Fortunately—
"None of this happened." Alain exhaled a massive sigh of relief, his entire body weight sinking into the back of the chair, his head lolling backward.
The current situation was undoubtedly the best-case scenario. Thankfully, with the aid of his ally, Monika, he hadn't just avoided having his time wasted by Yang Wanhua's scheme; he had also harvested crucially important information:
Reality has a problem. That is indisputable.
Everything he had seen so far also served as a vaccination of sorts for Alain:
Just as he understood Yang Wanhua—to the point where one could say he knew her "inside and out"—did she not know him just the same?
Alain understood that his own personality was actually quite stubborn. When encountering a problem, he wouldn't think too much about it, but would prioritize satisfying his own curiosity—he would just go for it.
She had obviously grasped this point as well, using the illusion to cast bait for Alain's curiosity, thereby inducing him to step, one by one, into the vortex she created to stall for time.
That woman... the relationship between him and her was one of mutual nemesis.
How terrifying...
Alain took out his mobile phone and sent a message to Monika:
[Thank you]
Beep~ came her brief reply: [You're welcome]
Monika had anticipated all of this as well... but she couldn't say it, so she had also guided Alain step by step, providing the information she was able to give.
That woman was also... damnably reliable. Fortunately, she was an ally.
And by leveraging Yang Wanhua's "Stalling for Time" tactic, Alain had also deduced quite a few information points.
Since she was stalling for time, it proved one thing—Yang Wanhua had a plan. A plan that was nearing its conclusion, one that could not afford any accidents, and required her to completely master Alain's movements. From this, the Residence—this vortex that devours time—was extended.
And the time frame for her plan was ten days...
"No, that's wrong." Alain shook his head; he was still being too presumptuous. For such a critically important time frame, he absolutely could not do simple addition and subtraction.
He should use the shortest time—the three days for the lock picking—as the countdown.
Yang Wanhua has a plan, and this plan is approaching completion. And the time remaining until the plan's completion—is only three days left.
This is the most conservative, most steady guess.
His arms rested on the chair's armrests. He relaxed his entire body and emptied his mind, trying his best to troubleshoot the information points he had already obtained in his heart...
Think, Alain. What else did Monika tell you? Or rather, what did you discover yourself?
In his brain, a flash of inspiration struck, thinking of the strangeness produced after the fusion of the dream world and the game world.
The Mitas at the Meeting Hall had become like NPCs in their behavior.
Could this be Yang Wanhua's ultimate goal:
Seemingly seizing permissions, but was seizing permissions actually for the sake of turning the Mitas into true NPCs?
But, what was all this for? It seemed completely detrimental to others without benefiting herself, right?
"No... I can't consider the psychological thoughts of a Yandere. A Yandere doesn't talk logic; they just do whatever comes to mind..."
Alain admonished himself. As long as the derived answer possessed a certain degree of rationality, no matter how outrageous that answer was, it must be the truth.
Coupled with the fact that the current Core did not show Core Mita.
Right, Monika had also reminded him, intentionally or unintentionally, before: The game world seemed like it was about to be hit by a big operation.
He tentatively summarized Yang Wanhua's plan—
Yang Wanhua had a plan to turn the entire game world's Mitas into NPCs, or rather, to truly turn it into a game. To this end, she defeated Core Mita. The plan had already reached its final stage and could not afford any mishaps.
At the same time, the plan would be completed in three days.
Alain took a deep breath, temporarily setting his conclusion. At the same time, he gave more consideration to the urgency of heading to the Core...
Going to the Core was not just for the game world, but even more so for himself.
Yang Wanhua wanted to turn the Mitas into true NPCs. If there wasn't a factor related to Alain at play in that... he wouldn't really believe it.
Alain dispelled his wariness. Additionally, this trip to the Residence had yielded him much else besides.
First of all, the information gap between him and Yang Wanhua had been completely disclosed.
While checking those photos in the basement, he learned that Yang Wanhua had monitored Alain in the past.
But that surveillance ended after the Mitas arrived in reality.
Plus, this stalling plan at the Residence didn't operate completely according to Yang Wanhua's own ideas...
Her hand couldn't reach that far.
Creak—
Alain stood up, looking at the sky outside the Residence, which was nearly half-dimmed.
Mila gazed at Alain curiously, tilting her head gently.
The young man spoke to the approaching darkness, articulating every word distinctly:
"No matter what it is you want to do. As long as you have disturbed my peace and happiness, I will definitely tear you to shreds."
The young girl beside him listened to his words and behavior, instantly understanding who Alain was speaking to.
She grinned. "Looks like you've already made up your mind."
Mila unfolded the katana in her hand, standing it before her. The silver-white blade reflected the light of the basement, flashing with a brilliant silver glow.
"No matter what you want to do, I will definitely contribute all my strength."
That blade standing in the center of her face divided her countenance into two halves, yet a heroic spirit caused her hair to move without any wind.
"So, move forward. Alain!"
"Mn." Looking at Mila, Alain nodded solemnly. He looked toward the direction of the road.
Vroom—
In the vehicle returning from the Residence, the window glass reflected Mila sleeping against his shoulder, and Alain turning his head to look out the window.
He was hugging the PC tower he had taken out from the Residence; he hadn't even spared the monitor.
"Uu..."
The young girl let out a soft, cute whimper in her sleep, a drop of crystal-clear saliva flowing down the corner of her mouth.
Alain touched the young girl's beautiful hair.
On this trip to the Residence, Mila had helped him a lot and exerted a lot of effort.
As a shut-in girl, going out with Alain—even if she cried out about being tired multiple times—she always spared no effort to help him, overcoming difficulty after difficulty.
"Thank you." Alain rubbed her small nose.
"Mn..." In her sleep, it was unclear if she heard him or not... her small hand softly tightened around the corner of Alain's clothes.
Receiving Mila's dependence, Alain smiled faintly.
He reached out, leaning against the young girl's cheek. What his palm touched was warmth and smoothness, like a piece of bouncy jelly.
"This is a reward for you, and also a reward for me."
Reflected on the window glass, he turned his head sideways, leaned in, and closed his eyes. His lips disappeared between the strands of hair on both sides of Mila's cheek.
Chu.
A touch, and then they parted.
Alain also lay flat against the backrest, taking a short nap.
Closing his eyes, he naturally couldn't see the young girl's ear, hidden within her hair... turning completely red.
____
New Story: Starting from Their Seventeen Years Old
🔥We're handing out that '30% bonus' that makes your wallet smile. 😄
✅ Get immediate access to 40 early chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive material and special announcements!
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters across ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan