"Xiao Jing, have you finished your homework? Have you been playing on your phone?"
"I'm writing it, Mom." She sighed helplessly.
"Alright, write properly."
The door closed, and the girl named Xiao Jing let out a sorrowful sigh.
"Homework, homework all day long. You don't give me any time for entertainment at all." She propped her chin on her hand and smiled gently at the bird. Then, as if recalling something, she took a book out of the drawer.
"Let me tell you a secret. I'm studying the occult." She excitedly placed a sheet of paper in front of herself. "Look..."
The book opened, revealing its contents.
Magic circles, pendulums, rituals...
Alice watched her with interest through the bird's eyes.
She had felt something before and landed here. She hadn't expected that feeling to come from the book.
The girl seemed unaware that there was anything strange about the bird. She muttered to herself, "I've always felt that this world must contain a lot of mysterious things, so I kept researching them. Recently, I happened to join a gathering where there was a group of similar people, but they were all very strange. So strange that they frightened me. They believe the God of Light Prayer really exists, and the way they look at me... Hah, tell me, have I really gotten involved with some strange circle?"
As she said this, she seemed to fall into thought.
Alice saw a trace of confusion and unease in her eyes.
"So it really doesn't exist, does it? It's all just wishful thinking on my part. This world simply follows its own rules step by step. The mysterious world doesn't exist, and I can only struggle through this boring life, spending my whole life without freedom."
She showed a kind of pain that seemed common among children raised under strict parents.
Still, not even a little entertainment time? Her parents were way too strict. Alice had no idea what the point was.
After thinking for a few seconds, Alice decided to give it a try. She had the sparrow fly through the window and land on a blank notebook.
Its claws dipped into the ink beside it, and the sparrow began to write.
"Do you believe in fate?"
The words slowly appeared before her eyes.
The girl froze. Only after the writing was finished did she vigorously rub her eyes and stare at the words in disbelief.
"You, you..."
"Fate has chosen you."
The sparrow looked ordinary, yet it had written human words.
The girl swallowed. Unable to believe it, she checked the words several times before asking excitedly, "Fate, are you communicating with me? Who are you?"
She did not know whether the bird before her was extraordinary, or whether some force was controlling this scene.
Seeing that the bird gave no response, she patted her chest to calm herself. Looking at the words above, she said seriously, "I believe in fate. What should I do?"
"Wait for power to descend."
After writing those words, the sparrow flapped its wings and flew away.
Actually, I'm the Younger Sister
A few minutes later, the sparrow secretly flew back and landed on a utility pole, observing her from afar.
Alice had basically confirmed that this girl had once come into contact with the supernatural world.
The book in her hands possessed an indescribable allure. Even Alice herself would feel drawn in after looking at it for a while.
"If this child keeps studying it, she'll probably develop mental problems."
But after giving it deeper thought, this was exactly the kind of target Alice needed.
She was naturally very curious about the mysterious. If Alice gave her some Life Energy, she might be willing to do some things for her.
For example...
Selling Purple Crystal Coins, or purchasing supernatural items.
Inside the hotel.
Her phone suddenly rang. Ye Qian, who had been sleeping soundly, yawned and opened one eye, poking her head out from beneath the covers. She lazily stretched out her hand and, as if using all her strength, finally dragged the phone in front of her.
"Let's see who it is... Uh, Xiao Lin?"
The moment she saw her familiar roommate's name, her expression went completely blank.
This guy again?
From a certain perspective, if this continued, she would be exposed sooner or later. Even refusing the call seemed pointless.
After pondering for a few seconds, she ultimately sighed and pressed the answer button.
"Hello?"
A weak, lifeless voice came from Ye Qian's mouth.
"Hello, Ye Qian, you..." The person on the other end stopped halfway through and immediately changed his words. "Who are you?"
"Ye Qian."
"Ye Qian?" Xiao Lin sounded rather surprised. "What's with that voice? Are you using a voice changer?"
"I'm not."
"Not using one? No, no, no, you definitely are. Check it. That's a girl's voice, damn it. Forget that for now. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, I guess. I just woke up, so I'm a little weak right now."
"You... kidney deficiency? Jerked off too much? Then we probably won't be able to hang out together for a couple days. But that voice changer is really good. That lazy, cute voice has got me hard as hell."
Ye Qian: "???"
After a bizarre silence, she suddenly coughed several times. "What the hell do you mean, got hard?"
"Hahahaha... Fuck, no, wait. You didn't seriously turn into a woman, did you?" Xiao Lin exclaimed, as if he had finally realized something.
Ye Qian clicked her tongue. "Do you believe something like that? Waking up and turning into a woman?"
An odd silence fell over Xiao Lin's end of the call. After quite a while, he lowered his voice and asked, "So... it's real?"
"What do you think?"
"Wait, let me think about this."
Xiao Lin fell silent. A full half-minute passed. Just as Ye Qian thought something had happened to him, he suddenly said, "Bro, you wouldn't want anyone else finding out that you turned into a girl, would you?"
"Get lost, get lost!" Ye Qian was speechless.
So this world was full of Neon internet users too, huh? If she did not have to meet these guys at school sooner or later, she would not have bothered telling him in advance.
Of course, she had an even better option in mind: directly abandoning her past and starting a new life. She could pretend not to know her old friends and avoid dying of embarrassment.
For example, she could pretend to be Ye Qian's younger sister and say her older brother had long since disappeared or something.
There was no way for the person on the other end to verify it anyway.
After thinking it over so carefully, she said in a serious tone, "Actually... I'm Ye Qian's younger sister."
"Younger sister?"
Xiao Lin's feelings were complicated. He did not remember that guy having a younger sister. She had been hidden for so long that even he, Ye Qian's roommate, had not known.
"I knew it. Turning into a woman is way too ridiculous. There's no way I could believe that. But why did you answer the phone? Is he doing okay?"
"My brother has gone missing." Ye Qian deliberately used a more sorrowful tone.
"Missing?" Xiao Lin instinctively stood up and walked over to the window. "You mean you can't find him?"
"Yes, he disappeared a long time ago."
"This..."
"Sorry. I just didn't want the people who knew him to worry." Ye Qian made her voice sound even sadder.
In truth, claiming he had gone missing was easier to make believable, because there really were many missing-person cases in society. News of people vanishing into thin air appeared several times every month. She had not understood such things in the past, but recently, after Ye Qian came into contact with the Hidden World, she had gradually begun to understand.
Those disappearances were probably connected to supernatural incidents.
Especially incidents above LV20. They inherently carried extremely high levels of mystery, and the outcome for ordinary people who encountered them went without saying.
"Did you call the police?"
"We did. We're waiting for the results," Ye Qian replied.
"Alright, then... can you meet us? I want to know more details. After all, we're Ye Qian's friends. Maybe we can help find him."
"..."
Ye Qian was silent for a while. She tried sitting up, her gaze falling on the mirror. Looking at her weak reflection, she pinched her little cheek and was surprised to find that her condition was much better than before.
Her head was still a little dizzy, about as bad as a moderate fever. She should not expect to recover within a week.
Why not... meet them using a duplicate?
"Alright. Where should we meet?"
"At a nearby restaurant. I'll send you the address."
"Mm."
After they finished speaking, the call ended. Ye Qian exhaled and began thinking about how to explain things to Lin Qingyan.
"Forget it. I'll send her a message. Judging from Xiao Lin and the others, Lin Qingyan hasn't told anyone about my transformation."
She opened her chat app, organized her words, and sent the message.
Less than a minute later, Lin Qingyan replied, "Okay, but why don't you want your friends to know?"
Ye Qian: "What do you think a good friend's first thought would be if they turned into a cute girl?"
Lin Qingyan: "..."
Lin Qingyan: "Fuck you?"
Ye Qian: "Pfft—cough, cough, cough. Don't say nonsense. There are just some special reasons. I hope you can help me keep it secret."
Lin Qingyan: "Mm-hmm, I understand. Make sure you protect yourself."
Ye Qian: "I will, I will. I'm counting on you."
After finishing the chat, Ye Xin got up from the sofa at home and prepared to leave.
That was right. Ye Xin was the only one she could use to meet them for the moment.
She was at least a beautiful girl on the level of a pure school belle. Ye Qian had no idea what those guys would think when they saw her. Still, as long as they did not know this was Ye Qian herself, it would not be a huge problem.
She walked out of the house and saw the location Xiao Lin had sent.
"It really is quite close."
It was only one kilometer away.
The sky had already darkened, so Ye Xin headed there on foot.
The Mysterious "Thread"
At the restaurant one kilometer away.
Xiao Lin and his two roommates arrived at the location.
The restaurant faced an artificial lake, with a century-old clock tower not far away. Among the many shops in the area, its decor was considered rather upscale, yet its prices were surprisingly affordable.
"Did Ye Qian really disappear? His younger sister is coming? Even though you've said it several times, I still can't believe it." Su Longjie, who had a crew cut, stood with his hands on his hips and anxiously scratched his head.
"I don't want to believe it either, but I'm afraid it's true." Xiao Lin sighed regretfully.
He looked around, and soon noticed a figure in the corner.
With long black hair cascading down her back, delicate and pure features, fair skin, and a slightly slender figure, she leaned against a tall tree in a black dress. Her legs were wrapped in tight black stockings, and her timid appearance was extraordinarily alluring.
Xiao Lin swallowed and instinctively glanced at the information on his phone, confirming the girl's identity.
"That's her. I see her."
Before you continue