Chapter 62

What…!

What little loli!

This had to be the umpteenth time Luo Li felt mortified over his own name.

Before he’d arrived in this game, he’d never once thought there was anything off about it!

So why did everything change the moment he got here, with people calling him “little loli” left and right…

And on top of that, the earthquake was supposedly his doing?

He didn’t even know for sure!

To think he was actually that powerful…

Luo Li wavered between sneaking a grin to himself and shrinking in guilt, but he quickly talked himself around: Whatever the case, he’d earned that SSS rating with his own strength this time. He had every reason to celebrate!

He swiped down, only to see the commenters piling on:

【Though the earthquake probably wasn’t the Mountain God’s power. He’s been suppressed for years—his strength’s all but gone.】

【My guess? The Leader Boss got bored of the game and flipped the table with a quake.】

Luo Li: ……

His moment of pride had been premature.

After all that, it turned out he still owed it all to the Leader Boss pulling strings for him. QVQ

【Ah… so that’s how it is. Lame. Show’s over, folks.】

【Hold up, the guy up top said it’s a little loli??】

【Spill the tea, pops! White-haired flat-chested little loli? Heh heh heh…】

But the original poster seemed done with the chat. Minutes ticked by with no further replies.

If anything, the silence only stoked the forum bros’ curiosity. The thread’s vibe shifted hard, replies flying so fast it was dizzying.

【No wonder. My buddy says the Little Mountain God’s got a nasty personality—not the type to go all “till death do us part” with her man.】

This seemed to be from the same guy who’d been accused of making shit up earlier.

Someone jumped right in:

【Nasty personality? Hell yeah, sign me up.】

【Fuck, now all I can picture is a white-haired loli gremlin!】

【Talk about small fry.】

【I need some “loli mommy” plotlines in my life, stat. Room for a 6’2″ son in his twenties?】

【Okay okay, but real talk: how does the insider even know the Mountain God’s packing flat chest?】

【Don’t tell me he’s tapped that. Shit, jealous AF.】

No matter how the forum begged and pleaded, that “insider bro” stayed ghosted.

Replies kept stacking up in droves, the post’s heat refusing to die. Folks even started dropping fat point bounties for more dirt on the white-haired little loli.

Of course, “dirt” here just meant fresh fantasy fodder.

Luo Li saw no new bombshells drop, so he moved to close the forum link.

Right before he could tell Little Seven to cut the feed, a fresh reply popped up.

It was from the long-silent “insider bro.”

【Haven’t had a taste. Ask someone else.】

The thread exploded anew.

【What the—?? So someone else has?!】

【Pops! Connections! Don’t ghost! 5000 points if you spill more!】

【I wanna taste it too I wanna taste it I wanna TASTE IT AHHHHH】

Luo Li’s face burned crimson. He snapped, “Little Seven, shut it down! Now!”

With a sharp snap, the forum connection severed.

Luo Li clutched the black rabbit plushie, kneading it over and over until his embarrassment finally ebbed.

He tidied the table, pausing to pick up the golden key.

He dangled it from his fingertip, watching it sway. The back bore an intricate pattern of three mismatched eyes. For some reason, it made him think of the Leader Boss with his six eyes.

“You knew all along, didn’t you?”

Propping his chin, Luo Li murmured to himself, “Agamemnon…”

He set the black rabbit plushie on the bedhead. Its gleaming golden pupils fixed on him, but lost in reminiscence, Luo Li never noticed.

He flopped onto the bed, kicking his legs idly. His foot clipped the plushie’s ear.

The black rabbit wobbled and tumbled to the floor.

Luo Li lunged to grab it—only for the plushie to roll away, right into a far corner beyond his reach.

Under his stunned gaze, the rabbit plushie shakily rose to its feet.

Luo Li: !

What the hell?

It hopped away, bounding out of the room. Luo Li scrambled after it.

Beyond the stark white room stretched a long white corridor. The black rabbit stood out like a sore thumb, scampering at top speed until Luo Li lost sight of it.

“Don’t… don’t run…”

His stamina sucked. A few steps in, he was already huffing.

The rabbit paused by a half-open door. By the time Luo Li staggered up, it hopped straight inside.

Luo Li stepped in after it. Pitch blackness swallowed the room. Fear hit him then, hard. He tried to back away—but his feet wouldn’t budge.

Something cold and slimy coiled around his ankle, swiftly binding both legs tight.

Thick tentacles sprouted from every direction, looping high across the vaulted ceiling. Some unknowable creature loomed down at him, cold and sinister.

A rasping, ancient whisper hissed in his ear—mumbling who knew what. Luo Li couldn’t make it out.

All he knew was the things wrapped around him were inching along, dragging him into the dark.

Terror drowned Luo Li. His body locked up, helpless. Tentacles lifted his chin; suction cups slathered his neck and shoulders in slime.

“Back away!”

Little Seven barked the order. A shadowy figure materialized in front of him.

The faceless man shielded Luo Li as a laser sliced through the tentacles from nowhere.

The man shoved Luo Li out the door. Fury lashed out—tentacles swarming the man as darkness engulfed him.

The man glanced back, Little Seven’s voice ringing out one last time: “Run!”

The door slammed boom behind him. Luo Li stood frozen outside, heart pounding. Only after ages did he think to push it open again.

But when he did, the room lay silent and empty once more.

Luo Li blinked for half a beat, then whispered, “Little Seven?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a mighty force yanked him through the door into the world beyond.

~~~

“Recently, unidentified creatures have breached the Base perimeter. They carry lethal pathogens. Citizens, please follow Base protocols: stay home, take precautions, minimize travel…”

Luo Li’s eyes fluttered open.

Frantic beep-beep-beeps blared in his ears. The electronic watch on his wrist buzzed wildly, notifications piling up.

Still dazed, he raised his hand to silence it.

He must’ve fat-fingered something. A shimmering hologram burst from the watch, projecting right in his face.

Rubbing his aching head, Luo Li squirmed uncomfortably before sighing, rubbing his eyes, and sitting up.

The hologram showed what looked like a food delivery app’s order screen.

“Ding dong! New delivery order. Destination: Central Base, Jacob Cluster Building 3, Room 1881. Please confirm!”

Luo Li stared blankly at the “order.” Once he’d read it, the hologram winked out.

He glanced around: a cramped, dingy apartment, sparsely furnished. Just the basics, plus a prominent wardrobe in the corner.

A clothes rack and the bed held weirder stuff—women’s lingerie, super skimpy and bold.

No windows anywhere. Wall-embedded screens droned with news broadcasts.

From the footage, Luo Li clocked it quick: this was some hyper-advanced future world.

Then a new instance briefing popped up.

【23xx: Genetic pollution erupts worldwide. Creatures evolve and breed at superhuman rates, gravely threatening human survival.】

【To preserve civilization, the Federation builds secure Bases, complete with cities to sustain humanity.】

【Beneath the calm facade, dark conspiracies brew within the Bases. Dangers lurk in the shadows.】

【Just days ago, the Base outskirts faced a bio-invasion. For resident safety, all non-essential travel is banned. Rations cover food and essentials.】

【Opportunists are forging illegal passes to hawk contraband door-to-door, raking in illicit profits…】

【Parsing instance…】

【Parse complete.】

【Instance Level: A】

【Player Objective: Avoid Pollution】

What did any of this even mean?

Luo Li scratched his head. “Little Seven, break it down for me.”

No answer.

“Little Seven?”

Figures. Off slacking again!

Puffing his cheeks, Luo Li reread the brief a few times and pieced it together.

Monsters on the loose, so lockdown. But shady types forge passes to run illicit deliveries for cabin-fevered residents… Right?

Wait…

He hurriedly checked his wristwatch again.

Yup. Starting role: delivery guy.

One of the illegal permit forgers, no less.

Luo Li wanted to bawl. All he wanted was a quiet mob role under the boss. Not some outlaw courier!

Could he just… not deliver this?

With trembling fingertips, he opened the order interface. After staring at it for a moment, Luo Li suddenly noticed something off.

The contents of the order were downright bizarre.

“One pair of one-piece white silk stockings, one set of rabbit ears and tail. Comes with amb.”

“Note: No extras, please.”

The buyer was anonymous, but the age and gender were visible.

25 years old, male.

What was a twenty-five-year-old man doing buying stockings and rabbit ears?

And what the hell was this “amb”…

Luo Li grew increasingly suspicious. He went back to check the seller. The shop was called Bountiful Cute Pet Paradise. The description offered a range of pet-petting services, and there was a discreet note: “Delivery available.”

At a glance, it sure looked like a pet store…

Were those things little outfits for pets?

He barely managed to convince himself otherwise, but he still had no idea what to do. He’d never delivered takeout before, and with how dangerous it was outside right now, he didn’t dare step out the door.

Just then, the buyer’s call came through.

“Hello?”

A cold young man’s voice answered from the other end, rich and arrogant in tone. “Why isn’t it ready yet? Do you have any idea I’ve been waiting half an hour?”

His words dripped with impatience, carrying the overbearing vibe of a rich second-gen Celestial Dragon.

Luo Li hurriedly replied, “S-Sorry. I’m still getting it ready…”

The young man clicked his tongue. “…Whatever. You’re late anyway—what you say now doesn’t matter. Take a photo and send it over first. Let me have a look.”

Luo Li was a little dazed. “Ah, a photo of the pet? Right now?”

“Yeah.”

The young man drawled the word lazily, issuing orders. “I want a full-body shot.”

He paused, then let out an ambiguous little chuckle. “Make sure it’s a nice one… little pet.”