The pale blue glow of the screen.
Shone on Huohuo's gray-green hair.
And beneath her bangs.
Her eyes appeared crystal clear.
Because tears had already gathered in her eye sockets, ready to fall.
As if they would burst forth any second, turning into little pearls.
"Tail... you... died?"
Seeing the outcome of this mission.
Huohuo, with red eyes, looked at Tail beside her.
Her small hand tightly clutching a corner of her clothes.
As if what she was holding wasn't a piece of fabric but Tail itself.
Under the gaze of those pitiful eyes.
Tail immediately flustered and said, "W-what are you crying for?"
"It's the me in the game that disappeared, I'm fine now, aren't I?"
Upon hearing this.
Huohuo sniffled slightly.
The tears in her eyes lessened a bit.
At that moment.
In the game, Huohuo sobbed, "Tail interfered with Cirrus, he helped us... but... but he's gone now..."
"I can't sense him anywhere... he's gone."
"Because of Tail, I've been doing tough jobs and living a hard life..."
"I've thought countless times how much more comfortable my life would be without him, but... but when it really came time to part with him... I... I felt so empty inside."
"I really am a hopeless person. Something I've been looking forward to for so long has finally happened, but I can't even smile."
"Lady Xueyi said that Heliobus are eternal flames, so Tail... he must be somewhere."
Hearing her own voice.
Huohuo, who had managed to hold back her emotions, immediately burst into tears again.
"Wuwuwu..."
"Tail... over all these years, I've grown used to your presence..."
"I've come to see you as a friend... as family..."
"Please don't disappear like in the story, okay..."
Tail was stunned.
It hadn't expected.
That because of this game's storyline, Huohuo would open up her heart to it.
Family?
Friend?
These words it usually scoffed at actually sounded... quite nice at this moment?
But after all, it was a proud Heliobus.
It certainly couldn't just start crying along with Huohuo—
It clicked open the Jade Abacus on the table.
Looking through the messages on the homepage.
Soon.
Its eyes lit up.
"Stop crying, little crybaby."
"Look at this!"
"A short film released by Yu Ling two minutes ago—called 'Fyxestroll Garden Ghost Hunt'!"
"Hahaha, look at this meme on the cover, it's totally you!"
Huohuo rubbed her eyes.
Looking at the cover of the video.
She was immediately taken aback.
That was clearly her own meme!
On the tiny face, the eyes and mouth were wide open, as if she was about to faint from fright in the next second.
"Huh...?"
"Something about me..."
Seeing Huohuo still hesitating.
Tail directly clicked to play it.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and see what this short film is about!"
The screen began.
A pair of small hands were holding an electronic compass.
On the compass's signal display.
Several targets of varying sizes appeared.
The narrator's voice spoke: "As the people of Xianzhou roam the heavens, they inevitably encounter strange and supernatural forces."
"Thus, many ghost stories arise."
"On that day, a novice judge from the Ten Thousand Departments received a decree, tasked with subduing demons..."
Huohuo blinked.
What was this about a novice judge...
But the little figure on the screen, wasn't that her!
The background was a desolate mountain village.
At that moment, she was holding the compass, running forward in a sweat.
By the roadside, there were two children's backs.
She paused.
Carefully stepping forward to greet them, "Excuse me..."
The little boy on the right suddenly turned around.
A strange smile on his lips.
In a hoarse voice, he said, "Newcomer..."
The little girl next to him turned as well.
"Must~treat~well~"
Huohuo's ears immediately perked up!
Next.
Something even more terrifying happened.
The two children suddenly stretched out their hands forward.
And it stuck out a long, red tongue.
Like a tie, it hung down all the way to the waist.
"Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!"
Huohuo was immediately frightened and ran away.
While the two children hopped away in identical, standard movements.
Before she could catch her breath.
Huohuo realized that the place she had hidden in had a coffin!
One corner of the coffin had already been opened.
Holding a compass in one hand and a copper coin sword in the other, she trembled as she approached to check the situation.
However.
The coffin was empty.
Just as Huohuo was surprised.
A woman's figure appeared behind her.
The woman was originally facing away from Huohuo.
Her head suddenly rotated 180 degrees!
"You... are the new one?"
Huohuo was startled!
What, what kind of short film is this!?
This is not fun at all!
Tail opened the real-time barrage.
...
"Xueyi's head can rotate 180 degrees?"
"The head of a puppet is really convenient."
"LOL hahahahaha..."
"Tingyun: I wish I had a neck like that."
"This is the headquarters of the Ten-Lords Commission... they're all colleagues."
"Is this Huohuo's first day at work?"
...
Only then did Huohuo realize.
Oh.
This is Lady Xueyi.
No wonder her neck can rotate 180 degrees.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Including Hanya, who she encountered next.
But the version of herself in the story was really scared.
First petrified, then split on the spot.
Finally.
At the gate at the foot of the mountain, she encountered the most terrifying thing...
"Hahahaha hehehehe..."
The scene changed.
Tail let out a gloating laugh.
"You were the one who said you wanted me to tell a scary story to practice your courage."
"Isn't this just your firsthand experience from your first day at work? Why are you so scared?"
Tail was "pushed" back by the soul that had been scared out of her.
Huohuo, who had come back to life, hugged her pillow tightly: "Let's end today's courage training here."
But Tail suddenly snatched the remote control away.
"We're just getting started, keep going for me!"
Unable to snatch the remote back.
Her face was left with nothing but fear and grievance.
"Pfft..."
Seeing herself in such a pitiful state.
Even Huohuo couldn't hold back.
She burst into laughter.
Suddenly.
As if recalling something terrible, she clutched her head.
"Ahhhhh..."
"Now the whole internet knows that I... I'm a coward..."
"No..."
"I need to be brave!"
"I can't just cry and whine like I do in the game when something happens!"
"I'll work hard, I'll make everyone see Huohuo in a new light!"
Tail looked at Huohuo, who seemed to have suddenly awakened, with a shocked expression.
She contacted Hanya and Xueyi.
"Lady Hanya... has anything unusual happened on your end?"
"There might be Heliobus nearby, creating illusions or something..."
Hanya replied, "We've checked the condition of the Creation Furnace, and no Heliobus have escaped from it."
"General Jing Yuan must have taken precautions in advance, averting this crisis."
"Xueyi and I will be back soon."
"Huh?"
"Nothing happened?"
This made Huohuo, who had just been ready to take action, show a look of helplessness.
"Well... I finally mustered up the courage..."
"But... it's fine."
"It's best if everything remains peaceful."
Tail, however, retorted, "I doubt it."
"In the game's storyline, even though Cirrus exploded, the other Heliobus are still out there."
"Maybe the Xianzhou will start experiencing hauntings everywhere..."
"Ugh... don't scare me," Huohuo covered her mouth.
"Who's scaring you?"
"I'm talking about the game's storyline."
"I can't wait to see how chaotic Luofu will become!"