Game Time~

Xiao Ling was spacing out.

He had Delta running on his computer, but he really wasn't in the mood to play.

People said friends were the best gaming setup, but the few friends he had weren't online.

Dania was still curled up in Xiao Ling's arms, scrolling through her phone. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling she'd been coming into his room more and more often lately, and every time, she dressed rather... well... breezily.

Like now, she was wearing a camisole and shorts, giving him a view of vast expanses of pale skin whenever he wanted. But that was terrible for his physical health, hey!

Calm down, Hajiling, calm down. It's not time to eat the little cake yet.

Seeing Hajiling struggle to keep his composure, Dania couldn't help but smile triumphantly to herself. Just as planned.

They'd been together for nearly a month now. How could she not know what Hajiling was like? He had lustful thoughts but no nerve to act on them, looking but never touching while pretending to be a gentleman.

Ever since Lupa had given her that enlightening lesson in romance, she'd benefited a great deal and had started actively pursuing Hajiling.

Just as Lupa had said, she now had every right and reason to hope for more.

After all, she was no longer an experimental subject with no future. She was just an ordinary girl.

And if she was an ordinary girl, it was all right for her to pursue the person she liked, right?

Though she'd thought living under the same roof as Ling was happiness enough, she really couldn't accept things staying the way they were after all~

If someone else won Xiao Ling over before her, wouldn't she be left like one of those wronged girls in anime, crying, "But I was here first!" while watching them take whatever they wanted from Lao Ling?

In short, that was definitely not something she wanted to see. She really didn't want to experience that feeling called jealousy again. She hated it, really hated it.

But Dania found it strange. Hajiling was easily flustered whenever she teased him, yet he'd never done anything to cross the line. He was surprisingly well-behaved, which troubled her.

On the other hand, that probably meant it would be hard for anyone else to make any real progress with Xiao Ling, either.

Don't rush, Dania. There's plenty of time. There's no need to hurry.

He was a healthy young man, after all. Surely he couldn't abstain forever, right?

But back to the point: Hajiling had had the game running for ages, so why hadn't he done anything?

Dania: Poke.jpg

"Ah, Yaya, what is it?" Xiao Ling looked down and saw a vast expanse of snowy white, then immediately turned his gaze back to the computer screen.

Dania snickered inwardly, but outwardly she asked lazily, "Why did you open the game if you're not playing?"

"There's no one to play with. It's no fun playing alone."

Online games like this were only fun with friends. There was room for mistakes, and it was more fun. Playing alone was boring, and he might even end up suffering for it. He might as well play a single-player game to relax instead.

"Looks like someone's inviting you now?"

Dania glanced at the computer screen and saw someone with the ID Thunder Fluff inviting Xiao Ling to play.

"Hm?"

Xiao Ling sat up a little, keeping a protective hold on the little cake in his arms, and saw that someone called Thunder Fluff really was inviting him.

But had he added this person before?

Still, it was a good thing someone wanted to play with him. Xiao Ling accepted at once and put on his headphones.

"Hello, hello~ Honorary fan~ Do you have a mic? Do you have a mic~?"

Ah, so it was Little Ai. She played Delta too? Wait, how had she added him?

Aemeath had wanted to play online games with A-Yu for a long time.

She played a wide variety of games in this world, both single-player and multiplayer. Xiao Ling, on the other hand, only played a few popular games that were currently fashionable among young people.

She'd only found out by chance that Xiao Ling played a game called Delta Force. Little Ai hadn't understood the appeal until she tried it herself, but as a new player, she'd found it easy to get hooked.

As for how she'd added Xiao Ling as a friend? All she could say was: electronic ghost powers.

When she saw that Xiao Ling had accepted her invitation, she felt a little happy and greeted him cheerfully in a lively voice:

"Hello, hello~ Honorary fan~ Do you have a mic? Do you have a mic~?"

Good Daughter Aemeath (Xiao Ling): ?

Good Daughter Aemeath (Xiao Ling): Can't talk.

All right, there seemed to be some special circumstance. Aemeath was a little disappointed.

"Wait a moment. I invited someone else too."

Hm? Who else was Little Ai planning to invite?

Before long, someone with the ID Ding Dong Dong Dong Dong Ding joined the team.

That ID... it had to be Lynae. Only she would like ding dong dong.

Just as Xiao Ling expected, the moment this player turned on her mic, he heard Lynae's distinctive gyaru voice.

"I'm here, Little Ai! Hm? Who's this Good Daughter Aemeath?"

"Secret~" Aemeath kept her in suspense.

So those two teamed up and played together in private? How had he not known at all? Xiao Ling was very puzzled.

Still, this worked out perfectly. They had a full team of three.

Good Daughter Aemeath (Xiao Ling): Can you two experts carry me to some loot?

"Don't worry~ With me, Little Ai, here, there's no problem~"

"You bet, bro. We'll definitely carry you to some good stuff!"

Once everyone was ready, Little Ai playfully announced, "All aboard!" and they set off for the futuristic Brakkesh Space City on confidential difficulty.

"Oh, I got something good."

Less than a minute after they entered the core area, Little Ai brought them good news.

"What, what? Let me see!"

Little Ai dropped what she'd found on the ground for her two teammates to see. Xiao Ling couldn't help voicing his envy.

You mean she'd pulled a Space City executive keycard worth five million right at the start? Now that was the good life.

Xiao Ling really couldn't compare to luck like that.

The game went smoothly. Aemeath and Lynae worked surprisingly well together. Though they always treated each other as rivals, their skills were the real deal.

Even now, they were competing to see who could take down more operators.

Xiao Ling: Don't understand. The experts' loot bags are very tasty.

Aemeath's shot-calling was playful yet capable, and her aim was precise and elegant. If one headshot would do, she'd never fire two. But come to think of it, she actually played assault? That was a little surprising.

Lynae's aim was a little worse, but she had excellent situational awareness. She could always keep up with Aemeath's attacks and occasionally rein in this Thunder Fluff when she got a little carried away. The two complemented each other.

Together, they were fully capable of clearing the map. With these two great experts around, Hajiling could just relax and be a greedy pig.

Though Little Ai and Lynae competed fiercely, they both thoroughly understood the fundamental logic of extraction shooters: whether looting or fighting, getting out was what really mattered.

Of course, the three of them couldn't steamroll their way to a loot-filled extraction every match. Sometimes, little accidents happened.

"Ah! Where did that shot come from?"

Lynae was looting a bag when she was suddenly gunned down and finished off in one burst. She stared at her abruptly darkened screen, at a loss.

Once Aemeath reacted, she hurried to exchange fire with the enemies trying to rush straight in. But fighting three angles while dealing with their gadgets was too much. After doing her best to knock down two of them, she too was gunned down and finished off.

"Ahh~ That went wrong~" There was a hint of regret in her voice. "How about you sneak away first, honorary fan?"

Aemeath and Lynae didn't have a clear idea of Xiao Ling's skill. After all, this was the first time the three of them had properly teamed up, and Xiao Ling had spent the whole evening looting, barely firing a shot.

Good Daughter Aemeath (Xiao Ling): No need.

Xiao Ling casually pulled two usable guns from the bags they'd already looted, then sat up, ready to make his move.

Dania stopped looking at her phone too, intending to see how Hajiling would handle the situation.

He was playing Butterfly, a character who could revive teammates even under pressure. The enemy had probably used up almost all their gadgets in the firefight, but he couldn't rule out the possibility that their cooldowns had ended, so he needed to be careful.

Xiao Ling first used Butterfly's ultimate to revive Aemeath and Lynae under pressure, with two possibilities in mind. If the enemy didn't rush him, he'd throw smoke and revive his teammates while enduring their gadgets. If they rushed him without using gadgets, he could try to take one down outright.

Of course, if neither of those things happened, he'd take a gamble and hope to turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.

So, after hearing Butterfly's ultimate being used to revive someone, the three enemies, having replenished their health, pushed forward together. Three against one, the advantage was theirs...?

"That's hard to say."

Xiao Ling took out a heavy sniper rifle and held an angle. A headshot would be ideal, but even if he missed, it would make them wary. The ultimate only needed twenty seconds to revive someone, so he could still save his teammates if he stalled long enough.

The other side naturally couldn't sit still. By Xiao Ling's count, only the four of them were left on the map. All the three enemies had to do was deal with this lone wolf, and they could feast.

And so.

"Bang!"

The bird that stuck its head out got shot. The enemy assault player had just tried to push forward and use a gadget when Xiao Ling sent him packing with a sniper shot.

A sniper rifle headshot extended the rescue time. Now was his chance.

The ultimate had just finished its cooldown. Xiao Ling immediately avoided the remaining two enemies' lines of fire, threw smoke, revived the downed Little Ai and Lynae, and replenished their health.

The remaining two naturally couldn't escape. After recovering a little, Little Ai and Lynae immediately cut them down as they scrambled to retreat, clearing the map.

"Pretty good, right?" Xiao Ling couldn't resist turning on his mic, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Nice, nice~" Little Ai was very supportive.

"That voice... Xiao Ling, it's you!" Only then did Lynae realize that the third person on the team was Hajiling.

"Yeah. Impressive, wasn't it?"

"Really impressive!"

"Really impressive~"

!!!

Xiao Ling looked at Dania, who had suddenly spoken up from his arms, and a bad feeling abruptly rose in his heart.

Dania said nothing, only smiling at him with narrowed eyes.

"Holy crap, Xiao Ling, you've got a girl hidden away!" Lynae immediately heard a girl's voice coming from Xiao Ling's side.

"Oh~?"

Little Ai's game character suddenly stopped moving, and Xiao Ling's unease grew stronger by the second.

Then he heard his bedroom door click open. Damn, he should have locked it first!

Little Ai stood behind the door, leaning against the frame and looking at Xiao Ling and Dania in his arms with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"Looks like someone's in big trouble~" Dania was happy to watch the drama unfold. "Hwaa~ I'm a little tired anyway, so I'll head back to my room~ Hope I still get to see you tomorrow."

Dania walked out of Xiao Ling's room as if it had nothing to do with her, pulling the door shut behind her.

"My, my~ Our Lord Sea King really knows how to enjoy himself~ Pulling off such spectacular moves while holding a cute beautiful girl~"

The closer Aemeath walked, the guiltier Xiao Ling felt.

"No wonder you said you couldn't use your mic~ What? Were you afraid I'd find out you were secretly hiding a little peach in your room?"

"Um... do I still have the right to explain?"

"Explain? Why explain? Our game time isn't over yet, is it?"

Little Ai gave a devious smile. It looked like Xiao Ling was going to suffer a little tonight~

"Gah, Sister Ai! Sister Ai, no!"