Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Not My Problem

Mi Xiaoliu opened her eyes.  

Her phone screen glared back—10:30 AM.  

Far past school time.  

The alarm had gone off, but somehow failed to wake her. Stranger still, Raven hadn’t come to wake her up either.  

With no memory of what happened in the dream, Mi Xiaoliu tore off the headphones, threw on her clothes, grabbed her backpack, and bolted out the door.  

If I skip class, Heli will be mad.  

“Master, it’s the weekend. No school today.” Sasha quickly reminded her.  

After days of living like a shut-in—sleeping both day and night—she’d completely lost track of time.  

Mi Xiaoliu stopped mid-step.  

But something still gnawed at her. A lingering unease, as if she’d forgotten something important. It was why she’d woken up restless in the first place.  

“Sasha.”  

“Master, last night you grabbed the wrong item. You didn’t take the Antidote Grass—you accidentally took whatever was next to it.” Sasha dutifully recounted the events of the previous night.  

“Possession?” Another unfamiliar term.  

“It means killing someone and stealing their body. Last night, he targeted the white-haired girl. Who knows what happened after that.”  

Mi Xiaoliu turned and ran back upstairs, knocking on Yiwen’s door.  

No answer.  

“Master, you can equip the Beginner Combat Suit and kick the door down,” Sasha suggested. “In emergencies, no one will blame you for being a little violent.”  

Mi Xiaoliu nodded.  

The combat suit materialized around her, and with one solid kick, Yiwen’s door flew off its hinges.  

The room was empty.  

Footsteps pounded up the stairs—Toby, drawn by the noise.  

He gaped at the demolished door. “What the hell?! My sister’s gonna murder you for this.”  

In his eyes, Yiwen was exactly the type of person who’d react with violence.  

Mi Xiaoliu tilted her head, confused. Sasha said I wouldn’t be blamed.  

“Where’s Yiwen?”  

“Dunno. Probably at the police station?” The moment the words left his mouth, Toby clapped a hand over it.  

Shit. He’d forgotten Yiwen’s ESP officer status was supposed to be secret. But he hadn’t said why she was at the station, so maybe it was fine?  

—

Elsewhere, at the Police Station.  

“I heard you’re the person I saved back then.” Yiwen braced one hand against her throbbing head, the other against the wall as she shuffled forward. “What a coincidence—you moved to this city too.”  

She looked… off.  

Not in the “just fused with the Green Baby” kind of way, but because of the device strapped to her face.  

It resembled an eye massager—or maybe VR goggles. Tiny perforations dotted the front, allowing her some vision, though it hardly mattered. Even perfect eyesight couldn’t fix her sense of direction.

No matter what the device actually was, wearing it outside made her look bizarre. Thankfully, this world was full of oddities—at worst, people would assume she was just another ability-user with some weird drawback.  

The visor was the only reason she could retain her memories in the Dream Game and resist Amari Yota’s deletion attempts.  

“My family forced me to move here for work,” Amari’s voice echoed in Yiwen’s mind.  

They’d both originally been from Sunshine City—neighbors to Fanzui City.  

By every metric, Sunshine City was more advanced than this crime-ridden dump. But for wage slaves, Fanzui City was the better choice.  

Sunshine City’s cost of living was exorbitant, with rents double Fanzui City’s. Even with decent pay, saving money was nearly impossible.  

Fanzui City, though? Perfect. Half the rentals were haunted, and you could find two-bedroom apartments for just 1,000 mira a month. Sure, you might occasionally dig a corpse out of your couch, but that was a minor inconvenience.  

Not that Amari would ever work. Why slave away for greedy corporations when he could just hack a few extra zeros into his bank account?  

Actually, I should kill those bloodsucking parasites first. Take all their money. Leave nothing for them or their spoiled brats.  

“Your family showed up at my door demanding compensation,” Yiwen said. “That old woman laid on my doorstep, screaming obscenities. Why was I the villain for saving you?”  

“What’s your point? Trying to guilt-trip me? Shift the blame?” Amari sneered. “Yiwen Lamorette, you got cyber bullied because you earned it. Had nothing to do with me. Why’d you turn off the stream? Why not call a taxi? Too weak to fight back? That’s on you.”  

There it was—that godlike hindsight criticism.  

“The ambulance couldn’t get through traffic. What makes you think a taxi could?” Yiwen laughed bitterly.  

She knew this was just Amari’s way of absolving himself. He’d probably rehearsed this excuse a year ago.  

People loved pointing fingers at entitled elders—”Useless old hags,” “I’d beat them senseless.”  

Yet many failed to realize their own parents or grandparents were exactly the kind of unreasonable seniors they ridiculed.  

And if they did realize? Would they cut ties with the people who raised them?  

Amari was pragmatic. He’d side with his family unconditionally. Everything Yiwen suffered was her fault. Even if he knew it was wrong, he’d twist logic to believe it.  

Right now, Yiwen did feel like she deserved it. For that ingrate, she’d endured cyberbullying, changed her name, and now faced possession.  

“Waste your breath all you want. I owe you nothing, Yiwen.” Amari’s tone was icy. “I already compensated you. You wasted the opportunity.”  

“What?”  

“Why do you think the Dream Game has a kill mechanic? Why do you have max drop rates? Oh, and you’re the only player who can murder without a red name.”  

She’d never killed anyone, so she hadn’t noticed.  

“Are you saying… this game was made for me?” Yiwen frowned.  

To outsiders, she looked insane—leaning against walls, circling the same block, muttering to herself. Since she couldn’t communicate telepathically with Amari, she had to speak aloud.  

In the Dream World, he’d tried to possess her, only to be blocked by the visor. Now, he lurked like a second personality, chipping away at her sanity.  

No. I can’t hold out much longer. Need to reach the station…  

“Not exclusively for you. But I gave you a chance. You could’ve gotten revenge on every troll, completely anonymously.” Amari said. “We’re even. You blew it.”  

“Wow. Regrets aplenty.” Yiwen pulled out her phone, trying to navigate to the police station—though even with maps, she’d probably get lost.  

The screen stays black. Amari had locked her out.  

Dammit, liaison! Notice that one of your agents is offline already!  

“I can still give you that chance,” Amari’s voice slithered through Yiwen’s mind. “Just find somewhere to sleep. I’ll use my admin privileges to gather every single person who cyberbullied you—let you kill them all personally. How’s that sound?”  

“Tempting offer… but no.” Yiwen stopped walking. “If I fall asleep now, I’ll never wake up again, will I? You’re just saying all this to soothe whatever pathetic shreds of a conscience you have left. Pathetic.”  

“Tch.” Amari’s mask slipped, revealing his ugly desperation. “Get this straight—I’m threatening you now. I’ve got millions of hostages. One thought from me, and they’re all dead!”  

“Let them die. What do I care about? I don’t even know them.” A devilish grin spread across Yiwen’s face as she kept walking.  

Truth was, she’d never been the angel her classmates thought she was.  

“Forgot your best friend is among them?”  

“…” Yiwen froze.  

Amari laughed—a grating, unpleasant sound. “You two make me sick.”  

After two seconds of silence, Yiwen changed tactics. “Why me? I’m not the strongest player.”  

“Hate to admit it, but you’ve got the most potential.” If we ignore that Sixth Fractal abomination with her infinite HP and silence effects.  

“Why?”  

“Because of your father.”  

Yiwen’s pupils contracted violently.  

The emotional shock sent fresh pain lancing through her skull.  

“Heh. Didn’t know, did you? Your dad—”  

Amari never finished. Yiwen pitched forward—her consciousness finally giving out.  

But then, as if guided by some “never let a pretty girl faceplant” cosmic rule, someone caught her.  

A familiar presence that brought instant clarity.  

“Xiaoliu? How’d you find me?” Yiwen mumbled, squinting up in disbelief.  

Mi Xiaoliu just stared at her blankly.  

Yiwen had been circling the same building right in front of their house.  

“Xiaoliu, go to the station. Tell them the Dream Game’s mastermind is trying to possess me.” Yiwen shoved her away weakly.  

Would she last until backup arrived?  

“Heh. Think hostages are my only leverage?” The voice came from Yiwen’s phone.  

“It’s the possession guy!” Sasha warned. “Don’t let villains monologue! No monologues, no threats!”  

“Mmm.”  

The phone continued: “You forget—I control every nuclear—”  

CRACK.  

Mi Xiaoliu snatched the phone and smashed it against the pavement.  

Yiwen: “???”  

That was half my month’s salary?!  

Our friendship?!  

Before she could react, Mi Xiaoliu stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around Yiwen’s neck. The scent of her hair flooded Yiwen’s senses.  

First time being this close to someone other than her father or brother. Yiwen’s brain short-circuited.  

Since when do boys smell this good?… Why does Toby’s room reek of socks?  

But Mi Xiaoliu was just observing.  

With System Space active, normally invisible elements became clear—like the faint corrupted code swirling around Yiwen’s head.  

But…  

[⚠️ System Space cannot store living entities!]  

Same old error.  

“Close your eyes.” Mi Xiaoliu’s breath tickled Yiwen’s ear.  

The phrasing—plus their current position—was highly misleading.  

Wait, what are you—I’m dying here!  

Yiwen kept her eyes open.  

Mi Xiaoliu pouted.  

Yiwen made me close mine earlier.  

She covered Yiwen’s eyes manually.  

Then, using System Space, she removed the “Magic Eye Restrictor.”  

Sasha had warned: No one can see these eyes. Especially not Yiwen.  

This wasn’t about the “Blue Flames” ability—Mi Xiaoliu didn’t even know how to activate them voluntarily. Some inexplicable fear kept her from trying.  

Her hand passed through Yiwen’s forehead, plucking out the corrupted code like weeds. She tossed it aside.  

Then, from System Space, she retrieved the item she’d accidentally taken from the guild warehouse.