Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

Just like that, they tacitly agreed not to mention the New Year topic again.

Just forgetting the reality, chatting about equipment, players, and character creation...

Before they knew it, they had used up all the third-level materials on hand and emptied the materials in the trading house before they finally put together a complete set of third-level equipment for the two of them.

Of course, Yu Man will also focus on the Ice Staff and put all his energy into it.

This weapon is becoming more and more convenient to use, with good control and output.

With the deer standing in the front row, the priority of upgrading armor becomes very low.

"Oh shit, it can dye equipment." The deer was shocked.

"That's only natural...but we can't make the dye yet, so forget it."

"Hey, the original color is pretty good."

Therefore, whether it was Yu Man's silver-white mage gear or Xiao Lu's plate armor and two-handed sword, they all retained their original colors...which was quite eye-catching. And the "Lake Heart Mirror" was beautifully inlaid in the center of the helmet.

But even without dye, the joy and anticipation that welled up in the deer's heart made everything sparkle.

Her sword was sheathed, but her heart was already outside the sheath.

"—It's time to take risks! Go test your sword!"

"Then, do you want to open a higher-difficulty copy? To make the profits higher?" Yu Man asked.

"No, no, no... Can you, can you relax a little? I'm afraid we'll get screwed and end up naked, with all our new equipment given away, and then die in the main city..."

Yu Man smiled gently and shook her head firmly.

Ignoring Xiaolu, Yu Man dragged her out of the main city.

Then, he took out an item from his backpack.

A piece of silk scarf.

It is very old, but still exudes the nobility of the past.

"The wind from the silver garden once blew it to the treetops."

As its name suggests, it is not a treasure map, but a keepsake and the key to open a copy.

Moreover, it is a fifth-level item - it is also the highest-level copy that can be opened by players on the main city island.

It will call out an old shadow from history.

Maybe it’s someone’s adventure, or maybe it’s the memory of someone unknown.

It has been glorious, or tragic.

Those old images will become various copies independent of time, allowing players to step into them and start their adventure.

However, before Yu Man was about to open it——

"You guys, are you going to fight?" A voice asked.

It was a female voice, strangely enough, her age didn't show, but she exuded a sense of fatigue.

Following the sound, they turned around.

A somewhat strange player stood behind them and greeted them with a smile.

"Hello, sister." Xiaolu completed typing the greeting in just half a second.

"Hello, little sister."

"She and I are both perverted male college students who play female characters, not little sisters."

"...Oh...well...hello little brother."

But in between typing and chatting, Xiaolu did not miss any move of this player.

Her equipment is very strange, very similar to the novice equipment, but not the same.

Besides that, Xiaolu felt that this person had completely melted into this world...it was hard to describe.

The strangest thing is this person’s ID——▇▇▇.

Three black squares. Although this kind of foreign-operated game can be named anything you want without any restrictions, it’s still a bit sinister to name it ▇▇▇, right?

The character of ▇▇▇ is very beautifully designed, with the appearance of a female who has just reached adulthood, and has the same mysterious color as her ID.

“▇▇▇.” The deer played the black square in a show-off manner. “Your name is quite powerful, sis.”

"Oh, is that how it seems to you?" ▇▇▇ responded with a smile, but still showing a hint of fatigue.

But Yu Man, who was standing aside, remained silent until now.

Because—she couldn't believe her eyes.

She didn't see any black blocks, nor did she see any of the so-called "sister" players that Xiaolu mentioned.

There was only one person called "GM3"...something, making some kind of sound, pretending to be a player and chatting with his teammates.

Now, this uninvited something turned to Yu Man.

And, using words that could actually be translated, he asked:

"Good brother, can you take me with you when you play this?"

026·What goods?

GM——Yu Man couldn't believe his eyes.

But it is indeed written on this player's head.

These two letters have many meanings in reality.

But in the game, there is only one meaning.

GameMaster——GM, game manager.

Their job is to manage the game, so they are not restricted by the system.

They are natural cheaters, beings of a higher dimension than the players, and gods in the game.

Calm down, Yu Man, what’s wrong with GM...right?

The key now is, has it been investigated because the progress was too fast?

Or is he simply a GM disguised as a game player to experience the suffering of the people?

No matter what, I have to pretend I can't see it... What did Xiaolu talk to her about? Oh...

After quickly making a judgment, Yu Man gritted his teeth and pretended nothing had happened.

She typed, "I don't take my sister with me."

Suddenly, the scene fell silent.

Xiaolu's eyes flickered with embarrassment, and GM3 was also obviously surprised. He didn't expect Yu Man to answer like this.

……

at the same time--

For game players, it seems like the other side of another world, a place called reality.

In a clean rental house, the cat just yawned.

It’s Cat Senior.

It bit a corner of the quilt, dragged it towards the bed with great effort, and covered Yu Man with another layer.

On the night of New Year’s Eve, there was no heating and it was uncomfortably cold.

Just like the snow-covered Shimla Bakken where Yu Man was born.

Senior Cat lightly jumped onto the bed and used the pads of his folded paws to gently touch the softness of the girl's body under the quilt.

"...This is the thigh. It's very close."

Following the thigh, it soon found Yu Man's belly.

Then he gently lay down on it, using his soft white fur to get as much contact with the human as possible.

This is to keep each other warm during difficult nights.

But at least in that world, she should be warm now - huh?

Senior Cat's ears suddenly twitched, and his eyes stared at the air with extremely sharp eyes.

Because there was movement—and it wasn't movement in reality, but rather...

——It’s magic.

Cat-senpai couldn't believe his feelings...but——

It really is exactly the same as the familiar feeling in the game.

"...And it's... some kind of super-large magic above level ten? What happened to this special effect?"

There was a supreme and pure magic in the air, slowly flowing out from the device worn by Yu Man.

They are like songs with form, flowing from the headphones into the world.

Then--

In this real world, forms are constructed.

The one who stepped into this place was a tired girl.

She was draped in a pure white robe, from hood to feet.

Flawless white weaves her—and the reality she exists in.

The white robe was only a millimeter away from touching the ground - but it didn't.

Beneath the robe was a face with snow-white skin. That was not the beauty that humans should have, nor was it a beauty that a player could fabricate.

It's more like the natural growth of crystals and the natural formation of rainbows in nature.

A miracle created by nature.

Her sky-blue eyes first reflected a white cat.

"..."

"..."

The two sides looked at each other——

But in a flash—

They all showed shock, astonishment, and unbelievable panic.

"Damn it, didn't I hack you to death?!" Senior Cat's fur stood on end, as if he had been fried in oil in the street.

"How did the world's strongest swordsman become like this..."

The girl in white robes murmured to herself at first, not daring to believe it...

Then it turned into a "puff" sound, and then he immediately covered his smile with his hands and bent over with laughter.

"Hahaha……"

She seemed to be too thin to bear a few laughs, and she laughed out all the energy in her body.

Then he took a few deep breaths, and then he regained his composure with a smile on his face.

"Mimi, come, be good, kitty..."

She stretched out her hand and, with a humiliating attitude, treated Senior Cat as if he were an ordinary cat, wanting to scratch its soft white chin.

The result was that Senior Cat suddenly jumped up and bit down fiercely.

Then the bite was empty.

"Hahaha, if you'd told me back then that the 'God-killing, world-dissolving 'Going Against All Things' would one day turn into a pitiful yet adorable cat, I would have willingly embraced failure."

“…That’s a lie.”