One Day Earlier
Evaluation Results, Round 4
Lin Yu Xia (No casualties) — Success Rate: 100%
Chen Huijie, Rank 20 (4 casualties) — Success Rate: 71%
Lin Yu Xia, Rank 21 (5 casualties) — Success Rate: 70%
"Just as I thought... No matter how many times I replay it, the score that appears on the leaderboard will always be from the first run."
Yu Xia muttered in frustration from inside her home, staring at the woman ranked just one place above her, even though she had tried her hardest to get a perfect score in the game.
To explain how she ended up playing this strange game, we'd have to go back to that morning. When Yu Xia woke up, she discovered a strange application had already been installed on her phone.
At first, she didn't know what it was and didn't pay much attention. She simply deleted it and went on with her day like usual.
After finishing her morning work and returning to her office around noon, she found that the app had somehow reinstalled itself. She tried deleting it again, but no matter what she did, it would always come back. Even with no internet signal, the app managed to reinstall itself every time she locked and unlocked her phone screen.
That's when she started to feel that something was definitely off.
Driven by a mix of curiosity and irritation, she finally decided to open the app and see what it was. To her surprise, it turned out to be a high-quality mobile game with mechanics quite unlike any other on the market.
Yu Xia wasn't exactly a mobile gaming expert, but she did like to keep up with the trends. Most of the time, she got her info from a certain traitorous friend—whose name she didn't even want to mention.
Initially, Yu Xia hadn't thought much about the game... until it asked her to choose an organization to collaborate with—one of four listed options.
What shocked her was that L.G.D. was one of the options. And what's more, the character silhouettes shown in the L.G.D. logo featured three people she clearly recognized. Even though the characters were drawn in a stylized, cartoonish manner, their faces and ethnicities were unmistakably familiar.
"That annoying woman and that traitor... I get it, they're with L.G.D... but why is Hoshiguma there too?"
Yu Xia stared at the green-haired woman wearing an L.G.D. uniform, confused and a little disoriented.
A tinge of bitterness filled her chest when she realized that the woman she had her eyes on had been taken once again—this time by her backstabbing friends.
Yes, Yu Xia had wanted that woman to join her faction too. But she had been rejected time and time again.
Ghost of the Slums. Queen of Combat. The Mad Oni.
No matter what people called her, in the eyes of the slum dwellers, Hoshiguma was seen as the second "King of the Slums." Her real name was Hoshiguma, and though she was known for being kind and friendly, no one could deny her influence, which was on par with that of the Rat King—Yu Xia's own father.
In truth, some believed Hoshiguma and her Oni gang were aiming to take control of the slums to declare her the new monarch.
But Yu Xia knew it was all just petty propaganda spread by one of the many Siracusa gangs, trying to pit the two groups against each other through false rumors.
Her father—the Rat King—never paid such gossip any mind. He was just an old rodent dreaming of retirement, caring only about her marriage.
In contrast, Hoshiguma had started feeling the pressure, especially from new gang recruits who believed in the rumors. She had come to Yu Xia and her father several times to seek advice, seemingly worried about things escalating out of control.
Yu Xia had offered to bring Hoshiguma under their wing multiple times to resolve the matter. But Hoshiguma knew it wasn't that simple—many of her people still held deep grudges against the Rat King over an incident in the past that had soured their relations beyond repair.
That incident had left scars on both factions. Every time they met, it ended in fierce arguments. Even Yu Xia herself felt overwhelmed trying to keep the peace.
If this continued, she knew exactly how it would end—either the Rat King's faction or the Oni would be eradicated from Lungmen.
And no matter who won, the slums would descend into chaos and bloodshed.
Though she hated the idea, Yu Xia began to think the only way to end this might be to eliminate Hoshiguma—or drive her and her people out of the slums completely. If they resisted, then maybe... just maybe... she would have to ask her teacher, Shadowguard, to handle things discreetly.
"I don't want to go that far..."
Of course, that would be the very last resort. Yu Xia wanted to avoid long-term consequences, especially in such an unstable time where any outside interference—particularly from Siracusa—could ignite a war.
She needed to reach some sort of compromise. But she also knew she couldn't afford to show weakness.
After all, she was the Rat King's daughter—the next in line to inherit his position.
She had to show resolve. She had to show the slums what would happen to anyone who dared oppose her.
She knew her way of thinking was dangerous, even to herself... but she also believed it was the only way to truly change the slums. Unlike her father, who bowed to shadowy elites.
She never understood why he always let them control things from behind the curtain.
"But if it were him..."
Yu Xia closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.
She couldn't honestly say she would do better than her father—she still respected him as the longtime ruler of the slums. Even if his cowardice now disgusted her, deep down, she still believed he was the true King of the Slums.
And because of that, she would never escape his shadow...
Or so she thought—until she saw the image of that elegant man standing atop a stone pillar, with a massive boulder falling from the sky behind him.
She couldn't remember how shocked she'd been. She hadn't taken the game seriously at first, but after replaying it again and again, and uncovering more and more story fragments, she began to realize the events in the game might actually be depicting a future two years from now.
In other words... this wasn't a game. It was a prophecy.
And the young man who captivated her so deeply... was far closer to her than she expected.
"Penguin Logistics staff member."
As someone who ruled nearly all the slums in Lungmen, Yu Xia knew all about the troublemaking company. She was usually the one cleaning up after their messes.
She'd even received a call from her traitor friend, who told her a new recruit was joining Penguin Logistics. That friend had asked her to look after the kid, saying he had a rough past...
At the time, Yu Xia agreed halfheartedly. But after playing the game, she immediately sent people to gather intel on the young man.
What she didn't expect... was that the person to report back to her wasn't her subordinates—but her own father.
That was the first time in years he visited her office. Yu Xia had been shocked and confused.
But once he explained why he came, she understood immediately.
He was tracking that new recruit too. And just as she'd guessed, the man's codename was indeed Zhongli.
He was real. And her father was keeping a close watch on him.
He instructed her not to act suspiciously—he would be the one investigating the man's background.
With that, Yu Xia could do nothing. Her father had spoken. Her access to that man was now officially cut off.
Back to the Present
Unexpectedly, just one day later, she met the man in person. Even though he arrived with that annoying woman, it didn't matter—not when Yu Xia saw the potential benefits of getting close to him.
The first thing she needed to do wasn't to make him owe her a favor. She had to approach him as a friend or ally.
She knew relationships based on mutual benefit were fragile and easily fractured. That's why she proposed working together, even if it meant giving up some of her own advantage. She'd use that time to get to know him better... and hopefully earn his trust.
"But isn't his body a bit too skinny?"
Yu Xia glanced at his frail form, a mixture of confusion and pity in her eyes.
She had heard rumors—perhaps from that traitor friend—that he had a rough past, but... wasn't this a bit extreme?
"Even infected slum dwellers look healthier than him. No wonder that cat's so worried about him."
Yu Xia sighed. She couldn't believe someone like him would grow into a powerful figure two years from now. Was this... a preemptive investment?
Out of sympathy, she stopped by a street vendor while they were walking to the Oni gang's headquarters to buy him something to eat.
It was just a few sticks of grilled meat—but the boy accepted them with a bright, genuine smile and thanked her sweetly
"Thank you, Sister Yuxia!"
Thump-thump.
"...Hmm?" Yuxia's eyes widened. She placed a hand over her chest where she had just felt her heart race.
'What was that just now? Why do I feel so strange...' Yuxia began to touch her face, noticing the warmth spreading across her cheeks. She didn't understand what she was feeling—
Until she realized she could no longer bring herself to look directly at the boy in front of her, no matter how hard she tried.
That was when the quick-witted Yuxia immediately began to understand what she was experiencing...
'Don't tell me this is... love at first sight?'
---------
*See you next Saturday!*
---------
MyPatreon : patreon.com/TrueAngel?
Check Collections
Now : (ZAW)System Acting Zhongli in arknights World? (Now Chapter 56)
Now : (INSL) I Never thought simulating life could screw me up this badly!! (Now Chapter 53)
Now : (POA) Prince of Angels in Arknights (Now Chapter 42)
--------
Coming soon : Texas Character Relationship Content (4 Chapter) *1 Chapter here*
Coming soon : Exusia Character Relationship Content (4 Chapter)
Coming soon : Lapland Character Relationship Content (4 Chapter)