Just as the three of them ran out of the yard and reached the iron gate, the clock expired, and the still world started running again.

Her eyes darted around, and when she saw Shangguan Xin and the others, Xia Linyin blurted out, "What are you doing here?"

Patting Yin Yichen on the shoulder, Xia Linyin struggled and said, "Put me down!"

Xia Linyin struggled fiercely, so Yin Yichen had no choice but to put her down. Xia Linyin turned her head to look at the villa and said urgently, "You should leave quickly before the little... Rose Assassin finds out."

Xia Linyin was anxious, but Shangguan Xin was even more anxious. "Xiaoyin, you received the game notification, right? If we don't complete the task soon, we will all be wiped out."

By the end, his voice was trembling with tears.

Xia Linyin shook her head, "You can't kill him."

Gao Haichuan sighed, "But there's no other way. Even though we know it's impossible, we still have to try. We can't let go of any chance of survival. If we don't complete the mission, we're all doomed."

"I've already saved you once, I won't save you a second time." Xia Linyin turned and left. "You can go now, I won't go with you."

"Xiao Yin, there's still a chance! We still have a chance!" Shangguan Xin gripped Xia Linyin's arm tightly. "You were right not to come with us. Of the four of us, you're the most likely to complete the mission. As long as we get the poison and give it to you, you can poison the Rose Assassin when he's not looking—"

"Impossible!" Xia Linyin shook off Shangguan Xin's hand, saying each word clearly, "Absolutely impossible."

After waving Shangguan Xin's hand away, Xia Linyin walked quickly forward without looking back.

Shangguan Xin's face turned ashen. "It's over, it's over. Xiaoyin must have been bewitched by Rose Assassin, just like those people on the website."

Gao Haichuan yelled at Xia Linyin's retreating figure, "Xia Linyin! What are you thinking? Can't you even tell who's an ally and who's an enemy? Don't forget who you are and what your purpose is here!"

"Xiaoyin, don't be silly! He's an NPC! He's fake! He's fake! No matter how perfect he is, he's still a fake person. You've fallen in love with just an NPC! He's not worth it at all!" Shangguan Xin cried. "How can you be so foolish? Xiaoyin, falling in love with an NPC will not end well."

"Damn it!" Gao Haichuan slammed his fist against the wall.

"Let's go! Let's go quickly!" Yin Yichen suddenly shouted.

Following Yin Yichen's gaze, Gao Haichuan and Shangguan Xin saw Xiao Li standing by the second-floor window.

With his silver hair and red eyes, even from such a distance, one could still feel the powerful aura emanating from the man.

Gao Haichuan exclaimed in alarm, "Didn't they say he wasn't here?"

"I don't know either!" Yin Yichen led the two away quickly; he hadn't seen it when he looked.

Xia Linyin intended to sneak back to her room, but she bumped into Xiao Li in the hallway.

Unconsciously, Xia Linyin clenched the hem of her clothes, swallowed hard, and looked at Xiao Li with a wary and vigilant gaze.

To her surprise, Xiao Li wasn't angry. Instead, she came over with a bright smile, hugged her, and shook her. "Sister, I'm so happy!"

Then he picked her up horizontally and carried her to the bedroom. He then brought over a basin of hot water to wash her feet.

After wiping the mud off her bare feet, Xiao Li kissed her toes, looked up and smiled, her eyes bright as if they were filled with stars.

Xia Linyin didn't understand why he was laughing so happily. Was it because she hadn't left with Shangguan Xin and the others?

Xia Linyin felt a pang of sadness for no apparent reason. In fact, Xiao Li was very simple, really simple. Although he had a complex personality, he also had a pure character.

His joy and sorrow were both pure and undisguised.

Xia Linyin raised her hand and touched Xiao Li's hair. Xiao Li rubbed against her palm, then got up and took away the basin of water.

Xiao Li stopped locking Xia Linyin up, and Xia Linyin stopped thinking about escaping. However, perhaps because the deadline was approaching, she became more and more anxious, and Xia Linyin had nightmares again.

This nightmare terrified Xia Linyin even more than the last one. She dreamt that Xiao Li died at her hands, and then Xiao Li truly disappeared. No matter how she called out or searched, she could no longer find Xiao Li.

Xiao Li has truly disappeared from her life.

After waking up from the dream, Xia Linyin was still in a state of lingering fear. Every time she thought of the scene of Xiao Li dying at her hands, she couldn't help but feel panicked.

Xiao Li said that after discovering that he had a problem, the game had been trying to deal with him, and even tried to erase his memories several times, but he always managed to get them back.

Now, because of her search, Xiao Li, who could have bided her time and grown stronger, has exposed herself before the game.

This will definitely raise the game's assessment of Xiao Li's danger level to a new level, changing it from controllable to uncontrollable.

The game will definitely try every means to deal with Xiao Li.

She is Xiao Li's fatal weakness and vulnerability. What if the game uses her to deal with Xiao Li someday...

Using her as a starting point, eliminate the problematic NPC, Xiao Li...

No, you can't!

She absolutely cannot tolerate this happening!

Xiao Li has worked so hard to get to where he is today. Unlike her, he has the opportunity to break free from the game's control!

We absolutely must not let Xiao Li contact her again!

A short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one. A plan gradually took shape in her mind, and a resolute glint flashed in Xia Linyin's eyes.

...

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