"A character development quest?"
Su Xuan raised an eyebrow. Who would have thought that giving Rosaline a jigsaw puzzle would trigger a hidden quest!
When he looked at Rosaline again, he saw that she had raised two bony fingers, gently picked up a puzzle piece, and started assembling it.
However, her skull was empty, and it seemed she had to think long and hard about every single piece.
"Hope you have fun~"
Su Xuan took off his VR headset, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Now, the Guild's wooden table was finally safe. He just hoped Rosaline's skeleton head wouldn't explode too soon.
After returning to the real world, Su Xuan quickly washed up and went to bed.
「The next day.」
He got dressed and left his house.
Sister Ling's real name was Liu Ling. Her shop, a noodle restaurant of a few hundred square feet, was near Su Xuan's house.
Since Sister Ling ran the entire shop by herself, she needed to hire a server during the busy holiday seasons.
Coincidentally, Su Xuan also needed to earn money to support himself, which was how it all began.
Oh, right. Liu Ling also had a younger sister named Liu Xue.
She was seven years younger than Liu Ling and the same age as Su Xuan, but for some reason, Liu Ling was reluctant to let Liu Xue help out at the shop.
Was it because she was afraid it would interfere with Liu Xue's studies?
But this was a good thing for Su Xuan. If Liu Xue helped out at the shop, he would lose his job.
"Sister Ling, I'm here."
Su Xuan walked into a shop called 'Want to See You.'
It was only 6 a.m., but the shop was already full of customers eating breakfast.
"Su Xuan, you're here!"
A beautiful woman in an apron, the owner, walked out from the back kitchen carrying two bowls of steaming hot plain noodles, their fragrance filling the air.
"Let me help you."
"Eat something first. You need a full stomach to have the energy to work."
"Okay."
...
「In a flash, it was afternoon.」
Liu Ling's noodle shop was usually only busy in the morning and at noon. The number of customers dropped off significantly in the afternoon.
But their own lunch break was pushed back to four in the afternoon.
"Thanks for your hard work. Here you go~ Your favorite seafood noodles!"
Liu Ling placed a steaming bowl of seafood noodles in front of Su Xuan. The fresh aroma was savory and mouth-watering.
Su Xuan thanked her gratefully, then picked up his chopsticks and eagerly began to eat.
A full day of work had left him famished!
"Eat slowly. I'll go get Xiaoxue."
Seeing Su Xuan wolfing down his food, Liu Ling covered her mouth with a laugh before heading to the back room to call Liu Xue for her meal.
Su Xuan slurped his noodles while glancing at the half-closed door to the room.
Liu Ling's gentle and magnetic voice drifted from the room. "Xiaoxue, pause your game for a bit. It's time to eat!"
"I know."
"Can you take off your headset first?"
"You go ahead and eat. I'll be out soon."
"..."
SLURP SLURP~
Su Xuan listened to the two sisters' conversation as he slurped his noodles.
Although Liu Ling was only twenty-five, she didn't sound like an older sister, but more like a mother.
Even though she wasn't married, she gave off a "young wife" vibe.
This was probably because their parents had died in a car accident a few years ago, forcing Liu Ling to drop out of school early and shoulder the family's burdens.
A moment later, Liu Ling came out of the back room.
She muttered, "Honestly, Xiaoxue... always absorbed in her game. I wonder if it will affect her studies."
"I doubt it. She's always been in the top five in the entire school."
Su Xuan gulped down half the bowl of soup.
"Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease. As long as it doesn't affect her studies, it's fine!"
Liu Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
It wasn't that she hated games with a passion; as long as Liu Xue's studies weren't affected, she could play as much as she wanted.
"What game is she playing?"
Su Xuan asked curiously.
"I think it's a VR game? Xiaoxue said it's the most amazing game she's ever seen, that the graphics look completely real!" Liu Ling recalled.
"Is that so?"
Su Xuan couldn't help but wonder, 'Could Liu Xue be playing the same game as me?'
While he was lost in thought, Liu Xue walked out of the room.
Compared to Liu Ling's gentle, virtuous, and mature personality, Liu Xue was more like the girl-next-door who loves to play video games.
Her glossy black hair was a little messy, but it couldn't hide her clear and delicate beauty. Although her looks were a far cry from Ivsha's, among students, she was definitely at the level of a campus belle.
"Afternoon."
Liu Xue greeted Su Xuan, then sat down and obediently ate her noodles.
Su Xuan just nodded in response.
Although he and Liu Xue were classmates, their relationship was average at best.
The kind where they might not even exchange a few sentences in a week.
"I'm going to go clean up. You two take your time."
After bringing out a plate of snacks, Liu Ling hurried off to the back kitchen to get busy.
This left Su Xuan and Liu Xue alone, plunging them into a subtly awkward atmosphere. He could almost feel the air growing solid, like a heavy frost descending, creating a suffocating pressure.
Su Xuan pulled out his phone, casually picking up a piece of crispy fish and popping it into his mouth. His eyes, however, remained glued to his phone screen, not wavering for a second.
His phone screen was linked to the in-game view, showing his character Rosaline assembling the "Qingming River Painting" puzzle.
Even though Rosaline had become an Undead, losing most of her memory and cognitive ability with an empty skull, her spirit of perseverance for a single task seemed to have never faded.
A bony finger, glittering like a diamond, delicately picked up a puzzle piece and, after several minutes of deep thought, placed it in one spot.
However, it seemed to be the wrong spot.
So, she picked it up again and tried another piece.
But that also appeared to be the wrong choice.
This left Rosaline standing there dumbfounded, lost in thought.
Pfft~
Her dazed look made Su Xuan unable to resist a chuckle.
'The little skeleton is spacing out?'
And, judging from the current progress of the puzzle, Rosaline wouldn't be bored for the next month.
"Classmate Su Xuan, can I ask you a question?"
Suddenly, Liu Xue's soft voice reached Su Xuan's ears.
"What is it?"
Su Xuan put down his phone and looked at Liu Xue curiously.
This girl rarely ever took the initiative to talk to him; she must have run into some difficult problem.
"Do you know a way to catch a rat that's hiding in a dark corner?" Liu Xue put down her chopsticks, raised her head, and stared into Su Xuan's eyes with her own, which were as clear and bright as a spring.
"Catch a rat? You have rats in your noodle shop?"
"No, it's for a game..."
"A game?"
Hearing this, Su Xuan's gaze sharpened.
'Could it really be such a coincidence?'
'Did Liu Xue also get access to that mysterious game?'
"Is it a Fiery Fire Rat?"
"How did you know!?"
When Liu Xue heard the three words "Fiery Fire Rat" leave Su Xuan's lips, her pupils dilated slightly, revealing a trace of shock.
Seeing Liu Xue's reaction, Su Xuan understood. He had met another Player in the real world.
There were only 100,000 closed beta slots worldwide. He never expected to meet someone he knew. 'This must be fate,' he thought.
Moreover, it seemed Liu Xue's game progress was a bit behind his own.
'In that case, I'm her senior!'
"If you want to lure out the Fiery Fire Rat, you can buy a Lighting Technique Magic Scroll from the shop. One scroll only costs 2 Copper Coins," Su Xuan advised her. Of course, this was all thanks to Ivsha's practical lessons, which had taught him the wonderful uses of the Lighting Technique.
"The Lighting Technique? Is it really useful?" Liu Xue's beautiful eyes darted about as she murmured in disbelief.
"Why would I lie to you?"
"I believe you! Still, I didn't expect you to be playing that game too." Liu Xue's gaze flickered, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
"I didn't expect it either," Su Xuan shrugged.
"So..."
Liu Xue suddenly looked curious. She asked softly, "Can I ask what quality your recruited Adventurer is?" Although her voice was gentle, it held an urgent sense of anticipation.
Su Xuan thought for a moment, then answered calmly, "Elite."
"Elite!?"
Hearing this answer, her pretty face was instantly colored with jealousy, and a flash of envy appeared in her eyes.
She thought she was already lucky enough to have recruited a Rare quality Adventurer, which only had a three percent chance!
And Su Xuan had recruited an Elite quality Adventurer with a mere one-in-ten-thousand probability?
'What a lucky bastard!'
'I could just kick you!'