### Chapter 0: Big Number and Little Number
==============================
After venting her frustration without regard for her image, Lin Nan found her cold value plummeting to rock bottom, but apparently, nothing else had been triggered.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit desperate.
Little did she know, she hadn’t just spent over eight hours in the game; her real body had been missing in the game pod for over a month!
Now, aside from the Dark Feather Crane obediently squatting beside her, the place was deserted. She had no mood to further explore her new body and merely skimmed the surface of her situation.
However, she did note one thing: the freedom in this game seemed exceptionally high. It appeared that almost anything was fair game regarding her character. Ordinarily, the game should have restricted players from doing anything ambiguous below the neck, but even when she had just reached into absolute territory, there didn’t seem to be any warning from the system.
What on earth was going on?
Just as she was becoming increasingly agitated and perplexed, the system finally popped up and displayed a dialogue interface in front of her.
“Dear player, we’re sorry. Due to a data error during your character creation, your character has entered a state of collapse. After some emergency engineering, your character has been restored.”
“Restored? While I appreciate the new female character, why can’t I log out of the game? Also, will my wish to join the righteous path of the immortals be granted? I don’t want to be the villain, constantly chased down by others!” Lin Nan had to make her demands clear, given the rarity of the system responding directly.
The system replied, “I’m very sorry, your character is bound to your account and cannot be changed. To compensate for your loss, we’ve arranged for you to have both a player and NPC dual identity. You can enjoy the fun of player missions while also leading the NPC life—these two roles do not conflict and can coexist.”
Lin Nan was taken aback. “A player and an NPC at the same time?”
“Exactly! In other words, we’ve created a little account for you, allowing you to switch between your big account and little account.”
Lin Nan’s mood immediately brightened. “That sounds pretty good! But what about my big account when I’m controlling my little one?”
“You can delegate management to the system. It can act according to the behavioral patterns set by you beforehand or let the other account rest in a safe place—it’s all up to your arrangements.”
“Sounds cool… Wait, wait! I was almost sidetracked. Why can’t I log out of the game?” Lin Nan asked anxiously. “The game pod can only sustain life for 24 hours, and if I go beyond that, my body might d*e from lack of food and water!”
The system responded, “I can only assure you of one thing: as long as your big account, the Cold Moon Witch, does not d*e in the game, you will be fine. The little account’s stats are just like any normal player; you can play however you like and d*e as you please.”
“Hey, what’s up with that? Explain yourself!”
Lin Nan tried to reach out and grab the floating system screen in front of her, but in the next moment, the display vanished, leaving her surrounded by the cold emptiness again.
She stood there stunned, suddenly hit by a feeling of abandonment. Would she never be able to return to the real world and enjoy the sunshine and rain from real life again?
Crouching down, Lin Nan felt a sudden sting in her eyes, and the urge to cry rushed over her.
d*mn it, did turning into a woman mean turning sentimental too?
She rubbed her eyes fiercely, took a deep breath, and suppressed the urge to burst into tears.
Though a new option for switching identities indeed appeared on her interface after the system vanished, at that moment, she certainly didn’t dare to casually log into her little account in this eerie forest.
The system had clearly warned her: the big account’s life meant her life. If her current body died now, everything would be for naught, and she’d lose even the chance to enjoy life in the game.
“Let’s go!”
Lin Nan leaped onto the broad back of the Dark Feather Crane.
Under the chilly moonlight, a shadow swept across the sky, heading away from Thousand Bird City.
Though she had no idea where she was going, it was best to just keep putting distance between herself and Thousand Bird City. After all, being pushed to use all her strength as an Inner Door Disciple was already overwhelming. If all the elites of Thousand Bird City came after her, her fate would be more than predictable.
So, finding a safe place to set up camp was her priority.
The wind howled throughout the night.
As the horizon gradually brightened with a fish-belly white, the Dark Feather Crane was nearing exhaustion.
Lin Nan lovingly patted its soft back.
What she didn’t expect was that the first companion she had in this game world would be a celestial beast she had recruited from the enemy ranks.
Noticing a cluster of lakes sparkling below, she thought this place would be decent enough for a temporary hideout. And with the Dark Feather Crane out of stamina, they gracefully descended from the skies like celestial beings.
Surrounded by the forest were glistening lakes, and Lin Nan felt a sense of bliss wash over her.
Her night-long journey hadn’t been in vain; this place was undoubtedly at least a thousand miles from Thousand Bird City, making it unlikely that anyone would easily trail her.
Alright then, let’s settle down here for a while.
At that moment, the Dark Feather Crane suddenly dove into a distant lake, swiftly snatching up several large fish in its slender beak before lifting its head triumphantly and gulping them down.
Lin Nan was mesmerized by the crane’s fishing performance, entirely oblivious to the two Catfish Monsters emerging from the bushes in front of her, wielding wooden sticks.
“Hey! You human woman, see this grand lord Little Drill Wind and you don’t kneel immediately?!”
The other Catfish Monster chimed in, “If you’re smart about it, maybe my big brother Old Drill Wind—yours truly—might even spare your pathetic little life!”
Monsters?
Lin Nan’s gaze fell on them.
These two Catfish Monsters looked like they had just gained sentience, with heads nearly indistinguishable from actual catfish, while their limbs were somewhat human-like but had clearly defined webs between their fingers.
They had simply thrown down a grass mat to cover their key areas, while the rest was all out in the open, their tiny eyes fixated on Lin Nan.
Lin Nan took a quick glance at them, seemingly too disinterested to even give them a proper response, and turned her head away.
“Cold Value +10.”
Of course, Lin Nan wouldn’t forget to quickly restore her cold value to above 100; otherwise, her passive talent wouldn’t activate.
After defeating Gongsun Ding, she earned 4000 XP and leveled up to level 8.
But to battle against higher-level opponents, her current level was still far from enough, so her passive talent needed to be set to active status to continuously generate experience points for her.
Seeing the Black-Clothed Woman completely ignoring them, the two Catfish Monsters instantly fumed.
Just as they were about to raise their sticks and charge at the audacious woman to give her a proper beating, a massive shadow suddenly descended from the sky, its sharp claws carving a deep chasm into the ground just beneath their feet.
The two Catfish Monsters nearly wet their pants in fear.
“Where in the world did that bird beast come from? Old Drill Wind, why didn’t you see it earlier?”
“Why blame me? Didn’t you see it either?”
The two Catfish Monsters began bickering.
Their eyesight wasn’t too great; beyond a certain range, everything was a blind spot. Thus, while they quietly approached Lin Nan, they hadn’t noticed the Dark Feather Crane fishing in the distance.
In the blink of an eye, the two Catfish Monsters found themselves ruthlessly pinned beneath the feet of the Dark Feather Crane, unable to move an inch.
It was clear that these two monsters were not high-level; in the presence of the level 50 Dark Feather Crane, they stood no chance whatsoever.
Lin Nan looked at them coldly. “What sort of monsters are you?”
Little Drill Wind stubbornly held his head up. “I, Little Drill Wind, will never submit to your threats! We just won’t say anything!”
Old Drill Wind added, “Yeah! Our Great King is the famous Monster King. If you dare to act against us, you’ll be in for a bad time!”
Lin Nan replied, expressionless, “k*ll them.”
“Cold Value +10.”
The Dark Feather Crane flapped its wings, grabbed one Catfish Monster in each claw, and lifted off, seeming ready to drop them from a great height.
The two Catfish Monsters screamed in terror.
They were water-dwelling monsters and had never experienced heights before.
“Help! I swear, I’ll spill everything!”
“I know more than Little Drill Wind, because I’m Old Drill Wind! Save me!”
Lin Nan originally intended to get rid of them without a fuss, to keep her presence undiscovered, but upon a second thought, if these monsters had an established hideout, wouldn’t that save her the trouble of building her own place?
After all, being new here and looking to settle down quickly was genuinely challenging.
“Let them down,” Lin Nan commanded.
As the two Catfish Monsters were dropped from a height of about five or six meters, they landed with a thud, dazed and bloodied, still trying to catch their breath after the fall.
Seeing Lin Nan’s cold and aloof demeanor, the two monsters realized they’d hit a wall.
Little Drill Wind quickly knelt before her, slapped himself hard across the face, and said, “I’m a fool, I’m too blind to recognize greatness!”
Old Drill Wind, seeing Little Drill Wind’s antics, didn’t want to miss out either and slapped himself twice, but hitting himself too hard ended up knocking himself out cold.
Lin Nan nearly burst out laughing but maintained her icy gaze at Little Drill Wind.
“My lord, we hail from Cold Wind Cave, about five miles from here. Our king is the Cold Wind Old Demon, and there are over a hundred monsters in the cave. I advise you; our king is no average monster. If you leave now, I guarantee I won’t say a word when I return, and you’ll leave here safe and sound.”
“No need for that. Lead the way to Cold Wind Cave!” Lin Nan replied coldly.
Little Drill Wind stood in shock, unable to believe his ears.
As he quickly felt excitement, he slapped Old Drill Wind awake. “Let’s go, we’re taking the lord back to Cold Wind Cave!”
