Chapter 25: The Foolish Persona

The woman in blue quickly interjected, "Don't. If you want us to live a few more days, you'd better keep your mouth shut."

Liang Dan clamped her mouth shut and made a gesture of zipping her lips.

Shen Si said, "Since we are all fated to be here together, let me introduce myself. My name is Shen Si, and I’m a high school student."

Yang Liuqing said, "My name is Yang Liuqing, and I’m a college student."

Liang Dan and Shen Si spoke in unison: "How can you deceive friends who are good people?!"

Yang Liuqing raised an eyebrow. "Do I not look like a college student?"

The two shook their heads repeatedly. "Not at all."

Shen Si added, "You look a bit old—even older than my mother."

"That’s exactly right," Yang Liuqing said with a snap of her fingers. "This is a skin I unlocked in my last Level 1 instance, called 'Middle-Aged Woman Who Does Farm Work Year-Round.'"

"What is that? A skin?"

Yang Liuqing replied matter-of-factly, "Since it’s a game, naturally there are skins."

Shen Si asked, "Why are you only telling us now?"

"You didn't ask."

Liang Dan suddenly realized why Yang Liuqing’s appearance had felt so jarringly mismatched with her personality.

Liang Dan said, "My name is Liang Dan, and I’ve been a working professional for a few years."

The woman in red nodded. "My name is Wang Guo, and I’ve also been working for several years."

The woman in blue added, "My name is Wang Fa, and I’ve been working for several years as well."

"Wang Guo and Wang Fa," Liang Dan couldn't help but exclaim, "What imposing names!"

Wang Guo quickly interrupted, "We've been talking for so long, shouldn't we discuss why you were looking for that poor soul?"

Liang Dan explained, "It’s like this: we arrived here three days ago. The instance task requires us to survive for seven days. We’ve been struggling to scrape by, and after three days of turmoil, we finally learned some information from the NPCs that could make our survival over the coming days much easier."

Shen Si continued, "But we never expected that just as we were about to ask for more, the NPCs would be pierced to death by giant arrows!"

Yang Liuqing added, "Logically, with most NPCs dead, our situation should be much safer. However, considering there are still many NPCs in the temple, plus the presence of many other players, and a River God of questionable existence, our situation remains quite precarious."

Liang Dan said, "So the three of us decided not just to aim for survival, but to investigate this village, because investigating the village could make our future survival much... better!"

Shen Si said, "We thought of that kind benefactor from yesterday. She saved our lives, but didn't leave her name; she just flew off to save others. We were deeply moved and stunned by her heroic grace!"

Yang Liuqing said, "So, we wanted to call her out to see if we could get some important information from her."

Shen Si added, "But we were afraid—if we call out to a savior like that directly, would she think we just want to thank her and purposely choose not to appear?"

Yang Liuqing said, "That’s why we decided to call her in this manner."

Liang Dan sighed, "This was all a desperate measure. I hope our savior, in heaven... or rather, in the real world, won't blame us."

Wang Fa sighed, "I believe she will understand you."

Liang Dan smiled, "Thank you."

Yang Liuqing tapped her finger in the air. A screen appeared in the space in front of her and flipped to face Wang Fa and Wang Guo.

Yang Liuqing said, "Look, this is our task."

Liang Dan and Shen Si leaned in to look as well, seeing the screen read:

Player: Yang Liuqing.
Player Level: Level 2.
Player Skills: Hidden by default.
Player Weapons: Hidden by default.
Current Skin: Middle-Aged Woman Who Does Farm Work Year-Round.
Current Instance Name: Ruined Village.
Current Instance Level: Level 1.
Current Instance Task: Survive in the village for one week.

Wang Fa looked surprised. "When you entered, had this instance already become Level 1?"

"Yes," Yang Liuqing said, "otherwise, why would I have these two rookies with me?"

Wang Fa asked, "Are they both beginners?"

Yang Liuqing shrugged, "Obviously. They’ve never even seen the screen."

Shen Si was full of excitement. "What is this holographic thing? It’s so high-tech!"

"It’s your personal interface. Just raise your hand and tap the air."

Shen Si raised her hand and tapped randomly. A screen appeared above her, and she exclaimed excitedly, "How magical! How magical! Did you see that?!"

Liang Dan shook her head. "No."

She tapped around in the air as well, but only saw her own.

Wang Fa said, "Both of you, just swipe to flip it over."

Liang Dan swiped, and the screen lit up in the air:

Player: Liang Dan.
Player Level: 0.
Player Skills: Hidden by default.
Player Weapons: Hidden by default.
Current Skin: None.
Current Instance Name: Ruined Village.
Current Instance Level: Level 1.
Current Instance Task: Survive in the village for one week.

Shen Si’s screen also flipped over. Aside from the name, everything else was identical to Liang Dan’s.

"It’s so amazing!"

Shen Si was beaming. "We’re both Level 0 right now. Once this task is over, can we upgrade to Level 1?"

Yang Liuqing said, "Theoretically, yes."

Shen Si and Liang Dan tapped for a while before finally putting the screens away. The guard on Wang Fa and Wang Guo’s faces faded, replaced by a hint of a smile.

Liang Dan thought to herself, *The 'idiot' persona was a complete success.*

Wang Guo said, "We were just eating in the temple. Come on in, let’s talk while we eat."

The three did not refuse. They followed Wang Guo and Wang Fa into the temple, where two wooden planks were laid on the ground with a large iron basin in the middle.

Wang Fa sat on a plank and gestured, "Don't be shy, everyone, eat up."

The three leaned in and saw the basin was filled with a variety of wild greens, all washed clean.

Liang Dan reached out and picked up a handful of greens.

Wang Guo smiled, "These are particularly delicious. You should try them."

Liang Dan’s eyes widened. "You ate these? These are poisonous!"

Wang Fa said, "Aren't these dandelions? Green leaves and yellow flowers!"

"These are celandines, not dandelions..."

Yang Liuqing said quietly, "It’s fine. They’re wearing skins; theoretically, they shouldn't be poisoned to death."

Liang Dan picked through the pile, tossing out several weeds, and then said, "Eat now."

Wang Fa looked at Liang Dan with curiosity, but didn't ask anything.

The five sat together, munching on the wild greens. After finishing the large basin, Liang Dan felt a bit of discomfort in her stomach, but at least she wasn't as hungry anymore.