Mia froze completely after hearing Lin Qingyue's intensely serious, almost scholarly question. Her nimble cat ears twitched in confusion, her beautiful feline eyes filled with a bewildered "What on earth are you talking about?"
A few seconds later, the meticulously maintained professional smile on her face completely collapsed.
Pfft!
The catgirl couldn't contain her laughter, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as her slender shoulders shook violently. It took her a long while to suppress her amusement.
She shook her head, her gaze toward Lin Qingyue now carrying a completely different nuance. The look was akin to scrutinizing a top-tier bookworm whose brain had been reduced to mush from excessive reading.
"Guest, you're... you're overcomplicating things."
Her laughter shattered the deliberately solemn atmosphere Lin Qingyue had tried to create, dissolving it like smoke in the wind.
"Overcomplicating?"
Lin Qingyue raised an eyebrow, confident she had grasped the core of the issue.
"Exactly."
Mia nodded matter-of-factly, lazily shifting into a more comfortable position, the fluffy tip of her cat tail idly circling behind her.
"The situation you're describing has little to do with rules or power."
"In our line of work—or really, anywhere—this kind of thing is all too common."
She tapped her smooth forehead with a slender finger, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"The answer lies right here."
Mia cleared her throat, her tone instantly shifting to the casual, gossipy rhythm of street corners.
"Let's put it this way: when it comes to matters of the heart, there have always been two types of people."
"One type we call 'Players'."
"The other type we call 'Honest Men'."
"Players?" Xia Lian blinked, the term entirely unfamiliar to her.
"They're... masters of manipulating emotions," Mia explained simply.
"What they enjoy is the thrill of conquest and novelty. They never truly give their heart to anyone."
"They can swear eternal love to you today, and tomorrow they'll be whispering the exact same words to someone else, just with a different name."
"For them, desire is merely a plaything."
"Honest Men, on the other hand, are the exact opposite."
"Once they fall truly in love, they dive headfirst, wanting to tear out their hearts and give them completely to the other person, yearning for absolute, total possession."
Mia spread her hands, gesturing outward like an explosion.
"The 'Echo of the Heart's Abyss' rule doesn't create new archetypes; it simply amplifies what's already there."
"It intensifies the 'Player's' desire to manipulate and conquer, making them more ruthless and unrestrained. This allows them to seamlessly switch partners, even reveling in the pleasure of manipulating others like puppets."
"At the same time, it magnifies the 'Honest Man's' possessiveness and dependency to the extreme, driving them to obsession and madness. In the end, they willingly abandon everything, becoming their lover's tail-wagging 'dog.'"
"So, the two women you saw in the Arena, and those Fox Merchant—deep down, they're all 'Players'."
"And those men they've bewitched—unfortunately, they're 'Honest Men'."
Mia leaned back against the sofa, picked up her water glass, and delivered her final summary:
"Ultimately, it's about the choices people make. The rules just give them a hard push."
Her words were brutally simple and direct, nearly crude.
Yet they made Lin Qingyue's mind buzz.
She had been searching for a formula—a single, universal, ultimate formula that could explain everything.
But the answer turned out to be nothing more than human nature itself—the most primal, chaotic, and irrational aspect of our being?
Human hearts, by their very nature, are infinitely varied.
Lin Qingyue couldn't help but raise a hand to steady herself, pressing her fingers against her forehead.
In her past life, she had been a tech-savvy gamer and streamer. In this life, she had inexplicably become Ilanier's lover.
The other three members of their team were even more inexperienced, pure-hearted girls with virtually no romantic experience.
Tasking this group of "naive bunnies" with analyzing the predatory behavior of a "Player"...
Wasn't that like trying to climb a tree to catch fish?
Beside her, Lin Xiyue also had an epiphany. She glanced at her sister, then at Su Wan, suppressing a laugh as she nudged her sister's waist.
"Sis, after all this time, it turns out you don't understand women either?"
"Get lost," Lin Qingyue snapped, rolling her eyes irritably.
Su Wan's reaction was the most intense.
She froze completely, her ice-blue eyes widening with shock.
Then, a sudden realization dawned in her gaze.
Her tense shoulders visibly relaxed.
So that's it!
This proved that whether Lin Xiyue would succumb to temptation depended not on the enemy's cunning, but on her own willpower!
As long as her little Knight remained steadfast, immune to the gaudy tricks of those wild foxes, she wouldn't fall into that controlled, unhealthy state!
Understanding this, Su Wan's gaze toward Lin Xiyue softened considerably.
But...
Her weakness—her complete lack of resistance to fluffy tails—remained a significant vulnerability.
Su Wan's fingertips unconsciously traced patterns on the cold glass, a thought quietly taking shape and rapidly growing in her mind.
Since she likes them, that fondness can only belong to me.
Perhaps... I should devise a way to ensure that whenever she sees a tail, she thinks of me alone.
This dangerously audacious thought sent a flush of crimson creeping up her neck, warming her earlobes.
She immediately took a large gulp of water from her cup, hoping to mask her unusual reaction.
Xia Lian, meanwhile, wore a "I've learned something!" expression, her eyes sparkling with intellectual curiosity. It seemed she had already mentally recorded this vivid "social practice lesson" in bold strokes.
"So that's how it is..." she murmured quietly. "The complexity of the human heart is even more terrifying than any rule."
Seeing her three teammates' distinct and expressive reactions, Lin Qingyue's last trace of frustration dissipated, replaced by a bemused sense of relief.
[Ding! Congratulations! You have pierced through the fog, uncovering the human nature hidden beneath the facade of rules. Elation Value +500.]
You think it's hilarious that I was obsessing over such a trivial matter, don't you? Lin Qingyue mentally grumbled.
The atmosphere of the conversation lightened.
The golden sand had drained completely from the hourglass, but Mia showed no sign of getting up. She gazed at Lin Qingyue and her companions, a genuine admiration now gleaming in her eyes.
Though the process had been a bit circuitous, the very fact that this guest had asked such a question proved her extraordinary insight.
"Guests," Mia suddenly lowered her voice, her tone becoming much more solemn, "Our boss, Lady Lilina, truly admires adventurers like you who dare to stand against those 'wild foxes'."
"Most people in the city either seethe in silence or pretend it's none of their business."
"You are among the few who dare to take a stand."
Mia smiled faintly, a hint of mystery in her eyes:
"She's not here tonight. But next time you have the opportunity, I'd be happy to introduce you. Gaining Lady Lilina's friendship would make things much easier in Blackrock Stronghold."
This was undoubtedly an unexpected olive branch.
"Then we'll take you up on that, Miss Mia," Lin Qingyue said calmly, accepting the goodwill without hesitation.
Intelligence, after all, was sometimes more valuable than gold coins.
The four bid farewell to Mia and left the opulent yet sharply divided "Tender Village."
As they walked through the streets of Blackrock Stronghold once more, the evening breeze dispersed the lingering effects of wine and incense, bringing with it a touch of clarity.
As soon as they returned to The Anvil and Wheat Inn, Su Wan, without a word, practically dragged Lin Xiyue into their room.
"What's the rush?" Lin Xiyue stumbled, pulled along by Su Wan.
"Security check," Su Wan replied tersely.
Under Lin Xiyue's bemused gaze, Su Wan meticulously inspected the room's doors and windows, both inside and out, with the precision of a crime scene investigator.
Was the door bolt secure?
Were the latches loose?
Could the window locks be pried open from the outside?
Her icy gaze even swept under the bed and into the wardrobe, as if a fox spirit with a fluffy tail might spring from some dark corner at any moment to seduce her precious Knight.
"Alright, alright, inspection complete. It's perfectly safe," Lin Xiyue murmured, wrapping her arms around Su Wan from behind with an exasperated smile.
Su Wan stiffened momentarily, then relaxed, reaching back to clasp Lin Xiyue's hand. Her tone remained grave.
"Security Protocol #1: Never underestimate the enemy's shamelessness."
Lin Xiyue: "..."
She suspected Su Wan might genuinely be losing her mind.
Meanwhile, in the next room, Xia Lian was still replaying the night's events in her mind, while Lin Qingyue sat quietly on the edge of the bed.
Mia's words echoed repeatedly in her mind:
"Here, all actions must adhere to the ancient principle of 'fair exchange'."
And her own judgment:
"Fight rules with rules."
Tender Village used the "Contract" rule to forcibly restrain the Echo of the Heart's Abyss's "amplification of desires" from the outside.
So, could there be an internal restraint?
A self-constructed, absolute bulwark, preventing the flood of desires from ever breaching the dam of reason?
The moment this thought arose, she suddenly remembered Aeldara.
She recalled the "Holy Blessing" that could transform a mortal prince into a desireless saint.
Out of curiosity, she had once inquired about the Skill's mechanism, and Aeldara had frankly explained it.
Although Aeldara's "Pseudo-Holy Light" was simulated using the Power of Death, its core principle was the stripping away of emotions and desires.
True Holy Light should be capable of the same!
Therefore, for someone utterly rational and devoid of worldly desires...
Could the "Echo of the Heart's Abyss" still take effect?