Chapter 11: Siblings in Truth
I must say, the phrase “Fiery Conflict Across the Sky” hit Xu Xiaofeng right in the feels.
What she loved most were these money-giving situations where you didn’t have to lift a finger. The kicker? The reasons for taking the money were utterly undeniable.
If someone just shoved money in her face, Xu Xiaofeng wouldn’t dare accept it. As a principled NPC, accepting bribes was a big no-no. Unless, of course, it was an outrageous amount…
In any case, with this move, “Fiery Conflict Across the Sky,” all she could say was: Well done, buddy!
If Xu Xiaofeng had a charm level indicator, she could bet it would be ringing non-stop right now. Too bad she was an NPC and couldn’t see it.
Meanwhile, the system notification was indeed chiming in the mind of “Fiery Conflict Across the Sky.”
Ding!
Here it comes! He cheered silently.
NPC Little Girl’s affection for you has increased by ten points, your relationship status is now indifferent.
Huh? Only ten points?
He gazed at the thousand-point cap, deep in thought. Other NPCs seemed to dish out affection like it was candy, with a hundred gold coins leading to thousands of points; sometimes even tens of thousands. So why was it so stingy with her?
The reality check hit him harder—this was just the first stage! There were several more levels to go!
After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly had a revelation.
Ah, she’s just a child! Not understanding the dirty dealings here is perfectly normal. I spent ten million yesterday, and the system didn’t even bother to chime! Today, this was a major step forward.
With that thought, he felt increasingly that this NPC was something special.
He chuckled to himself, “Well played, woman. You’ve piqued my interest.”
Xu Xiaofeng had no idea about this guy’s extensive imagination. Even if she did, she’d only cheer him on. After all, big fat piggy banks were securely locked in!
There’s a saying: when you’re interested in a woman, you’re already trapped… Ahem, wrong focus, we’re here for a serious all-ages game.
As for these two? They were totally in sync, but the rest were confused.
“Is this little sister the actual daughter of ‘Fiery Conflict Across the Sky’? Spoiling her like this?”
“Is there a romantic subplot?! No wonder Brother Fire isn’t interested in women; turns out he’s into the same s*x!”
“Copper-level confidant! Me too!”
Such comments made Xu Xiaofeng roll her eyes, and soon, two players, under “Fiery Conflict Across the Sky’s” orders, kindly escorted the offending speaker out for a little chat.
“Little Sister, I’m Fiery Conflict Across the Sky.” He made up for his overly excited introduction from yesterday, unaware that Xu Xiaofeng could actually see his ID. “Many call me Brother Fire or Brother Sky; you can call me that too.”
“Okay, Big Brother! No problem, Big Brother!”
Xu Xiaofeng was all about fairness; she would never favor someone just because they handed her more money. After all, that would seriously interfere with her earning from others.
Once the cash was exchanged, you could go about your business—don’t disturb me! Playing it cool was her trademark.
But “Fiery Conflict Across the Sky” didn’t get discouraged; he knew there was a long way to go in raising affection levels. After giving a couple of instructions to the folks nearby, he continued his grind with the others.
Not long after he left, a few wealthy players activated VIP statuses.
As a well-known game zone tycoon, “Fiery Conflict Across the Sky” stood as the head honcho of the 281st Beginner’s Village, especially since several competitors were relocated to other newbie areas. The direction of the whole village depended on him!
Once word got around about his latest maneuvers, fellow affluent players speculated about his motives. They definitely didn’t think “Fiery Conflict Across the Sky” had lost his mind.
After pondering, unable to come to any conclusion, they decided to jump on the bandwagon. After all, they all had their own guilds; opening a VIP would hardly break the bank.
Yet, they cautiously opted for the Gold VIP or Diamond VIP and waited to see how things unfolded.
By noon, Xu Xiaofeng was feeling like a money-grubbing machine.
Counting the number of new VIPs, there were already over thirty.
That racked up to more than seventy thousand gold coins, and with the other non-VIP players thrown in, she made nearly eighty thousand in one morning. How’s that for a sweet deal?
During lunch, Xu Xiaofeng decided to take a one-hour break, giving her employees a little time off. This is what being a boss is about; in the Outside World, she’d definitely be waving around a little flag saying:
“Rogue Merchant Scams Customers; Heartless Boss Exploits Employees!”
During this break, she figured her lazy little sister should be logging in.
She searched the ID she learned yesterday and sent a friend request with the message: “Open the door, community brings warmth!”
Of course, it got declined…
She scratched her head and tried again, changing her message to: “Ahem… I’m your brother and really bringing you warmth.”
This time she was accepted.
Xu Xiaofeng got straight to the point, sending an email with detailed info about the great NPC who gives amazing affection quests, including a little bonus of two thousand gold coins—just a little pocket money for her sister.
If only emails could send items, she’d have loved her sister some of the stuff she didn’t need. But what was junk to her was treasure to ordinary players.
Not long after, she got a friend message from her little sister.
“Brother! I love you! This is two hundred thousand! I really want to know which model of luck you hit; how much did you find?”
“Ha ha, a secret. Just stick with your brother, and I’ll make sure you eat well and live lavishly. I’m a pro!”
After that message, silence fell. After waiting a moment, another message popped up.
“Whoa! Brother! You’re really something!”
This unsolicited compliment hit a sensitive nerve in Xu Xiaofeng.
She shrunk her head and looked left and right, then spun around.
She didn’t see her little sister anywhere; why was she suddenly talking about her height?
Little Mistress, there’s still more in this chapter! Click to the next page to continue reading; the excitement continues!
But then she realized something off. Since she and her sister weren’t even in the same beginner village, even if they were, her sister wouldn’t recognize her current disguise.
Three seconds later, she noticed a loading image spinning in their chat window.
When it finally loaded, she opened it to discover a screenshot of the level leaderboard, with a specific red box highlighted.
Seventh place: Player ID: Wind#; Data: Hidden; Guild: None.
That Player ID was indeed Xu Xiaofeng.
What?! So she was talking about the leaderboard! You scared me—I thought my cover was blown!
Xu Xiaofeng patted her narrow chest and sighed in relief.
But then, she realized this leaderboard was a conundrum.
Her situation was unique; as a secret dual-agent, her identity must remain hidden. As an NPC, to earn money, she had to be high-profile, meaning her player side had to be low-key.
Yet, she couldn’t hide her level, and there was no way she’d slow her progress just to keep a low profile.
So she’d inevitably occupy a spot on that leaderboard, which means trying to be inconspicuous was a lost cause.
Sigh, it’s not that I want to flaunt; it just happens to come with the territory.
Fortunately, other than the ID, all other information on the leaderboard could be hidden. Plus, being in the newbie phase, it wouldn’t affect her that much.
Thinking of this, she shot her sister a message: “Sis, about my identity, you have to keep it a secret. Don’t tell anyone—this is really important to me!”
“Hmm? Aren’t you done bragging?”
“I’ve always been low-key! Never brag!”
“Ha ha. Brother, I want beef patties for breakfast tomorrow and a Moonbucks coffee.”
“That’s a piece of cake.”
“I want beef patties the day after, too, and the day after that.”
“Next week, consider it done!”
“You’re really my brother! Love you!”
