Where I Stand

The golden quest scroll unfurled before Xia Lin, the words [Homecoming Gate] gleaming with an enticing light.

Cold data labels hovered above Kade, Sera, and Celia as they stood quietly behind him.

The whole world awaited his choice.

Xia Lin stood silently where he was, staring at the quest window.

Three seconds.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Then he smiled.

"Interesting."

He directly ignored both options. Turning around, he walked up to [Paladin · Kade].

"Kade," Xia Lin said with a strange smile, leaning close to whisper a dirty joke he had heard back on Earth, "—So the goblin said to the Priest, 'I never said which holy symbol I stole!'"

In the real world, an upright paladin who heard such a joke would at least blush before sternly lecturing him about "respecting faith."

Yet the "Kade" before him remained expressionless, without the slightest ripple in those azure eyes.

Silence.

No flushed face.

No lecture about "blaspheming faith."

Not even a hint of embarrassment.

Three seconds later, Kade said in his standard heroic tone, "Command unrecognized. Captain, please issue a valid command."

"

Xia Lin took a step back, his chest tightening slightly.

"Just as I thought," he murmured.

It was not anger, nor was it disappointment. It was something worse.

Loneliness.

At that moment, Xia Lin had rationally confirmed that the illusion was false.

Yet his longing to return home still tempted him to "keep playing," like a devil's whisper.

Maybe if he pretended not to know and cleared this game, he could have the best of both worlds?

The instant that thought arose, the illusion seemed to sense his hesitation and began actively "optimizing" itself.

The old scene vanished, replaced by a familiar campfire, as though trying to soften him with a "cozy daily life."

"Hmph, it's this horribly