Because her boss spent every day walking around wearing her face, Qingque had long since gotten used to the two of them seeing the world from the same eye level.
When she'd tried to imagine what her boss's real appearance might be like just now, she had indeed figured the woman would probably be taller than her.
But the problem was that Bai Ming's true body wasn't just tall and slender—she was also wearing high heels.
With that added in, her height was practically pushing toward one meter eighty.
Standing in front of her, Qingque's head barely reached Bai Ming's chest.
The difference in perspective widened so suddenly that Qingque had to tilt her head all the way back just to see her boss's face.
And she had to literally face that very… well-developed figure.
That massive height difference, combined with such a striking physique, left Qingque completely speechless.
Deep down, Qingque couldn't help feeling a little envious. If only she could just whoosh—grow taller like that and turn into a stunning beauty too.
Sure, she didn't like being in the spotlight, but who wouldn't want to look better?
Sadly, the long-life species of the Xianzhou were stuck with the appearance they were born with. Once it was set, it was set for life.
Even the slightest shift of Qingque's gaze landed straight on that full, upright curve.
Especially since her boss was wearing a low-cut evening gown, making that particular area impossible to ignore.
Even though Qingque was a woman, she still felt a little dizzy under the pull of her boss's looks and presence.
"Boss… you're really pale."
She meant it.
With silver hair and a white gown draped over her body, the outfit didn't make her complexion look yellowish or dull in the slightest, but it wasn't the sickly kind of pale either—it was vibrant, full of life.
No matter how you looked at it, there was only one conclusion: Perfect.
Meanwhile, Bai Ming watched Qingque's gaze slide away from her face… and settle right onto her chest, followed by the comment, "Boss, you're really pale."
She instantly lost her composure.
What the hell was going on in that girl's head?
She lifted a hand and flicked Qingque sharply on the forehead.
Smack—
"Ow… ow ow ow!"
Qingque clutched her forehead, puffing out her cheeks as she glared up at Bai Ming.
Before, it would've been fine—but now she had to crane her neck just to glare. And honestly, even Qingque herself felt like she looked less like she was protesting and more like a little girl pouting at her big sister.
So before she could even get two words of complaint out, her face flushed bright red. Her eyes darted away, not daring to look at Bai Ming's teasing smile.
Perhaps finding Qingque's reaction amusing—
Bai Ming suddenly felt a bit itchy in her hands.
She raised her arms, pulled Qingque into a hug, and pressed the girl straight into her chest.
Qingque's round, soft face disappeared into that warm valley.
Visible steam practically rose from the top of her head.
Even the tips of her ears were red enough to look like they might start dripping blood.
This time Bai Ming finally burst out laughing.
And Qingque completely lost it in embarrassed fury. Scrambling out of Bai Ming's arms, she spun around and bolted away, shouting loudly as she ran—
"Boss, stop messing with me—!!"
Bai Ming twitched the corner of her mouth.
She really wanted to say: if you shout like that, everyone in the company can hear you.
She was leaving soon anyway, so it didn't matter to her—but Qingque, the boss here, still had to stay and work in the company.
Unfortunately, Qingque ran ridiculously fast, as if she feared Bai Ming might grab her again and trap her in another suffocating hug if she slowed down.
So that shout of accusation echoed almost across the entire floor.
Bai Ming didn't even get the chance to warn her.
Of course, she could erase that bit of memory from the employees' minds.
But it felt kind of entertaining, so in the end she decided not to bother.
--+--
Just as Bai Ming was about to tidy up and head toward the Boundary of Nihility—
A small wish-maker suddenly caught her attention.
The whole business of granting wishes had already been handed over to the Mask she possessed.
Since she could grant Qingque the ability to create clones, Bai Ming herself could naturally do the same, but compared to Qingque's version—which required manual control—Bai Ming's clone was far more convenient.
Of course, compared to Sparkle's far more dangerous personality-splitting clones, Bai Ming's method was much safer.
Put simply, it was like a highly disciplined AI that handled small matters like miracles and wish fulfillment for her.
Bai Ming only needed to glance briefly at what kind of wish had been made.
And this time—
The wish itself wasn't particularly special, but the person making it definitely caught Bai Ming's attention.
Because that tiny girl sitting in a basement, with curly silver-gray hair—
If that wasn't Silver Wolf, then who was?
Especially since the world she was in was Punklorde.
There probably wasn't a second girl in the same world who was a gaming prodigy playing in the arcade basement of a fast-food shop.
How old was she this year? Six?
Observing through Originium, Bai Ming studied the little girl. Her round cheeks suggested she was eating fairly well on a daily basis.
Though she was definitely short.
Silver Wolf was an orphan with no legal identity, no legal name.
She didn't know where she came from. All she knew was that her memories began here—in this fast-food shop and the arcade in its basement.
She didn't even know the owner's name.
She'd simply been told to call her "Boss."
And the boss called her Silver Wolf—a nickname that wasn't particularly cute, though Silver Wolf herself quite liked it.
Most of the arcade machines were old, but on Punklorde there was never a shortage of people who loved classic retro games.
And the Originium device Silver Wolf had—
Had been given to her by the fast-food shop's owner, who simply said it contained free new games she could play for fun.
So when Silver Wolf logged into Originium, she discovered a much wider world.
Because during this period, Bai Ming had uploaded a batch of classic retro games into Originium.
There weren't many, but for Silver Wolf—whose world had been limited to that small arcade—it was an entirely new universe.
The shop owner never expected that an achievement most adults—and even many hackers on Punklorde—found absurdly difficult…
Would be completed within just a dozen days by a child like Silver Wolf.
There had been some luck involved, sure, but it was enough for the owner to realize this little girl wasn't someone destined to remain in a tiny place like this.
Her future wouldn't be limited to this fast-food shop.
Nor even to the world called Punklorde.
Watching the mask appear out of thin air from the Originium device, the owner forced herself to suppress the shock on her face, but Silver Wolf had no time to notice the owner's expression.
All her attention was focused on the Originium interface.
"I want to play more games!"
Faced with this incredibly precious wish opportunity, Silver Wolf simply voiced the thing she wanted most right now.
Games.
More games.
More interesting games.
At this point in time, Silver Wolf hadn't yet reached the stage of chasing high scores.
Though she hated losing, the tiny girl was still mainly enjoying the pure fun of gaming.
And it was precisely that pure joy that allowed her to complete the hidden achievement and earn a chance to make a wish.
Hearing her wish, the owner felt a little regretful—but also thought this was exactly the sort of thing Silver Wolf would wish for.
But very quickly—
The helplessness in her eyes turned into shock.
Because the mask floating in midair suddenly rose higher.
Then, right before their eyes, a person began growing out of the mask.
At first, as light flared, the owner assumed the figure that would appear would be the elegant woman she'd once seen in the sky—wearing a pristine white gown with long silver hair.
Unfortunately, the figure emerging from the mask looked nothing like what she imagined.
Instead—
She looked almost identical to Silver Wolf.
As if they had been cast from the same mold.
Silver Wolf glanced at her interface.
--+--
[Roleplay System]
[Name: Bai Ming (Silver Wolf)]
[Lifespan: ∞ + 30 days (Roleplay)]
[Available Transformations: Big Herta, Acheron, Celenova, Jingliu, Ruan Mei, Sparkle, Hertatomb, Lord Ravager - Jingliu, Young Herta, Robin, Artoria, Cipher, Georios, Cyrene - Fuli (Charge: 23.5%), General of the Yuque - Qingque (Charge: 0.2%), Silver Wolf (Currently Roleplaying)]
[Available Draws: 12 (25.2%)]
--+--
[Settlement Reward: An outstanding performance—even achieving that dreamlike accomplishment and becoming the famous "Boss Qingque" of the Xianzhou Alliance! Reward: Complete Kālacakra Skyplume!]
--+--
Over the past half month, the number of draw chances hadn't decreased—instead, they'd risen again. Not a bad gain.
And the earlier roleplay settlement reward had directly left her with the Kālacakra Skyplume—that Spiritus.
Though it wasn't especially powerful, it was still a fairly useful functional item, and it deepened her connection with the Path of the Hunt.
Originally, Bai Ming had planned to wander somewhere else.
But because of Silver Wolf's wish, she directly used the character card and—using Originium as a locator—appeared in Punklorde.
But accordingly—
The Hunt sensed this strange change.
According to THEIR impressions, this strange existence occasionally pulled out bizarre identities, but each one would disappear after a certain cycle.
So when THEY saw that the Eye of the Hunt had been created by her before, Lan hadn't paid much attention.
After all, it would vanish after a cycle.
At most, it just meant she carried a bit more power from the Path of the Hunt—something Lan was more than happy about.
That way, if 'Silver Wolf' ever decided to go cause trouble for Yaoshi, Lan could respond and provide support as quickly as possible.
But even though the power remained—
Lan discovered something odd.
Why had the Spiritus itself stayed behind this time?
And leaving it behind was one thing—but this person hadn't even bothered to change appearances…
Lan never said it outright, but the fact that THEY granted the Xianzhou Alliance seven fixed Pseudo-Emanator seats—each general personally approved—showed THEY cared deeply about the Xianzhou.
So suddenly seeing another symbol of a Xianzhou general appear…
Looked a little strange to THEM.
Thus—
The Aeon of the Hunt cast his gaze directly upon Punklorde.
The presence of an Aeon pierced through all barriers.
The residual might spreading unconsciously from that gaze was enough to intimidate the entire world.
Ignoring the world itself, Lan's sight passed through the concrete skyscrapers—and fell directly upon the 'Silver Wolf' who had appeared in that basement.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL