Chapter 60: White Knight… my hero~

Mu Ling turned toward the voice and saw an unfamiliar figure wearing a maid outfit and a white mask.

That wasn’t the person she was looking for.

Although she was curious why a maid was here, she didn’t waste time on her.

Shifting her gaze, she began searching for that familiar figure.

Not far off, right in front of the counter—there she was! The person from her dreams!

At that moment, Ye Lian also looked over.

Her eyes widened inside her armor, and her heartbeat quickened.

She had already anticipated that she might run into Mu Ling, but she never imagined Mu Ling would personally come looking for her.

Ye Lian was one hundred percent sure that Mu Ling hadn’t been led here by the puppet guardian.

For her to find Ye Lian so accurately…

‘Had her identity been exposed?!’

***

“White Knight!” Mu Ling exclaimed, thrilled.

No—she was absolutely overjoyed.

The delight on her face was like someone reuniting with a long-lost lover!

Bai Xue was utterly confused, unable to make sense of what was happening.

She recognized Mu Ling at a glance but had no idea how Mu Ling knew her master.

‘Could it be… she was saved by her too? No way.’

She couldn’t help but recall the moment Mu Ling kicked Zhao Gang in the Starting Zone.

That kind of strength was far beyond anything a normal person could possess.

Bai Xue was lost in confusion.

Ye Lian, meanwhile, had a dozen question marks floating above her head.

She was certain she’d never had any meaningful interaction with Mu Ling.

There was no way their relationship could be that close.

That gaze—so intense, so full of joy—it didn’t make any sense.

It was like they had known each other for a long, long time and shared a deeply emotional bond.

“I finally get to see you again!” Mu Ling took a step forward, her dark pupils gleaming with two eerie blue rings as her eyes welled up with emotion.

Ye Lian instinctively took a few steps back, a chill running down her spine.

This kind of development was too strange—it filled her with a creeping sense of fear.

It was Bai Xue’s first time seeing her master retreat like that.

Then there was Mu Ling, like a storm on the move—relentless.

In a flash, she was right in front of the counter.

And then, right before Bai Xue’s eyes, Mu Ling lunged forward and hugged her master tightly!

Bai Xue was stunned.

Ye Lian was stunned too.

She could have dodged.

But for some reason, she didn’t.

Maybe it was because when Mu Ling drew close, there was a faint trace of familiarity in the air.

It was that brief moment of hesitation that allowed Mu Ling to embrace her.

Under normal circumstances, being physically restrained would be extremely dangerous.

Yet Ye Lian didn’t feel threatened.

She didn’t even try to resist.

She just stood there, letting herself be hugged.

The air carried a faint scent—both floral and tinged with blood.

***

“My White Knight, my eternal goddess~” Mu Ling said with a look of utter adoration.

Bai Xue was even more bewildered.

Ye Lian’s scalp tingled.

Her body felt like it had been struck by lightning, zapping her nerves in every direction.

Just a few hours ago, she had considered Mu Ling her biggest potential enemy.

And yet now, in this bizarre moment, all she felt was confusion—mixed with a deep sense of unease.

‘My biggest enemy… is actually my number one fangirl?!’

‘But this was supposed to be their first real meeting, wasn’t it?’

‘Could this be… love at first sight?’

‘No, no’—this strange feeling was something Ye Lian couldn’t even begin to describe.

All she knew was that something was definitely off.

Very, very off.

She hesitated for a moment, but still pushed Mu Ling away slightly.

Surprisingly, the latter didn’t resist.

Her body was unbelievably soft, and her face was flushed red.

It was only then that Ye Lian noticed something was off and couldn’t help but ask, “You ate the Vermilion Fruit raw?”

That fruit was one of the main ingredients used to refine mental recovery potions.

Its effect was to purify contamination.

But eating it raw had side effects.

At best, it would cause fever and fatigue.

At worst, hallucinations and mental breakdown.

It was generally not recommended to eat raw.

Only in desperate situations would someone do that.

“I… I did,” Mu Ling admitted, her earlier excitement now replaced by extreme weakness.

Ye Lian touched her forehead. It was burning hot.

Then she looked into Mu Ling’s eyes—sure enough, two strange blue rings had appeared around her pupils.

This phenomenon only occurred in more serious cases.

It was clear that Mu Ling had eaten quite a lot of Vermilion Fruit.

Thinking back to her insane leveling speed, Ye Lian immediately understood the situation.

“Bai Xue, help her sit down over there. I’ll go refine some antidote.”

“Yes, Master.” Bai Xue quickly walked over and supported the swaying Mu Ling.

Mu Ling tried to struggle, but her body was too weak—she felt like someone down with a severe flu.

In fact, she’d already shown similar symptoms a few hours ago, but had pushed through to keep grinding and leveling up.

Part of it was her strong endurance.

The other part was that as her level increased, so did her physique, giving her higher resistance.

However, eating too many of those fruits would overwhelm even monsters—let alone humans.

That was why Mu Ling had come to the Silver Alchemy Workshop before the symptoms fully kicked in.

Because she knew the antidote would definitely be here.

More accurately, the person who could refine it would definitely be here.

Ye Lian returned to the workshop, opened her panel, and took out a few materials from her inventory.

She immediately began refining.

In less than a minute, she produced a vial of light green liquid.

“The effect might be too strong. I need to dilute it first.”

Something that worked too well could sometimes backfire.

She couldn’t afford to experiment with Mu Ling’s body.

***

After spending just over ten seconds, Ye Lian diluted the antidote into ten bottles.

She stored away nine of them, leaving one to bring out for Mu Ling.

At that moment, Mu Ling was slumped in a chair, looking terrible—like a drunken girl, her whole body limp, face red, and eyes unfocused.

Seeing her like this, Ye Lian couldn’t associate her with the cold and ruthless Mu Ling from the Starting Zone.

‘Is this really the person I once saw as my biggest rival?’

‘Could I have been wrong all along?’

She had already started chalking up Mu Ling’s previous behavior to symptoms of a mental breakdown.

Nothing else would explain it.

After drinking the potion, Mu Ling’s condition gradually improved.

During that time, no other customers entered the Silver Alchemy Workshop.

Bai Xue and Ye Lian simply sat there in silence, watching her.

Bai Xue was full of questions but couldn’t find the right moment to ask.

Ye Lian, on the other hand, had a mind full of turmoil.

She didn’t know if giving Mu Ling the antidote had been the right decision.

After all, Mu Ling truly did have the power to threaten her.

Not only that—the blade she always carried, even though its edge was restrained, still gave off a sense of lethal danger.

The Horizontal Blade of Oblivion… so it really is in Mu Ling’s hands!

Ye Lian clenched her fists, her pupils narrowing inside her armor.

A player a few levels higher wasn’t a big deal.

But a player with an unknown divine weapon…

That was another matter entirely.

Mu Ling was a real threat to her.

And right now was the best chance to eliminate that threat.

But that strange, subtle sense of familiarity she had felt from Mu Ling…

It made her hesitate.

More than that—Ye Lian just couldn’t bring herself to kill someone.

Especially not someone who hadn’t actually harmed her.

‘How could I possibly go through with that?’

At that moment, Ye Lian felt relieved.

Because she understood—she was still a normal human being.