Just then, a familiar mechanical voice echoed through Liu Ruoxi’s mind, accompanied by a blue light screen projecting before her eyes.
【Teammate Binding, Chain Task 01】
Player Liu Ruoxi informs Shen Qing of the game’s existence. Reward: 20 points.
【Teammate Binding, Chain Task 02】
Player Liu Ruoxi invites Shen Qing as a game teammate. Reward: 30 points.
【Teammate Binding, Chain Task 03】
Player Liu Ruoxi completes a team task with her teammate. Reward: 40 points.
【Team Task】
Unlocked after completing the first and second stages of the Teammate Binding tasks.
Time limit: 7 days!
Liu Ruoxi stared at the familiar blue light screen, her expression turning grave as bewilderment washed over her.
Teammate Binding? Was this game trying to get her to drag her best friend down with her?
“Little Ba, get out here!”
Her brows furrowed in fury, and rage ignited within her in an instant. What kind of garbage game was this? It wasn’t satisfied with ruining her own life—now it wanted her to pull her best friend into this perverted mess too.
“I’m here. And I told you not to call me Little Ba. Call me Lord Barbarossa.”
“What’s the deal with this task?”
Liu Ruoxi barely contained her inner fury as she demanded an answer.
“The task was triggered by the game program itself. It has nothing to do with me.”
Barbarossa explained.
“Then what good are you?”
Liu Ruoxi’s real-world expression darkened instantly, and she snapped the question coldly. Her anger had boiled over so much that she voiced it aloud, startling Shen Qing across from her.
“Ruoxi, what’s wrong?”
Shen Qing jumped at the words, looking at her in confusion.
“I exist to maintain the stable operation of the game, including explaining the rules to players.”
“Player Liu Ruoxi, mind your status.”
Barbarossa’s slightly cold tone rang through her mind. From its voice, it was clear that it was a bit annoyed too—this player wasn’t showing it any respect.
Liu Ruoxi took a deep breath, her ample chest heaving dramatically, her face pale and unsightly.
She had never once considered dragging her best friend into this game. That would be ruining her life.
Becoming a player in the Fallen Angel Game meant being controlled for life. Sure, the game offered all sorts of miraculous items, but the price was becoming something like a person’s sex slave.
Out of the five game classes—Companion, Sex Slave, Bitch, Milk Cow, and Meat Toilet—only Companion was remotely normal. The other four were essentially like being kept as pets.
Meeting Shen Qing’s puzzled gaze, Liu Ruoxi wrestled with her inner conflict. She didn’t want to harm her friend, but if she didn’t complete the task…
After a few seconds of silence, she forced out the words.
“Shen Qing, do you believe there’s a hidden side to the world—one that ordinary people like us have never touched?”
“Uh… Ruoxi, did something freak you out?”
Shen Qing was a little speechless at that. She reached out to touch Ruoxi’s forehead—no fever. Why was she spouting nonsense like this?
“Knock it off. I’m serious.” Liu Ruoxi swatted her hand away. Knowing her friend wouldn’t buy it, she grew solemn and continued, “I don’t even know how to explain it to you. If I hadn’t experienced it myself, I wouldn’t believe it either. But…” She paused, then slowly added the final words.
“I did experience it.”
At those words, seeing Liu Ruoxi’s serious expression, Shen Qing felt a flicker of doubt. Was Ruoxi actually being serious?
But that thought quickly vanished. No way.
“Tell me more?”
She watched Liu Ruoxi with keen interest, curious to see what story her friend would spin.
She wasn’t an idiot—she wouldn’t just believe whatever was said. Up to now, she still thought Ruoxi was joking around, teasing her.
“Come with me.”
The two headed upstairs to Liu Ruoxi’s bedroom.
“This all started the day Haoran got hurt and ended up in the hospital…”
After closing the door, Liu Ruoxi recounted everything that had happened to her best friend.
“That’s a pretty convincing story.”
A few minutes later, Shen Qing burst out laughing. Teasing her, she said, “So you’re telling me there’s an evil game system in your head?”
“Good thing I’ve read some web novels, or I wouldn’t even know what you were talking about, Ruoxi.”
“Look at my hand.”
Liu Ruoxi said nothing more. She extended her slender jade hand, spreading her five fingers. Her fair, delicate palm was completely empty.
“And?”
Shen Qing grinned.
“Now look again.”
In the blink of an eye, a thumb-sized glass vial appeared in Liu Ruoxi’s palm out of thin air. Inside the glass bottle, a transparent liquid sloshed gently.
The sight stunned Shen Qing, and she cried out in shock.
“Is this some kind of magic trick? When did you learn magic, Ruoxi?”
“It’s no magic trick. This is a potion that stimulates brain nerve cells and boosts learning efficiency.”
“It’s exclusive to the game mall. I checked— no company on Earth has ever developed anything like it.”
“I’ve tested the effects myself. My verdict? It’s not something Blue Star’s current tech could produce. It feels more like an artifact from an alien civilization.”
Liu Ruoxi had calmed down by now. She spoke flatly, “I took it out from my game backpack. See?”
With that, the glass vial in her palm vanished into thin air in an instant.
“Look again.”
She kept her right hand steady in midair, palm open and empty one moment—then a glass vial appeared in her palm the next, only to disappear again like an illusory bubble.
She repeatedly withdrew the potion from her game backpack into reality and stored it away again, over and over.
Shen Qing’s beautiful eyes widened as she watched the whole scene unfold. An expression of utter disbelief crossed her face, as if she’d seen a ghost in broad daylight.
“This…”
Shen Qing’s voice trembled, her expression dazed. The scene before her shattered the worldview she’d built over thirty-odd years.
No matter how absurd or ridiculous something seemed, when the evidence was laid out plain as day, it became undeniable truth.
“So… everything you said earlier is real?”
Shen Qing murmured.
“Do I have any reason to lie to you?”
Liu Ruoxi rolled her eyes.
“Can I become a game player too?”
Shen Qing gazed at Liu Ruoxi expectantly. The allure of the supernatural and unknown had hooked her completely. It was like a brilliant ray of light piercing her mundane, boring world.
Liu Ruoxi hadn’t even extended the invitation yet, but Shen Qing had brought it up first. Earlier, she’d only mentioned that it was an evil game. She hadn’t delved into the details—like the game classes, the binding to a Controller, or those shameful tasks. She couldn’t bring herself to say them aloud.
Facing Shen Qing’s eager gaze, she could understand her friend’s curiosity and excitement. Without those depraved game tasks, this game really would be a dream come true.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she couldn’t cross that final hurdle in her heart. She decided to reveal some key information and let her friend choose.
“Shen Qing, this game isn’t as great as you think. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”
“If you want to become a game player, I can invite you. But becoming a player means being enslaved by someone. That person becomes like your master, and you…” Here, the rest was hard to say, but she steeled herself and continued.
“You’d basically be that person’s sex slave.”
Shen Qing’s eyes widened. “So that means… you’ve become someone’s sex slave too, Ruoxi?”
Liu Ruoxi’s expression grew complicated, and she let out a soft “mm.”
“Who is it?”
Shen Qing asked urgently, her tone laced with worry.
A sex slave? That wasn’t something to take lightly. With Ruoxi’s looks, if she became someone’s sex slave, her fate would be utterly miserable.
Liu Ruoxi didn’t answer, falling silent.
Ruoxi’s reaction fueled Shen Qing’s suspicions. She recalled the earlier scenes, especially Ruoxi’s excessive concern for Haoran. Sure, a mother worrying about her son was normal, but compared to Ruoxi’s usual behavior, it was telling.
“Is it Haoran?”
Shen Qing said it uncertainly at first, but as she spoke, the conviction grew stronger. In a firm tone, she added, “That person is Haoran, isn’t it?”
“Why Haoran? Did he orchestrate all of this?”
Following the logic that the one who benefited most was the prime suspect, Shen Qing turned to her silent best friend, hoping for confirmation.
