Little Pink Starfish

…Why was my account banned?

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at the forum in silence for a few seconds. Then she switched to her alt and went on a short rampage, cursing out the “permissions dogs” in the admin team, before exiting with a huff.

Even the creator herself didn’t complain, so why are you admins getting all worked up? She even replied to me!

Still fuming, Yuan Yuanyuan stomped off to sleep without looking at anything else. That night passed peacefully and uneventfully.

Meanwhile, Gao Ling finally let out a breath of relief. But she was still suspicious—Had that monster gotten triggered somehow? She never used to act this crazy… what happened?

She asked for Yuan to be left with a whole body… what was that supposed to mean?

Thinking about the monster’s unusually high status, Gao Ling had a terrifying realization—what if that person knew some insider information? Was that why she made that kind of comment?

What kind of insider info… would make a high-level monster lose faith in Yuan like that?

Wait, big boss! Don’t go! I think there’s still hope!
Gao Ling scared herself with her own speculation. She rushed to unban Circle’s IP, only to find that the other party had already gone offline.

That night, Gao Ling tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep until sunrise.

After registering the names of the tavern monsters on the paper, Yuan Yuanyuan made time to hand it over to Lin Boneface.

“All done? These are all the names?” Lin Boneface asked.

“Yes,” Yuan Yuanyuan said. “As of today, they’re officially considered members of City C’s noble clans.”

She’d heard from the boss lady that being part of a clan in City C came with many benefits. Chief among them: in most situations, City C would offer protection if something dangerous happened.

Just like now. Even with her terrible reputation, City C had still helped her as much as they could.

Her so-called “in-laws.”

And Yuan Yuanyuan, of course, would return the favor to City C when the time came.

“Well, that wraps up a big task,” Yuan Yuanyuan exhaled. She waved at Lin Boneface. “I’ll leave the rest to you. I’m heading home.”

“Wait!” Lin Boneface suddenly called out. “Where are you going?”

“…Home,” Yuan Yuanyuan replied, puzzled. “I’ve been running around for days over this. I’m already not in great health, so I need to get some sleep.”

“Oh… safe travels then.” Lin Boneface awkwardly lowered his hand.

He watched her departing figure and slapped himself internally.
Why the hell did I ask such a dumb question just now?

But there was something off about what Yuan said earlier… It sounded ominous, like she was laying a mysterious flag.

Lin Boneface didn’t really know what “flag” meant, but he had that exact ominous feeling now.

Then again, maybe it was better not to say anything. Maybe not mentioning it meant nothing would happen. If he said it out loud, something really would.

Yuan Yuanyuan, on the other hand, was thinking over Lin Boneface’s question.

She figured that when she enacted her death-faking plan, those words would come back to him, and maybe he’d take better care of the tavern folk.

City C wasn’t perfect, but it was the best option right now.
Even she wasn’t sure what would happen with this “death.” Who knew if it’d be real or fake?

She just wanted to have some good luck—hence asking the famous Koi-sama to grant her a gentle death scene so she could slip away more easily. But not only did the Koi-sama not respond, she even got her account banned over it. The more she thought about it, the more pissed she got.

I worked so hard… and got banned for wishing for good luck. Talk about bad omens.

Bad omens weren’t in short supply lately. The comic was full of ominous flags. Just reading it gave Yuan Yuanyuan cold sweats.

【Li Wangzhu felt there truly was some kind of fate between him and Yuan—though it seemed to be a cruel kind.】

【Back when they were young, they’d been such good friends. How did it all come to this?】

【He could barely remember anymore. He looked up at the sky. Rain began to fall. The gray clouds overhead seemed like they’d never clear.】

【It reminded him of another place, where the sky was always gloomy, where the sun never shone.】

【Back then, it had been a warm season. But the flowers there never bloomed again. It made him feel strangely sad.】

【What’s the limit of human endurance? He sometimes wondered. If someone could crawl out of hell once, and then a second time… what about a third?】

【Let’s hope… that on your third try, you can still crawl out of hell.】

…

Crawl your ass out of hell!
Yuan Yuanyuan’s expression was hideously twisted. What do you mean “third time”?! I’ve never heard of this “three strikes you survive” nonsense—don’t jinx me!

Even the comment section made her liver hurt.

【Just let her die with dignity. Don’t let it be too horrible.】

【I don’t think there’s any hope left. Haven’t you seen how every monster now is ready to tear Yuan into pieces?】

【This is knife city… Ji Qiu’s been going hard on the angst lately. Remember that cat-girl? The way she died? Think Yuan might break even that record?】

As for the daughter of the Li family head, no one had heard from her in a while. Maybe she’d gone quiet. At least there hadn’t been any news.

Last time Yuan Yuanyuan was filling out the registry, she wrote down Si Qun’s name. Coincidentally, it landed on the exact spot where she remembered his name had once been erased.

It was just a tiny thing—but for some reason, Yuan Yuanyuan felt a sliver of comfort.

Si Qun and Li Zi Jie had recently begun moving freely again inside the space. Not many people had known about their existence before. Now, their sudden reappearance startled quite a few.

Especially Si Qun—everywhere he went, little girls screamed with delight. Yuan Yuanyuan was genuinely jealous. She didn’t understand why people were so convinced Si Qun was lawful good. It was probably his looks. But from what Fat Cat had once told her, Si Qun had not been a rule-abiding person at all. Did he lose his memory and become a boy scout?

She had once seen him walking toward her from a distance in the hallway. He didn’t speak, just walked silently. One of the little monsters beside her asked, “Should we call Lord Si Qun over?”

Lord Si Qun? Yuan Yuanyuan blinked at the unfamiliar title, feeling weird. She shook her head. “No need to call him.”

Call him for what? What if he found out she was a fake?

If possible, she wanted to bring back Si Qun’s fish tank and flower pots too.

Also, was it just her imagination, or had Si Qun been going bald recently? He really seemed to be losing more hair. Yuan Yuanyuan was starting to worry he’d end up like Saitama.

Si Qun’s online image lately had also been… strange. Because he once fed Yuan one of his gu, and the comic hadn’t explained what it was, people were starting to suspect him. From what they saw, that gu had caused Yuan serious harm. Coupled with his connection to the Li family head, people began wondering if Si Qun had done it on purpose.

But Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t think it was that simple. She trusted her instincts more.

She was only worried that outside monsters might target Si Qun now. Even if her own reputation among monsters was bad, there were still some extremist factions who supported her.

Half heaven, half hell.

That was her reality now. If she hadn’t lived it herself, she wouldn’t have believed it.

Actually, most monsters and people who had appeared in Demon Chronicles were now facing this same situation.

Inside the comic or outside—who could really tell the difference? It was all part of the same world.

Just that one existed on paper, and one off it.

There were monsters who absolutely hated her. Yuan Yuanyuan talked casually about it, but some of them truly saw her as a final boss to be taken down.

Ultimately, it was all about the environment. If monsters had won in that ancient war instead of humans, what would the world look like now?

【“Too bad. You could have died well.”】
In the comic, a couple who had always seemed like an ideal match suddenly turned their blades on each other. The woman looked coldly at the man, a sword blade piercing through his chest.

The readers flooded the comment section:

【She was undercover too?!】

【Holy crap, this is insane. I wouldn’t survive even one episode in this world!】

Buddy… you’ve already survived one, Yuan Yuanyuan thought.

As she kept reading, a sudden sharp pain hit her chest.

…Something was wrong.

She frowned slightly, patting her chest, feeling tightness and pressure.

What happened?

She looked up at the window—where the sky-blue protective shield was rippling and trembling.

Looking closer, beams of demonic magic exploded against the shield, one after another, like falling stars.