the Dark Players Mutual Aid Group.
[Crimson: Ugggh, so annoying, this stupid quest! I wouldn’t have taken it if I’d known!]
A shady quest?
Bai Yue Ling raised an eyebrow, waiting patiently, but no one responded to Crimson.
This was nothing like the 99+ messages-per-minute group chat she remembered—were they all that busy?
[Pure White: What quest? Spill it, let’s have a laugh.]
Hmm… as the newest member, would talking like this seem too cocky?
Crimson, however, didn’t seem to mind and continued.
[Crimson: This morning, some NPCs approached me, promising 10,000 gold coins for a small favor. I agreed without thinking. Turns out, they were killing people, and the “favor” was disposing of bodies… ugh, I nearly puked up my breakfast.]
Disposing of bodies… these players probably didn’t expect World of Fate to feel so real.
Sure enough, someone asked.
[Amethyst: What’s with the bodies? Don’t game corpses just lie there with a bit of blood?]
[Crimson: No way… this game is insanely realistic, like a real world!]
Bai Yue Ling chuckled softly.
Of course—here they were, chatting in a group built by game NPCs.
The topic seemed to spark interest, and another joined in.
[Indigo: Federal laws don’t allow overly graphic gore. I’ll contact the review board to complain.]
This Indigo lady seemed unusual.
Most players would complain to game support, but she could reach the review board directly—clearly, she had some real-world clout.
[Amethyst: Still, you didn’t lose out. You got 10,000 gold coins. I heard world announcements only reward 5,000.]
Crimson wasn’t pleased.
[Crimson: Who said I got 10,000? I only got a 2,000-coin deposit!]
‘Oh, so you got scammed too?’
Bai Yue Ling pulled out a bag of chips, ready for the drama.
[Pure White: Spill the tea!]
[Crimson: So, these NPCs were killing another group of NPCs and had me handle the bodies. But one NPC didn’t die and escaped into the forest. They noticed and chased after her, and I followed, worried they’d stiff me.]
[Pure White: And you lost them while following?]
[Crimson: Nah, the survivor fought them for ages. I didn’t want to kill, so I just watched… then, out of nowhere, a holy knight charged into the forest!]
Holy knight?
Bai Yue Ling’s hand paused mid-chip.
This plot sounded familiar.
[Amethyst: What’s the holy knight like? I haven’t seen one yet.]
[Crimson: A blonde with big waves, in silver-white knight skirt-armor, all righteous and heroic. She took on eight at once, and… her chest was huge!]
[Pure White: Why’s your focus on her chest?!]
[Crimson: Because it jiggled during the fight… ugh, flat-chested people wouldn’t get the impact.]
Bai Yue Ling glanced down at her own ample chest, framed by black stockings, so full she couldn’t even see her feet.
Who said she wouldn’t get it?
Crimson’s description was intriguing—big chest, silver-white skirt-armor, blonde waves…
Why did these keywords feel so familiar?
Bai Yue Ling sucked in a breath.
It couldn’t… be that coincidental, right?
[Crimson: While the holy knight fought eight, a ninja popped out of nowhere and saved the survivor in front of everyone!]
[Indigo: The game has a ninja class?]
[Amethyst: Probably an assassin class. Data shows over 50% of players love ninjas, so game companies add ninja outfits to the shop. Change the fabric or color, call it new, sell it for a limited time to rake in cash, then bring it back a year later for another haul.]
Bai Yue Ling raised an eyebrow.
This Amethyst seemed to know game company tricks well—a veteran player, no doubt.
But Crimson mentioned a ninja… could it really be…?
[Crimson: The ninja’s not the point! The real kicker is the black-stockinged priest next to her, who wiped out a group of level 20+ NPCs with holy light!]
The group erupted.
[Amethyst: Isn’t priest a support class? It can wipe people with holy light?]
[Indigo: Could it be that trending Priest Hero?]
[Amethyst: Forums say the Priest Hero can only one-shot players under level 10 with Holy Light Orb. Crimson said these were level 20+ enemies, so it’s probably an NPC, not the Priest Hero.]
[Crimson: Yeah, I think that priest was an NPC. She was just too strong.]
As the group buzzed with discussion, Bai Yue Ling took a deep breath, a flash of realization striking like lightning.
Sure enough, this Crimson was there at the scene.
She saw Ying Ye and Aiya and witnessed the entire attack on Trineph.
This Crimson… had to be that juvenile red dragon!